The Little Fox Spirit Doesn't Want to Carry a Cub - Chapter 2

Jiang Shen suspected he might already be dead.

If he weren’t dead, why would he hear a fox speaking in human tongue, and what it said was… dual cultivation?

What a joke.

But the little fox’s tone sounded incredibly serious. As it spoke, it stared at Jiang Shen without blinking, as if desperately trying to prove its sincerity.

…How absurd.

The moment Jiang Shen opened his mouth, cold wind poured into his lungs, causing him to cough violently. The coughing racked his body, aggravating his injuries; his vision went dark in waves, and he soon tasted iron-like blood in his mouth.

The little fox seemed frightened by his state. It scurried away quickly, its fluffy tail sweeping past his eyes.

…It probably feels very soft to the touch.

Before losing consciousness, such a thought suddenly popped into Jiang Shen’s mind.

Li Ruan poked his head out from behind a tree and flicked his ears.

The coughing had stopped. This small patch of snowy ground outside his cave dwelling was now silent, save for the wild pheasant with only half a life left, still flapping on the ground. Li Ruan gazed at the motionless figure of the man. After hesitating for a moment, he walked over cautiously.

He sat down beside the man, extended a paw, and touched the man’s face.

There was no reaction.

He seemed to have fainted.

It turned out everything A-Xue said was true—mortals really were useless. Even though he had acted so friendly, this mortal had still been scared unconscious by him.

If he was like this after just one sentence, how were they supposed to cultivate in the future?

Li Ruan felt a bit anxious.

The wild pheasant was still chirping feebly nearby. The sound annoyed Li Ruan, so he ended its life with a single swipe of his paw.

Turning back to look at the man collapsed in the snow, he sighed again.

Regardless, now was not the time to worry about such things.

The mortal before him was severely injured; he was breathing more out than in, appearing even weaker than that wild pheasant. If Li Ruan didn’t find a way to save him, he probably wouldn’t last much longer.

After a moment of thought, Li Ruan turned and ran toward his cave.

When he ran back out, he held a light green elixir in his mouth.

This medicine was given to him by A-Xue to heal his injuries after his failed Tribulation. It was said that no matter how heavy the injuries, this medicine could protect the heart’s meridians for a time and serve to prolong life.

Li Ruan currently had no spiritual power and could not heal this mortal; he could only use this to keep him alive for now.

He only had this last pill left for himself. Had it not been an emergency, he would never have been willing to part with it.

However, he had heard a common saying in the mortal realm: “the grace of saving a life should be repaid with one’s body.” Since he was using a life-sustaining elixir to save this mortal, the man would surely offer himself to Li Ruan upon waking, aiding his cultivation and ascension.

This wasn’t a losing bargain.

Thinking this, Li Ruan lowered his head to feed the medicine.

But he could not transform back into human form yet, making his movements clumsy. After fumbling by the man’s neck for a long time, he finally managed to pry open the man’s lips with his two front paws.

Then, lowering his head, he used the tip of his tongue to push the pill into the man’s mouth.

As soon as the elixir entered the throat, the man’s complexion turned visibly ruddy, and even his breathing became much fuller.

He still seemed somewhat uncomfortable, his brow furrowed deeply. After Li Ruan released his paws, those thin lips continued to open and close unconsciously, revealing a glimpse of a pale pink tongue.

Cradling the man’s cheek, Li Ruan blinked and leaned down to take a lick.

There wasn’t only one way to absorb a mortal’s essence. The breath, flesh, and fluids of a living person all contained essence. For ordinary demons, a single bite would be equivalent to a long period of cultivation.

Unfortunately, Li Ruan’s injuries were in his very foundation; such superficial methods could not fully restore his cultivation.

At the very least, one or two people wouldn’t be enough.

He still intended to ascend to the Immortal Realm, so he couldn’t actually rely on eating humans to supplement his power. If he did that, he would never pass the trial of Merit.

Dual cultivation was different; it was a method that harmonized Yin and Yang, bringing him only benefits without harm.

However, even if they couldn’t perform dual cultivation for now, merely consuming this tiny bit of essence made his body feel much lighter.

Li Ruan couldn’t resist. Like a child stealing a snack, he lightly licked the corner of the man’s lips again.

He just couldn’t eat too much.

Mortals were extremely fragile; if they lost too much essence, they could easily die. Especially this one—he had barely reclaimed his life with the elixir. If he were sucked dry until his essence was exhausted by Li Ruan’s lack of restraint, it would be a self-defeating loss.

This bit of essence was negligible to Li Ruan, yet he still felt very satisfied. He released the man’s cheek and patted it gently with a small paw: “I’ll be relying on you from now on.”

Then, he bit onto the man’s trouser leg and happily dragged him toward the mountain cave.

When Jiang Shen woke up again, the first thing he heard was the sound of something chewing food.

He was no longer in the open area from before but had been moved to a relatively enclosed space. Consequently, the chewing sound was very clear, as if echoing right beside his ear.

Jiang Shen quietly opened his eyes.

Beneath him was a thin layer of straw, and beside him was a roaring bonfire. It kept the entire cave warm and cozy, soothing his limbs which had been frozen numb.

However, as his body warmed, a pain like shattered bones and tendons washed over him.

The medicine Li Ruan fed him could only protect his heart. Jiang Shen’s internal and external injuries were not healed; the slightest movement pulled at his wounds, causing such pain that he nearly groaned aloud.

