Chapter 1: A Visitor from the Family

At the border of the White Fox clan, the world was blanketed in snow and wind, withered grass and trees standing desolate under the endless white sky.

Xiao Yi’s stomach growled with hunger. After much effort, she managed to use the iron ball shackled to her foot to smash through the ice and caught a fish. She swallowed it whole, and when she turned around, she discovered that the clan’s guards were already standing by the riverbank, though she hadn’t noticed when they’d arrived.

“What do you want?” Xiao Yi eyed the guard warily, kicking the iron ball aside, her legs slightly apart and ready to bolt at the first sign of danger.

The guard’s gaze lingered for a moment on her bare legs before he spoke in a low, languid voice, “Young Master has come to fetch you.”

A pity, he thought, licking his lips. After this, there would be nothing left here but male foxes.

Young Master? Does he mean my brother?

Xiao Yi was stunned, suspecting she was still dreaming.

For more than ten years, she had been the cherished daughter of the family, only to be told two years ago that she was an orphan taken in from the wild.

Back then, the war between the White Fox and Black Wolf clans had reached a critical point. After the clan leader’s wife gave birth to a white fox cub, she was called to the battlefield. When the war ended, and the clan gathered to celebrate, they discovered that the infant left at home had vanished without a trace.

The clan leader’s wife was devastated. Out of love and sorrow, the clan leader secretly sent people out to find a white fox cub to bring back.

Two years ago, when a white fox girl with a plum blossom birthmark on her ankle stumbled back to the clan, the leader finally revealed the truth to her.

Xiao Yi still remembered that day: the clan leader, his wife, and Xiao Qiang wept together, embracing, while she stood at a distance like an outsider, stiff and out of place, an eyesore and a surplus.

She could not understand how the parents she had called mother and father for more than ten years could suddenly become her adoptive parents.

Perhaps noticing her embarrassment and unease, the clan leader promised that she would continue to enjoy all the privileges and resources due to the leader’s daughter.

The clan leader’s wife also said that although they were not related by blood, after so many years together, they would still call each other mother and daughter. However, she was to yield her position and call Xiao Qiang elder sister.

That day, Xiao Qiang invited her to meet at the pavilion on the lake. Before they had exchanged many words, Xiao Qiang leaned in close, smiled faintly, then threw herself into the water like a fragile willow in the wind.

Xiao Qiang screamed and struggled in the lake while Xiao Yi stood helpless on the shore.

Soon, news of Xiao Qiang’s fall into the water spread. The worried clan leader transformed into his fox form and dove in to save her, while the clan leader’s wife slapped Xiao Yi and ordered her to kneel and confess.

When the clan leader returned to shore, he kicked Xiao Yi in the chest, furious, demanding to know why she hadn’t saved her elder sister.

Xiao Qiang, meanwhile, trembled and wept, sobbing first, “Don’t blame my sister, it’s my fault, I shouldn’t have been here.”

As Xiao Yi opened her mouth to explain, the clan leader and his wife refused to listen, accusing her of malice and sending her to this bitter, frozen border to reflect and atone.

She had spent two years in this harsh place, with no visitors, existing only by clinging to life in the cracks of survival.

“What are you dawdling for? Young Master is waiting for you in the cave!” The guard, seeing Xiao Yi hesitate, frowned and dragged her up the riverbank.

He might dare to let his imagination run wild about the girl before him, but he absolutely could not delay the clan leader’s son, a man known for his ruthless efficiency. Should Young Master be kept waiting, he would not escape punishment.

Xiao Yi saw the guard’s urgency was genuine, and her hesitation turned to excitement.

Am I finally going home? Her heart pounded in her chest.

The snow was deep as a blanket. Xiao Yi trudged forward, leaving uneven footprints behind. As she neared the cave entrance, she looked up and saw a man draped in a black cloak embroidered with silver clouds, standing with his hands behind his back, surrounded by a circle of white foxes.

The closer to home, the more anxious her heart became.

She glanced down to inspect herself.

There was still dirt under her nails, and her clothes were in tatters.

How unsightly.

She did her best to wipe her red, swollen hands clean and smooth her clothes as much as possible.

Hearing footsteps, the man slowly turned and walked toward her.

Seeing his familiar features, Xiao Yi’s eyes stung with tears of sorrow.

It was Xiao Ru, the brother she had called by that name for over ten years.

