A Pat on the Head

“Uh...” Du Qi opened his eyes, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling above him. He dazed for several breaths before slowly coming to his senses.

He slowly propped himself up and examined his body.

He wasn't really injured—all of his exhaustion stemmed from the backlash and the overdrawing of his own origin. A good sleep would be enough to recover.

“You're awake?” Su Li's voice drifted over from beside him, muffled because her face was buried in her pillow.

Du Qi turned his head and saw her lying face down on another bed not far away. All nine of her tails were wrapped in snow-white bandages, bound into stiff, straight rods laid out neatly across her back like a disassembled fan.

She couldn't lie on her back. Her fractured tailbone made it impossible for her to even roll over, so she could only rest her cheek on her arm, looking at him with half-lidded eyes.

Her fox ears perked up one moment and drooped the next, like two leaves repeatedly blown by the wind.

Du Qi propped himself up, leaning against the headboard. His voice carried the hoarseness of someone who had just woken up. “So... what happened after?”

Su Li's ears twitched. She twirled a lock of her hanging hair around her finger, let it go, twirled it again, and let it go once more.

“Afterward—Zixiao ascended, Bai Cen hasn't woken up yet, and Qingwei is dealing with that whole mess.”

Her tone was casual, but when she mentioned "redistributing the authority of the Central Continent Alliance," her voice clearly hardened, and she slammed a fist onto the mattress.

“If I weren't so badly injured, I would definitely have carved out a share of the Central Continent Alliance's power.”

The bed gave a muffled thud, and her tails shook slightly before drooping back down. “I won't say the Beast Taming Sect should have taken seventy percent, but we should at least be on equal footing with the Sword Sect.”

She grumbled, her face turning from side to side on the pillow. “Now look at us. Just relying on Grandpa Wei and the others to argue, we'll be lucky if we can divide the power into three equal parts.”

Her brow furrowed deeper. “No, I have to go.” With that, she tried to push herself up. But the moment she raised her upper body, a sharp, stabbing pain shot through her fractured tailbone. Her face instantly contorted, and she collapsed back down with a soft splat, landing face-first on the bed with a muffled thud.

Du Qi watched her, seeing her struggle in vain like a small animal pinned to the bed before giving up and lying flat.

He pulled a folding fan from his storage bag, snapping it open with a shhhk to block his face and hide the smile he could barely suppress.

Painted on the fan was a simple ink landscape. Its edges were slightly worn; it was the one he used most often. His shoulders shook gently behind the fan, but he forced himself not to make a sound.

Su Li turned her head and saw the fan. An ice-attribute Spirit-Gathering Formation was active in the room, so there was absolutely no need to fan himself. Besides, she wasn't blind—the corners of his eyes peeking out from behind the fan were curved into crescent arcs.

She turned her head back in frustration, presenting the back of her head to him. She didn't want to deal with this poser right now. She hadn't let him off the hook for breaking his promise last time. He shouldn't think that just because she had been nice to him during the fight, that matter was resolved.

Her tails twitched—the bandages restricted large movements, so they could only sway slightly, expressing their master's extreme displeasure.

Du Qi folded his fan, set it on the nightstand, got out of bed, and sat down beside her.

The weight capacity of the single bed in the ward wasn't very good. The edge sank slightly under his weight, causing Su Li to tilt a few degrees toward him. She buried her face even deeper.

“What's wrong? Still mad at me?”

Su Li ignored him. She kept her face turned away, refusing to pay any attention to this big liar who didn't keep his word.

Du Qi looked down at her for a moment. The back of her head was facing him, and her ears were still twitching.

He reached out, hesitating for less than half a second before gently resting his palm on her head. Her hair was soft and warm, with the slight fluffiness unique to someone who had just woken up.

“Alright, alright,” he said. “I was wrong, okay?” His voice was softer and gentler than he had anticipated. It didn't even sound like him.

He paused and added, “Your sect's Great Elder had me sign a Dao Protector contract. In other words, I've become your personal bodyguard now. Of course I have to keep an eye on you.”

As he explained why he had broken his word, he slowly stroked her head. Honestly, the little fox's head was surprisingly satisfying to pet.

Then, his hand slid down a bit further—landing right on her ears. They were soft, warm, and furry. He couldn't help but pinch them twice.

But the moment he touched Su Li's ears, a slight tremor ran through her body. A muffled, purring sound escaped her throat, and her entire being turned a soft shade of pink, starting from the tips of her ears and spreading down to the back of her neck.

Her voice came out in fits and starts, squeezed through her teeth with an uncontrollable, soft trembling:

“Du... get your paws off me!” How dare he! How dare he touch her ears! I'm going to kill this pervert! I will definitely kill him!

Du Qi raised his hands sheepishly. Uh-oh, looked like he had caused trouble again...