Karin was immediately filled with jealousy. "Why are you keeping her by your side? She's a Jinchuriki from the Hidden Cloud Village."
"She was, but she isn't anymore. Karin, there's something else I need to tell you. Actually... I already have two wives from a long time ago." Li Xing decided not to hide it from Karin anymore, as he would have to tell her eventually.
Upon hearing this, Karin's face was filled with disbelief. "How is that possible? No, it's impossible! Xingjun, you're lying to me, aren't you? We first met when you were only thirteen, and I was only fourteen. After that, I've been by your side. How could you have had two wives at that age!"
"Infinite Domain!"
Li Xing knew Karin wouldn't believe him, so he pulled her into his Infinite Domain. The two of them then appeared before a palace.
Inside the palace were three beds, and on them lay three aged women, each with the smile of their last moments on their faces.
"Two of them are my wives. About a hundred years ago, I met them. At that time, I had just achieved my dream and was striving towards another."
"In that world, there were creatures called demons, and they were specialized in eliminating those demons. I joined them, and we developed feelings for each other while living together. Later, after we annihilated all the demons, we got married."
"The me you see now has reincarnated. Yes, they are my wives from a previous life. This place is completely sealed by me. Currently, they are just sleeping, and one day they will wake up again."
"Karin, do you believe me now? I'm sorry, perhaps I shouldn't have taken you from the Land of Grass. If you don't wish to accept this and want to leave me, I won't blame you."
Li Xing explained everything to Karin. This was the first time Li Xing felt regret for his actions.
Karin's mind was blank, and she didn't know what to say.
After a long silence, Karin looked at Li Xing, tears streaming down her face.
"Xingjun, do you regret it? Are you going to abandon me? No, I don't want to leave you. Leaving the Land of Grass with you was the best decision I've ever made. You saved me, Xingjun, you gave me a new life, and you made me happy every day. So I have no regrets. No matter how many people are by your side, I will always stay with you."
As she spoke, Karin hugged Li Xing tightly, burying her face in his chest.
Li Xing reciprocated the embrace. "I'm sorry for keeping this from you for so long. I should apologize. As long as you're willing, I won't let go of your hand."
"Yes, yes, I'm very willing to stay by Xingjun's side."
Then, they sat together in front of the palace, leaning on each other. Li Xing began to tell Karin about his past experiences fighting demons.
After hearing everything Li Xing had said, Karin finally understood. The body that Li Xing had assimilated into hers was that of a demon, but a more perfect one than those Li Xing had killed before.
"So that's how it is. That's why I can control blood and don't need to wear glasses anymore. And my chakra nature has become all-attribute. Xingjun, you're amazing!"
"Alright, we should go. Yugito has been lying outside the whole time. Pain gave us a break, let's go on a trip together!"
With that, Li Xing picked up Karin and they left the Infinite Domain, returning to the cave.
After setting Karin down, Li Xing went to Yugito's side, waved his hand, and the barrier disappeared. Yugito woke up at that moment.
"Good morning. Sleep well? My work is done. You'll come with me now!" Li Xing said to Yugito with a smile.
The first thing Yugito saw upon waking was Li Xing's face. She immediately jumped up and reached behind her, trying to grab a kunai, but felt nothing.
"You bastard! What did you do to me? Where's Matatabi?"
Yugito looked around, unable to find Matatabi, and felt anxious, wanting to know how Matatabi was, as they were friends.
"Matatabi? Didn't you see? Matatabi doesn't exist anymore. It has been sealed. Hmm, you could say it has returned to its origin." In Li Xing's view, the Tailed Beasts were scattered chakra from the Ten-Tails, and the Gedo Statue was the husk of the Ten-Tails. Entering the Gedo Statue was equivalent to returning to the beginning.
"You scoundrel! I'm going to kill you!" Yugito glared fiercely at Li Xing. Li Xing was unconcerned; stares couldn't kill, unless they were special dojutsu.
Karin, however, couldn't stand it. Li Xing had saved Yugito's life, and yet she wanted to repay kindness with hostility.
"You slut! Don't look at Xingjun like that. If it weren't for Xingjun, you would have died long ago. Now that Xingjun is willing to take you in, you should behave yourself. First, call me Karin-nee, let me hear it!"
Karin immediately tried to assert herself as Yugito's elder sister, regardless of Yugito's age. In Karin's opinion, she had arrived first, making her Yugito's elder sister, and Yugito should obey her.
"You! If you guys hadn't captured me, I wouldn't be in this situation. How can he say he saved my life? Besides, I'm older than you, you should call me Nee-san!"
Hearing this, Li Xing couldn't help but burst into laughter. Did Yugito's brain have a problem? Was that the point? Shouldn't she be thinking about how to escape?
"Even if it wasn't us, other members of the organization would have captured you. You should be glad it was us. Xingjun is kind-hearted and saved your life. And most importantly, didn't you lure us out of the Hidden Cloud Village? You chose to fight alone, abandoning your rear support. You willingly let us capture you," Karin immediately argued with Yugito using flawed logic, though it wasn't entirely wrong. She had indeed been saved by Li Xing.
"Alright, alright, both of you stop arguing. We've been here for so long, we haven't even bathed and we're filthy. Come on, let's go soak in the hot springs."
Li Xing directly interrupted their argument, pulling each of them along.
Yugito instinctively tried to break free from Li Xing's grasp but found she couldn't gather chakra. She was like an ordinary person now.
"Let go of me! What did you do to me? Why can't I use chakra?"
Li Xing didn't let go of Yugito's hand. Instead, he pulled her closer. "Have you forgotten our bet? You can only stay by my side now. That's why I sealed your chakra, unless I lose the bet."
Hearing Li Xing say this, Yugito suddenly remembered. She had vaguely agreed to a bet earlier and felt so foolish in retrospect. It seemed she could only obediently stay by Li Xing's side.
After leaving the cave, the three of them arrived at a town with hot springs. Here, Li Xing and the others received news that the Ka Yun Combination was wanted by the Land of Lightning. They also heard that the Hidden Cloud Village was looking for Yugito, but they hadn't dispatched a large number of ninjas, only some ANBU searching in secret.
Upon hearing this news, Yugito felt a chill in her heart. Although the Hidden Cloud Village had to send only a few ANBU to search in other major countries to avoid a ninja war, Yugito still felt a sense of unwillingness.
"Miss Yugito, it seems I've won this bet. I thought it would take much longer. I didn't expect the Raikage to make a decision so quickly. Is he unwilling to send a large number of ninjas to avoid suspicion? What a boring excuse."
Yugito opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but she didn't know what to say. Li Xing had indeed won the bet.
Seeing Yugito becoming despondent, Li Xing placed a hand on her shoulder. "They don't need you, but I do. From now on, you belong to me. Don't worry, I won't abandon you. You can ask Karin about this. I took her away because she was being treated poorly. Come with me, let's go soak in the hot springs together!"
Then, Li Xing pulled the two of them towards a hot spring inn...