Morning mist permeated the air, and the ice lotus tattoo on Su Meier's wrist felt cool.
She rolled up her plain wide sleeves and spread the cinnabar leaves, freshly picked last night, all over the wicker tray.
Dewdrops rolled down the leaf veins, leaving tiny wet marks on the bluestone slab.
The jade bell hanging from the eaves of the herb hut tinkled softly in the wind, startling the gray sparrows that were pecking at the medicinal dregs.
"Miss Su, good morning."
The bamboo curtain was gently lifted.
A young man in black stood in the faint morning light.
Ling Tian gently placed the medicinal basket he was holding by the door frame.
"The Gentian on the north slope is growing well, but its roots were entangled in poisonous spider webs, which took some effort."
His voice was clear and bright, carrying the unique vigor of youth.
Su Meier took the medicinal basket, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over the back of his hand.
There, a newly added scratch was particularly noticeable.
A faint black Qi emanated from the wound, clearly indicating he had been injured by a poisonous spider.
She turned and took a Qingci medicine jar from the shelf, scooping out a spoonful of amber-colored condensation .
"This is a detoxifying ointment refined from fire toad skin; half an hour's application will heal it completely."
Her voice was soft, with a hint of concern.
Ling Tian leaned against the doorframe, extending his arm.
The cool ointment touched the wound, bringing a touch of coolness.
Su Meier looked up, her gaze accidentally falling on his brow.
There, a faint red mark, appearing and disappearing, was visible.
She always felt this mark seemed familiar, as if she had seen it somewhere before, but couldn't recall where at the moment.
Just as she was about to ask, the jade bell on the eaves suddenly rang urgently.
Outside the window, a mountain wind suddenly rose, carrying dark clouds from afar, blowing the herbs in the medicinal garden helter-skelter.
"The weather is changing."
Su Meier held down the fluttering plain paper, and the ink-still-wet "Compendium of Herbs" was blown open to a new page by the wind.
Ling Tian quickly walked to the window and closed the casement.
"Boom!"
A muffled thunderclap sounded.
Raindrops began to fall, hitting the roof tiles with a pitter-patter sound.
Inside the herb hut, the scent of mugwort gradually filled the air.
Su Meier watched over the bubbling medicine pot, observing Ling Tian tying bundles of dried honeysuckle vines.
The young man's slender fingers moved deftly among the vines.
Occasionally, his skin would be scratched by thorns on the vines, oozing tiny drops of blood.
Those blood drops, illuminated by the candlelight, seemed to shimmer with a faint golden light, flashing by in an instant.
"Try this."
Ling Tian suddenly handed over a bamboo tube containing warm milk, sweetened with snow honey.
"I met a shepherd by the stream this morning; I traded three hemostatic vines for it."
He explained with a smile, his eyes clear and bright.
Su Meier took the bamboo tube, holding it in her hands, feeling its warmth.
Her gaze fell on the newly tied grasshopper woven from straw at his waist.
Last night, she had casually woven one and placed it on the windowsill; it was just a small trinket to pass the time.
Now, a half-piece of honeysuckle leaf still clung to the grasshopper's antennae, making it appear exceptionally lifelike.
The downpour stopped, and it was already You Shi (5-7 PM).
Ling Tian trod on the slippery moss to repair the fence damaged by the wind and rain.
Su Meier, meanwhile, carefully sorted the dried herbs into different medicine jars.
The scent of Atractylodes and Eupatorium, mixed with the fragrance of rain-soaked earth, intertwined in the twilight, forming a peculiar aroma.
Suddenly, she heard a muffled thud from outside the fence.
Turning to look, she saw Ling Tian had accidentally slipped, his clothes covered in mud.
In his hand, however, he tightly protected an intact snowdrop flower.
"This wild flower can calm the mind when boiled in water."
Ling Tian placed the flower branch into a pottery pot by the window; the pale pink petals, illuminated by the evening glow, appeared exceptionally delicate.
"Miss Su often rubs her forehead when grinding medicines these days; is it a headache?"
Su Meier's hand, gripping the pestle, paused slightly.
