“The sky stretches vast and blue, the wilds endless as far as the eye can see, the wind blowing… The way the Hundred Monsters thrive among these green forests, swaying with the breeze, is not so different from those wild grasses on the westernmost plains of Lixun, forever unburned.”
On a peak beside the main summit of Mount Qingqiu, much shorter than the main peak, Qin Luoyi was sitting atop the roof of an almost abandoned wooden cabin, swinging her legs as she overlooked the scene below.
“It’s still quite beautiful, isn’t it?”
Her tone carried a hint of contentment.
To her right, Yun Mu sat cross-legged, holding the now-small-fox-shaped Tushan Huaizhi in his arms, his left hand resting naturally on her back, gently stroking her sleek, soft fur.
“Miss Luoyi, I’ve actually never seen a grassland, and… right now, I can’t see the scenery you’re talking about either. So, apologies, I can’t really comment on it.”
“Even so, you could still just go along with me, you know, like…”
The girl tried to find an excuse, but as she turned her head and saw the boy’s eyes still covered, guilt surged in her heart.
“Sorry, it just slipped out. I didn’t mean it.”
Her apology was rare and sincere.
“It’s fine, I know you didn’t mean any harm, and I don’t really mind.”
“You don’t mind? Really…?”
The girl pursed her lips, her expression a little conflicted.
In truth, she could already guess his answer.
She knew his circumstances well, but even so, she still felt sad for him.
She had also experienced losing the sense of light, flailing around like a headless fly in the darkness—by then, a battered body was the least of her worries.
At that time, the fear of the unknown far outweighed the pain of the body.
“I do regret it a little. I should’ve tried to help you keep your eyes back then.”
“Keep my eyes?”
“Yeah, but I’m just saying it now after the fact. In that situation, if I had suddenly gone back on my word, who knows what Shangguan Hongzhi would have done.”
“Even if you’re a princess, he’d still lay a hand on you?”
“Mm. Distant water can’t put out a nearby fire—he’s a lunatic at his core.”
“A madman, huh…”
Yun Mu muttered, falling silent, though his hand continued to gently stroke the little fox.
After a long while, Qin Luoyi finally spoke again.
“So, are you coming with me or not? Answer properly… Don’t think I’ll agree so easily just because I’m chatting with you calmly right now. If your answer doesn’t satisfy me, I won’t nod. Don’t forget what I told you: once I set my mind on something, I rarely change it.”
“Miss Luoyi, I still have those three questions. If you can promise me—really swear on it—then I’ll go with you. If not… sorry…”
In fact, while he was steadying Tushan Huaizhi’s breath earlier, the two of them had already talked about a lot.
That included whether or not he would stay here.
Qin Luoyi didn’t even have to say it—of course she wanted to take Yun Mu away.
After all, she never liked sharing what was hers, much less the boy, who, aside from her love-at-first-sight feelings, held an even more important place in her life—helping her suppress her own easily out-of-control powers, and providing an exclusive body for her research on her special constitution.
To her, their relationship wasn’t just a simple emotional bond.
Yun Mu, naturally, knew this too, so he hadn’t directly answered whether he’d leave with her.
Back then, he’d just asked her three questions.
First: with her help, could he truly step onto the path of cultivation and gain the strength to protect himself and others?
Second: the Emotion Restoration Method she promised him—would it harm innocent people, or was it a cruel and evil path?
Third: regarding his search for Lin Xizhi, could she really make time for him to look for her?
At first, the girl had dismissed these questions with a wave of her hand, since she’d already promised him all of this before.
But once she started to seriously think about it, she realized that, aside from the third, the other promises were all just empty words she’d painted with no real guarantee.
Breaking free from mortal shackles and entering the path of cultivation—in her view, that could only happen after communicating with the stars above.
But since the founding of Lixun—no, in the entire recorded history of humanity—no one had ever succeeded in cultivation after the age of thirteen without having first communicated with the power of the stars.
No one had ever succeeded after turning thirteen.
The only reason she’d said she could help him step onto the path of cultivation was because Yun Mu could use power without ever communicating with the stars—something unheard of.
As for the second question, she’d already asked Elder Xiaofu on the road.
The Emotion Restoration Method was indeed recorded in the Book Repository of Tianji Pavilion in Lixun’s imperial city.
But the method was the way of demons and heretics—a dangerous, harmful secret technique based on the principle “you are what you eat.”
Although she herself didn’t care much about it, thinking of Yun Mu’s character, she gave up on the idea.
So, with the first two questions almost impossible to solve, the third—finding Lin Xizhi—naturally became a big problem, especially since being unable to cultivate would have dire consequences.
Unable to cultivate meant a limited lifespan.
Searching for someone whose fate was unknown in such a short time was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
If she could help Yun Mu find her before he died, that would be fine—everyone would be happy.
But if not…
Qin Luoyi was still human; she couldn’t guarantee she’d have the courage to face her dying, regret-filled beloved at that time.
The girl sat by his side and sighed deeply.
To be honest, she really wanted to just take Yun Mu away by force right now.
But she couldn’t.
Not only because she’d long since noticed Tushan Yunxi, hidden in the clouds, watching her every move
But also because, after regaining her usual temperament in recent days, she was feeling a rare pang of conscience.
