Su Jiuli

On a mountain path, a man and a beast walked together.

……..

“Ah~! I’m so hungry!! I want to eat, but there’s only one flatbread left in my bundle… plus that precious bottle of milk…..”

“Wuu…!” (sniff sniff)

“I really want to go back to the days where I could just cultivate and have food… I’m starving!…….”

Li Miaosheng rambled on and on.

Hearing this, Bai Ze—who was running ahead—suddenly stopped and turned around to ask:

“What’s wrong, big brother? Are you hungry?”

“Uh….”

“Yeah, of course! I haven’t eaten for a whole day and night. Sometimes I really envy you divine beasts—you don’t need much physical consumption. But for us humans, three meals a day is a must. If we don’t eat, we suffer from hunger…..”

“Sigh~! Talking about it just makes me want to cry….”

As he spoke, he reached into his clothes and rubbed his shriveled stomach.

{I really miss the cumin grilled fish, braised venison, and junior sister’s amazing cooking…}

“Emmm;…..”

Understanding this, Bai Ze excitedly slapped the ground with its large paw.

“Nope! Divine beasts eat a lot too! Hehe—big brother, wait here! I’ll go catch some food……”

As soon as it finished speaking, Bai Ze suddenly dashed into the bushes ahead—

And disappeared within seconds….

Before Li Miaosheng could even react, it was gone.

“Hey—wait, I didn’t mean… ugh, forget it!”

“I’m too hungry to even walk properly. I’ll just sit here and wait. Man, surviving these days is hard!”

With no other choice, he sat down by the roadside.

At noon, the sun blazed overhead.

The heat from the sunlight made the rock beneath him scorching hot.

Sweat began to drip down.

The combination of heat and lack of energy made his head feel dizzy.

Before he knew it, he fell asleep….

Soon after—

From the bundle beside him, a small white fox crawled out.

It licked his face a few times.

Then, after pausing briefly—

It suddenly transformed:

A white-haired woman with fox ears, dressed in a kimono, appeared beside him.

Her small, delicate lips parted as she spoke:

“My dear husband… it seems that in this life, you’re still the same as before—pure, innocent, untouched by the world. Your face has become even more handsome……”

She quietly sat beside him.

Gently placing his head on her lap, she kissed his forehead and softly stroked his hair…..

Coincidentally—

Bai Ze returned at that very moment, carrying two large fish in its mouth.

And saw this scene:

A fox demon… stroking his big brother…….

Realizing things might go in a bad direction—

Bai Ze panicked.

The fish dropped from its mouth.

It transformed into human form—

A small boy no taller than 1.6 meters.

Pointing at the fox demon, he shouted:

“Hey! What kind of demon are you?! How dare you absorb my big brother’s essence while he sleeps! Do you not know he belongs to Bai Ze?!”

As he spoke, Bai Ze released the aura of his thousand years of cultivation—

Trying to warn the fox demon that this person was already under his protection.

Hoping she would retreat, saving him the trouble of taking action and breaking his moral restraint against killing.

However—

Strangely, the fox demon showed no panic.

Instead, she gently placed Li Miaosheng’s head back down—

Then slowly walked toward Bai Ze…..

Feeling the aura radiating from him—

A smile gradually appeared on her face.

She reached out and patted his head:

“Not bad, not bad! Two thousand years of cultivation—you’ve trained for quite a long time…”

“But… you’re still not qualified to fight me.”

As she finished speaking—

An immortal aura burst forth from her.

In response, Bai Ze’s fur instantly stood on end as he jumped back.

“Hmph! Just a fox demon? Aside from illusions, I’m not afraid of you! I am Bai Ze—the divine beast bloodline passed down through the ages!!”

He suddenly roared.

Golden light gathered in his mouth—

And shot toward the fox demon.

A small explosion formed.

Dust filled the air, obscuring everything….

{Did I get her… or—no, this is bad!!}

Suddenly—

From within the unsettled dust, a blue fox flame burst out at incredible speed.

Before Bai Ze could react—

It had already engulfed him, burning fiercely.

“No! Impossible… how could a mere fox demon…?!”

Realizing something was wrong—

He immediately activated Bai Ze’s insight ability to examine her.

But what he saw—

Was slaughter.

Death.

Endless war….

Shocked, he cried out:

“How is this possible… you—you’re Su Da—”

“Silence!!”

The authority of fox speech instantly crushed him.

With only two thousand years of cultivation, Bai Ze was completely suppressed.

He didn’t even dare to breathe loudly, let alone speak.

“That was thousands of years ago!”

“My name now is Su Jiuli. Remember it.”

“And your big brother—he has been my husband for three lifetimes already…….”

“I will not harm him.”

“In the previous life, he helped me become immortal. In this life… it’s my turn to help him……”

Standing before Bai Ze, Su Jiuli revealed a gentle expression.

She gazed at the sleeping Li Miaosheng with affection in her eyes—

Completely sincere, without a trace of deceit……..

Realizing this, Bai Ze slowly lowered his guard—

Though not completely.

If this demon had ulterior motives—

He would still save his big brother, even at the cost of his life.

…………….

The strange disturbance from the scene gradually woke Li Miaosheng.

Dazed, he looked around:

“Oh… so there are two people…”

“And one of them even has fox ears… hehe!”

He chuckled—

Then lay back down and closed his eyes again.

{Ah… this must be a dream. How could someone with fox ears exist? And such a beautiful girl too…}

Of course—

Both of them knew exactly what he was thinking.

Especially Su Jiuli, whose smile deepened as she covered her mouth with her fair hand……

“Mmm~!”

Li Miaosheng turned over.

But a small stone beneath him pressed into his waist, causing a sharp pain….

“……….”

!!? (shock)

He instantly realized—

This was not a dream.

And quickly thought:

This was a remote mountain.

Forget people—even animals were rare here.

So if the pain was real…

Then these two in front of him were—

“What the hell?!”

He jumped up in fright.

Snatching out a peachwood sword from his bundle, he took a defensive stance—

His voice trembling as he said:

“W-w-w-what kind of demons are you?! Wasn’t it said that after the founding of the country, no spirits were allowed to cultivate into forms?! And now there are two of you?!”

As he stepped back—

His eyes couldn’t help but glance at the bottle of milk inside his bundle……

……………