Yue Jingming was licked awake.
He opened his eyes and found himself staring straight at the little red fox standing on his chest. The fox clearly had not expected him to wake so suddenly. Its beautiful fox eyes widened, and its whole body leaned backward, head tipped up. The triangular kerchief tied around its chest had slipped crooked, exposing the conspicuous patch where the fur had been shaved away.
Yue Jingming hesitated. “Chunhe?”
The little red fox snorted, turned, jumped off the bed, and vanished after a few quick bounds.
“Xiao Chunhe…” Yue Jingming tried to get up and follow, but a sharp pain tore through his back and sent him falling down again.
“Brother Yue, you’re awake!” Hearing the movement, Liang Yun scrambled up from the floor. “Aiya, I fell asleep without meaning to. Shijiu, Shijiu?”
Ye Shijiu, sprawled on the couch, scratched at his ear, rolled over, hugged the pillow, and went right on sleeping.
Liang Yun rubbed his face hard to wake himself up, then helped Yue Jingming sit. “How do you feel now?”
Yue Jingming said, “I’m fine. Where is Xiao Chunhe?”
“I was just about to tell you.” Liang Yun slapped his thigh anxiously. “Last night, only you and Shijiu came rushing out, along with one skinny little red fox. Brother Xiao was the only one missing. I don’t know what happened to Shijiu either. He can’t hear or speak again. You were covered in blood and barely breathing. As soon as I brought you back, I sent people to look for Brother Xiao, but there’s still no word. I’m worried sick.”
Yue Jingming asked, “What about the little fox?”
“I thought it was some little demon you two had rescued, so I wanted the doctor to treat its injuries. Who knew it would be so vicious? It nearly bit the doctor, then bolted off and disappeared. We can’t find it anywhere.” Liang Yun looked miserable. “I can’t understand Shijiu’s gestures either. He just starts crying after he finishes signing, and the Myriad Demons Scroll is still in my stomach. I’m really… heavens, if you hadn’t woken up soon, I would’ve gone mad.”
“You’ve had a hard time, Brother Liang.” Yue Jingming reassured him. “Xiao Chunhe is fine. Shijiu was probably frightened. And you needn’t worry about the Myriad Demons Scroll. It isn’t in your stomach. Do you still have your paper figure?”
“Yes, yes.” Liang Yun hurriedly pulled his paper figure from his sleeve and handed it over. “I was afraid my souls hadn’t all come back properly, so I deliberately kept it for you to check. I’d better not be missing any of my three hun and seven po.”
“All your souls are back in your body.” Yue Jingming tore the paper figure cleanly in half, and the Myriad Demons Scroll dropped out of its stomach. “The Myriad Demons Scroll is here.”
Liang Yun stared in horror at the paper figure torn into two pieces and said shakily, “Th-this…”
Yue Jingming silently fitted the paper figure back together. He ran a fingertip over the tear, and it instantly returned to normal.
Liang Yun immediately relaxed. He took the paper figure, turned it over several times to inspect it, and only then carefully tucked it back into his sleeve.
Yue Jingming laughed. “Brother Liang, it’s only a paper figure.”
“This is another one of my bodies.” Liang Yun lowered his voice mysteriously. “Shijiu’s paper figure is just like a living person. Last night I saw him secretly take it out to play. That paper figure can even talk, though it stutters too. When will mine learn to speak?”
Yue Jingming: “…”
When Yue Jingming had gone to save Ye Shijiu, he had used the Soul-Splitting Technique, separating a sliver of his soul and placing it into a paper figure. Even then, he could only create a faint connection; making it speak was completely beyond him. For Ye Shijiu’s paper figure to talk, he must have split off at least half his soul and put it inside. Only an evil cultivator with no regard for his own life would dare use such a dangerous method.
If this child was not taught properly, he might end up even more unorthodox than Xiao Chunhe.
* * *
Yue Jingming’s injuries were severe. He had wanted to go look for Xiao Chunhe, but that night his fever flared again. He had sent Liang Yun and Ye Shijiu away to rest and did not want to disturb them, so he circulated his true qi and slowly suppressed the fever himself.
The feeling was unpleasant. His mouth was dry and his tongue parched, so he got up to pour himself a cup of cold tea. He had just taken a sip when he heard movement behind him. Yue Jingming turned and saw a little red fox sitting with perfect dignity on the windowsill beneath the moonlight, eyes narrowed as it studied him.
“Ahem.” He put down the cup. “Xiao Chunhe?”
The little fox looked down at him haughtily, its large fluffy tail swishing behind it. “I am not Xiao Chunhe.”
