The Little Fox Spirit Doesn't Want to Carry a Cub - Chapter 3

Li Ruan was truly feeling a bit aggrieved.

The legs of a wild pheasant are the most tender and delicious part of the entire bird. He couldn’t even bear to eat them himself, specifically saving them for the very end. Giving one to this mortal was already a painful sacrifice; now that he had given both away, how could he not feel distressed?

Li Ruan was so sad that his ears drooped, and he even forgot to maintain his distance from the man.

The reason for keeping his distance was naturally not out of fear, as Jiang Shen had guessed. On the contrary, Li Ruan was worried about scaring him. This mortal had already fainted once from shock; if it happened again, what if he were scared to death?

Li Ruan decided to take things step by step: maintain distance first and pretend to be an ordinary fox.

As for dual cultivation, it wouldn’t be too late to mention it after he had nursed the man back to health and the man had fully accepted him.

Li Ruan felt there wasn’t a more considerate fox demon in this world than himself.

But the man seemed completely unable to appreciate his well-intentioned efforts.

He simply stared at him. As he watched, he couldn’t hold it in and suddenly let out a soft pfft of laughter.

Li Ruan: “?”

How rude.

Li Ruan’s grievance was instantly replaced by annoyance, and he flicked his tail displeasedly. If it weren’t for the fact that this mortal’s injuries hadn’t healed, he would have resorted to physical violence.

The light laughter caused a dull pain in his chest. Jiang Shen coughed softly a few times and took several breaths before finally calming down.

He didn’t do it on purpose; it was just that… this little fox was too cute.

The little fox’s stature was much smaller than an average fox, closer to the juvenile state of the species. But ordinary wild fox cubs wouldn’t have such brightly colored, fluffy, and soft fur. Especially when it sat down and habitually curled its tail around its body; at a glance, it looked like a fluffy ball of yarn.

Combined with those vivid little expressions, it was hard not to find it endearing.

Looking at it made Jiang Shen’s hands itch.

He really wanted to pet it.

Unfortunately, it was quite inconvenient. Jiang Shen was currently lying flat by the bonfire, and the little fox was crouching to his left. Because of the injury to his left shoulder, he couldn’t lift his left hand yet.

He had to let it go for now.

Jiang Shen had liked these fluffy small animals since he was a child—kittens, puppies, little birds. When he was young, he would always find ways to keep them in his bedchamber.

Because of this, he was often scolded by his Imperial Father and Mother for “neglecting his duties through idle play.”

As the Crown Prince, he was born with a burden and responsibility much heavier than ordinary people, and he was less his own master. Therefore, after his Imperial Father ordered all the small animals he kept in the palace to be killed, he never touched those little creatures again.

Thinking of this, the smile on Jiang Shen’s face faded slightly.

Li Ruan felt that mortals were sometimes truly hard to understand.

For example, right now, he didn’t understand at all why the man’s mood had suddenly turned somewhat low for no reason.

He tilted his head and was about to open his mouth to ask, but then remembered his plan to pretend to be an ordinary fox. He quickly raised a paw to cover his mouth, forcefully swallowing the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

The movement was quite strange for a fox, but Li Ruan had been human for hundreds of years and had only recently been beaten back to his original form; it was difficult to adjust his behavior and manners all at once.

The man, as expected, noticed this and looked up at him.

The little fox quickly pretended to lick its paw and met his gaze innocently: “Awoo… awoo?”

The cry was very soft and gentle, like a small hook lightly scratching at the heart.

However, he couldn’t fool Jiang Shen this way.

Being so sentient and behaving so much like a human reminded Jiang Shen that before he fainted at the bottom of the cliff, he seemed to have heard this little fellow speak in human tongue.

It was just that he had just fallen from the cliff then and had lain in the snow for a long time; his consciousness was muddled. Thinking back now, he wasn’t sure if it was something that actually happened or just a dream he had.

Jiang Shen thought for a moment and deliberately asked, “Why aren’t you talking to me anymore? Can’t you speak?”

The little fox blinked and tilted its head again, its expression somewhat confused, as if it didn’t understand what he was saying.

It was a very convincing act.

Jiang Shen pursed his lips, not in a hurry to continue testing it.

The fact that this little fox had dragged him into the cave, built a fire to keep him warm, and shared food with him was enough to prove that it wouldn’t harm him.

