Emperor Tian's eyes narrowed, confusion and disbelief flashing in their golden depths. He turned sharply to Brigitte.
"Ji… Ji Ji, what are you talking about? This human woman is the King's teacher? You're telling me the King only recently found a teacher and already brought her into Star Lake? That's absurd!"
Brigitte's emerald eyes stayed calm, but her tone carried a quiet edge. "Absurd or not, isn't this the consequence of your choices?"
"My choice?!" Emperor Tian slammed his chest indignantly. "Ji Ji, you can't accuse me like that just because our Beast God values honesty!"
His words fell flat. Both Brigitte and Ziji stared at him with open contempt.
"Who was it that pushed the King to return to the human world in the first place?" Ziji sneered. "Now that he's tangled in human matters, you want to wash your hands clean?"
The rebuke struck harder than any blow. Emperor Tian froze, his mind spinning. Could this truly be… the so-called causality?
Still, he tried to defend himself, grumbling in his deep, rumbling voice. "Regardless, humans are murderous by nature. Just looking at them, I can tell—they're no good. The Beast God himself would never let them walk free!"
But as his gaze swept the scene, Emperor Tian's eyes stopped abruptly.
On Brigitte's swan-white neck bloomed something red. A faint, unmistakable mark… one no beast could mistake.
His heart cracked in two. Blood roared in his veins, but his voice trembled, hoarse with anguish. "Brigitte… your neck…"
Startled, Brigitte instinctively raised a hand, brushing against the tender spot. Ziji's lips curved wickedly, a faint laugh escaping.
"Why so concerned, Boss Tiandi?" she mused lazily. "Are you heartbroken over my little kiss marks? What a shame. My whole heart has already been given to the King. You'll have no chance from me. I'm very loyal that way~"
Brigitte glared at Ziji, her cheeks heating. Clearly, that wild dragoness had been far too shameless during the night. She must have gotten "confused" and mistaken her for Subei in the dark.
For Emperor Tian, though, Ziji's words were like hammers against his chest.
"So… so it was you, Xiao Zi!" he growled, his dragon pride twitching between relief and despair. "You… you dared to kiss even Brigitte, the gentle Brigitte who never harmed a soul?"
Ziji just rolled her eyes. "Gentle? Hah. You've never tried fighting Brigitte for the King's favor. Believe me, she's not weak when it comes to love."
Her hushed words weren't meant for others, but Emperor Tian caught every syllable.
Snowflakes swirled in his spirit. The northern winds blew across a barren plain of his heart. So cold… so endlessly cold.
Is it truly so difficult for this Dragon to find true love?
Meanwhile, the real storm unfolded as Subei faced another woman entirely.
Bibi Dong stood before him, her eyes shimmering with emotion. Days without seeing him felt like years—every absence stretched into three autumns. In her heart, the separation weighed like fire and frost.
Now, with him finally before her eyes, longing crashed through her like a tidal wave.
"Xiao Bei!" her voice broke, tender and urgent. "You scared your teacher half to death. Let me hold you!"
Forgetting all imperial dignity, the Pope of Spirit Hall threw her scepter behind her and raced barefoot across the grass. Her robes fluttered as she flew into his arms with reckless abandon, like a girl chasing the sunflowers of her youth.
The scepter—an irreplaceable treasure symbolizing her very authority—was barely caught in time by the startled Spirit Hall members. The Pope's Scepter cannot be dropped, they thought in horror. Not even once.
But Bibi Dong couldn't care less. She folded Subei into a desperate embrace, holding him as though sealing her soul into his body. For five long seconds, she simply clung to him, feeling his warmth, before her hands began fussing over him.
"Xiao Bei, did Tang Hao hurt you? That arrogant brute! Just like every man from the Clear Sky Sect—so boorish! I swear…" Her voice sharpened, maternal fury blazing. "Come back with me to Spirit Hall. Teacher will personally take revenge for you! I'll find their sect's hiding place and tear it down piece by piece. Tang Hao himself will kneel before you and beg forgiveness!"
But then her speech faltered.
Her searching fingers brushed Subei's collar… and froze.
"What is this…?"
Her delicate brow trembled as she pulled the fabric wider. Across the marble-white skin of his throat and collarbone were unmistakable marks. Lipstick prints. Bite marks. Faint bruises blooming like forbidden flowers. She counted at least three without even trying.
Her face darkened instantly.
She hadn't even touched this lovely neck herself! Who dared? Which woman dared provoke her this way, seizing first what belonged to her?
Smoke and storm clouds gathered on her beautiful face. Slowly, her eyes turned toward two figures—Brigitte and Ziji.
No words were needed. Her gaze said it all: not friendly, not neutral—this was the simmering stare exchanged only between rivals in love, the silent promise of battle.
"Teacher—don't be angry."
Subei hurriedly grasped her hand before things worsened. "Aren't you curious why I'm with them?"
He gestured toward the trio of soul beasts—Emperor Tian, Ziji, Brigitte. Their formidable aura spoke loudly enough.
Bibi Dong forced a smile, her voice soft as silk. "They must be friends of your late father, yes? Hidden experts?"
She pressed closer, lowering her voice to an intimate whisper. "If you like them, then so be it. I'll pretend they don't exist. I'll see nothing, hear nothing."
Her denial was transparent, almost heartbreaking in its self-deprecation. She had sharp eyes—she knew these were no ordinary people. Their power wasn't just strong, it was terrifying. And their deference toward Subei was impossible to ignore. They called him King.
The truth dawned on her silently: Subei wasn't merely connected to soul beasts—he was their sovereign.
Yet, what did it matter?
Even so, she would still love him. Even if he was a soul beast in disguise, even if his essence lay utterly beyond her reach—she would follow him down into eternity. She'd give her hundred-thousand-year soul for him, feed herself to him willingly if he asked it.
This was her truth. Her devotion. Her curse.
Subei could only sigh, baffled. Cleaning up this mess seemed impossible. And yet… with just his face and charm, somehow Bibi Dong was willing to deceive even herself for his sake.
Is beauty really this powerful? he wondered grimly.
But before he could think further, a rustling sound came from the trees.
Out from the branches leapt a girl, tears like raindrops across her cheeks. She darted across the grass and threw herself at him.
The impact sent both of them rolling chaotically across the meadow. Subei grunted as her small form clung desperately to him, fingers twisting into his thin robes, face buried against his chest.
Her sobs shook him.
"Brother… Brother, you really scared me to death! How could you leave Spirit Hall without telling Xiaowu or Mother? Do you know how worried we were?!"
Her voice broke into trembling accusations. "When I heard you'd been captured by men in black, Xiaowu nearly collapsed. Her heart shattered! Brother—do you plan to abandon her just like Father abandoned us?!"
The raw longing in her cries exploded into a flood. Years of heartbreak and yearning, bottled for too long, burst forth. Tears soaked into Subei's chest as her trembling turned into wails.
As she clung closer, Spirit Hall's strongest experts tensed instantly, their vigilance snapping into place. Who was this girl? Where had she come from?
Subei knew immediately.
It was her. His sister figure. The "little dance" who had been hiding in the shadows all along.
And with her sudden entrance, chaos erupted once again in the fragile balance of his world.
--
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