"Mencius said, 'Man's nature is good,' while Xunzi argued, 'Man's nature is evil; his goodness is an artifice.' It is clear that the debate over the good or evil nature of humanity has raged for one or two thousand years. Without passing judgment on the veracity of the tale of the bloodthirsty infant, Li Xiaohao, the starting point of the story was merely to soothe Sakurako’s restless heart and grant her temporary relief from her anxiety. To lay the truth bare before her would result in only two outcomes: either driving her to death or driving her away. Neither result was what Xiaohao desired; all he wanted was for her to live quietly and smoothly give birth to his ghoul infant. As for the question of good and evil, it was never something his lineage was meant to dwell upon. In the natural selection of things, since their existence was sanctioned, the innate tendency toward bloodlust and murder must possess its own inherent logic.

'Is that true?' Sakurako looked at Xiaohao, her eyes brimming with tears. Xiaohao nodded, drawing her tightly into his embrace, and whispered softly, 'When have I ever lied to you?'

'Then do you still drink human blood now?' Though heartbroken, a shred of rationality remained, and Sakurako interjected with this question. Xiaohao felt it ruined the moment, contemplating just telling her everything after all. But Sakurako looked at him with those tear-filled eyes and pleaded, 'If you must drink blood, drink mine. Don't take it from others.'

Alas, the old saying claims a woman in love has only half her wits; Xiaohao felt it was generous to suggest Sakurako possessed even one-third of a normal person's intelligence. In all the time they had been together, when had he ever drunk her blood? Moreover, he was no longer a ghoul infant; the habit of bloodlust was long gone. If this matter of drinking blood had to be brought into the open, it was an inescapable duty bestowed by the Sea of Spirits, the very means by which the spirit world survived, and it required the vital essence of different people—an entirely different matter from what occupied her mind. The issue was too complex, too profound, too hard to explain to her.

So, Xiaohao shifted tactics, gently stroking Sakurako’s hair with loving kindness. 'I stopped drinking blood long ago. My father found a high monk to exorcise it for me. Now I am just like a normal person, except I have no heartbeat. Look, don't we eat together, sleep together, read together? How different am I from a regular person?'

Hearing Xiaohao say this, a glimmer of hope shone in Sakurako’s eyes, and she stared at him in astonishment. 'Really?'

'Truly,' Xiaohao closed his eyes and nodded. This was a familiar, masking gesture often employed by liars. However, Sakurako had never studied psychology and was thus oblivious to the subconscious habits of master deceivers. She naively believed Li Xiaohao’s words, forfeiting the last chance to escape the bonds of fate.

Following this crisis of trust, Li Xiaohao resolved to accelerate his plans, striving to impregnate Sakurako as quickly as possible. Once the ghoul infant was born, his father's directive would be fulfilled. Indeed, within two months, signs of Sakurako’s pregnancy began to show; she was morose all day, couldn't eat or sleep, and felt nauseous at the smell of fish or shrimp.

Meanwhile, the injured golden-furred monkey had taken up residence with them. Sakurako named it 'Damao' and insisted on brushing its fur daily, bathing it, and preparing various nutritious diets to nurse it back to health. In less than two weeks, Damao’s burns had healed. When Xiaohao tried to send the little creature back to the Sea of Spirits, the monkey stubbornly refused. That was only natural; even humans become addicted to a life of luxury, let alone a monkey!

But returning was essential. If the ghoul infant were born in the ordinary human world, it would cause widespread panic and might even be eradicated—a lesson the spirit race remembered through generations. Therefore, once Sakurako’s pregnancy was confirmed, Xiaohao packed their belongings, preparing to take his family back to their homeland."