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Cinemado
  • 6 hours ago
Reborn bound to the peerless white fox EP
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00:00the bonding rite. Your power is... I took my sister's white fox during the bonding rite.
00:05Your power is exceptional. This fox barely registers on the scale. Give it to your sister.
00:12In my past life, I chose the powerful white tiger. When the demon horde came, he left me to die.
00:19I was badly wounded. I begged him for the last healing elixir. He gave it to my sister instead.
00:26So this time around, I choose to let them be together.
00:30I was reborn right before the bonding ceremony. I am the most powerful one in our clan and have the
00:36right to choose first. The creatures gathered from across the land were all exceptional,
00:41but the white tiger stood above the rest. He wore a collar, never bowing to me, even in chains.
00:49Then my sister Luna came bouncing in, cradling a limp white fox. Luna had barely started her
00:56training. She could have skipped this ceremony entirely. Luna hugged the white fox and cried,
01:02because he was dissatisfied with the fox he'd been assigned. The white tiger's heart ached for her
01:08deeply, saying he only wanted to form a pact with Luna. The elder cleared his throat.
01:13Luna, you've barely trained.
01:17Even if the tiger chose you, you wouldn't be able to handle him.
01:20That was when I stood up and said,
01:22Elder, I appreciate your consideration. I find I'm fonder of this white fox.
01:29The white tiger clearly favors Luna too. How about we swap instead?
01:33They pulled me aside. Clara, this tiger is far more powerful than the fox.
01:39My name is Clara Ashvale, one of the four great families of the eastern reaches.
01:45I was ten years old when the demon horde first came. My parents died holding the line. I watched
01:51it happen. If the clan elders hadn't arrived when they did, Luna and I would have died with them.
01:56After that, the elders raised us, taught us cultivation. For I possess stronger spiritual
02:02power and them more beloved within the clan. But the tiger ignored me. I'd never been rejected
02:08before. Not once in my life. I threw everything I had at him. So I took mission. Hunted rogue demons.
02:16Came back injured almost every time. The tiger noticed nothing. He only appeared when I brought
02:22out elixirs. Took what he wanted and walked away. I spent 20 years on him. And eventually,
02:28he took human form. Tall and striking. Yet he still refuses to speak much to me. Only coming
02:35when he needs something. I told myself it was normal. Strong creatures had pride. He'd come
02:40around eventually. Then one evening, I came home exhausted and saw him watching my sister's profile
02:47with something like reverence. I was still reeling when an elder walked past and caught sight of them
02:53in the distance. Clara, when you go out on contracts, stop sending your sister to look
02:58after the tiger. He's clearly more attached to her now. You need to be careful.
03:05I never ask Luna to look after the tiger. She comes every time you leave. Says you asked her to.
03:11Doesn't she have her own bonded creature? That fox? It passed away in its second year. You didn't know?
03:16I hadn't known. I'd spent 20 years building someone else's happiness. I began targeting Luna. I hated
03:23her. That enraged the white tiger. He colluded with the demon, opened our clan's protective wards
03:30from the inside, left me to face the invasion alone. When I was badly wounded and begged him for
03:36the only healing elixir we had left, he gave it to Luna, who had a scratch. This time, I want
03:43to see
03:43how long it will take him to take human form without me. The elder was unwilling to grant the mighty
03:49white tiger to an inexperienced young woman, yet the tiger would only bow before Luna. He sighed and
03:57ordered the ceremony begin. The ceremony startled the white fox. The white fox in my arms fainted the
04:03moment the ceremony ended. Luna completed her bond with the tiger. You and that little fox really do
04:09suit each other, Clara. Luna, if your sister hadn't yielded to you, how could you have gotten this white
04:15tiger? You should be on your knees thanking her. Oh, she's crying again. Always with the tears,
04:21like she's the one who suffered. The white tiger wanted to stand up for Luna, yet he possessed no
04:26power right after bonding with her. The elders had built my residence himself, ringed with good
04:33cultivation energy. Luna had once tried to move in. He'd turned her away, citing my training as the
04:39reason. As soon as we entered the room, I began to observe the white fox. He looked different from
04:45any I had seen before, with a wisp of red fur on his head and an unusually large tail. My
04:52courtyard had a
04:53natural spring, warm with cultivation energy. I set him in it and watched him wake up instantly,
05:00floating on his back, drinking in the warmth. I laughed. Aren't you afraid I'll hurt you? The fox
05:06stared at me, then gave his small head a solemn shake. All right, rest here and recover.
