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Yino had kept himself quite busy exploring this secret realm - though less exploring the realm itself and more studying the physical differences between various fox breeds.

Having just handled an urgent matter with Yuebai, he needed to deal with a certain black-clad woman who’d been tailing him. Just then, Lily informed him that several righteous sect elders had arrived outside the realm. Yino clicked his tongue in dismay - he had even less time than expected.

"Look what you’ve done, Yuebai!" Yino planted his hands on his hips, channeling his past life’s homeroom teacher. "Your dawdling has wasted everyone’s time, and I still have a pile of messes to clean up!"

The white foxgirl pouted beside him. If she’d known the elders would arrive so early, those two days and nights wouldn’t have been necessary - she might’ve even managed to hold out longer! But it was too late for regrets now.

Yino sighed, glancing at the black-clad woman still suspended from a tree, her bottom red and swollen from the cane. "What’s with that glare? Think the elders will save you?"

Too irritated for pleasantries, Yino had assumed she was just a minor character since she hadn’t appeared in the game. But during his discussions with Yuebai and Jinyue, neither Liuli nor Ruoning could break her, despite his orders to go easy.

Left with few options, Liuli had resorted to caning her bottom where the fat would cushion the blows, causing pain without permanent marks. Yet she remained stubbornly defiant. Her sharp gaze, cold features, and trained physique showed even more determination than Yuebai had. Professional guards were clearly cut from different cloth than little foxes.

"Remove her gag," Yino ordered flatly, despite the time pressure.

The moment Ruoning tore off the bandage, the woman snarled: "Yino! You ungrateful bastard! Our Mistress was blind to raise such a white-eyed wolf!"

Jin Jie’s face flushed as she thrashed against her bonds, writhing like a caterpillar. Yuebai watched silently, the scene feeling oddly familiar as she swallowed nervously.

After enduring her tirade, Yino waved dismissively. "Enough. I have two questions: Who are you, and why did the Hundred Spirits Pavilion Mistress send you? Keep cursing and I’ll stop being a gentleman."

With the elders approaching, he needed to relocate and had no patience left for interrogation games. "Simple choice - tell me and I’ll take you with us. Otherwise, stay tied up here and beg the righteous cultivators to save you." He shrugged, patience visibly draining away.

After weighing her options, Jin Jie finally whispered: "I’m Jin Jie... the Pavilion Mistress’s shadow guard... She sent me to protect you..."

"Protect me? Since when?"

"Since you left Western Province City..."

"Then why didn’t you help when I nearly died at the Mountain Temple?"

"Do I need to spell it out?"

"Well? Were you really protecting or just spying on me?"

"You sacrificed Chen Jianxin that day! You’re worse than that Gu Wanglan! You’re more evil than the villains - why should I have saved you?!"

"Hey…..!"

Yino paused, realizing she had a point. Remembering Wanglan’s breakdown that night, he conceded: "Fair enough."

He sighed, unsurprised things had taken this worst-case turn with Jin Jie discovering his true nature. But on second thought, he decided it wasn’t worth panicking over. The Pavilion Mistress was a neutral NPC in the game - what did it matter if she knew he was the Moon Mother Goddess’s favored evil cultivator? She only cared about profit anyway.

"One last question, just in case." He pointed meaningfully. "Since you know so many of my secrets, does the Pavilion Mistress who sent you to watch me already know too?"

"She... she still..."

The soul-searching question made Jie freeze, words catching in her throat. She thought of the Pavilion Mistress’s true identity and years of affection for her nephew at the Grand Tutor’s mansion.

Truly, this absurd situation had Jie cornered. If Xinyao learned how wicked her nephew had become, Jie couldn’t imagine the beating he’d receive upon returning. Moreover...

It would break Xinyao’s heart to learn her carefully nurtured nephew had gone so wrong.

"Because... because you’re so different in private... I... I was suspicious and wanted to investigate longer. That’s why I never reported what happened at the Mountain Temple..."

After careful consideration, Jie sighed helplessly. In truth, the battle that night had been too chaotic to gather clear details. This was no small matter - worried about misunderstandings, she’d planned to observe longer.

Now in the Azure Forest, Jie had finally seen Yino’s true face. She’d resolved to write Xinyao immediately after leaving - but she never expected...

Jie had just spied on Yino performing dark arts on Liuli, and now she’d been caught too!

Looks like she won’t get the chance to send a letter to her Mistress.

"You didn’t snitch? Really?"

"Really..."

Though she regretted it now, maybe not sending it immediately was a good thing during Yino’s interrogation. Thinking this, Jie pleaded: "Please! Our Mistress still doesn’t know the truth! I planned to write once we left the secret realm, but as you can see, things turned out this way."

"That’s good. Don’t tell her in the future, or she might suspect me. That wouldn’t be good for business." Yino smiled politely.

Jie nodded earnestly. True or false, at least outwardly she’d submitted.

On his end, Yino was pleased with Jie’s honesty, so he waved to signal Liuli to release her from the tree. But this didn’t mean untying her.

Yino approached, inspecting her body before suddenly smacking her outer thigh— "Considering you’re from the Hundred Spirits Pavilion, I won’t put the evil mark on your lower belly this time. That would cause permanent harm, which we don’t want your Mistress finding out. But a simple evil mark is still necessary. Once I’m sure your Mistress truly knows nothing, I’ll lift it for you." As he spoke, his palm burst with a faint purple light.

Jie’s eyes widened in shock. She struggled frantically, but soon realized it didn’t hurt as bad as she’d expected. It was more like what she’d seen when observing Liuli at the ancient palace - not painful, but hot as if something was burrowing in...

"Would you swear to remove the thigh mark?"

Since it wasn’t too severe, Jin Jie ground her teeth and stopped fighting. After all, she was only an employee, with no vendetta against Yino. If he was willing to go easy on her, what complaints could she have?

"Of course. There’s nothing vital below the thigh, so it won’t leave lasting scars."

Yino spoke casually. Despite the heat in her thigh, Jie couldn’t help but squirm, still standing firm as Yino seared the evil symbol into her outer thigh, just under her buttock.

In just half a minute, Yino was done. This was just a simple mark, not his usual thorough technique.

"Don’t worry, this mark isn’t visible. In your catsuit, no one will notice a tattoo on your leg... Unlike my little white fox here. Even with clothes on, her belly’s glow will shine through the fabric."

Yino clapped, stating this casually.

Jie looked back to confirm her catsuit wasn’t marred, then breathed a sigh of relief.

On the other side, Yuebai’s face flushed crimson. "What do you mean by that? Am I supposed to walk around with a mark for the rest of my life?!"

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"It won’t show if you don’t annoy me."

"You... you’re gentle with everyone else but to me?!"

The little white fox pouted, her face petulant and angry.

"Because I cherish you!" Yino refused to argue, soothing her with a gentle pat on the head.

"Ahh... Really?"

"Absolutely. It’s a sign of my affection."

"Why... why does my stomach feel all warm...?"

The sudden confession caught Yuebai off guard. Before she could process it, her body seemed to understand the intent behind those words before her brain did.