"Whatever the reason, it's none of your business." After sorting through her emotions, Hu Po finally straightened up, realizing her own weakness: "And I won't let you touch him again. If it weren't for you, he wouldn't have died at all!"
"Is that so?" Provoked, Yan Liu clearly grew excited: "Very well, I'd like to see how you plan to stop me." As she spoke, she began withdrawing her hand, slowly pulling out a Silver Thread from her wide sleeve.
Hu Po still refused to yield, but her eyes lacked confidence. Before even taking action, her aura had already weakened by three parts.
"Do you know what happened that day in the trap?" Yan Liu smiled: "He was truly a robust man. Though a bit pedantic, under my ministrations he gradually hardened. Men, after all..."
Hu Po glared, her breathing growing increasingly uneven, the color in her eyes rapidly intensifying.
"Do you know how he died? It was himself—he bit off his own tongue. When I went to kiss him, I found he had already bitten off his tongue and died. Tsk tsk tsk... Such a chaste and virtuous man, I've truly never seen one like him before." Yan Liu continued, smiling as she flicked the Silver Thread with a sharp "snap," straightening it in the wind.
Matching her intensity, Hu Po's rage now ignited, causing the leaves of all surrounding trees to tremble, rustling like furious waves and startling surges.
Yan Liu fixed her gaze, unmoving, waiting for her to strike first.
If Hu Po made the first move, she wouldn't be violating the ten-year peace vow between the two clans.
The cunning and unpredictable fox of legend actually valued trust and righteousness more than any other tribe.
"Sister, you go first!"
At this critical moment, a voice suddenly cut through the air. A Black Sable with bristling fur descended from above, baring its teeth as it positioned itself before Hu Po, letting out a fierce hiss at Yan Liu.
Yan Liu laughed: "I wondered who it was. So it's our Little Half-demon. Not bad—that roar actually has some manliness to it."
"Sister, you go first!" Li Luo shouted again, "I'll hold her off!"
"She doesn't dare strike first—she made a vow! Sister, don't worry, I won't fight her. I'll just block her. Sister, hurry and go!" Seeing Hu Po hesitate to leave, he urgently added.
Yan Liu's face began to darken.
"Remember, don't fight her!" Seizing the moment, Hu Po finally spotted her opening. With a swift turn, she grabbed Mo Xie and vanished behind the trees.
"Something's wrong." Only after Ban Xia and Chi Xue had rushed over did Xuan Ye finally speak: "If Hu Po knows Mo Xie and they're connected, then everything we heard could be lies."
"Mo Family Village!"
Moments later, Xuan Ye and Ban Xia looked up simultaneously, both realizing the crux of the matter at the same instant.
Back at Mo Family Village, back at the wooden house with its hanging loft, this time as Xuan Ye and the others entered the village, they immediately heard the cry of an infant.
Pressing against the window and peering through a narrow crack, Xuan Ye saw a man and a woman tied up inside the room.
"Please, little ancestor, didn't I just feed you? Could you stop crying? I'll release your parents after today, just half a day more, alright?"
In the center of the room, a girl of about fifteen or sixteen was speaking, holding an extremely chubby baby in her arms, frowning anxiously as she paced the room.
"Meow, fur..." The child persisted, mumbling as it continued to wail.The girl resigned herself to her fate, pouting as her head slowly transformed back to its original form—a sleek and glossy white sable.
"Fur, meow!" The baby excitedly stopped crying immediately, reaching out with chubby hands to stroke it before starting to pluck the fur, one strand after another, utterly delighted.
"Silly, still nursing at two years old. Your mother has spoiled you silly!" the girl grumbled, her eyes rolling adorably.
"Elegant Confinement is not a bad person!" Chi Xue, standing by the window, spoke up loudly.
Forced by the circumstances, Xuan Ye had no choice but to kick the door open and rush in.
"What is your relationship with Hu Po?" Xuan Ye had barely finished his question when the girl shuddered, dropping the child in her arms and tearing out a large clump of white fur from her head.
"I’m not related to Sister Hu Po at all!"
With just one sentence, this sable demon was already full of contradictions.
