Lingyao cradled the fluffy ball that had fallen into hibernation again, her eyes shining with hope.

"Yin Ming, shall we raise it together?"

Yin Ming lowered his eyes to look at the tiny fox cub, reached out and touched its drooping, soft ears, and replied somewhat absentmindedly:

"Mother's love has always been great."

However, he avoided answering Lingyao's final question.

Lingyao didn't mind his slightly perfunctory attitude, assuming he was just injured and not in good spirits, so she assumed he agreed. She carefully touched the fox's little head, just like Yinming had done, which made the fox unconsciously twitch its fluffy ears in its sleep.

Enchanted by the scene, Ling Yao's eyes filled with joy. Suddenly remembering a word Yin Ming had just mentioned, he raised his eyebrows curiously.

"Love? Is that a word that can be used like that?"

In his mind, 'love' was associated with words like 'cute' and 'hobby', so he never thought that this word could be used to interpret emotions.

"Love has many definitions, but when it comes to people, it's probably a deeper emotion than just liking."

Yin Ming looked away from the spirit fox and answered this question absentmindedly.

The already weak sunlight was completely blocked by the leaden-gray clouds, and the sky instantly darkened.

Yin Ming looked up at the snowflakes fluttering down from the sky. Their lively and unrestrained appearance was just like the light and graceful willow catkins that Xie Daoyun had described as "not as light and graceful as willow catkins rising in the wind".

The snow came suddenly and fiercely. Lingyao was attracted by the magnificent scenery. He put the spirit fox back into the magic beast space ring and looked back in the direction of Yinming's gaze. He witnessed the snow covering the forest in an instant, and the earth was covered with a silver coat.

"Yin Ming, is this the snow you mentioned before?" Snowflakes landed on Ling Yao's outstretched fingertips, melting instantly upon touch, bringing a chill.

Lingyao had always lived in the south where the temperature was constant throughout the year, and now he was amazed to finally see snow in this forbidden forest located in the central part of the God and Demon Continent.

Not receiving a response from Yin Ming for a long time, Ling Yao looked back at him in confusion, just in time to see Yin Ming's fair hand being extended towards him.

The angle was neither like touching his head nor patting his shoulder.

As if he hadn't expected Ling Yao to suddenly turn around, Yin Ming's hand froze in mid-air.

Seeing this, Lingyao smiled and lowered her head to rub her head against Yin Ming's palm, as obedient as a cute little dog that would instinctively rest its head in its owner's palm if someone reached out to it.

"Then my feelings for Yin Ming should be called love, right?" Ling Yao looked into Yin Ming's eyes with bright eyes and silently uttered this sentence in her heart.

Yin Ming was taken aback by his actions, his brows furrowing slightly with a complicated expression.

After a long silence, he gestured for Lingyao to come closer, and gently embraced her under Lingyao's puzzled yet expectant gaze.

A cool embrace, carrying the delicate scent of orange blossoms, wafted over—the same scent of incense that was always burning in Yin Ming's room.

Lingyao's heart pounded violently in an instant, and his hidden emotions reached their peak at that moment.

If Yin Ming is willing to hug him, then he must like him, right?

Lingyao carefully avoided the wound on Yinming's back and hugged him back. There were some things she suddenly wanted to say.

"Yin Ming, I think I really..." like you a lot, or rather, I love you.

Before he could finish speaking, he felt a sharp, cramping pain in his abdomen.

Lingyao instinctively covered the spot where the pain was coming from with her left hand. When she touched a piece of delicate skin and moist liquid, she pushed Yinming's shoulder away in disbelief.

He pressed his hand against the bleeding wound on his abdomen, looking at Yin Ming with deep hurt: "Why?"

Yin Ming lowered his eyes, took out a clean white handkerchief from his sleeve, wiped the blood splattered on his hands, and then threw it at Ling Yao's feet. He then disgustedly flicked non-existent dust off his robes, the dust that Ling Yao had touched when he leaned against him.

"I'm happy."

"...What?" Why is Yin Ming suddenly acting so strangely? Could it be that he has been bewitched by the spirit fox and lost his mind?

Lingyao quickly took out a healing pill and swallowed it, sealing the acupoints around the wound to stop the bleeding. He then immediately reached out to grab Yin Ming's wrist, wanting to check his pulse.

Yin Ming seemed to have anticipated his actions, quickly shaking off his hand, then patting his clothes and standing up as if nothing had happened.

