Chapter 5
Edward Quan ·
He apologized, over and over.
He said he hadn’t meant it.
Once he had settled the matters at hand, we could be together.
Well, I wasn’t forgiving him.
The dungeon was cold and damp.
Yet gradually, I began to feel warm.
Perhaps because dream-Xie Qingjun kept holding me and wouldn’t let go.
When I woke again, the icy dungeon was gone.
I was in a magnificent palace.
A real, honored fox princess.
Then I heard that Xie Qingjun was getting married.
To Fairy Yuyao.
19
The next morning, two middle-aged people with swishing fox tails surrounded me.
“Our daughter!”
“You’re finally awake!”
What?
“Er... I don’t have parents. Have you mistaken me for someone else?”
“You have a red birthmark on your inner thigh. We can’t be mistaken about that, can we?”
I clutched my robe shut.
How did they know?
Then they produced a jade pendant.
It matched the one around my neck exactly.
That convinced me.
Remembering what everyone at the sect had said, I supposed it must be true.
And really, who turned down such an unexpected windfall?
Before I could adjust to my new identity, I overheard the servants whispering.
“The immortal sect’s eternal bachelor is finally getting married.”
“So what if he’s been single forever? With looks like his, I wouldn’t care how old he was.”
“I’ve seen him. No ordinary man could be that handsome.”
I stood in a corner, my fingers tightening.
“You mean... Master Xie Qingjun is getting married?”
“Y-Your Highness!”
“Your Highness, it’s only a rumor. It may not be true...”
Perhaps I looked too awful.
The little maid panicked and blurted, “What’s so wonderful about Yuyao anyway? One look tells you she isn’t half as clever as our princess!”
I raised my head.
“You mean Xie Qingjun is marrying Yuyao?”
The maid couldn’t nod. Couldn’t shake her head.
She looked ready to weep.
“Please spare me, Your Highness!”
After gathering every scrap of news I could, I established one fact.
Xie Qingjun really was getting married.
And his bride was the woman I hated most.
Locking me in a dungeon wasn’t enough.
Now he had to marry her too?
Was he trying to infuriate me to death?
That night, I punished him fiercely in my dream.
“For marrying her!
“For throwing me into the dungeon!”
I left marks all over him.
He simply watched, one hand supporting my waist, helpless and indulgent.
“Who said I was marrying her?”
I looked up suspiciously.
His eyes were full of laughter.
“Little fox.
“Are you jealous?”
“I am not!”
He brushed my ear gently.
“I went to stay with you in the dungeon that night. You slept like a little pig.
“I told you that you were my disciple. How could your master abandon you?”
I was a fox with very little backbone.
A few words in a dream, and he’d coaxed me out of my anger.
I’d scarcely had time to enjoy it before someone hauled me off to be dressed and made up.
“My darling, I’ve selected several fine young men from the demon clans. Any of them is a thousand times better than that master of yours!”
Really?
Did everyone know how I felt about him?
Mother tapped my forehead.
“What could you possibly hide from me? One glance and I know what you’re thinking.”
That was when I learned that being a fox princess wasn’t all luxury.
It came with duties.
Marriage alliances with the great clans, for one.
Xie Qingjun coaxed and comforted me in dreams.
But in the waking world, he never came.
I felt let down.
Taking the stack of portraits, I pointed at one at random.
“Him.”
Xie Qingjun was getting married.
Who I married hardly mattered anymore.
Let those absurd dream encounters remain a fleeting dream.
20
Yet once I was sitting in the bridal sedan, I couldn’t help sighing.
My words were brave.
My heart wasn’t.
The auspicious date Mother had chosen was the same as Xie Qingjun’s wedding day.
Apparently immortals and demons agreed on the calendar.
I hadn’t even met the husband I’d picked so casually.
What was Xie Qingjun doing now?
Waiting for his bride in wedding robes?
Had he lifted her veil already?
With skin that pale, he would look beautiful in red.
My nose stung.
The veil was thick and heavy, covering me from head to foot.
Someone guided me through the wedding bows.
To Heaven and Earth.
To our elders.
To each other as husband and wife.
My heart ached.
I’d considered running away.
But I’d heard that the entire immortal sect was invited to Xie Qingjun’s wedding.
After that, I had no spirit left for it.
I waited in the bridal chamber until I fell asleep.
And dreamed of Xie Qingjun again.
He wore deep-red wedding robes.
He lifted my veil.
“Little fox.
“You’re beautiful today.”
He offered me the wedding cup.
The wine made my head swim. A little spilled down my chin and into my collar.
His gaze darkened. His hand moved slowly toward my robe.
“My wife.
“It’s our wedding night.”
Dazed, I asked, “Is this a dream, or is it real?”
He flicked my forehead.
“Did that hurt?”
I woke properly.
No dream.
This was real.
“Xie Qingjun? Why are you here?”
“Not even ‘Master’ now?”
All my hurt welled up at once.
“Aren’t you marrying Yuyao? Then why are you here?”
He brushed back the hair at my temple and kissed me gently there.
“I’m late.”
Patiently, he explained.
For years, everyone had believed the fox clan killed his mother.
The real murderer was someone else.
Xie Qingjun had discovered the truth long ago.
Everything he’d done was so that he could openly marry me and bring me back to the immortal sect.
I cried and pounded his chest.
“But I don’t want to go back to the sect!”
He smiled tenderly.
“Then spend your life as my little fox.”
He leaned closer.
“Be good, Qingqing. Let your master teach you how to absorb a man’s vital essence.”
As we drew close, I noticed the marks on his body.
All the traces I had left in my dreams.
“Why have they appeared again...?”
He gave me a small, reproving bite for my distraction.
“Qingqing left them on me. How could I bear to erase them?”
My eyes widened.
“So it was really you in those dreams?”
I glared at him.
He laughed helplessly.
“Your master was wrong.
“Whatever Qingqing wants, shall I make it up to her tonight?”
I blushed.
He raised a brow.
“You weren’t like this in my dreams.”
“Be quiet!”
The night stretched on.
Red curtains. Red candles.
And his low, husky voice beside my ear, calling again and again.
“Qingqing.”
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