Chapter 88: Folklore Horror (18)
To call a human “Master”?
Unbelievable!
A wolf in sheep’s clothing!
Such audacity could only be punished!
Fuzhu’s tail quivered violently. He looked as if he had been deeply insulted. In a fit of rage, he spun around, swinging his tail viciously at Jian Yuntai.
Jian Yuntai’s reflexes were quick, and he caught Fuzhu’s tail. He asked, “What happens if a Nine-Tailed Fox’s tail gets cut off?”
Fuzhu was shocked. “You want to cut off my tail?!”
Jian Yuntai shrugged. “Don’t be so jumpy. I said I’m not interested in your tail, I was just asking.”
“You’re a demon hunter, you should know this common knowledge. You must nap through every class, otherwise you wouldn’t be so clueless.”
Fuzhu’s voice wasn’t like Cui Yu’s at all. Cui Yu’s voice had a cold, abstinent aura, like a banished immortal. But Fuzhu’s voice was more like the radiant morning sun, mixed with the fresh morning dew, like a divine sunbird flapping its golden wings beneath the blazing sun, singing melodiously.
It was a beautiful voice, with a noble, haughty air.
“I pay great attention in class,” Jian Yuntai defended himself, then asked, “So, just tell me.”
He moved in front of Fuzhu, but Fuzhu turned his back, presenting only the back of his head. Jian Yuntai circled him again, and after several rounds, Fuzhu snapped, “You’re so annoying!”
Jian Yuntai wasn’t at all upset. He grinned maliciously, saying, “I used to find someone from your clan annoying too. Not exactly annoying, but I didn’t want to walk alongside him. I just wished he’d stay away from me.” When Fuzhu’s eyes shifted to him, Jian Yuntai’s smile faltered, and his tone softened a little. “Later, he severed his tail for me, and I didn’t mind him anymore.”
“My clan would never have such a fool!” Fuzhu raised his chin proudly. “You humans are all about looks. I see you with your dirty face. You probably don’t even do well in the human ranks.”
Jian Yuntai nodded vigorously. “You’re right!”
Fuzhu, pleased with the confirmation, continued his boast. “My clan is similar to yours. But we don’t look at faces. We look at tails. The fluffier and more beautiful the tail, the more suitors you have in the clan.”
Fuzhu had the most beautiful tail in his entire clan, and no other fox could compare to him. So, he had many suitors, but he wasn’t interested in any of them.
This was something to boast about.
If Jian Yuntai kept asking, Fuzhu would generously talk about how many suitors he had rejected coldly.
However, Jian Yuntai didn’t follow the script. After a moment of thought, he let his smile fade a little and asked, “What if… you didn’t have a tail?”
Without hesitation, Fuzhu answered, “That would be a disability. A Nine-Tailed Fox without a tail is no longer a Nine-Tailed Fox. Not only would the clan reject him, but he’d probably hate himself too.”
Squeak—
Jian Yuntai slowly sat down, the snow and dead leaves beneath him making a soft rustling sound. When he looked at Fuzhu again, he couldn’t ignore the nine tails behind him.
“When would you ever lose your tail?”
“Are you crazy?” Fuzhu gave him a strange look. “I would never cut off my tail, not even if I die.”
“Wouldn’t happen under any circumstances?”
“Of course not! Don’t ask again!”
“……” Jian Yuntai’s thin lips turned slightly pale. His gaze dropped, and his eyes trembled as he felt a deep sadness.
Fuzhu would never cut off his tail. So what kind of feeling had he had when he had transformed his hand into a blade and severed the last remaining tail?
Just thinking about it made Jian Yuntai’s chest feel heavy.
The viewers in the livestream were equally devastated:
“Wuwuwu I feel like Fuzhu is a buried treasure, the more we dig, the more we discover his deep feelings hidden at the bottom of his heart. If it weren’t for Sun Bin’s skill, Jian Dadan would never have known how precious a fox’s tail is.”
“Based on this, the Celestial Fox Jade Pendant must be very valuable too. I’m curious about its special significance.”
“The little fox really brought me to tears qaq. His demon core is gone, his tail is gone, and now even the Celestial Fox Jade Pendant is gone… Cui Yu lost a lot but also gained a lot. He gave everything he had to Jian Dadan, loving him meant giving him all. The little fox, on the other hand, has so little left, but it’s all the most precious things, things more precious than life itself.”
The wind had grown colder, as if a thousand tons of weight had suddenly pressed down on his chest, and Jian Yuntai remained silent for a long time.
So long that Fuzhu, thinking he wasn’t going to get any, shifted his nose and couldn’t hide the disappointment in his eyes.
