My lady, don't be angry. I'm letting you touch my big tail.

Joey immediately became extremely alert.

"In other words, one of those disgusting men and women is here. System, can you pinpoint which one of them is in this village?"

"Not at the moment, the other party's system is currently blocked."

"Closed off?"

Joey wanted to laugh immediately.

In other words, that person is currently under attack and in a vulnerable state; otherwise, the other party's system could not have been shut down.

Ah, what a small world!

Hua Ran looked around and found the house strange.

Because he cared most about his appearance and strived to be perfect in front of his wife.

After traveling for so long, he wanted to look in the mirror to see himself, but he couldn't find anything in the whole house that could reflect his image.

Not to mention mirrors, even teacups and teapots are covered in grime.

Even the table was made of rotten wood, so it couldn't reflect a face.

"strangeness……"

Hua Ran gently tugged at Qiao Yi's sleeve.

"My lady, don't you find this strange? There's no mirror..."

"That's not the only strange thing. Look at the tea in the teacup."

Hua Ran looked down and realized that their faces were not reflected in the glass of water.

Ordinary water can reflect some things, but this water has clearly been enchanted.

Inugami leaned closer and sniffed, saying, "The water is fine. I didn't smell anything harmful in it. The magic probably only works on the surface of the water, preventing people from seeing themselves in the mirror."

Hua Ran also sniffed the water glass, saying that he could smell it too.

They just didn't say it beforehand.

He even rolled his eyes at Inugami.

Inugami suppressed a sigh of relief. "Smell it if you want, who's going to compare with you? Don't talk to me!"

"Why are you so fierce?"

Not wanting to appear useless in front of his wife, Hua Ran saw that the two old people hadn't come out yet, so he took the initiative to get up and said he wanted to listen carefully to what they were plotting.

Joey couldn't trust the flower dyeing.

She went along with them.

Inside the small wooden house, an even older woman sat in front of her dressing table, combing her hair.

There was only a wooden board in front of me; there was no mirror.

But the old woman was delighted, as if she were looking at her own stunning beauty in the mirror.

The old woman next to her, who was hard of hearing, said, "The guests are all waiting outside. Why are you only starting to get dressed now? Hurry up and go out to greet the guests. I saw that the girl has some fine grains in her bag. Although it's not much, we haven't had them in a long time. Let's exchange some of the extra coarse grains for some."

"Oh, Mother! Look how handsome the two men are beside that girl. The one with black hair in a braid has almond-shaped eyes full of affection. And the man in the cloak has such a charming face, it makes my heart flutter... I've never seen such handsome men in all my life!"

Joey raised an eyebrow.

Hua Ran then turned to look at Qiao Yi.

They were close enough that Qiao Yi could hear everything clearly without Hua Ran relaying the message.

He even opened his mouth and mouthed, "Mother?"

The sense of incongruity is even stronger now.

But Joey was also concerned about the older woman praising Hua Ran's beauty.

Because her expression made it seem like she was going to marry him.

They were listening, and the hard-of-hearing old woman sighed.

“Daughter, I’m sorry I couldn’t take you out of the village. You’re quite beautiful, but you’re destined to stay in this wretched village for the rest of your life. Those two men look like they might marry you. They’re probably already married to other women. You should… not think about it.”

“Mother! I…I don’t want to exchange for fine grains, I want to exchange for the clothes that girl brought…If I wear her clothes, I’ll definitely look like a different person…”

Hua Ran listened, inwardly grumbling.

Even if you wear the wife's clothes and even change your face to resemble hers, your body will still exude decay and rot.

I'd never be interested in you!

I'd rather gouge my eyes out than look at you!

Oh no, if I'm going to be picky, I'll pick yours.

Joey was listening intently when Hua Ran in front of her suddenly appeared. Her cloak hood had slipped down, revealing two fox ears that were twitching incessantly, as if she were having a lot of inner monologues.

Its tail didn't wag; it remained still.

His hands unconsciously moved to his chest, curled up like a real fox, as if ready to attack at any moment.

The older woman inside said, "Mother, what do you think... if we drugged them..."

The hard-of-hearing woman overheard roughly what she heard and went over to scold her in a low voice.

"What nonsense are you talking about! Stop thinking about such things, exchanging for some fine grains is the real business."

Hua Ran's ears twitched frequently, poking Qiao Yi's nostrils without him even realizing it.

Joey wanted to sneeze but dared not, she had to hold it in.

Helpless, Qiao Yi suppressed the urge to sneeze and bit down on Hua Ran's fox ear.

!!!

Hua Ran shuddered.

Their bodies tensed up.

My wife... my wife is biting my ear!

Has she suddenly lost her mind? Has she suddenly become enlightened?

Hmm... but it shouldn't be at this time that I've suddenly become enlightened!

Oh dear, my ears are so sensitive!

Hua Ran pursed her lips.

Hearing the strange sounds of the mother and daughter inside getting up and moving their chairs, Qiao Yi quickly pulled Hua Ran back to their seats in the room they had been sitting in before.

Hua Ran buried her head in Qiao Yi's arms.

Whisper quietly.

"My wife... don't suddenly bite my ear. I'll allow you whatever you want. Haven't I been tolerant enough of you? Haven't I let you know that you can do whatever you want to me?"

The dog god, who was listening nearby, shuddered.

"Sit down!"

Joey was also embarrassed.

"Then don't suddenly poke my nose with your ear... I really want to sneeze."

"Ah this..."

Hua Ran suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

Joey muttered, "That older one calls the hard-of-hearing 'Mom,' how strange."

She looked at her hands.

They didn't feel any rapid passage of time. Could it be that they exchanged something with the spirits?

After all, in her past dealings with ghosts, Joey had encountered people who traded time for money.

Joey looked at Inugami again.

He asked in a low voice, "Have you changed since you came to this village?"

Inugami shook his head. "No."

Just as Qiao Yi was about to say that Hua Ran was a soul and would definitely not change, she noticed that Hua Ran's hair seemed to have grown a patch.

Originally, Hua Ran's hair was just above his waist. If he bent over slightly or supported himself on the bed with one hand, his hair would fall completely onto the bed, but it wouldn't fall when he straightened up.

Now, Hua Ran straightened her upper body, and her long black hair had already reached her waist.

"Hua Ran, your time is flying by..."

Before crossing the mountain, Hua Ran's hair wasn't that long.

While climbing the mountain, Hanazon told Inugami not to pull his hair, and at that moment, Joi glanced at him.

Hua Ran turned her head and looked at herself.

"No, no, right?"

Hua Ran immediately covered her face.

"Then, my lady... will I age instantly?"

"I...I...I'll turn into an old woman?"

Inugami couldn't help but say, "You might turn into an old man."

Hua Ran was even more shocked upon hearing this.

She buried her face in Joey's arms.

"My lady... I don't want to!"