After so many days of intimacy, Er’er was more than familiar with Li Ye’s scent. When she suddenly caught a whiff of a crisp fragrance that didn’t belong to him, her tiny ears perked up instantly.

Li Ye had gone out.

The Underworld was a shadowy and cool realm, with pools of water scattered throughout. If he had truly been staying with her in the palace all this time, there was no way his body would carry the scent of water vapor.

Glancing at his face, she just happened to meet his gaze—calm and cold, without a trace of panic. His gray pupils reflected her slightly tense little face as he smiled faintly: “Did you wake up foolish?”

Quickly averting her eyes, Er’er grabbed his sleeve and stiffly shook her head.

Just like before, Li Ye still took her to eat meals, walked around the Western Palace for a bit, then pressed her back into bed.

“I…” Er’er frowned slightly, “I feel a bit tired.”

Li Ye raised an eyebrow and reached out to feel her forehead.

Er’er immediately followed with a couple of coughs.

The man before her snorted lightly, his large hand pulling her close: “You have nothing wrong with you, but your skill at lying is certainly becoming more practiced.”

Her heart tensed. Er’er rested her head on his chest, blinking her eyes rapidly.

Li Ye didn’t seem inclined to question her further, just carelessly stroking her hair as he said in a low voice: “In a few more days, we can return to the Ninth Heaven.”

“Hmm?” Er’er was somewhat surprised, “That’s quite fast.”

“Twenty-three days.”

“What?” Er’er was shocked. She extended both hands to count, “We’ve been in the lower realm for twenty-three days already?”

How many days had she been living in drunken dreams in this palace?

Her face growing hot, Er’er let out a miserable cry and buried her head against his chest: “Such a sin, such a sin.”

She had originally come to find the Gate of Life and Death. If others knew she’d been fooling around with Li Ye in this realm, she would surely go down in history alongside him, crowned with the name of fox demon, and be discussed with great interest by future generations.

How had she become so bewildered and acted so wantonly for so long!

Li Ye chuckled, his index finger tapping idly at her ostrich-like buried head: “Regrets?”

“…Not exactly.” Er’er raised her head with a conflicted expression and looked into his eyes. “I was just thinking, you’ve been shut in here with me for so many days, haven’t you thought about leaving earlier?”

His eyes flickered slightly as Li Ye avoided her gaze: “I’m missing half my cultivation, so it’s not suitable for me to return to the Ninth Heaven yet.”

“What about Zhong You?” Er’er asked. “Hasn’t he come to cause trouble for us?”

Stroking her soft cheeks, Li Ye said: “You and I have been together the whole time, so how would he dare to make a move?”

Together the whole time? Er’er stared at him steadily, forcing a smile.

“Sleep now.” Li Ye reached out to cover her eyes. “When we return to the Ninth Heaven, I’ll have someone make roasted corn for you.”

In the past, Er’er would have obediently fallen asleep, but today, she pulled Li Ye’s hand away, intertwining her fingers with his one by one: “I’ve only been awake for a short while, how could I possibly sleep now?”

Li Ye smiled without speaking, simply waiting quietly.

Before long, Er’er felt a wave of drowsiness sweeping over her.

On guard, she immediately recited an incantation in her mind to clear her thoughts.

So it wasn’t that she was sleepy—he wanted her to sleep.

Pretending to yawn, Er’er wrapped her arms around Li Ye’s waist and murmured: “If we were in the mortal realm, we would be considered husband and wife of several nights. You shouldn’t deceive me.”

Even a couple who had spent just one night together would have a hundred nights of affection. Adding up her time with him, she surely had years of affection by now. What was there that he couldn’t tell her directly and had to hide from her?

Li Ye was slightly startled, thinking she had discovered something. He looked down, only to see that the little thing had already fallen asleep, her bright lips pouting in dissatisfaction, with the faint sound of breathing from her nose.

He smiled gently, reaching out to tuck her hand back under the covers, but found that Er’er was holding on tightly, like a lock that couldn’t be pried open.

She must like him now, right? Li Ye raised an eyebrow. He remembered the Old Man of the Moon saying that only mutual affection would lead to such closeness. These days, it was mostly him teasing her; it was rare for her to hold onto him so tightly, unwilling to let go.

After allowing her to hold him for quite some time, Li Ye still moved, directly transforming into smoke and slipping from her embrace, then gathering back into his red robes.

Er’er’s eyelashes trembled slightly, but Li Ye left quickly and didn’t notice. He swiftly placed a barrier around the area, then opened the palace doors and went out.

All around was deathly silent as Er’er opened her eyes.

The feeling of being deceived was terrible, as if all these days of intimacy had been false. No matter how close their bodies were, their hearts remained worlds apart. To him, she would always be an outsider.

Trying her best to convince herself that an Ancient Supreme God was beyond her reach, she silently repeated this twenty times before feeling somewhat better. Then she got up and stepped into her embroidered shoes.

Without sun, moon, or stars, and with the Western Palace as calm as water, Er’er could not feel the flow of time at all. After crouching at the edge of the barrier for a long while, she finally made a hand seal and dug a tunnel underground, leaving the Western Palace.

The Underworld was still the same realm filled with resentment, but the passing ghosts seemed to be in more of a hurry, making it impossible for Er’er to stop someone to ask questions. With no powerful presence within a mile, Er’er could only steel herself and choose a direction to walk, hoping to find Long Shu.

But before she had gone far, she saw a familiar figure.

“Granny Liu?” Er’er hurried forward.

Granny Liu, who was walking with slow steps and carrying a basket full of green onions, heard the call and turned around. The young man beside her also turned his head.

“Eh?” Er’er was surprised. “You found your son?”

After fixing her cloudy eyes on Er’er for a long while, Granny Liu finally smiled and said: “It’s you.”

“I thought I was being deceived, but you did help me find Fang Han back. This old woman hasn’t had the chance to thank her benefactor yet.” She looked to the side with some confusion, “Where is that very tall person?”

Er’er pressed her lips together and lowered her eyes, saying: “He’s a bit busy. I was just about to go find him.”

“That’s perfect, give him this whole basket of onions.” Granny Liu took off the basket and handed it to her, smiling with a face full of wrinkles. “If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have found Fang Han. Fang Han was so far from me…”

Her heart stirred as Er’er accepted the green onions.

Both Granny Liu and Fang Han were living souls who could still reincarnate. After saying these few sentences to her, they continued walking in the direction they needed to go. Er’er stood in place holding the basket, her emotions quite complex.

Li Ye had done a good deed, proving he hadn’t gone down an evil path—everything was much better than in her prophetic dream.

But… she had forcibly changed the course of events. Would what happened next still be within her control?

“Make way, make way!” A shouting voice came from behind as eight Underworld war horses pulled a carriage, speeding toward the direction of the main hall of the Underworld King’s Palace.

Er’er stepped aside to let it pass, and as it ran past her, she leapt onto the narrow rear shaft of the carriage.

“Must we go?” someone inside the carriage was speaking, their tone somewhat exasperated: “This has nothing to do with either of us.”

Another person sighed and said in a very gentle manner: “Listen, that is an honored guest of the Underworld.”

This voice was very familiar to Er’er, and she couldn’t help but lean in closer.