This was completely different from what Bai Yulai's storybooks described—no earth-shattering passion, no gut-wrenching heartbreak, no tragic divide between human and demon (ghost), not even any good-looking or capable love rivals around them.
But for this kind of love so different from the storybooks, Ji Huaichu didn't feel there was anything wrong. Considering that Mu Anqi, as a player, had to enter a game every seven days… this kind of life was already quite good.
After finishing her medicinal bath, the little money tree was warm all over. Ji Huaichu held the soft little money tree in her arms and listened to her seriously talk about future interdimensional travel—she needed to save up points, and for traveling, she wanted to choose seven days, since one day wasn't enough to do anything. The little money tree looked somewhat excited, imagining future trips while also talking about other higher-level dimensions.
"Magic, cultivation—I always thought those worlds only existed in novels. I didn't expect there to really be such planes." Unfortunately, those planes were much more expensive than ordinary worlds, so for now, Mu Anqi could only think about them. After visiting her world from before her death and saving up some extra points, she could then consider those things. "If it's seven days… where do you want to go? I want to go home and take a look. If parallel worlds don't affect the timeline, I want to see if my parents are doing well, and the places where I grew up and lived. I also want to show them to you."
Once a person starts to reminisce, all those things they want to remember, don't want to remember, or had forgotten—all the little details—come flooding back. She recalled moments of playing around during PE class in elementary school, chatting with her deskmate and sneaking snacks during junior high lessons, the anxiety she felt when her grades dropped and she went home nervous, crying secretly before even stepping through the door—only for her parents not to scold her at all.
She thought of the small park near her home, where she often played as a child—there were swings and a slide there. She remembered her grandmother's house in the countryside, how she used to catch fish and shrimp when she was little—only to get scolded by the adults right after bringing them back. She had secretly taken a lighter once to burn dry grass, filled a bowl with water and wild plants to play house with other village kids, and of course, that too ended with a scolding. She always got along well with the village dogs; the one at her grandmother's house, back when it wasn't tied up, would follow her car all the way to the edge of the village whenever she left, before finally stopping.
She was clearly just an ordinary person, yet as she recalled the little things she'd done in her childhood, she couldn't help but sigh, "I actually did all those things."
Ji Huaichu held her tighter. Mu Anqi spoke haltingly about her childhood, then fell silent. That was when Ji Huaichu said, "So cute."
"If I could choose a time, I'd want to see you when you were little," Ji Huaichu said softly. "Watching you grow up would be wonderful."
From childhood to adulthood, from weakness to strength.
Mu Anqi smiled, then asked what Ji Huaichu had been like as a child.
"…Not very likable," Ji Huaichu said. "The Ji family was a family of scholars, but I was unruly and loved martial arts. I read too many tales of the jianghu and wanted to be a heroine. I was an oddball—and the disgrace of the Ji household."
Ji's father thought she lacked propriety; Ji's mother often wept in secret. Later, when a marriage was arranged for her, she didn't want it and naturally rebelled. She thought about it for a long time. The emperor at that time was foolish, uprisings frequently broke out across the land only to be suppressed again, and misfortune struck with floods followed by epidemics—countless refugees died on the road…
Life in the Ji household then was good. Even though she was rebellious, her parents never mistreated her. Her younger brother, though he didn't understand or like her, would still awkwardly send someone to secretly bring her food when she was locked up.
Ji Huaichu pretended to be weak for a while, then on a calm, uneventful day, she knocked out a servant and escaped. She took two sets of men's clothes to change into, some silver, and finally wrapped her treasured longsword in cloth and strapped it to her back. After knocking out the patrolling guards, she left the Ji residence. At first, she intended to disguise herself as a man and join the army.
But along the way, she saw too many corpses and tragedies, and in the end, she no longer wished to enlist. She wandered through the war-torn land for some time, traveling from one town to another. She used her money to buy a horse, but was targeted by bandits—the horse was stolen in the middle of the night. However, not long after, she took the heads of those men and retrieved her horse.
She had heard of many uprisings, but eventually went to see and observe them herself. Amid the chaos of war, her martial skills improved rapidly, and her riding skills gradually became more refined. When she finally joined one of the rebel armies, she made a dazzling impression after just one battle. Soon after came a string of promotions—she became a trusted aide, and eventually a general. Overthrowing the old dynasty and becoming a founding general—it had only taken a few short years.
Unfortunately, the emperor who rose to power was gravely wounded during the war. At the dawn of the new dynasty, countless matters weighed heavily on his mind. By the time peace was finally restored and everything began to progress smoothly, he passed away.
And the new emperor—
Ji Huaichu let out a short laugh. Though her life had been brief, she had seen and experienced far too much, far too vividly.
As for warm memories, she had once drunk strong liquor alongside her comrades-in-arms, half-drunk as she listened to them talk about their parents back home or the wives they hoped to marry. She had personally gathered their remains after battle. She had kept hunting dogs and trained falcons. Though she had never loved anyone, she had trusted and valued some close subordinates—but they, too, had all left her. Even her younger brother, who had always disliked her, did not speak ill of her when he was beheaded.
