It was a small road that led to the house, winding through a beautiful bamboo plantation. When the three friends – Ping'an, Guo Longtong, and the possessed Du Aiguo – arrived at the house, they saw Lim Yuehai and Li Luli sitting on the porch outside, peacefully sewing clothes.
"Yuehai!" Guo Longtong called, recognizing her and waving.
Lim Yuehai looked up and smiled warmly. "Longtong, over here!" She waved back at Guo Longtong. "I didn't know you would be here."
"You worried us very much, especially Peizhi," Guo Longtong said, his brow furrowed with concern.
Lim Yuehai smiled, and her two big dimples showed on her cheeks. "I'm sorry," she said, genuinely apologetic.
Guo Longtong turned around to face Ping'an. "Pin..." He suddenly pushed Ping'an away with immense force. "Watch out!"
Du Aiguo's fist strike hit Guo Longtong's left shoulder, and the powerful punch caused Guo Longtong to fly forty feet away. Guo Longtong landed on the porch with a thud and passed out, completely unconscious.
Lim Yuehai dropped her sewing and crawled towards him; her voice filled with panic. "Longtong? Are you okay?" She looked up at Du Aiguo, bewildered. "Why do you hit him?"
Ping'an, reacting instantly, took out her whip. She took two steps back and released her whip at Du Aiguo. Du Aiguo bent backward, moving with unnatural agility, and easily avoided the whip attack. She waved her whip low on Du Aiguo's feet, and he did a backflip to avoid the attack, retreating. She then waved the whip in a circular motion, creating a swirling vortex of energy, heading straight for Du Aiguo. Du Aiguo continued backing away towards the gate, recognizing the danger.
Li Luli flew over, moving swiftly, and went straight to Ping'an's back, aiming for a surprise attack. When Li Luli was about to hit Ping'an, a golden arrow, swift as thought, passed through her right hand. She screamed in pain and fell down onto the ground. Guozhao Zhiqiang, having launched the arrow, drew his sword and rushed towards Li Luli, his eyes narrowed.
Guo Baiyu, having just arrived with Zhao Renshu, sent a talisman right at Du Aiguo. Du Aiguo dodged the talisman with surprising speed. Guo Baiyu then began to attack Du Aiguo, engaging him in combat.
Ping'an attacked Li Luli with Guozhao Zhiqiang. Tanlan, speaking through Li Luli, knew that if she wanted to make full use of her power, she had to abandon this vessel. Tanlan pulled herself out of Li Luli's body and escaped, dissolving into thin air.
"Zhiqiang, stay with your master!" Ping'an commanded, pointing to Guo Baiyu.
"Shimu, be careful," Guozhao Zhiqiang replied, his gaze fixed on the fleeing spirit.
Guo Baiyu kicked Du Aiguo in the chest fiercely, and Du Aiguo stumbled backward even more towards the gate, reeling from the blow. He sent out a single arrow, and it hit Du Aiguo on his right shoulder. He then reached out with his left hand, and a long golden string of magic formed at the bottom of the arrow, which was tightly tied to his left hand. He pulled the golden magic string forward, and Du Aiguo fell to the ground, tethered.
Guozhao Zhiqiang jumped up and brandished his sword straight down to stab Du Aiguo.
Du Aiguo saw the shadow of Guozhao Zhiqiang coming for him, realizing his imminent death. He supported himself with two hands, then, with a horrifying transformation, turned towards Guo Baiyu, slowly becoming his true form. The grey wolf, massive and furious, rushed to Guo Baiyu's feet, trying to bite Guo Baiyu.
Guozhao Zhiqiang's sword stabbed onto the ground, missing its target. Then he sprinted toward the grey wolf's back. The grey wolf jumped over Guo Baiyu. Guo Baiyu twisted around and pulled the golden string hard, redirecting Zhiqiang, and Guozhao Zhiqiang flew past Guo Baiyu's right, heading directly at the grey wolf with his sword.
Lim Yuehai was shocked, her eyes wide with disbelief. She couldn't believe her husband had turned into a big grey wolf. She walked slowly along the porch to the center of the yard in disbelief, utterly stunned. She stood there, watching the wolf fight Guo Baiyu and his student, with tears streaming down her eyes.