Jiang Shen had entered the capital in secret this time. Now that it was confirmed the secret letter summoning him to the capital was fake, no one knew his whereabouts except for the mastermind. Therefore, it was unlikely anyone would come into these mountains to rescue him.

His injuries were not light; continuing to hide here to recover was currently the best choice.

The fact that this little fox bore no ill will was the best possible thing for Jiang Shen.

As for whether this was truly a little demon, he would find out sooner or later.

Jiang Shen pondered for a moment and quickly made a decision. He turned his head toward the two chicken legs the little fox had placed by his hand and said, “These are raw. I don’t eat raw food.”

Li Ruan: “?”

Mortals are so troublesome.

Li Ruan had cultivated in the mountains for hundreds of years and had almost never dealt with mortals. However, thinking back, he did seem to have heard that mortals mostly enjoyed cooking their food over a fire and rarely ate things raw.

But once food was cooked, wouldn’t the meat become dry and tough? How could it compare to fresh meat?

Incomprehensible.

Li Ruan stared at him.

He was already so thin, yet he was still a picky eater.

Mortals were truly hard to raise.

But there was no helping it; he had waited half a month only to wait for this one mortal, so he couldn’t just let him starve to death. Li Ruan muttered internally about the waste of good food as he lowered his head to pick up a chicken leg, intending to throw it into the fire to roast it for him.

Just as he picked it up, he heard the man speak again: “Wait.”

“You plan to roast it just like that?”

Li Ruan’s ears twitched.

How else?

He couldn’t be expected to skin and debone it as a fox and then stir-fry it in a pot.

That was asking too much of a fox.

The man sighed: “I’ll do it myself. Can you help me find some branches? Something sturdy.”

Li Ruan narrowed his eyes.

With you in that state?

Perhaps the little fox’s body language was truly vivid, for Jiang Shen completely understood its meaning. He used his intact right hand to support his body and slowly sat up from the straw.

Jiang Shen had practiced martial arts since childhood; these injuries would affect his movement, but they didn’t make him completely immobile.

Even so, such a simple movement still caused a layer of fine sweat to break out on his forehead.

Jiang Shen exhaled and reached out toward the little fox: “Give it to me.”

Li Ruan looked him up and down for a moment, placed the chicken leg in his hand, and turned to run out of the cave.

Jiang Shen watched that streak of bright red disappear at the cave entrance. Amidst the crackling of the fire, he withdrew his gaze and suddenly shook his head with a light laugh: “In moments like this, you understand human words perfectly well, you silly fox.”

Before long, the little fox returned with branches.

Following Jiang Shen’s instructions, he had found branches that were one to two fingers wide—thick and sturdy, bundled together with a vine. There was a large bundle of them.

Tucked in the middle of the branches was a type of grass Jiang Shen had never seen before.

“This is…” Jiang Shen picked it up and sniffed it. “Medicinal herbs?”

The little fox nodded and proudly puffed out its chest, its fluffy pointed ears standing tall.

Incredibly smug.

The man had taken the life-sustaining elixir, but his external wounds still needed treatment—especially that wound on his shoulder, which was still continuously seeping blood.

Li Ruan had originally planned to find herbs for him after finishing his meal.

Jiang Shen was caught between laughter and tears by the little fox’s behavior and cooperated by praising it: “Very impressive.”

To be impressive to this extent—no three-year-old child would believe it wasn’t a demon.

Jiang Shen was in no rush to clean his wounds. Instead, he handed the two chicken legs back to the little fox. While waiting for the fox to return, he had already cleaned the feathers off the legs; he needed the fox to carry them to the water to wash them.

After the blood and grime were washed away, he skewered them with branches and placed them by the fire to roast slowly.

Although Jiang Shen was the high and mighty Crown Prince, he wasn’t the type to have everything handed to him. When he was sixteen, he had requested to go to the border, where he lived alongside the soldiers for two years; this kind of task didn’t faze him.

Nor did bandaging himself.

Li Ruan ran out a few more times, gathering the cleanest snow from the treetops, wrapping it in large leaves, and dragging it back into the cave. Once the snow melted, it could be used as fresh water.

Having finished this, Li Ruan crouched by the fire, watching the man bandage himself.

