Noctar was gravely wounded.
After withdrawing from Wulong City, he did not return to the main rebel headquarters. Instead, he secluded himself alone in an extremely secret place—an ancient temple hidden deep within an underground cavern. It was a sealed territory belonging to the black bear beasts, a place saturated with the elements of wood and earth, an ancient site almost entirely unknown to outsiders.
The path leading there was narrow, damp, and dark, filled with wild roots crawling across the stone walls. The air within the cave was cold, yet thick with life energy. The deeper one went, the stronger the scent of wet soil, moss, and rare medicinal herbs became.
At the center of that temple lay a dark green lake.
Its waters were calm, almost without ripples, yet dense fluctuations of wood-element energy radiated from its surface. This was no ordinary lake, but an ancient healing pool capable of accelerating bodily regeneration, soothing internal injuries, and restoring damaged energy cores—provided the one using it was strong enough to endure the pressure of its power.
Noctar stepped into the lake alone.
The dark green water slowly swallowed his body up to his chest. The instant the wounds across his body came into contact with the water, a sharp, burning pain spread through every nerve in his body. Puncture wounds, cracked bones, torn muscles, even the energy damage caused by Xue Yunxue's attack—it was as if all of them were being forced open again before they could heal. Yet Noctar merely clenched his jaw and endured everything in silence.
His eyes were dark.
His expression was grim.
The more he closed his eyes, the more vividly the battle at Wulong City replayed itself in his mind.
Xue Yunxue.
That girl should have been nothing more than an interesting prey. Rare, useful, and easy to control once she fell into his hands. Yet reality had turned completely upside down. In an incredibly short time, that girl had grown too quickly, too wildly, too monstrously.
Her elemental power had grown ever more refined.
Her mental strength had risen sharply as well.
Even her combat talent had developed amidst battle like a monster born under crushing pressure.
Noctar hated that reality.
And worse still—he was afraid.
Not afraid in the ordinary sense, but seized by the instinctive dread that arises when one realizes that an opponent once deemed easy to crush has now transformed into a genuine threat. If Xue Yunxue were allowed to grow for much longer, then one day, it might very well be he who died at that girl's hands.
That thought made Noctar's hand clench beneath the water.
He disliked asking for help.
Even more than that, he hated owing anyone.
But this time, for the first time in a very long while, he realized that his own strength might no longer be enough.
So with great reluctance, he raised his communication device and made a call.
A few moments later, the call connected.
The voice from the other side sounded low, relaxed, and dangerous—like a man who always smiled while holding another person's life in his hand.
Noctar did not waste time on pleasantries.
"Give me your best warriors," he said coldly. "The Shadow Legion."
There was a brief silence.
Then the man on the other end gave a quiet laugh.
The laugh was not loud, yet it was enough to make the cave feel even colder.
"And what can you offer me in return?"
Noctar drew in a long breath.
The veins at his temples tightened.
He was clearly displeased that he had to do this, especially with that man. But in the end, he still opened his mouth.
"A divine nine-tailed fox girl," he said slowly. "One who possesses both fire and wood elemental power."
The silence on the other end changed.
Not because of disbelief—
but because of the sudden rise of interest.
When the man spoke again, his voice sounded far more alive.
"Is that true?" he asked, now clearly intrigued. "You are not deceiving me, are you? A fox like that went extinct long ago."
Noctar stared at the surface of the dark green lake, where his own pale and injured reflection wavered.
"I saw her with my own eyes."
This time, there was no laughter.
No casual tone.
Only a short, heavy pause before the voice finally replied,
"In that case… I will come and see her for myself."
The call ended.
Noctar slowly lowered the communication device, then let out a long breath that weighed heavily in his chest.
That man's name was Ares.
And true to his name, he was no ordinary war leader.
He was a war god upon the battlefield of the rebellion—a figure whose power could scarcely be measured by ordinary standards. Even Noctar himself, a man feared by countless others, instinctively felt fear whenever he had to deal with him. Ares was not merely strong. He was the kind of monster who made people realize that the difference in strength no longer felt like distance… but like an abyss.
Noctar hated the fact that he now had to seek help from him.
But he had no other choice.
If he wanted to seize Xue Yunxue—
or at the very least stop that girl before she grew into an uncontrollable threat—
then he would have to drag an even greater monster into this game.
He closed his eyes and quietly enjoyed the sensation of his body being restored.
---------------------------
Xue Yunxue had clearly come down with a cold after leaving her body exposed to the biting night snow for far too long.
