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The painting flew over with a whoosh and, unable to brake in time, crashed right into Chang Tai's face. Instinctively, Chang Tai reached out to grab it, and when he realized he was holding a painting, a look of confusion deepened on his face. Before he could react, Yin Yuan waddled over on his short legs. He was munching on a chicken leg and pretended to ask seriously, "Uncle Chang, are you hungry too?"
Chang Tai looked down and saw it was Yin Yuan, his expression softened considerably. He crouched down, holding the painting, and asked as he watched the greasy corners of Yin Yuan's mouth while he ate, "Are you hungry too, Yin Yuan?"
"Yeah, I'm hungry," Yin Yuan replied, casting a sly glance at the painting in Chang Tai's hand. "What is Uncle Chang holding?"
"A painting; I don't even know where it came from," Chang Tai said, glancing at the painting in his hand. It had come through that crash completely unscathed. As for the content of the painting, it seemed to be one of those typical portraits of ladies, but he had no knowledge of art and was even less interested in what was depicted. He merely took a cursory glance before rolling it up.
"Can I take a look at it? It looks like the one that Bai Yin Yuan took from Mother’s room," Yin Yuan said confidently, showing no signs of guilt.
"You took a painting from Mother’s room? Does she know?" Chang Tai asked curiously, feeling that this child seemed particularly cute and sensible.
Yin Yuan could tell that Chang Tai had a good impression of him; this was what they called affection extending to all related things. He took another bite of his chicken leg before replying, "Mother knows, of course. This painting was given to Father by someone else. Mother got really angry and told me to throw it away. But I couldn't carry it, so I left it in the yard, planning to throw it away tomorrow morning. Then the wind blew last night and brought it here to Uncle Chang."
"I see. Well then, Uncle Chang will return this painting to you. After all, it's something Mother entrusted you with; if you don't handle it well, given Mother's temperament, she will surely be upset."
Upon hearing this from Chang Tai, Xing Ruyi became displeased. She turned around and looked at the fox with narrowed eyes and asked sharply, "Is my temper really that bad?"
The fox nodded slightly and replied, "It's somewhat different from ordinary women’s temperaments; however, I think it's quite good."
Xing Ruyi chuckled softly: "Indeed, our ancestors were right."
"What do you mean?" the fox asked.
"In the eyes of a lover, one sees beauty in their partner. I estimate that based on our current feelings for each other—even if I were a fierce woman like Mother Nightshade—you would still find me charmingly willful. But if one day love fades away, then Mother Nightshade would just be an ordinary fierce woman."
"That won't happen!" The fox firmly concluded.
"Why not?" This time it was Xing Ruyi's turn to be curious.
"Because although foxes are lustful, they are not heartless or promiscuous." The fox pressed his forehead against Xing Ruyi's: "Fox Demon, I am not an ordinary man, and you are not an ordinary woman; therefore, you need not worry about such concerns."
"I know that! Time is so short; we haven't even had enough time to love each other yet—when would you have time to dislike me?" Xing Ruyi rarely showed such girlish demeanor; she gently pushed the fox away and signaled for him to continue looking out the window.
In the yard, Chang Tai was about to hand over the painting scroll to Yin Yuan, but the scroll suddenly shook on its own. Chang Tai looked down in confusion, while Yin Yuan quickly snatched the painting and struggled to hold it in his arms.
"What just happened to this painting?"
"What’s wrong with the painting?" Yin Yuan asked, his eyes sparkling with a cunning light like that of a fox.
"Oh, it's nothing. I guess I've just been a bit tired lately," Chang Tai said, noticing that the scroll in Yin Yuan's arms seemed to be a bit taller than him. He gently asked, "Do you need Uncle Chang to help you?"
"Yes, yes! If Mother wakes up tomorrow morning and sees this painting still here, she will definitely be angry. But it's late at night, and I can't find anywhere to dispose of it. Besides, Mother believes that maintaining the environment of Luoyang City is everyone's responsibility. Even if this painting is useless, we can't just throw it away and pollute the environment. So I was thinking it would be better to burn it."
"Burn it?"
"What's wrong? Does Uncle Chang think that's inappropriate?"
"There's nothing inappropriate about it, but it's late at night; won't you get scolded by Mother for starting a fire?"
"Don't worry, Mother won't know." Yin Yuan blinked and struggled to carry the painting toward the kitchen.
Chang Tai watched Yin Yuan's retreating figure, shook his head, tightened the garment draped over him, and followed after.
In the bedroom, Xing Ruyi grew anxious and turned to the fox. "Is Yin Yuan planning to eat that female ghost?"
"Don't worry; Yin Yuan knows what he's doing!" The fox shushed her, holding Xing Ruyi as they both concealed themselves. "Let's go check on the kitchen."
"Fox!"
"Hmm?"
"Why is that painting clinging to Brother Chang?"
"Past life causes lead to present life effects. You've been to Yin Si's underworld; you should know that people have reincarnations. Perhaps Chang Tai has some past connection with the woman in that painting. However, we might find out the truth tonight."
Xing Ruyi nodded and did not speak further.
