Chapter 99 (1/2)

Chapter 99

Revelations

Words can hurtBut so…”

That was the 17th ti a responseOr was it the 19th? She wasn't sureShe'd lost count so their car ride home

Su Chan rose fro door, where Yundong stood with his back to herHe was staring out into the city, seeed the he to me?” You knohy, Chan'er, she added silently

He'd seen her powers nowHe must think I'm a monster… Just like everyone else does…

After what felt like hours, Yundong released a sigh”Chan'er…” His eyes re beyond the balcony

Su Chan's grip on the hehtened”Y- Yes?”

”Tell me,” he said, his voice flat and e”

Su Chan frozeEverything? Including the fact that she was a fox spirit?

Su Chan let go of the hem of his shi+rt and took a step back

She bit down on her lip and stared at the floorCould she do it? Could she reveal everything to him now? Seconds later, she shook her headHe would probably hate her guts the moment he found out who (or what) she wasHe would be revolted by the ht of herHe wouldn't want her around anymore

DemonsFiendsFoul creaturesSpawns of evilThe depravedEvil spirits

Those were just a few names associated with her kind

For decades, fox spirits were regarded as the e that Cultivators hated, all thanks to the Mystical Silver Fox, whose actions had besood nale Cultivator alive today who didn't loathe the Fox Zen School and anyone associated with it

Could Yundong really see past decades' worth of hatred and accept her for who she was? Could Yundong overco a fox spirit as a lover disgusted hiood?

And if she was no longer around…

Who else would be there to watch over his training and help him pass the Zhuji phase?

Who else would be there to watch his back and protect hi for the Renyuan Jindan?

And speaking of the Renyuan Jindan…

Yesterday, Yundong had already agreed to let her tell him about the Jindan in her own tiered his need for answers again

Oh Tao… What was she supposed to do now? Well, she supposed she could just tell hi a fox spirit? But what if Yundong accidentally let slip that he had consu about that made Su Chan sick to her stomach

Those Cultivators would never let him liveThey would absorb the Jindan and then destroy his body until there was nothing left of hi—or at least the Zhuji—phase, he didn't stand a chanceSu Chan raised her head and stared at Yundong's backAt the end of the day, it all boiled down to one thing: could she trust Yundong to be discreet?

”Yundong… Hehe…” Su Chan said, injecting a faux cheeriness into her tone”You've probably passed the 4th dan of the Ningshen phase by nowAnd if you work hard, it shouldn't be long before you complete the Zhuji phase as well… so…turned away fro her

”And how er would that take? Months?” He snorted”Years?”

Su Chan shuffled forward a step, then reached out to take his handWhen he flinched away froh soh her heartSu Chan sedThe lunoreShe cleared her throat”I told you yesterday, didn't I? I'll tell you everything when the ti huffed and stornorant fool?”

No! So you don't accidentally give yourself away and end up dead!

Su Chan followed hi roo turned around abruptly, his eyes flashi+ng in anger”Seriously, princess? Safety? After everything that happened just now, you're here talking to me about safety?”

”But that's different! That was just Lin Youfa looking to regain the honor of his school after you defeated his discipleThat's not the kind of safety I was referring—”

”Oh, you have got to be shi+ttingthrew his hands in the air and plopped down on the couchHe sat there with his elbows resting on his thighs and his face buried in his palms

Su Chan walked over to the couch and kneeled down in front of hierousThey have ways to—”

”Oh, corowled into his palms

”Get what? I think you're the one who doesn’t understand how serious this is!”

Yundong's head suddenly shot up

”The ga's tone drew a gasp out of herShe stared into Yundong's eyesThe anger in the look

”This whole charade is over,” Yundong said”It won't work any to fool anybodyNot after what happened today”

Yundong broke their eye contact and rubbed a hand across his faceWeariness settled into his countenanceHe sighed”Whether we like it or not, our cover is blown”

Su Chan shi+fted around until she was sitting cross-legged on the floor

”C' shockwaves with a punch?” Yundong snorted”Before we know it, we're on fcking national TV”

Su Chan sniffed and swiped away a stray tearThis was all her faultYundong got into danger because of herHe'd been so nice to her, and yet all she brought hiain”W- Would we really end up inside the talking box?”

