The carriage rolled to a halt in front of the Chen residence, located at Tian Village, in the southernmost part of Hou Xing Mountain. Xiao Ran hopped down and reached up for Shu Yue's hand to help her down. Once they entered the main gate of the Chen residence, Shu Yue bent over and coughed up blood, unable to hold it back any longer.

"Young Mistress!" Xiao Ran shrieked and immediately placed his hands on her shoulders, his brow furrowed with concern.

Shu Yue clenched her fists, one hand tightly gripping her bamboo sword. She gritted her teeth in pain. Her insides felt like they were on fire, merciless tongues of flames licking her internal organs and wanting to devour her alive. She had begun to feel this pain not long after they had parted ways with the Springbear warriors, and she had been trying hard to suppress it by keeping her mind calm, lest Xiao Ran freak out during the carriage ride.

She coughed again, spitting up blood. The bamboo sword slipped from her grasp and fell to the ground with a thud. She almost collapsed to the ground, but Xiao Ran got a hold of her. Shu Yue then leaned away from him and bent down to retrieve her sword, but instead found herself kneeling on the ground, as if losing what little strength she had. Xiao Ran got down on one knee and held her shoulders to steady her.

Silence lay between them for a moment.

"Young Mistress, of all techniques, why did you use that one?" Xiao Ran asked in a quiet voice, his eyes touched with worry and confusion.

Of course, he knew. Xiao Ran knew what caused her to end up like this. Even though he wasn't a practitioner of the Rasalhague Sutra, he was familiar with its techniques. The Ophiuchus Clan leader granted him permission to know about it--primarily to track Shu Yue's progress--but not to actually learn and cultivate it.

Hiss of the Charming Serpent was one of the killing strokes of the Rasalhague Sutra. It was the technique Shu Yue used to deal with the ten Springbear warriors. However, if the disciple was below S-rank, it could have its own downside. And Shu Yue was only a B-rank warrior.

This technique required a lot of internal energy to perform. Not only was this the fastest sword attack, but it was also lethal. It leaves no visible wounds or scars on the victims as it only causes internal damage to their bodies. Though Shu Yue did not go so far as to end the lives of the ten warriors or damage their dantian, using the skill still cost her a lot of chi and injured herself as a result.

"As I've said, I wanted to test my skill" Shu Yue muttered. "I've never used that technique on humans before, so that was a tempting situation I couldn't resist."

Shu Yue had only used that technique on low-level beasts that dwell in the forests, but it never satisfied her. So when she found herself in front of ten warriors, ten potential opponents, she wanted nothing more than to bring those humans to their knees with that powerful technique.

Furthermore, there was something about their leader, that valiant and bold woman. If it weren't for the wind, Shu Yue might have missed those small details. Something was strange about her aura. It was also the reason she resorted to using such a dangerous technique. If her assumption was correct, Shu Yue would need that woman's help in the future. But she couldn't discuss it now with Xiao Ran in her current state. She was well aware of how stubborn and worried her bodyguard could be when it came to her health.

"Young Mistress," Xiao Ran said in a rather small voice. "That technique..."

"Don't worry, they're not dead; I know that was a dangerous technique, but I used some magic to lessen the effect."

As a Mystic Warrior, a disciple who practiced both magic and martial arts, Shu Yue possessed a skill for wind magic aside from wielding the sword. Only demi-humans could take this path, as they were the only creature that could channel qi and elemental powers simultaneously. However, the method to train in this forbidden art had long been gone and forgotten in the empire after the reign of the Luo Dynasty, and all demi-humans who had knowledge of it were killed.

But no one knew that there were still two of them.

Xiao Ran frowned. "I don't care about those humans; I don't care whether you kill them or not. What I'm worried about is you, Young Mistress." Then his expression softened, as well as his voice. "I don't like seeing you in pain, master."

Shu Yue's eyes widened. She once said those exact words to Xiao Ran twelve years ago when he apologized to her for slaughtering humans, the hunters who tried to capture him. Because he thought it bothered Shu Yue, who had witnessed the bloodshed with her own two eyes. However, Shu Yue shook her head.

