When Bai Luxin woke up in the morning, she was still half-asleep.
Nuobai tied the jade pendant around her wrist. This frail little human needed some protection, or she’d worry.
She seriously reflected on herself and realized she might be getting a little soft.
Was it because of this cozy nest…?
Her gaze drifted to Bai Luxin’s exposed pale skin. Silly girl who likes sleeping naked—you’re showing everything and don’t even notice.
With a hint of exasperation, she pulled the blanket up a bit. Don’t catch a cold.
Not wanting to wait any longer, Nuobai decided to head to the training room alone. If she weren’t worried about her Beast Master, she’d live there.
She stepped over the blanket, but before reaching the foot of the bed, Bai Luxin threw the covers aside, pulled Nuobai close, and curled up around her.
Nuobai could feel her own body temperature rapidly syncing with Bai Luxin’s.
Her fur didn’t block the sensation; instead, it made her feel every inch of their pressed-together skin even more clearly.
Blushing, she tried to leave this cozy nest and set off on the path of a hero.
‘Don’t go…’
The murmur carried a pleading tone, so soft it might have been imagined.
…
‘I promise I won’t hold any other cats.’
‘You don’t need to promise me. It’s your freedom to hold whoever you want.’
‘Is it good?’
‘Mmm…’
Nuobai ate the freshly made Snowflake Ball that Bai Luxin had just prepared and licked her fingers.
‘Why not use a mold to make them all at once? Isn’t it a hassle to roll each one by hand?’
‘How could making food for my baby ever be a hassle?’
‘Gross. Don’t call me baby.’
Bai Luxin was being way too mushy. Nuobai needed to cool down.
She jumped down from the window and ran off to the academy first, her retreating figure looking a little rushed.
‘I’m going ahead. You catch up later.’
What a handful.
Bai Luxin sighed softly, rolled up the last Snowflake Ball, and packed it into a lunchbox.
Even though Wei Wanqing would take good care of Nuobai, she still wanted to prepare some light snacks for her.
As Bai Luxin stepped outside with the lunchbox, she saw a middle-aged man lingering at the entrance, hesitating and pacing back and forth.
‘Uncle Chang?’
‘Oh, Luxin, my dear niece.’
Seeing Bai Luxin, his brow relaxed, and a warm, honest smile spread across his face.
‘I left you a note, but you never replied. I thought I’d come check on you. You…’
‘I’m sorry, Uncle Chang, but I don’t plan to come live with you.’
His full name was Chang Fu. He was the one who had arranged for her to live here back then.
According to Dragon Sleep City’s survivor benefits, once she turned eighteen, if she wanted to keep living here, she’d have to pay rent.
Uncle Chang had suggested she stay at his place. When she was younger and didn’t understand things well, she did stay for a few days.
Uncle Chang’s family was very kind to her, but she couldn’t accept it. The longer she stayed, the more she felt like an outsider.
There was no need to insert herself into someone else’s family or compete for their affection.
With that in mind, she had found an excuse and left.
‘So then…’
Bai Luxin held up her lunchbox. ‘Uncle Chang, I have things to do, so I’ll be going now.’
She didn’t know how to act around Chang Fu. She just wanted to keep her distance—not to intrude on someone else’s happiness.
She was grown up now, and she had her own happiness.
‘Alright, alright. You go ahead.’
Chang Fu recognized the jade pendant on her wrist. His brow furrowed even deeper, and he muttered to himself.
‘Brother Bai, you wouldn’t be stupid enough to leave the Divine Crystal to Luxin, would you?’
‘No. I finally got her out of suspicion. I can’t let it all fall apart now.’
‘That cat… has to be dealt with. She’s too high-profile.’
The final battle between Yuhua and Yulan Academies had recently become the talk of the entire city—way too conspicuous.
He hadn’t been able to protect Brother Bai and his wife back then, but now he was determined to protect Bai Luxin.
…
After dropping off the snacks, Bai Luxin went to the Beast Center to continue her classes.
Qin Nian was sitting in the middle of a group of Snow Joy Cats, as if teaching a class to little children. Every cat sat up perfectly straight.
‘Come here, Little Sister Bai.’
At Qin Nian’s words, all the cats turned their heads to look at Bai Luxin, their eyes sparkling with eagerness.
They had performed well yesterday, so Qin Nian had given each of them a Snowflake Piece and promised that the best-behaved cat today would get an extra one.
Now, in their eyes, Bai Luxin was basically a walking Snowflake Piece. So want to cuddle cuddle cuddle!
‘No, no. Nuobai wouldn’t allow it.’
‘Pfft—hahaha.’
Hearing that, Qin Nian couldn’t help but laugh. When Bai Luxin had come home yesterday carrying a mix of scents, Qin Nian had guessed Nuobai would throw a fit.
Too bad she hadn’t seen it in person—it must have been hilarious.
‘Don’t worry, I have a way so she won’t find out.’
‘Sister Qin, I just want to study hard.’
Bai Luxin held firm to her principles, resisting the temptation of the cuddly cats.
‘I’ve made a new discovery about Sun Wheel Birds and Moon Wheel Birds. Do you want to hear it?’
Already?
‘Sister Qin, tell me right away!’
Qin Nian patted the spot next to her. ‘Little Sister Bai, if you want to know, you’d better behave.’
With no other choice, Bai Luxin sat down in the middle of the cats. At a single glance from Qin Nian, yesterday repeated itself.
Qin Nian patted her shoulder. ‘Don’t worry. You won’t get caught.’
Bai Luxin bit her lip. Sorry, Nuobai. I broke my promise. But my heart has always belonged to you.
The Sun Wheel Bird and Moon Wheel Bird were the representative Beast Pets of the Yu Yuan Wei family in Core City.
The pair Bai Luxin had brought—two different birds born from a single egg—were called Twilight Love. Such a pair appeared only once every few hundred years.
They were soulmates, perfectly complementing each other under the sun and moon together.
But they were born with a flaw: they couldn’t break through Tier 1 and were destined to stay at that stage forever.
Like twilight—beautiful but brief.
An ancestor of the Wei family had accidentally discovered a solution.
The two birds would harm each other until one survived. The survivor would then be complete, advance successfully, and become even stronger.
She named the surviving bird Funeral Twilight.
After Funeral Twilight was born, the contract between the bird and its master became one of shared life and death.
Then, while drawing Contract Power from the Beast Master, Funeral Twilight would also drain the Beast Master’s life force.
Every Beast Master who bonded with Funeral Twilight died before turning thirty.
From Twilight Love to Funeral Twilight—it was like a curse. It brought brief brilliance to the Wei family, but also the pain of a terrible choice.
For twin Beast Masters: one loses their beast, the other loses their life. Which one would you choose?
‘Is there really no other solution?’
After finishing her story, Qin Nian shooed the Snow Joy Cat off her lap.
‘The flaw they’re born with is very strange. It can’t be fixed any other way.’
‘The missing part exists only in the other’s body.’
‘Apart from the blood sacrifice method, someone did propose another idea: if the sun and moon can be twilight, why can’t they be dawn?’
‘In theory, if the Sun Wheel Bird and Moon Wheel Bird advanced together, they could resonate and complement each other.’
‘But here’s the problem: without twilight power, they can’t advance at all.’
‘To get twilight, one of them has to die.’
That really is a dead end. Bai Luxin anxiously stroked the cat.
She had promised to help, and she would give it everything she had.
Besides, the fate of Funeral Twilight was far too tragic.
If only a living Funeral Twilight could help them…
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