From an angle Tushan Xin couldn't see, Prince Shao winked at Fox Bai Shuo.
"Well, it's not like our clan doesn't have other options."
Bai Shuo's fox fur stood on end.
"What?" Tushan Xin blinked, then her eyes lit up. "Our clan still has a way out?"
"Naturally." The prince straightened perceptibly, head held high, his dignified aura snapping back into place. "Our clan isn't a middle-tier clan for nothing."
Tushan Xin smiled. "What is it?"
Prince Shao shook his head. "A clan secret."
"Oh…" She looked disappointed, but then her gaze flicked toward Bai Shuo and she winked meaningfully.
Bai Shuo raised an eyebrow.
Tushan Xin's eyes twitched repeatedly, darting between her and the prince.
Bai Shuo wasn't dumb.
She could tell the little fox girl wanted her to ask her fiancé herself.
She sneered inwardly.
As if.
She still wasn't sure of the original owner's relationship with this prince — and she definitely hadn't forgotten her suspicions about him and Tushan Hui.
The prince suddenly nodded toward Tushan Xin. "I'd like to speak with the princess alone."
A radiant smile bloomed on Tushan Xin's face as she nodded like a woodpecker.
"Yes, Your Highness."
She exited immediately — and even closed the door thoughtfully behind her, not without giving Bai Shuo a meaningful look.
Bai Shuo: "…"
Where was the girl who'd been clamoring about cultivating?
One sentence and she fled. Haa…
No — wait.
What about her plan to inspect meridians?
Bai Shuo couldn't help glaring at the culprit.
"Shuo'er…" The prince suddenly slumped onto the bed. "It's so hard pretending…"
Bai Shuo shuddered and shifted to the edge of the bed, staring at him warily.
The prince froze. "What's wrong?"
"No — I should be asking you that."
Realization dawned on his face. He knelt beside her anxiously. "How are you? I almost forgot about your injuries. Let me take a look."
She dodged his hand, eyes sharp. "What do you think you're doing?"
Prince Shao quickly took out several vials from his Qiankun pouch. "This is the best tonic for internal injuries."
Then he slapped his forehead. "Right — I forgot about your insane healing speed. How are you feeling now?"
Now that he mentioned it, Bai Shuo realized her injuries weren't as severe as when she'd first woken up. In fact, they were healing at an absurd pace, especially after entering Qingyu Palace.
She'd thought it was a Fox Clan trait but apparently not.
But that wasn't the point.
The anxious expression on his face was strange.
"Don't touch me," she said coldly. "Are we close?"
He looked hurt. "Shuo'er… you've really forgotten me?"
Looking at his panicked expression and unstable aura, Bai Shuo's mind went blank.
What was this situation?
Who was this person?
She asked cautiously, "Who are you really?"
He blinked. "I'm your fiancé."
"I'm not asking that." Her eyes narrowed. "Why… why are you like this?"
"I've always been like this." His voice was full of grievance. "You're the one who told me to pretend to be dignified so people would respect me. You… you actually forgot."
Bai Shuo felt her fox head aching.
What was Tushan Shuo thinking when she said that?
And why did this idiot actually listen?
"Shuo'er!" The prince suddenly brightened. "Don't worry, I didn't disappoint you. After being exposed to my brother's Dao and Law aura, I performed really well today, right?"
His eyes shone with expectation.
Bai Shuo felt her headache worsen.
Her lips twitched.
What dignified demeanor?
What solemn aura?
Nonsense.
Heh… so it was all a facade.
No wonder she'd felt something was off about him.
Pretentious — just like those hateful youths from the Bai Clan.
Bai Shuo really wanted to beat him up, but after glancing at her delicate, weak fox body, she gave up the thought.
She couldn't believe she'd almost been fooled into thinking he was a proper prince.
"Shuo'er…" he whined.
A chill ran down her spine.
"I was dripping with cold sweat confronting those two Dao and Law experts."
"You—" She was so angry she nearly vomited blood.
How could a grown man be so… so…
She was speechless.
She couldn't reconcile this shameless creature with the brave and dignified prince from earlier.
Prince Shao, however, was oblivious to her expression and continued cheerfully.
"Mother would be proud if she heard about it. Tsk… I really wanted to laugh at the stunned expressions of those peacocks."
Bai Shuo's face twisted strangely.
Her paws itched. She wished she could grow extra hands just to knock him out.
In her past life, she'd seen people pretend to be pigs to eat tigers — but this…
She really couldn't hold back anymore.
"You're a prince. Aren't you supposed to be dignified?"
He snorted. "Dignified? I'm the tenth prince. I've got nine brothers above me. Why should I bother with clan affairs when there's more to life than cultivation?"
Bai Shuo raised an eyebrow. "In short, you're lazy."
He choked. "How can you call that lazy? It's called being carefree."
She scoffed.
He gritted his teeth. "If not for the Ancestral Fox Prince killing most of my brothers, I wouldn't even be forced to cultivate."
Bai Shuo frowned. "I forced you to cultivate?"
"Of course not!" He protested. "You asked me to learn from my brothers so I wouldn't be looked down on. Do you know how hard it was pretending to be cold and aloof?"
"Heh." She sneered. "A weak Foundation Establishment fox like me advising a prince? I doubt that."
He sulked. "You don't trust me?"
Her eyes sharpened. "Why should I? Who knows if you're pretending?"
"I've never pretended with you!" he snapped. "Tushan Xin isn't your best friend — it's me."
Bai Shuo nearly choked.
Then she sneered. "I don't remember anything. Why should I trust you?"
He scratched his head helplessly. "Then ask me anything. Maybe if I tell you about yourself, you'll remember?"
She could have used the chance to learn more about this body — but a better idea struck her.
"If you really want me to trust you…"
Her eyes narrowed. "Let me see your meridian networks."
His brows creased slightly.
Their gazes locked.
Just as Bai Shuo was about to dismiss it, she couldn't afford suspicion –he nodded.
"Fine."
She froze.
He lifted his chin with a smug "see, I trust you" expression.
She paused, lips parting slightly — then seized the opportunity.
He sat cross-legged on her bed. She placed a paw on his back and awkwardly sent a thread of primal qi into his body.
His meridians unfolded before her senses.
They were vastly different from hers, stable, orderly, perfectly connected — just like the fox meridian structures she'd sensed in her current body.
Not fragmented. Not mixed.
Unlike hers, mixed of both human and fox meridians structures.
Her breath caught.
Sure enough. She was right.
She was really a hybrid.
But—
She was also a princess.
A hybrid princess.
"You see?" the prince said cheerfully. "We trust each other. This isn't the first time we've examined each other's meridians — the elders always check during bloodline purity tests."
Boom.
Bai Shuo's mind shook.
"Y-you examined mine too?" Her voice trembled. "What did my meridians look like?"
He frowned. "Like everyone else's. The elders checked us all."
Relief flooded her chest before she even realized she'd been holding her breath.
Her gaze sharpened.
Someone had cast a concealment spell on her body.
Strong enough to fool elders.
Her mother?
Or someone else?
This was no ordinary secret.
This was the Fox Clan's greatest shame.
The Ancestral Fox Prince was a hybrid.
She, the daughter of the matriarch was a hybrid too.
It suddenly dawned on her that perhaps, she wasn't here merely for experience.
Perhaps…
She was here for something else…