Liu Qiu’s mind wasn’t on Liu Huang at all; she hadn’t clearly heard what Liu Huang had just said.
Su Li was a demon, so she had probably used some kind of spell to hide herself.
Liu Qiu’s distraction was far too obvious.
Liu Huang’s fingers tightened slightly on her chin, forcing Liu Qiu’s attention back onto her.
“Sickly one, what are you looking at? There are only the two of us in this room.”
Liu Qiu looked at Liu Huang’s smiling face, and an inexplicable chill rose in her heart.
“Liu Huang, aren’t you being a bit disrespectful?”
“No matter what, I’m still your elder sister. And I’m already a soul now. You shouldn’t treat me like this. The more you touch me, the more your yang energy will be drained, and in the end, you’ll die.”
She said a great deal.
People in ancient times were supposed to fear death deeply.
Yet Liu Huang’s expression did not change in the slightest.
Seeing this, Liu Qiu frowned, looking somewhat vexed.
Liu Huang simply didn’t listen to her.
Liu Huang etched Liu Qiu’s image deeply into her eyes.
Black hair.
Pale skin.
A bright red wedding dress.
It was the first day after her marriage; naturally, she had dressed festively.
Unfortunately, Liu Qiu hadn’t made it through that day.
Liu Huang picked up a strand of Liu Qiu’s long curled hair.
Even that strand seemed to carry a bone-chilling coldness.
“Sickly one, if I give you my yang energy, can you remain like this forever?”
Liu Qiu’s eyes widened.
“What?”
Liu Huang brought that lock of hair to her lips.
“However much you need, I’ll give you.”
Before Liu Qiu could analyze what she meant, a knock sounded at the door.
Then came a soft, timid voice.
“Little sister-in-law, are you asleep?”
The only person who would call Liu Huang “little sister-in-law” was Su Li.
Liu Qiu immediately thought of what she had seen earlier—those two snow-white ears on Su Li’s head.
They hadn’t been frightening at all.
If anything, they were rather cute.
But compared to a demon, she still wanted a normal wife.
Then again, could demons see ghosts?
The knocking continued without pause.
Liu Huang clearly didn’t want to respond.
But seeing Liu Qiu’s gaze drift toward the door, she fell silent for a moment.
When the knocking sounded again, Liu Huang leaned close to Liu Qiu’s ear and whispered, “Don’t go.”
With that, she released her and got out of bed.
She walked to the door but did not open it.
Instead, she stood before the wooden panel and asked coldly, “What do you want?”
Liu Qiu floated up from the bed and looked at Liu Huang, her long lashes trembling lightly.
How could she not go?
She passed through the wall and drifted into the courtyard.
But she had barely floated for a short while before a pulling force yanked her back.
In the blink of an eye, she was drawn back into the puppet.
This time, however, she did not panic.
She already knew how to come out.
With a thought, her vision expanded and rose again.
She became a spirit once more and stared at the puppet lying on the bed—identical to her own appearance.
She cautiously reached out to touch it.
In the next moment, she was back inside the puppet.
After going back and forth several times, Liu Qiu finally confirmed that she was completely restricted by this puppet.
She could come out.
But she could not move more than roughly ten meters away from it.
Meanwhile, the knocking at the door grew louder.
“Little sister-in-law, please open the door. I’m begging you.”
Su Li’s voice carried a faint sob, pitiful to the extreme.
Liu Qiu floated beside Liu Huang and quietly placed her hand on the wooden bar.
Liu Huang’s eyes darkened.
She reached out and pressed down on Liu Qiu’s wrist.
Without saying a word, her action made it clear she did not want her to open the door.
Liu Qiu pursed her lips and released her grip.
Su Li’s crying grew louder and louder.
If this continued, it would likely wake Fang Lian and the others.
Liu Qiu glanced at Liu Huang.
In the next second, she floated out through the door and arrived beside Su Li.
