The Little Fox Spirit Doesn't Want to Carry a Cub - Chapter 8

Upon returning to the cave, Jiang Shen immediately began bandaging the little fox.

The wound on the little fox’s hind leg wasn’t large, and the bleeding had already stopped, but the blood-stained fur had clumped together into several dark red tufts.

Jiang Shen touched it lightly, causing the little fox to shudder in pain.

“Endure it for a bit.”

Jiang Shen’s movements were very gentle. He used fresh water to carefully clean the wound before applying medicinal herbs.

Fortunately, there were leftover herbs from those the little fox had previously gathered. As Jiang Shen bandaged him, he observed the little fox’s expression.

This time, the fox was truly close to tears. He bit onto the hem of Jiang Shen’s robe, his red eyes watery, letting out soft, whimpering whines.

Jiang Shen said, “Clearly it hurts quite a bit, yet you insisted on acting as if nothing was wrong just now.”

What a face-saving little demon.

“It… it didn’t hurt that much,” the little fox argued in a small voice. “It was far less than before.”

This wasn’t a lie.

Compared to the searing pain of being struck by Heavenly Thunder, which burned his entire body from the inside out, this injury truly didn’t hurt much. However, pain is still pain; just because one has experienced worse doesn’t mean one becomes immune to it.

He really was afraid of pain.

The little fox was thinking dejectedly, not noticing that Jiang Shen’s movements had momentarily paused.

“Were you… very severely injured before?” Jiang Shen asked him.

Previously, Jiang Shen had been skeptical about the little fox’s claims of being a “great demon,” but after witnessing him fight the weasel spirit today, most of those doubts had vanished.

Despite his tiny body, he had sent a weasel spirit with three hundred years of cultivation fleeing in panic.

He likely really was powerful.

But… why had he become like this?

Jiang Shen truly wanted to know.

However, the little fox only lay across his lap, his tail resting on the ground swaying slightly, offering no answer.

He likely still doesn’t want to talk about it.

Jiang Shen understood and didn’t press further.

Once the medicine was applied, Jiang Shen tore a strip of cloth to wrap the leg, tidied the fox’s ruffled fur, and then went outside the cave to deal with the fish the little fox had caught.

He pulled the dagger from his bundle and skillfully gutted and descaled the fish.

This dagger, which could cut through iron and had been blessed by a high monk, could only be used for such mundane tasks in the wilderness.

The weeds outside the cave had been cleared once. Li Ruan’s leg pain gradually subsided, and he lay listlessly on Jiang Shen’s small bed. From there, he could see the silhouette at the cave entrance.

Jiang Shen was now very adept at preparing ingredients. His movements were fluid and elegant, his knife-work decisive.

A beautiful person remains beautiful regardless of what they are doing.

It was no exaggeration to call it a feast for the eyes.

Li Ruan stared at Jiang Shen for a while, feeling a warmth in his heart.

Relationships among the demon race were indifferent, and Li Ruan didn’t have many friends. In the past, no matter how badly he was injured, no one had ever applied medicine for him or prepared food for him.

Take that weasel spirit from today; he had been beaten so badly that he was likely hiding in his own cave right now, licking his own wounds. He certainly didn’t have the treatment Li Ruan was receiving.

No wonder mortals enjoyed living together.

The feeling of being looked after was indeed quite nice.

“What are you daydreaming about?”

The little fox was so lost in thought that he hadn’t noticed when Jiang Shen returned, carrying two cleaned carp skewered on branches.

He set the carp by the fire to roast slowly and sat down at the edge of the bed.

“Jiang Shen, let me tell you my story.” Li Ruan crawled forward two steps and rested his head on Jiang Shen’s leg.

Ever since he had consumed Jiang Shen’s essence, he had become very fond of nuzzling and clinging to him.

Of course, Li Ruan wasn’t like those common mortal pets that only knew how to act spoiled; he did this to restore his spiritual power. He had discovered that sometimes, even if they did nothing, simply being close to the man made his body feel much more comfortable.

Jiang Shen took the opportunity to stroke the little fox’s head a few times and knead the back of his neck.

The little fox didn’t like people touching his ears, but he loved having the back of his neck kneaded. Every time Jiang Shen did it, his body would go limp. If Jiang Shen stroked his back as well, he would even hum softly in contentment.

These were things Jiang Shen had slowly figured out recently.

The sky outside was now completely dark. The campfire in the center of the cave burned brightly, the wood crackling and popping. The firelight illuminated the entire cave as if it were day, adding a touch of tranquility.

Jiang Shen kneaded the fluff-ball under his hand for a while before asking, “Why have you suddenly decided to tell me?”

“Because I consider you a friend,” Li Ruan said, then paused in confusion. “How did you know I didn’t want to tell you before?”

Jiang Shen remained silent.