Likely because the wounds still pained him greatly, the man’s movements were slow and not particularly skillful. Li Ruan watched for a while, and his attention was unconsciously drawn to the roasting chicken legs nearby.

Because… it smelled. So. Good!

This wild pheasant was very plump. Before long, it began to sizzle, and the aroma of the heated fat drifted through the entire cave. Li Ruan stared at the oil bubbling out and swallowed his saliva, discovering for the first time that roasted chicken legs smelled this delicious.

If he had known, he would have saved one for himself.

But Li Ruan considered himself a fox demon of integrity; there was no reason to take back something already given away. He glanced at the roasting legs, then at the man before him, and silently stood up, taking a step back.

No, he could still smell the aroma. Another step back.

And another step.

Thus, when Jiang Shen finished treating all his wounds and looked up, the little fox had almost hidden itself outside the cave.

It was still staring longingly at the roasting chicken legs by the fire.

“Do you want to eat?” Jiang Shen’s tone was casual, deliberately teasing him. “If you want to eat, you have to speak. If you don’t say anything, how will I know?”

Trying to trick a fox into exposing that he could speak human tongue? He wasn’t an idiot; he wouldn’t fall for that.

Li Ruan shook his head firmly.

I’m not eating. I don’t want to eat at all.

“Not eating? Well then…” Jiang Shen seemed quite regretful.

This method of roasting wild game was something an old soldier had taught him during his time with the garrison. The right distance would roast the meat until it was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Combined with the naturally fresh and tender quality of wild meat, the taste wouldn’t be bad even without seasonings.

Jiang Shen took a chicken leg and bit into it, skin and all. The mellow, juicy texture of the chicken burst across his palate.

The cave wasn’t large, but the entrance seemed to be shielded by dense foliage, letting in very little light; thus, Jiang Shen couldn’t tell what time it was. Previously, the discomfort of his body had overridden his hunger, but now that he was eating, he realized he was famished.

But even so, Jiang Shen’s movements didn’t appear rushed in the slightest.

He ate very slowly, chewing every bite thoroughly. His every gesture carried an innate elegance and poise.

While eating, he used his peripheral vision to glance at the little fox in the distance.

The little fox remained sitting quietly in place.

It had curled itself back into a fluffy ball, even its ears drooping, making it look rounder than before. Those clear eyes were fixed on Jiang Shen. It didn’t say a word, yet it looked as though it had suffered a massive grievance.

Specifically, every time Jiang Shen took a bite, the tip of that tail resting on the ground would flick slightly and then curl back up dejectedly.

It made one feel very guilty.

Jiang Shen: “…”

Jiang Shen sighed and stopped teasing it: “Come here. This remaining one is for you.”

The little fox blinked, seemingly unable to believe it.

Seeing it still hesitating, Jiang Shen picked up the branch with the chicken leg and said deliberately: “I’m counting to three. If you don’t want it, I’m eating it. One, two…”

A gust of light wind rose in the cave.

The little fox’s movements were agile and light. It flew to Jiang Shen’s side and leaped up. Jiang Shen only felt that soft fur sweep across the back of his hand, and the chicken leg was already gone, snatched away by the fox.

As if worried Jiang Shen would change his mind, it backed up half a step, turned its back to him, and lay on the ground eating with great relish.

The little fox was very close this time. Every strand of fur was distinct, and the fluffy tail wagged happily behind it. When the tip of the tail swept by, it was only inches away from Jiang Shen.

Jiang Shen rubbed his fingers together, his heart itching from that fleeting sensation.

Even for someone completely uninterested in small animals, having such a fluffy little thing crouching by one’s hand made it hard to resist reaching out to touch it.

Jiang Shen looked at the bonfire before him, his face expressionless. Timing it carefully, he quietly lowered his hand. Sure enough, after a moment, he felt a soft touch on his fingertips.

Silky, slightly cool, and gone in an instant.

It was the little fox’s tail accidentally brushing against his hand.

Likely because it was eating too intently, the little fox didn’t notice anything unusual at all. The tail continued to wag happily back and forth. Jiang Shen took the opportunity to hook the tip of the tail with his fingers to play with it, even closing his fingers to give it a gentle squeeze.

This time, the little fox finally sensed something was wrong. It turned its head and blinked its eyes in confusion.

Jiang Shen withdrew his hand as if nothing had happened: “It’s nothing. Carry on eating.”