The Little Fox Spirit Doesn't Want to Carry a Cub - Chapter 20.1

Three days flashed by in an instant.

During these three days, Li Ruan helped Jiang Shen collect the bodies of the guards who had died previously on Changming Mountain, burying them in the very forest where they had fought their last stand.

The rest of the time, the two of them spent wandering the mountains together.

Today was a clear day. The early spring mountain breeze still carried a hint of chill, but the snow on Changming Mountain was melting, and the trees were beginning to sprout tender buds.

“Where are you taking me…”

Jiang Shen had been dragged out of the cave by Li Ruan before dawn, with the fox mysteriously claiming he wanted to show him something.

Changming Mountain was not small, consisting of numerous peaks. They had been climbing for nearly an hour and had seen nothing yet.

“We’re almost there.” Li Ruan held Jiang Shen’s hand. After walking for so long, his steps were still light, without a trace of fatigue. “It’s just ahead.”

Jiang Shen, on the other hand, had worked up a thin sweat in the early spring morning.

Looking at the refreshed little fox before him, he secretly decided that once he returned to the capital, he would have to practice martial arts even more diligently.

He couldn’t have the little fox thinking he was weak all the time.

With this thought, Jiang Shen followed Li Ruan through the forest. Finally, the other stopped. “We’re here.”

The view suddenly opened up.

This was the highest point among all the peaks of Changming Mountain.

A small amount of snow still lingered on the summit. They had arrived just before sunrise; the sun hadn’t risen yet, but the horizon was already faintly white.

The continuous peaks were shrouded in thin mist, and everything was silent.

Jiang Shen laughed. “You woke up this early just to watch the sunrise with me?”

“Is it not beautiful here?” Li Ruan asked. “This is the best viewing spot on Changming Mountain.”

“It’s beautiful.”

With a bit of time left before sunrise, Jiang Shen led him to sit on a blue stone at the edge of the cliff. Beside the stone was a withered tree that had been snapped in half. The stump was very thick and covered in moss; it seemed to have been there for many years.

Jiang Shen looked at it a few times, and Li Ruan said, “I think I’m the one who caused that.”

Jiang Shen was startled.

“This place is very close to the sky. It’s where I go every time I face a lightning tribulation.” Li Ruan touched the withered tree. “This tree must have been caught in the crossfire of a tribulation, but I don’t quite remember when it happened.”

He had faced tribulations too many times. His memories of the past were very muddled, and he couldn’t recall small matters like this at all.

Jiang Shen took his hand and placed it in his palm. “It must have been very painful, right?”

Li Ruan: “What?”

“The lightning tribulation,” Jiang Shen said warmly. “This tree is so thick, yet it was split like this. If it hit you, wouldn’t it be even more painful?”

Li Ruan lowered his head. After a while, he whispered, “It was quite painful.”

Every bolt of heavenly lightning carried the power of a thousand thunderclaps. Hitting the body, it felt like being burned by fire; from the internal organs to the muscles and bones, there wasn’t a spot that didn’t hurt.

But to pass the tribulation, one had to stay conscious through eighty-one bolts of lightning.

So far, the most Li Ruan had endured was seventy-three bolts—which was during the last time.

“Let’s not talk about that. Look, it’s almost sunrise,” Li Ruan pointed toward the horizon.

As they spoke, faint rays of light appeared. The light grew brighter and the color deeper, soon staining a large portion of the sky red.

Li Ruan’s eyes reflected the color of the morning glow, clear and translucent. Jiang Shen withdrew his gaze from his face and looked into the distance.

His little fox usually appeared carefree, but living in this world, how could one be without troubles? He was simply good at putting bad memories behind him, just like right now.

At the moment of sunrise, Li Ruan suddenly stood up, pulling Jiang Shen with him.

With a gentle wave of his hand, as the morning glow fell upon Changming Mountain, it was as if a spring breeze had awakened the earth.

The wind blew through the lush canopy, and a hundred flowers bloomed simultaneously.

Jiang Shen was stunned. Turning back, he saw that the withered tree above Li Ruan had sprouted fresh, tender branches.

Clusters of pale pink flowers slowly bloomed on the branches, one after another.

Li Ruan’s eyes were full of smiles and a hint of pride.

“This is what I truly wanted to show you,” Li Ruan said. “A parting gift. Is it beautiful?”

They had met in the harshest winter and were parting in the early spring when all things were reviving.

He had gifted Jiang Shen a mountain full of spring.

For a long time, Jiang Shen couldn’t speak. His throat felt dry, and only after a while did he give a soft laugh. “It’s beautiful.”

“I like it very much.”

“This is the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen in my life.”

He moved closer, cupped Li Ruan’s face, and planted a gentle kiss on his lips. “…And so are you.”

