Why are you so furry?

Ji Wang woke up to the aroma of food, not the bland soup often found in the Bu Nian Temple, but the smell of some kind of grain mixed with honey.

He sat up groggily, the dream about the little white fox from last night still lingering in his mind. He shook his head, slipped on his shoes, and instinctively followed the scent outside.

His eyes were half-open, his mind still lingering in the afterglow of sleep, and he practically floated through the corridor toward the main hall he had come from the day before.

Just as he stepped over the high threshold of the palace gate and was about to continue his dazed journey, his forehead slammed into a not-so-hard "obstacle."

"Hmm!"

Ji Wang winced in pain, instantly regaining most of his senses. He covered his forehead and took a half-step back.

He looked up and saw that Bu Jiu was standing inside the palace gate, seemingly about to go out. He stopped when Bu Jiu bumped into him.

Ji Wang recognized him and, remembering how he had secretly rummaged through drawers and cupboards last night, felt a pang of guilt and unconsciously called out, "Bu Jiu!"

Bu Jiu was startled by his exclamation. His eyes, still heavy with sleep, glanced at the hem of his clothes, then looked up at Ji Wang, his tone tinged with doubt:

Why are you shouting so loudly? Did you step on my tail?

Ji Wang hurriedly looked down and realized that Bu Jiu's fluffy white fox tail had appeared out of nowhere and was now dragging on the ground. Unfortunately, his right foot was stepping on the very tip of the tail.

“…They actually stepped on it,” Bu Jiu sighed.

Ji Wang pulled her foot back as if she'd been burned: "Sorry..."

Bu Jiu flicked his tail aside and glanced at Ji Wang's flushed face: "You're so restless after waking up."

After speaking, his gaze swept over Ji Wang's somewhat messy hair and slightly open collar, where a small patch of fair skin and a clear collarbone were exposed.

Bu Jiu frowned slightly, and almost immediately reached out to deftly gather the loose collar and re-tie the tie.

His movements weren't particularly gentle, even a bit impatient, but his fingertips avoided excessive contact with the skin, and he quickly withdrew his hand after completing all of this, as if he had just casually dealt with a problem.

“It’s chilly in the morning, you’re easily chilled, so please be careful.” He looked away and added, “There’s food in the side hall, go and eat.”

Ji Wang tugged at his sleeve: "I'm not used to eating alone... Bu Jiu, can you come with me?"

He regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth.

Having the seemingly otherworldly Ghost King have breakfast with him? That request sounds rather unreasonable.

Bu Jiu was clearly taken aback, raising his eyebrows as if he hadn't expected him to make such a request.

He stared at Ji Wang for a few seconds, which made Ji Wang's scalp tingle.

"Okay." He uttered a single word, then changed direction and walked towards the side hall. His pace was slow, clearly waiting for the people behind him to catch up.

Ji Wang's eyes lit up, and the slight unease in her heart was instantly replaced by joy. She quickly followed, walking very carefully a little behind him, and couldn't help but smile slightly.

In the side hall, Huaiqing was already sitting at the table, slowly scooping porridge.

He looked at the two people who entered one after the other upon hearing the sound. Especially when he saw Shang Bujiu's obviously "accompanying" posture, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, which then turned into a playful smile. He deliberately drew out his words:

"Oh, did the sun rise in the west today? Our Lord Bujiu has actually deigned to visit this place of incense and smoke?"

Bu Jiu didn't even glance at him, but sat down at the table and handed Ji Wang a bowl and chopsticks, placing them in front of him.

Ji Wang smiled somewhat embarrassedly at Huai Qing, then secretly glanced at Bu Jiu, who showed no intention of touching his chopsticks: "Aren't you going to eat?"

"I'm not eating." He seemed to feel the need to explain, or perhaps he was still half asleep and a bit grumpy from waking up. "I'm going to eat those bastards from Xuanming Temple."

Ji Wang's hand holding the chopsticks froze in mid-air. The warm and reassuring feeling that had just arisen from having someone with him was instantly dissipated by the strong bloody smell in those words.

Looking at Bu Jiu's matter-of-fact expression, he suddenly felt that the fragrant porridge in his bowl was... hard to swallow.

Bu Jiu seemed completely oblivious to the problem with his words, or perhaps he simply didn't care about the other two's reactions.

He remained in that closed-eyes-resting posture, only his fox ears twitched slightly, as if trying to dispel the last trace of drowsiness.

