“Did you give it to him?” Baili Weibu asked, her voice low.

  "I gave him a bottle,” her father nodded. “I've already lost Wei Qing; I didn't want to lose you too.” He turned his face, and the soft lines of his expression became rigid. "If necessary, I'll do things I never wanted to do. I don’t want to continue the mistakes of the Baili family, but I have to protect my family.”

  “Dad…” Baili Weibu's eyes gradually filled with glistening tears as she id her head on her father’s p, just like when she was little.

  The candle had burned down halfway, and the soft flickering light danced in the silence of the room, enveloping the father and daughter who clung to each other tightly, casting an air of serene tranquility before the storm.

  On the altar, the wooden box shimmered, like a solemn and divine eye, watching over them in the room.

  "Is there... no other way but to hunt him down?" Baili Weibu felt her head grow heavy, murmuring to herself, her mind filled with memories of his smirking gaze, the focused attention he gave while bandaging the brown bear, the subtle sadness he wore in the cave…

  She could still smell the scent of his clothes lingering on her.

  Even though he had lied to her, she couldn’t bring herself to hate him, not really.

  "I knew you'd come looking for me."

  He leaped down from a tall stone, still dressed in bck, his hair tousled by the wind. The golden S-shaped mark on his forehead stood out sharply.

  Baili Weibu met his gaze and suddenly smiled. "Your name is fake, isn't it?"

  "I really am called Kevin. 'Cen Kaiwen' was just a lie," he replied, his teeth as white as shells, his mischievous grin still in pce, as if everything that had happened before had never occurred.

  "You're not afraid I'll kill you?" She asked suddenly, extending her clenched right hand. As she opened it, a bloodied wound on her palm emitted glowing specks of light, sparkling like fireflies. In an instant, they coalesced into a powerful bow and arrow. She nocked an arrow and drew the bow, her movements smooth and instinctive. The sharp arrowhead pointed directly at his heart.

  He still wore a faint smile, not flinching or backing away.

  "The bow and arrow born with the Centaur tribe can track an enemy's scent and guide the direction to their foe. It can also break through the mazes and obstacles set by others," she said, each word deliberate. "Now I understand why you stopped me from cutting my palm and using my bow to clear the path that day."

  He said nothing, his gaze calm and steady as he looked at her.

  From the woods on one side came a disturbance, and a lion with golden fur limped out, its obsidian-like eyes filled with hostility.

  "What are you doing out here? Your injury isn't healed yet," he asked, walking over to the lion and scolding it gently.

  "I came to visit another member of the Baili family, pnning to do something good with the arrow in my hand!" The lion's voice, though ced with anger, still had a crisp, soft, and pleasant tone—like that of a girl. "Brother, why go through so much trouble to get them to give you arrow wound medicine for me? I'm not afraid of pain."

  Baili Weibu lowered her bow and arrow, and with a flick of her hand, the bow transformed into glowing light, shooting into her palm with a soft whoosh. The wound quickly healed, leaving only a faint red mark.

  "I'm a hunter, but I don't want to hunt," she said as she pulled out the coat he had left for her and tossed it to him. "Your stuff, don't leave it lying around. If my retives get their hands on it, they could easily track you down."

  "Thank you." He smiled brightly.

  His sister remained cautious, lifting her proud chin as she asked, "You came just to return the coat?"

  Baili Weibu took out a small bck bottle and stepped forward to hand it to him. "My father only gave you one bottle of arrow wound medicine. I′ve checked, and this medicine is made from dozens of pnts in our family′s basement. It must be freshly made every day, one bottle per day, and only after twelve days of continuous use can the arrow wound heal completely. I′ll bring the medicine to you every day from now on."

  He paused for a moment, and his lioness sister slightly parted her lips, gazing at her with a mix of doubt and disbelief.

  "Don't worry, my retives won't find out," Baili Weibu said as she adjusted her backpack and turned to leave. "I′ll find a way to break the barrier pced by the Baili family and let you leave this pce. Go as far as you can."

  "Are you not a member of the Baili family? Why are you doing this?" the lioness asked loudly.

  She turned her face slightly toward her. "On Christmas Eve, the nine-colored sunflower will bloom. They've waited ten years for this day. This time, it′s not just my retives; even my father won’t let you go. Wei Yu's situation is getting worse. My father won’t just stand by and watch his son die, just like how your mother once protected you from the Fme Crystal Arrow."

  "If I′m still alive, your brother will die," he said ftly.

  Baili Weibu bit her lip, not responding. Without turning back, she walked away.

  "Maybe the Baili family isn't all bad..." The lioness watched her retreating figure, then looked up at the medicine bottle in her brother's hand, murmuring, "She's much better than her sister. That timid woman... in the end, she lied to you and never came back to your side."

  "Old matters, no need to mention them," he said.

  He smiled, and the cold medicine bottle in his hand warmed slightly from his grip.

  For ten consecutive days, Baili Weibu disappeared from school after the first css every morning.

  During these days, she acted as if everything was normal in front of her family. The conversation she had with her father in the basement seemed like nothing more than an ancient, fascinating story. Baili Weibu was still herself—reading comics, listening to music, going to school, and coming home.

  However, as soon as she stepped onto the familiar paths of the forest, the first thought that crossed her mind was how to truly break the cruel curse. Killing the lion seemed to save the Baili family for now, but that was only temporary. The curse itself still existed, and it would continue to harm the other members of the family.

  According to the "retives" of their family, as long as all the golden lions in the world were killed, the curse would surely disappear. But would this method really work? Even if it did, Baili Weibu could never stand by and watch them carry it out.

  She didn’t know if what she was doing now was right or wrong. All she knew was that before Christmas Eve, she had to find the real way to completely break the curse!

  Today was the day she would deliver the st vial of medicine.