But he gritted his teeth and endured it.

The firelight illuminated the cave. Jiang Shen used the light to survey his surroundings. Turning his head, he immediately saw a bright red fox tail poking out from behind a large rock near the cave entrance.

Accompanied by the chewing sounds, the tip of that tail swayed left and right, twitching occasionally. The creature was eating with great focus.

It hadn’t noticed the movement on this side of the cave at all.

Jiang Shen stared at the white fur on the tip of the tail for a moment before withdrawing his gaze.

So, it wasn’t a dream.

He really had encountered a fox.

Was it this fox that saved him?

Jiang Shen suddenly remembered a secret legend about Mount Changming he had heard in the palace as a child.

It was said that several hundred years ago, this place was the royal hunting ground of the previous dynasty. The last emperor of that dynasty was negligent in state affairs and boundlessly tyrannical, finally enraging the Heavens. The Heavens sent a punishment—a nation-toppling enchantress to bewitch the faint-hearted monarch. In just three years, the once-mighty Great Liang was brought to ruin.

On the day the nation fell, someone witnessed a streak of white smoke flying out from the Emperor’s bedchamber. The direction it took was exactly toward Mount Changming.

Since then, rumors persisted among the common folk that the nation-toppling monster still lived within Mount Changming. If disturbed, it was feared it would shake the very foundations of the country.

Therefore, to this day, Mount Changming remained a forbidden zone designated by the imperial family, barring others from approaching.

This story had been passed down through several generations and a change of dynasties; it was hard to say how much of it was true.

At least until today, Jiang Shen never believed in these tales of gods and ghosts. He avoided Mount Changming only because it was a restricted imperial area that one could not easily enter.

But at this moment, he felt a flicker of doubt.

Could there really be a demon living in Mount Changming?

And by such a stroke of bad luck, he had run into it?

The chewing continued to echo in the cave. The little fox seemed to be eating very happily; the tip of its tail was curled high, every strand of fur expressing satisfaction.

Jiang Shen couldn’t help but feel a hint of amusement.

Even if it were a demon, it was a silly one with no cunning.

It didn’t look anything like the “nation-toppling monster” of the legends.

However, Jiang Shen didn’t intend to startle it just yet.

He raised his intact right hand and began to slowly check his injuries.

There was a through-and-through wound on his left shoulder blade, caused by an arrow fired by the group of ambushing rebels last night. This arrow was also what ultimately caused him to roll down the cliff. His right leg was broken. Jiang Shen touched his chest and felt that his ribs were likely damaged as well.

Aside from that, there were various scrapes and bruises of all sizes.

Jiang Shen reflected and guessed that because there were many trees and vines around the canyon, they had cushioned his fall, allowing him to keep his life.

But…

He felt his vitality had recovered significantly more than before.

Had the little demon done something?

Thinking this, Jiang Shen instinctively turned his head and met a pair of round, beady eyes.

Jiang Shen: “…”

Perhaps influenced by the little demon’s uninhibited eating, Jiang Shen had uncharacteristically let down his guard in this strange environment and failed to notice when the chewing had stopped.

The little fox crouched by the large rock; the man and the fox stared at each other from a distance.

Neither spoke first.

“You…” Jiang Shen cleared his throat, his voice still low and hoarse. “Was it you who saved me?”

The little fox opened its mouth, seemingly wanting to answer, but then appeared to remember something and closed its mouth without making a sound. It stared fixedly at Jiang Shen for a long time before finally nodding slowly and cautiously.

This reaction was a bit strange; Jiang Shen frowned in confusion.

Before he could ask further, the little fox suddenly turned and went back behind the rock. Its fluffy tail flicked as it emerged from behind the stone carrying a chicken leg in its mouth.

It was a raw chicken leg—plucked, but not very cleanly, with skin and blood still attached.

The little fox’s movements were very slow. It seemed to be paying close attention to Jiang Shen’s state, cautiously holding the chicken leg and pausing with every step. Finally, it gently placed the chicken leg in front of Jiang Shen.

The moment it set it down, it immediately bolted back to a distance, the wind from its tail making the fire flicker.

Jiang Shen looked at the bloody chicken leg, then at the little fox crouching in the distance, feeling somewhat baffled.

Was it really that afraid of him?

With such a small heart, was this really a demon?

Jiang Shen didn’t move for a moment. The little fox in the distance tilted its head, appearing somewhat confused as well. As if thinking of something, the little fox suddenly turned its head to steal a quick glance behind the rock, then looked back at Jiang Shen and blinked.

This gesture was ambiguous; Jiang Shen didn’t understand.

It was his first time encountering a fox with such human-like qualities. He was curious to see what else it would do, so he deliberately stayed motionless, lying quietly and meeting its gaze.

Consequently, he saw the little fox wag its tail uneasily. Its gaze darted back and forth between Jiang Shen and the space behind the rock several times. Finally, as if having made up its mind, it brought out another chicken leg from behind the rock.

The little fox’s approach this time was even slower than before.

It dawdled its way to Jiang Shen’s side and placed the two chicken legs side by side.

It didn’t rush to leave this time. First, it drooped its ears and looked at them longingly for a good while before extending a paw to push both chicken legs together toward Jiang Shen’s hand.

Then, it looked up at Jiang Shen again.

Jiang Shen actually managed to read a sense of grievance from a fox’s eyes.

It seemed to be saying: I’ve given you both, are you satisfied now?