Moa had once again left her body, and her soul had returned to training within the spiritual world. Without Moa's constant chatter, Xue Yunxue found her mind feeling a little emptier than usual.
Now she was curled up on the bed, wrapped in a thick blanket all the way to her chin. Her face was slightly pale, the tip of her nose flushed red, and every so often she drew a quiet breath because her throat felt uncomfortable. Her long hair, already dried, spilled softly across the pillow, making her seem far more fragile than she had on the battlefield yesterday.
Strangely enough, in a state like this, the three men around her seemed far busier than she was.
Luo Shixin sat closest to the bedside, holding a bowl of warm porridge still steaming with heat. His face remained as calm as ever, but his movements were meticulous as he stirred the porridge so it would not be too hot before feeding it to Xue Yunxue.
On the other side, Lu Xiao had just returned carrying a cup of hot ginger milk. The strong aroma of ginger spread through the room at once, warm and slightly spicy, enough to soothe a body trembling with chills. His crimson eyes had been fixed on Xue Yunxue the whole time, clearly displeased by the sight of the girl looking weak and listless.
Meanwhile, Xiang Shuai, who looked much more refreshed now that he had successfully passed through his shedding, stood there with an arrogant expression while taking out a small medicine bottle from his storage space.
"I have the finest cold medicine from Shelua," he said, his tone sounding like a man presenting the greatest treasure in the world. "Even princes cannot obtain it so easily."
There was no doubt about it—the three of them were competing to shower her with attention.
In truth, they had already been suspicious since the previous night, when Xue Yunxue went looking for Xiang Shuai and did not return right away. Their suspicion had only grown when she finally came back with a chilled body, damp robes, and slightly wet hair.
Fortunately, after secretly checking with their own senses of smell, they found no unfamiliar masculine scent on Xue Yunxue's body.
That meant nothing had happened.
At the very least, not in the way they had briefly feared.
That fact secretly relieved all three of them, though none was willing to admit it openly.
Xue Yunxue herself had only explained honestly that she found Xiang Shuai deep in the forest, in the middle of his shedding process. She had once read that snake beasts would go through shedding after a sufficiently drastic surge in strength. The process was extremely painful, extremely vulnerable, and for most snake beasts, deeply private as well. So she had merely kept watch from a distance without approaching.
The explanation was reasonable enough.
Even so, Luo Shixin still did not look pleased at the thought of Xue Yunxue sitting alone beneath the snowy midnight sky just to keep watch over Xiang Shuai.
Lu Xiao was just as gloomy, only he expressed his displeasure in a quieter way.
As for Xiang Shuai—the very cause of all this—he was wise enough not to say much this time. He merely stood there with an expression a little softer than usual, though every so often he still lifted his chin as if he believed himself naturally worthy of being guarded.
"Drink this first," Luo Shixin finally said, scooping up a spoonful of porridge and blowing on it lightly before bringing it toward Xue Yunxue's lips.
"Then drink the ginger milk after," Lu Xiao added quickly, as if unwilling to lose.
Xiang Shuai clicked his tongue at once. "The two of you are only easing the symptoms. My medicine is what will truly cure her."
In the corner of the room, Lin Yuan, who had been leaning calmly near the window the whole time, cast the three of them a glance with his usual blank face.
"I never knew a cold could turn into a competition for a female's attention."
Yun Wu, standing not far from him, merely folded his arms across his chest and remained silent, though his amber gaze lingered on Xue Yunxue a little longer than usual.
Neither Yun Wu nor Lin Yuan had any interest in competing for attention in such a way.
Or at the very least, they did not feel the need to display it as openly as the other three men did.
To Lin Yuan, the sight of three grown men nearly elbowing each other aside just to offer food, drink, and medicine was far too noisy to be taken seriously.
As for Yun Wu, he merely watched it all with quiet calm, as though as long as Xue Yunxue was wrapped in blankets, fed properly, and no longer wandering beneath the snow, he could restrain himself from interfering.
Xue Yunxue, seeing the three of them fighting over the chance to care for her, could only let out a soft sigh beneath the blanket.
Her head still felt somewhat heavy, her throat was sore, and her body truly was weak. Yet for some reason, watching the worry and restlessness of the three men before her made her mood improve a little.
It was somewhat amusing.
And also somewhat warm.
Outside, snow still fell slowly into the courtyard of their residence.
But within that room, warm air and the fragrance of porridge and ginger filled the space, mixed with faint sarcasm, competitive stares, and attention that was almost excessive from the people surrounding her.
