Chapter 30: Fox ears. Two tufts of fur are emerging from the wet hair...
Stepping into the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon's cave, a cold, damp, musty odor hit me, nearly suffocating me. Light was swallowed by the thick darkness. Shen Wenji condensed a cluster of dancing spiritual flames on his fingertips, barely able to tear through a small patch of thick ink before his eyes.
The firelight flickered, and the first thing that caught my eye was a mountain of white skulls piled up at my feet.
She paused, nearly kicking something. She took a closer look and saw that they were all fox skulls. The empty eye sockets glowed a strange pale sheen in the dim light. They were densely packed, covering the entire path to the entrance.
Further ahead was a narrow, winding cavern, its walls covered in slippery, cold, dark green vines. More shattered skeletons lay scattered on the ground, and it was impossible to tell whether they belonged to foxes or humans. Every step they took produced a teeth-grinding crunch, mingling with the soft thud of falling gravel.
Shen Wenji suppressed the uneasiness surging in her heart and quickly followed the fiery red figure ahead. However, the uneven ground, sharp rocks and protruding branches made her progress particularly difficult.
She tried to use the flying technique, but found that the magic was suppressed here. She couldn't use any high-level magic and could only rely on her feet to walk.
The red fox moved nimbly among the rugged rocks, and the cave was as flat as it could be. However, it was very human-like and would look back from time to time to observe Shen Wenji and slow down for her.
The deeper you go, the stronger the strange sweet fragrance becomes. At first, this smell was not obvious because it was mixed with the fishy smell of soil and the smell of decay and mold, but now it is getting stronger and stronger, penetrating into the nasal cavity, bringing a drowsy feeling.
Shen Wenji's heart trembled, and she immediately cast a shielding spell around her mouth and nose. At the same time, she quietly took out her sword from her storage ring, gripping the cold hilt tightly in her hand, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force.
The red fox in front suddenly stopped, shook its soft and fluffy tail rapidly, and made a few sharp and short calls towards Shen Wenji.
She walked over quickly, her shoes making a rustling sound on the gravel. When the light of the spiritual flame dispelled the darkness in that area and Shen Wenji saw the scene clearly, a suppressed gasp escaped from her mouth, which was clearly audible in the quiet cave.
She released her spiritual power from her palm, and the flame suddenly enlarged and hung above her palm, completely illuminating the mess in the corner of the cave wall.
Two corpses dressed in Tianxuan Sect uniforms were curled up under the stone wall, their backs facing upwards, their faces unclear. Their white clothes were stained with dark red blood mixed with muddy dust, making it almost impossible to tell the original color.
Shen Wenji took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and turned the two disciples over with his hands. There were five or six hideous blood holes in front of their bodies, and all the internal organs were gone.
But there was no blood gushing out from the wall, so they must have been dumped here.
The strangest thing was that their expressions were all peaceful and calm, with even smiles on their lips, as if they had died in extreme pleasure, without any sign of the pain and distortion of being ripped open alive.
In their cold and stiff hands, they were tightly grasping a small handful of something. She pushed aside the bloody clothes and saw clearly that what they were holding was the fur of a white fox. The fur was fresh and shiny, and it was obvious that it had just been peeled off a living creature.
Could it be that these two were the disciples who had trespassed into the cave to hunt for fox furs in order to curry favor with the female cultivator? Judging by their speed, if Xie Yunqing had seen them, he would not have left the bodies exposed.
Then this corpse could only have been placed there deliberately after Xie Yunqing entered. What was the purpose? No...it could only serve as a warning.
Shen Wenji's fingertips felt cold, fearing that there was a bigger conspiracy. She was about to go forward to investigate, but the red fox beside her let out a quick low growl, turned abruptly, and turned into a red shadow, rushing deeper into the cave.
She hesitated for a moment, and two rays of light shot out from her fingertips to temporarily bury the corpse. Then she took a deep breath and jumped, chasing after the red fox.
After walking a few hundred meters and turning a corner, the fox suddenly disappeared. She arrived in a new environment and immediately looked around with caution. The most obvious feeling was the touch under her feet, which changed from hard stone to soft soil.
There was a faint blue light not far away. Shen Wenji used his spiritual power to lift the flame in his hand into the sky, completely illuminating the entire area.
As I looked up at the firelight, my vision began to widen. It was a huge semicircular space with an altar square in the center. In the middle stood a huge square tripod with a strange deep blue flame burning inside.
Such a grand and orderly structure is definitely not something that an ordinary monster's lair can possess. It seems to be artificially created.
Shen Wenji jumped onto the altar square and found that the ground beneath her feet was paved with smooth stone slabs engraved with mysterious runes and patterns, which further confirmed her guess.
Because the square tripod with blue flames was too bizarre, Shen Wenji did not plan to get close. She first walked to the right side of the altar square, where a pungent and unpleasant smell of blood emanated.
Looking closely, there was an uneven stone door carved out on the right side, with several branches standing sloppily. Different kinds of internal organs were interspersed on each branch, including hearts, kidneys, livers... Some were shaped like humans, and some looked like animals. Fresh blood beads slowly dripped down the branches and gathered into pools of dark red viscous liquid on the ground.
