Only then would I truly find the answers I sought.

  In the pitch-bck cave, I slowly closed my eyes. My consciousness began to split—half of it stayed with the past, wrapped in memories, buried at the bottom of the river; the other half, full of new hope, awaited a summons. In the haze between sleep and wakefulness, a voice whispered:

  "You are a clever fox. You have no past, only a future."

  "There is a fool who needs your protection."

  "Go, go..."

  I dragged my aching body back to the Tang household. Yes, I was hit by an overloaded truck speeding recklessly. Though my body wasn't truly made of flesh and blood, I could still feel the pain.

  Tang Xiaohua was still peacefully asleep. I didn't know when, but moonlight had begun to shine through the window. She turned over, and the silver light brushed against her face, delicate and gentle. Though it was a different face, it reminded me so vividly of someone else.

  I gently caressed her youthful face and finally pced my hand on her forehead, closing my eyes. A warm force began to flow from my heart, through my palm, and into her world.

  "Bu Yu..." I called her name in my heart, over and over again.

  "Mm..." Tang Xiaohua moved her lips in her sleep.

  "Why lie to those who are about to die?" My gaze fell on her wrist, where the flesh had been torn away, causing a dull ache in my own heart.

  "The spider asked me if I wanted to truly help those in danger," she spoke slowly. "It said if I tell the dying ones that they can live another twenty years, they won't die."

  I couldn't help but curse that filthy insect man in my heart. It was him who, in order to obtain the petals of the prophecy flower—meaning Tang Xiaohua's flesh—had awakened her full powers in this twisted way, and as a result, had attracted the attention of the grim reapers who specialize in life and death.

  "I'm not an omen of misfortune... not a jinx... I can save people too," Tang Xiaohua murmured.

  "I'm not an omen... I'm not a jinx... I can save people too." Tang Xiaohua murmured, "Turns out telling lies isn't necessarily a bad thing..."

  I paused before finally asking the question that had been weighing on my mind: "Why did you lie to me about Master?"

  "I warned the brothers... I saw Master using a sword to cut open their bodies, taking out their inner elixirs, and then turning their bodies into green ash, which he stored in ceramic jars and sealed into the wall. But they didn't believe me and said I was losing my mind from practicing too much. That day, Snow Leopard accidentally discovered that Master was using the inner elixirs of the brothers to make medicine. He wanted to kill Snow Leopard to silence him... I heard Snow Leopard begging for help... I went mad, the burning power rushing through my body. I struck his heart with one palm... My right arm felt like it was burning..."

  "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I wanted to shake her and give her a good beating.

  "You loved Master so much, trusted him, respected him... to overturn him would be to overturn your entire world," Tang Xiaohua's brows furrowed slightly. "Your inner elixir hasn't been fully refined yet... you've always wanted to become Master's successor... If the killer is Master, would you still continue cultivating? At this critical moment, abandoning your cultivation... would cause severe damage to your primordial spirit, potentially fatal. But if the killer is me... you would be angry and sad, but as long as you're driven by the desire for revenge, you would certainly work hard to complete your inner elixir... Once you pass this stage, you'll become the mountain god you've always wanted to be." Her brow rexed. "There's nothing more important than making sure you live well. I didn't lie to deceive you; I did it because... I love you."

  Foxes never cry, especially male foxes. But today, I made an exception. "You really are an idiot!" I wiped away my tears, took a deep breath, and pinched Tang Xiaohua's nose.

  She sneezed and opened her eyes. "Xiao Tou... you're still awake?" She sat up and rubbed her eyes.

  "I'm going to be away for a while," I said casually, trying to sound as indifferent as usual.

  "Where are you going? How long?" she asked, clearly worried.

  "Back home... uh, probably for a month," I said, giving her a little poke on the head. She sighed in relief. I looked at her carefully, wanting to imprint her silly face in my mind—I'm not leaving for just a month, but forever. Before that, there was still something I had to do.

  "Go to sleep. I have to leave now." I gently pushed her back into bed.

  "Leaving now?" She looked at me with reluctance. I nodded. She stared at me for a moment, then suddenly broke into a smile. "Then, let's pretend we'll meet again tomorrow!"

  Tomorrow was April 1st, April Fools' Day. I smiled. "Alright. See you tomorrow!"

  "See you tomorrow!" She curled up in her bnkets, content. "Come back soon!"

  I stepped out of the room without a word. Once she was asleep again, I passed through the walls and stood by her side, watching her sleep like a little pig. At this moment, the smile on my face was one that hadn't appeared in many years—full of warmth and affection. You will become a normal girl. In the future, you won't remember anything reted to me. You will have a brand-new happiness. This is your guardian inner elixir, the st thing a fox did for you.

  Before dawn, a snow-white fox leaped out from the window of Tang Xiaohua's bedroom. It nded softly on the ground, looked back at her house for a moment, then turned and disappeared into the dimming light without a trace.