Huaiqing looked at Ji Wang's frozen expression and the chopsticks hanging in mid-air, and slowly stirred the porridge in the bowl: "Xiao Bao, don't be afraid of him."

He gestured towards Bu Jiu with his lip: "If you're really afraid of him, he might not say it to your face, but he'll be secretly miserable."

"?" Ji Wang blinked, looked at Huai Qing's confident smile, then slowly turned his head to look at Bu Jiu, who was sitting in meditation beside him.

Sadness...or death?

Does this word really have anything to do with the Ghost King in front of me who can say "go eat those bastards from Xuanming Temple" without batting an eye?

Ji Wang imagined Bu Jiu's sad face, and all he could picture was his colder face and more vicious mockery. Perhaps... he would even impatiently wag his tail?

Bu Jiu remained unresponsive, his breathing rate unchanged, as if Huai Qing were referring to a wild boar on the neighboring mountain.

Seeing Ji Wang's "Are you kidding me?" expression, Huai Qing lowered her voice, as if sharing a secret: "Don't let his current appearance fool you, he used to be—"

Before Huaiqing could finish speaking, a gaze as sharp as a blade swept over her.

Bu Jiu had opened his eyes at some point, his gaze fixed intently on him, devoid of any drowsiness from just waking up.

Huaiqing immediately raised her hands in surrender, readily changing the subject, and tapped the rim of the bowl with her spoon: "Oh dear, the porridge is getting cold, Xiaobao, eat quickly!"

Ji Wang secretly raised his eyes and quickly glanced at Bu Jiu's profile.

Are you sad?

An extremely bold idea flashed through his mind like a spark.

He put down his chopsticks, placed his hands properly on his knees, and facing Bu Jiu, said softly in a deliberately soft, pitiful tone, "...I'm so afraid of you."

The sound wasn't loud, but it was clearly audible in the quiet side room.

As soon as he finished speaking, Bu Jiu's fingers, which were resting on his knees, suddenly clenched, and his knuckles instantly turned bluish-white.

The pair of fox ears that had been perked up on the top of his head suddenly and clung tightly to his dark hair with a "whoosh," even the tuft of hair at the tips of his ears drooped down listlessly, making him look completely defeated, aggrieved, and disappointed.

He even looked at Ji Wang, his pupils showing a hint of astonishment and helplessness that he couldn't hide.

Huaiqing was the first to lose her temper, slapping the table and laughing so hard she almost knocked over the bowl of porridge.

Ji Wang was also stunned. He had only wanted to test the waters on a whim, but he never expected it to be so effective.

He disregarded his fear and pointed to Bu Jiu's head, shouting to Huai Qing, "Senior Huai Qing! Look! His ears are drooping!"

After hearing this, the pair of fox ears that had betrayed their master tried to stand up again, but they only twitched twice in vain and remained limp, revealing their master's feelings.

"Heh." Bu Jiu concealed his fox ears, forced a laugh from his throat, and stared at the culprit with eyes like ice picks.

Ji Wang was startled by his gaze, his excitement instantly cooled, and his survival instinct finally came belatedly.

He silently withdrew his pointing hand, lowered his head, and ate the porridge in his bowl, which had grown a little cold, pretending that the audacious person from before was not him.

After Ji Wang's outburst, Bu Jiu finally came to his senses. He looked at Ji Wang, who was practically burying his face in his bowl, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, "Do you want to go to Xuanming Temple?"

Ji Wang, who still had a mouthful of porridge in his mouth, froze upon hearing this, forgetting to chew.

Looking at him like this, Bu Jiu continued, "Yesterday, Xuan Feng, before he died, kept saying that you were a demon."

His tone was devoid of any inflammatory intent; he was simply stating the facts: "Would you like to go see for yourself what this source of your slander looks like? And while you're at it... take revenge?"

The words "revenge" came out of his mouth lightly.

Huaiqing remained silent, simply sipping her tea, adopting a detached, amused demeanor.

Ji swallowed the porridge, his heart beating a little fast.

Xuanming Temple, the place that Bujiu and Huaiqing labeled as a "den of evil spirits," the source that planted a strange mark on him and almost killed him...

Of course he wanted to know what that place was, and he also wanted to ask them why they were slandering him out of thin air!

But revenge?

He clenched his fingers; he had never even killed a chicken.