Ever since she rescued this heavily injured young man from the mountain that day, her temples had often throbbed.
At this moment, the snowdrop in the pottery pot moved without wind, its posture coinciding with a certain Spiritual Plant in her dream.
She looked at the young man's back as he rolled up his sleeves to start a fire, and some blurry images suddenly flashed in her mind.
A smoke-filled royal city, someone kneeling and embracing a charred corpse, letting out a heart-wrenching wail...
"The porridge is ready, be careful, it's hot."
The sound of the Qingci bowl being placed on the table startled Su Meier from her trance.
Ling Tian, scooping the medicinal porridge, walked over to her.
His sleeve slid down, revealing a bandaged forearm, and faintly visible beneath the bandage was a Dragon scale-like pattern.
Su Meier's gaze was drawn to that pattern.
She couldn't help but reach out a finger, gently touching it.
Then, the burning sensation from her fingertip made her heart tremble.
"This is..."
Suddenly! The jade bell on the eaves rang again, its sound urgent and sharp.
Ling Tian instinctively tackled her to the ground.
Three white bone arrows grazed her hair, fiercely embedding themselves into the medicine cabinet.
The corrosive poison contained within the arrows instantly corroded the rosewood medicine cabinet into a pile of black ash, emitting a pungent odor.
Twelve demon children, who had appeared around the herb hut at some unknown time, formed a mountain-sealing killing Formation.
In the center of the Formation, a huge blood banner descended from the sky, exuding a strong smell of blood.
The Heavenly Demon Palace Young Lord's sinister laugh shook the tiles, sending them flying, "Nine-tailed Sky Fox! You've made this Young Lord search for a long time!"
Before his words finished, a demon child's sharp claw had already fiercely stabbed towards Su Meier's face!
"Pfft!"
Crimson-gold liquid splashed onto Su Meier's face.
A figure blocked her, and the demon child's sharp claw pierced his chest!
"Ling Tian!"
Su Meier let out a heart-wrenching cry, her voice filled with terror and despair.
Watching Ling Tian's breath gradually weaken before her eyes, Su Meier's Sea of Consciousness was suddenly struck by a sharp pain.
Memories in her mind were like an axe splitting ice, yet still hazy, nothing could be seen clearly.
She only felt that something important had not yet been done, and someone important was still waiting for her...
Su Meier's consciousness began to slowly dissipate.
The surrounding scenery also twisted and changed with it...
When she opened her eyes again, a smell of rust mixed with blood filled her nostrils.
The sharp pain from her hind leg made her whimper uncontrollably.
A sharp animal trap had deeply embedded itself into her bone.
Her snow-white fur was stained red by the congealed dark red blood-ice.
She looked at the sky light filtering through the pine branches; this pain, she seemed to have experienced it somewhere before...
"Crack."
The sound of a dry branch breaking startled the rooks in the tree.
A young man in black pushed aside the accumulated snow and slowly walked over.
His deerskin boots made dull thudding sounds as they stepped on the frozen earth, startling Su Meier into trembling.
When Ling Tian squatted down, she clearly saw the person who had arrived.
The young man's eyebrows were like ink swords, slanting into his temples, his Phoenix-like eyes long and narrow, revealing a gilded dark gleam, and a faint red mark appeared between his brows.
His black martial attire wrapped around his broad shoulders and back, and a Nine-tailed Fox pattern was embroidered in the dark areas of his silver-trimmed collar.
A crimson token hung from his waist, on which a fiery Dragon seemed to swirl.
"Don't be afraid."
He said softly, his voice deep and gentle.
His rough palm gently enveloped her trembling body.
The dagger in his hand precisely pried open the teeth of the animal trap.
As a scent of mugwort entered Su Meier's nostrils, Ling Tian tore off his inner clothing to bandage her.
The chilblains on his knuckles oozed blood, staining the white bandage red.
"Such a fine-looking snow Fox, it's the first time I've seen one."
He murmured to himself, a hint of surprise in his eyes...
In late spring, the stream flowed gurglingly.
