The Little Fox Spirit Doesn't Want to Carry a Cub - Chapter 13

Jiang Shen’s heart beat like a drum.

For a long while, he remained frozen in place, not moving a muscle, even keeping his breathing uncharacteristically shallow.

However, once his breathing slowed, the thrumming of his heart became even more apparent. Jiang Shen actually worried that this violent heartbeat might wake the little fox.

But it didn’t.

The little fox was sleeping very deeply, and the semi-transparent phantom draped over him lay equally quiet, immersed in a peaceful slumber.

Jiang Shen knew he shouldn’t keep watching.

Even if it were only a phantom, the little fox was, after all, wearing nothing. That stark naked body lay there on his bed, curled up and entirely oblivious to its surroundings.

Propriety dictates that one should not look at what is improper—even a child of a few years understands this principle.

Yet he could not move his gaze away from that body.

The little fox’s limbs were slender and long; even having turned into a human, he remained a small bundle when curled up, appearing both beautiful and fragile.

Everything was strikingly similar to Jiang Shen’s fantasies.

What would his face look like?

Would it also be like the one in my dreams?

Thinking thus, by the time Jiang Shen regained his senses, he had already quietly crouched by the bedside.

Being closer, he could see the delicate features through the half-hidden black hair.

This face, however, looked somewhat different from what Jiang Shen had imagined.

In Jiang Shen’s fantasies, the little fox was silly and pure, so he should have had a more clean and cute appearance—the kind that most easily arouses a protective instinct, making any foolish mistake easy to forgive, making it impossible to stay angry at him.

But the youth before him possessed an exceptionally vivid and moving face.

It lacked the common, vulgar air of mortal cosmetics; his features were deep and well-defined, his eyelashes long and dense, and the corners of his eyes tilted slightly upward. One could imagine what a soul-enchanting sight it would be if he were to open those eyes.

Jiang Shen felt that it truly wasn’t his fault for the gap between the little fox’s true appearance and his fantasy; likely even the most skilled painter in the world could not capture even one ten-thousandth of his beauty.

Naturally, he could not have imagined it.

In truth, one could only sigh and admit that the marketplace rumors were not false.

He truly was a fox demon renowned for beauty.

Perhaps because he was having a pleasant dream, the youth’s crystalline, soft lips curled into a slight arc, opening and closing slightly, even catching a few strands of hair in his mouth.

He looked a bit silly.

Jiang Shen watched in a daze for a while, reaching out his hand to help tuck away the hair falling over the face. But he didn’t touch the other; the moment his hand extended, the phantom scattered like particles, vanishing before his eyes.

Jiang Shen was momentarily stunned.

The little fox let out a yawn in his sleep and opened his eyes blearily.

He rubbed his eyes with a small paw, appearing very tired. “Is it time to eat?”

“N-no.” Jiang Shen stood up quickly, the movement pulling at his leg injury and nearly causing him to fall. He braced himself awkwardly against the edge of the bed, not daring to look at the little fox. “I… I’ll roast the rabbit. I’m going to roast it right now.”

His retreating figure could be described as panicked.

Li Ruan watched Jiang Shen’s back, tilting his head in confusion.

Why is he so nervous?

Due to his demon senses, Li Ruan was very sensitive to Jiang Shen’s emotional shifts, but in many cases, he could only detect that an emotion had changed and distinguish simply between happiness or sadness.

He couldn’t judge more complex emotions.

The minds of mortals were too complicated; many times, he couldn’t see through them.

Li Ruan stretched and stopped thinking about it. He remembered he seemed to have had a dream just now—dreaming that he had transformed into a human and seen Jiang Shen.

He stood up, stretched his paws, and flicked his tail.

There was no sign of his spiritual power returning.

Maybe it really was just a dream, the little fox thought regretfully.

From that day on, a subtle change occurred in Jiang Shen.

For instance, the time Jiang Shen spent staring into space was significantly longer than before. He was always distracted, even burning the meat several times. Additionally, the amount of time he spent staring at Li Ruan increased as well, many times making Li Ruan feel quite uncomfortable under his gaze.

“Pheasant-slayer, why do you keep looking at me?” The little fox wagged his tail displeasedly.

Jiang Shen abruptly withdrew his gaze.

He didn’t want to be like this, but… since that day, the little fox had never shown his human form again.

