The next day.
A crisp crack echoed through the deathly silent courtyard.
Xiao Tao’s eyes were badly swollen and red.
Her hands trembled nonstop.
At her feet lay yet another porcelain bowl she had shattered due to her restless mind.
Bai Qingran let out a helpless sigh.
This was already the fourth bowl she had “smashed” today.
His voice was somewhat hoarse, the exhaustion in it impossible to conceal.
“Xiao Tao, go rest for a while. I’ll clean this up.”
Xiao Tao instinctively wanted to refuse, but the fatigue in Bai Qingran’s voice pressed heavily on her heart, blocking her throat.
She knew Young Master Bai was not doing well. He had neither the mood nor the energy to argue with her about this.
“Young Master Bai… if you need anything, just call me.”
After speaking, Xiao Tao lowered her head with red eyes, cleaned up the broken porcelain on the floor, and returned to her room.
The exhaustion from lack of proper rest washed over Bai Qingran’s nerves like repeated waves.
Being targeted by such a powerful expert, how could he not be afraid?
The little fox closed his heavy eyelids and exhaled a long breath of stagnant air from his chest. His thoughts were in chaos.
The current development had far exceeded his original plans.
Bai Qingran had originally wanted to use the treatment of Yan Qingge to introduce Xiao Tao as a variable, but… the chain reaction now was like dominoes. Once the first piece fell, the subsequent collapse had spiraled completely out of control.
***
Night fell. The long wait before an impending death sentence tortured Bai Qingran’s will every single moment.
Lying in bed, he let out a long sigh.
He had barely slept at all the previous night. His eyelids felt as heavy as if weighed down by lead blocks.
If he didn’t get some sleep tonight, he feared his body would collapse before Nalan Qingjue even made her move.
Suddenly, a soft laugh rang out in the room like a thunderclap.
The familiar yet arrogantly mocking voice coiled around Bai Qingran’s neck like a venomous snake.
“Bai Qingran, you can still sleep?”
His drowsiness was instantly driven away by a chill.
Bai Qingran stiffly turned his head. Seated at the table not far away was none other than Nalan Qingjue.
The red candles in the room flickered sluggishly. The candlelight cast a bloody red edge along Nalan Qingjue’s silver hair.
Her purple eyes were ice-cold as they fixed on the person in the bed.
A playful smile curved her lips, like a hunter looking at prey that had fallen into a deadly trap.
The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet.
The room had been isolated by her spiritual power; no one outside would know anything that happened inside.
Before Bai Qingran could react, Nalan Qingjue spoke casually, “Over a hundred years ago, during the great war between the Human Race and the Demon Race, I personally killed countless demons. In the end, the two races drew boundaries and rarely interacted. However, a few rumors about the Demon Race have never died out among humans. For example…”
Nalan Qingjue paused for a moment.
Her purple eyes reflected Bai Qingran’s figure with clear disgust.
“The Fox Clan uses their bewitching beauty to bring chaos to the world, destroy sects, overthrow dynasties, and corrupt people’s Dao hearts. There are countless such cases… Bai Qingran. Heh. The surname Bai is not an ordinary one among the Fox Clan.”
Bai Qingran’s red pupils contracted slightly.
He was shocked by Nalan Qingjue’s sudden appearance and confused by the deeper meaning behind her mention of the Bai surname.
He quickly suppressed the unease in his heart and steadied himself.
The most important thing now was not to lose composure.
After thinking for a moment, Bai Qingran said, “I am only a half-human, half-fox who grew up on Returning Cloud Mountain. I don’t know much about the Fox Clan.”
As he spoke, Bai Qingran slowly sat up in bed. His thin robe shifted with the movement, falling slightly open.
His lotus-like, pure white legs crossed as one delicate, snow-white foot lightly touched the floor.
In the flickering red light, he exuded countless alluring charms that could drive countless women mad.
The little fox stared straight at Nalan Qingjue, his tone sharpening.
“Sect Master Nalan, sneaking into a man’s bedroom in the middle of the night—isn’t that rather inappropriate?”
Heh. As expected of a fox demon.
Even on the verge of death, he still doesn’t forget to flaunt his looks.
Nalan Qingjue sneered inwardly.
She casually took out a voice recording stone and placed it on the table, her voice as piercing as cold ice.
“Bai Qingran, I will never allow anyone to disturb Chu Mo’s Dao heart. Will you speak yourself, or shall I help you?”
“I speak myself…?”
The little fox narrowed his red eyes and lightly repeated the words.
An unnamed fire suddenly flared in his chest.
He stood up, stepped onto the floor with bare feet, and walked gracefully toward Nalan Qingjue like flowers blooming with every step.
Red and purple clashed silently in the quiet air.
Nalan Qingjue had come prepared tonight.
If Bai Qingran had obediently cooperated, she might have granted him a quick death. But the suppressed rage burning in his red eyes made her frown slightly.
She narrowed her purple eyes, her words dripping with mockery.
“Bai Qingran, this fox body of yours disgusts me. Fortunately, you are not a fool. You…”
Before she could finish, her purple pupils suddenly widened in shock.
Bai Qingran’s slender fingers grabbed his sash and gave it a gentle tug.
The thin robe slid silently off his fragrant shoulders.
The little fox stood completely naked before Nalan Qingjue without any cover.
As the Sect Master of Xuan Phoenix Sacred Sect, she had never been tainted by the mortal world of desire.
She had never imagined Bai Qingran would be so bold, nor had she expected that the first sight would be such peerless beauty.
“Hmph.”
Bai Qingran let out a cold laugh, his red pupils filled with contempt and ridicule.
