After Becoming the Pope’s Disciple - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Fox Cub

The shop owner let out a startled cry, and Ye Shaoqing’s eyelid twitched violently.

Two pairs of eyes simultaneously shot toward the priceless Red Radiance. They saw the centers of the twin flowers curl slightly inward before slowly blooming once more. The layered floral raiment looked as if it had been dyed with cinnabar—vivid red and dripping with color. Even the fallen petals had been replaced by new growth, appearing plump, bright, and brimming with vitality.

Under Ye Shaoqing’s gaze, countless green leaves swayed slightly toward him, expressing the joy of rebirth.

Old Tao excitedly paced around the plant twice, his aged face flushing slightly red. “It actually worked! What kind of monster are you? You were clearly exhausted just a moment ago!”

Old Tao stopped in his tracks, his entire face crowding into Ye Shaoqing’s space, nearly touching his nose. He huffed, “Are you sure you aren’t a genius cultivated by some great family in the Imperial Capital? Have you really only been formally studying Healing Magic for two days?”

Ye Shaoqing said helplessly, “Really.”

Old Tao said decisively, “I don’t believe it!”

Ye Shaoqing: “…”

“Of course, since you are unwilling to say, this old man isn’t one to be tactless.” Old Tao had likely concocted yet another melodramatic backstory in his head. “You healed the Red Radiance. I’ll notify the employer to come collect it shortly; the reward is all yours.”

Ye Shaoqing smiled. “That won’t do. Without your guidance, Shopkeeper, I probably would have struggled even to enter the threshold. I’ll only take the portion of the reward I need urgently; the rest will be for my tuition.”

Old Tao chuckled and patted his shoulder, saying with relief, “I just hope that when you become famous in the future, you won’t forget this old fossil.”

Having completed such a major deal, both the old and the young were somewhat excited. The conversation returned to the teaching of Healing Magic. Old Tao no longer treated Ye Shaoqing as a clueless apprentice but as an outstanding junior with exceptional talent, teaching him everything he knew without reservation.

About half an hour passed before the sound of a beast carriage parking drifted in from outside.

Soon, a short, stooped elderly man pushed open the door and walked in. A ball of white fur wiggled in his arms—Ye Shaoqing found it looked rather familiar.

The elder was extremely anxious, not even waiting for his servant. As soon as he entered, he rushed straight to the pot containing the Red Radiance. He peered closely at the brilliantly blooming flowers for a long time, stroking them repeatedly before finally letting out a sigh of relief. He excitedly thanked Old Tao over and over.

“Shopkeeper Tao, I’m truly indebted to you this time! I knew there would be no problem sending it to you! My two sons are about to join the army; in the future, if they end up on the battlefield, a single Red Radiance might just save a life!”

The elder pulled Old Tao aside and rambled on for a long time, full of gratitude and talk of rewards. Ye Shaoqing was left to the side, completely ignored.

Old Tao finally managed to soothe his emotional regular customer and said awkwardly, “Old Mr. Zhou, in truth, this Red Radiance was already terminally ill. There was no cure other than pruning a branch…”

Old Mr. Zhou froze, then laughed. “In anyone else’s hands, it would certainly be incurable. But once you take action, don’t you bring the dead back to life?”

Old Tao felt ashamed. “Mr. Zhou, you misunderstand. I’m saying that I wasn’t the one who healed this Red Radiance.”

Mr. Zhou froze again. “Not you? Then who else could it be?”

Old Tao pointed at Ye Shaoqing and smiled. “It was this one, Ye Shaoqing. He is a… well, a junior of mine with extraordinary talent.”

Only then did Mr. Zhou look directly at him. He squinted his eyes and sized him up for a moment. Seeing that the youth was quite young—though he possessed a certain aura, he was a far cry from those seasoned, steady Priests and Bishops of the Holy See. If even they couldn’t achieve such a feat, what could a lad of this age do?

He shook his head and said, “Shopkeeper Tao, stop joking. If this young brother were ten years older, I might believe you.”

“Eh, why would I be so shameless as to trick you about my own lack of skill? I witnessed the process of him healing the Red Radiance with my own eyes. If you still don’t believe it, why not ask the flowers themselves who their benefactor is?”

Old Tao’s tone was certain, not seeming like a lie. Mr. Zhou looked toward the twin flowers with half-doubt. Without hesitation, the cluster of flowers tilted its heads, facing directly toward Ye Shaoqing. Since even the flowers “spoke” this way, he had no choice but to believe it.

Mr. Zhou was stunned for a moment before recovering from his shock. Ye Shaoqing’s age made him think of many possibilities. He put away the dismissive look in his eyes and said solemnly, “I didn’t expect that at my age, I would misjudge someone. Mr. Ye is so young yet possesses such great skill; your future will surely be limitless.”

“Old Mr. Zhou overpraises me.” Ye Shaoqing smiled. He could see the man still had doubts, but he didn’t care; he only cared about the Star Coins he was about to receive.

This Mr. Zhou was a famous wealthy man in the city, so the reward was naturally generous. After setting aside the money for rent and tuition, quite a bit remained. At the thought that he wouldn’t have to eat nothing but green vegetables and steamed buns every meal, and might even taste the fish head soup Wen Qingze stewed, Ye Shaoqing’s mood suddenly became cheerful.