Jiang Shen and Li Ruan stayed on the mountain from sunrise until nearly sunset.

The horizon was filled with ten thousand rays of red light. Li Ruan leaned on Jiang Shen’s shoulder, waiting and waiting, until he finally couldn’t help but call out, “Jiang Shen.”

Jiang Shen: “What is it?”

Li Ruan: “Shouldn’t you be leaving?”

Jiang Shen: “…It seems so.”

“It’s not ‘seems so.'” Li Ruan looked up and pointed at a black eagle circling above them, expressionless. “This stupid bird has been flying over our heads for nearly an hour. It’s really noisy.”

Jiang Shen: “…”

Li Ruan said, “Don’t tell me this has nothing to do with you. If it doesn’t, I’m going to hunt it and eat it right now.”

Of course, it was related.

This black eagle was a gift given to Jiang Shen many years ago by a court official. All these years, he had left it in the care of one of his personal guards. That guard had other tasks and hadn’t followed him south when he went for disaster relief, so he hadn’t been involved in the ambush on Changming Mountain.

Later, when Jiang Shen needed a decoy to go to Jiangnan in his stead, he had chosen this person for the task.

The eagle being here meant they had arrived.

However, this eagle—legendary for being trained since birth and extremely perceptive—was just a “stupid bird” in the eyes of a great demon like Li Ruan.

With Li Ruan present, the bird didn’t even dare to approach; it only dared to circle incessantly above them.

Jiang Shen went silent for a moment, decisively chose not to answer, and turned to pull the little fox into his arms. “I don’t want to go…”

He made his voice extremely soft and even mimicked the little fox’s usual habit of rubbing against the other’s neck.

It was as if he were acting spoiled.

“Go on.” Li Ruan patted his head, somehow becoming the one to comfort him. “Don’t you have a lot of things to handle?”

“…Hold me a bit longer.”

Li Ruan: “One stick of incense.”

Jiang Shen: “Mm, just one stick of incense.”

They said one stick of incense, but in the end, who knows how long they were delayed. The sun set and the moon rose; even the path down the mountain was no longer visible.

Li Ruan had to use magic to bring Jiang Shen down the mountain.

In a forest at the foot of Changming Mountain, a convoy of dozens of people was stationed.

Someone holding a torch ran over to a carriage. “Commander, His Highness told us to wait here, but we’ve been waiting for nearly six hours. Nothing has happened, has it?”

On the shafts at the front of the carriage sat a cold-faced young man in black.

The young man held a long sword in his arms, leaning against the carriage door with his eyes closed. Hearing this, he didn’t even open his eyes. “I have already sent the black eagle to search. The eagle has not returned, which proves His Highness is safe. He is likely held up by something important. Just wait.”

“But… but just a bit further is the territory of Changming Mountain.”

The torch-bearer looked around and lowered his voice. “I’ve heard that Changming Mountain is very eerie—people go in but never come out. Many say demons live inside. And… and you saw it today too. Everywhere else along the way is withered, yet only this Changming Mountain has flowers in full bloom. This anomaly must mean there’s a demon!”

The young man suddenly opened his eyes.

But he didn’t answer. Instead, another voice spoke: “So cowardly? Is this how I taught you all?”

The voice came from the forest. Everyone looked over as Jiang Shen slowly stepped out from the trees.

Everyone knelt together. “Greetings, Crown Prince!”

Jiang Shen walked straight to the young man in black. The young man jumped down and knelt on one knee. “Your subordinate Yu Xiu welcomes Your Highness’s return to the capital.”

Once he stood up, it was clear that this person’s stature and build were almost identical to Jiang Shen’s.

During this time, it was he who had been posing as Jiang Shen in Jiangnan.

“You’ve worked hard during this time.” Jiang Shen patted his shoulder and said, “Everyone, rise.”

The group stood up. Yu Xiu stepped half a pace to the side to help Jiang Shen into the carriage.

Jiang Shen wasn’t in a hurry. He turned and asked the little guard with the torch, “You just said you saw Changming Mountain in full bloom when you arrived?”

It was late now, and being inside the forest, the view of Changming Mountain was obscured.

The little guard nodded repeatedly. “Yes! Walking along the official road, everywhere was desolate, except for Changming Mountain, which looked like it had entered spring overnight. Everyone saw it.”

Jiang Shen pondered for a moment. “Was it beautiful?”

Guard: “Huh?”

Jiang Shen was very patient. “I asked if the scenery was beautiful.”

The guard seemed stunned by the question. “It… it was beautiful. Green mountains and elegant water—it didn’t seem like the mortal world.”

Jiang Shen smiled with satisfaction and leaped into the carriage.