“Sect Master Nalan, what do you want me to say? That because I look somewhat like Pei Yunqing, your precious disciple captured me and imprisoned me here on Lingxiao Peak?”
“Or…”
Bai Qingran suddenly gripped the collar around his neck.
His knuckles turned white from the force, and his joints cracked audibly.
His tone turned icy.
“Shall I talk about how your precious disciple put this collar on me, treating me like her pet, her slave… or rather, her dog? How she tormented and played with me day and night to vent her selfish desires?”
“Or…”
His fingers moved downward, pressing on the hideous characters “Chu Mo” carved on his chest.
He suddenly dragged his finger across them with force.
The already scabbed wounds revealed faint pink flesh as a red line cut horizontally through the two characters.
His voice carried uncontrollable anger.
“Shall I talk about how, because of my relationship with Yan Qingge, your precious disciple used a knife on that bed over there to carve her name onto my body, stroke by stroke!”
“Or even…”
His jade-like fingertip stabbed viciously at the glaring, ugly scar on his lower abdomen—the spot where flawless beauty had been brutally destroyed.
Bai Qingran’s handsome face twisted as he roared furiously, “Shall I talk about how your precious disciple used her sword to cut me open here! Ignoring my pleas and screams! How she dug out my Demon Core alive and severed my path of cultivation for this lifetime!”
Bai Qingran’s entire body trembled violently with rage.
His long lashes quivered but could not extinguish the fire in his red pupils that bore straight into Nalan Qingjue.
“Your precious disciple treated me as a substitute plaything and a lowly bed companion from the very beginning. You say I disturbed Chu Mo’s Dao heart? Heh… has anyone ever asked whether I was willing to be treated like this?!”
“Sect Master Nalan, Xuan Phoenix Sacred Sect is the leading righteous sect of the Human Race. So why is your disciple such an utterly despicable, vulgar beast?! Nalan Qingjue! Tell me!”
The room fell into dead silence.
The little fox’s hoarse, desperate roar exploded beside Nalan Qingjue’s ears.
She frowned deeply as she stared at those scars.
She could understand a imprisoned fox demon holding resentment, but the things her disciple had done… how were they any different from those demonic cultivators?
Nalan Qingjue’s subtle change did not escape the little fox’s eyes.
A cold laugh rang in his heart. Useful.
Then let this fire burn even hotter!
Bai Qingran grabbed the voice recording stone from the table and forcefully pressed it into Nalan Qingjue’s palm.
With a face full of sorrow, he stared directly at her.
“I know you want to kill me, but you’re afraid it will affect your master-disciple relationship with Chu Mo. You want me to speak recklessly like Pei Yunqing did, so you can destroy Chu Mo’s feelings for me. I’ll fulfill your wish, Nalan Qingjue. You came tonight, and I don’t expect to survive.”
Holding the voice recording stone Bai Qingran had placed in her hand, Nalan Qingjue felt a sudden heaviness.
She had looked down on Pei Yunqing because he had repeatedly changed his story that day in the Sect Master Hall, revealing his character.
But this fox demon before her… the determination to die and the rage in his eyes could not be ignored.
Killing a plaything that made Chu Mo lose her way was simple, but killing a fox demon who had been tortured and abused to this extent made Nalan Qingjue hesitate.
Seeing this, a flash of mockery appeared in Bai Qingran’s eyes.
He slowly knelt on the floor in a light, seductive manner.
He was already breathtakingly beautiful, and the dim, ambiguous candlelight perfectly accentuated the alluring sensuality of his naked body.
Even Nalan Qingjue was momentarily dazed.
Under Nalan Qingjue’s shocked gaze, the little fox took her hand and pressed it against the “Chu Mo” characters on his chest.
The touch was scarred yet smooth as satin.
“I admit I have some looks. If Sect Master Nalan thinks it would be a waste to kill me just like this, I can serve you first before dying. After all…”
Bai Qingran’s vermilion lips parted and closed, his breath carrying a fragrant, orchid-like scent.
“Dead men tell no tales. Chu Mo will never know.”
The soft, warm, sticky seduction in his tone made Nalan Qingjue’s hair stand on end.
Then, the little fox lowered his head and lightly licked the back of her hand with the tip of his tongue.
In an instant, Nalan Qingjue felt her mind boil like magma.
An unprecedented wave of shame and fury shot straight to the top of her head.
“You! You shameless fox demon!”
Nalan Qingjue shoved Bai Qingran away as if electrocuted.
The little fox crashed heavily into a wooden cabinet with a dull thud.
“You! You fox demons! All of you are nothing but cheap, rotten goods!”
Bai Qingran sat slumped on the floor, a streak of blood at the corner of his mouth.
Yet he looked like the victor as he calmly licked the blood away with his tongue, smiling with bewitching madness.
“That’s right! I’m damaged goods! But you, Nalan Qingjue, remember this! I was ruined by your precious disciple, Chu Mo!”
“You!”
Nalan Qingjue trembled with rage.
She let out an extremely disgusted cold snort through her nose and left in a flustered sweep of her sleeves.
After she left, Bai Qingran remained sitting on the cold floor.
Only then did the fear of what had just happened surge violently.
His fingers curled and trembled uncontrollably. He tilted his head back, letting out intermittent low laughter from his throat.
The laughter was filled with the joy and terror of having survived a deadly encounter.
After a long time, he used the cabinet to shakily stand up.
He staggered forward a few steps, then spat a mouthful of saliva onto the chair Nalan Qingjue had just sat on.
“Want to kill me? Are you even worthy?!”