Farewell

 The woman looked toward Little Snow, who immediately came over and affectionately nuzzled her hand.

A flash of tenderness appeared in the woman's eyes, but it vanished in an instant, replaced once again by cool detachment: "Thank you. Once my injuries improve, I will leave and trouble you no further."

"There's no rush. Focus on recovering. May I ask the lady's name?" Dustin inquired.

The woman was silent for a moment, then said softly: "Bai Qingxue."

Over the following days, Bai Qingxue recuperated at the villa.

She spoke little, spending most of her time meditating to regulate her breathing. Occasionally she would stand by the window, gazing at the distant mountains, lost in thought.

Dustin noticed that her recovery speed was astonishingly fast. Injuries that would have kept an ordinary person bedridden for months were already mostly healed in just a few days.

One afternoon, Dustin was trimming the plants in the courtyard when he suddenly heard the doorbell.

He opened the door to find Natasha standing there with a smile, carrying a food box.

"Surprised? I had the family chef make your favorite pastries." Natasha said, naturally giving Dustin a hug.

Dustin smiled and took the food box: "What brings you here?"

"Company matters have settled down for now, so I thought I'd come see you." Natasha said as she walked inside. "How have you been lately? Did you miss me—"

Her words suddenly stopped, her eyes fixed on a corner of the living room.

Little Snow was napping in a patch of sunlight by the floor-to-ceiling windows, its white fur gleaming in the light.

"Wow! What a beautiful little fox!" Natasha exclaimed with delight as she walked over. "You got a pet? Why didn't you tell me?"

She bent down, reaching to pet Little Snow.

"Wait—" Dustin tried to warn her, but it was too late.

Little Snow instantly woke. Seeing a stranger approach, it immediately bared its teeth with a threatening growl and quickly retreated behind the sofa.

Natasha jumped back, withdrawing her hand: "It doesn't seem to like me."

"It's a bit shy around strangers." Dustin said. "Give it time. Once it gets familiar with you, it'll be fine."

Natasha nodded, but her eyes remained on Little Snow, filled with adoration: "What's its name? Where did you get it? It's so adorable!"

As they were talking, soft footsteps came from the stairs.

Bai Qingxue descended from upstairs.

She had changed out of her blood-stained white robes and was wearing simple loungewear that Dustin had prepared for her.

A white T-shirt and gray sweatpants—yet even so, her transcendent aura could not be concealed. Her long hair hung loosely, a few strands falling by her cheeks, making her snow-white skin appear even more luminous.

Natasha froze when she saw Bai Qingxue.

She looked at Bai Qingxue, then at Dustin. Her expression shifted from surprise to confusion, then to hurt, and finally to obvious jealousy.

"Who is this beauty?" Natasha's gaze turned somewhat resentful. "Don't tell me you've been keeping a mistress here and found a new flame?"

"How could that be? I only just met her." Dustin said hurriedly.

"Just met her? She's already living in your house, and you say you just met her?" Natasha's jealousy surged.

"Natasha, you've misunderstood. She was seriously injured. I simply happened to save her, that's all. Once she's healed, she'll naturally leave." Dustin said with a wry smile.

"Really?" Natasha raised an eyebrow.

"What Young Master Dustin says is true. He saved my life—nothing more. Miss, you need not worry." Bai Qingxue spoke.

"That's good then." Natasha finally smiled, taking the opportunity to link her arm through Dustin's, as if staking her claim.

Bai Qingxue observed this scene, her expression calm and unruffled. She simply said lightly: "Young Master Dustin, Miss Natasha, since the misunderstanding has been cleared up, I won't intrude further. My injuries are no longer serious. I shall take my leave today."

"Miss Bai, your injuries haven't fully healed." Dustin said.

"There's no need to worry. I have somewhere to go." Bai Qingxue said, then looked toward Little Snow. "Little Snow, let's go."

Little Snow ran out from behind the sofa and jumped to Bai Qingxue's feet, then turned back to look at Dustin. Its amber eyes seemed to hold a hint of reluctance.

Bai Qingxue nodded slightly to Dustin: "I will remember this life-saving grace. Should you ever need anything in the future, you may use this to find me."

She removed a white jade pendant and handed it to Dustin. The jade was warm and smooth, carved with strange cloud patterns, with an ancient character for "Bai" in the center.

Dustin accepted the jade pendant: "Take care, Miss Bai."

Bai Qingxue said nothing more and turned to leave. Little Snow followed at her feet, and the silhouettes of woman and fox soon disappeared beyond the door.

"What was her name?" Natasha suddenly asked.

"Bai Qingxue." Dustin replied.

"Beautiful looks and a lovely name too. You certainly have quite the luck with women." Natasha said with a meaningful smile.

"Ahem... Just a coincidence." Dustin felt rather embarrassed.

Although the woman before him was smiling, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

"That Miss Bai didn't seem ordinary, and that white fox appeared quite intelligent too." Natasha changed the subject.

"Mm. Lately, Stonia seems to have more people appearing who shouldn't be here. I have a feeling something major is about to happen." Dustin said thoughtfully.

"Something major? What kind of major event?" Natasha was curious.

"I'm not sure yet. With my cultivation completely gone, I can't use my spiritual sense to investigate. I can only take things one step at a time."

At this point, Dustin's tone became serious: "By the way, you should be more careful during this period. If anything happens, tell me immediately. Don't let your guard down."

– Marinien