Young Master Is Being Jealous Again!
Chapter 1224: Ten Life Cycles, Never Ending Well in Each Life

Chapter 1224: Chapter 1224: Ten Life Cycles, Never Ending Well in Each Life

Fan Hangyi rested his hand on the table, touching the dark red brocade box lying on top.

His fingers gently moved the brocade box open, revealing the Blood Bead inside emanating a red misty glow.

Upon seeing the Red Blood Pearl, which was releasing its red hue from within, Qin Ruan’s eyes widened slightly, a look of astonishment flashing across them.

Suddenly, a strong red light burst forth from the Blood Bead, carrying with it an intense, cold resentment that shot directly toward Qin Ruan’s face.

Qin Ruan tensed up, instinctively wanting to dodge.

Out of the blue, Fan Hangyi spoke, "Aruan, this contains your memories of ten lifetimes with the Emperor. Are you sure you don’t want to know how to break the cycle?"

Qin Ruan, already in the motion of stepping back, heard it was related to the Emperor, and without enough time to contemplate the danger, let the overwhelming surge of resentful energy rush into her mind.

The memories of Tushan Aruan and the Emperor through each reincarnation in the endless sea of Mortal World’s red dust poured clearly into her mind.

Except for this life, their past reincarnations had all met unfortunate ends.

Was this the powerful aftermath of trials in life, death, and love?

In every life, either she died early, or the Emperor met with an untimely demise.

Between them, there was always one step amiss, missing each other by the slimmest of margins time and again.

The first life, the Daqian Dynasty.

Qin Ruan’s soul was scattered, the Fox Clan’s Divine Power nearly depleted. Even thrown into the Mortal World, she couldn’t maintain a human form and became a pure white ordinary fox.

Without Spiritual Sense or memory of her past lives, the little fox roamed the mountains and forests like any other ordinary animal.

She was the simple little fox of this world, oblivious to the suffering and the wickedness of human hearts.

One day, a group of Hunters invaded the forest, and the white fox who roamed freely was captured, along with many other animals of varying sizes.

The white fox was injured, her hind leg pierced by a Hunter’s arrow. To not damage the fur quality, those Hunters did a simple dressing on her wound.

After a few days of traveling, the group arrived at a town market, where the little fox was sold to a stall vendor.

One could say she was lucky; as soon as she was caged, a tall and elegant young nobleman dressed in ice blue silk, embroidered with delicate bamboo patterns, took a fancy to her.

The dying little fox in the cage could only make out the young nobleman’s sheep fat jade hairpin, shimmering and reflecting the sunlight beautifully.

Graceful and displaying the bearing of a gentleman, his handsome and scholarly features led the guard by his side to hand the vendor a silver ingot, and he took the little fox in his arms back to his residence.

The little fox received the finest treatment, feasting and drinking well as she followed the young master every day, living even more carefree than in the forest.

Before long, three years quietly slipped by.

The little fox gained Spiritual Wisdom; she knew she was a demon and that she only needed to absorb the Essence of Sun and Moon to someday possess a human body.

In these three years, the little fox learned that her master, who took care of her, was the noble son of a local governor.

She also became aware of the many matchmakers who wore out the governor’s threshold, seeking to propose marriage for the young Master Huo.

Speaking of the governor’s son, his gracious and respectful ways had won the silent affections of many young ladies.

As the legitimate son of the governor, he left impressions neither boastful nor oppressive and carried the air of a scholar, emanating a literary spirit.

Most admirable was Master Huo’s journey to the Capital City for examinations. The Daqian Emperor named him Number One Scholar, yet he declined on account of illness, braving the risk of decapitation to present the Emperor with five major military strategies for the border forces.

In the presence of civil and military officials, he confidently predicted that war between the Daqian and the neighboring nation was inevitable.

How could the Daqian Emperor take his word for it, utterly preposterous!

Master Huo indeed possessed true talent and literary grace, a rare talent to find.

Alas, this man was too reckless with his life, and in a fit of rage, the Emperor had him confined to a death prison, not to be released without summons.

