Golden Orchids

Chapter 18

A/N: I didn't mean to have this chapter to have NSFW content. But it ended up having NSFW content... It wasn't very explicit but it's safer to inform you guys. Hope you enjoy it. :)

When Ye Hua stepped foot on Mount Junji, he raced towards the house. He called out Su Su's name. He searched every room in the hut. Nothing, there's no one home. No Su Su, no Yan Zhi.

Judging how the season had changed, Ye Hua had left for two months. He tried his best to settle his matters up in the Nine Heavens as fast as possible. Even so, he was too late.

Panic raised in his chest. Horrible scenarios raced through his mind. He left in such a bad time. SuSu was in so much pain. Who knew what could happen to her. 

"Su Su…" he managed to sob. He had left her when she was at her most vulnerable. If anything had happened to her, Ye Hua couldn't live with the guilt. 

Then he heard it: a rattling in the cupboard. There was no wind. Nothing that would cause it to make such a sound. There must be something inside, someone hiding in there.

Thieves?

Monster?

Celestial soldiers?

Ye Hua summoned his sword and walked quietly to the cupboard. He opened the door gingerly. What greeted him was a sight of a fox baring its teeth at him.

The fox's fur was as white as bare bone. Its eyes shone like burning coal. 
Its claws were razor-sharp with shredded clothes between its fangs. 

It was Su Su's clothes.

Ye Hua instantly saw red, he let out a cry and raised his sword up high. Before he could strike, a force pushed him back. He was sent toppling against the table. Ye Hua got up quickly, he met face to face with the Princess of the Ghost Realm.

Yan Zhi cradled the fox in her arms. She held out a hand to prevent him from stepping any closer. "Please calm down, Ye Hua."

"Step aside, Princess, " Ye Hua ordered, "That fox killed Su Su, "

Yan Zhi held the fox tighter, "No, the fox is Su Su, "

"Impossible, " he said. Then he noticed the red dot on its head. Ye Hua dropped his sword. It clattered on the floor. The horror of what he almost did just now overwhelmed him. 

Yan Zhi explained how Su Su transformed after he left. She deduced that it was from the curse that Su Su had taken for him.

A weight dropped down his shoulders. 

She got hurt because of me...

"The spell won't affect mortals, " Ye Hua tried to argue.

"The spell affects anything with a hidden form. Apparently, hers was a white fox" Yan Zhi explained.

"She's actually a fox spirit, " Ye Hua concluded. Therefore, he didn't break the heavenly rule in marrying a mortal. One crisis averted but another resurface. Wild Foxes were under the jurisdiction of the Nine Tail Fox Clan. Him marrying a simple wild fox rather than the Fox Queen herself would view as a huge insult to Qing Qiu. This situation may end up more complicated than his second uncle's. 

Right now, first thing first, "Then how-"

"There are two spells affecting her, the first one sealed her essence and cultivation, making her appear mortal, "

"The second one?"

A guilty expression appeared on the Princess' faces. Ye Hua didn't pester her on for details. Yan Zhi stroke the fox.