For the first time after all the chaos in Wulong City—
Xue Yunxue truly had the chance to lie down, close her eyes for a moment, and allow herself to be sick in peace.
---------------------------
The situation in Wulong City was no longer stable, nor was it safe.
Ever since Noctar's invasion, the city had slowly turned into an abandoned carcass. The defensive walls, only recently built, had been severely damaged in many places. The outer gates had been breached, the watchtowers partially collapsed, and the gaps in the defensive line had now become entryways for mutant creatures from the wildlands. At the same time, bandits from outside the city began arriving like flies drawn to carrion. They looted empty houses, plundered abandoned warehouses, and killed anyone too weak to resist.
Wulong City was on the verge of becoming a dead city.
Most of the people had already fled since Noctar's first assault. The streets that had once been lively were now filled only with doors swaying in the wind, hurried footprints, rubble, and a sorrowful coldness in the air. Those who remained were the sick, the very young, the elderly, or those who had nowhere else to go.
And in such circumstances, the empire issued a decisive order: all troops still stationed in Wulong City were to return to the capital at once.
That order felt like a death sentence.
Hei Xuan and the Hei Family troops had already departed from Wulong after assisting with the final evacuation. The forces under the Luo Family's command had likewise begun preparing to withdraw. Heavy vehicles were deployed to carry as many refugees as possible—especially sick beasts, children, and those no longer capable of walking long distances.
Luo Shixin urged them all to leave as quickly as possible.
There was no longer any sense in remaining in this city.
Xue Yunxue stood in front of her house for quite some time, her expression somewhat dim. Although her body had not yet fully recovered from the flu, the heaviness in her heart was even harder to ignore. She had already built a home here, with a courtyard, a kitchen, and a small environment that had slowly given her a sense of comfort. For the first time since arriving in this world, she had briefly felt that she had a place to return to.
And now, she had to leave it behind.
Yet the reality outside was too obvious to ignore. Mutant creatures had begun forcing their way into the city. Bandits roamed without fear. The damaged defense walls could no longer hold back the tide of threats from beyond.
So Xue Yunxue suppressed her emotions and began packing only the truly important things.
She did not bring many clothes. What she prioritized most were plant seeds, medicinal roots, rare herbs, and the collections she had painstakingly gathered. She stored all of them neatly into her storage space, then immediately boarded Xiang Shuai's anti-gravity aircraft.
Luo Mei and Shaotian's vehicles escorted them from behind, while the Cloud Army had already departed earlier to bring as many refugees as possible to safety.
Xiang Shuai's aircraft flew steadily through the winter sky.
In the cockpit, Luo Shixin sat together with Yun Wu, monitoring the flight path and the surrounding conditions. Luo Shixin piloted the aircraft skillfully, his fingers moving swiftly across the control panel. Inside the cabin, Xue Yunxue sat near the window and gazed out at the pale blue sky.
The glass was coated with a thin layer of frost.
Below them, the land stretched out in endless white, like a boundless sea of snow. Dark forests cut through the whiteness of the earth, frozen rivers gleamed like silver lines, and far behind them, Luo Mei and Shaotian's two smaller combat aircraft followed like loyal shadows.
The cold medicine Xue Yunxue had taken began to take effect.
Her head felt somewhat heavy. Her eyelids also started to droop. After telling the others that she wanted to rest for a while, she went into her room inside the aircraft and lay down.
She fell asleep rather quickly.
But that sleep did not last long.
A violent jolt slammed into the body of the aircraft.
The bed beneath her shifted. The cabin walls trembled, and the small objects on her table went crashing to the floor. Xue Yunxue was instantly jolted awake, her heart pounding hard. Before she could even fully gather her senses, the door to her room was flung open from outside.
Xiang Shuai stood there, his face tense.
"Xue'er, wake up! We're under attack!"
In an instant, all traces of drowsiness vanished.
Xiang Shuai immediately grabbed her arm and helped Xue Yunxue to her feet. The moment she reached the main cabin, the girl's face turned grim.
Not a single day had been peaceful since she arrived in this world.
When she looked back through the observation window, the sight before her made her stomach turn cold.
Luo Mei and Shaotian's escort aircraft was burning along one side. Flames licked across its metal hull, leaving thick black smoke trailing through the air. Even so, the two of them were still fighting to hold on, sharply maneuvering their aircraft against several unknown ships pursuing them from behind.
Those enemies were sleek, dark, and moved at terrifying speed.