"I'm not sick, you're the one who's sick."

"Yin Ming, you...you're not injured?" Ling Yao didn't care about Yin Ming's sarcasm, but seeing his calm and composed appearance, the confusion in his eyes deepened.

How could this be? Just now, Yin Ming's aura was so weak that it was almost imperceptible. Ling Yao thought he was about to leave him, which is why he was so sad and angry that he wanted that eighth-realm Qiongqi to be buried with him, thus successfully advancing to the eighth realm.

Do I look injured to you now? I was just pretending to fool you.

Lingyao's breath hitched. He said, "Lie? ...Why?"

Yin Ming curled his lips into a slight sneer, crossing his arms. "Is that all you can say?"

He raised an eyebrow and looked Lingyao up and down, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes. "What else could it be? I just love seeing you, you idiot, getting all emotional over the smallest things."

"That scene is so funny, it makes me very happy, so I like to tease you."

"I don't believe it. You weren't like this before... Yin Ming, have you been bewitched by the spirit fox?" Ling Yao involuntarily took a step back. The Yin Ming in front of him was too unfamiliar to him, so unfamiliar that it frightened him and made him want to get away.

As if he had heard something funny, Yin Ming chuckled twice, his tone sarcastic, "Oh dear, you're even making excuses for me, how thoughtful of you, it makes me a little embarrassed."

"I didn't expect that even after I explained things so clearly, you still wouldn't understand. Turns out, you really are naive. Well, you can't blame me for playing you for so long, can you? You deserve to be fooled."

Lingyao stood there, somewhat bewildered. He raised his hand as if to grab something, but in the end, it fell limply to his side, clenched tightly. "I don't believe it... You're joking, right? Otherwise... why did you save me just now?"

"I told you I was just pretending to fool you. Look at me now." Yin Ming raised his hands and twirled around. "Do I look like I'm injured?"

He had changed his outer robe, which covered the wound on his back. Lingyao hadn't looked closely before, but now that he was clean all over, it really seemed like he had never been injured.

Lingyao shook his head in disbelief, his face filled with panic. "No, that's not how it is, Yin Ming, don't joke around, this isn't funny at all."

Yin Ming nodded in agreement, and boasted, "Well, it seems I've done a great job being a good person. Even after all this, you still believe me."

Lingyao bit her lip hard. "Impossible. Then why don't you keep lying to me?"

Yin Ming looked at Ling Yao with a mocking expression, as if he were looking at an idiot. "A normal person wouldn't react like this when they hear they've been deceived. Are you implying that you want me to continue deceiving you? Then I was right to say you're sick."

"Your constant asking of reasons is giving me a headache, but I'm so bored, I'll patiently answer your questions—"

"Well, I'm tired of this game and want to try something new. I hope you'll like it later."

Upon hearing this, Lingyao's tightly furrowed brows suddenly relaxed, as if she had breathed a sigh of relief. "Yin Ming, you really did prepare some surprise for me, which is why you said these things on purpose, right?"

Yin Ming smiled back at him, but his words were like daggers to the heart:

"Oh dear, it seems I've made you misunderstand again. What am I going to do? If you keep going like this, I won't be able to have any fun. How about I tell you something honestly?"

"Do you know why I know what commemorative gifts you received from birth to age three? Actually, I was lying to you when I said I found an old man in the village who knew about your childhood."

Yin Ming's disdain was piercing. "Don't you have any self-awareness? Everyone connected to you back then is long dead."

"How do I know? Because I sent people to do all those things, including the matter of your parents' death."

"You want to know why I did this? Actually, there's no particular reason."

"I just want to see what kind of life a person with such a tragic background will eventually lead."

"So making you an orphan and making you live a life where everyone hates you because of the title of 'jinx'" was all my doing.

Yin Ming let out a satisfied sigh, "I have to say, the feeling of controlling other people's lives is just amazing."

Ling Yao's pupils contracted sharply, but even though Yin Ming had put it this way, he still stubbornly repeated, "I don't believe it, you're lying to me."

Whether she was deceiving herself or trying to evoke Yin Ming's sympathy and bring him back to his senses, she didn't know.

Seeing this, Yin Ming shrugged, rubbing his chin with a mocking smile, exuding a rather nonchalant and roguish air.

"Why don't you believe me? Is it because I saved you when we first met? Well, let me tell you, that life-saving favor was actually a play I planned."