"Are you really going, Master?" Snowball asked after the silence had dragged on for several long minutes. Li Meirong slouched onto her bed, exhaling loudly as she did so; she no longer had to keep up pretenses, and she was glad for the moment to relax.

"I have to," she replied.

​​

"Why must you go?"

"It's a little too complicated to explain easily…" she trailed off, seeming unsure of how to continue. "I have to find out if Mo Cheng is related to my past like I think he might be." 

Her tone was strange, and the fox spirit's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

'What, exactly, does she mean by that?' he wondered, wary.

Bai Qingyue had sent spies to search into his wife's past outside the sect. He felt like he needed to know everything about Li Meirong, even the tiniest detail, and since she was not the type of person to eagerly share her history, he had no other choice than to take matters into his own hands.

As such, he had conducted his own investigation, leaving no stone unturned in his quest for answers.

His subordinates had discovered that prior to his meeting with her, his wife had been a concubine-born girl of no particular importance within an established household in a nearby kingdom. In order to gain prestige, her father had offered her to a favored consort of the emperor at a very young age, in the hopes of gaining connections within the royal palace. 

Fate had not been kind to Li Meirong, as she had spent her childhood as a maid, being tossed from one master to another throughout the palace. Eventually she had drawn the ire of a concubine she had been ordered to serve, and had thus ended up scarred, abused, and sold off to a brothel.

Bai Qingyue gritted his teeth as he thought of all the terrible hardships his wife had suffered when she was but a mere child, and blamed himself for being so indifferent to the search for his soulmate.

Only one thing did not add up in all of this, though, and that was the boy, Mo Cheng. He was not related to Li Meirong's past in any way, shape, or form. In fact, he had come to the sect from a completely different kingdom.

So why did his silly wife think this boy was somehow related to her past?

The Fox Lord's instincts cautioned him that there was something major Li Meirong had yet to tell him - something important. 

Whatever it was, she had shown no hint of it, and that revelation must still be looming in the future. That thought disturbed him greatly.

While Snowball pondered, Li Meirong tidied the room and cleared the tea paraphernalia from the table. As her home was so small, the kitchen cabinets stored more than cutlery and crockery; it also served to house a collection of ornaments and grooming supplies. She searched for her hairbrush amongst the clutter inside the cabinets, and let out a sound of frustration when she couldn't find it.

Right at that moment, Snowball nudged his small nose against her calf, drawing her attention away from her futile search. 

She turned to find him holding a fine-toothed comb in his small mouth, and relaxed. She patted the top of his furry head in thanks, grabbed the comb from him, and then proceeded to brush her hair in rhythmic, even strokes while sitting on the edge of her bed. 

Li Meirong's face remained deathly pale and devoid of expression the entire time.

Her eyes were worried yet distant; she seemed lost in thought.

Snowball jumped up onto her lap, rose up on his hind legs, and placed his front paws on her shoulders. He shook her once, twice.

"Master is like a fish throwing herself into the net. Just stay here and avoid the boy," he said.

The corners of Li Meirong's lips tilted upwards into a tiny smile at the cutely stubborn behaviour. Whether it was his intent or not, he had drawn her attention to focus solely on him.

She feared what revelations might be brought about by her upcoming conversation with Mo Cheng, but delaying it further wouldn't change anything. She forced herself to stop thinking of all the possible future 'what if' scenarios and gathered her wits about her. 

Snowball was right. This could be a trap, and she had to stay sharp and be prepared for anything.

As he stared back at her, scowling, the disguised Fox Lord thought that his little wife's eyes held some kind of power that drew him to them; once he fell prey to those eyes of hers, it became physically impossible to look away.

She looked down at his little snout and smiled in amusement, unknowingly making the Fox Lord's heart beat erratically in his chest.

"Little Snowball, I already told you, I have to go."

"Going to meet with him is not allowed," Snowball refused staunchly, tapping on her shoulders again for emphasis as he spoke. He was even more determined to keep her away from the mortal boy - or any other male, for that matter.

'How many of these insignificant vermin must I squish before she is satisfied?' Bai Qingyue grumbled silently to himself. 

Anyone would fall in love with her if they saw her look at them with those beautiful eyes, or smile in the particular way she did. He thought she should be thankful he had even allowed the younger brother the chance to enter the house!

He was not, after all, so magnanimous as to willingly provide vermin with the opportunity to squeeze themselves into his wife's company, and yet he had allowed it to happen not only once today, but twice! 

Bai Qingyue felt he was a very magnanimous god, indeed.

Li Meirong, on the other hand, did not seem to share his opinion. She shook her head slowly and gave his dark nose a playful tap.

"I have already made up my mind to go see Mo Cheng," she said firmly. "And besides, I have questions of my own that need to be answered. You stay here and don't cause any trouble, alright?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Preview to the next chapter:

Although Li Meirong greatly appreciated that Snowball was so protective of her, she knew she wouldn't have been disqualified from the match if he hadn't barged into the arena with utter disregard for the rules. 

Furthermore, he hadn't been too keen on listening to her requests as of late, and he always spoke back to her nowadays. He made a fuss about every little decision she made! 

Snowball was supposedly her familiar, but he did pretty much whatever he pleased.

"You intend to leave me here while you meet that boy alone?" Snowball snarled, an enraged edge to his voice. 

Li Meirong pressed her lips together tightly in disapproval. His response only further confirmed her opinion on his recent attitude.