Red energy blasts streaked through the winter sky, tearing through the wind and slamming mercilessly into their escort craft.
It was obvious that Luo Mei and Shaotian's aircraft would not be able to endure much longer.
Sure enough, it was not long before the two of them opened their cabin hatches and leapt out. Their bodies transformed in midair. Luo Mei became a magnificent yet fierce crimson eagle, her wings spread wide like burning embers. Shaotian transformed into a slender, agile falcon, weaving through the enemy's attacks with movements so swift they were nearly impossible to catch.
The alarms inside Xiang Shuai's aircraft began blaring.
Warning lights flashed red.
Luo Shixin hurried out from the cockpit, his voice cold yet firm.
"We need to abandon the aircraft immediately!"
No one argued.
They moved quickly, guided by survival instincts honed far too many times.
The emergency hatch was opened. Freezing wind rushed in at once like knives.
Xue Yunxue was taken by Luo Shixin. Xiang Shuai and Yun Wu each took a parachute. Lu Xiao and Lin Yuan had no need for them—both could transform into thin mist and move through the air far more freely.
The moment the hatch fully opened, Luo Shixin transformed.
His body lengthened and expanded in a flash of energy, shifting into his flying beast form. Xue Yunxue quickly climbed onto his back, gripping his feathers and powerful body tightly as they leapt out of the aircraft.
A few seconds after they escaped—
Xiang Shuai's aircraft exploded.
A massive blast split the sky apart. Fire and fragments of metal were hurled in every direction. The force of the explosion shook the air so violently it could be felt in the chest. Xue Yunxue glanced back only once and saw the wreckage of the aircraft break apart into a rain of fire across the heavens.
Luo Shixin immediately shot away with Xue Yunxue on his back.
They had to break free from the pursuers.
From the corner of his eye, Luo Shixin saw that Luo Mei and Shaotian were still fighting. The two of them had managed to take down two enemy aircraft, but they were clearly starting to be overwhelmed. There were simply too many enemies, and they were being forced to continue fighting in open air.
Luo Shixin swept his gaze downward, searching for the others.
As agreed, they would scatter for a time in order to divide the enemy's attention until the pursuers became separated or lost track of them.
It was not long before his sharp eyes caught sight of a large black figure that had already landed in the forest below.
Yun Wu.
The man had transformed into a massive black wolf, his body nearly blending into the shadows of the trees. He moved swiftly between the snow-covered pines, almost invisible from the sky.
Luo Shixin immediately dove toward him.
Once he was close enough, he lowered his altitude and handed Xue Yunxue over.
"Go with Xue'er to a safer place," Luo Shixin said quickly. "I need to help Luo Mei and Shaotian."
Xue Yunxue immediately leapt onto Yun Wu's back.
The great black wolf turned his head briefly, his amber eyes flashing coldly. He gave a short nod, then without hesitation dashed away.
His speed was astonishing.
His black body cut through the forest like a living shadow. The dense trees and thick vegetation became perfect cover from aerial sight. He burst through low-hanging branches without slowing, passed through thorny brush like the wind, while Xue Yunxue lowered herself as close as possible to his back so she would not be struck by the branches.
Above them, the pursuing aircraft had clearly lost their patience.
They began showering the entire forest with silver bullets and energy blasts. Tree trunks shattered, snow burst from the branches, and the ground exploded in countless places. The sound of gunfire echoed through the woods like a storm of metal descending from the heavens.
But Yun Wu's legs were too fast.
He knew the region well.
The black wolf kept running deeper and deeper into the heart of the forest, away from the common paths, choosing narrow trails that no vehicle could follow and that could not be clearly seen from above. The farther they went, the more the sounds of explosions behind them began to be muffled by the walls of trees.
Then, amidst the roar of wind and their heavy breaths, Xue Yunxue heard another sound.
The sound of water.
Rushing.
Echoing against stone.
Not long after, a low waterfall appeared before them, hidden behind the thick growth of the forest. Clear water cascaded from a black stone cliff into a small pool below, sending up a fine mist that froze along the edges.
Yun Wu did not stop.
He plunged straight through the curtain of water.
Behind the waterfall lay a narrow cave hidden from sight—dark, dry, and deep enough to conceal two people from an ordinary search.
One of Yun Wu's secret places.
At last, the great black wolf came to a halt within the darkness of the cave, his breathing heavy yet steady.
He had brought Xue Yunxue to a safe hiding place.
For now.
-----------------------------------------
The cave was narrow, its cold stone walls echoing with the roar of the waterfall outside.
