"I'm not angry... I just want to know, are you back this time to protect her?" the Year Beast Monarch's voice sank. "She's not the little human girl you knew ten years ago. She's now the leader of Lake Hunting, and she's slaughtered many of our kind. There's a deep blood feud between us."

The Little Nian Beast was silent for a moment and then shook its head. "No... Lin Xingshi and I haven't seen each other in ten years, so how could there be any feelings left?" The Little Nian Beast paused, "I just felt homesick, so I came back for a look. The only reason I'm talking about this with you is because you asked me, otherwise I wouldn't have even thought of these matters."

"My child, do you truly think that way?"

"Truly."

"I've taught you since childhood that humans and demons cannot coexist, and you are ultimately a demon, just as she is ultimately a human. One day you will understand."

After the Year Beast Monarch finished speaking, it turned around and slowly walked away.

The Little Nian Beast watched it leave in silence, quietly sighed, and turned its head toward the brightly lit forest. At this moment, thousands of demons were reveling in the world of flickering bonfires, and after the Year Beast Monarch went back, the forest became even noisier.

This was a sleepless night.

The Little Nian Beast turned back, raised its head to stare at the dark, turbulent waterfall, then lowered its gaze to the lake, where its cold visage was reflected.

It lifted its paw and sent ripples across the water, as a chilly sea breeze blew in from afar.

...

...

The next day, the morning of August 22nd, with only two days left in the countdown to the official battle between the Year Beast Monarch and Lake Hunting.

That morning, the courtyard of the Lin Family residence was bathed in warm morning light, with a gentle sea breeze blowing by.

The courtyard was planted with osmanthus trees and ginkgo trees; deep in, there was a wooden bench where golden and green leaves lay. Next to it was a small fountain, with a wooden horse opening and closing its mouth, squeaking to spray out water waves.

At this moment, Su Zimai and Gu Qiye were sitting on the wooden bench, looking up at the leaves swaying and rustling in the wind. Su Zimai wore her hair in a high ponytail and had on a dress, while Gu Qiye's hair had been cut short, and he wore a black coat and jeans.

The four members of Lake Hunting were still on their way, so they were asked to wait here for a while.

Everyone here was well aware that the troop had a world-class hacker, so during the discussion of important matters these days, they kept all electronic devices far away to prevent leaks or opportunities for those bandits.

So at this moment, they didn't even have phones to play with and just gazed at the scenery in the courtyard in a daze.

"Where's Dad?" Su Zimai suddenly asked.

"He's in Lake Hunting's underground training ground, hitting sandbags. There's a demon held below just for training, and he's probably already taken down several of them," Gu Qiye whispered.

"Dad's already so skilled, is there still a point in training?" Su Zimai asked in confusion.

"To vent emotions, I suppose," Gu Qiye said. "He's rather introverted, and when you try to talk to him about his feelings, he just wants to be alone."

"Oh, makes sense..."

Listening to the water sound from the fountain, Su Zimai paused for a moment before asking, "Brother, don't you regret it?"

"Regret what?"

"Regret not talking to that little white-haired kid back when we were in Li Jing," Su Zimai said seriously. "There might never be another chance. We might have to keep hiding like this until we grow old and die."

Gu Qiye paused slightly, bowed his head in thought, then shook it, "I don't regret it, your safety is most important. If it was actually a trap, the moment we showed up, we'd be ambushed by Rainbow Wings. How would we deal with that?"

"Come on, you're always thinking about others and never about yourself," Su Zimai said. "If the person I liked was right in front of me and I might never get to speak to them again, I would make sure to talk to them, even if the world was collapsing."

She paused, then pouted slightly with a somewhat forlorn expression, "Though... I already lost my chance, so I hope you, brother, don't regret it. Stop always thinking of others, think more about yourself. Your personality takes a toll on you, it's so frustrating."

Gu Qiye was silent for a moment and hugged her shoulder, "Because you're my sister, I have to consider your safety no matter what."

"So, you don't deny that you like her?" Su Zimai turned to look at him. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Gu Qiye thought for a moment, then shook his head, "I've never liked someone before, so I can't be sure."

"You're such a blockhead," Su Zimai rolled her eyes at him.

Gu Qiye hesitated for a while, "Speaking of which, the little white-haired kid we're talking about almost took Dad down before."

"Huh?" Su Zimai froze for a moment, then seemed to recall something, "I remember, there was a news story about Dad getting sanctioned by Rainbow Wings at Starlight Amusement Park. It was that little white-haired kid?"

"Yes, I even thought she had really taken Dad down and wanted to kill her on the car," Gu Qiye said. "So, guess what Dad would think if I really brought her home?"

Su Zimai was silent.

After a while, she raised her hand to her forehead, "Why does it seem like each of our family's relationships is so... 'complicated'?" She didn't know why she used such an inappropriate word, but it just slipped out.

"Let's not talk about this anymore," Su Zimai sighed, "Will Grandpa be coming?"