Amidst the chaotic shadows of the crowd, the woman in the red dress flickered and transformed back into a small, fiery red silhouette, silently melting into the deep night and disappearing from sight.
The little fox ran for a long time, finally leaping onto the branch of an old locust tree in a courtyard.
Across the wide lake, it gazed from afar at the flickering lights of the Huanyin Pavilion on the opposite shore.
However, Xiaoman's room was tucked away in the most secluded corner. From this distance, nothing could be seen clearly.
It lowered its head in disappointment, turning to leave, but then suddenly looked back, as if its gaze had been caught by something.
On the top floor of the Huanyin Pavilion, a window was wide open.
The moonlight clearly illuminated the silhouette of a young girl inside. She had placed a wooden basin on the windowsill, her sleeves rolled up high to reveal two slender forearms. She was burying her head, scrubbing clothes with all her might, her cheeks puffing out with every movement. She looked exceptionally earnest.
The little fox shifted its gaze slightly.
Sitting lazily on the flying eaves on the other side of the roof was a beautiful young man.
He sat cross-legged, holding a carving knife, entirely engrossed in whittling a piece of wood.
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. The clear silver radiance cascaded down, softly draping over his entire body.
His lowered eyes and focused expression were so gentle. It looked exactly like the way Xiaoman would play chess while softly telling it stories.
But now, Xiaoman's gentleness was given to someone else. Who was this young man's gentleness for?
After gazing for who knew how long, it suddenly noticed that the piece of wood in the boy's hands was gradually taking shape. It was clearly the outline of a bow.
The little fox's eyes suddenly lit up!
Xiaoman had also been making a bow recently, but the half-finished bow had broken for some unknown reason. During the day, it had even seen him staring despondently at the broken wood, silently trying to repair it.
The bow this boy was making was so exquisite. If only it could secretly take it and give it to Xiaoman.
As soon as this thought emerged, it shook its own head. The stories Xiaoman told often said that one should not take ill-gotten gains.
Even though it was a demon, it couldn't take it either.
A few months ago, that severe injury had almost cost it its life. Now, in order to transform into a human, it had to absorb the life essence of men. But thinking of Xiaoman's teachings, it only dared to take a tiny bit each time to avoid killing them.
Because of this, its human form could only be barely maintained for a brief moment before reverting to its original shape.
The little fox swished its tail in frustration, but its gaze involuntarily drifted back to the opposite shore.
The girl had probably finished washing her clothes, and her silhouette disappeared from the window. Meanwhile, the boy on the eaves still had his head bowed, using the moonlight to meticulously carve something onto the handle of the bow.
The lights of the Huanyin Pavilion went out one by one.
Is this person an immortal? He doesn't even sleep.
The little fox was truly curious if this boy would ever go to rest, so it lay on the branch, watching unblinkingly.
As it watched, it groggily dozed off.
When it opened its eyes again, the horizon was already revealing a faint pale blue-white.
The little fox looked toward the roof again.
He had actually stayed awake all night!
At this moment, the boy was carefully twisting a strand of horse mane he had found from who knows where into a bowstring, hooking it onto the tips of the bow. An exquisite bow finally took complete shape in his hands.
However, the size of it in his own hands seemed excessively petite; it was not suitable for him.
Yet he seemed extremely satisfied. His eyes curved slightly, rippling with fine, bright light in the rising morning sun.
Following that, the little fox saw him carrying the bow, nimbly leaping down from the corner of the eaves. With a sweep of his body, he actually flipped into the very window where the girl had been washing clothes.
The little fox's eyes instantly widened. Could he be a lecher!?
But on second thought, it was already broad daylight. What kind of lecher visits in the middle of the day? Moreover, the boy didn't look like a lecher.
Only then did it feel slightly relieved. It turned and leaped down from the branch, running toward the direction outside the city.
Wu Li leapt through the window into the room, just about to softly place the bow in his hand by the bedside.
However, he saw that the bed curtains, which had been tied up when he left last night, were now drawn, concealing the inside completely.
He hesitated for a moment. Remembering that she usually slept in her dress, he prepared to lift the curtains.
His fingertips had just touched the soft gauze material when he abruptly stopped.
What if... what if it was like that one time, and she had taken off all her clothes and was huddled under the quilt? Otherwise, why would she specifically lower the curtains?
At this thought, his Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and his hand dropped back to his side.
Last night, she had already thrown a crying fit at him, coming back without saying a word. If he made her angry again now, who knew how long she would give him the cold shoulder.
He lowered his eyes, his thumb slowly stroking the bow handle.
The wood was warm and smooth, having been polished over and over until it was incredibly sleek, without a single splinter to be found.
Wu Li stood quietly by the bed for a long time, but the urge to immediately place the bow in her hands became increasingly uncontrollable.
Calculating the time, she should be awake by now. He feigned nonchalance and let out a low cough.
There was no sound from inside the curtains.
He had no choice but to cough again.
Still no movement.
Forget it, just speak. Even if she ignored him, the person who spoke first wouldn't lose a piece of flesh anyway. Even if he did lose a piece of flesh, he could heal.
"Are you awake? Didn't you want to learn archery?"
He kept his voice low. Perhaps from being blown by the wind outside all night, it actually sounded a bit hoarse.
