“She’s so spiritually attuned—how could she still not manage to learn to speak like a human?”
“Everyone has their weaknesses. Many people who are incredibly clever aren’t necessarily great at expressing themselves.”
“Mo Xie’s tongue might have been bitten off by himself—perhaps he did it to commit suicide after his wife died.”
“A man carrying a top-grade ancient sword at his side would choose to bite his tongue to kill himself? Really?”
No matter how Chi Xue tried to argue, he was at a loss for words.
Defeated, Chi Xue hung his head, looking as lifeless as the wilted heavy lotus he was carrying—a plant that hadn’t bloomed in decades.
“I’m not certain either,” Xuan Ye finally said after a pause, patting Chi Xue on the shoulder. “Let’s go back. Remember, you are the prophet of the demigod clan.”
“Why does Ya Jin keep saying that? I never thought I’d be the clan’s prophet,” Chi Xue muttered, still troubled as they returned to the inn.
“Then why is it that whenever someone criticizes Amber, you react like a cat whose tail has been stepped on?” Ban Xia asked with a smirk.
Chi Xue’s mouth fell open as realization dawned. Flustered, he waved his hands defensively. “It’s not like that! I just don’t like seeing her upset. I—”
“Oh, you just don’t want her to be sad. And when she’s sad, you feel heartbroken. Nothing more, of course,” Ban Xia teased.
“It’s really nothing!” Chi Xue ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “I don’t even know why. That day, when I carried her back from the cave and she took human form—she was smiling, really smiling—but I just felt like she wasn’t happy. Like she was hurt, stifled, and holding everything in. My chest felt so heavy, like a stone sinking deeper and deeper into water.”
Amber stood by the lake, tilting her head as she gazed at her reflection in the water. She stared at it for a long time.
Behind her, faint footsteps approached. Amber, sensing someone, turned around quickly.
“Thinking about your sister, Bi Xi?” the intruder asked in a languid, silky tone, her movements elegant and deliberate as she walked closer. “To be honest, you’re not as pretty as your sister. But you’re softer, sweeter—much better at charming men.”
Amber said nothing, slowly straightening up and brushing past the woman’s shoulder as she walked away.
“Let’s work together,” the woman said, grabbing Amber’s sleeve. “That Mo Xie is dead because of us, yet his resentment is so strong. Now that he’s grown so powerful, he’s not just coming for you—even us fox spirits are being driven to the brink.”
“That Taoist—the one you’ve thrown your lot in with—he could subdue Mo Xie. Go stir the pot. With your gift for communication, it shouldn’t be hard for you.”
The night wind swept by, and Amber’s eyes began to dim, the color in her irises fading. Slowly, all the light and shade in her pupils converged into a single line in the center.
“Oh, she’s angry,” the woman remarked with a chuckle, brushing the wind from her face with one hand. “That’s fine—I’m not afraid of your anger. Right now, we’re working together, so I’ll let it slide. Go ahead, be mad. I can take it.”
Annoyed and unwilling to engage further, Amber turned and strode away, ignoring her completely.
“If you agree to help me, I’ll give you Mo Xie’s tongue. With it, you’ll finally be able to speak,” the woman called after her.
Amber didn’t look back, walking even faster.
“The fox and marten clans agreed not to interfere with each other. It was a pact your sister Bi Xi and I made, with a term of ten years.” The woman finally played her trump card, raising her voice just enough for Amber to hear.
“In one month, the ten years will be up. Your newly transformed young martens are all in Pizhou, right? Seven of them, including that pathetic male marten who barely managed to take on a human form. Don’t worry—I have no interest in harming them.”
The fox spirit spoke softly to Amber’s retreating back, her tone sweet and soothing, without a trace of hostility.
After returning from the lake, Amber went back to her cave, transformed back into her original form, and rested her head on her warm, soft paws, finally feeling a little more comfortable.
If her sister, Bi Xi, were still around to groom her fur, it would be even better.
Thinking of this, Amber felt a pang of sorrow and let out a low whimper.
“Big Sister, Amber!” someone suddenly called out from inside the cave, the sound of hurried footsteps following. “It’s me, Li Luo! What happened to you? Your shoulder—what happened to your shoulder?”
It was a young marten from her clan, a highly spirited male who, strangely enough, was obsessed with transforming into a woman. He was the same “man-martian” the fox spirit had mocked earlier.
Amber smiled and nudged him with her head, letting out a few grunts in beast language, roughly scolding him for sneaking out and being disobedient.
“Is that male ghost still after you?” Li Luo seemed deeply concerned, circling her in a flurry of panic. “Don’t worry, Sister! I’ll protect you! One day, I’ll sever his soul myself!”
Amber lifted her head, shaking it urgently.
“Why not? Is it because he was once Sister Bi Xi’s man? Is that why you’re showing him mercy?”
Amber shook her head again and spoke to him softly, saying he didn’t understand. After some small talk, something suddenly occurred to her. She quickly said a few more hurried words to him.
“Got it!” Li Luo immediately nodded without hesitation. “Whatever you say, Sister, I’ll do it. Even if you ask me to die, I won’t have a single complaint!”
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