Although Pei Chiyao might have seen it before, this was the first time in her fully conscious state...
"Yao, I like you."
Pei Chiyao kissed her forehead, "Do you like me too?"
Zhi Yao barely hesitated and answered without a second's thought, "I like you."
Pei Chiyao chuckled, "Then today I'll teach you something new, alright?"
Something new?
"Is it fun?" Zhi Yao blinked.
"Very fun," Pei Chiyao replied without hesitation. "Extremely interesting."
"Really?"
Zhi Yao instantly became excited. "How do you play? Quickly teach me!"
Just as he was about to lean down and kiss Zhi Yao again, there was a sudden knock at the door.
Then, the voice of someone from the Gu family came from outside.
This time, it wasn't Gu Changlin, but the Gu Old Lady.
"Young Master Pei, this old bone has no dignity or face to preserve anymore. For the sake of my granddaughter, I beg you to sell us that jade pendant!"
Immediately after, there were sounds of something hitting the ground from outside the door.
It didn't sound like knocking, but rather like something had fallen and hit the floor.
Soon after, the Gu family members began arguing.
"Mother, what are you doing? Get up!!"
Gu Changlin was enraged, flustered, and filled with hatred for himself.
"Young Master Pei, if you give us the jade pendant today, you can take my life without hesitation!"
The interrupted Pei Chiyao thought, "..."
At this moment, he really wanted to go out and shoot the entire Gu family.
He gritted his teeth. Beneath him were the bright, expectant eyes of the young lady, making Pei Chiyao's lower abdomen tighten.
But with the Gu family's ruckus, he had lost all interest.
Pei Chiyao tightly clenched his fists, but ultimately grabbed a blanket nearby and carefully covered Zhi Yao, saying, "I'll teach you next time. Wait for me here, I'll be back shortly."
After speaking, Pei Chiyao got up and left.
Zhi Yao watched Pei Chiyao's figure leave, and only then did she come back to her senses.
She lowered her gaze to the jade pendant on her chest. The originally half jade pendant had finally become whole.
The young lady cupped the jade pendant in her hands, carefully examining it.
So this jade pendant was actually two pieces?
She subconsciously wanted to wag her tail, but it was only then that Zhi Yao realized... her tail was gone!!
She hurriedly reached up to feel her ears, and to her shock, her ears were also gone!
The young lady was utterly astounded. Still wrapped in the blanket, she went into the bathroom, and the mirror reflected an exceptionally beautiful young lady.
A true human girl, not her former half-human, half-beast form!
Zhi Yao was overjoyed to the extreme.
She was about to go find Pei Chiyao to share this good news when suddenly, she heard Xiao Nuan crying loudly outside, and everything was in chaos!
That's right... Xiao Nuan!
Remembering Xiao Nuan's situation, Zhi Yao was about to go out and see, but after taking just one step, she remembered that she was only wrapped in a blanket.
There was a bathrobe in the bathroom earlier, so Zhi Yao went to change into that without a second thought.
It wasn't until she left the room that she finally saw this scene.
The Gu Old Lady's forehead was bleeding profusely, with a fresh wound.
The other Gu family women were huddled together, crying, while Gu Changlin looked ghastly pale.
Zhi Yao immediately saw Xiao Nuan, held in the old lady's arms and violently convulsing.
Zhi Yao knew it was that little demon causing trouble again!
She immediately went over and patted Xiao Nuan's back without a second thought.
Zhi Yao's action immediately caught the old lady's attention. "You... you are..."
"There's no time, quickly give Xiao Nuan to me!"
The beautiful young lady was only wrapped in a plain bathrobe, without a hint of makeup, yet her entire being seemed to glow, making it impossible to look away from her beauty.
For a moment, everyone stared dazedly at Zhi Yao, forgetting to move or speak.
They even forgot why they had come and why they were there.
Strangely, as soon as Xiao Nuan was in Zhi Yao's arms, her complexion eased in an unprecedented way, and she gradually stopped convulsing.
Zhi Yao squinted at the little demon that had been clinging to Xiao Nuan, and it showed an expression of resistance!
Fear, terror, rejection!
It was staring straight at Zhi Yao's neck!
Zhi Yao followed its gaze downwards and sure enough, saw the jade pendant.
Ah, so it was afraid of this!
Zhi Yao came up with a plan and immediately grasped Xiao Nuan's hand, tightly holding the jade pendant hanging on her chest.
"Ah--"
A scream inaudible to others rang in Zhi Yao's ears.
The little demon instantly passed out!
Zhi Yao looked at the jade pendant in shock. This jade pendant was so powerful?!
To be honest, she had seen many ghosts before, like water ghosts, fire ghosts, starving ghosts, and of course, ghosts filled with hatred and resentment.
But she had never seen such a vicious and terrifying ghost, no wonder the Gu family couldn't find any priests or monks to get rid of it.
Only Zhi Yao saw this scene.
The Gu family could only see that after Zhi Yao held Xiao Nuan for a while, Xiao Nuan gradually recovered, and the jade pendant Xiao Nuan was gripping in her hand.
So... the jade pendant that Pei Chiyao had bid on was for her?
"Yao, why did you come out?"
Soon after, Pei Chiyao returned.
He had just gone to get a lady's dress from the servants and when he came back, he saw this scene.
"I heard a commotion outside, so I thought I'd come take a look."
Zhi Yao spoke softly, trying to return Xiao Nuan to the Gu Old Lady's arms, but Xiao Nuan refused to let go of Zhi Yao, clinging to her with one hand gripping Zhi Yao's finger, while muttering, "Pretty sister, pretty fox sister..."
Her formerly vacant and dull eyes were now bright and shining.
The Gu family finally reacted and crowded around.
"Young lady, you..."
Before they could speak, Zhi Yao said, "You must know what's going on with Xiao Nuan, right? Honestly, I've never seen such a vicious ghost, but I know that everything has a cause and effect. To untie the knot, you must find the one who originally tied it. If you truly want to resolve this, you need to address the root cause."
Although Zhi Yao's words sounded cryptic, they struck a chord with the Gu family members.
Especially Gu Changlin, whose face turned deathly pale...
Zhi Yao gently patted Xiao Nuan's back and said, "Xiao Nuan, do you want to go back to your grandma?"
Xiao Nuan obediently nodded and called out "Grandma" in a crisp voice.
She rarely had moments of such clarity these days. In past years, Xiao Nuan had become increasingly muddled, often having convulsions and saying terrifying things.
