After Faking My Death, My Disciple, Who Hated Me to the Bone, Has Gone Mad - Chapter 6

Lower Spirit Realm, East Marsh Qingqiu.

The moment he opened his eyes after rebirth, Sheng Muxue realized something was wrong. He had been tricked by the system again.

He woke up inside a tree hollow, the first thing he sensed being the fragrance of pine needles lingering at the tip of his nose. When he tried to raise his hand to rub his eyes, he discovered that his forearm was covered in fine, dense black fur. His five fingers were claws, and his nails glimmered with a translucent amber hue. He had ears atop his head, and a large tail longer than his own body sprouted from behind.

The sounds spilling from his throat were no longer human speech, but the whimpers of a young beast. Consequently, when he tried to interrogate the system, his voice turned into the mournful cry of a cub: “Awoo awoo awoo awoo awoo?” (How do you explain this this time?)

The system was still that small ball of light, hovering above Sheng Muxue’s head. Fortunately, the system came with a built-in translation function and understood Sheng Muxue’s howling.

“Big Brother, your luck is a bit poor. You were reborn as a fox.”

For the first time, Sheng Muxue lost his composure.

“Awoooooooo?!” (I sculpted my face, and you tell me I am not even human?!) “Awoo awoo?” (Then what was the point of sculpting my face?)

Sheng Muxue felt that he had been too lenient when he beat the system previously. The system probably sensed that a fox posed no threat to it, so it became fearless and argued righteously: “As long as you can cultivate into human form, you will grow into the face you sculpted.”

Cultivate into human form? Sheng Muxue moved his short, thick limbs. Let alone cultivation, he could barely stand up right now. Moreover, why on earth was he a black fox?

“Awoo awoo awoo?” (What is up with this fur color?)

“Because you chose black hair when you sculpted your face, so you are a black fox,” the system explained diligently.

Sheng Muxue remained silent. He had chosen black hair because it was the most ordinary and unremarkable. But a black fox was practically begging for attention, as almost all foxes were red, brown, or white.

“Little Xue, are you hungry?”

A gentle voice mingled with the crackling of charcoal fire. Sheng Muxue turned his head and saw a youth with red fox ears roasting meat nearby. Although the youth’s features were ordinary, they looked exceptionally kind. The youth held a skewer of meat toward his mouth: “Seeing you cry so miserably, you must be starving. Eat.”

In the past, as the Demon Lord, Sheng Muxue did not have a need to eat, but he loved food nonetheless. Now that he was just a simple fox, the temptation of the meat was impossible to resist. He took a bite: “Awoo!”

Seeing him eat happily, the youth gave him all the meat he had just finished roasting. Sheng Muxue soon discovered that he seemed unable to see the system. The system guessed his thoughts and explained: “Besides you, Big Brother, no one in this world can see me or hear my voice. I was originally residing inside your body, but since you died, I could only become independent.”

Sheng Muxue did not want to talk to the system. He had to speak aloud to communicate now, no longer able to use his consciousness. Since others could not see the system, they would think he was just howling randomly. He could only talk to the system when no one was around. But in this body, he could not even speak human language.

The start was hell. Fortunately, this youth feeding him seemed to be a good person. He had fox ears, so he must be a relative or a clansman. After Sheng Muxue finished his meal, the youth left the tree hollow.

Taking this opportunity, Sheng Muxue began to roar at the system: “Awoo awoo awoo!” (Hurry up and let me speak human language!)

The system scrambled to pull a pill out of its transparent, ball-like body and tossed it into Sheng Muxue’s mouth. After swallowing the pill, Sheng Muxue was finally able to speak. The first thing he did was greet the system’s entire family. The second thing he asked was: “Who was that youth just now?”

The system replied: “He should be your biological brother, Hu Dahong. You are less than ten days old, still just a fox cub. Your parents are out hunting, and your brother is at home looking after you.”

“But he is a red fox,” Sheng Muxue remarked, still dissatisfied with his fur color. “Also, he called me Little Xue. Do not tell me my name is Hu Xiaoxue.”

“Big Brother is so smart!” the system praised: “Is that name not good?”

Sheng Muxue remained silent. It was absurd. A black fox named “Xue” (Snow) would be more appropriately named “Hu Heitan” (Fox Charcoal). “Answer my previous question.”

But before the system could answer, a harsh, noisy commotion suddenly came from outside the tree hollow.

“Get out! Your family, get out of Qingqiu Mountain!”

“Our Red Fox tribe has never had a black fox in all generations. Since he was born pitch black, he must be an omen of disaster that will bring calamity to our entire tribe!”

“Get out! Monster! Jinx!”

Hearing this, Sheng Muxue knew eight out of ten times it was directed at him. Soon, he heard Hu Dahong’s voice in rebuttal: “My brother just happens to have black fur. What right do you have to call him a disaster?”

Slap. A crisp sound pierced Sheng Muxue’s eardrums. He figured his brother must have been hit while defending him. He usually did not care what others called him, but hitting his family was a different matter entirely.

“System,” Sheng Muxue looked at the system solemnly: “Can you restore the spiritual energy of my previous life?”

“This…” The system looked troubled: “I can, but only for ten seconds. And you have to pay a price.”

“What price?”

“You will fall into a deep slumber, and the duration is unknown,” the system said.

Just sleeping? Sheng Muxue thought that was hardly a significant price. “Fine.”

He agreed.

Outside the cave, a group of fox youths was beating and kicking Hu Dahong. Hu Dahong could not beat them, so he held his head and squatted down, focusing on defense to minimize injury. Suddenly, a streak of purple spiritual light burst out from the cave, instantly sending those fox youths flying away.

Hu Dahong had not noticed that the youths had been thrown back; he remained huddled in place, covering his head. After a long while, he looked up in confusion: “Eh?”

Where were the foxes?

The surroundings were peaceful, with only the rustling of wind blowing through the leaves. Hu Dahong picked up some branches outside the cave and returned inside. Upon returning, he saw his brother, Little Xue, had fallen asleep again. He was so small, curled up into a ball, looking very adorable. He gently patted his brother’s head, his face full of infinite doting: “Sleep now, sleep. Do not worry, brother will always protect you.”

In the Ice Crystal Chamber, lying in an ice coffin, Yun Zheng, who had just kissed Sheng Muxue’s forehead, suddenly widened his eyes, his pupils filled with astonishment. His face had been expressionless for too long, but this time, he maintained that shocked expression for a full half-stick of incense time.

Just a moment ago, he seemed to have sensed Sheng Muxue’s spiritual energy, coming from the Demon Realm in the East Marsh Province. Although it was weak and fleeting, he was certain it must be Sheng Muxue!

He was still alive? No wonder he had not been able to find a single trace of his soul for so many years.

So that was it.

Heh.