05:14You're not going anywhere. I can handle you. The next morning, something woke me
05:20wrong. I opened my eyes and saw a handsome face, pale skin, dark lashes. He was also asleep,
05:29arms around me. He had gotten in without waking me, which meant his power was well above mine.
05:35Who are you? How did you get in here? I scrambled to the edge of the bed. He sat up
05:39slowly,
05:40noticed the clothes he was wearing, and looked faintly amused. Before I could react,
05:45he pulled me into his arms. He said, I have a name. His eyes drifting down to meet mine. It's
05:52Ash.
05:53Like he was about to kiss me any second. It turned out Ash met the elder when he was severely
06:00injured,
06:01and was taken back by him. I stared at him. Please tell me whoever hurt you isn't coming here looking
06:06for revenge. We're bonded now, Master. I suggest you train hard and do your best to keep up. Ash laughed.
06:13He was genuinely useful, as it turned out. I had a fire affinity. He complemented it perfectly. He
06:21produced a cultivation manual from somewhere, fire techniques, and good ones. Two days of work,
06:27and I could already feel the difference. Every time Ash practiced cultivation with me,
06:32he took off his top. His fair skin always made me lose focus. One afternoon, Luna called my name
06:40from outside the gate. I dragged my attention away from Ash and went out. Luna stepped into the
06:46courtyard without waiting, and stopped dead when she saw him. She stared him. Ash stood, dressed
06:53properly in seconds, and settled a robe around my shoulders without being asked. Who is this?
06:58Luna's gaze didn't move. You don't recognize him? The fox. From the bonding ceremony. You said
07:05yourself we were suited for each other. I think you were right. I smiled pleasantly. What do you want?
07:11We're in the middle of training. I was hoping we could raise the tiger together. I can't afford to
07:19keep up with his needs on my own. If we shared the work, what exactly makes this my problem? You're
07:28the
07:28me. I owe you nothing. Half a year and every LXMR I had is gone. There's nothing left for my
07:35own
07:35training. I'm at the bottom ranks. No, you can't. Little sister, don't mistake me for a fool. I'm not
07:48funding your creature for you. If you can't afford him, bring it to the elder. Let someone else take
07:53the tiger. I'm sure he'd prefer a partner who could actually keep pace. She'd never do that.
07:59Where were we? Weeks passed. I broke through to a new cultivation stage.
08:05The great elder dispatched me on an assignment alongside elder Margaret to handle a demon
08:11outbreak in the lowlands. I handled them all before Margaret to intervene. On the way back,
08:16she suddenly laughed. Clara, you should hurry home. Your little fox is waiting for you.
08:24She vanished. I hadn't finished processing what she'd said before Ash appeared in front of me.
08:30I reached out and touched his cheek. What's wrong?
08:36Clara Ashvale, why are you trying to get rid of me? Is it something I did? Or have you found
08:43someone new?
08:45What are you talking about? Your sister came by yesterday. Said you sent her to look after me.
08:51He started to show teeth. I flicked his forehead. He recoiled, then immediately looked betrayed.
08:58You betray me first and then hit me? I'm going to say this once. I am not reconsidering anything.
09:05And I have no idea why Luna told you that. What I do know is that I never asked her
09:10to come near you.
09:13Understood?
09:17We ran into a group of younger clan members on the way. I asked why they'd turned back.
09:23Luna cleared everyone out.
09:27Let's go.
09:30You're going to lecture me about picking fights and then drag me directly into one?
09:34We found them mid-argument. Or rather, Luna was arguing. The tiger couldn't speak. He'd never broken
09:41through to human form. So he was expressing himself through sheer body language. And none of it was
09:47agreeable. What is wrong with you? I didn't force you to come here. You said this place would help you
09:53advance. I've given you every elixir I have and you still can't even talk to me. You want me to
09:59go
10:00hunting rogue demons? I just started training. You'd be sending me to die. Clara's fox has been in
10:06human form for months and you can't even answer a question. What exactly are you doing with yourself?
10:12I heard the tiger's version of a response. A low rumble. In my past life, he'd never once spoken to
10:20me
10:21with anything resembling patience. Watching him endure Luna's outburst without walking away was a
10:27strange thing. Luna, there you are. Lyra, what brings you out here? I patted Ash's arm. He gave a small
10:38resigned sigh and crouched. He held me in his arms. Luna's gaze locked onto him and didn't move. Nothing
10:45specific. I just wanted to know why you visited my companion without my permission. Luna hadn't
10:51expected me to know so quickly. She started backpedaling. No, you misunderstood. I was looking
10:56for you. She told me I was supposed to be hers, that you'd stolen me away. She was very convincing.
