Chapter 57: Maybe… I shouldn’t have lied to Song Ruoxue.

Strange.

‘Wasn’t someone here just now?’

By the candlelight, Song Ruoxue frowned slightly and looked around in confusion. The narrow cave, apart from the cold walls on both sides, was empty.

Suddenly, her gaze caught a glimpse of silver-white.

At her feet, there were a few snow-white strands of fur and hair, intertwined.

‘This is…!?’

Song Ruoxue was surprised. She squatted down and picked them up, examining them repeatedly between her fingertips.

Her expression grew more and more grave and puzzled.

These strands of fur… without a doubt, they are the shed fur of that nine-tailed fox.

But these strands of hair… why do they look so familiar?

‘Little Li?’

‘Nine-tailed fox?’

Song Ruoxue’s mind was in a bit of a mess.

Although there was no evidence, it was highly likely that Little Li was in the cave.

And that nine-tailed fox was also in the cave. She had seen this with her own eyes…

‘But why would both of their hair appear in the same place at the same time?’

And in this… such a close manner.

It’s as if they had fallen off the same person!

At this thought, Song Ruoxue even forgot to breathe for a moment. Many images flashed in her memory, Su Li’er’s sweet smile, and her brave back…

And the outrageous actions of that nine-tailed fox!

‘Is there any connection between these two?’

‘What on earth is going on?’

In her ear, Tang Yingyue’s words seemed to echo again.

—”I was trying to test something. Are you interested?”

—”The power of dragon’s saliva can make a demon-kin reveal its true form. Any disguise will fail…”

Song Ruoxue seemed to have realized something.

‘Was that useless dragon, Tang Yingyue, trying to remind me of something?’

Moreover, this morning in Su Li’er’s room, she had also found the fur of that nine-tailed fox…

‘Could it be that the nine-tailed fox’s target is Little Li?’

‘Not the Sword Sect, nor me?’

‘Was it to capture Little Li from the very beginning?’

‘But is there a need for that nine-tailed fox to make things difficult for a low-cultivation, sweet and naive little junior sister?

Obviously not.

‘Or… is there some kind of connection between Little Li and that nine-tailed fox that I can’t imagine?’

‘Or even… a more bizarre answer?’

Song Ruoxue had always been calm and rational, with a strong logical mind. For some reason, she was now, for no reason at all, more inclined to think… that Su Li’er had a problem!

This is not right.

This kind of deduction is unfounded, just a blind fantasy.

‘Guessing won’t get me the answer…’

‘I should go up and take a look!’

‘She can’t have gone far.’

With this thought, Song Ruoxue’s gaze darkened, and she quickened her pace.

The answer she eagerly sought in her heart, she wanted to know it immediately!

The paths in the cave led in all directions.

When a crossroads appeared ahead, Song Ruoxue was already thinking about which way to go when, on the side of the fork, there was a petite figure, squatting by the wall, her head slightly lowered.

‘That’s… Little Li!’

“Ah, Sect Master… good afternoon.”

In the corner of the wall, the curled-up, squatting Su Li’er lifted her face and smiled sweetly, a tired and haggard look in her smile.

This smile has changed.

It was a heart-wrenching sight. Song Ruoxue quickly squatted down and met Su Li’er’s eyes.

“Little Li, what’s wrong with you? Why is your face so pale?”

“…Mmm, I’m a little tired. I’ll be fine after a short rest.”

“What on earth! Happened!?”

Song Ruoxue was emotional. She placed her hands on Su Li’er’s shoulders, her knuckles clenched tightly, and the clothes wrinkled.

“Hiss… it hurts, it hurts, no, nothing happened.”

“I’m sorry.”

Seeing Su Li’er’s teary eyes from the pain, Song Ruoxue withdrew her hands, calmed herself down, and her expression became gentle.

Even though she tried her best to suppress her feelings, her accelerating heartbeat was still in pursuit of an answer.

“Little Li, then what were you… doing just now?”

“Ah, just now…”

Su Li’er forced a smile. Her hesitant appearance clearly showed that she was hiding something.

