Chapter 34 He and His Brother Have All the Time in the World

Chapter 34: He and His Brother Have All the Time in the World

"So this is Master Xie's kin. My bad, I was out of line," the Demon Lord said, lowering his hand and hastily bandaging his right eye.

"Sorry for the lousy hospitality, Young Master Xie," the Demon Lord smiled at Xie Huanxiang, his eyes way more guarded.

Xie Huanxiang glanced at the demon blood seeping through the bandage on his right eye, then pursed his lips and turned away, ignoring the Demon Lord's apology.

He didn't wanna talk to some ugly freak.

He hated this Demon Lord and didn't understand why his bro came to the Moon-Eroding City.

Even at the feast, he didn't manage to eavesdrop on anything important.

After the boring-ass banquet ended, Xie Huanxiang patted his belly, stuffed with grapes, and followed his brother toward where they were crashing.

On the way, he overheard some demon palace servants chatting as they passed.

"Did you hear? Last night, the head of the Liuyun Immortal Sect got his heart ripped out!"

"Weird, right? Even if that sect leader couldn't take on those two Heaven-tier demons, he was still a Nascent Soul stage expert. How'd he get killed without the whole sect making a peep?"

"And the sect's top disciple's been missing for no reason. A whole major sect with nobody in charge—it's a joke how far they've fallen. With a perfect chance like this, why's our lord holding back?"

"Our lord once made an agreement with the Liuyun Immortal Sect. We can't make a move yet."

Xie Huanxiang walked on but kept looking back.

"Whatcha looking at?" Xie Jiuyan took his hand and led him around a corner, stopping at the entrance to the hall.

His brother's hand was big, warm, and thick—pretty much the same as when he was a kid.

Xie Huanxiang looked up and asked, "Bro, is what they said true?"

Though he had only met that sect leader once at the disciple initiation ceremony, the guy had smiled kindly, just like the clan chief, and he hadn't disliked him.

"What exactly does Xiangbao wanna ask? If it's true? Or—" Xie Jiuyan pushed open the door, a heavy shadow falling across his face, his voice still carrying a smile, "if I was the one who dug out that heart?"

"Where'd you go last night, bro?" Xie Huanxiang rolled his eyes. "I felt sick last night and couldn't find you anywhere."

"I went to deal with a tail that was trailing us," Xie Jiuyan said, crouching down. His rough, warm fingers found Xie Huanxiang's wrist like it was nothing to check his pulse.

"Your pulse is normal," Xie Jiuyan said, lifting his eyes to calmly assess his face, which was getting way too good-looking. "Xiangbao, you think you're going into heat?"

"What's that, exactly?" Xie Huanxiang felt the term was vaguely familiar, like the demon in his dream last night said it. "I don't like it. It makes me feel really weird."

Xie Jiuyan chuckled, pulled him into the bedroom, and casually closed the door. He pushed the little fox spirit down onto the edge of the bed, sat beside him, and patiently explained, "Most demons on Cang Mountain go into heat when they grow up. Once it passes, the urge to breed gets stuck in their heads, and then they enter their mating season."

"Xiangbao's old enough to be courted now."

Images of the wolf demons and dog demons that surrounded him, wagging their tails and staring at him with glowing green eyes and howling, flashed through his mind. Xie Huanxiang instinctively hugged his tail and shook his head like crazy. "No way!"

"Xiangbao doesn't need to be afraid. The first heat hits hard, but it usually only lasts one night. It was my bad last night for not being here to watch over you, leaving you to tough it out alone," Xie Jiuyan said, pulling a glowing light-red ribbon from his robe and tying it around Xie Huanxiang's left wrist.

The ribbon fit perfectly just below the protruding bone of his wrist, easy to hide under his sleeve, so nobody could see it.

"If any dumb demon tries to court you later, this'll teach 'em a lesson for Xiangbao."

Xie Huanxiang nodded. "Then I won't be scared."

He looked at Xie Jiuyan and suddenly asked, "Bro, do you have a mating season too?"

Xie Jiuyan's expression paused briefly as he crouched to remove his shoes and socks. "Only those uncivilized guys on Cang Mountain are obsessed with that nasty stuff, like Wang Xie."