This place is like a huge meat warehouse.
Near the stone gate, there was a huge water tank filled with blood, emitting a disgusting smell.
There were several corpses that looked like mummies piled up near the water tank, with their skin and flesh tightly attached to their bones, making them look like a skeleton, and it was almost impossible to tell who they were.
Shen Wenji noticed with sharp eyes that the sect token of Tianxuan Sect was hanging on the waist of the mummy. These people should all be disciples of Tianxuan Sect.
She roughly looked at the mummy's body shape and found that it did not resemble Xie Yunqing, so she was reluctantly relieved.
Walking to the other end of the meat storage, there was indeed a stone door, which connected to a cave. The cave was filled with thick fog, and the depth of the cave could not be seen clearly.
"Swish!" A figure emerged from the thick fog. Shen Wenji's eyes turned fierce. He turned his wrist, and the cold light of his sword flashed, and he slashed out in an instant.
"Chi!" A familiar cry sounded, and red hair flashed before her eyes. It turned out that the little fox leading the way came out of the cave. It bared its teeth in dissatisfaction and shook its hair.
Shen Wenji quickly put away her sword and said apologetically, "Sorry." She looked towards the thick fog and asked, "Continue walking here?"
The red fox whimpered and leaped into the rolling white mist again.
Shen Wenji gritted his teeth and stepped in right after him.
The flames could only illuminate the scene within one meter to the side. White fox hair was scattered on the ground, and the runes and patterns on the floor of the altar square were transferred to the wall.
In the deeper darkness, she could faintly hear the sound of water dripping on the stone beach, followed by the sound of swords cutting into the stone walls, which penetrated her ears.
Shen Wenji gently closed his eyes, activated the spell, expanded his five senses to be more acute, and tried to spread his spiritual awareness again.
The restrictions on magic in this cave have become much looser. At least she can sense the fluctuations of Xie Yunqing's spiritual power. But when she wants to explore deeper, her spiritual consciousness is blocked by a demonic force.
Several sharp fox calls came from the depths of the cave. No one knew what they were saying. The red fox leading the way suddenly became extremely excited, jumping and running, and responding with a few grunts from time to time.
Shen Wenji did not dare to relax. She raised her hand to activate the flying technique that had been blocked just now, and followed closely behind the red fox. She was sure that Xie Yunqing must be in this cave.
The fox's cry disappeared, but was replaced by a heavy groan and a rustling sound like fabric rubbing against each other.
This sound... Could it be that Xie Yunqing was injured? Her heart sank, and she couldn't help but quicken her pace.
Finally, they reached the end of the cave. Not far away was indeed a stone pond and spring water. The entrance to the stone pond was blocked by a light blue spiritual barrier. Shen Wenji guessed that Xie Yunqing was inside.
She suddenly stopped moving forward, held her breath, and stared at a place not far away.
Not far from the stone pond, there is a bed made of several complete fox skins with different fur colors. The most eye-catching ones are the fiery red fox skin and the silvery white fox skin. Each fur is shiny and smooth as silk.
On the rectangular bed, there was an adult white fox half a person's height lying, its soft and fluffy tails lazily draped over the frame made of branches.
It had its eyes closed, seemingly resting. Even with its eyes closed, the thousand-year-old demonic energy that washed over Shen Wenji made her breath catch, and her entire spiritual energy instinctively tensed. Her heart was pounding, and she wasn't completely confident she could escape unscathed from the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon.
However, what surprised Shen Wenji even more was that the red fox leading the way pounced on him without any fear.
It did not attack, but instead used its sharp teeth to carefully and tenderly nibble the tip of one of the nine-tailed white fox's drooping tails.
Shen Wenji: “???”
Shen Wenji's pupils suddenly shrank, and he subconsciously took a half step back, hiding his figure in the dark corridor.
Is this red fox crazy? Is it trying to kill itself?
The next moment, the nine-tailed fox opened its eyes, revealing a pair of deep golden vertical pupils. It was not angry, but just lowered its head and hummed a few times as if whispering to the red fox.
Then, the golden beast eyes accurately penetrated the darkness and fell in the direction where Shen Wenji was hiding.
The gaze was very strange. It was threatening, scrutinizing, and mixed with some inexplicable depth, but there was no murderous intent.
Shen Wenji tentatively stepped out from the shadows. She bowed respectfully to the nine-tailed white fox on the stone platform and said, "I have no intention of disturbing your meditation. I am only here to retrieve my companions who have strayed into this place. I beg you to do me a favor."
The gaze that fell on her gradually became soft, even gentle? This feeling was very strange, and Shen Wenji couldn't explain it clearly.
The red fox jumped in front of the barrier, scratched it with its claws, and roared in the direction of the nine-tailed fox.
The nine-tailed fox jumped off the bed and walked to the barrier with a limping step.
Shen Wenji saw that there seemed to be blood stains on the bed. It turned out that the nine-tailed fox was injured. No wonder it could not transform into a human form or speak human language after thousands of years of cultivation.
