Chapter 53 A crimson fox surrounded him and attacked...

A red fox circled around him.

But before he could speak, the fox suddenly ran into the woods.

He wanted to chase after them, but his feet seemed rooted to the spot.

A dull ache in my chest prevented me from opening my mouth.

Xie Baoqiong suddenly woke up with a start.

The sun shines brightly outside the window, filling the room with warmth.

Her open eyes were covered by a tuft of fur. Xie Baoqiong, as was her habit, parted the two soft tails and hugged the lump to her chest:

"Xiaochun, I think I dreamt about you."

With hazy eyes, Xie Baoqiong looked at the crimson mass on her chest and mumbled incoherently.

The fox, which he was holding, whimpered twice and burrowed into the coat covering him.

What did you dream about?

Xie Baoqiong blinked. In his dream, besides Xiaochun, he seemed to see a pair of hands.

He couldn't remember anything more.

A warm, damp sensation came from my cheek, and the last trace of the dream in my memory vanished completely.

The red fox licked the red mark pressed against his face, its black fox eyes staring at his blank expression, its tone resentful:

"You've become corrupted by spending too much time with humans."

"Little tombstone, don't become too human-like."

Xie Baoqiong held the worried-looking fox in her arms, wiped the drool from her face onto the fox's fur, and said frankly, "A demon cannot transform into a human."

After licking the ruffled fur on his chest, Su Xiaochun said seriously:

"The child is dead."

Xie Baoqiong showed no surprise; the way Amei recklessly poured out his spiritual power before leaving meant he was doomed.

“But I didn’t find his inner core at the scene.” Su Xiaochun’s expression was serious.

Demons possess an inner core, which contains a trace of their essence. If the inner core remains intact, it may, after hundreds or thousands of years, gain the opportunity to transform back into a demon.

But at that time, whether Ah Mei was still Ah Mei was another matter entirely.

Su Xiaochun didn't want to leave behind any potential threats, so he took advantage of the thick white fog to try and steal Amei's inner core.

He nudged Xie Baoqiong and said casually, "However, his body has disintegrated, so keeping his inner core won't do any good."

The humans in the valley are somewhat useful; they should be able to handle it.

"Xiaochun, don't worry about me, Amei can't beat me..." Xie Baoqiong hugged the fox and sat up.

A sudden sound of footsteps outside interrupted Xie Baoqiong's words.

The man and the fox turned their heads to look.

An unfamiliar voice drifted in from the half-open window: "Lord Xie, the boy who was locked in the courtyard has escaped."

Two figures cast blurry shadows on the window: "The matter has been resolved, so let them go."

The sound grew closer, and Su Xiaochun, bracing herself against Xie Baoqiong's thigh, jumped off the side couch and turned to look at Xie Baoqiong:

"Little Tombstone, I'm leaving now. There's news of a fox demon in a town under Longtang County. I'll be going there to check it out later. Once you've finished dealing with your business, go back to Sishui Mountain and wait for me."

The red fox leaped onto the windowsill on the other side, glanced back at Xie Baoqiong, and then disappeared into the room.

Just then, the door opened, and Xie Zhuo walked into the room alone.

Xie Baoqiong turned her gaze from the window to Xie Zhuo, who was standing close to her.

"What is Qiong'er looking at?" Xie Zhuo's gaze shifted to the window.

Xie Baoqiong avoided answering: "Where did Father go?"

Xie Zhuo's question was just a casual remark; his hand brushed away the red mark pressed against Xie Baoqiong's face.

“I went to take care of some things.” Then he asked, “Are you hungry? I was going to wake you up so we could have a meal, but you didn’t wake up, so I let you sleep here for now.”

Xie Baoqiong nodded in agreement with Xie Zhuo and handed her coat back to him.

A few barely noticeable fox furs fell out as Xie Zhuo glanced at them, then casually looked away and hung his coat on the rack beside him.

