"Long time no see, sister."

Taj greeted White Fox with a gentle smile.

"You are pregnant."

Taj touched her belly and smiled softly.

"Yes, the baby will be born soon."

"But you are here. Did the king ask you to come?"

Taj smiled helplessly.

"You also know the king's temperament. Even if I am pregnant, once he is interested, he will not let me rest."

White Fox smiled.

"He won't anymore."

Taj's expression froze, and she covered her mouth.

"Sister, did you..."

"Don't call me sister again, I've never been your sister. I'm a demon, you're a human."

"However, I have always regarded you as my sister, my favorite sister."

White Fox turned her head, not wanting to hear any more.

"You don't need to say that. I never intend to kill you, so just go."

Instead of leaving, Taj walked towards her.

White Fox clenched the sword in her hand vigilantly, ready to stab her at all times.

"Look at you, with so much blood on your face, how can people see your pretty face?"

Taj said while wiping the blood on White Fox's face with a handkerchief. The tenderness and love in her eyes were still the same as before.

"Okay now, as expected, you are the most beautiful lady in the world."

She said softly, taking off her concubine robe and putting it on White Fox.

"My handkerchief is too small to wipe the blood off your body. You can use this robe to cover yourself for now. Go through the small door at the back, and I will hold the guards outside."

She touched White Fox's cheek.

"Go quickly."

White Fox didn't expect Taj to do this. She was stunned for a moment, then walked towards the back door. After a few steps, she stopped again.

"Take care."

After finished speaking, she did not dare to delay for a moment, and cast the spell quickly and flew away from the palace.

That night, there were just few guests in Dream House.

The owner was sitting in the guest room on the fourth floor, drinking tea alone, and had a headache. Since the accident happened to White Fox, Dream House has also been implicated a lot. Citizens scold that this is the stinky den of fox demon, and fewer and fewer guests come here. Thinking about the bustling scene of the past, and then looking at the depression and silence today, it really feels like a lifetime. The owner was smoking a cigarette and drinking tea, and sighed inaudibly.

"Long time no see, mother."

The owner was startled by the sudden voice.

"Ah, you, Tamamo-mae?"

"It's me."

"Why are you here? Aren't you already..."

"Mother said before that even if I entered the palace, Dream House was still my home, and I could come back at any time. Does that count now?"

White Fox escaped from the palace, but has nowhere to go. The only place she can think of is this Dream House.

"Mmm..."

The owner looked at the blood protruding from under her wide robe and didn't know how to answer. Now White Fox is no longer the number one beauty in Dream House, nor the king's favorite concubine, but a demon that everyone shouts to kill. If she takes her in, she will get troubles.

"I see. Excuse me."

White Fox smiled bitterly and prepared to leave.

"Wait!"

The owner went to the door, stuck her head out, looked outside, and closed the door. She looked back at White Fox and sighed.

"What I say still counts. You stay for now."

White Fox finally breathed a sigh of relief. She first escaped from the prison, then escaped from the palace, and she was already injured and exhausted. She really had no confidence that she could escape the city overnight.

"Thank you mother."

The owner frowned.

"Let's take care of your wounds first."

"Don't worry mother, most of them are not my blood."

White Fox said it casually. But the owner was horrified.

"Then let's clean your body first."

She took White Fox to the compartment and prepared some water.

White Fox has been missing this warm and comfortable water temperature for a long time, and soaked in it comfortably to wash off the blood on her body. 

The owner noticed stab wounds on her left chest and shoulder and slight marks of abuse on her body.

"Does it still hurt?"

"Well, this is the injury of the demon sword, so it will always be in pain."

"Demon sword...you..."

White Fox seemed to guess what she was going to say.

"Yes, I am a demon, a nine-tailed white fox demon."

"That's what I guessed at from the start."

White Fox was surprised.

"You knew it?"

The owner carefully dressed her in the red dress embroidered with peony flowers.

"This dress suits you best."

After the owner said appreciatively, she took her back to the tea table and poured her a cup of tea.

"Yes, I knew from the beginning that you are not a human. A woman who has crossed the ocean alone to the Eastern Wasteland is very suspicious. Plus you are born so coquettish, it is hard to imagine that a human being can be so perfect. And who can jump from the fourth floor and dance in the air, how can this be a mortal? Although I say to others that it is the unique flying dance and stage effect of our house, I know best that this is just a lie to deceive the world."

The owner took a sip of tea.

"So I probably guessed that you are not a mortal. But if you are a fairy in the sky, why would you come to this Dream House as a tea lady? So..."

White Fox continued her words and said, "So it can only be a demon."

The owner didn't say anything.

"Now that you have guessed it, you dare to take me in. I have to admire your courage."

The owner smiled.

"Well, I can only say that everyone can take what they need. You needed a place to live, and I was just running this house, and I really needed a beauty who could make a sensation in the whole city to create the reputation of the first tea house in the capital. "

"Then what about today?"

Is there any use value for her?

The owner was silent for a while.

"I don't like breaking promises. And I was the one who put you in the palace. If it wasn't for me, maybe you wouldn't have to suffer all this. You call me mother, but I feel sorry for you."

White Fox looked at the tea in the cup and felt a little bitter in her heart.

"It's my own fate, I don't blame you."

Since being imprisoned by the Onmyoji that day, White Fox has not slept peacefully. This night in the familiar Dream House, she can finally sleep in peace.

However, before dawn, there were noises downstairs. White Fox immediately sat up vigilantly.

"Hurry up! Mage and samurai have been sent from the palace, you must escape from the side door of the inner courtyard!"

The owner ran in from outside and hurriedly urged White Fox.

White Fox immediately cast spells to the inner courtyard. Her spells can only travel this little distance at most. If Jiang Ziya was here, he would definitely be able to take her to a thousand miles in a blink of an eye. White Fox shook her head. No, she can't think of him anymore. They are already strangers.

"Tamamo Mae!"

White Fox looked up and saw the owner waving at her from the window on the fourth floor.

"You must live well!"

White Fox's eyes were hot, but she didn't speak. She clenched the demon sword in her hand, dressed in the red dress that Jiang Ziya gave her, and started her escape journey again.