Su Meier limped behind Ling Tian, watching him set traps by the stream.
Her paw prints left crooked marks on the damp moss.
Ling Tian suddenly turned around and gently tucked her, still struggling, into his arms.
"You're still injured, yet you're running around everywhere."
His scolding tone carried a hint of doting.
His clothes smelled of pine resin; Su Meier burrowed her head into his embrace, feeling the warmth.
On a summer night, a sudden downpour arrived, with lightning and thunder.
Su Meier curled up in a bamboo basket, nibbling on sweet and sour wild berries.
The wooden door creaked open, and Ling Tian, soaking wet, rushed in.
Under his straw cape, he carefully protected a freshly picked purple Ganoderma.
The hearth was rekindled, and the dancing flames illuminated his resolute face.
Su Meier saw several bleeding claw marks on his back.
He must have been injured by a rock vulture while picking the purple Ganoderma on a cliff.
"You ungrateful little thing."
Ling Tian extended a finger and gently poked her wet nose.
He applied the mashed marigolds to his own wound.
Su Meier suddenly stuck out her tongue, gently licking his fingertips.
Ling Tian stroked Su Meier's fluffy head, his eyes full of doting.
On the autumn equinox, the maple leaves were like fire, dyeing the entire mountain forest red.
Su Meier lay under a maple tree, watching Ling Tian skillfully skin a deer.
Bright red blood drops slowly rolled down the sharp dagger.
The old scar on his wrist appeared and disappeared with his movements.
A fiery red maple leaf twirled down onto the tip of her fluffy tail.
Suddenly, a sharp whooshing sound broke the air.
"Whoosh!"
Ling Tian lunged, tightly shielding her beneath him.
A hunting dart grazed his ear, deeply embedding itself into the tree trunk.
Su Meier let out an angry roar; the figures of three poachers were reflected in her molten-gold vertical pupils.
Ling Tian backhanded his skinning knife, a cold glint flashed, and it precisely pierced one of the poachers' throats.
After a fierce struggle, all the poachers were killed.
Su Meier lightly licked the knife wound on his arm, tasting the familiar blood and helplessness.
Ling Tian stroked her bristling tail, chuckling softly:
"So fierce, is it really a Fox?"
The first snow arrived quietly.
Su Meier lay on the windowsill, watching Ling Tian mend a fur coat by the fireplace.
Coarse needle and thread passed through the thick bear fur.
He hummed an unknown mountain folk tune, his voice deep and melodious.
On the stove, pine nut porridge was simmering, emitting a sweet aroma.
Su Meier suddenly jumped onto the wooden table and used her claw tip to draw a crooked Qingqiu totem with water marks.
"Starving?"
Ling Tian chuckled, ruffled the fur on her head, scooped a spoonful of hot porridge, blew it cool, and offered it to her mouth.
Su Meier looked at his hazy brows and eyes in the mist, squeaking and whimpering as if she wanted to say something.
One night in deep winter, Ling Tian was delirious with a high fever.
Su Meier anxiously knocked over the medicine pot, picked up a piece of Huang Qin (Scutellaria baicalensis), and rushed into the vast snowy night.
She ran with all her might through the snow.
It wasn't until her claws were raw with blood that she found an old ginseng root in a cave.
When she returned home, Ling Tian was clutching her fallen fur, unconscious on the bed.
In the stove ashes, a half-carved peach wood Card was buried.
Half of the character "Mei" had already been carved on it, still bearing his sweat stains.
By the seventeenth spring, Su Meier could no longer leap onto the highest pine branches.
Ling Tian's hair tie had also turned white, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes held the twilight:
"When I picked you up back then, your short little legs weren't even as thick as a stick."
He recalled with a smile, his eyes full of tenderness.
He still loved to hold her in his arms to cool off on summer nights.
Only, his chest was no longer as warm as it had been in his youth.
During an autumn hunt, Ling Tian accidentally touched a poison dart tree.
Su Meier desperately bit through the roots of a snake king vine to detoxify him.
Ling Tian carried her down the mountain, tears dripping onto her dull fur.