"I don't care about those humans; they brought it on themselves; their ignorance and bigotry were what killed them. What I'm worried about is you. Your life, our lives, was no less valuable than the humans'."

Shu Yue stared at Xiao Ran. It seems that the wild beast inside him never died, just as mine never slept.

When Shu Yue remained quiet, Xiao Ran heaved a sigh and took off her mask. As soon as the mask left her face, a light shone from her forehead, and a silver horn grew from her left temple. It was about five inches long and curved sharply near the tip, forming a hook. Shu Yue could feel the weight of it, heavy with unpleasant reminders and memories of why she only had one, and what happened to her other horn.

For a brief moment, regret and anger flickered in her eyes. But, with a single blink, all those emotions vanished as quickly as they appeared.

"Young Mistress," Xiao Ran said in a soft voice. He took a handkerchief from his sleeves but frowned when he glanced at it. It was stained with Dishan's blood. He stuffed it back into his robe and used his sleeves instead to wipe the blood from Shu Yue's mouth and chin. He rubbed the white silk fabric against her skin ever so gently, as if his master's face were a delicate glass that could break at any moment.

"Young Mistress, are you testing me? You know I don't like seeing you like this; it makes me feel like a bodyguard who failed to protect his master. A useless servant." Xiao Ran brushed his thumb across her chin, wiping away the last trace of blood. "I'd rather be the one to suffer."

Shu Yue gazed at her bodyguard through long lashes, her eyes as calm as water. Twelve years ago, Shu Yue found this fox-human, lost and alone in a mountain, like a betrayed and abandoned puppy. His eyes were filled with hatred and anger the first time she met him, like a wild, untamable beast. Who would have guessed that he would look at her with so much care and respect with those same eyes?

Perhaps the reason she helped him in that spur of the moment was that she saw her own reflection in those feral eyes of his. And perhaps the reason he let her save him was that he saw his own reflection in those empty eyes of hers.

They were, in some ways, the same.

Like two lost beasts who saved each other from total madness.

A soft chuckle escaped Shu Yue's mouth. "Silly fox," she said with a smile and reached out to ruffle his fluffy fox ears.

Xiao Ran made a face, and then his mouth finally smiled. "You stubborn snake." He picked up the fox mask and wiped away the blood before handing it to Shu Yue.

The horn on Shu Yue's forehead disappeared the moment she touched the mask. No trace of any monstrous features on her body. Just like a mortal, an ordinary human. Not a beast man. Not a hybrid of a human and a winged serpent.

This mask functioned as a concealment charm, a rare item crafted from the blood of a thousand-year-old fox spirit. It could conceal any beast features and scent as long as they were within the mask's range. Only a few knew about its existence, let alone its use.

Shu Yue clutched her mask tightly, a blank expression on her face, torn by a bunch of conflicting emotions. This mask had originally belonged to her mother, so a part of her held it like a treasure. Another part of her was grateful and pleased because this item had helped her blend into a world designed for humans, where demi-humans like her were treated like monsters and slaves, despised and rejected by society.

But a much larger part of her felt so frustrated, so angry. Because wearing this mask served as a constant reminder that she could never be herself, that she could never be accepted by the world without lying and hiding. She once tried to be herself and showed her true form, but it only ended in a tragedy that had haunted her until now.

Maybe once she rose to power, once she eliminated all enemies in her path, she no longer needed to hide. Maybe she could finally be herself, walking around the world without masks or any other means of concealment. And perhaps she would no longer be hunted, but rather become the predator.

She would make that happen no matter what.

Xiao Ran stood up and held out a hand. "Come on, Young Mistress, let me take you to your room. You need to rest and recuperate."

A genuine smile touched her mouth as she took his hand, the mask on the left side of her face. Xiao Ran returned her smile and pulled her to her feet. They walked side by side. Two demi-humans. A master and a servant. Friends and companions.