11:05And what did you do? I removed her from the property. She's not strong enough to argue back,
11:11so she left fairly quickly. I stood and faced Luna directly. If I remember correctly, you didn't
11:16want the fox. He was badly hurt. If you'd taken him, he wouldn't have survived. That's not true.
11:22I would have cared for him. The tiger's crest stood fully upright. You're doing this deliberately.
11:28You're trying to cause trouble between me and the tiger. If you try this again, there will be
11:34consequences. On the way back, my mood was good. Ash was quiet though. He wouldn't shift in
11:41carry me even when I asked. When we reached home, he caught my arm. You and the tiger.
11:47There's something there. I didn't hide it. We have a history. It ended badly.
11:54Do you want to know? He turned, shifted into fox form, and wrapped his enormous tail around me.
12:01No, I'm better than that by every measure. And you promised me you wouldn't seek out another
12:07bonded creature. I ran my fingers through the fur at the back of his ears. I won't. I promise.
12:14Some time later, Ash decided I wasn't advancing fast enough.
12:19Get up. I refuse to share energy with someone who progresses this slowly.
12:24The great elder said I'm the most talented concultator of my generation.
12:28Unlike my past life, all the elixirs I earned this time went into me.
12:33Five years. I moved from the early stages into the middle tier of my cultivation rank.
12:39When I returned to the clan, the great elder was close to a breakthrough of his own.
12:43The younger members had grown considerably. Only one thing hadn't changed. The tiger still
12:49hadn't taken human form.
12:52We expected the tiger to elevate the entire clan. Ten years in, and he's no closer to breaking through.
12:58We sent an elder to assess him quietly. The gap is too large. Even with assistance,
13:05he can't make the crossing.
13:06Luna had barely enough power to sustain herself, let alone a creature of the tiger's requirements.
13:12But honestly, his not breaking through was the best outcome.
13:17I wasn't strong enough to kill him. So control was the only option.
13:22I threw myself into building up the clan. I trained with the younger members daily.
13:27If something went wrong, I wanted them to be able to protect themselves.
13:32Ash gave me space for it. He knew what I was doing.
13:35One evening, I came home exhausted, and he was waiting for me. He picked me up,
13:41threw me over his shoulder, and started walking.
13:44You look terrible. I'm taking you to see something entertaining.
13:48His idea of entertainment was crouching at the edge of the back valley and listening to Luna and the
13:54tiger fight. The tiger couldn't speak, so the entire argument was one-sided.
14:00Don't look at me like that. I didn't force you to bond with me. You came to me. You told
14:06me to wait.
14:07You told me once you took human form, we'd leave together. You're the one who picked the fight with
14:13Clara at the ceremony. And now what? You're stuck. I'm stuck. And it's all your fault, you useless.
14:23So they'd known each other before. The tiger had come to Luna deliberately. He'd made her promises.
14:29But that still didn't explain why they'd opened the wards. Why involved the demon horde at all.
14:36Unless they'd already been working with the demons. The one that killed my parents. My parents,
14:42who were also Luna's parents. How could she? I needed to find out. And when I did, there would be
14:50a
14:50reckoning. Back at the residence, I was working through what I needed to investigate when a visitor
14:56appeared at the gate. The tiger. He was staring at Ash, who was soaking in the spring and determinedly
15:02ignoring him. What do you want? Shouldn't you be with Luna? Ash emerged from the water and
15:08immediately positioned himself between us. Master, you promised. No, no other bonded creatures.
15:16Don't even talk to him. I just want to know why he's here. That's all. He's regretting his choices,
15:21obviously. He chose a dead end and he knows it. I started to look at the tiger. The gate was
15:29empty.
15:30This life, I'd kept my distance. I hadn't interfered with him. If the tiger genuinely
15:36wanted a different bond, the elders would have been glad to help. There was no reason to come to me
15:42specifically. Unless the tiger had also been reborn. I didn't say anything to Ash. I went straight to the
15:49clan's protective wards. Intact. I breathed. Then I looked at the ground near the barrier edge.
15:57White tiger fur. A handful of strands. He'd been here. He hadn't broken through. His power wasn't
16:05there yet. But he knew what was sealed here. He knew my parents had died here. I'd told him that
16:11myself,
16:12in my last life. I had to watch him. Carefully. All the time. The gossip started circulating through
16:20the clan not long after. Luna and the tiger were fighting constantly. He refused her commands.