"Silly Fox, why bother..."
On a bright winter solstice morning, Su Meier lay quietly curled up beside Ling Tian's pillow, motionless.
Her body had already lost its warmth.
Ling Tian buried his face in her lusterless tail, tears silently falling.
His middle-aged back trembled like autumn leaves fluttering in the wind.
The furnace fire gradually died down, leaving only embers.
He felt the peach wood plaque pressed under the fox's paw.
On it, besides the character "Mei" (Charm) worn smooth by years of touching, two more characters were crookedly added—"Bu Li" (Never leave, never leave).
The third life.
Red candles melted into amber-colored hills on the gilded candle holders.
Su Meier leaned against the railing of the carved canopy bed, her fingertips unconsciously caressing the hundred children and thousand grandchildren embroidery on the wedding quilt.
Outside the window, wafted the scent of osmanthus.
"Would Madam like another cup to warm herself?"
Ling Tian lifted the silver pot and poured wine for her.
His dark wide sleeve slid down halfway, revealing a light pink scar on his wrist.
That was half a month ago, a mark from a tiger's claw when he personally hunted nine-colored deerskin for his betrothal gift.
Su Meier took the wine cup, her gaze falling on the peace talisman peeking out from the collar of his inner garment.
She had braved heavy rain three days prior to pray for it at Guanyin Temple.
At midnight, the water clock ticked.
Ling Tian took a brocade box from his sleeve and carefully opened it.
On the peacock blue velvet, a pair of white jade bells lay quietly.
The bells were carved in the shape of a Nine-tailed Sky Fox curled up, exquisite and adorable.
"As a child, I always dreamt of a Nine-tailed Sky Fox crouching on the eaves."
Ling Tian said softly, his voice carrying a trace of imperceptible tenderness, "Later, I had a craftsman carve this pair of bells."
He tied the bells to Su Meier's ankle.
The cool jade pressed against her delicate skin.
"Now I know, it was meant to be given to you."
Ling Tian gazed at Su Meier, his eyes filled with an unmelting tenderness.
The rain after the Awakening of Insects was drizzling.
Raindrops intertwined with tender peach petals, falling into the inkstone.
The fragrance of ink permeated the air.
As Su Meier held her brush to write, her wrist was suddenly enveloped by a warm palm.
Ling Tian held her hand, marking the ledger in red.
The vermilion was bright red, winding down the characters "donate three thousand piculs of millet."
"This year's spring flood came early; the porridge stalls in the south of the city should add some ginger soup to ward off the cold and prepare some straw cloaks,"
Ling Tian said softly.
Suddenly, a commotion came from outside the window.
Seven or eight young children, holding swallow kites, happily ran through the covered corridor.
Their laughter was crisp and melodious, like silver bells.
Ling Tian put down his brush, the corners of his lips curving slightly upward.
"The cherry tree planted last year should be bearing fruit; would Madam like to go together?"
Before he finished speaking, Su Meier had already lifted her skirt and stepped over the threshold.
Her pomegranate-red pibo, flowing like rosy clouds, swept away a few peach blossom notes from the desk.
Tree shadows swayed.
Ling Tian held the ladder, looking up at Su Meier in the tree.
"Be careful not to scratch your hands on the branches."
His voice was full of concern.
Su Meier held the most vibrant cluster of cherries between her lips.
She leaned down, and the scent of fruit, along with the jasmine in her hair, fell together.
On the bluestone slab, the crushed berries were as red as rouge tears.
They stained Ling Tian's snow-white Hangzhou silk robe and also stained the tenderness in his eyes.
The roofs of the Ling manor were covered with fish-scale-like green tiles.
Whenever Su Meier stepped barefoot, the white jade bells on her ankles would always make a crisp sound.
On the night of the Qixi Festival, the moonlight was like water.
Su Meier held a porcelain urn of iced sour plum soup, watching Ling Tian hang red strings on the eaves with a lantern.
One, two, three... twenty-seven bright lanterns lit up in succession.
In the night sky, they formed a giant Big Dipper shape.
The starlight was dazzling, dreamlike and illusory.