A heavy curtain of rushing water sealed the cave's natural entrance, as though cutting them off from the outside world entirely. The scent of wet earth, water mist, and damp air blended into something strangely suffocating.
Xue Yunxue's body was still damp from the waterfall spray when they entered. Droplets fell from the ends of her hair, a few strands clinging to the pale skin of her neck. Her breathing was quiet and slightly heavy, whether from the cold or from the overly silent atmosphere, even she could not tell.
Yun Wu approached without saying much. From his storage space, he took out a dry towel and a thick blanket. His movements were calm—almost too calm—as he lifted the towel and began helping Xue Yunxue dry her hair. Every now and then, his fingers brushed lightly against the back of her neck, fleeting and gentle, yet enough to make Xue Yunxue's shoulders tense faintly.
But Xue Yunxue's robe and clothes were clearly damp as well. The wet fabric clung thinly to her body, making the cold air feel even sharper.
Yun Wu's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Your body is wet. If you do not dry yourself soon, your cold will get worse."
Xue Yunxue tried to offer a small smile. "Don't worry, I brought a change of clothes."
She opened her storage space and took out dry clothing and a thick robe. Then her movements halted. The girl's cheeks warmed when she realized that Yun Wu was still standing not far from her.
"A-Wu…" Her voice was soft, nearly drowned out by the sound of water. "Could you turn around? I need to change."
Even though Yun Wu was one of her beast husbands, their relationship still held a strange sort of distance. That man had always treated her well, yet he also guarded his boundaries too carefully—as if there were an invisible wall he deliberately maintained between them. Precisely because of that, changing clothes in front of him felt far more embarrassing.
Yun Wu understood. Without protest, he immediately turned around, presenting his back to Xue Yunxue.
Behind him came the soft rustle of fabric brushing together. Very quiet, very light—yet within the narrow cave, every sound seemed magnified. Yun Wu, with his sharp hearing, caught all of it with painful clarity. Xue Yunxue's quiet breaths. The faint sound of damp clothes being removed. The whisper of dry fabric touching skin.
Yun Wu's jaw slowly tightened.
He could also smell the faint, sweet fragrance of Xue Yunxue's body, mingled with the damp mist and cold air of the cave. It was not overpowering. On the contrary, it was soft—yet for some reason, far more dangerous because of it. His Adam's apple bobbed once.
From the corner of his eye, whether by accident or a fleeting lapse of control, he caught the shadow of Xue Yunxue's movements reflected against the wet stone surface.
Damn it.
The body of an adult beast was indeed far more sensitive to desire. Yun Wu had long suppressed it with sedative injections, especially as mating season drew near. Yet the more often he relied on them, the more his body seemed to resist. When that season arrived, the usual dosage was no longer enough. He had to inject more, and more frequently, just to hold back the increasingly violent surges within him.
And now, in a space this narrow, beside a woman whose scent kept stirring the most primal instincts inside him, all that self-control felt like a fragile thread that could snap at any moment.
He closed his eyes for a brief moment, forcing himself to remember the things he had always used as his shield. That women were the source of trouble. That closeness would only give birth to wounds. That he must never let his guard down.
Yet that shield cracked every time Xue Yunxue's image surfaced in his mind.
Because deep in his heart, he knew Xue Yunxue was not like that.
His mind resisted.
His body, however, had already chosen to side with his heart.
"A-Wu?"
That soft voice shattered everything.
Yun Wu immediately opened his eyes and turned around. His gaze fell upon Xue Yunxue, who had already changed into a long-sleeved set of pajamas and warm pants. Her clothing was simple, even plain. And yet, that only made it strangely… devastating.
Attached to the back of her pants was a small round puff shaped like a rabbit tail—soft, white, and swaying faintly whenever she moved.
For a moment, Yun Wu was truly speechless.
What kind of clothing was that?
His gaze lingered there far too long before slowly lifting to Xue Yunxue's face. The girl seemed utterly unaware that her current appearance could destroy what remained of someone's self-restraint.
The atmosphere inside the cave changed in an instant.
The waterfall outside still roared endlessly, yet that only made the silence between them feel even hotter. Xue Yunxue held the edge of her sleeve, a little nervous beneath Yun Wu's stare. Meanwhile, Yun Wu stood rigidly in place, his breathing growing heavier, as though the air inside the cave had suddenly become too thin to breathe.
He should have looked away.
He should have stepped back.
But in that moment, the only thing he could do was stare at the girl before him with eyes far darker than usual.