He said, pulling a jade pendant from his pocket and handing it to Qiqi. "Look, she's inside this now."
Qiqi was stunned. The jade pendant in his hand was none other than the Moon's Guidance. It seemed to have been awakened, emitting a faint, hazy glow, as beautiful as the silver radiance of the moon.
"You mean Meixue... is inside this... right now?" Qiqi's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Yeah. But whether she's still alive or not, I can't guarantee." Rong Yi nodded.
Qiqi took the jade pendant, cradling it in her palm, turning it over and over for a long time, still unable to believe what she was seeing. Such a beautiful woman, such a large fox—bigger than the stray cats that often sneaked into the yard to steal food—how could she be trapped inside this tiny jade pendant?
"Can you let her out?" Qiqi asked.
Rong Yi shook his head. "Letting her out would require activating the Moon's Guidance again, and that would take a lot of my energy and focus. I'm not going to do that. She can just stay in there."
Seeing Qiqi's genuine concern, he had to add, "Don't worry. She can't actually die; she's just trapped inside. Next time I activate the Moon's Guidance, I'll let her out. She's done so many bad things—even a mortal would face judgment, right? Just think of it as her being in prison."
Qiqi felt a surge of relief—did Rong Yi mean that Meixue wasn't dead? Just locked inside?
Hearing that the Wolf King hadn't killed anyone, Qiqi found some comfort. Ever since he had killed those three men in black at Senior Brother Lu's house, she had been worried about his brutal ways. Now, hearing him talk about punishing Meixue with mortal laws, it seemed he had become more civilized. She finally felt at ease.
But Rong Yi did look a bit tired. Activating the soul exchange again would surely drain him, wouldn't it? She decided to let it be for now.
Qiqi let out a sigh, and the dizzy feeling from before returned. She had been sitting on the edge of the bed, supported by Rong Yi, but now her body went limp again.
"Rong Yi, I feel a bit dizzy..." She leaned weakly into his arms.
Rong Yi reached out and touched her forehead—strange, her temperature was normal. Dizziness was probably from the lingering effects of the sedative.
He used his magic to dispel the drug's influence from her body, but Qiqi was still a mortal, and recovering wasn't as fast as for a demon. She still felt dizzy and wanted to sleep, so Rong Yi helped her lie down. "There's probably still some medicine in your system. Get some rest."
Qiqi nodded and lay down. Her own big bed was soft and comfortable—there was no place like home.
She closed her eyes, ready to drift off to sleep, when she suddenly felt the blanket beside her sink down—Rong Yi had gotten into bed too!
Her eyes flew open, and she stared at the handsome face so close to hers. "Rong Yi, what are you doing?"
Rong Yi lay on his side, propping his cheek on one hand as he looked at Qiqi. With his other hand, he gently brushed her disheveled hair from her shoulder and smiled. "I'm a bit tired too. I just want to lie down."
"Aren't you going back to your own room to sleep?"
Rong Yi wrapped his arm around her. "I want to be with you—Qiqi, I like you."
Huh??
Caught off guard by the confession, Qiqi froze completely.
Rong Yi lowered his arm and lay on his side, pulling Qiqi fully into his embrace. Face to face, his gaze was intense and earnest as he looked into her eyes, his voice full of emotion. "Qiqi, I like you. I really do... for a long time now. Qiqi, I want to be with you."