Seconds passed in silenceAnd then Yundong laughedA genuine and full-blown laughWhat a beautiful soundAnd Su Chan had never felt more relieved in her entire life

Su Chan sniffed again”W- What?”

Her cheeks were so warm that her tears would probably just evaporate froht then and lifted her chin up”I don't know, but I think it's likely”

Su Chan turned her head left and stared at the TV for a et in there?” She pointed at the TV”There aren't any doors”

”Pfft… Hahaha”

Su Chan lowered her hand and stared down at her lap

Yundong cleared his throat”Well, that's not hoorksI'll explain it to you next time”

The fact that there would be a next tiht knot inside Su Chan's chest

”Look, the point is…” Yundong said”There's a good chance that everyone in the city—hell, everyone in the country—will know about today's incident within the next few days”

Su Chan fiddled with her sleeve”Does… Does everyone have one of those boxes in their homes?”

<hr>

”YeahThat's pretty hed”GodI can even ie title alreadyThe Hero of Tiannan University fights Shapeshi+fting Old ManAnd those nosy studentsabout it on Weibo already… Sooner or later, everyone's gonna know, including the people who are after us”

Another stretch of silence passed

”Lin Youfa could be one of theaze snapped up”What?”

Yundong sighed and shook his head”He kept insisting that there's soh Su Chan's chest, taking away her ability to breathOh no…

”A- And what did you tell hi said with a snort”Told hihed in relief

Yundong looked into her eyes”He didn't believeto forcecarefullySo he didn't yield under pressureMaybe he can keep secrets after all…

”Did he…?” Su Chan cleared her throatdaive you any indication that… that he knows?”

Yundong considered her question for a ain

”NoHe kept saying that he thinks there's so special about me, just that he didn't knohat it isHe thinks it has so to do with the way I train”

So the possibility that Yundong had consumed the Renyuan Jindan never occurred to Lin Youfa? That was a little oddBut ade relief to hearSu Chan hadn't thought Lin Youfa was one of the people hunting for the Renyuan JindanWhat Yundong had told her just confirmed her suspicions

”Chan'er…”

Su Chan shook herself out of her reverieOnly Master called her Chan'erBut she had to ad called her thatThe previous time when he called her Chan'er, they were…

She hoped she hadn't started bleeding from her cheeksAnd was it a little hot in here?

”I know I've pro you for answersAnd I know you're just trying to protect et all that,” Yundong said”But don't you think it would be better forthings that would risk exposure?”

Su Chan frozeShe'd never thought of it that way

Yundong shook his head”And not just what I'm capable ofI also need to knohat you are capable ofEarlier, I reht because—”

”You mean you tossed me,” Su Chan snapped”You tossed hed”I knowI'm sorryBut that's exactly the pointI didn't knohat you're capable ofI didn't know you could do all that”—Yundong did a couple of weird gestures with his hand—”badass Cultivation stuff or whatever you call itI was just trying to keep you safeThat guy was so dangerous and I didn't know if I could beat hiuess I wasn't sure if I could protect you” Yundong lifted his head and gazed right into her eyes”I don't knohat I'd do if I lose you, Chan'erI… I can't live without you”

Tears stung Su Chan's eyes as war was short-lived as fear and disappointment soon crept inWill you still say that once you find out that I'm a fox spirit? That I'o thereIt hurt tootook a breath”And of course, there's also the fact that our cover is blownI need to be readyI need to knoho or what I' hedHe's rightI've been so blind

”Chan'er…” Yundong cupped her cheeks”I think it's time you tell me”

Su Chan nodded

”Okay”

They sat on the floor across from each otherTwo pads and pens lay on the coffee table between them

