The Little Fox Spirit Doesn't Want to Carry a Cub - Chapter 24

“What nonsense are you talking about?!”

Jiang Shen stood up abruptly, a deep flush spreading from his neck to his earlobes, his heart pounding erratically. Only after hearing the youth’s words did Jiang Shen realize how close they had been—so close that a slight tilt of his head would have allowed him to touch him.

But he was only… only trying to see clearly, he definitely had no other improper thoughts. He had only met the youth for the first time last night; how could he have such ideas?

“I’m not talking nonsense,” Li Ruan sat up, looking up at Jiang Shen as if he hadn’t said anything scandalous. “That was the exact expression you had whenever you wanted to kiss me before.”

Jiang Shen’s ears burned, and he was too flustered to look at him. But hearing this, he couldn’t help but ask: “Did I… kiss you before?”

Li Ruan: “Many, many times.”

Jiang Shen’s mind was in turmoil when he felt a gentle tug on his sleeve.

“You don’t remember, do you?” the youth whispered, his tone not aggrieved, but almost considerate. “Do you want me to help you remember?”

Jiang Shen’s breath hitched. He looked over almost uncontrollably. The youth’s lips looked incredibly soft, without any makeup, a beautiful and natural pale pink. Unlike Jiang Shen’s naturally thin lips, the youth’s were perfectly full, parting slightly as he spoke to reveal a soft, pink tongue.

He wondered what it would feel like to kiss them. Jiang Shen dazed for a moment, then caught the youth’s slightly mischievous gaze and immediately snapped back to his senses.

“You’re intentionally enticing me,” Jiang Shen looked away, his tone a bit annoyed. “You’re the one who wants to kiss me.”

“Yeah,” Li Ruan admitted frankly without a hint of shyness. “You haven’t kissed me in so long. Kiss me.”

Kissing was secondary; he was actually craving Jiang Shen’s essence. Now that Jiang Shen didn’t recognize him and kept his distance, he had almost no chance to absorb it. He couldn’t just say he was a demon and came to find him for food. He could only use this method—because he was truly starving.

Li Ruan wondered if this was due to the cub in his belly. Since reuniting with Jiang Shen, he craved him more than ever. He wanted his essence, wanted to be stuck to him at all times, and wanted… dual cultivation. Thinking of this, Li Ruan felt a wave of melancholy. If only he hadn’t wiped Jiang Shen’s memory, they would have done it many times by now.

Jiang Shen, unaware of these thoughts, saw the youth lower his head in dejection when he didn’t respond. Is he that sad just because I won’t let him kiss me? A sliver of guilt surfaced in Jiang Shen’s heart.

Does this youth… truly love him that much?

On second thought, the youth must have some special abilities, or he wouldn’t have been able to bypass the guards repeatedly. Whether it was intruding into the Prince’s quarters or this Ancestral Hall, getting caught carried a death sentence. Yet he risked such danger just to be with him. Was that not love enough?

Jiang Shen’s gaze softened. “Give me a little more time, okay?” he consoled. “I… I don’t know why I lost my memory, but it wasn’t my intention. What you want, I cannot satisfy for now. Give me time to find those memories. If our past is as you say, I will never fail you.”

Jiang Shen had known him for less than twenty-four hours; it was rationally impossible for him to do something so… transgressive of etiquette right now. He wasn’t a beast.

“…Fine,” Li Ruan said with disappointment. “I understand you don’t remember. It’s okay.” He then asked, “How much time do you need? Don’t take too long; I can’t wait that long.”

The situation was indeed urgent. The cub was constantly absorbing his spiritual power, and Li Ruan, having only recently recovered his strength, couldn’t sustain this indefinitely. If delayed too long, he might actually revert to his fox form.

Seeing his expression, Jiang Shen’s heart softened further. He leaned down slightly and touched the youth’s hair: “It won’t be long, I promise.”

When the manager brought dinner, Li Ruan obediently hid in the back of the hall. Although it was a fast, a Prince’s meal was still exquisite. Li Ruan came out to find seven or eight dishes of fine vegetarian food, though there was only one set of bowls and chopsticks.

