Li Sui

“Men at their birth, are naturally good. Their natures are much the same; their habits become widely different. If foolishly there is no teaching, the nature will deteriorate. The right way in teaching, is to attach the utmost importance to thoroughness.”

Sitting proudly in the very front row, Li Sui happily bobbed her head along with the teacher. Among the students packed into the Niu Xin Village private school, her voice was the clearest and the loudest.

Taking advantage of a moment when the teacher paused to drink tea, Li Sui turned smugly to a village militiaman beside her who had come to learn his characters. “I’ve studied this part before. I know what it means. My father taught me!”

But the militiaman hadn’t absorbed a single word she said. His attention was entirely fixed on Li Sui’s face—a face of such stunning, almost luminous beauty that it seemed to glow.

He wasn’t the only one. Throughout the entire school, regardless of gender, people kept stealing glances at her.

Compared to them—mud-stained laborers from the fields—this girl in her flowing dress looked like a celestial maiden who had descended to the mortal world.

The young men in particular had no interest left in reading or writing; their eyes were practically glued to her.

That was exactly why the school, which usually had empty seats, was packed to the rafters tonight.

Even the teacher, Master Wu, found himself losing focus from time to time. “Ahem… Miss, would you mind covering your face a little?”

He had no idea who this stunning girl really was. The white-haired mistress of the Bai residence had told him not to slight her. But he was also baffled—with her appearance and bearing, she clearly didn’t look like someone who couldn’t read.

Li Sui looked genuinely perplexed. “Cover it? Why? Don’t I look human enough?”

Master Wu’s face darkened at the strange question, but he couldn’t bring himself to say more. He simply turned his back and resumed droning from the textbook.

As the moon climbed higher, the evening lessons ended. A crowd poured out of the school, each person heading home.

A small group of them followed Li Sui toward the Bai compound, content to watch her graceful silhouette from a distance, even if they couldn’t exchange a single word.

Li Sui, for her part, was delighted. People were finally no longer afraid of her. She didn’t have to wear that straw rain cape day and night anymore.

She was already planning to go out during the day tomorrow, to find people in the village to talk and laugh with.

“Auntie! I’m back!” Li Sui called cheerfully, throwing herself toward Bai Lingmiao, who was waiting at the gate.

She was just about to drag Bai Lingmiao to go see her father when the white-haired girl stopped her. “Wait. Don’t go yet. Your father is discussing something very important with a guest.”

“Important? What important thing?” Li Sui asked, blinking her huge eyes.

Bai Lingmiao glanced up at the silhouette moving behind the second-floor window but said nothing. She took Li Sui’s hand and led her through the inner gate.

Looking over Li Sui’s clothes, she said softly, “You’ve been wearing this for a while. You should change into something else.”

“Why?”

“Because it’ll get dirty. Li Sui, you’re a girl. You can’t stay so dirty.”

“Is that so? What’s a ‘girl’?” Li Sui asked curiously as she followed Bai Lingmiao inside.

Under Bai Lingmiao’s patient explanations, Li Sui learned many things her father had never taught her.

Soon, all of Li Sui’s clothes were removed. But she didn’t put on new ones right away. Instead, Bai Lingmiao pushed her into a large wooden bathtub.

As Bai Lingmiao gently scrubbed the discarded clothes outside the tub, Li Sui mimicked her movements inside, rubbing the surface of her own human skin.

Watching her clumsy attempts, Bai Lingmiao smiled warmly and patiently showed her how to wash clothes properly.

“Li Sui… do you know? I actually wouldn’t mind if you called me ‘Mother.’”

Li Sui’s head, held up by a cluster of tentacles, turned with dazed confusion toward the white-haired girl.

“Sometimes, I really wish I could bear Senior Li a child. But… I can’t.” A flicker of sorrow passed over Bai Lingmiao’s face.

“If my child turned out like Gouwa’s daughter—covered in white fur like me—that wouldn’t be good for Senior Li or for the child.”

“I’ve suffered through that myself. I know that no matter how nicely people talk on the surface, people like us are ultimately different from others. I don’t want my children to suffer the same way.”

Bai Lingmiao reached out and untied the coiled hair on top of Li Sui’s head, letting it fall into the water as she gently washed it.

“Your appearance is a bit strange. I’ll admit that. At first, I was pretty put off by it. But then I thought—Senior Li and I aren’t exactly normal either. So I stopped caring.”

“Auntie, what are you talking about? I don’t understand.”

“It’s good that you don’t understand. Sometimes I envy you, you know. You don’t have to worry about anything all day.”

Like a real mother and daughter, Bai Lingmiao continued speaking softly as she washed Li Sui’s hair.

Even though Li Sui didn’t fully grasp Bai Lingmiao’s words, she was content just to be close to her auntie.

There were things her father didn’t want to hear or didn’t react to, but her auntie would listen to her quietly until the end.

After a comfortable bath, Li Sui put on her human skin, attached her human head, coiled up her hair, and finally dressed in one of Bai Lingmiao’s robes.

“Not bad at all. Our builds are similar. We can swap clothes from now on,” Bai Lingmiao said, examining the finished result with satisfaction.

“Wait. Stand right there. Don’t move. I’ll put some rouge on you.” Bai Lingmiao turned to fetch it, then suddenly stopped. She looked toward the window on the left. “Didn’t you promise not to come near Niu Xin Village?”

“Holy Maiden. The Sitian Jian wishes to see you. He wants to have a proper discussion with our White Lotus Society.” A low voice came through from outside the window.

Bai Lingmiao let out a light sigh. “I’ll go. But not right now.”

“Also, because of the message we spread earlier, many White Lotus followers who had been lying low have started finding us again.”

“Enough! I barely get to come back here! Do you have to hound me like this? Do you think I’m going to run away?!” Bai Lingmiao’s tone shifted sharply, and the voice outside fell silent.

“Li Sui, come on. Let’s go find your father!” With a look of irritation, Bai Lingmiao took Li Sui’s hand and led her toward the bedroom.

Just as they reached the doorway, Liu Zongyuan backed out of the room, bowing as he retreated.

When he turned around, he caught a flash of a black tentacle slithering back under the hem of Li Sui’s skirt. His face twisted in alarm, and his hand shot toward his chest. “What kind of evil spirit is this?!”

The new clothes on Li Sui’s body tore open instantly. Black tentacles flailed in the air, and her skin-peeling beast face, lined with rows of fangs, thrust forward to shield Bai Lingmiao as she let out a low growl at Liu Zongyuan.

Once he saw Li Sui’s familiar beast face, Liu Zongyuan froze. He realized his mistake.

“What is it?”

At Li Huowang’s question from inside the room, Liu Zongyuan quickly plastered a cheerful grin on his face. “Ah, just a misunderstanding, Brother Erjiu! This spirit beast of yours is remarkable—I didn’t realize it could assume human form! I almost didn’t recognize it for a moment!”

But as he reached the stairwell and watched Li Sui and Bai Lingmiao step into the room together, he shivered, a chill running down his spine, and hurried down the stairs with quickened steps.