Xuefeng was still in shock at the girl's sudden arrival but he didn't care about how and why. He only cared they came back to him.
"I missed you!" Xuefeng called out as he squeezed them both and they didn't let go either. He could feel something wet drip onto his neck, causing him to feel emotional as well.
"Sniff… We are back…" Yiren muttered. His heart wanted to break at her cute voice.
"Hey… Don't cry, I'm here now. We are together again…" Xuefeng assured while showering them with tens of kisses when he saw hundreds of guards hover above them.
"Don't worry, they are with me!" Xuefeng called out to them happily as he admitted proudly. "They are my wives!"
"Sir, they need to leave the Arena. The Finals are about to start and they are not part of it," the Black-armored guard replied seriously, but Xuefeng didn't want to separate just yet.
"Give me a moment," Xuefeng pleaded as he lifted himself up with the girls in his arms. "Are you two okay?"
"Mhmm, just a bit tired. We teleported multiple times and then rushed here to meet with you," Lisa explained as she leaned for another kiss. "Don't worry, we are good now."
"I see, that's great. There is so much I want to ask you two but this is a bad moment I guess. How about we meet after— Whoaa, and who is that?"
Xuefeng couldn't finish his words as a sudden white fox jumped on Yiren's shoulder, scaring him back.
"It's Mona, a Celestial Fox that we befriended," Yiren introduced as she petted Mona but the beautiful fox just stared into Xuefeng's eyes.
"So you are that Xuefeng…" Mona muttered and jumped, hopping onto Xuefeng's shoulder instead. "I heard a lot about you."
'That's a really rare fox Yiren brought… You should definitely be nice to her,' Ming immediately warned, causing him to get stressed.
Mona sniffed him and announced directly, "I can smell a lot of women from you."
"Ehem… It just happens that I have a few loving wives. Nice to meet you though. Hope we get along well," Xuefeng greeted the small fox but only received a stare in return.
"We will see about that later. I will be watching you."
She didn't give him any more attention and jumped back to Yiren.
'I guess she likes me,' Xuefeng commented, but Ming has a different opinion.
'I doubt it. Nine-tailed White Foxes are cautious by nature. They are really rare, actually, they should have been extinct by now. It's actually a miracle we can see one right now. I thought they got hunted down for their impeccable beauty a long time ago.'
'Oh, beauty?' Xuefeng got interested. 'Also, I can only see one tail.'
'All Nine-tailed White Foxes are born as females and they are the closest when it comes to connection to nature. They are pure and innocent while also being beautiful. She is currently in her fox form with just one tail so she is probably recovering her strength. She should be able to transform back to her human form once she reaches nine tails,' Ming explained.
He didn't reply and simply glanced at Mona yet again, giving her a nod of approval. He could still feel the softness of her fur on his cheek.
"Sir, we can't stall any longer," the Guards reminded as two flying cameras appeared on the scene, transferring the situation.
"As you can see, the situation seems to be under control. The finals should proceed shortly," the Commentator announced. The finals this time weren't soundproof so they could hear all the cheering and the crowd which acted like an additional distraction.
"Alright," Xuefeng agreed, going up to his wives. "Will you two go up to the platform and meet up with Nuwa? I wish we could talk for hours so you can tell me about your adventures but we can't let the people wait. I will finish this Finals quickly and meet you there, I promise."
He gave each of them a kiss before gazing up at the guards.
"Will you please lead them to the platform and inform Miss Xinyu about them? Tell her to keep them safe till I arrive."
"Not a problem, as long as we hurry," the Guard nodded.
"Wait!" Yiren suddenly exclaimed. "There is one more thing. I have something to show you."
She reached inside her dress and pulled out a chain with a blue stone on it. It wasn't an exaggeration to say every single guard was dumbfounded with their eyes gawking at the stone.
'Water Elemental Stone!' Ming and Ling exclaimed at the same time but everyone noticed the same right away.
"No! Don't tell me this is another Elemental Stone! There is no way, right?!" the Commentator commented right away. "It looks exactly like the Fire Stone from yesterday!"
"Yiren, where did you get it?!" Xuefeng immediately skipped towards her, his eyes widened at the sight of the blue stone. "This is…"
"It's the stone you need, right?" Yiren asked happily as she took the placed of the stone on his palm but his hands were slapped away by a fluffy tail.