16:26Ignored her in training sessions. Made her look incompetent in front of the whole yard.
16:35And every time I appeared, he drifted toward me. Elder Margaret found the entire situation delightful.
16:42Her owl sat on her shoulder. You know what this reminds me of? Every story where someone realizes
16:46too late what they had, freezes the other person out, spends the rest of it chasing after her.
16:51She said it directly in front of Ash. He moved. I caught him before he could do anything irreversible.
16:56Margaret clutched her owl and said... Oh my! I could have a conversation with Luna.
17:00Offer her a different creature. Something she can actually sustain. Transfer the tiger formally.
17:04Quietly. Please. No more. No. I'm not touching the clan council over this. Besides,
17:09I have Ash. That's enough. Margaret looked genuinely mournful. A bonded creature in open
17:13conflict with its partner is a problem for all of us. And Luna hasn't advanced in 10 years. The elders
17:18have been discussing a field assignment. Practical training away from the clan for a year or two. I
17:23understood what she wasn't saying. They'd given up on the tiger as a resource. Ash's presence had
17:28changed the calculation. What we accomplished together had raised the bar considerably. If Luna left
17:34with the tiger, I had time. Time to reinforce the war.
17:43In the clan hall, Luna cried. She accused me. You killed him. Then, in front of every elder,
17:48she made her counteroffer. If Clara wants the tiger so badly, she can have him. I won't fight her.
17:53But if she takes him, she gives me Ash. A mixed lindage fox for a pure blood tiger. Honestly,
17:59Clara comes out ahead. The great elder shut it down before anyone else could speak. Who? Luna.
18:05Focus on your own creature and stop coming up with ideas like that. I heard this from Ash, who had
18:10apparently been listening from outside the hall. While the elders dealt with Luna, I was in the creature
18:14registry with the keeper, looking into a disappearance. Three creatures had vanished
18:19overnight. Two small rabbits, a young deer. The keeper was beside himself. I checked the seals myself
18:24before I left. Any disturbance at all, and I'd have felt it. There was nothing. Not a demon. No trace
18:30of
18:30that kind of energy. I looked around. The registry was carved into the cliffside, warded stone on all
18:36sides. The only way in or out used the clan seal. To remove three creatures cleanly, whoever did it
18:43knew this place intimately, or had always been inside.
18:46Don't go to the big fox. You don't eat you. Big brother fox is perfectly safe.
18:49Keeper, can creatures turn on each other? They have consciousness. They would never do something
18:52so barbaric. Don't listen to her. She was just being strange. People do terrible things when they
18:57want to advance. Creatures aren't different. There's a method, old and dark, not talked about,
19:05where one creature absorbs the power of another. Want to know how it works?
19:10The fastest shortcut was this. Take the core of another creature. Consume it. The higher the
19:15cultivation of the creature you took from, the greater the gain. Ash had nearly been killed by
19:20exactly this method, years ago, before we met. Once it works, it will come back for more.
19:28We staked out the registry that night. Nothing. Quiet all the way to dawn. I reassured the keeper,
19:33Don't worry. And headed out, and immediately ran into a young clan member sprinting toward me.
19:41Guardian! Something happened at the residences. What's wrong? Ash! Ash shifted form and moved.
19:50When we landed, I knew from the sound. One of the younger students, a girl who'd bonded at her first
19:56ceremony was sitting on the ground in her courtyard, holding what remained of her rabbit. Elder
20:02Margaret was already there. She caught my eye and gave a small, grim nod. Your guess was right.
20:09The core was taken. Clean, precise, one strike. She didn't feel it happen. The bond broke and that's
20:15when she knew. Without thinking, I turned and looked for the tiger. He was standing near the edge of the
20:23crowd. Perfectly still. Don't stare. It's him. You're sure? I've seen this method used before.
20:30His signature reads the same. I went to the great elder and told him everything. Don't move yet.
20:35You need proof. Catch him in the act. Behind him, his courtyard had descended into complete chaos.
20:41All of them trying to interrogate Ash about his parents' bloodlines. I keep them close. Your firehound
20:48just destroyed the garden path. You could clean it up for your elder. No. Still, with subtle pressure,
20:56I got the senior elders watching the tiger more carefully. Weeks passed. No more disappearances.
21:03But two weeks later, the girl who had lost her rabbit still hadn't recovered. She stopped coming to
21:09training. Ate less. Barely spoke. The other students let it drift into rumor and then into story.