Naturally, it was because this fox seemed completely incapable of hiding his thoughts or telling a lie. Whenever there was something he didn’t want to answer, he would either change the subject or play dumb.

Does he really think he’s been hiding it well?

Jiang Shen stroked the fox’s back twice and didn’t expose him.

Li Ruan hummed under the touch and quickly forgot the question. With his head resting on Jiang Shen’s leg and his eyes closed, he said slowly, “Let me tell you. High above our heads, at the height of the Ninth Heaven, lies the Immortal Realm.”

“The Immortal Realm is completely different from the human world. There is no sickness, no disaster, no war, and no death. But humans and demons from the mortal realm cannot easily set foot there. There is only one way to go up: through the Tribulation Clouds and the Heavenly Thunder.”

“81 bolts of Heavenly Thunder. If you can endure them, you can cleanse your marrow and bones, shed your mortal coil, and ascend to the Immortal Realm.”

At this point, he suddenly thought of something, looked up, and asked Jiang Shen, “Do you believe what I’m telling you?”

Jiang Shen: “Why do you ask?”

“Because no one else believes it.” Li Ruan wagged his tail dejectedly. “The Immortal Realm exists; it’s just that they have never seen it.”

“Before coming to Mount Changming, I didn’t believe there were demons in this world either,” Jiang Shen said. “But in this world, how many people can claim to be so experienced that they know everything? To disbelieve simply because one hasn’t seen it—that is their own limitation.”

He himself had once been that limited.

But after experiencing all of this, he would never again easily dismiss things he hadn’t seen.

“I think so too!” Li Ruan became happy again and said excitedly, “So, I want to ascend to the Immortal Realm. And besides, I can summon the Tribulation Clouds and Heavenly Thunder at any time. As long as I want to, I can undergo the Tribulation. Even A-Xue can’t do that.”

But hearing this, Jiang Shen frowned. “I remember you said A-Xue has cultivated for a thousand years. Since even he cannot do it, why can you?”

Li Ruan blinked. “…That’s true. Why can I? How strange.”

Jiang Shen: “?”

He’s only starting to find it strange now?

The little fox had clearly never considered this question. He lowered his head in thought for a good while before saying uncertainly, “Maybe because I have ‘Immortal Fate’?”

Jiang Shen: “…”

Can this little muddle-head really become an immortal?

Jiang Shen sighed and said, “Continue.”

“Oh,” Li Ruan went on. “Then there’s not much else. I just failed my ascension, got beaten back to my original form, and couldn’t continue my cultivation.” He nuzzled Jiang Shen’s leg. “That’s why I need to rely on you to help me restore my power.”

So that was it.

Jiang Shen had wondered how the little fox—who had apparently never left Mount Changming and had no powerful enemies in the mountains—had been injured so badly that he reverted to his original form.

It turned out it was the Heavenly Thunder.

But Jiang Shen still found some parts strange. “Why do you know so much about ascension? Have you… been there before?”

The little fox fell silent.

Jiang Shen thought he didn’t want to say and was about to change the subject, but then he heard Li Ruan say, “I don’t remember.”

“You don’t remember?”

Li Ruan gave an “en.” “I’m not lying to you, nor am I avoiding the question. I just… I really can’t remember.”

“I don’t remember where I came from, or why I wanted to ascend. A-Xue said I probably underwent the Tribulation too many times and the Heavenly Thunder broke my brain, which is why I forgot everything from before.”

Jiang Shen’s hand, which was stroking the little fox’s head, quietly stopped.

He had never known.

This little fox was full of energy every day, as if he were born without worries and never took anything to heart.

He hadn’t expected the fox to have gone through such things.

But the little fox didn’t seem particularly sad; instead, he was a bit unhappy that Jiang Shen had stopped petting him. He pushed his head into Jiang Shen’s palm, signaling him to continue.

“My brain isn’t broken; I’ve just forgotten temporarily,” Li Ruan said with full energy. “Once I ascend, I’ll definitely remember everything.”

Jiang Shen smiled and replied softly, “Yes, you will remember.”

As the man and fox talked, the fish was gradually done.

Li Ruan was so comfortable he didn’t want to get off Jiang Shen, so Jiang Shen held the roasted fish and deboned it to feed him.

After finishing the two fish, Li Ruan flipped over, letting Jiang Shen rub his belly.

Li Ruan had fought a battle today and had been injured. Now that his stomach was full, he was starting to feel sleepy. He was soon lured into a daze by Jiang Shen’s stroking, but in his half-asleep state, he suddenly remembered something.

“No, I can’t sleep…” Li Ruan forced his eyes open against the drowsiness.

Jiang Shen asked him, “What’s wrong?”

Li Ruan’s voice was thick with sleep, as if he might drop off at any second. “You promised me on the way back today that I could step on you. I haven’t forgotten. Don’t think you can… um, ‘pass the gate under false pretenses’.”

