Looking at Yun Si Ning, who was so close to her, Xiao Jiu's lips moved slightly, but she couldn't make a sound.

After a long while, a single tear silently slid down her cheek, forming a glistening pearl on her cheek.

Then, the second drop, the third drop...

"Hey, why are you crying? Don't cry!"

Yun Si Ning hurriedly raised her hand and used her sleeve to wipe away the tears on the other person's face.

But her action only made Xiao Jiu cry harder, tears streaming down her face like a burst dam.

"Xiao Ning, Xiao Ning..."

Xiao Jiu called out Yun Si Ning's name and hugged her tightly in her arms, as if she wanted to melt the other into her own body.

"Hey, I..."

Yun Si Ning exclaimed in surprise, and then everything went black before her eyes.

"Xiao Jiu...I...I can't breathe..."

Xiao Jiu is now a full head taller than Yun Si Ning, and with her being hugged like this, her head is completely buried in her arms.

It's really soft, and very warm.

"Okay, okay, don't cry, don't cry~~~"

Yun Si Ning gently patted Xiao Jiu's back and softly comforted her.

Fortunately, she already had plenty of experience. She had comforted her senior sister before, and her junior uncle a couple of days ago, so she was already quite adept at comforting Xiao Jiu.

"I thought, I thought...you were dead..."

"I feel so guilty, so incredibly guilty. It's all my fault for not protecting you..."

Xiao Jiu choked up.

During that great battle, she watched helplessly as Chai Yanchen ambushed Yun Sining and the long needle pierced Yun Sining's body.

Sigh...

Yun Si Ning sighed and accepted Xiao Jiu's hug.

"I'm sorry, Xiao Jiu, I should have contacted you sooner after I returned to the Central Abyss Realm."

She felt a little guilty, as she had been so busy these past few days that she had completely forgotten about the other person.

Especially when she recalled what her senior sister had said—that Xiao Jiu had sacrificed so much to avenge her—Yun Si Ning felt even more guilty.

"I don't blame you, I just want you to be alright."

Xiao Jiu released Yun Si Ning and wiped away the tears on her face.

Looking at Xiao Jiu, who looked completely different, Yun Si Ning felt a mix of emotions.

She opened her mouth, but many words stuck in her throat.

Finally, all the words can be summed up in one sentence.

"Thank you, Xiao Jiu."

She knew that the other party had sacrificed a lot, and if it weren't for saving her, they would never have been found by the White Moon Fox Clan.

"It's okay, it's really okay."

As if sensing the guilt in Yun Si Ning's eyes, Xiao Jiu gently pinched her cheek.

"Xiao Jiu, you..."

Yun Si Ning was startled when she was pinched.

"whee."

Xiao Jiu gave a big smile.

“Before, I was always the little one in front of you, but now we've switched places, and you've become the little one.”

Yun Si Ning: …… ……

Meanwhile, the two girls standing behind Xiao Jiu were completely stunned.

Since they met this clan leader, when have they ever seen him like this?

Within the White Moon Fox clan, clan leader Lin Jiu has always maintained the image of an ice queen, and no one has ever seen her lose her composure like this.

"Sister, is the clan leader alright...?"

The young girl, Lin Qi, transmitted her voice to her older sister.

"Ahem, this is the first time I've ever seen the clan leader like this!"

"That's what the young girl, Lin Xi, said."

"Tell me, after we go back, should we..."

She had just finished speaking when she suddenly froze.

"Clan...Clan Chief."

She then realized that the clan chief was watching them closely.