Dual Cultivation

The door was unlocked and gave a faint creak as it opened.

Tamamo-no-Mae, still awake, twitched her ears and caught the scent. Her nerves drew taut.

It was that man's scent. He had come after all.

After centuries of loneliness, her restless heart refused to settle. It pounded so hard she could hear it in the quiet room.

She had thought she would never feel this way again. Yet now her heart was racing so fiercely that Yuan Shikai could hear it.

At that rate, anyone might have thought she had just run a marathon at full speed.

She left the door unlocked and didn't take any precautions. Did she take what I said seriously?

No. Tamamo-no-Mae isn't Tamamo Cat. She wouldn't fall for it that easily. There must be another reason.

But the invitation was obvious, and he had nowhere else to sleep tonight. He might as well stay here.

After a moment's thought, Yuan Shikai strode into the room and made sure to shut the door behind him.

Osakabehime told me to hide at Enma-tei. She's probably trying to stop Mole from locating me with the crystal ball.

And everyone knows fighting is forbidden at Enma-tei. No matter how badly Mole wants to cut me down, she won't get the chance.

She could still camp out at Enma-tei and wait for me. But Tamamo-no-Mae's bed blocks the crystal ball just as well. She'll be waiting for nothing, so there's no problem.

Yuan Shikai lifted the bed curtains and saw Tamamo-no-Mae give a noticeable shudder.

Keep pretending. Let's see how long you can keep it up.

He climbed onto the bed and let the curtains fall. The bed began to sway rhythmically.

As the rocking intensified, Tamamo-no-Mae's Noble Phantasm, Water-Heavenly Sunlight, Amaterasu's Eightfold Stone, suddenly flew out of her