Fuchuan was thrown back onto the ground.
The first thing he heard was that final sentence.
“My name is Sunwheel.”
He slowly climbed to his feet. His entire body hurt as though half of his bones had been shattered. Only then did he realize just how badly he had been beaten in that strange illusion.
With difficulty, he dragged himself back and lay down beside Zhu Mingyan.
Zhu Mingyan seemed to be sleeping deeply.
Her eyes were closed tightly, and her brows were furrowed. From time to time, she shook her head as if she were seeing something unpleasant.
Is she having a nightmare?
Fuchuan watched her for a moment, then gently rubbed his head against her face.
As if sensing his presence, the pain in her expression gradually eased.
Fuchuan immediately felt a little proud.
Then he remembered that hateful lion.
The more he thought about it, the more dissatisfied he became.
That guy actually questioned whether I could protect Zhu Mingyan!
I’ve been doing a great job!
Then another thought struck him.
And he said I was ugly!
Fuchuan angrily ran off a few steps, determined to prove otherwise.
Their campsite was beside a shallow pool.
The water was so clear that it resembled a mirror.
Earlier that evening, he had seen Ning Qiubai crouching by the water, pretending not to admire her own reflection.
Now, Fuchuan lowered his head over the calm surface and looked into it.
It was the middle of the night.
Only a faint silver moonlight illuminated the world.
Other than the dying fire beneath Ning Qiubai’s alchemy furnace, there was no other source of light.
Since Fuchuan’s fur was entirely black, his reflection blended almost completely into the darkness.
At first glance, all he could see in the water were two glowing golden eyes floating in the night.
He looked like a ghost wandering through the darkness.
Apparently, Fuchuan had always believed himself to be quite handsome.
Filled with anticipation, he eagerly looked into the water.
Instead, he scared himself and stumbled backward.
Am I really this ugly?!
The movement stirred a breeze that rippled the water’s surface.
The reflection immediately twisted and distorted.
The already frightening face became even more terrifying.
Fuchuan could not take it anymore.
He let out several desperate howls.
His cries finally woke Zhu Mingyan.
“Fuchuan… what are you yelling about?”
Zhu Mingyan shook her head in confusion, still half asleep.
Ning Qiubai and Hong Zhui woke up soon after.
Ning Qiubai blinked in surprise.
“Huh? I fell asleep?”
Meanwhile, Fuchuan’s mind was full of Sunwheel’s image.
That snow-white fur.
That noble appearance.
That elegant temperament.
Compared to Sunwheel, he felt completely inferior.
Like a hideous ghost.
The more he thought about it, the sadder he became.
He threw himself into Zhu Mingyan’s arms and said pitifully,
“Why… why… am I so ugly…”
Zhu Mingyan: “…What?”
Ning Qiubai and Hong Zhui were even more shocked.
Ning Qiubai blinked several times before turning to Hong Zhui.
“I didn’t hear that wrong, did I?”
“It can talk now?”
Hong Zhui nodded in disbelief.
Spirit beasts normally needed years of cultivation and a certain amount of talent before they could speak.
Hong Zhui himself was still far from reaching that level. At present, he could only communicate with specific people through telepathic spells.
But what about Fuchuan?
How had this guy learned to speak after just one night’s sleep?
A strange sense of betrayal instantly surged within him.
Hong Zhui ground his teeth unhappily.
Zhu Mingyan was equally stunned.
First, because Fuchuan had suddenly learned how to speak.
Second, because the first thing he said after learning to speak was a complaint about being ugly.
It was absolutely ridiculous.
She reached out and stroked his fur.
Then, while trying to find the right words, she casually comforted him.
“You’re not ugly. How is our Fuchuan ugly?”
Fuchuan simply lay on top of her, looking depressed.
He showed no reaction.
Unable to hold back any longer, Zhu Mingyan asked,
“Um… Fuchuan… when exactly did you learn how to talk?”
Just as Fuchuan was about to answer, Ning Qiubai suddenly cried out.
“Oh my goodness! Mingyan, come look! What happened around us?!”
Zhu Mingyan’s attention was instantly diverted.
After patting Fuchuan, she quickly stood up and looked around.
The moment she saw the surroundings, her eyes widened.
Centered around their campsite, dozens of demon beast corpses lay scattered within a radius of several dozen feet.
Ning Qiubai quickly inspected a few of them.
Every single one had died from overwhelming pressure that had ruptured their internal organs.
“Such terrifying pressure…” Ning Qiubai muttered.
“Could there really have been an incredibly powerful spirit beast here?”
She immediately remembered Zhu Mingyan’s earlier speculation.
Zhu Mingyan hesitated.
“If such a powerful spirit beast really appeared, why didn’t any of us notice?”
Ning Qiubai suddenly frowned.
“Now that I think about it, I was supposed to take the first watch tonight.”
“I even started a fire and set up my alchemy furnace.”
“My master has always taught me that alchemy requires complete concentration.”
“I would never fall asleep while making pills.”
“But tonight I somehow did.”
Hong Zhui nodded.
“The Scarlet Fox clan is naturally active at night.”
“Nighttime is when I’m most energetic.”
“And yet I somehow fell asleep without realizing it.”
Zhu Mingyan thought for a moment.
“So you’re saying that someone deliberately made us lose consciousness and then killed all the demon beasts around us?”
The idea sounded unbelievable.
“You were made to lose consciousness.”
The silent Fuchuan suddenly spoke up.
“I stayed awake.”
“I just don’t know who killed those…”
He paused.
Suddenly, he thought of Sunwheel.
That lion was incredibly powerful.
And from the way it spoke, it seemed to care about Zhu Mingyan.
Could it have been responsible?
Before he could think further, Zhu Mingyan immediately seized upon the most important part of what he had said.
“You stayed awake?”
Her voice became urgent.
“Did anything happen during that time? Did you encounter some kind of opportunity? Tell us everything in detail.”
Fuchuan nodded.
Having only just learned to speak, his words came out slowly and awkwardly.
Sometimes he mixed up the order of words.
Sometimes he stumbled over his sentences.
But he eventually managed to explain everything.
After hearing his story, Zhu Mingyan’s expression became extremely serious.
She was certainly shocked that Fuchuan had learned to speak because of this experience.
But what shocked her even more was the appearance of Sunwheel.
Sunwheel had once been her contracted spirit beast.
In her previous life, they had shared a life-bound contract.
They trusted each other completely and fought side by side without fail.
When their contract had been forcibly broken, the damage should not have fallen on her alone.
Sunwheel should have suffered as well.
After she was forced to sever the contract, she lost all contact with him.
Because of that, she had always believed that Sunwheel was dead.
But…
If Sunwheel was still alive…
A thought quietly surfaced in her heart.
If Sunwheel is still alive…
Then why hasn’t he come to see me?