Xie Zhuo noticed Xie Baoqiong's wrinkled clothes and reached out to tug at them:

"I'll take you to get a couple of new clothes later, and we'll head back to the manor in a couple of days."

Xie Baoqiong glanced down at his clothes. He had cleaned them with a cleansing spell in the valley, and they looked quite clean.

His gaze naturally shifted to the hands that were adjusting her clothes; the fair hands rested on the dark fabric, and Xie Baoqiong felt inexplicably familiar with them.

He reached out and grabbed Xie Zhuo's hand.

However, his hands were not as big as Xie Zhuo's, so he could only grab Xie Zhuo's four fingers and pry them open to examine them.

The fingers held in the palm were white and slender, with a thin, inconspicuous callus on the middle finger from holding a pen.

He bent Xie Zhuo's hands into a grasping shape, which seemed to resemble the hands that appeared in his dream even more.

"Qiong'er?"

Xie Zhuo stared at Xie Baoqiong, who was fiddling with his hands, with a puzzled look.

Xie Baoqiong did not respond, but instead wrapped one hand around Xie Zhuo's middle finger, which had a thin callus.

As Xie Zhuo grew increasingly confused, Xie Baoqiong muttered to herself:

"My father is chasing me in my dreams."

The lingering confusion in Xie Zhuo's eyes was replaced by a smile:

Why did your father arrest you?

The bewildered one was Xie Baoqiong, who looked up at Xie Zhuogan with wide eyes:

Why did Father arrest me?

Xie Zhuo withdrew his hand and pinched the face in front of him:

"Perhaps it was when your father was calling you to get up for dinner." Xie Zhuo didn't dwell on this issue with Xie Baoqiong.

The things in dreams are a mix of truth and falsehood, reality and illusion; in the end, it's all just a grand dream.

"Aren't you hungry? Let me take you to have a meal first."

Xie Baoqiong stopped worrying about it; perhaps that was the time Xie Zhuo wanted to wake him up.

Just as Xie Zhuo stepped out of the room, a group of people entered the courtyard with practiced ease.

Xie Baoqiong looked up at the leader, but didn't recognize him. She only remembered seeing him once in the valley.

The man seemed to notice his gaze and turned his head to look at him.

Their scrutinizing gaze was chilling, and they carried the aura of death.

Xie Baoqiong felt uncomfortable under his gaze, so she leaned slightly and hid behind Xie Zhuo.

“That’s Rong Feng, the Junior Envoy of the Anti-Evil Division. Although he doesn’t look well, don’t be afraid of him. He also helped find you this time.”

Xie Zhuo's voice rang out above him, introducing the origins of the people in the courtyard.

Xie Baoqiong followed Xie Zhuo a step behind and walked up to Rong Feng.

"Lord Xie," Rong Feng greeted her casually, his gaze sweeping over Xie Baoqiong with a hint of scrutiny.

Xie Baoqiong met Rong Feng's gaze and returned his scrutinizing look.

Xie Zhuo perhaps sensed his wariness towards Rong Feng, so he didn't exchange many pleasantries with Rong Feng, gave a brief introduction, and then took his leave.

"My son hasn't eaten yet, so I won't bother you any longer while you're handling your affairs. I've already had someone deliver the documents that need your review to your desk..."

After handing over official business, Xie Zhuo left the courtyard with Xie Baoqiong.

Xie Zhuo glanced at the sky and led Xie Baoqiong to the tavern outside the yamen.

It was past the time for dining, and when the two entered, there were no customers in the restaurant.

Xie Zhuo tapped the counter twice with his index finger knuckle.

The shopkeeper, who had been dozing off in front of the counter, looked up with a smile on his face:

"Sir, how many are there?"

"Gentlemen, a bowl of 'water tea,' a generous portion, with two meatballs, and a pot of tea."

"Alright, please come in, both of you." The innkeeper called over a waiter and led the two to sit down by the window in the hall.