“Shopkeeper Tao, there is one more thing I must trouble you with.” Old Mr. Zhou looked down and stroked the snowy-white fur in his arms, a sorrowful expression appearing on his face.

The white fluff ball moved, and a white fox head poked out from his arms. Its fluffy ears flattened backward, seemingly unhappy that its peaceful dreams had been disturbed.

Old Tao looked at the little fox cub and frowned. “When you brought it over the other day, I already combed through its sea of consciousness and infused quite a bit of mental strength. Logically speaking, it shouldn’t have been useless.”

Old Mr. Zhou sighed. “At the time, seeing it could walk and eat, I thought it was fine too. Who knew that before long, it would become extremely weak again? I had no choice but to come back and trouble you.”

Old Tao asked him to place the little fox on the table. He pressed a finger to the center of its forehead, attempting once more to establish a connection with his mental strength. The expression on his face grew more and more solemn. In less than half a moment, he was drenched in sweat. He used every ounce of his strength to cut off the supply of mental strength, his head tilting back as he nearly collapsed to the floor.

“Shopkeeper, are you alright?” Ye Shaoqing frowned and helped him up, only to find the man’s limbs were limp and his expression was extremely listless, as if his entire spirit had been hollowed out.

Seeing this, Mr. Zhou was also startled. “Shopkeeper Tao? You are…”

Old Tao squeezed out a smile that looked worse than crying. “This fox cub’s sea of consciousness is nearly exhausted. It probably won’t make it. I am powerless.”

“Sigh…” Mr. Zhou had been prepared for this, but he had still held onto a sliver of hope. Hearing the confirmation, he couldn’t help but be deeply disappointed.

With Ye Shaoqing’s support, Old Tao sat in a chair and wiped the sweat from his forehead. He asked, “Old Mr. Zhou, I’ve never seen you keep such an exotic beast before. Is there a reason for this?”

Mr. Zhou nodded slowly. “In truth, I didn’t raise it. I found it on the road back from the Imperial Capital. To be precise, this little white fox saved my life.”

There had been a rainstorm that day, and the beast carriage Mr. Zhou was riding in got stuck in a mud pit. The cries of alarm attracted exotic beasts foraging in the forest. A rare and highly aggressive Blood Wolf Beast had somehow crossed the safety perimeter and appeared there.

Several of Mr. Zhou’s servants were bitten to death, and he himself was injured. Just as he was in despair, a tiny snowy-white fox darted out and bit the Blood Wolf Beast’s neck. Its fluffy white fur was washed flat against its body by the rain, making it look pitiful and dirty, yet such a weak-looking cub actually bit the massive Blood Wolf Beast to death!

Afterward, it collapsed weakly in the puddle. For three generations, Mr. Zhou’s family had been faithful followers of the Holy See. Having survived this disaster, he believed his sincere faith had moved the heavens to send a white fox to save him. He brought the fox home like a divine beast, seeking cures everywhere.

After hearing the story, all three fell into silence. Ye Shaoqing looked toward the white fox on the table, only to find that its dark golden eyes were staring fixedly at him. After their eyes met, the fox cub struggled to crawl up, attempting to move closer to Ye Shaoqing.

This movement startled the two old men. Mr. Zhou reached out to take the white fox back, but Old Tao stopped him: “Wait, let’s see what it actually wants to do.”

Mr. Zhou suddenly remembered—if the Red Radiance was truly saved by this person, could he perhaps save the white fox as well? A flicker of hope suddenly sparked in his heart after his initial despair.

The fox cub moved its paws, struggling to crawl to the edge of the table. It looked down to estimate the height, then glanced at the distance to Ye Shaoqing. Without much thought, it performed a “leap of faith” toward him.

And then it dropped like a lead weight.

Old Tao: “…”

Mr. Zhou hadn’t even had time to cry out. Ye Shaoqing simply raised one leg with the fastest speed, and the fluffy ball landed “splat” right on the bridge of his foot. At least it didn’t fall too poorly.

Looking up, the dark golden eyes gazed at him waterily. Using all four paws, it climbed up his leg. Ye Shaoqing scooped it up, lazily stroking it twice to satisfy his hands, and asked slowly, “What exactly does this little thing want—”

The end of the last word was still in his throat when a warm, wet sensation suddenly came from his finger. The little fox had actually bitten down and begun sucking on his finger like a pacifier!

Ye Shaoqing: “…”

Old Tao’s orange-peel-like face twitched violently. He said, “So this fellow just wanted to drink milk?”

Old Mr. Zhou didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “The problem is, Mr. Ye doesn’t have any.”

The little fellow sucked away with a face full of satisfaction, its fox eyes slowly narrowing. Ye Shaoqing, however, knew it wasn’t drinking milk—it had sensed the lingering aura of the Holy Light.

After days of weakness, it was likely just hungry.

Ye Shaoqing looked at it thoughtfully. There was more than one exotic beast in this room. If everyone could smell the scent of Holy Light on him…

The mental image was just too beautiful.

Support After Becoming the Pope’s Disciple