Mulan looked at the faint teeth marks on her ankle with some confusion. "I remember being bitten by a snake. How could it have healed so quickly?"

“General, I have used the best medicine for you, so you will naturally recover faster.” Li Jing said with a somewhat unusual expression, “However, please do not engage in any strenuous activities in the coming days, since you have injured your bones.”

"Yes, Mulan knows. Thank you for taking care of me, Elder Li." Mulan smiled, her face pale.

Old Li waved his hand and said, "Don't thank me, thank that kid who got stabbed instead!"

"The kid who got stabbed?" Mulan was taken aback and looked puzzled.

"Oh, that's the handsome young man who stayed with you a few days ago after being injured." Old Li chuckled. "You could tell that young man really cared about you. He sucked out the venom and gave you emergency treatment after you were bitten by a poisonous snake, and then carried you down the mountain... Oh, you know he was also injured. When he came back, his wound reopened and he bled a lot, but he didn't care about his injuries and came straight to ask me what medicine I needed, and then went into town overnight to buy your medicine..."

Hua Mulan blushed slightly. "Well, that guy isn't as good as you think!"

Seeing Mulan's reaction, Old Li chuckled, "I don't think so. I've heard he's skilled in both literature and martial arts, can play music, and his looks and demeanor are beyond reproach. If no girl likes him, it's probably only General Mulan disguised as a man! I'm really curious now, what kind of expression would he have if he knew that you, General, are a woman? Hahaha, I'm really looking forward to it!"

"Oh dear, Mr. Li, please don't tease me. I'm so embarrassed," Hua Mulan said shyly, her face flushed.

"Haha, I know, I know. I'll go check on the other soldiers first. I'll take my leave now."

After Old Li left, Hua Mulan couldn't help but laugh at the thought of standing in front of Mo Li dressed as a woman, watching him stare in disbelief...

As Li Lao stepped out of the tent, a dark figure grabbed him and pulled him aside.

"Hey, hey, hey, can't you be a little gentler?" Old Li said anxiously when he saw the man's appearance.

He broke free from Mo Li's grasp, his face contorted with rage, "You brat, how could you be so rude to an old man!"

"Why would I be gentle with an old man like you?" Mo Li said hastily. "The medicine you mentioned has been found, so the poison in her body can be removed, right?"

He then took out a few herbs and handed them to Li Jing. After examining them several times, Li Jing nodded in confirmation, "They are correct, but we'll have to wait until winter to completely remove the toxins."

"Huh? Are you kidding me?" Mo Li was so angry that she almost hit him. She had spent three days collecting the medicinal herbs, only to be told that the detoxification would have to wait until winter, several months later. Was this some kind of joke?

“We still need one more ingredient, which can only be found in icy and snowy lands. Besides, even if you get it now, it won't be usable. We can only wait until winter to find it! But don't worry, the poison has been suppressed by the fox spirit you saw, so there shouldn't be any problems,” Li Jing reassured him.

Mo Li's expression was solemn. No one knew better than him the severity of the poison Hua Mulan had suffered. It was poison left behind by the offspring of the thousand-year-old snake prince, and even he himself had reservations at his peak.

Fortunately, he had absorbed most of the poison for Mulan and used his remaining life force to temporarily stop its spread. Even so, he couldn't guarantee he could last for several months...

Seeing Mo Li's worried expression, Li Jing sighed, "I understand you, but there's no other way right now..."

Mo Li, unwilling to give up, asked, "Are there any other medicinal herbs that can be used as substitutes?"

Li Jing frowned and suddenly remembered something. "There's a legend in medicine, but I don't know if it's true or not."

"Tell me about it."

"It's rumored that the blood of a spirit fox can cure all diseases and make one immune to all poisons. I don't know if it's true or not. If you've ever actually seen a fox spirit in the forest, why not ask it for a drop of its blood to try?"

Mo Li walked out of the military camp in a daze and subconsciously came to this forest. He knew very well that there was no fox spirit here at all. If there was a fox spirit, it was himself!

"The lifeblood of a spirit fox..." Mo Li clutched his chest, knowing all too well the consequences of sacrificing one's lifeblood...

——

Mulan had a dream, a terrible nightmare. She dreamt that a masked fox spirit pierced Mo Li's heart with a sword, and then she was jolted awake by the intense pain in her heart.

"Phew... It was just a dream..." Mulan breathed a sigh of relief and subconsciously raised her hand to wipe her sweat, only to find that her hands were trembling involuntarily, and a sense of fear arose from her heart that she could not deny.

The thought of that handsome young man holding a jade flute, playing an endlessly mournful melody, made her breath quicken with heartache. "Mo Li..."

"General?" Cheng Jin stood in front of Hua Mulan for an unknown amount of time, calling her name several times before Hua Mulan finally came to her senses and glanced at him.

"Hey, Chengjin... have you been here the whole time?"

“Yes, General, I was worried about your safety, so…” Cheng Jin said with a bitter smile.

"Chengjin, you're not young anymore. Don't think about relying on others or always focusing on one person. If you do that, you'll never mature," Hua Mulan said, frowning slightly.

Cheng Jin clenched his fist and nodded. "Yes, General..."

"If I have free time, I'll go and exchange combat experiences with the other soldiers. I'd like to rest a bit more."

Hearing Mulan's order to leave, Cheng Jin nodded and departed.

Seeing Cheng Jin leave, Hua Mulan sighed, "This kid is too dependent on me. It seems I need to train him a bit."

Mulan yawned, wondering why she felt so tired. Maybe it was because of her period. She drifted off to sleep again as she thought about it.

As night fell, the camp was pitch black. Mulan opened her eyes wearily, her body shivering from the cold. Suddenly, a warm embrace pulled her into it, the warmth of which made her hold on tightly.

Are you cold?

Hearing the familiar voice above her, Mulan was startled. "Are you that fox spirit?"

"kindness!"

"How did you end up here?" Mulan was slightly taken aback.

"..."

Are you a bad person?

"..."

Seeing that he didn't speak, Hua Mulan didn't know what to say for a moment. She just trembled and shrank into his arms, asking, "Am I going to die?"

The fox spirit holding him trembled slightly. "No, you won't die!"

Mulan tried to turn to look at him, but he held her tightly in his arms. "Don't worry, I won't let you die!"

"So... did you save me?" Hua Mulan asked doubtfully. "Old Li said it was Mo Li, but for some reason, I don't think he has that much ability."

The fox spirit paused for a moment and then nodded. "I suppressed the toxins in your body, and he helped you absorb the poisonous blood..."

Mulan couldn't help but sigh, "So, the poison still hasn't been completely eliminated?"

"I'll figure something out!"

Hearing his firm tone, Mulan couldn't help but tease him, "Fox Immortal, why are you so good to me?"

"Because..." The fox spirit hesitated, then simply blurted out, "I like you!"