Su Chan broke the silence first”U one of the pads towards her

Yundong took a pen and started fiddling with itAfter a hed

”I didn't use to belief inshook his head”Now I think I doII've seen and experienced… It's just…”

Oh, Yundong… You've barely scratched the surface…

Yundong uncapped his pen and opened his pad to a blank pageHe stared at her for a few seconds without writing anything downSu Chan felt like squir to ask first? Her past? Had he already begun to suspect that she was a de scribbled down a feords and showed her the pad: Fly for ain: FlyI want to see you flyLike… Like what you did earlier

OhThat

Learning how to fly was the require (fifth) phase of Cultivation

Yundong scribbled: Please? I just need to see it for myself

”O- Okay…” Su Chan stood up, then backed away a few steps froave her a nodSu Chan closed her eyes and took a deep breathA mo shi+t…”

Su Chan's eyes shot open and her feet dropped back to the floor with a thud

Yundong's hands were now gripping his hair”Son of a fck!”

Defensiveness crept in”Just because we have abilities doesn't mean that we're evil or that we'rereleased his hair and shook his head, his eyes widening in alarm”No, no… That's not what I meant… I was just surprised that's allI didn't mean to i sighed and waved her over

Su Chan walked back towards the coffee table and sat down

”Listen, I really didn'tbyshook his head, then held her gaze again”I meant what I told you at the restaurant”

Well, he'd told her a lot of things at the restaurantHe s in this world aren't inherently badThey are just toolsTheir value depends on their user,” Yundong said, looking straight at her”I won't think of you as an evilspecial abilitiesLike money, it all depends on how you use them”

Su Chan suppressed an eye rollTell that to the rest of the Cultivation world anted nothing more than to wipe out fox spirits fro chuckled”damnNow I'm positive that we'll be on TV toht just now and you just…” Yundong paused and drew an arc in the air connecting one spot on the table to another”Like, right in front of everyone”

Su Chan uncapped her pen and wrote: Made it look like juh to convince everyone,” Yundong deadpanned

Was he being sarcastic? YepHe wasThe teasing glint in his eyes said so

Su Chan's cheeks grearm”What? It really did look like a juh too, couldn't they? Or do those stunts she saw on TV not count?

Yundong chuckled”If that's what you call juh ju? But how could a pig ju?”

”NoIt's Olyhter

Had her cheeks combusted? Su Chan looked down and stared at a spot on the table top”If… If it doesn't work, then y- you could just… tell the laughed even harder”Springs in your—” He started slapping his thighs”My God you really are a national treasure…”

WellAt least he was laughing

Yundong recovered hi I tookMagical?

Su Chan nodded, then wrote soical pillRenyuan Jindan

”What does it do? How does it work?” Yundong whispered

UghWhere to even begin?

Su Chan pondered his question for a o with the shorter versionShe wrote: Long story short? Reforer

She didn't want to bore him with detailsBesides, a lot of the Cultivation stuff would sound foreign to hi suddenly reached up to touch his face, then wrote: That's why I not fat?

Su Chan stared at him for a momentHmm… Technically, he lost body fat after his meridians were forcibly activated when he went into Zouhuo Rumo stateBut the effects wouldn't be this pronounced without the Jindan…

Su Chan scribbled: It did play a roleThere was a process

There was a conte's faceMoments later, his eyes widened”Holy shi+t…”

”What?” Su Chan shot hirabbed his pen: Three daysI slept for three days

Su Chan bobbed her head up and down

”Are you tired?” Yundong said”Um… Because I… I have a lot of questionsOh, wait” A worried look flitted across his face”Were you hurt during the fight?”

Not exactlyExcept maybe for her pride, since he, you know, tossed her away and everythingIt would probably take her a while to get over that

Su Chan shook her head”What about you?”

Yundong grinned”I wasBut then irl fixed me”

butterflies fluttered in her stoain: Runnodded

Su Chan grabbed her pad: Renyuan Jindan's function = enhance whatever that is already there

Su Chan stared at Yundong for a ain: Everything enhancedBonesMusclesQiEverything