The guard couldn’t react for a long time, but he didn’t dare strike up a conversation with Commander Yu. He could only huddle next to another companion who had been standing close by.

“Don’t you think His Highness seems a bit different than before?” he whispered. “Could he be possessed?”

The companion shook his head. “Doesn’t look like it.”

Guard: “Then what do you think it looks like?”

Companion: “Like he’s lovesick.”

Guard: “?”

With the Crown Prince back, the convoy immediately reorganized and prepared to set off.

Jiang Shen sat in the carriage. Hearing an eagle’s cry outside, he reached out and pulled back the curtain. “By the way, one more thing.”

Yu Xiu: “Your Highness, please instruct me.”

“That stupid bird—starve it for two days.” Jiang Shen glanced at the sky and dropped the curtain. “Too noisy. It’s getting in the way.”

Yu Xiu: “?”

Jiang Shen ignored him and returned to the interior of the carriage.

He took an object from his robe.

It was a pale pink jade pendant with a tassel. The jade was crystal clear, carved into the shape of a little fox.

It was curled up with its tail, round and chubby—from a distance, it looked like a little ball.

This was a little toy Jiang Shen had coaxed Li Ruan into making by plucking a peach blossom during the day. The tassel on it was woven from the hair of both of them.

Jiang Shen looked at the pendant again and again, his thumb tracing the little fox’s face. His eyes were full of smiles. “Wait for me to come back.”

Then, he carefully tucked it back into his robe.

The convoy moved slowly forward. No one noticed that in the dark forest, a figure had quietly appeared.

Li Ruan watched the convoy go further away and gave a soft sigh.

“I really do like you quite a bit, even though I don’t know if it’s the same as your ‘liking.'”

“But I still want to ascend.”

“If you come back for me, it will affect my cultivation.”

Ascension has extremely high requirements for cultivation and state of mind. The deeper the entanglement with the mortal world, the more distracting thoughts in the heart, making success harder.

“If only I had met you earlier. If I had met you earlier, maybe I really could have stayed with you for a lifetime. But now…”

“I can’t fail my ascension again.” Li Ruan pursed his lips, looking a bit dejected. “I remember fewer and fewer things. If I fail again, I might even forget that I wanted to ascend.”

“I don’t want that.”

He took a glass bead from his robe.

Li Ruan looked at it fixedly for a while, then closed his hand and, bit by bit, forcefully crushed the bead.

In the distance, Jiang Shen leaned against the window, looking out at the carriage. A gentle smile still played on his lips.

But suddenly, he seemed to daze out for a second and lowered his head to press his temples.

When he looked up again, his eyes held a hint of confusion.

The smile was gone from his face.

Night had deepened.

Li Ruan returned to the cave, only to find firelight inside. He dazed out for a second before immediately realizing who it was and stepping inside.

Lin Jianxue was sitting by the fire poking the wood. Hearing movement, he looked up. “Sent the person off?”

Li Ruan walked over and nodded. “Mm.”

Then he asked, “How did you know I was going to see him off today?”

“You made Changming Mountain turn to spring overnight. With such a huge commotion, did you really expect me not to know?” Lin Jianxue said. “Just this morning, seven or eight little demons ran to my place to ask what on earth you were up to and if you were planning to flip the whole mountain over.”

Li Ruan lowered his head. “I’m sorry… I wanted him to leave happily.”

“The magic to reverse the seasons consumes so much power, just to coax a man…” Lin Jianxue gave a low huff. “Pathetic.”

Li Ruan did not answer.

He sat down beside Lin Jianxue, arms around his knees, resting his head on them.

“A-Xue, it’s so strange.” Li Ruan’s voice was very low. “I seem… to be a bit sad.”

Lin Jianxue’s movements paused.

“It’s not strange.” He poked at the fire, his tone indifferent. “Parting is always a bit sad. You stayed with him for so long; even if you were raising a small pet, you would have developed feelings.”

Li Ruan turned to look at him. “Then will I be better in a few days?”

“I don’t know.” Lin Jianxue threw the wood in his hand into the fire and said softly, “Everyone is different. Some people forget after a few days apart. But others can’t forget for a lifetime.”

“A lifetime…” Li Ruan murmured. “That would be remembering for a very long time.”

“Yes.” Lin Jianxue gave a silent sigh. The firelight cast flickering shadows on his face, making the old scar at the corner of his eye look blood-red. “Remembering for a very, very long time…”

“Then what should I do?” Li Ruan asked. “Will I remember for that long?”

Lin Jianxue turned back.

He gazed at Li Ruan and said seriously, “You should ask yourself that.”

“Ruan-ruan, no one can make this decision for you,” Lin Jianxue said. “Whether you want ascension or you want Jiang Shen—you have to choose that for yourself.”

Li Ruan: “I really don’t know…”