Just as her mind was in a complete haze, a familiar voice echoed in Zhi Yao's mind, "Master, I'm back!"
"These are your memories from before and after you lost consciousness. It might hurt a bit next, so brace yourself!"
The voices of Pei Chiyao and Anthony at her ears were now completely inaudible to Zhi Yao, and she had no idea what they were saying.
A sudden, intense pain caused Zhi Yao to collapse to the ground. The agony was so great that she couldn't open her eyes, and it forced her to revert to her original form. Her head felt as if it was about to explode.
She was in so much pain that she couldn't even react or move, only passively endure it all in silence.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment. After an unknown duration, long enough for Zhi Yao to finally feel the pain in her body subside a little, she managed to open her eyes with great effort.
As she opened them, she saw Ji Qingpei... and herself.
A young woman in a qipao stood before her, and by her side stood a young man in a long robe.
She saw a series of images flashing before her eyes, fast like a malfunctioning projector.
As the two spots of light above her head gradually dissipated, the pain in Zhi Yao's body finally vanished at that moment.
She moved her body and discovered, strangely, that it felt much lighter, no longer as clumsy as before.
Ji Qingpei, who had been standing beside her, had disappeared, and the white fox... was also gone.
Zhi Yao knew they had left.
The spiritual energy here could no longer sustain them, and besides, their task was complete.
She exhaled deeply, only to discover... she was exhaling spiritual energy?
Zhi Yao immediately held her breath and carefully sensed her body. As she did, she instantly noticed that there was a trace of power within her that didn't belong to her, and the original seal...
It was now teetering on the brink of collapse.
What on earth was happening?
Just as Zhi Yao was lost in thought, a voice suddenly rang out beside her ear, pulling her back to reality.
"You... why do you possess such powerful spiritual energy?"
It was Anthony's voice, filled with panic. Zhi Yao looked up to see that the weapon in Anthony's hand had been snatched away by Pei Chiyao at some point. The weapon, which looked incredibly sharp and terrifying, was like a piece of scrap metal in Pei Chiyao's hand.
He raised his hand, gripping the object, and without seeming to exert much force, he snapped the weapon in two.
Pei Chiyao's eyes were cold and indifferent. "You want to die? Then let me grant your wish."
Anthony was breathing heavily, shaking his head vigorously as he said, "No... this is impossible! That thing was specially crafted by the Ji Family to deal with you, Pei Chiyao. How could you possibly... how could you..."
Before he could finish, his gaze caught sight of Zhi Yao standing to the side. Suddenly, an idea struck Anthony.
He used every last bit of his spiritual energy to attack Pei Chiyao. Taking advantage of Pei Chiyao's defense, he quickly ran towards Zhi Yao.
Zhi Yao stood still, watching him without dodging, allowing Anthony to grab her and clamp his hand tightly over her throat.
"You... if you dare kill me, I'll kill her first!"
He threatened Pei Chiyao, "She's just a fox. I can smash her to death right now!"
Before Pei Chiyao could speak, Zhi Yao let out a soft laugh. The laugh was very faint, but to Anthony, it sounded like his death knell. "Are you sure about that?"
A peculiar feeling surged in Anthony's heart—his instinct for danger.
The moment their eyes met, he saw a pair of golden eyes. Those golden eyes held an endless power of enchantment, as if a single glance could make him lose all reason and thought, willingly becoming her slave.
"Let go."
The fox in his tight grip spoke again, and to his surprise, Anthony truly let go. Moreover, he gently placed Zhi Yao on the ground, his movements uncharacteristically tender.
The white fox lightly swayed her tail, raised a front paw, and gently licked it before speaking elegantly, "Someone like you, if sent back, would only be a ticking time bomb. Since that's the case, why don't you end yourself right here?"
"Yes."
Anthony's eyes were empty. His movements were like those of a marionette as he staggered towards a nearby spot, picked up a sharp wooden splinter from the ground, and without any hesitation, plunged it into his own body.
With a sickening squelch, blood gushed out of Anthony's body. The immense pain briefly cleared his gaze, but soon that clarity disappeared again.
He collapsed to the ground.
Zhi Yao gazed at Anthony with indifferent eyes. The next second, a faint scent of sandalwood filled the air behind her.
It was the scent unique to Pei Chiyao.
Pei Chiyao bent down to pick up the fox, cradling her in his arms as he scrutinized Zhi Yao.
"You remember everything now?"
Zhi Yao narrowed her eyes and let out a cold laugh. "You probably remembered a long time ago, didn't you? Such composure, to keep up this act for so long. Bravo, great actor."
"Are you angry?" He raised his hand to gently pinch the soft cheek of the white fox, his tone tender, as if trying to act cute. "Baby, you can punish me, just like you punished Anthony. Dying by your hand, I would be very happy."
"You're insane."
Zhi Yao glared at Pei Chiyao. The man before her seemed to have merged with Ji Qingpei, making his already obsessive nature even more irrational.
"Hah, Pei Chiyao, from the moment you stepped in here, you remembered everything, didn't you? The seal on me, it was your doing all along!"
Zhi Yao was so angry she wanted to bite him.
Just now, when her consciousness returned, she finally remembered... remembered everything!
This madman! To prevent her from leaving him, he had sealed away all her five senses and even planted that thing inside her...
When Zhi Yao was found by her Mother again, she had transformed from an oblivious little fox into a more foolish, more silly, and more dull-witted fox. She understood neither love nor worldly affairs, remaining as innocent as a cub.
Poor Mother thought Zhi Yao had mutated, for in a litter of five, some would be smarter, and some would be duller. She believed Zhi Yao had been born dim-witted from the womb, never imagining that all of this... was due to the doing of that man.
More importantly... she could not bond with a human. If she bonded with a human...
