That evening…
The Snow Fox Clan was brighter than it had been in years.
Bonfires were lit throughout the village.
The hunters brought back fresh prey.
The females prepared a feast.
Children laughed as they played in the snow.
Everyone wanted to celebrate the return of the Clan Leader’s daughter.
Inside the Clan Leader’s wooden home…
Bai Xueyin sat quietly with the cubs.
The house was warm.
Unlike the cave, it felt lived in.
Every corner carried traces of a family.
Then her eyes landed on a wooden shelf.
She froze.
There were dozens of wooden carvings.
Small foxes.
Snow flowers.
Little rabbits.
Birds.
Some were beautifully made.
Others were clearly the work of a child.
She unconsciously walked closer.
“…These…”
The Clan Leader, Bai Yunfeng, looked up from pouring tea.
“You made them.”
Xueyin blinked.
“I did?”
He nodded.
“When you were little.”
He smiled faintly.
“You insisted every carving had to stay here.”
“They’re part of our family.”
Xueyin gently picked up a tiny fox carving.
Its edges were worn from being handled many times.
Someone had taken good care of it.
Nearby, Bai Shuyi gasped.
“Mama made these?”
“They’re cute!”
Wu Yin nodded enthusiastically.
“I like this bird!”
The cubs quickly crowded around the shelf.
Bai Yunfeng quietly watched them.
His eyes filled with warmth.
For a brief moment…
The house felt alive again.
Then Xueyin noticed something else.
A layer of dust covered most of the furniture.
Except…
One chair.
It was perfectly clean.
As if someone wiped it every single day.
She looked at Bai Yunfeng.
“…Someone sits there often?”
The Clan Leader followed her gaze.
For a moment…
Silence.
Then he smiled sadly.
“No.”
“I simply never stopped preparing your place.”
The room became quiet.
Even the cubs stopped talking.
Xueyin looked at the chair.
Every day…
For years…
He had cleaned it.
Waiting for a daughter who never came home.
A strange ache settled in her heart.
That evening, after the meal…
The cubs ran outside to play with the village children.
Wu Yin quickly made new friends.
Bai Shuyi proudly challenged the young fox cubs to a snowball fight.
Bai Yan immediately joined him.
Bai Chen quietly watched over the younger children.
Bai Qingluo helped the village females tidy up after dinner.
Bai Xingyuan…
somehow convinced a group of curious fox cubs that snakes were majestic creatures.
Inside the house…
Only Bai Xueyin and Bai Yunfeng remained.
The silence between them wasn’t uncomfortable.
Just…
Finally, Bai Yunfeng spoke.
“May I ask you something?”
Xueyin nodded.
“Of course.”
He looked into his teacup.
“…Are you happy?”
She was surprised.
She expected questions about memories.
About the past.
Instead…
He asked about her present.
After thinking for a moment, she answered honestly.
“…I’m still confused.”
She smiled awkwardly.
“But…”
“The cubs make me happy.”
“They’re loud.”
“They’re troublesome.”
A soft laugh escaped her.
“But…
I like being with them.”
Bai Yunfeng smiled.
“That’s enough.”
She tilted her head.
“Hm?”
“As long as you’re smiling…”
He looked at her gently.
“…I don’t need anything else.”
Xueyin lowered her eyes.
For the first time…
She didn’t feel like she was pretending.
Maybe she couldn’t return the original Bai Xueyin’s memories.
But perhaps…
She could build a new relationship with this kind man.
Not as the daughter he remembered.
But as the daughter standing before him now.
Outside the window…
Unnoticed by everyone…
A black raven landed silently on a pine tree.
It wasn’t Wu Ye.
Its golden eyes watched the Clan Leader’s house for several moments.
Then it spread its wings and flew into the night—
Carrying another report to someone waiting in the shadows.