"So Hu Po is your sister." Ban Xia nodded, then crouched beside her. "Well then, little sister, what’s your name? Are you afraid of the heat?"
"My name is Yan Zhi." The little sable pouted, tears welling up in her eyes. "Why are you asking if I’m afraid of the heat? I am, and I’m also afraid of mosquitoes."
"Nothing much, it’s just that our Master here has an Alchemy Furnace specifically for refining little demons into pills. If you’re afraid of heat... tsk tsk, you’re going to suffer. Inside the furnace, you’ll be roasted for forty-nine days straight!"
A blend of "The Legend of the Sword and Fairy" and "Journey to the West," Ban Xia’s intimidation tactic wasn’t entirely original.
But Yan Zhi, the little sable, was clearly terrified. Her lips twitched for a moment before she finally broke down, exclaiming, "I will never take you to Sister Hu Po! Even if you burn me, I absolutely won’t!!"
After carrying Mo Xie for a while, Hu Po stopped in a secluded, deep part of the forest and waited.
As animals, every species has its unique scent. Following trails imperceptible to others, the little sables could easily track her.
Sure enough, after a short wait, rustling sounds emerged from the grass in the forest, and a small black sable head popped out.
"Sister!" Li Luo called out upon seeing Hu Po, his voice tinged with gloom.
Hu Po nodded and beckoned to him. He quickly leaped up and nestled before her.
"What should I do?" Hu Po lowered her head slightly, stroking Li Luo’s fur.
Li Luo didn’t answer, knowing she didn’t want a solution but comfort. So, he just rested his head on her knees, his eyes sparkling as he gazed at her.
"If I die, Sister, don’t avenge me," Li Luo said after a while, in a joking tone. "Just live the life you’ve always wanted."
"Do you know what kind of life I want to live?"
"Sister likes to curl up in the cave, basking in the sun when it’s out, listening to the rain when it’s not. Eating meat when there’s some, and grass when there isn’t."
Hu Po’s eyes reddened slightly.
A simple, peaceful life—just staying put without plans or worries. Her aspirations were so weak and useless, unfit for grand stages.
"I’ve always wanted to cultivate into a woman because only women can become clan leaders. Once I become the leader, Sister, you can live the life you’ve always wanted," Li Luo added, the usually cheerful one actually sighing. "But I failed. I’m the most useless good-for-nothing."
Hu Po choked up a little, slowly leaning down to wrap her arms around him.Whenever he was sad or helpless before, he would always transform into his original form like this, letting her hold him in her arms—warm and cozy, offering at least a moment of reliance.
His feelings were not unknown to her.
But she had no choice. Her heart had already been given to another, and no matter what, it could never be taken back.
"I can't help it, Li Luo," she said, holding him tighter, her hand slipping beneath his belly and suddenly touching something warm.
It was blood—the feel and scent of blood.
Hu Po's heart jolted violently. Just as she was about to ask something, a figure slowly emerged from behind the tree nearby.
"He struck first," said the newcomer, Yan Liu, her voice as gentle and elusive as her name. "It seems this little half-demon sable is quite fond of you. I merely spoke three ill words about you, and he couldn't resist lunging at me to settle the score."
Li Luo immediately leaped out of Hu Po's embrace, his fur bristling, and positioned himself protectively in front of her.
Yan Liu laughed, crouching down to toss something in front of Li Luo. "These are your intestines, aren't they, little half-demon? I found them on the road. Returning them to you now—why not try stuffing them back in?"
Hu Po stood up.
"He won't survive. You can count how many lives—human and sable alike—have been lost because of your cowardice and hesitation," Yan Liu continued, slowly stroking the Silver Threads with her blood-dripping fingers. "With this, are you still fit to be the clan leader of the sables?"
"Fight me, without fear or retreat. Make me believe you share the same blood as that indomitable Bi Xi I once revered."
Seeing Hu Po remain silent, Yan Liu spoke again, the Silver Threads coiling around her fingers. Across the chasm of clan hatred and personal grudges, she still paid respect to that peerlessly resilient Bi Xi, who had once single-handedly held up the sky.
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