“The people here are sharp; asking for a second set would be too suspicious. Let’s make do,” Jiang Shen said, sharing his soup bowl and spoon. “What do you want? I’ll get it for you.”

Li Ruan didn’t mind. Back on the mountain, they rarely used chopsticks anyway. He scanned the table and frowned: “Why isn’t there any meat?”

“Fasting means eating vegetarian,” Jiang Shen teased, finding his reaction adorable. “If you want meat, go back to the courtyard from last night; I’ll have someone send it.”

Li Ruan shook his head: “Forget it. I want to be with you.”

Even without essence, staying by Jiang Shen’s side felt more comfortable. Jiang Shen, thinking the youth was simply too in love to leave him for a second, felt a surge of pride and gave him some food. “Try this. It’s tofu, but it tastes like meat.”

They shared the meal with one set of utensils. Jiang Shen observed closely, noting that the youth disliked green vegetables but loved sweets, drinking three bowls of the final sweet soup.

After eating, Li Ruan went to the side room to rest. As soon as the manager cleared the table and left, Jiang Shen walked in to find the youth curled on the couch rubbing his belly. “So full…”

Jiang Shen laughed. “And you said you only want meat? You ate everything except the greens.”

“I was hungry all day,” Li Ruan argued. “And I have a cub now; I have to eat for two.”

The cub again. Jiang Shen’s brows knitted. He could now easily tell when the youth was telling the truth. When lying, he looked guilty and tense, like a wary animal. But when mentioning the pregnancy, he was completely relaxed and serious.

But… a man really can’t get pregnant, right? Jiang Shen began to doubt himself. He decided he must have the imperial physician examine the little fellow once they left.

Li Ruan soon drifted off. Some time later, he woke to a strange smell. The room was dark, and the air was filled with a faint, pungent odor. While a mortal might not notice it, a demon’s sense of smell was far more sensitive.

He looked out the window. The lights in the main hall were still on, but Jiang Shen was no longer at his desk. Where was he?

Li Ruan was about to look for him when he heard a noise. He cast a spell, turned into a wisp of blue smoke, and flew out the window.

The temple was shrouded in darkness. A silhouette was sneaking behind the main hall carrying a heavy bucket. Just as he was about to splash it on the wall, Li Ruan’s voice rang out: “What’s that?”

The intruder jumped, dropping the bucket. A thick, dark liquid spilled out, and the smell became unbearable.

“Who… who are you?!”

Li Ruan covered his nose, feeling nauseous. “Who are you? Why are you messing with this stinky stuff at midnight?”

The intruder didn’t answer but drew a blade. A flash of silver sliced through the dark. The man was a trained assassin, but Li Ruan simply leaped into the air, easily dodging. No matter how skilled, the man was only mortal. Li Ruan had never lost a fight in the demon realm; the assassin couldn’t even touch his hem.

“You’re being unreasonable! I just asked a question; why are you hitting me?” Li Ruan was getting angry.

The assassin, realizing he was no match, threw his sword and pulled out a fire starter. He blew on it and tossed it. Sparks ignited the dark liquid on the walls and ground. Flames suddenly surged up.

Jiang Shen wasn’t far away. He stood under a high wall where Yu Xiu knelt before him.

“Caught them?” Jiang Shen asked.

“Yes. Twenty-nine dead-soldiers total. All are under control,” Yu Xiu reported. He signaled, and two guards brought forward a masked man—it was the Head of the Bureau of Sacrifices.

“So it was Master Li,” Jiang Shen smiled coldly. “You’re a civil official; why did you come to kill me personally?”

The old man looked disheveled. “You guessed it long ago?”

“Guessed that you’d send assassins while I was alone praying? Not hard,” Jiang Shen’s eyes were cold. “Why didn’t you think about why I suddenly proposed this ritual right after returning to the capital?”

The official froze. “You… you planned this from the start?”

