The empty cell was left with only Qiqi alone. Night had fallen, and she curled up at the head of the bed, hugging her knees. Another day had passed, and she hadn’t seen Rong Yi for five whole days now. Ever since she brought him back from the hospital, they’d been together constantly, eating and sleeping side by side, never apart for this long. Now, suddenly unable to see him, her heart ached terribly.
Once, she’d been fixated on keeping the house her parents left behind, actively joining the neighborhood’s holdout residents. But now, thinking it over, as long as they’d release Rong Yi and let him be safe and unharmed, what did selling the house matter?
A cool sensation touched the back of her hand—tears falling. Qiqi huddled in the pitch-black room, staring at a narrow window high on the opposite wall. Pale, bleak moonlight seeped through, making her even more sorrowful. The moon was growing rounder; another full moon night was fast approaching. Rong Yi, what should I do? How can I save you? Rong Yi, if only I could get you out, I’d do anything, anything at all, truly...
“To save him, are you really willing to do anything?”
Suddenly, a faint, eerie voice rose from the darkness, raspy and seductive, unnervingly strange.
“I am, I am!” Qiqi shouted without thinking.
Then she clapped her hand over her mouth. This cell was empty—no one else was here. So who had spoken?
“Are you really willing?”
As if to prove its presence, the voice sounded again. This time, it was clearer, closer, so close that Qiqi felt the speaker’s breath brush against her ear.
“Who’s there? Who’s here?” Qiqi trembled in fear, clutching her knees tighter. She’d clearly seen she was alone in the room—how could there be a voice? What kind of demon or ghost was haunting her? God, this world was getting crazier by the day; I’ll be scared to death by you all sooner or later...
“Hehehe...” A charming laugh rang out. “Little girl, weren’t you pretty bold a few days ago? How come you’re this scared now?”
Hearing the familiar voice, Qiqi let out a huge sigh of relief—the red-dressed beauty, that red-tailed fox spirit.
No kidding, last time I saw you in broad daylight with Rong Yi by my side, but now it’s the dead of night—of course I’d be scared out of my wits!
Gu Qiqi patted her chest, panting. “So it’s you, Fox Fairy Sister. Why are you here? Can you save Rong Yi?”
She remembered this fox spirit had centuries of cultivation; demons were usually powerful. Maybe she could rescue Rong Yi? But then again, last time Rong Yi had driven her off—could she be here for revenge?
A glimmer of hope lit up in Qiqi’s heart, mixed with a trace of caution.
The fox spirit materialized, still in her original form as a red fox. She leaped down from the high window, landing precisely in front of Gu Qiqi. “Mm, the scent of stirred emotions, like sweet dew... Though steeped in sorrow, it’s strong enough. Sorrowful yet resilient feelings carry more energy...”
The fox stood on its hind legs, nuzzling its nose up to Qiqi’s face, sniffing under her nose, then sticking out its tongue to lick the tears from the girl’s cheeks.
Gu Qiqi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, straining her head back. “Fox Fairy Sister, you didn’t come here just to taste this, did you?”