When she was first exiled to the border, she had no one to confide in about her grievances. Later, when she heard her brother had returned from his travels, hope flickered in her heart. She even snuck away when the guards weren’t watching, transformed into her fox form, and journeyed home.

All she wanted was for her ever-doting brother to hear her out and speak up for her.

She waited outside the door for a long time, but when her brother finally appeared, he was hand in hand with Xiao Qiang, not sparing Xiao Yi even a glance as he passed by.

Afterward, for running away without permission, she was whipped and thrown back to the border.

The iron ball on her right foot had been shackled to her then.

Two years had passed, but Xiao Ru was just as she remembered—handsome, with gentle eyes like water. She couldn’t stop her eyes from welling up.

She had been sentenced to five years’ reflection on the border, but today her brother had come. Could the truth finally be revealed? Xiao Yi gathered her courage, quickened her pace, and stumbled toward Xiao Ru.

Just as she was about to reach him, her brother frowned as if he didn’t recognize her at all and stepped back.

Her outstretched hand fell limply, her body freezing in place as her brother spoke coldly, “Father and mother sent me to fetch you. If you have anything to pack, do it quickly and don’t waste time.”

Xiao Yi lowered her eyes at his words. “Father and mother? Hah.”

She had long since lost any illusions about the clan leader and his wife. Why hurry home? To see the three of them living happily together?

Xiao Ru saw her indifference and lack of gratitude, and his anger rose. “You are truly unrepentant. After committing such a disgraceful act against your kin, father and mother are already showing mercy by letting you come home early!”

“I didn’t! I didn’t push Xiao Qiang into the lake—she jumped in herself!” Xiao Yi couldn’t stand being accused of harming her kin. She jerked her head up and grabbed Xiao Ru’s sleeve, desperate to defend herself.

Why wouldn’t anyone believe her, when she had done nothing wrong?

Xiao Ru’s brows knotted as he shook her off. “How dare you call her by name? Such cunning words, and you still dare to slander your elder sister?”

Xiao Ru hadn’t wanted to come fetch his parents’ adopted daughter from the border at all.

Just recently, the snow had piled deep and Xiao Qiang’s old illness, contracted after her fall into the lake, had flared up again. Now she had to rest on his fur every day just to find some relief.

If not for this shameless girl, his sister wouldn’t have had to suffer this torment every winter.

He really didn’t understand why his parents wanted her back, only to trouble his sister further.

His anger surged again, and he kicked Xiao Yi, who collapsed to the ground.

The pain in her abdomen nearly made her vomit up the fish she’d just eaten.

When her brother had ignored her at the door, she could still fool herself.

Maybe he hadn’t recognized her after being away so long. Or maybe she’d looked too disheveled to be recognized. Or perhaps Xiao Qiang had blocked his view entirely...

But now she finally realized that after Xiao Qiang returned, she’d lost not only her parents, but also the brother who once adored her.

Thinking she’d actually hoped her brother would clear her name, Xiao Yi let out a self-mocking laugh. She had only shamed herself.

Go home? Only to carry the burden of “harming her kin” forever?

She refused! She’d rather stay on the border—her body might suffer, but at least her heart would be free.

After recovering from the pain, she braced herself on the ground and forced herself upright, meeting Xiao Ru’s gaze. “Think what you like. I didn’t do it. Also, I don’t wish to go back. Please inform the clan leader and his wife for me.”

Seeing her stubborn refusal, Xiao Ru’s fists clenched. “What do you think you are? It’s not your place to say whether you go or stay.”

He wanted to show this shameless girl the force of his fists again, but recalled his mother’s warning not to damage her face and reluctantly held back.

Doesn’t want to go? Can’t hit her?

Heh, there are other ways.

Xiao Ru tore a piece of cloth from Xiao Yi’s clothes, ripped it into strips, and tied a dead knot in the chain attaching her to the iron ball.

“What are you doing?” Xiao Yi clawed at the knot, trying to undo it.

“What am I doing? Since you won’t drink the wine offered, you’ll have to swallow the bitter one instead. You don’t want to go? I’ll make sure you do.” Xiao Ru brushed away her hands.

He would obey his mother’s words, but he would also avenge his sister’s fall into the lake.

He signaled the white foxes nearby to bite down on the cloth strip, then transformed into a white fox himself, giving Xiao Yi a cold glare. “Let’s go.”