As its claws approached the barrier, a flash of inspiration came to it, and the light blue barrier restriction was released by it.
Could it be that the nine-tailed fox was trying to protect Xie Yunqing? But...why did it do that?
Shen Wenji was thinking, but the red fox rushed into the stone pool first, and then a familiar voice came from inside, as if Xie Yunqing was arguing with the red fox.
"Didn't I tell you not to ask her to come?" The voice suppressed anger, "Why are you so willful?"
"Awoo, squeak." The little fox grunted and said something.
"Don't worry about my business. We're no longer related." The voice was low and hoarse, filled with the pain of enduring pain. "Take her away now, right now."
"Who are you taking away?" Shen Wenji didn't plan to eavesdrop any further, so she walked straight in.
The first thing that comes into view is the jagged rocks and wet moss. The pool is formed by water droplets from the top of the cave, which flows all year round to form a pool. The water here is clear and transparent, but due to the mist, it is actually difficult to see clearly.
Xie Yunqing was half leaning on the protruding bluestone in the pool, his black hair spread out in the water, his broad shoulders stretched taut like a fully drawn bow, his soaked white robe was washed tight to his body by the current, and the lines of his bulging muscles were vaguely outlined.
A strange reddish aura traveled along his meridians, leaving a strange red mark wherever it passed, which was particularly glaring on his cold white skin.
Hearing Shen Wenji's voice, Xie Yunqing frowned, suppressed the groan in his throat, raised his slightly trembling fingertips and began to pinch the fingers.
"Xie Yunqing, how are you?" Shen Wenji looked serious and walked towards him quickly.
"Don't come over here!" Xie Yunqing's eyes darkened, veins popped on his forehead, and his tense body suddenly sank a little deeper into the cold water, trying to hide something. His movements caused splashes of water, and the cool water splashed onto Shen Wenji's legs.
Shen Wenji stopped and stared at Xie Yunqing's unbearable look, feeling a little helpless for a moment.
The usually aloof and aloof chief disciple of the Tianxuan Sect was now immersed in the water. The corners of his eyes were red with an evil look, and his face was abnormally flushed. His clothes were half-open at the collar due to the amplitude of his movements, his jawline was tense, and his Adam's apple rolled unconsciously.
This look is exactly the same as the time when he pretended to be drugged by the Hehuan Sect's aphrodisiac. Could it be that his old illness was brought up during the fight?
Seeing the spiritual power in Xie Yunqing's body running around in disorder, and the possibility that he would explode and die or go into obsession, Shen Wenji couldn't bear to ignore him.
She ignored Xie Yunqing's dissuasion and insisted on walking into the stone pool. The water was icy to the bone. Shen Wenji shuddered, but still gritted her teeth and walked firmly step by step towards the figure in the middle of the water that was on the verge of losing control.
Xie Yunqing wanted to stop her, but the evil spirit rushed straight to his head along his blood vessels. He suddenly raised his head, a suppressed growl coming out of his throat, and he had no time to pay attention to her approaching.
The closer Shen Wenji got, the more he smelled a familiar sweet fragrance, which seemed to be emanating from Xie Yunqing.
When the two were only an arm's length away, she saw through the hazy vapor on the water surface, a small nine-tailed shadow curled up in Xie Yunqing's shadow underwater.
The nine tails of the phantom swayed like a living thing, and the pure demonic energy was madly drilling into his body along his exposed skin immersed in the water, entangling his yang energy and making his blood boil.
She wanted to use her spiritual power to help Xie Yunqing dispel the nine-tailed fox's evil spirit, but when her palm touched his hot chest, she couldn't help but tremble.
Shen Wenji calmed his mind, and with both palms out, a steady stream of spiritual power was injected into his body. That spiritual power had the effect of clearing the air, and was specifically designed to overcome evil spirits.
Once it entered his body, Xie Yunqing's tense muscles relaxed a bit, and the strange light red lines on his cold white skin disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye.
He groaned, and the blue veins on his forehead gradually subsided, but when the spiritual power touched his dantian, his whole body suddenly stiffened.
Shen Wenji was concentrating on activating his spiritual power when he suddenly noticed movement above his head.
At the top of Xie Yunqing's wet black hair, near the temple, two tufts of furry things were tremblingly emerging from the wet hair.
The fur is a very light red, standing upright on the top of the head, and the tips of the ears are a little pink, forming a pair of ears.
The ear shook and the water droplets rolled off.
The shape... is exactly the same as a fox's ear?
Shen Wenji's hands, which were channeling spiritual energy, suddenly froze, and his brain seemed to be in a state of panic.
Huh? Fox ears...are they really not an illusion?
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Author's Note: Hey, I saw someone speculate about the relationship between Red Fox and Xiao Xie in the previous chapter. To avoid spoilers, I didn't reveal it. I don't know if that little treasure can stick with this chapter. Well, Red Fox and Xiao Xie do have some relationship. You guys are so smart!
Thank you all for your support! Love you~ [heart] Bow! [heart]
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