Baili Weibu hadn't yet stepped onto the clearing where she had agreed to meet him in the forest. These past few days, they had pnned to meet there. After her sister had taken the medicine, her injuries had mostly healed, and the hostility in her eyes was no longer present.

  She gradually approached the clearing, and beside it, the ke's edge had already begun to form a thin yer of ice. The azure surface of the ke shimmered with tiny light spots under the sunlight.

  A gentle song drifted from the keside.

  She stopped in her tracks, her gaze drifting around the tree trunks—

  It was him, sitting on a smooth sb of bluish stone by the ke, holding a sketchpad in one hand and a paintbrush in the other, moving it carefully across the paper. Bundles of sunlight snted down from above, as if tracing a pair of wings on his back, and even his handsome face seemed more radiant than usual.

  A few deer and a wild rabbit quietly gathered around him. A bird, whose name she couldn't recall, perched in the empty space on the stone, tilting its head and occasionally singing a few notes, as though responding to his melody.

  Yes, he was singing, his voice flowing like a river winding through the forest, soft and gentle.

  She couldn't make out the lyrics, but the melody was truly beautiful.

  Sunlight, his song, and his serene expression made even the hard stone beneath her seem warm and gentle.

  This was the enemy that the Baili family had spent thousands of years trying to eliminate, at all costs?!

  This was the yaokai they spoke of, one with a heart full of evil, who fed on humans and could even transform into a human to disrupt the world?!

  Baili Weibu felt a sharp sting in her head.

  "Can you paint?" When she handed him the medicine, she gnced curiously at the sketchpad resting on the stone beside him.

  "It's a pastime for when I'm bored," he replied, his gaze falling on her face, which was slightly flushed from the sunlight. He spoke seriously, "Thank you. No matter what happens in the future, I will always be grateful that fate brought me to you."

  "Go on ahead. As for what happens next, leave it to me. I'm sure I'll find a way to break the curse." She pretended to be carefree and stuck her tongue out at him.

  He smiled in response, waved at her, and suddenly said, "The way you look when you're asleep... you really resemble a little pig, and you even drool. So ugly."

  "You!" Her brows furrowed in a sharp, angry arc.

  He ughed heartily and turned, disappearing into the dense forest.

  As she watched the direction he had gone, the smile on her face slowly faded.

  She still hadn't found a solution. Her family's decision had become as hard as that stone—once the nine-colored sunflower bloomed, they would act.

  He had left the sketchpad behind, and the mountain wind rustled through the pages, flipping them over.

  She stepped forward and picked up the sketchpad. On the pristine white paper, there was a drawing of a young woman holding a bow and arrow, standing by the river. A little bird, singing, fpped its wings and perched on her shoulder. Sunlight streamed down from between the tall spruces, and in the distance, the faint outline of a man appeared, sketched with a few simple strokes, as if he were gazing toward the woman. He hadn′t drawn her face, only leaving an empty outline.

  On the bnk spaces of the drawing, there were a few lines of beautiful Chinese characters:

  If we meet,

  I forget the lyrics; do you still remember the melody?

  If we meet,

  I gaze into the dusk; will you light the way?

  If we meet, I walk toward you. Does it matter?

  It was the song he had just sung, wasn't it? Baili Weibu suddenly felt a sharp pang in her nose.

  What did the golden lion matter? What he truly wanted, after all, was just a simple, peaceful life.

  There were only two days left until Christmas Eve.

  Everywhere was filled with the festive atmosphere.

  The school had already started its winter break, but Baili Weibu still insisted on working at the Diti restaurant to keep her whereabouts hidden.

  Every day, after finishing her shift, she would go to find Kevin and his sister, bringing some herbs to help with muscle and bone recovery for his sister. Though the arrow wound had healed, her movements were still a bit stiff.

  The truth was, she wanted to see him.

  It might sound like a joke, but as a hunter, she had fallen in love with her prey.

  If this was the curse's doing, Baili Weibu almost felt she could thank its existence.

  Yet, she had still not found a way to break the curse, save her brother, and ensure his safety. She had gone through every book and manuscript in her family's collection, only to learn that the barrier pced by her great-grandfather could only be broken by a male member of the Baili family. Now, only her father could do it. But her father would never break the barrier and let him go.

  Now, she was almost at a loss for what to do. She had even considered using anesthetics on her retives, knowing that the nine-colored sunflower only bloomed for a single day. Once the blooming period was over, without the Fme Crystal Arrows, they would have to wait another ten years.

  But what about her brother? He couldn’t hold on much longer.

  He was their parents' only son.

  Her head throbbed with such intensity, it felt as if it might split open, yet she had no solution.

  With a heavy heart, she walked along the road home, her eyes clouded with a single color—gray, a lifeless, deathly gray.

  On the silent path, she walked with her head bowed, lost in her thoughts.

  From the bushes behind her, strange sounds echoed, like a beast passing through or the rustling of wings as if a bird had taken flight.

  Baili Weibu snapped out of her reverie, suddenly turning around.

  Lately, she had been sensing it—hidden among the densely packed trees, there was a pair of eyes, peering at her, barely visible. Occasionally, she would hear footsteps crunching in the snow, but they would always fade away before she could turn to look.

  However, this time, when she turned around, she was startled.

  A frail figure stood behind her, bundled in a thick bck long coat. The snow-covered hood of the coat had flipped over, almost obscuring the person’s face, leaving only pale lips and a rough, weathered chin exposed. It was impossible to tell whether the person was male or female.