"When I was young, my wet nurse told me that wishing upon the Tianxuan star was the most effective."
Ling Tian's voice drifted lightly in the night wind.
He wrapped a tiger skin cloak around Su Meier's slender shoulders.
"Does Madam have any wishes?"
Su Meier looked at him.
In his pupils, the myriad stars were reflected, as was her tiny self.
She suddenly reached out and placed her cool fingers on Ling Tian's neck.
"I ask my husband to accompany me to dig lotus roots in the lotus pond tomorrow," she said coquettishly.
The pulse in Ling Tian's neck beat rapidly.
Frightening away the night heron resting on the ridge of the roof.
Chongyang family banquet.
Su Meier secretly mixed half a cup of mint dew into the osmanthus wine.
After drinking three cups, Ling Tian actually fell sound asleep in the pavilion, resting his head on her lap.
The autumn sun, filtering through the wisteria trellis, fell upon his brows.
Staining the faint red mark there with an agate-like color.
"The master is truly drunk."
The old butler rushed over, about to call for someone to help him.
But Su Meier waved him off.
She picked a handful of golden osmanthus and gently scattered them on Ling Tian's clothes.
Then she took a brush and ink and carefully drew cat whiskers on his sleeping face.
Just as the last stroke was about to fall.
Her wrist was suddenly seized.
Ling Tian's eyes were closed, but a faint smile played on his lips.
"Madam is still as mischievous."
His voice was filled with endless doting.
The first snow fell, swirling.
The bamboo branches, bent under the weight, made a crisp sound.
Waking Su Meier from her light slumber.
At this moment, the chestnuts buried in the charcoal basin happened to burst open.
The entire room was filled with the sweet, roasted aroma.
Ling Tian, with his ink-black hair loose, leaned on the low couch.
He was using a sable brush, dipped in cinnabar, to meticulously paint red plum blossoms on her fair toes.
"Don't move."
He held her shrinking ankle.
"The 'Searching for Plum Blossoms in the Snow' by Master Zhang of the previous dynasty is renowned throughout the world."
Ling Tian said softly, with a hint of a playful smile in his tone.
"But it lacks a vivid and fragrant seal; Madam's red plum blossoms will be the finishing touch."
Su Meier was about to scold him.
Suddenly, a black shadow flashed past the window.
Ling Tian threw his brush, his figure like lightning.
In an instant, he tightly shielded Su Meier behind him.
Then, a short blade emerged from his sleeve, its cold gleam flashing, dislodging icicles from the beam.
When they saw that it was merely a snow owl that had strayed in, the two exchanged a smile.
Thin sweat seeped from their clasped hands.
At that moment, their hearts drew even closer.
After the Cold Dew, the night sky was exceptionally clear.
Su Meier counted the stars on the rooftop.
One, two, three... when she counted to the one hundred and seventh star, Ling Tian climbed up with a ram's horn lantern.
In his arms, he carried a gilded hand warmer.
Wrapped in his cloak was freshly stewed osmanthus wine with glutinous rice balls.
"The Tianxuan star has shifted three inches to the southeast."
Ling Tian scooped a spoonful of the rice balls and brought it to Su Meier's lips.
"The Imperial Astronomical Bureau says there might be a snow disaster this winter."
Suddenly, Su Meier grasped his hand that was adding soup.
The spoon fell to the ground, breaking into two halves.
The crisp sound of shattering echoed in the silent night.
It was very much like the emerald paperweight she had accidentally broken on the day they first met.
The jade bells on the eaves rang urgently, struck by the night wind.
She looked up, meeting Ling Tian's eyes, which were as gentle as water.
"Husband, would you like to hear a story?"
"Good," Ling Tian nodded gently.
That story was very long.
So long that it seemed to span thousands and tens of thousands of years.
In the story, the world was vast, and human hearts were wicked.
There, there was a clan called Qingqiu.
Simply because of their special Physique, their innate charm, they were mercilessly hunted by various major forces.
To protect the last of the Heavenly Fox Bloodline, all members of the Qingqiu clan fought to the death.