But it wasn’t long before the frontier wars began, and the Daqian Dynasty suffered heavy losses due to negligence, bringing calamity and countless deaths and injuries to the people. The Emperor summoned Master Huo from the death prison to the Palace overnight.

Under Master Huo’s prediction, along with the deployment strategies of his five corps of frontier forces, the Daqian Dynasty secured victory in just half a year.

Master Huo should have been appointed an official and granted nobility, rising through the ranks with ease, but he had no interest in power, despite his ability to ensure peace with his writing or to set the world in order with his martial skills. He rejected the Emperor’s offer once again and returned to his hometown.

Whenever the court faced troublesome issues that left the civil and military officials indecisive, nobility would come to visit Master Huo from the Capital City.

Such was the universally known, astonishingly talented Master Huo, whom many prestigious families wished to connect with through marriage, Unfortunately, he had no interest in women, nor did he keep a pretty-looking page.

Master Huo was like an exiled immortal from heaven, disinterested in everything. He had, however, taken a keen interest in a white fox he had adopted in recent years.

On this sweltering summer day, Master Huo held the small fox in his arms, enjoying the cool indoors.

The elegantly adorned room was filled with ice mirrors, and servants used palm-leaf fans to direct the cool air toward the consort couch where Master Huo, holding the white fox, reclined.

Master Huo’s hands were distinctive for their joints, his overly pale and handsome fingers gently caressed the fur of the small fox lying on his abdomen with a casual air of indifference.

The small fox made a comfortable, low humming sound from its mouth, sounding extremely content.

Master Huo, resting with his eyes closed, listened to the comfortable sounds from the small fox, and his thin lips lifted in a faint, pleased curve.

One man and one fox enjoyed a rare moment of tranquility, but unfortunately, their warm interaction was disrupted by someone’s arrival.

"Master, Master, the young miss from the Liu family has come. She says she had arranged to go boating on the lake with you."

Master Huo’s servant blurted out excitedly, clearly eager for his master to hurry out.

The white fox lying on Master Huo’s abdomen, its eyes gleaming, stared angrily at the newcomer.

Master Huo did not even open his eyes. His hand, stroking the white fox’s smooth fur, did not cease its motion for a moment.

"I won’t go. It’s too hot, and Xiaobai is uncomfortable," he said, his voice dignified and pleasant, sounding ethereal like the dropping of beads on a jade plate.

The servant grew anxious, stamping his foot in defense of the young Miss Liu who had been waiting for a while, "How can Master not go after you’ve agreed? You promised Miss Liu."

Master Huo slowly lifted his eyelids, his gaze oppressive as he looked towards the servant: "When did I ever agree to her?"

Noticing his master’s displeasure, the servant replied tentatively, "Three days ago, you made the arrangement with Miss Liu."

Master Huo scoffed, "My exact words that day were, ’In this raging heat of summer, the swelter is unbearable, I’m afraid I cannot honor Miss Liu’s kind intention.’"

At that moment, he lacked the graceful demeanor of a gentleman that was known to the outside world; instead, an aura of displeasure filled the air.

The servant got the message, realizing that Master Huo was tactfully rejecting Miss Liu. He promptly responded, "I will go and tell Miss Liu."

Master Huo, resting with his eyes closed, waved his hand dismissively.

His movements exuded refined elegance, once again regaining the gentle and calm demeanor of before.

Xiaobai, the fox whom he had named, obediently curled back into his arms, closing its eyes to enjoy the comforting strokes from its master.

Such an unrestrained and carefree life, free from the disturbance of outsiders—if the rest of his days could remain as peaceful, would indeed be a most pleasurable existence.

Sadly, fate is unpredictable, and Master Huo truly had an illness.

One day, half a year later, in the midst of winter, Master Huo collapsed in the snow.

The county magistrate summoned all renowned physicians, even going so far as to send a petition to the Capital City, earnestly requesting that the Daqian Emperor deploy an imperial physician to save his son.