This time he really started coughing, coughing several times before he recovered, but there was still not the slightest movement inside the curtains.
Even if she was a heavy sleeper, this series of coughs should have woken her up. So it seemed she was deliberately staying silent, refusing to acknowledge him.
Wu Li stood in silence for a long time. His thumb accidentally brushed against the inner bottom of the bow handle, where two elegant little characters were carved. They were hidden so well that they couldn't be found without looking carefully.
The reason he was so eager to thrust it into her hands was that he wanted to see how long it would take someone as careless as her to discover this little hidden detail.
But right now, she was ignoring him.
He didn't even have the chance to offer this bow to her.
Perhaps she didn't want to learn at all anymore?
She wanted to learn the bow merely to participate in the New Moon Archery Tournament. Since he had already explicitly opposed it, how could she still have any interest?
His five fingers suddenly tightened around the bow handle, his nails digging fiercely into his palm.
A strange and sharp stinging pain, accompanied by a sudden sourness, pierced his chest.
On his entire body, apart from his blood, he had nothing else of value.
He had fed the Crimson Blood Silkworms with his own blood just to exchange for this rare piece of wood. He polished it over and over, carved it over and over, his heart full of thoughts of the light that would shine in her eyes when she received it.
But if she didn't care for this bow, it seemed he could never produce anything else that would make her happy.
A nearly despairing sense of grievance silently spread from the bottom of his heart, wrapping around him.
A terrifying thought floated up uncontrollably:
If there were no Love Gu... would there not even be the slightest possibility of her liking him?
Last night, just seeing him extract the Crimson Blood Silkworm had scared her like that. If she saw his decayed state with exposed white bones, looking neither human nor ghost, or if she witnessed his ruthless demeanor when torturing and killing for pleasure, what would she think?
Ever since she had been by his side, it had been too long... too long since he had felt the urge to kill.
Ever since he turned those people to ashes in Yuebai, he clearly saw the fear in her eyes. From then on, he kept his dark aura tightly concealed.
An idiot who would even save a ghost infant—if she knew that the person she kept calling husband was actually a bloodthirsty monster...
He was not afraid of the dark at all; he absolutely loved gloomy, lightless environments.
Because he was an evil spirit crawling out of hell, born of curses and vengeance. Though he claimed he did not want to avenge his pitiful mother, in his heart, he plotted the most vicious and despicable schemes. He planned to use Song Yueyao to make his brother and father turn against each other and draw their blades on one another.
How amusing...
Just imagining that scene made him tremble with uncontrollable excitement.
She probably did not know he was this kind of person. Oh no, perhaps he could not even be called human—he was an empty shell. His soul had long been corroded and poisoned, and his pleasure was always derived from torturing and abusing others.
However, only towards her, that desire to torture transformed into a desire to tease.
She did not even know that the thought of devouring her had crossed his mind numerous times. He actually wanted to eat a person...
She was as radiant as the warm sun, able to illuminate lakes, melt ice and snow, and make flowers bloom across the earth. Yet, she was the only light that could not reach the cold, dark canal deep in hell.
One was in heaven, the other in hell.
It was inherently the furthest distance. Without the love gu, she definitely, absolutely would not have walked towards hell.
He did not dare to think any further.
Filled with frustration and confusion, Wu Li suddenly tore open the bed curtains.
He did it with a hint of resentment.
At worst, he would just let her participate in the New Moon Archery Tournament. Hunting the Moon Shadow Fiends while splitting his focus to protect her would be difficult, but there was no harm in trying.
Stop sulking, I will let you partici...
His voice came to an abrupt halt.
Inside the curtains, there was only a reddish-brown snake coiled into a cowering ball, flicking its tongue and looking at him trembling.
The bed was perfectly smooth without a single crease. Where was the shadow of Chai Xiaomi?
Where is she? The depths of his eyes instantly surged with a sky-obscuring black aura, and his voice was hoarse yet terrifyingly cold.
Hongjiao trembled so much that its scales rattled softly.
It silently conveyed to its master: She is fine, she just went out for a bit.
But so what? The master's task for it was to protect her by her side, and it had failed.
After a moment of silence, Wu Li's lips slowly curled into a bewitching and eerie smile. He slightly raised his fingertips, and the thick, black aura instantly gathered into a ball, coiling silently in his palm.
Hongjiao, this is the second time you have failed your duty. His tone carried a hint of pity. He sighed deeply, looking quite regretful.
Tell me, what is the use of keeping you?
Hongjiao's trembling snake eyes could clearly see the murderous intent in its master's eyes. It knew he was also referring to the last time he asked it to cover the girl's eyes, but it was easily pulled away by her.
The master's current appearance was just like the time he secretly went to Lingyu Province to see his father. On the way back, he slaughtered all the living creatures and evil spirits that blocked his path, not even sparing an innocent bird.
It had been a long time since the master had revealed such terrifying fury.
And this time, it seemed even more terrifying than any time before.
Beneath that anger, there were clearly more sinister and complex emotions surging, with nowhere to vent, so he unleashed all his hostility onto it.
Hongjiao gazed at its master in despair.
It understood that its time to die had come.
Once the master truly intended to kill, he would never be soft-hearted.
Even though it was the gu snake he had personally fed and raised.