In some ways, Yun Mu was lucky—otherwise, if she’d been her old self, he would probably have been knocked out back at the foot of the main peak.
“Little Yun, about those questions—you’re right, I can’t give you a straight answer right now. But I’m curious: why did you trust them so easily? You even snatched away your own monster from me, and… you can stay here without any reservations?”
“Don’t tell me… it’s just because you like beast-eared little girls.”
“Beast-eared little girls? Hm… Do I look like that kind of person?”
“You do. Your hand hasn’t stopped petting Ruo.”
“T-that so? Uh… how embarrassing…”
Truthfully, Yun Mu had always liked fluffy little animals, but that wasn’t the reason.
“Miss Luoyi, about that… there’s actually something I’ve never told you.”
“What? You’ve been hiding something from me??”
She raised her hand and gave him a light punch in the chest.
“Mm… In certain situations, I can see through a person’s essence.”
“See? Aren’t you blind?”
she said bluntly.
“Mm… I say ‘see,’ but it’s more like I can sense it. Especially after borrowing the Empress’s power, it’s gotten easier.”
“The Empress? She lent you her power? Aren’t you worried she’s up to something?”
“She’s a sovereign, I doubt she’d stoop to that.”
“Don’t be so sure.”
“Uh…”
The topic was going off track, so Yun Mu quickly added, “So, Miss Luoyi, aren’t you curious what I mean by ‘essence’?”
“Little Yun, my patience is limited.”
Hearing her clearly impatient tone, he realized he was indeed being long-winded.
After a quick “sorry,” he began explaining.
“By ‘essence,’ I mean a person’s heart. When I touch someone, I can sense whether their heart is pure. It’s something I’ve had since I was little. Though I’ve made a few mistakes, I’m usually right.”
“So, you trust these youkai just because of that? They’re youkai—murderous monsters. Yun Mu, do you know how many humans they’ve killed?”
“Miss Luoyi, there’s no absolute good or evil between the human and youkai races, is there? The bastards you mention exist among humans too, don’t they?”
“But!! Back then it was them…”
Qin Luoyi grew agitated, grabbing the boy’s collar, her body trembling.
But she couldn’t say the words out loud, and finally changed her tune.
“Forget it, those damned beasts are dead anyway. The current Empress is, in some ways, a truly benevolent youkai. You’re right—I shouldn’t define a whole race by a few beasts, but… sigh…”
There were some things she didn’t want to say to Yun Mu yet.
Their relationship seemed close, but it wasn’t truly intimate and without secrets.
She let out a long breath, tried to steady her emotions, then asked:
“Little Yun, did you see something here, or hear something, that made you want to stay?”
“Mm… To tell you the truth, both.”
“What exactly?”
“I met someone very much like my master. But at the same time, she didn’t seem to be my master.”
“Which do you think is more likely?”
“The latter, but as long as there’s a chance of the former, I want to take the gamble.”
“I see… No wonder… No wonder you’d make this choice…”
The girl smiled faintly at his reply.
“Honestly, that’s more convincing than anything else you could say.”
She raised her right hand, smoothing out the boy’s furrowed brow, then glanced at the clouds in the distance and lifted her left hand, raising a middle finger.
“Hey, Empress Tushan, there’s a limit to how much you can eavesdrop, right? We’ve finished talking—can you come out now?”
…“I was just worried you’d do something inappropriate to Huaizhi and Yun Mu. As for eavesdropping, hmm… call it surveillance, perhaps?”
A clear yet commanding voice rang out.
As the clouds parted, Tushan Yunxi stepped forward, each stride giving rise to flowers beneath her feet.
“Hmph, cunning fox. I can’t be bothered to argue with you.”
The girl stood up, facing the Empress who had already walked up to them, a sneer on her lips.
“Although I’m not happy about it, Yun Mu can stay here and even be your so-called adopted son, since it won’t affect our relationship. But… I’ll be staying here for a month. He might trust you all now, but I don’t.”
“I don’t want anything to happen to someone I care about in your hands.”
“That’s fine.”
“And every month after, I’ll drop by unannounced. You can’t stop me. Otherwise… I don’t mind shattering the hard-won peace of these years.”
“Of course, as long as your power doesn’t cause a Hundred Monsters rampage, you’re always welcome.”
“Also, I’m interested in your daughter’s ability—you know, this little fox girl. I want to study it. Is that okay?”
“You’ll have to convince Huaizhi yourself. If she agrees, go ahead. If not, I hope you won’t force her.”
Tushan Yunxi said this and tossed her a wooden token, her face calm.
“This is your personal token. It becomes invalid if you leave it, so keep it safe.”
“My own token? Wait…”
But just as she was reacting, that so-called Empress had already vanished once more.
It was only now that the girl realized the other had actually been in control all along—even this outcome had been calculated in advance.
After all, the so-called Baiyao Token she now held contained star power unique to her alone.
“What on earth is this woman planning…”
***
At the foot of Mount Qingqiu’s main peak, Li Changyi was still sipping tea, waiting in vain for Yun Mu to arrive.
“No, I mean, even if my test is just a formality, he can’t just not show up, right?”
“Did he really get eaten!? But the Empress hasn’t called it off, or… have they just forgotten all about me?”
“Surely… not…”