21:17Ashes sat with me every day. Then, one night, something moved past my window. Floating on the
21:23water's surface was a single white tiger feather. I reached through the bond and found him.
21:29I arrived at the ward boundary and walked straight into a shockwave. Ash and the tiger were already
21:36fighting. No preamble. Fully committed. He moved through the trees in pale clothing,
21:42fast and fluid, redirecting Ash's attacks with the ease of someone who'd been preparing for exactly this
21:48fight. Near the ward boundary, Luna sat perfectly still. When I got close enough to see her clearly,
21:55my stomach dropped. Luna was dead. I hadn't even processed it before the sky began to darken.
22:01The ward close. Harm your bonded partner and the consequence falls from the sky.
22:07You ran this exact plan in another life. You used everyone here as scaffolding and then kicked it
22:12out and now this life you had the chance to choose differently and instead you took her core.
22:17The sky is watching. It ends today. Almost. One more step.
22:23He was breaking the ward seal behind his back. The creatures sealed in the valley felt the loosening.
22:30Thunder gathered directly above him. The great elder arrived in a flash of light from the peak.
22:36Clara, hold the creatures back. I'll reseal from outside. Clara, you can't stop this. Come die with me.
22:43I'll do better by you this time. In my past life, I had died in this exact valley, alone. Then
22:51a hand
22:51closed on my shoulder. It is Ash. You want to take her down with you? You'd have to go through
22:58me
22:59first. You're nobody. This time, I wasn't alone. I arrived at the ward boundary.
23:04Never asked. He walked straight 100 channels and the tiger. Ash and the tiger were already fighting.
23:10He couldn't find a way past Ash. He couldn't land a hit on me. He broke. This isn't right. You're
23:15supposed to die. We're supposed to die. We're supposed to go back together. Goodbye.
23:23I raised one hand and pointed at the guy. The lightning came down like a cock dropped from the sky.
23:42He would not be coming back. The tiger was gone. He would not be coming back.
23:53The tiger was dealt with. The harder problem remained. The creatures sealed in the valley were
23:59old and powerful. They couldn't be killed cleanly. Only re-contained. And the oldest among them,
24:07the one they called the Abyss Serpent, had been dormant for a century. Sealed originally by the
24:13previous great elder, who had given his life to do it. Ash had been leaning against a tree,
24:19expression of someone waiting for his reward. When he went still, he stared into the dark between the trees.
24:27What's in there? The Abyss Serpent. Wait here. I need to go in. Something shifted in his expression.
24:37Something I hadn't seen from him before. He started moving. I caught his hand. It's not safe.
24:44I know. Clara! He tried carefully to explain the situation to me. My past life, I died in this valley.
24:53I watched the tiger take Luna and leave. I was alone when it happened. I'm not leaving you behind.
24:59We went in together. Behind us... Who just walked into the sealed valley?
25:04Elder, that's your student. My student is extraordinary. The valley was wrong the moment
25:11we crossed the boundary. Eyes in the dark. Dozens of them. They didn't move. Some instinct in them
25:17recognized Ash. He'd shifted to his true form, large enough now that I rode at the back of his neck.
25:23I asked him before. What are you looking for? The Abyss Serpent. Tell me why. My mother is in there.
25:30I had always assumed Ash was the product of some unusual crossing of bloodlines. He'd never corrected
25:35me. Now I found out. He did have fox blood. But his mother was the Abyss Serpent. One of the
25:42creatures
25:42from the oldest records. Vast in form. Ancient in power. Her cultivation predating the current era
25:49by centuries. She hadn't always been this. Two hundred years ago, someone had used the dark method
25:55on the creature she'd loved. Consumed his core. She hadn't recovered. I reached up and put my hand
26:01against the side of Ash's head. I had nothing to say. The creatures around us began to shift.
26:07They wanted us gone. They wanted the energy this moment was generating. Ash sat me down and stood
26:14at my back, facing outward in human form. If we can't hold them, I'm putting you through
26:20the exit. When that happens, run. Don't look back. If what the tiger claimed was true, that dying here
26:28just leads to another life. That's not the worst outcome. You told me you'd make me happy. I held you
26:36to that. So if you don't want to watch these things reach me, keep them away. All the way through.