"Yiren, what are you doing? It's my love token! Are you trying to betray me?" Mona called out coldly, protecting the stone from Xuefeng's hands. Too bad, there was something powerful quickly losing its patience.
Xuefeng's hand vibrated as the Elemental Bracelet acted up, turning into a golden gauntlet that covered his whole arm. Normally, he could use the Elemental Bracelet power as he wished but the Spirit inside took the control away.
He immediately felt a tingling pain on his skin as if the Elemental Bracelet was punishing him for his stalling.
It wanted that Water Stone badly!
'The Elemental Bracelet's Spirit seems to have gotten greedy. Get the stone before it goes crazy,' Ling suggested. He could still remember the pain he received just yesterday when the Fire Stone was right in front of him.
"Mona, I'm sorry I didn't tell you this before, but Xuefeng needs those stones. If he doesn't collect them all, he will die and I will do anything in my power to keep him alive," Yiren declared firmly as she broke the chain from her neck.
"You knew this whole time and you didn't tell me?" Mona questioned angrily, her claws biting into Yiren's shoulder.
"What did you want me to tell you? Would you follow us knowing the only guy you can be with is Xuefeng? I wanted to be fully honest but at the same time, I can't let the love of my life die. I'm sorry, but your love token can only belong to Xuefeng," Yiren explained, clearly hurt by keeping such a secret from her.
"Oh, damn… This is getting spicy. It seems like the stone belongs to that white fox but Miss Yiren wants to forcefully give the Stone to our Xuefeng. It seems to be special for love token for the fox," the Commentator explained like an experienced gossip girl. "What will the white fox do?"
"No!"
The commentator's words provoked Mona as all they heard was her scream when she slapped Yiren's hand and took the stone away in a blink. She was like a white shadow, her speed greater than what their eyes could see.
Arrgh!
The moment to strike him with pain couldn't be more perfect as the gauntlet pierced needles into his arm.
The Elemental Bracelet's Spirit was calling him to act faster. Xuefeng knew he had to do something, but the situation was more complicated than he had thought.
"Mona!" Yiren called out after the fox but it didn't stop running, taking the Water Stone away in its mouth.
"I will handle it,' Xuefeng assured as he finally moved. "Go to the viewing platform and find Nuwa."
After saying that, he blinked into the bushes, following closely after Mona.
"Quick, quick! Follow the action!" the Commentator called out right after, reminding him they had the whole Arena watching them.
"Please, wait!" Xuefeng yelled after Mona but she only sped up, forcing him to teleport in front of her. "I just want to talk."
She finally stopped, glaring at him like an enemy.
"I have no idea what is going on, but from what you two said, this Water Stone should be something special to you, right?" Xuefeng questioned to which she nodded.
"Let me guess. You want to give it to your future lover as a token of your love, correct? Don't worry, I won't force anything. I just want to understand."
"Mhmm…" Mona confirmed again, loosening up a bit. She was all hostile at first but Xuefeng's calm approach worked.
"Yiren was right. I really need this Stone," Xuefeng explained as he raised his golden gauntlet. "This thing is stuck to me. The only way to take it off is by dying and it will kill me if I don't bring nine of those stones to it."
Mona naturally turned suspicious again, her claws burying in the ground as if to run away again when she paused, seeing Xuefeng getting down on his knees, helpless.
"You can go," Xuefeng suggested as he pointed in one direction. "Run South. You will notice an exit. It will lead you out of the arena."
The sudden change in his behavior put Mona off guard. She placed the Water Stone on the ground and asked confused.
"Why?"
Xuefeng smiled gently.
"Because as much as I want to live, I don't want to live while knowing I took away from you what I value the most, and that is love. Everyone has the right to love."
Mona's eyes stared blankly at him as he continued.
"I wish I could just lie and say I can love you, or that I can be your lover but I can't do that. I don't treat love this lightly as it is really important to me. I can't promise you that I will love you, but I can give my best to understand, listen to you and be a person you love to be around."
"What will happen after that?" He asked with a shrug. "I don't know. I don't gamble with love. It's the only thing I leave as a secret so I can figure out my feelings and have this magical moment of realization that you truly love someone."
Xuefeng extended his hand to her and asked one last time.
"Do you want to be my friend first and see what the future offers for us?"