This appearance made Song Ruoxue even more anxious.

She was almost unable to control her emotions.

‘Hold it in… don’t lose your temper.’

‘Don’t scare Little Li.’

“I wasn’t doing anything,” Su Li’er said with a bewildered expression.

“You weren’t doing anything!?” Song Ruoxue’s tone was a little rushed, and her voice grew louder.

“Mmm…”

Su Li’er lowered her head and bit her nails. Her willow-like brows were knitted into a knot, and her expression was extremely conflicted and troubled.

Seeing this, Song Ruoxue swallowed the words that were about to come out of her mouth.

The anxiety in her heart gradually calmed down.

In the dark cave, time seemed to have slowed down. When it was too quiet, she could even hear the ringing in her own ears.

Too much calm will turn into uncontrollable anxiety.

“Sect Master, Little Li is so scared.”

As she spoke, Su Li’er struggled to stand up, her calves trembling slightly. She quickly held onto the wall to avoid falling.

‘Damn it… I ran too fast just now, my leg is cramping, it hurts so much…’

“What’s wrong?” Song Ruoxue asked as gently as she could, but her eyes were full of anxiety and worry.

“Mmm…” Su Li’er’s eyes drooped a little, and her voice was very soft. “Little Li encountered a fox demon, with many tails…”

The moment she finished speaking.

Song Ruoxue’s eyes widened. “Then… is Little Li injured!?”

Su Li’er was slightly taken aback.

‘Big ice block Sect Master, compared to revenge and seeking an answer, your first reaction… was actually to care if I was injured.’

‘You, you’re really.’

‘Too innocent.’

“No, I’m not injured~ That fox didn’t pay any attention to me and ran inside,” Su Li’er made a playful grimace.

Immediately after, her baby-fat cheeks were pinched. A cold and delicate, delicate hand gently held her, as if it were holding the scruff of a cat’s neck.

“The Sect Master’s hand is so cold,” Su Li’er squinted her eyes, like a real cat.

“Your face is still so round,” Song Ruoxue chuckled lightly.

She withdrew her hand and gently brushed her fingertips, feeling the soft temperature.

It was a very natural feeling. She didn’t feel the false, filled-in feeling of a disguise art…

But, just this is not enough…

“I’ll lose weight!” Su Li’er instructed seriously.

After the joke, Song Ruoxue’s face turned a little serious, showing the gravity a teacher should have. “So why did Little Li sneak out alone? And to a place like this?”

“Uh… well.”

“Doctor Bai said you went to the bathroom, and then you ended up on the Martial Slaughter Sect’s carriage?”

“…It was an accident, a pure accident. After Little Li went to the bathroom, she suddenly saw that nine-tailed fox nearby, so she thought of hiding first and accidentally got into that group of bad guys’ carriage.”

Su Li’er scratched her head and looked away guiltily.

Song Ruoxue leaned forward, bending down to try and make her gaze level with her junior sister’s. She looked at her pure and beautiful face, and her watery, evasive eyes.

“Little Li won’t lie to me, right?”

Hearing this.

Su Li’er no longer cared about being nervous. She looked directly into Song Ruoxue’s eyes with slight astonishment.

In those black and white pupils, there were melting icebergs.

Such cold icebergs, soaring into the clouds, had actually melted into a spring.

How could a spring bear to freeze others?

It was so gentle.

So, without hesitation, without thinking, Su Li’er said, “Of course not. The person Little Li likes the most… is the Sect Master.”

The very next millisecond after she said this sentence.

Her heart was unbearably sad.

Because Song Ruoxue showed an incomparably brilliant smile. It was so beautiful, so beautiful it was like a dream.

The stream that had never been seen before gushed out, and a gentle warmth swept over her entire body.

This warmth poured into Su Li’er’s heart, but at this moment, it was like sulfuric acid that corroded everything.

Briefly, inaudibly.

She regretted it.

‘I… perhaps I shouldn’t have lied to Song Ruoxue.’