26:44The creatures came. We fought. I covered him and he moved forward. One after another. The valley full of
26:52the sounds of it. My power was trying to surge on the edge of a breakthrough. Each breakthrough
26:58brought a heavenly trial. A surge of lightning. The test between one level and the next. Ash felt
27:05it through the bond. He threw aside an attack from something in the dark and said, through clenched teeth,
27:11My fault. I came too fast. Everything stopped. The creatures pressing in from all sides
27:18simply vanished. One moment, then nothing. I pointed at the pair of enormous red eyes in the
27:25fog ahead of us. Is that her? The old clan records described the abyss serpent as having a human face
27:33and the body of something ancient. Her face still held human proportions. I couldn't move. I had cultivated
27:40my entire life. I had survived two lifetimes and an impossible valley. She didn't close her jaws.
27:48Ash stepped between us. The massive jaws stopped in the air. Mother, don't hurt her. She pulled back.
27:58The ground shook with it. She was breathing fast, clearly in pain. Her focus fractured. Ash moved closer. He
28:06barely came to her chin and she flinched like he was the dangerous one. It's me, little Ash. Her voice
28:14was
28:15human and enormous at the same time. Little Ash. The red in her eyes began to clear. Gold underneath.
28:24It didn't hold. The red came surging back. Little Ash! Kill me!
28:30She pushed her core outside her own body. Held it toward him. Ash caught it. His hands couldn't crush it.
28:38I can't.
28:40The core drifted from his hands and came to rest in front of me. She looked at me. Good child.
28:47You do it.
28:49I held it and didn't know what to do. Ash's hand came over mine. And my power broke loose. Breakthrough.
28:57Now!
28:58I looked at Ash through the chaos of it. Tears. I had never seen that from him before.
29:05He looked at the abyss serpent. Goodbye, mother. The core broke in my hands. She let out a long,
29:21released sound. Now I can sleep. Thunder gathered above us. Wide. Far wider than a single person's trial
29:30should produce. It blanketed the entire valley. I was still reeling. Is this normal for a breakthrough?
29:35This seems excessive. It looks like it wants to kill you specifically.
29:43I think I'm in serious trouble. He took my hand and stepped in front of me. I brought you in
29:48here.
29:48Whatever happens, I'm getting you out. The thunder dropped. I reached for my power and
29:54pushed against it. And then I understood. The trial wasn't aimed at me.
30:01When the abyss serpent's core shattered, her energy hadn't simply vanished. A reservoir of ancient power,
30:07centuries in the making, now hung in the air like a second sky. My breakthrough trial, which should have
30:14been overwhelming, was nothing against it. The creatures lurking at the edges came forward,
30:19drawn to the loose energy, waiting for me to fail so they could claim it. Instead, the trial landed on
30:25them. The clouds cleared. The valley went quiet. Dawnlight found its way through the canopy.
30:33We walked out. The chaos inside had given the great elder and the others the time they needed.
30:39Within the month, the seals were fully restored, stronger than they'd ever been. She told the story to
30:46every cultivation family within traveling distance. Listen to this. Goes into the sealed valley alone
30:52with her bonded creature. Comes out having broken through two stages. Clara, watching you become who
30:59you are, your elder can rest easy. My own trial is coming. The elders and I have agreed. You are
31:05the
31:05right person to lead this clan after I am gone. Once I have passed through, the role is yours. You've
31:10been
31:10looking for a reason to step back for years. He pretended not to hear. He reached for Ash's hand.
31:16And you. I am formally naming you keeper of the clan wards. The protection of this clan is in your
31:22hands.
31:23We were cultivators from across the region sent offerings to the clan in the months that followed.
31:28One came with a mirror. A memory viewer. One that could show the user a moment from a previous life.
31:35I looked. It showed me what happened after I died. In the life before this one. When I had been
31:43killed in the
31:44valley, the abyss serpent woke. She tore through the seals. She came out. And something in her pulled her
31:51straight to the creature burial ground at the edge of the clan grounds. She dug. One massive claw, careful
31:59despite everything. She pulled out a small set of fox bones. After that, she stopped holding back.
32:06She went through the clan grounds like fire through dry wood. Three days. This time,
32:13there was nothing left. The great elders. The elders. Every member of the clan. None of them survived.
32:21The tiger and Luna had been running. A blast caught them. The tiger threw Luna toward the abyss serpent.
32:29It wasn't enough for him. She tracked him. The mirror settled from my hands. Ash. Somewhere behind me.
32:37I've warmed this three times. What are you doing over there? The warm smell of mulled wine. I smiled at
32:43him
32:43and pulled him into a hug. Cultivators from across the region.
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