"Lim Yuehai, go to hell!" Li Luli, still alive but weakened after Tanlan's departure, shouted, taking out her dagger and raising it to stab Lim Yuehai, a desperate act of malice.
The grey wolf, seeing Li Luli charging at Lim Yuehai with her knife, quickly blocked Guozhao Zhiqiang and used all his strength, leaping forward towards Lim Yuehai. He also pulled Guo Baiyu with him due to the golden string. The grey wolf blocked Li Luli's knife, taking the blow himself. Li Luli's knife pierced the abdomen of the grey wolf.
Guozhao Zhiqiang flew over and kicked Li Luli away from Lim Yuehai, knocking her unconscious.
The grey wolf transformed himself back into a human form, his hand stretched towards Lim Yuehai, blood gushing out from his abdomen, a mortal wound.
"I'm sorry..." the transformed man whispered, his voice weak.
"Where is Aiguo?" Lim Yuehai cried, desperate for an explanation.
"He is in our bedroom behind the bookcase," the dying man revealed.
"Why are you pretending to be him?" Lim Yuehai asked, tears in her eyes.
The grey wolf coughed, blood staining his lips. "It's always been me. I remember we met here two years ago." He reached into his robe and pulled out a pink handkerchief, embroidered with a small flower on one corner. "You used it to heal my wounds."
Lim Yuehai remembered. Two years ago, Lim Yuehai was sitting on the porch when it was raining heavily. It wasn't important to return to Du Residence, because Du Aiguo never really cared whether she was there. In addition, the sky was getting darker, and it was dangerous to walk in the rain due to the steep roads. Since she married Du Aiguo, they had not truly been husband and wife. He never slept in the same bed as her. If she slept in bed, then he would sleep on the daybed by the window. He did a lot of things to show her that he didn't want to marry her. She reached out her hand and touched the rain, feeling its coolness.
Lim Yuehai sighed, "The weather in Waterfall City must be very cold right now." She exhaled heavily. "Mm... I wish I could go home and drink a cup of warm goat's milk under this kind of weather."
She heard a whinny sound from under the porch. She walked down the porch and saw a little grey wolf hiding from the rain, shivering.
"Come out," Lim Yuehai had called, her voice gentle. "I won't hurt you."
The grey wolf slowly limped out with a badly injured leg. She took out the pink handkerchief and wrapped it around the wound, caring for the animal.
Lim Yuehai cried and shook her head, a realization dawning. "You are that wolf fairy?"
The grey wolf looked at Lim Yuehai and said, his voice soft, "Furen, even after you learned I am a wolf spirit, you still cared for my wound and treated me very well. You told me how bad he was to you. How he only married you because of the interests of the two states."
"That's why you killed him?" Lim Yuehai asked, a chilling thought.
The grey wolf denied, "No! I did not kill him!"
"How do you explain what happened to Du Aiguo?" Guo Baiyu asked, stepping forward, his voice firm but curious.
"I found him under the cliff," the grey wolf explained, his breath ragged. "When I walked towards him, he was already unconscious. I don't know how he turned out like that, or what he was doing until his last moment. I brought him back here. I hoped that when he wakes up to see Yuehai, he will find it in his heart to accept her. But he did not wake up. I don't want Yuehai to be unhappy, that's why I pretended to be him." He looked at Lim Yuehai deeply, love in his eyes. "I never thought of hurting you."
"It was not Du Aiguo in the past year, but you?" Lim Yuehai asked, tears streaming down her face, the truth painful.
The grey wolf said sadly, "Yes."
Lim Yuehai sobbed and said, "I thought Aiguo changed his mind and accepted me."
The grey wolf nodded, then prostrated himself, bowing deeply in front of Lim Yuehai. "I really love you. Please forgive me."
Lim Yuehai cried and looked up at Guo Baiyu with tears. She said softly, her voice filled with despair, "Baiyu, I want to go home. I want to go home. Please take me home."
Guo Baiyu stretched out his hand, offering comfort and support. "Then let's go home."
When the grey wolf bent to the fourth kowtow, an arrow flew directly into Lim Yuehai's left chest, piercing through her front chest and out of her back. The arrow hit a bamboo pole on the porch, pinning her. Guo Baiyu and Guozhao Zhiqiang spun to face the front gate, and it was Mayor Du who held the bow, his face grim.