That glimpse at dusk felt like it was just another of his fantasies.

But Jiang Shen knew it wasn’t a fantasy; he had truly seen it. Moreover, it haunted his mind day and night, refusing to leave.

Jiang Shen had originally thought that the phantom’s appearance was a sign that the little fox’s body had recovered and was nearing the point of stable transformation. But after waiting for several days, there was no abnormality other than the little fox still feeling tired occasionally—his sleep growing longer and his hunger returning faster each day.

Furthermore, he seemed completely unaware that he had ever revealed a human form.

This in itself was very strange.

The little fox was clearly absorbing his essence every day, and the frequency of him asking for it had noticeably increased lately. Yet his state showed no signs of improvement; instead, it seemed to be deteriorating day by day.

Jiang Shen remembered that when they first started, the little fox’s spirit had clearly been getting better.

Something wasn’t right.

Why did the little fox suddenly show a human phantom that day?

Jiang Shen’s gaze moved down, seeing the dagger held in his hand.

The little fox must have been very hungry; while waiting for Jiang Shen to prepare the pheasant, he hadn’t stayed idle, digging out a few fruits to gnaw on. Taking advantage of the fox not paying attention, Jiang Shen quietly washed his hand with fresh water and quickly cut his fingertip with the dagger.

“Hiss—” Jiang Shen feigned pain and glanced at the little fellow beside him. “Little fox, I’m bleeding.”

“Eh?”

The little fox’s eyes clearly lit up when he looked up, though he seemed to feel he shouldn’t show it so obviously, putting on a worried look. “How did you get hurt again?”

Then he leaned in, happily taking Jiang Shen’s finger into his mouth.

Jiang Shen had cut the finger too deeply; the little fox licked it for a good while but couldn’t stop the bleeding. However, after consuming only a little, he released Jiang Shen’s hand. “I’ll go get medicinal herbs to bandage you.”

“Wait,” Jiang Shen called to him. “Didn’t you say the essence in blood is a lot and shouldn’t be wasted?”

The little fox crouched in place, wagging his tail uneasily.

Jiang Shen’s wound was still bleeding; the little fox’s gaze darted everywhere, just not at the wound.

Jiang Shen could see that he still wanted to eat.

It truly was strange.

He thought for a moment and arrived at a general guess. “Lately, have you been reducing the amount of essence you take from me?”

The little fox pricked up his ears in shock.

I guessed right, Jiang Shen thought.

Essence was something invisible and intangible to a mortal like Jiang Shen; he actually didn’t know how much the little fox absorbed each day. All he could feel was that lately, he no longer had that feeling of exhausted fatigue and sensitivity to cold, while the little fox’s condition grew worse day by day.

The little fellow must have done something.

The little fox’s front paws padded the ground unconsciously—he did this every time he felt guilty or uneasy.

Jiang Shen asked, “Why?”

Li Ruan said softly, “I don’t want you to get sick again.”

Even though Jiang Shen didn’t blame him for the previous accident, Li Ruan had always felt a bit troubled by it.

Since he had been caught, Li Ruan simply stopped hiding it. “Your body is so weak. If you get sick again because I take too much essence, it won’t be easy to save you.”

Weak…

Jiang Shen’s brow jumped, but he forced himself not to interrupt.

Li Ruan continued, “I went to ask A-Xue later. A demon’s absorption of essence is addictive; long-term consumption only leads to taking more and more. If we continue like this, I will suck you dry sooner or later.”

So that was it.

Jiang Shen’s eyes darkened. “So to keep me from getting sick, you’d rather endure discomfort yourself?”

Only coming to him for a bite when it was particularly unbearable.

No wonder his spirit was getting worse.

“It’s your fault for not being willing to dual cultivate with me. If we had dual cultivated earlier, wouldn’t all this be resolved?” Li Ruan said. “But it doesn’t matter. I’ve already talked to A-Xue; when there’s a chance to let a few more mortals in, I can—”

“No.” Jiang Shen interrupted him, his previous touch of emotion vanishing instantly. He asked incredulously, “You want to let more in?”

“I have to let more in,” Li Ruan blinked, not understanding why Jiang Shen looked a bit unhappy. “If only one person comes and they’re unwilling to dual cultivate like you, won’t I just be wasting time again? If I find a few more, someone is bound to be willing.”