"Brother is right," Xie Huanxiang said, sitting on the bed and nodding vigorously, his ears twitching with each nod. "Wang Xie is really strange. He always bullies me. He's definitely no good."

Having eaten too many grapes, he couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard he tried. Xie Huanxiang gave up, jumped out of the nest he'd made, and shifted back into human form.

The nine-tailed white fox that had been guarding him in the nest immediately opened its eyes and looked at him.

"Brother, I can't sleep. How about we make some little fox dolls?"

As soon as Xie Jiuyan shifted back into human form, Xie Huanxiang eagerly pulled the brocade pouch from his waist and emptied out all the white fox fur inside.

"Brother, you left Cang Mountain for fifty years, and you only shed this much fur?" Xie Huanxiang turned, his face full of disappointment, muttering softly, "Then I can only make one."

Back when he couldn't yet transform, he used to visit an old fox grandmother's den to watch her make little fox dolls. He'd promised his brother that once he could transform, he'd make fox dolls for their parents and for him. But his own fur was too sparse, so he'd need his brother to help him collect it.

He knew that once he said something, his brother would never forget it.

"The rest of the fur... isn't very clean," Xie Jiuyan said with a soft laugh. "Let's make one first. We have all the time in the world."

All the time in the world.

After sleeping alone in the fox den for fifty years, Xie Huanxiang especially loved those four words.

He had always wanted to have all the time in the world with his parents and his brother, to be together forever.

Xie Huanxiang turned his face away, silently wiping the moisture from the corners of his eyes. Then he looked back, curving his lips, his eyes bright and free of any shadow. "Alright, this one is for you first, brother. The next one will be for me."

"Alright." Xie Jiuyan would agree to anything for him.

Xie Huanxiang lay on the bed, focused on making the fox doll, his two pale calves sticking out from the hem of his robe, occasionally swinging back and forth. They were so white they outshone the candlelight.

Xie Jiuyan picked up a blanket nearby and draped it over his legs, then sat beside him, acting as the Fox King's assistant, helping to comb through the remaining fox fur.

Halfway through, a knock came from outside the hall.

"Master Xie, our lord requests your presence for a discussion."

Xie Jiuyan held the combed fur and placed it beside Xie Huanxiang. "Xiangbao, I'll be back soon."

"Okay." Xie Huanxiang was too absorbed in making the fox doll to look up.

Outside the hall, Xie Jiuyan closed the door and glanced sideways at the servant. "In such a hurry. Is his right eye wound already treated?"

The demon palace servant felt a phantom pain in his own right eye and forced a smile. "Our lord said it's just a minor injury, nothing serious. Your important matters take priority. As for the young master, while you're away, our lord will send his most capable subordinates to attend to him, so he won't get bored."

The demon servant behind him stepped forward to push open the door.

Xie Jiuyan raised his hand, his five fingers closing in the air.

The male demon's heart flew into his palm, and he crushed it. The demon collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

He left a seal on the hall's door, then turned and walked away, his voice carrying a gentle smile. "My little brother is not something any random cat or dog is worthy of seeing."

The demon servant's face went pale as he silently followed behind, not daring to breathe. This Celestial Demon had become even more unpredictable since emerging from the tower than he was fifty years ago. Even their lord, with his face full of smiles, had lost an eye. What chance did their underlings have?

Inside the hall.

After Xie Jiuyan left, Xie Huanxiang ended up working until dark, and a small white nine-tailed fox finally lay perfect in his palm.

He thought for a moment, then took out from his own Brocade Pouch all the little red foxes he had crafted for himself over the years.

Hmph, of course he had more than one fox baby—the one he gave to Wu Liu was the smallest, just a decoy for Wu Liu.

The only white fox was placed right in the center by Xie Huanxiang, so his brother would see it the second he got back.

He yawned, a little tear glistening at the corner of his eye, then shifted back into a fox and crawled into his nest. Fighting off drowsiness, he curled up into a little red ball, pressing tightly against the edge of the nest, leaving his brother’s sleeping spot empty. Only then did he hug his tail and close his eyes to sleep.

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