Xie Baoqiong sat down to the side of Xie Zhuo:

"Why did Father only order one bowl?" Xie Baoqiong's gaze suddenly fell on Xie Zhuo's "simple" attire, and she asked suspiciously, "Does Father have no money?"

Before Xie Baoqiong could even mention that he still had money, Xie Zhuo interrupted him, his face full of exasperation:

"Dad is rich, he only ordered one bowl because he had already eaten at the public canteen."

"Oh." Xie Baoqiong glanced at Xie Zhuo's attire, which was different from that in the capital, her gaze still filled with doubt.

Xie Zhuo paused in his pouring of water, under Xie Baoqiong's gaze:

“Even if the Marquis’s mansion is poor, your father can still support you.”

Xie Baoqiong stopped dwelling on the question, and the waiter placed a large bowl in front of him.

"Sir, your extra-large portion of water has arrived."

Xie Zhuo took out a pair of chopsticks and handed them to Xie Baoqiong, whose gaze was fixed on the water pipe.

Xie Baoqiong took the chopsticks, picked up a piece, and put it in her mouth.

Since leaving the Marquis's residence, he had only eaten the dried biscuits and wild fruits given to him by Amei, and today he was finally eating something different.

"Be careful, it's hot," Xie Zhuo warned.

He obediently slowed down his movements.

While Xie Baoqiong was engrossed in his meal, he suddenly felt a figure sit down in the empty seat next to him.

The waiter's young voice rang out: "Sir, what would you like?"

"Give me a bowl just like his." A familiar voice rang in Xie Baoqiong's ear.

He lifted his face slightly from the bowl and saw the figure sitting to his side.

"Young Master Rong?" Xie Zhuo's voice revealed a hint of surprise.

Rong Feng picked up the overturned cup on the table and poured himself a cup of tea.

"At this hour, the yamen's canteen is not open," Rong Feng explained, explaining his presence there.

"And there are some things I need to inform Lord Xie about."

Rong Feng's gaze fell on the pair of eyes raised in the large bowl.

Xie Baoqiong simply looked over openly.

Xie Zhuo's gaze swept past Xie Baoqiong's profile and turned to Rong Feng opposite him: "What is it?"

"The two people captured in the valley today are just ordinary mortals."

One of the masterminds escaped with the help of a succubus. "Rong Feng said.

Xie Zhuo lowered his eyebrows: "Charm?"

"Usually, it's old objects from the mountains that become spirits. Speaking of which, it's quite rare that the succubus's true form was a wisp of mist," Rong Feng explained, continuing:

"The succubus is dead, but the fog that the eyewitnesses saw when the child went missing was probably it."

Rong Feng paused, and the waiter brought over the noodles: "Sir, please enjoy."

After the waiter left, Rong Feng continued speaking:

"However, the succubus ended up doing a good deed by chance. The mist he released to save Cao Zhuangling was full of his spiritual power, which saved the lives of those injured in the battle..."

The conversation between Rong Feng and Xie Zhuo filled my ears.

Xie Baoqiong used the tip of her chopsticks to poke into the meatball, stuffed it into her mouth, lowered her eyes, and looked at the ripples on the soup, which turned out to be a cloud of mist.

Rong Feng's gaze suddenly fell on him again:

"Neither the fox spirit nor Cao Zhuangling have been found. Young Master Xie, please be careful."

The conversation suddenly turned to him. Xie Baoqiong looked up, thinking of the "fox" he had thrown under the altar, and opened her mouth, "Fox..."

The two men's attention was drawn to him, but as soon as he uttered a single word, a figure suddenly flashed into the hall and reported to Rong Feng, "Sir, we've found the fox spirit, but..." The man paused, "it's a jackal."

"Take him back first, I'll interrogate him later." Rong Feng waved his hand.

After the man left, Xie Zhuo turned his attention back to Xie Baoqiong: "What was Qiong'er about to say?"

Rong Feng's gaze followed closely, carrying a scrutinizing tone.