As he spoke, he let out another sigh. “It’s just a pity the weather has been cold lately and it keeps snowing; no mortals have entered the mountains for a long time.”

He sounded quite regretful.

Jiang Shen pressed his brow.

This little fox truly… it was lucky he had encountered Jiang Shen first. If he had met someone with a crooked mind, who knows how he would have been bullied.

He thought for a moment and said seriously, “You cannot just let any mortal in.”

Li Ruan: “Why?”

“Because… I am currently nursing my injuries here. If you let people in and they discover my identity, what will happen? I told you, my identity cannot be known by others.” Jiang Shen lied with an expressionless face. “I’ve given you so much essence; you should help me with this small favor, shouldn’t you?”

Li Ruan stared at him for a moment and then nodded. “That’s true.”

Then he began to worry again. “Then what should I do?”

Jiang Shen also fell silent.

He couldn’t absorb essence, yet he couldn’t seek other mortals. It seemed only one path remained.

Jiang Shen glanced at the little fox and offered his still-bleeding finger. “I’ll find a way. You eat a bit first. Don’t worry, I won’t feel unwell from this little bit… I’m not that weak.”

After eating that evening, Jiang Shen pulled the little fox into his arms again.

One could see that the little fox had truly been holding back with great difficulty lately. Since Jiang Shen had broken the restriction today, the little fox absorbed essence to his heart’s content, such that Jiang Shen eventually felt a faint dizziness.

But the little fox didn’t notice; having eaten and drunk his fill, he soon became drowsy in Jiang Shen’s arms.

Before falling asleep, he gave a worried reminder: “You must put me back in my nest in a bit, otherwise I’ll absorb your essence again tonight.”

“I know,” Jiang Shen said. “Sleep in peace.”

The little fox murmured something and soon there was no more movement.

Once he was sure the fox was asleep, Jiang Shen let out a silent sigh and pressed his brow.

The little fox’s worry wasn’t without merit; allowing him to absorb essence so unrestrainedly was something even he couldn’t withstand after just one night. It certainly wouldn’t work long-term.

But dual cultivation…

How could one dual cultivate with a fox? It would only be possible if he could transform into a human.

Jiang Shen pinched the little fox’s ear and said in a low voice, “Silly little fox, I’ve given you so much essence, why can’t you transform back?”

That day, just one drop of his blood had been enough to show the human phantom.

The little fox flicked his ear, shifted to a more comfortable position on Jiang Shen, and continued to sleep soundly.

Jiang Shen waited a bit longer, becoming slightly drowsy himself. Feeling that the little fox likely wouldn’t transform tonight, he thought to put him back in his nest.

He stood up holding the little fox, and as he was about to move forward, he suddenly felt a heavy weight in his arms.

Unprepared, Jiang Shen abruptly lost his balance. In his panic, he could only instinctively tighten his hold on the person in his arms, and they both fell onto his straw bed.

The touch against his palm was smooth and warm.

It was the naked skin of a human.

Jiang Shen’s entire body went rigid instantly.

The commotion just now didn’t seem to have startled the person in his arms at all. The youth lay quietly in his embrace, his head resting in the crook of Jiang Shen’s neck. His warm breath puffed lightly against Jiang Shen’s side-neck, again and again.

Jiang Shen only felt his head grow even dizzier.

“L-little fox…” Jiang Shen’s voice was tight as he called out quietly.

The youth rubbed against his neck and murmured in a small voice: “Don’t be noisy…”

Jiang Shen fell silent immediately.

He didn’t want to disturb him, but the little fox had already absorbed quite a bit of his essence tonight. If it continued, his body likely wouldn’t be able to handle it.

So… should he put him back?

Jiang Shen turned his head to look at the small straw nest nearby, then looked down at the person in his arms.

From this angle, Jiang Shen couldn’t see the youth’s face; he could only feel that the youth was much smaller than him, with a very slender waist—he could completely encircle it with a single hand.

But no matter how small he was, the straw nest prepared for the little fox was definitely not enough to sleep in.

Jiang Shen was silent for a moment, then made a decision.

With one arm around the youth, he reached into the bundle by his pillow with the other, rummaging through the deepest part to pull out a celadon medicine bottle.

He poured out a pill and resolutely swallowed it.