Although Su Li was a demon, she hadn’t done anything bad.
And thinking about it now, not all demons were like Bai Qingqing.
Su Li looked like a very timid and shy little demon.
Liu Qiu wasn’t afraid of her.
The moment she stepped outside, she saw two clear tear streaks on Su Li’s beautiful, pale face.
She was dressed in a plain white gown, looking fragile and delicate under the night sky.
“Little sister-in-law, I—I just came to return the silver.”
So she was returning the money.
Liu Qiu circled around Su Li and realized that Su Li couldn’t see her at all.
How strange.
Then whose Green Hat Value had just increased?
With a creak, the door opened.
Liu Huang’s expressionless face appeared.
“There’s no need. No matter what, you are my sister-in-law. My sister has just died. Taking care of you is only proper.”
“As for what happened during the day, don’t take it to heart. If sister-in-law wishes to leave with our family, then come along.”
Liu Qiu looked at Liu Huang in surprise.
She could actually say something that sounded so pleasant.
Su Li sniffled softly and wiped her tears with her sleeve.
She took out the purse of silver she had been clutching and stepped closer to Liu Huang.
“Little sister-in-law, you must take this back.”
Her eyes shimmered with tears.
She trembled slightly, whether from fear or cold, it was hard to tell.
Looking at her thin clothing, Liu Qiu sighed softly.
Even knowing she was a demon, she couldn’t help feeling a little soft-hearted at the moment.
“You should accept it. Let her go back earlier,” Liu Qiu murmured, even if Su Li couldn’t hear her.
A glint of cold light flickered in Liu Huang’s eyes.
The sickly one truly cared deeply for this woman.
Was she tired of pretending?
Liu Huang curved her lips and extended her hand.
“If that’s the case, then I’ll accept it.”
Su Li placed the purse into Liu Huang’s hand.
After a brief farewell, Liu Huang shut the door at once.
Su Li lowered her head.
Behind the veil of her long lashes, a malicious light flickered in her eyes.
From the very beginning, she had noticed traces of witchcraft clinging to Liu Qiu’s soul.
After returning from the cave and failing to find Liu Qiu, she had followed her scent here.
Through the crack in the window, she had seen the scene of that human, brimming with baleful energy, pressing Liu Qiu onto the bed.
The fact that Liu Qiu was willing to let that human touch her soul-body made her extremely unhappy.
Watching Su Li with her head lowered, Liu Qiu sighed and reached out to pat her shoulder.
“Xiao Li, go back and rest.”
It didn’t matter that Su Li couldn’t hear her.
After comforting her, Liu Qiu floated back into Liu Huang’s room.
Since she couldn’t go anywhere anyway, she might as well remain inside the puppet.
Outside, the moment Liu Qiu disappeared, Su Li raised her head.
There was no trace of weakness left on her face.
A golden glow flickered through her narrow eyes.
Her demonic power was precious.
She had no intention of wasting it on someone like Liu Huang.
To deal with such people, human methods were better.
The purse had been dusted with pollen from a poisonous flower.
Its scent could make a person fall unconscious.
Inside the room, Liu Huang had been intending to tease Liu Qiu again.
But before long, a wave of drowsiness surged over her.
Her breathing grew heavy.
Almost instantly, she realized what had happened and glanced at the purse she had set aside.
Her heart tightened.
Damn it.
That woman had tampered with it.
Liu Huang drew a small blade and sliced across her palm.
Bright red blood flowed out.
The sharp pain cleared her mind somewhat.
Liu Qiu floated out of the puppet and frowned at her self-harming act.
“Liu Huang, what are you doing?”
Liu Huang picked up the puppet and threw on an outer robe.
She did not answer Liu Qiu’s question.
“I’m taking you to my sister.”
If she guessed correctly, that woman’s target was likely this puppet that could trap Liu Qiu.
And that woman could also see the sickly one’s ghost.
That explained everything.