That idiom probably wasn’t used correctly.

Jiang Shen laughed softly and asked, “But do you still have the strength to step?”

“Of course…”

The little fox was so tired he couldn’t even keep his eyes open; they were narrowed into slits, his eyelids drooping heavily. He clambered onto Jiang Shen’s lap in a daze, his small paws stepping here and there, unable even to find the right spot.

Jiang Shen watched him struggle for a long time and was about to advise him to give up, when suddenly, the little fox stepped down hard, right on target.

“Hiss—” Jiang Shen gasped in pain.

Having finally found the right spot, the little fox gripped that small section of clothing tightly with his paws, refusing to let go. Jiang Shen didn’t dare move; he was laughed into exasperation. “Are you trying to ruin me?”

“If you ruin me, you can forget about dual cultivation forever.”

The little fox’s brain wasn’t very sharp due to the sleepiness, but he understood that sentence.

He quickly released his grip, and the pressure of his steps became much lighter.

This time, it was a completely different sensation.

The little fox’s paws were very soft, with plush fur covering tender pads, and his sharp claws were carefully retracted. Every step felt like it was treading on the strings of Jiang Shen’s heart.

Jiang Shen’s breathing became ragged. His hand hung in mid-air, and he didn’t move for a long time.

Since childhood, Jiang Shen had disliked people getting close to him. While other royal scions would have palace maids sent to their chambers by age fifteen or sixteen, and even Jiang Shen’s younger brothers already had many wives and concubines at a young age—

Jiang Shen’s palace remained empty to this day.

There was no complex reason; he simply felt a sense of loathing and didn’t want to touch people of unknown origin.

At one point, his Mother was so frightened she thought he had a hidden physical ailment; she approached him indirectly several times and, after learning the truth, tried to persuade him many more times.

Only with heirs can one successfully fight for the throne.

Jiang Shen was indifferent.

The throne should have been his regardless. Even if he truly had to fight for it in the future, he disdained using such a method.

Thus, in his twenty-three years of life, Jiang Shen had never let anyone close to his body.

Only this silly fox.

They say fox spirits are best at playing with the human heart; the principles Jiang Shen had maintained for over twenty years were completely discarded in front of him.

“That’s enough.” Jiang Shen breathed deeply, trying his best to calm himself. He said in a low voice, “Little fox, stop…”

The moment he spoke, he realized the little fox hadn’t moved for a long time.

That small ball of fluff was sprawled across Jiang Shen’s lap, his two paws stretched out stiffly, his claws hooked into Jiang Shen’s clothes—but he had already fallen asleep.

He fell asleep.

Jiang Shen nearly couldn’t catch his breath.

However, being asleep was better than continuing. Jiang Shen didn’t consider himself a perfect gentleman, but he would absolutely never do… that… with a fox. He took the little fox’s paws, gently unhooked the claws from his clothes, and picked him up.

By his bed, there was a small nest also lined with straw.

That was where the little fox slept.

Usually, the little fox was clingy during the day but never slept with Jiang Shen at night, always jumping into his own nest to rest.

But perhaps because he was injured, the little fox was much more clingy today than usual, actually falling asleep on Jiang Shen for the first time. Just as Jiang Shen was about to move him off the bed, the little fox seemed to be startled; he reached out his paws and gripped Jiang Shen’s clothes tightly.

His small paws were balled into fists, holding on firm.

Every time Jiang Shen gently pried a paw away, the fox would grab back on.

Even that long, fluffy tail wrapped around Jiang Shen’s waist.

Jiang Shen simply gave up and let go; the little fox actually hung onto him steadily, his head even rubbing against Jiang Shen’s chest.

Jiang Shen: “…”

Since childhood, Jiang Shen had never shared a bed with anyone.

But this was a fox, not a person, so if the principles were relaxed a little… it shouldn’t matter?

Thinking this, Jiang Shen sighed silently and lay down, cradling the little fox.

The little fox’s body was very warm, like being covered by a toasty plush blanket. After holding him for a while, Jiang Shen felt drowsiness wash over him, and before long, he too fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, Li Ruan woke up very early.

The moment he opened his eyes, he felt something was wrong. But having just woken from a dream, he was still a bit muddled and couldn’t immediately figure out what it was. He instinctively looked up and saw the man’s face right in front of him.

Li Ruan blinked.

Why does Jiang Shen… seem to have become smaller?

But he soon discovered it wasn’t that Jiang Shen had become smaller, but that he himself had become larger.

Li Ruan looked down and saw his own hands.

Fair, slender, with a hint of pink at the fingertips, gripping Jiang Shen’s clothes tightly.

They were no longer fluffy paws, but the hands of a mortal.

He had… transformed back into a human?