In the kitchen, flames ignited. Although the painting still struggled, it was helpless against Yin Yuan's malevolent energy. Seeing that the fire was burning well, Yin Yuan laboriously picked up the scroll and threw it in. Of course, to prevent the painting from escaping, he also released a lot of malevolent energy to surround the stove.
Chang Tai watched from the side. Although he saw the scroll fall out of the flames several times, he did not suspect anything, thinking it was just due to Yin Yuan's strength. After several attempts, the painting was finally thrown into the fire by Yin Yuan. The flames in the stove suddenly roared to life, their color deepening until they turned a blood-like red. Then, as the flames leaped out of the stove, Yin Yuan had been watching with narrowed eyes when Chang Tai pushed him aside and shouted, "Heart!"
The blood-red tongues of flame curled toward Chang Tai's back. He hurriedly dropped his outer garment and cradled Yin Yuan tightly in his arms. Xing Ruyi and the fox revealed themselves upon seeing this.
"Brother Chang, Yin Yuan, are you alright?"
"Don't worry, Mother. Yin Yuan is fine."
"I'm fine too!" Chang Tai said as he turned to look at the stove. Inside, the fire had somehow gone out, and even the candles in the kitchen flickered and extinguished. At this moment, apart from the cold white moonlight outside, there was no other source of light.
The kitchen was very dark, mixed with a chilling aura. Xing Ruyi scanned her surroundings warily; she knew that since the painting had been burned by Yin Yuan, the female ghost would have nowhere to hide and was lurking in the darkness before her.
Sure enough, that cold aura drew closer to her. She activated her Ghost Eye and saw a face that was as blurry as in the painting. Upon closer inspection, she realized that it wasn't that the face was blurry; rather, something covered the woman's face. The ghost approached her increasingly closely, and the icy sensation penetrated to her bones.
"Don't be afraid!" The fox whispered in Xing Ruyi's ear; only then did she notice that this fox had somehow become invisible again.
In that moment, the female ghost lunged at her. Unlike other ghosts, she neither clawed nor grabbed nor threatened to kill or eat her; instead, she floated over lightly and pressed her mouth against Xing Ruyi's lips, her nose against hers, and their eyes locked tightly together.
Breathing became increasingly rapid. Her body grew colder.
Xing Ruyi cursed at the fox in her heart while desperately trying to form a ghostly hand sign with her right hand. However, it was too cold; her entire body felt damp and sticky, causing her fingers to go numb. Just then, she heard the ghost's voice like a wisp of silk: "Is this way of dying good?"
"Of course not!" Xing Ruyi glared fiercely at the ghost. As soon as her gaze shot out, it was blocked by a thin piece of rice paper. Following that paper came thick moisture that covered her face. It turned out that struggling for breath felt this unbearable. Her brain lacked oxygen; everything went blank while darkness enveloped her vision.
Just when Xing Ruyi thought she would have to go to the Underworld to chat with Wang Chao and Yanluo about playing chess again, her breathing suddenly became smooth again. She opened her eyes to find that light had returned to the kitchen, with Yin Yuan and Chang Tai surrounding her.
"What happened to me?" Xing Ruyi asked as she touched her face; it was still damp. It seemed everything she had just experienced was not an illusion. "Where's the fox? That damned fox! Why didn't it come out to save me?"
"Grandpa, if we don't prevent that female ghost from possessing Mother, it will be difficult to catch her," Yin Yuan squatted down, resting his chubby hands on his chin, his big eyes sparkling like stars, blinking continuously, making Xing Ruyi feel a bit dazzled.
She half-covered her eyes with her hand and asked Yin Yuan: "Where's your dad?"
"Here!" Yin Yuan shifted slightly. Xing Ruyi looked behind him and saw the fox holding something.
"A female ghost?" Xing Ruyi asked.
Yin Yuan nodded and pointed to Chang Tai beside him: "Dad, it's the same one that was originally possessing Uncle Chang."
Chang Tai felt a lump in his throat. Although he knew that ghosts and spirits existed in this world and had seen Bell transform into a person, facing it again still felt somewhat unbelievable. What astonished him the most was Yin Yuan, this child, who seemed even calmer than he was in such a terrifying situation. It was as if all of this was routine for him. It was only at this moment that he truly understood that he and the Fox Demon were not from the same world. That was why the Fox Demon encountered Yin Chensi, fell in love with Yin Chensi, and only Yin Chensi was the one most suitable for the Fox Demon in this world.
Having come to this realization, he felt at ease inside, but with that ease came emptiness.
He looked into the eyes of the Fox Demon, remaining silent for a while, unsure of what to say.
"Brother Chang, what's wrong with you?" Xing Ruyi noticed something unusual about Chang Tai's expression and immediately asked, "Could it be that female ghost just possessed you too?"
"No! Not at all!" Chang Tai regained his voice. "How about you, Fox Demon, are you alright?"
"Of course not! That ghost actually dared to possess me; it's looking for death!" Just mentioning it made Xing Ruyi's temper flare up. Ever since the incident with Arsenal, she vowed never to allow any ghost to possess her again. This wasn't just a matter of life or death; it was about face. With that thought, she quickly rolled up her sleeves and angrily marched towards the fox and the female ghost.
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