Because she could see, she continued pretending to be innocent.
It was revolting.
Her head felt heavy.
Sleepiness kept invading her mind.
Liu Huang clenched her injured palm, letting the blood continue to flow.
Liu Qiu didn’t understand what Liu Huang was trying to do.
But watching that long gash on her palm and all the blood made her feel pained just looking at it.
“Liu Huang, you should bandage the wound first.”
Her voice sounded faint and distant in Liu Huang’s ears.
Liu Huang shook her head and opened the door.
A white shadow darted past her hand.
She saw it—but had no time to react.
By the time she came to her senses, the puppet in her hand had vanished.
It was the white fox that had disappeared for days.
Su Li had just clamped the puppet in her jaws and was about to run when a force erupted from it, blasting her away.
The puppet rolled onto the ground.
The little fox landed on all fours, golden eyes fixed on the puppet—and on Liu Qiu floating above it.
She hadn’t noticed at first.
There was a magical artifact hidden within the wooden figure.
Her heart had recovered somewhat, and her cultivation was slowly returning.
Yet she still couldn’t withstand this spell.
That artifact was entangled with the human soul.
Su Li steadied herself and prepared to try again.
But before she could approach, a tall and slender figure walked over unhurriedly and stopped in front of the puppet.
Bending down, she picked it up.
A clear, pleasant voice tinged with amusement sounded.
“I only looked away for a moment, and you were almost carried off by a little fox.”
Leaning against the doorframe, Liu Huang let out a low laugh.
“Elder sister, you came just in time.”
After speaking, she slid down along the doorframe.
Using her last bit of strength, she wrapped her injured palm, then closed her eyes.
Whatever that woman had used, she had been unable to resist it.
The little fox’s ears flattened completely.
Arching her back, she bared her teeth at the newcomer.
Liu Qiu stared blankly at the snow-white ears atop the fox’s head.
A thought surfaced in her mind.
So Su Li was the little fox.
The ears were exactly the same.
Su Li’s gaze was wary as she stared at Liu Feng, emitting a low growl that carried unmistakable threat.
Liu Feng paid her no mind.
She held up the puppet and lightly tapped its belly.
“Little fox, do you want it?”
“I could split it in two. You take half, I take half—how about that?”
Her eyes were deep and unreadable in the night.
Yet the corners of her eyes and lips were curved upward, smiling gently.
“I just wonder whether the puppet would feel pain.”
The golden eyes of the fox flashed with ferocity.
But instead of charging forward, she glanced upward, then turned and vanished into the night.
Liu Qiu was momentarily stunned.
Was the little fox really Su Li?
“Qiu-jie, are you angry about what I said earlier?”
Liu Feng’s voice drew her back.
“No.”
Liu Qiu lowered her head to look at Liu Feng.
Moonlight passed through her body, rendering her slightly translucent.
She didn’t notice.
Blinking, she said softly, “Liu Feng… when you see the little fox, can you not hurt her?”
A trace of worry appeared in her eyes.
“She… she’s very well-behaved.”
At the beginning, she had been a pitiful little fox brought back from a hunter’s hands.
If she could be caught by humans, she probably wasn’t very strong.
Liu Feng tilted her head up and gazed at Liu Qiu quietly.
Moonlight draped Liu Qiu in a layer of silvery glow.
The concern in her brows seemed almost like divine compassion—pure and beautiful.
Yet the red dress, blood-red lips, black hair, and the seductive mole at the corner of her eye tainted that divinity with something impure.
Liu Feng’s dark eyes reflected Liu Qiu’s figure.
She lifted her hand and gently grasped Liu Qiu’s wrist, pulling firmly.
Liu Qiu was drawn down from midair into her embrace.
Her red skirt fluttered.
Cold air enveloped Liu Feng completely.
She smiled.
“Since Qiu-jie has spoken, Feng’er will certainly obey.”
At that moment, something had changed.
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