Jiang Shen had intentionally targeted certain officials to lure out the hidden traitors. This trip was a trap to force them to the surface. “But I didn’t think it was you. You’ve been in the Bureau since the previous Emperor; why support the Third Prince?”

“The Third Prince is talented,” the official replied.

“Talented, perhaps,” Jiang Shen agreed. “But he lacks morals. He let a playboy kidnap an innocent girl and used his status to cover it up when she died. Is that a good Emperor? Or is the Third Prince just a shield for someone else?”

Before the official could answer, a guard shouted: “Your Highness, the Ancestral Hall—!”

Jiang Shen looked up to see flames lighting up the night sky.

“Put out the fire!” he barked.

The old official laughed. “You missed one move. I sent thirty men; the first twenty-nine were just to pave the way for the last one.”

Jiang Shen didn’t listen; he sprinted toward the hall. He realized the plan: the official didn’t intend to kill him, but to burn the Ancestral Hall. If the ancestral tablets were damaged while the Prince was praying, Jiang Shen would be a sinner in the eyes of the Heavens and the people. It would shake his right to the throne.

But more importantly… Li Ruan was still inside.

As he ran, something cold hit his face. He touched it. Rain?

The drizzle quickly turned into a downpour, soaking Jiang Shen instantly and drenching the flames. The guards froze in awe, then knelt. “Heaven’s blessing! Protection for the Prince!”

Jiang Shen didn’t stop. He ran to the side room and found the youth lying on the couch, rubbing his eyes tiredly. “You’re back…”

“You…” Jiang Shen’s brow furrowed. The youth looked pale and exhausted. “Were you sleeping this whole time?”

The youth didn’t answer. He looked even more weary than before. Jiang Shen wanted to step forward but was soaked; the youth, however, pounced into his arms.

“I’m wet, don’t—”

“Let me hug you,” Li Ruan interrupted softly. “Just for a moment. I’m so tired…”

This rain was Li Ruan’s doing. He had used a high-level spell to reverse the weather and extinguish the fire. The cost was immense; he barely had the strength to keep his eyes open. He ignored the water dripping from Jiang Shen and took two deep breaths of his essence. He had to—if he didn’t, his tail was about to pop out.

“I just helped you. Don’t be mad at me, okay?” Li Ruan murmured, his consciousness fading. “Let me sleep a bit…”

Later, inside the room, the imperial physician knelt in shock. “P-P-Prince!”

“Quiet. You’ll wake him,” Jiang Shen whispered. He had changed into dry clothes and put Li Ruan in a fresh set too. The small youth was curled in his arms, gripping his sleeve.

“Your Highness, this is the Ancestral Hall,” the physician whispered. “If someone sees…”

“Keep my secret, then,” Jiang Shen said. “He won’t wake up. Tell me what’s wrong.”

The physician checked Li Ruan’s pulse. “It’s just extreme exhaustion. Let him rest and eat well when he wakes. No medicine needed.”

“Just sleeping?” Jiang Shen asked. “How is he exhausted? He’s been sleeping all day.”

The physician gave him a meaningful look. Jiang Shen realized what he was implying and his ears turned hot. “I haven’t touched him!”

The physician clearly didn’t believe him. “Aside from that, is there anything else? His body is perfectly healthy.”

Jiang Shen hesitated, his eyes falling on the youth’s belly. “Is he… pregnant?”

Physician: “?” Jiang Shen: “?”

“Does Your Highness need me to check your pulse?” the physician asked with concern. “You hit your head during the ambush; are you feeling alright?”

“I know a man can’t get pregnant!” Jiang Shen snapped. “It’s him—he keeps insisting he’s carrying my child.”

The physician checked again, even looking at Li Ruan’s eyelids. “He has no injuries or illness. Such a delusion… perhaps it comes from a great shock.”

“A shock?”

“Yes,” the physician hypothesized. “Perhaps the trauma of your departure made his mind create a fantasy—believing that if he were pregnant, you would stay. Poor boy…”

Jiang Shen looked down at the youth. He was whimpering in his sleep: “Jiang Shen, hug me…”

Jiang Shen’s heart ached. It’s all my fault.