He was so hungry, hungry to the point of feeling wronged, wanting to go home.
At this moment, a long stick suddenly appeared in front of him, the aroma of the roasted rabbit wafting up to his nose.
Fuzhu froze for a moment, looking at Jian Yuntai in surprise.
With his face covered in dust and blood, it was hard to make out his features. But the bright eyes staring back at him had no hint of hostility, only a laid-back, reassuring smile.
“Eat it, you little fool.”
The livestream viewers immediately exploded with excitement, “So spoiled! I’m melting, wuwuwu… Just now, Fuzhu said only a fool would cut off their tail, and Jian Dadan just called him a little fool!”
“I’m shipping this!!! A demon hunter and a demon clan heir—this chaotic world and opposing sides can’t stop our forbidden love!”
“At first, it was Fuzhu giving unilaterally—digging out the core, cutting his tail, and gifting the jade. He never got a response from Jian Dadan. I remember when Fuzhu left, he was heartbroken. Wuwuwu, baby don’t be sad! Jian Dadan responded to you ten years ago, you weren’t the only one giving 555555.”
Fuzhu lightly tapped the roasting stick with his paw, then said in confusion, “But I never called you…”
The word “Master” was far beneath his dignity. He would never say it.
Jian Yuntai seemed to know exactly what he was thinking. He smiled and said, “I was just teasing you. If you don’t want to call me, don’t.”
“……”
“……”
Fuzhu finished the roasted rabbit cleanly. During the process, he occasionally glanced up at Jian Yuntai.
—This human, he was better than expected.
Wait!
Fuzhu quickly shook his head, mentally reminding himself. The elders in his clan had warned him that humans’ favorite trick was the “boiling frog in warm water.” They gradually lowered his guard and, at the moment of his weakest point, would expose their true intentions.
This human must be trying to gain something from him!
What could that be?
Just then, Jian Yuntai suddenly moved. “I have one more thing I want to ask you.” He tugged on the rope around his neck, pulling out the Celestial Fox Jade Pendant. “This jade pendant must be a treasure from your clan, right? Does it have any special…?”
Before he could finish his sentence, Fuzhu suddenly jumped up violently, as if pricked by a needle. Despite the pain in his back leg, he immediately tried to grab the jade pendant back.
Jian Yuntai immediately got to his feet and scolded in shock, “Your hind leg is injured, and you’re still thrashing around! Do you even want to keep that leg or not?!”
Fuzhu seemed not to hear him at all. His vertical pupils remained fixed tightly on the Celestial Fox jade pendant. His pupils constricted, and when he spoke, his voice carried an indescribable emotion. “My mother gave you the Celestial Fox jade pendant? That’s impossible. How could she not have destroyed it?”
It seemed this jade pendant was far more important than Jian Yuntai had imagined.
Jian Yuntai’s brows furrowed slightly. Just as he was about to ask again, Fuzhu suddenly leapt onto the campfire rack and viciously lunged at his chest.
Thud! Thud! Jian Yuntai fell in response. The campfire rack had been set up at the edge of a slope—good terrain for observing pursuing enemies. But if someone slipped, it was far from ideal.
They rolled all the way down the slope. Jian Yuntai kept Fuzhu tightly protected in his arms the entire time. The back of his head and his face repeatedly made intimate contact with the snow, and his vision filled with fluttering goose-feather snowflakes.
As the world spun around him, Jian Yuntai hugged Fuzhu with both arms, leaving no free hand to shield his own head. He felt as though he had washed his face with snow. His cheeks were frozen numb, and crystalline flakes clung to his eyelashes in clusters.
They glittered and trembled with each flutter of his lashes, sparkling like stars in the night.
“Shh—!!!”
Jian Yuntai let out a hush from his throat. He did not lower his head to look at Fuzhu, but instead lifted his gaze toward the top of the slope. A group of demon hunters was approaching, laughing and chatting as they came closer.
Tap—tap—
Tap—tap—
The little fox held the Celestial Fox jade pendant in his mouth, his vertical pupils staring blankly at Jian Yuntai so close before him. That face had just been cleansed by sacred snow; even between his brows lingered a dusting of white, like layered golden light shimmering over distant peaks, like wind stirring the lake atop a snowy mountain.
Th-this little demon hunter actually looked quite decent.
Even more good-looking than the members of his own clan.
With a soft plop, after staring in a daze for a long while, the Celestial Fox jade pendant slipped from the little fox’s mouth and fell into the snow beside them. The two red cords of the pendant lay across Fuzhu’s field of vision, crossing left and right. Through that crisscross, he could see that the lazy smile by Jian Yuntai’s lips had vanished completely, replaced by the solemn alertness of someone bracing for an enemy attack.