Corpses littered the fields, blood flowed like rivers.
Finally, only one young man remained by the side of that Heavenly Fox.
So that one day, she could avenge the Qingqiu clan.
The Heavenly Fox experienced countless illusions and Reincarnations.
Only to pass the trials and obtain the supreme emperor seal Legacy.
And the name of that Heavenly Fox was... Su Meier.
Her voice trembled slightly, with a hint of a choke.
"I... I am that young man, right?"
Ling Tian spoke gently, without a trace of surprise in his voice.
As if he had known everything all along.
"After we got married, I slowly remembered everything."
Su Meier's voice grew softer and softer.
"It's just... it's just that everything here is too beautiful, too warm."
"I can't bear to wake up, I'm so afraid..."
She looked up, tears glistening in her eyes.
"I'm afraid I will sink forever and forget my mission."
"But my grandmother's tragic death, the wails of the three hundred survivors, echo in my ears day and night!"
"This is my mission, I must do it!"
Ling Tian listened quietly, saying nothing.
He untied the Yanlong Token from his waist and gently placed it in Su Meier's palm.
The crimson jade embedded in the chi Dragon pattern suddenly burst forth with dazzling red light.
He gently raised his hand and wiped away the tears from Su Meier's eyes.
"I am very grateful to him for saving you so selflessly at that time."
Ling Tian's voice was deep and gentle.
"He has sacrificed so much for you, how could I selfishly keep you here, trapped in this illusion?"
"Wake up!"
As the sixth watchman's drum sounded.
The lifelike ice lotus pattern on Su Meier's wrist shattered inch by inch.
In the morning light, she transformed into countless stardust, slowly dissipating.
One last glance.
She saw Ling Tian standing quietly under the withered cherry tree.
Slowly releasing the Tianxuan lantern, tied with a red string, into the river.
Twenty-seven bright lanterns drifted slowly down the current.
At the end of the River of Oblivion, they transformed into an undying soul fire, illuminating her path forward.
"To ask about love, how is it resolved?"
The phantom of the Empress reappeared.
"Love is the red thread not securely tied on the eaves."
"It is the Qingqiu Moon on the sword tassel that has not yet shattered."
"I will personally burn away the warm colors in my palm."
"And engrave my name as the fuse to reignite the beacon fires of the Nine Heavens."
"To question my heart, I have no regrets!"
"To question love, I also have no regrets!"
The sky suddenly cracked into thousands of golden fissures.
The Nine Heavens Fire, wrapped in crimson clouds, poured down like a waterfall.
At Su Meier's feet, it condensed into a giant golden vortex.
Her spine emitted a crisp sound, like breaking jade.
Nine snow-white fox tails were dyed a dazzling cyan-gold.
Every strand of fur burned with raging Qingqiu Karma Fire.
That was the fire of vengeance, and also the flame of hope.
In the clouds, a huge emperor seal slowly emerged.
That emperor seal was not a physical entity.
Instead, it was woven from the souls of the Nine-tailed Sky Fox that had died in battle over these ten thousand years.
Those translucent phantoms roared and howled.
Penetrating her Sea of Consciousness, penetrating her limbs and bones.
Deeply branding the memories of eighty-one generations of Qingqiu empresses into her marrow.
That was Legacy, and also responsibility.
"Crack!"
A bone chain, at the position of her heart, suddenly broke.
Su Meier saw her arms covered with cyan runes.
A huge painting of the Qingqiu mountains and rivers slowly emerged from her palm.
In the painting, the originally dried-up Spiritual Springs began to gush.
On the scorched earth, silver-white fox-tail flowers bloomed one after another.
When the soul of the last ancestor transformed into a stream of light and merged into her glabella.
The qingqiu imperial seal finally revealed its true form.
Gilded as its base, inlaid with thirty-six meteorite fragments.
Within the cyan jade carved with a Nine-tailed Sky Fox, stars seemed to flow.
The qingqiu imperial seal is complete!
A hum resonated throughout heaven and earth.
The emperor seal slowly merged into Su Meier's body.
Becoming one with her.