"The Empress has fallen."

A day later, inside the courtyard of the Zhu residence, Zhu Yan stood with his hands behind his back under a plum tree, casually catching a falling petal.

The more he looked at it, the more he felt that the petals resembled the color of the tip of a little fox's tail—always fiery red and intense, captivating his heart and soul.

He muttered to himself, looking at his subordinates, "Judging from Shao Linyuan's posture, the Emperor probably won't last more than a few days. How boring."

"We shouldn't have sent Jinjin to the human world in the first place. Why don't we just take action... and take him back?"

"I feel at ease having it locked up beside me."

As she spoke, she slightly clenched her fist, and the flower petals in her palm turned into specks of powder, drifting lightly in the air.

It looked just like the cinnabar that Si Jin had painted on Shao Linyuan's collarbone at that moment.

After a day of calm, the Empress's execution by slow slicing was over.

In an unprecedented act of kindness, Si Jin sent her soul back to hell and, incidentally, told Yama to "take good care" of her.

After all, she had tormented the original owner for more than half a month, so Si Jin decided to let her ghost life be spent in torment.

The twins, a boy and a girl, had nowhere to go, so their fifth uncle took them back to raise them. Finding good homes for the children would also add some fun to the lives of the seven old men in their later years.

"call--"

Seemingly impatient with the cinnabar drying too slowly, Si Xiaohuli lowered her head slightly, blew a breath lightly onto the man's collarbone, and then raised her fingertips to trace it delicately.

Shao Linyuan felt a little uncomfortable and wanted to turn over, but Si Jin grabbed his arm and gently stopped him: "You promised to let me paint peach blossoms. You can't move around before the cinnabar dries."

Lin, the perfect husband, Yuan could only grit his teeth and remain motionless.

He let the little fox's fingertips brush across his collarbone and land on the deep, slender scar on his abdomen: "You still haven't told me how this happened."

“It’s not the right time yet.” Shao Linyuan replied seriously, and taking advantage of the little fox’s tilted head, he suddenly flipped over and trapped Si Jin in his arms.

She separated his knuckles, slowly intertwined her fingers with his, depriving him of any chance to escape, and let the cinnabar on his collarbone drip freely.

Snap—

A drop landed on Si Jin's fair collarbone, startling the little fox, who then revealed its ears.

Si Jin raised her eyes slightly, raised her hand, and hooked the demon hunter's chin: "Then... if you do this and that, and that and that, will you be able to tell me?"

"I... I'll think about it."

… …

Soon, the crimson garments scattered outside the curtains, silencing all the strange sounds.

Shao Linyuan got up early the next day because Yu Liang secretly reported to him through the window: "The troops are ready, and the plan to force the emperor to abdicate can begin."

Not wanting to disturb Jinjin's sleep, Shao Linyuan tiptoed out of bed, set up a soundproof barrier, and placed hot water and porridge in the room, keeping them warm with magic.

She lowered her head and kissed the fox's ears again before reluctantly walking away.

He was ready to take his revenge. Once no one could threaten him anymore, he could tell Jinjin the origin of the scars on his body.

Shao Linyuan left, unaware that after he left, a thick black mist quickly swept through the entire room, permeating the area under the carved mahogany bed and lingering for a long time.

When the sun rose and sunlight shone into the room again, the little fox that was sleeping soundly on the bed was gone.

A note also appeared out of nowhere on the table in the outer room.

Its contents were all piercingly incisive, as if it were a superior person mercilessly mocking Shao Linyuan.

But Shao Linyuan had no time to know or see any of this.