Ji Huaichu lowered her eyes, propped herself up, and kissed Mu Anqi on the forehead. She brushed aside Mu Anqi's stray hair and saw the shimmer of tears in the little money tree's eyes. "Why are you crying?"
"My heart hurts," Mu Anqi said, pressing closer to her. "General, I'll always be here."
"I know." Ji Huaichu replied softly, wiped away her tears, and patted her back. "Go to sleep."
Early the next morning, Ji Huaichu noticed that the little money tree seemed… more motivated to train. She didn't complain of exhaustion during practice anymore; even when her hands trembled so much she couldn't hold the blade, she simply sheathed the demon sword, stretched and massaged her arms briefly, rested a moment, and then resumed the monotonous slashing drills. Regarding the lower-body stance issue Ji Huaichu had mentioned… Mu Anqi had started practicing horse stance as well.
If possible, Ji Huaichu certainly wouldn't want Mu Anqi to work so hard—she wished she could shield the little money tree completely under her wings. For a time, she even regretted letting Mu Anqi go to the Black Mirror vortex, letting her witness so many dark sides of the world. But she also knew Mu Anqi was a player—the little money tree wasn't a parasitic vine that needed to cling to others to survive. Mu Anqi was beginning to put in genuine effort, not just relying on her abilities and skills, but also honing her techniques and strengthening herself. That was something Ji Huaichu was glad to see.
That promise of protection for the future—Ji Huaichu remembered it, and Mu Anqi kept it in her heart as well.
By the fourth day of rest, Ji Huaichu thought to let Mu Anqi relax a bit and planned to take her on a trip to the Mingdu.
"Bai Yulai recently opened a bookstore and hired a few chefs who can make coffee and desserts. Do you want to go take a look?" Ji Huaichu paused, then added, "There are also many of her little fox clones in the shop."
Mu Anqi almost blurted out, "What, are Mu Xiaobai's desserts not good enough?"—but she was glad she didn't speak too fast. Feeling a little guilty, she glanced at the small black dog wagging its tail beside her and said seriously, "That's perfect, I've been wanting to know what kinds of books the Shattered Mirror Continent has!"
Ji Huaichu gave a faint smile, and the airship bound for the Mingdu was soon ready.
…
Bai Yulai's bookstore was located on a bustling commercial street in the Mingdu. In such an expensive and lively area, suddenly opening a quiet bookstore—no one really knew what she was thinking.
"What do you mean, 'what was I thinking'—this used to be a clothing store! I sold clothes made from the shed fur of various fox demons, but it never made any money—and the clothing store was mine too! Since it wasn't profitable, of course I had to switch to a different business." Bai Yulai spoke righteously. "There isn't a single bookstore on this entire street!"
Mu Anqi looked around the shop at the customers sitting and either reading, drinking coffee, or eating desserts, and others squatting down to pet the little foxes—though it was a bit absurd, Bai Yulai's store was surprisingly successful. Maybe it was because… after shopping for a while, people could rest here, have some coffee and dessert, and pet something fluffy—it was certainly relaxing.
Mu Anqi resisted the urge to immediately go pet the little foxes and, with a serious face, went to the counter to order three small cakes and carried them back. Then she planned to take a look at the books in the store—
"The Scholar Zone?!" Mu Anqi froze. What kind of section was that? With a face full of question marks, she walked in and glanced over the shelves—"The Overbearing Fox Fairy and Her Delicate Scholar," "The Cold-Faced Scholar's Little Fox Wife," "The Soft and Adorable Scholar Elopes with a Fox"…
Expressionless, Mu Anqi backed out and rubbed her eyes hard. What the hell is this?! Why were all the books in this section about foxes and scholars?!
Thankfully, there was still a mystery section…
"Fox Fairy Detective Cases?!" Mu Anqi was completely in despair. Clinging to a shred of hope, she opened the book—only to find it was a romance novel with mystery elements, telling the story of a fox fairy and a police officer solving cases together.
Wasn't Bai Yulai obsessed with scholars?! How come she was reading things that didn't even involve them now?
"The Fox's Mischief," "The Silent Fox," "The Zoo," "The Fox's Heartbeat," "The Missing Fox"… one after another, a dazzling array of titles lined the shelves, leaving Mu Anqi utterly speechless. In a daze, she stepped into the next section—only to see "In Love with a Fox," "The Fox and the Top Student," "A Fox in Love," "My Dear Little Fox," and other youth and school romance novels.
Bai Yulai truly was a talent.
Mu Anqi had never seen a fox demon—no, not even any kind of person or creature, like this before! Was there really a fox so obsessed with "fox" novels?!
Gnashing her teeth, Mu Anqi walked over to the philosophy section—and the very first thing she saw was a book titled "Being a Clear-Minded Fox." There were also works like "The World of Foxes," "Common Knowledge of Fox Culture," and "The Future of Foxes."
She gave up.