Awakening

When Bieyun returned with a pile of pills, it had become much more serious. It used its spatial power again to return to Sen Lijiu's side and carefully fed him a Calming Pill. Soon, Sen Lijiu woke up.

"Huh? How did I fall asleep? It feels like I slept for ages and ages."

Bieyun reassured him, "It's okay, it's okay. The small world's consciousness stirred up trouble to stall for time, but it's fine. Xia An'an hasn't met Kukulu yet. Unfortunately, the Flower Code has activated, and the Elf King Camellia Chun has already formed a contract with Xia An'an."

As he listened, Sen Lijiu gently squeezed Magnolia's hand. In her Elf King form, her hand was so small that he could hold it with just one index finger. Sen Lijiu smiled tenderly. "Thank you for protecting me, Magnolia~"

Magnolia smiled too. "Of course."

After hearing Bieyun out, Sen Lijiu rose casually and flicked his fluffy tails. In the blink of an eye, his nine tails became one, and the beautiful markings on his body turned pure white. Only the lovely golden mark on his forehead remained.

Sen Lijiu sprang lightly into a tree and headed toward Andromeda Park at an unhurried pace.

On the way, he encountered Xia Mu, who was out picking up some documents. With the rain falling, Xia Mu only caught a fleeting glimpse, but the sight left him so captivated that he walked straight into a tree. When he looked back, the fox was nowhere to be seen.

"What a beautiful fox. I wonder where he came from..." he muttered as he walked home.

Sen Lijiu walked gracefully to the edge of the pool, wrapped his tail around the ugly-cute doll, and carried him away from the water.

"Poor Kukulu~ I'll take you away from here..."

Just as Kukulu was about to sink into eternal darkness, his consciousness gradually fading, an incredibly familiar voice seemed to reach him from the distant horizon. Like heavenly music, it pierced through layers of mist and chaos and settled gently in the depths of his soul.

The voice seemed to carry a mysterious, powerful force, bringing a faint glimmer to his already dulled eyes.

Yet that light was all too brief, vanishing like a meteor flashing across the night sky. Even so, in that instant, Kukulu desperately tried to grasp that glimmer of hope and seek out the source of the familiar voice... In the end, he still fell into a deep sleep.

Unable to resist, Bieyun poked Kukulu with the Jade Tassel. "Still, this doll version of Kukulu is kind of fun."

Sen Lijiu smiled and sat in a tree, quietly pondering, Where should I go now?

A man in a trench coat seemingly happened to pass by. He stopped beneath the tree, as though he had suddenly noticed the little fox above him. "Little fox, would you like to come home with me?"

With a gentle flick of his long, magnificent tail, the agile, lively Sen Lijiu leaped lightly from the tall tree, as graceful as a dancing fairy.

That leap seemed to break free of the bounds of time and space. With a dazzling elegance, he landed squarely in the warm, broad arms of the man beneath the tree.

The man's features were as flawless as a work of art painstakingly crafted by a master sculptor. Holding Sen Lijiu as though cradling a precious pearl, he slowly walked away.

Poor Kukulu was tossed back and forth. Fortunately, he was unconscious, or all that swinging would probably have made him throw up, leaving him at a loss for how to complain.

The rain continued to patter down, washing away every trace as though nothing had happened. Everything was changing in silence...