It was said that when someone who was always carefree suddenly turned serious, it was easy to make hearts flutter. Within the clan, this was widely circulated as the “scripture” for seducing humans. Fuzhu had always scoffed at it before, but at this moment he suddenly experienced the “scripture’s” power firsthand.
Thump—thump—
His heartbeat suddenly skipped a beat.
“There’s a campfire here! The ashes are still warm—they must be nearby. A member of the Celestial Fox clan must have taken Fuzhu and run! They can’t have gone far. Increase the manpower and search the area!” Several voices spoke from above, their words brimming with ruthless killing intent.
Jian Yuntai did not move at all. Only after the slope above gradually fell quiet did he slowly let out a breath.
They could not stay here long.
He had to find a way to send Fuzhu somewhere safer. Ideally, he would return him to the Celestial Fox clan.
No sooner had that thought crossed his mind than Fuzhu’s soft voice came from beneath him. “This jade pendant… is a sacred heirloom of my clan. Only the Celestial Fox Queen may possess it. After the previous Celestial Fox Queen died, and before the next one was decided, the pendant would be temporarily kept by the Heavenly Fox King—or the young heir.”
“…?” Jian Yuntai stared in shock, lowering his head inch by inch. As he did, the snow gathered between his brows drifted down lightly and fell into Fuzhu’s pupils.
Fuzhu blinked uncomfortably. As he closed his eyes to adjust, he heard Jian Yuntai’s incredulous voice by his ear. “You’re saying only the Celestial Fox Queen can hold it?!”
“Yes. It symbolizes the royal bloodline. Whoever possesses this jade pendant—only the offspring they bear will be of the royal line.” After a moment, Fuzhu reopened his eyes.
Jian Yuntai remained braced above him in silence. His gaze had never been so complicated before, as if he had countless things to say yet did not know where to begin.
Fuzhu did not understand. Confused, he asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
The livestream viewers were already teary-eyed, on the verge of bursting into loud sobs:
“I’ve been stabbed in the heart so badly!!! How is Fuzhu this good, wuwuwu—he’s done so much and never said a word.”
“Sisters, this isn’t angst! This is sugar! Isn’t the Celestial Fox jade pendant basically a wedding ring? You two are locked in for life!!!”
“Jian Dadan is a man—he can’t have children—and he’s human, and a demon hunter. Even under those circumstances, Fuzhu still gave the jade pendant to Jian Dadan. No wonder! No wonder that day in the underground palace he smiled so sweetly, like he was putting on a wedding ring. He placed the nameless Celestial Fox jade pendant on the one he loved most, and he himself had no title either.”
“Damn it, why did the sister above turn it back into angst again???”
Jian Yuntai, however, did not think that far. He only felt astonished, and increasingly thought Fuzhu was foolish.
Such an important item—he had simply given it away.
And only a few hours after giving it to him, he learned that Jian Yuntai had dug out his demon core, prompting him to sever his own fox tail to draw a clear line between them.
He could not imagine what kind of emotional upheaval Fuzhu must have experienced that day. Jian Yuntai had always acted with a clear conscience, yet at this moment he still felt a trace of guilt and could not help but feel reluctant toward Fuzhu.
Just as that thought arose, he glanced sideways—and saw that the way Fuzhu was looking at him seemed somewhat strange.
“???” Jian Yuntai watched as the tips of the little fox’s snow-white fur gradually flushed pink. The entire fox seemed as if he had been placed in a steamer, turning rosy at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Startled, he asked, “Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
Fuzhu curled himself up within his nine tails, secretly peeking out with a pair of eyes from between the gaps in his tails.
Hmph! He had been found out!
Jian Yuntai had saved him—there must be something he wanted in return. Now Jian Yuntai’s ambition had been fully exposed. What benefit could he be after? Of course it was the Celestial Fox jade pendant!
Otherwise, why would Jian Yuntai not return it?
If he coveted the Celestial Fox jade pendant, then he coveted the position of Celestial Fox Queen. And if he coveted the position of Celestial Fox Queen, then rounding it up, wasn’t he… coveting him?!
Ha!
So that was his wolfish ambition!
This human actually harbored such thoughts about him?
Fuzhu slightly raised one tail, lifted his chin arrogantly, and said, “There’s something I need to warn you about.”
Jian Yuntai stroked his fur along the grain. “What is it?”
Fuzhu lifted his chin even higher, the tips of his fur pink and tender. “My clan does not intermarry with outsiders. Give up!”
“…” Jian Yuntai’s voice trembled at the end. “Huh???”
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