Amber froze, visibly shaken. She turned to Chi Xue with wide, fearful eyes.
“He won’t reincarnate. He’ll be imprisoned forever,” Chi Xue repeated, swallowing hard.
Amber’s despair was palpable—Chi Xue could feel her heart plummeting, sinking to the jagged depths of a dark, cold lake.
“No!”
Amber’s voice broke through the forest like a wail, filled with terror and anguish. She dashed through the trees, her cries echoing across the mountain as clear as day, a raw and chilling sound.
“No!”
As Mo Xie lay defeated, with most of his spiritual energy dissipated, a figure suddenly stepped in front of Xuan Ye’s blade.
It was Amber—now articulate, her words clear and firm.
Xuan Ye hesitated, gripping his blade, momentarily unsure of what to do.
“He has done nothing wrong! He shouldn’t be imprisoned for eternity!” Amber cried. Her eyes narrowed, their color shrinking into a single sharp line. “You can’t take him!”
The heavens seemed to shift at her words. The winds picked up, carrying sand through the air. Birds screeched, and even the vines on the ground sprang up, wrapping themselves tightly around Xuan Ye’s arms and legs.
Xuan Ye froze—not because he couldn’t break free, but because he was too shocked, sensing something was deeply amiss.
Amber took full advantage of this moment, scooping Mo Xie into her arms and disappearing into the wind.
Mo Xie was heavy. The weight of a malevolent spirit is often several times that of their living body.
Carrying him for some distance, Amber began to pant, her strength waning. At last, unable to continue, she stopped in the depths of the forest and gently laid Mo Xie down at the base of an ancient tree.
Mo Xie remained unconscious, his energy nearly depleted. He lay silently, unmoving.
Amber knelt beside him, breathing hard. Suddenly, tears began to fall.
“It’s me,” she whispered, her voice trembling as she spread her arms and embraced him gently. “Don’t you know? It’s always been me. From the very first night, the one you held in your arms has always been me.”
Mo Xie couldn’t hear her, and Amber didn’t want him to. Her secrets, as always, were too insignificant to matter.
He loved Bi Xi. The one he should be holding was Bi Xi. She was merely a shadow of Bi Xi, a reluctant substitute.
If not for the endless conflict between the fox and marten clans, if not for the horrifying wound that marred Bi Xi’s body…
She never should have existed in the first place.
“They said you must have some defect since you’ve never sought a man, even after all these years,” Amber had once teased Bi Xi, her tone huffy and indignant.
Bi Xi remained silent, her expression calm.
“Those foxes love to spread nonsense. Why don’t they talk about how you defeated their clan leader and flayed two of their elders?” Amber added proudly, tapping the ground with her front paw in a show of triumph.
“You’ve already taken human form. Why do you insist on staying as a marten?” Bi Xi asked with a faint smile, reaching out to stroke Amber’s fur.
Amber said nothing, instead snuggling closer to Bi Xi’s feet.
Bi Xi sighed softly, letting her do as she pleased. After a moment, she murmured, “If I were gone, what would you do? What would all of you do?”
Amber looked up at her, puzzled, her light-colored eyes filled with confusion.
“If I were gone, what would you do?” Bi Xi repeated.
“You’ll never be gone, Sister.”
“They already suspect me, Amber. Our carefree days won’t last much longer.”
Amber tilted her head, blinking, still not understanding.
“Do you know why I’ve never sought a man?” Bi Xi leaned down, her voice heavy.
Amber, ever naive, replied, “Because you haven’t met someone you truly like.”
“No, Amber,” Bi Xi sighed deeply, her tone laden with sorrow. Her hands reached down, slowly unfastening the buttons of her robe. “It’s time. As the clan leader’s sister, you deserve to know the truth.”
The buttons came undone easily, and Bi Xi removed her clothing. For the first time in seven years, Amber saw Bi Xi’s body revealed before her.
Perfect breasts, perfect legs, a perfect neck, and a perfect face—but no waist.
From her chest downward, Bi Xi’s torso was hollow, her abdomen completely empty. Inside was nothing but a faintly bloody cavity and a bundle of dry straw.
“To take on three opponents at once and defeat the fox clan’s leader and elders—how impressive,” Bi Xi said wistfully. “But Amber, I’m ruined. My wounds can never heal.”
Amber stood frozen, her tears falling like pearls from a broken string, each drop splashing onto the ground.
“If they find out I’m ruined, it will be the end of you all,” Bi Xi said, her gaze filled with reluctant tenderness. “Amber, will you help me? Will you do something that may be very, very difficult?”
Amber nodded repeatedly, tears streaming down her face like rain.
And so, the story moved to the next day—a fateful summer noon.
Mo Xie, sword in hand, walked past their cave, mimicking bird calls and animal cries, brimming with carefree joy.
“He’s imitating a female leopard to lure a male leopard—he’s an utterly despicable hunter,” Bi Xi remarked to Amber after listening for a while. “Choose him. If you choose him, at the very least, you won’t feel guilty.”
“We were all wrong,” Amber murmured, recalling that moment, her tone heavy with regret. “We were all wrong, Sister!”
“Wrong about what? Wrong because both you and your sister fell for this man?”
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