He looked at Bu Jiu, who was waiting for his answer. There was no urging in his eyes, as if Bu Jiu had expected him to answer whether he would go or not.

Ji Wang took a deep breath and nodded heavily: "Go!"

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a reckless determination: "I'm going! I have to ask them why they call me a monster!"

As for revenge…

We'll see when the time comes. Anyway, with this stubborn but soft-hearted ghost king around, and whose ears droop, he doesn't seem to have anything to be afraid of.

Bu Jiu was not surprised by his answer, he just hummed in agreement and stood up: "Ready, let's go to the main hall entrance."

When Ji ran to the entrance of the main hall, his eyes lit up immediately.

A horse had appeared in the open space in front of the palace at some unknown time.

The horse was entirely black except for its four snow-white hooves, and it was exceptionally magnificent. At this moment, it was pawing at its front hooves and snorting impatiently.

“It’s so beautiful…” Ji Wang looked at Bu Jiu beside him: “But…shouldn’t we just ‘whoosh’ and get there in an instant?”

In his imagination, the Ghost King's travels should involve riding on clouds and mist.

Bu Jiu looked at him and said, "With your current weak body and lack of spiritual power, you can't handle it. Besides, riding a horse slowly will allow you to familiarize yourself with the route."

"Oh..." Ji Wang touched his nose, accepting the explanation.

Is it his fault that his spiritual power is low...? He has been working hard, but it hasn't increased at all.

Ji Wang walked to the horse, but a new problem arose: "Why is there only one horse? I don't know the way. I can't ride in front and you...you have to run behind me, can I?"

Bu Jiu didn't answer, but instead looked away at the distant mountains and uttered a few words in a tone as if saying, "The weather is nice today": "...I can't ride."

Ji Wang: "...Huh?"

He almost thought he'd misheard. A ghost that had lived for hundreds of years, or even longer, actually... couldn't ride a horse?

Bu Jiu seemed annoyed by his incredulous gaze, the tips of his ears turning slightly red. He turned his head, glaring at Ji Wang, his tone hard: "What are you looking at? The fox clan... has never been good at this!"

This sounds like an explanation, but also like an attempt to save face.

The scene was quiet for a moment, except for the black horse snorting again for no apparent reason.

Ji Wang looked at Bu Jiu's expression, which seemed to say "I just don't know how, what can you do to me?" yet also revealed a hint of embarrassment, and tried hard to suppress the corners of his lips that wanted to turn up.

Well, even a powerful being like the Ghost King has things he's not good at.

Ji Wang pressed further, "Then... what are you going to do?"

Bu Jiu merely flicked his sleeve, stirring up a slightly cool breeze.

The next moment, the imposing figure standing in front of Ji Wang suddenly blurred and then vanished into thin air.

Before Ji Wang could react, he felt a small, furry, and slightly heavy thing step on the back of his foot.

He looked down.

A small, pure white fox had appeared on the ground sometime during the day. It wasn't very big, just the right size for him to hold in his arms.

Those eyes, like molten gold, were staring at him slightly upwards, while her bushy tail swept back and forth behind her.

Seeing him standing there dumbfounded, the little fox raised its front paw and patted his foot with its soft, pink-padded paw, as if urging him on.

"..." Ji Wang looked at the little white fox at his feet, then at the black horse, and instantly understood Bu Jiu's plan—he couldn't ride a horse, but he could hitch a ride in his original form.

Ji Wang squatted down and tentatively reached out his hand to Bu Jiu, his voice unconsciously softening and carrying a hint of coaxing: "Um...? I... I'll carry you up?"

Bu Jiu didn't refuse, but raised its head and jumped into his outstretched arms. Then it adjusted to a comfortable position in his arms, found a support point, and settled down peacefully, with only the tip of its tail brushing against his wrist.

Ji Wang, holding his ancestor in his arms, nimbly mounted the horse. Once settled, he pulled Bu Jiu closer to him, and looking down, he could see the tips of her slightly trembling, snow-white ears.

"Shall we go?" he asked in a low voice.

Bu Jiu yawned, which was his response.

Ji Wang then tightened his grip on the reins and gently spurred the horse. The black horse neighed, took off running, and galloped out of the valley, its hooves treading on the morning dew.

As the mountain wind howled, Ji Wang suddenly felt that this journey of revenge, with its uncertain future, didn't seem so terrible after all.