A flicker of amusement passed through Yue Jingming’s eyes. “Then who are you?”
“I’m Xiao Chunhe’s fox doll.” The little fox narrowed its eyes. “My master made a breakthrough in his cultivation and needs to enter seclusion for a while. He sent me to take care of you.”
The fox doll Yue Jingming normally carried was indeed missing, but the creature in front of him was clearly not that doll. The orange pendant on its ear was larger than the doll fox’s; the kerchief around its chest just happened to cover the patch where its fur had been shaved away; and faint scars marked its legs and chest. Every detail betrayed its true identity.
Xiao Chunhe watched Yue Jingming’s reaction warily. Normally, he only ever revealed his majestic, enormous demon form in front of Yue Jingming. The time inside the illusion did not count. He would never expose his true form in front of anyone else in his life.
If Yue Jingming had not been so badly injured that Xiao Chunhe could not stop worrying, and if biting that charm demon had not left him completely unable to turn back into human form, he never would have resorted to this.
Yue Jingming nodded in understanding. “So that’s how it is.”
Xiao Chunhe flicked his tail and nimbly jumped from the windowsill onto the table. Lowering his head, he somehow produced a small medicine bottle, then pushed it toward Yue Jingming with his left front paw and said aloofly, “You were poisoned by the charm demon. The doctor Liang Yun found can’t treat it, and your fever won’t come down. Take this pill refined from Ice Crystal Grass and the fever will break.”
Yue Jingming tipped the pill into his palm and examined it. It had clearly been refined only recently. “Did your… master gather the herb and refine it himself?”
The little fox raised its head proudly. “He’s that capable. A few pills are nothing.”
“Did he have anything he wanted you to tell me?” Yue Jingming asked.
The little fox’s eyes shifted. It cleared its throat and said, “He said the charm demon is still alive, and that creature is vicious and cunning. What happened with the treasure mirror and those events of the past was extremely dangerous. If you can’t pull yourselves out of it in time, the slightest mistake could damage your Dao hearts. So it would be best if the two of you didn’t meet for now and each took some time to calm down. But I can pass messages between you.”
“That is probably for the best. He has thought it through carefully.” Yue Jingming swallowed one pill. A cool sensation immediately suppressed the burning fever, and even the pain in his back eased considerably.
“How is it?” the little fox asked, watching him nervously.
Yue Jingming smiled. “Much better. Thank you… and your master.”
The little fox happily wagged its tail. “Oh.”
“So you’ll stay here in Chunhe’s place and take care of me?” Yue Jingming raised a hand to stroke its head. When it did not dodge, he gently pinched one pointed ear.
The little red fox narrowed its eyes in pleasure. Its furry head nudged into his warm palm, and on instinct it opened its mouth and bit his finger.
Yue Jingming’s brow lifted. “Are you hungry?”
“No.” The little fox released his hand and said solemnly, “I’m cautious by nature. I accidentally mistook you for an enemy.”
Yue Jingming smiled and got up to wash his hand.
The little fox: “…”
Tsk.
After washing his hand, Yue Jingming rinsed out a cloth and sat back down at the table. “Come here. I’ll wipe you down. You’re covered in dust.”
The fox had probably burrowed deep into the mountains to gather herbs and refine medicine. Its usually beautiful, glossy fur was covered in dust and bits of leaves. If Yue Jingming had not thought it inappropriate, he would have preferred to give it a bath.
Human-form Xiao Chunhe would certainly have refused and argued with Yue Jingming at length. But a fox under another man’s roof had no choice but to retract its claws. It had been acting so obedient just now that revealing its true nature would be rather unfortunate.
And so the fox reluctantly walked over to Yue Jingming and elegantly raised one filthy front paw. “Go ahead.”
It really was rather dirty. Even the fox itself did not want to lick it.
Yue Jingming caught the raised paw and tugged it forward. With his other hand he pinned the fox by the back of the neck, then slapped the damp cloth directly over its dusty face.
Xiao Chunhe: “!!!”
…
Yue Jingming meticulously wiped the little fox’s fur clean, not even sparing the white fur on its belly or at the roots of its legs. Only after going over it three times was he barely satisfied.
Xiao Chunhe lay sprawled on the table in utter despair, snorting gloomily through his nose while the whiskers on either side of his mouth trembled.
In all his life, no one had ever dared treat him this outrageously. If Yue Jingming were a fox, he would definitely be a crude, ill-mannered hooligan fox!
Yue Jingming said blandly, “The tail—”
Bearing the humiliation, Xiao Chunhe said, “You are not wiping me again. I’m already very clean.”
Yue Jingming extended a finger and lightly tapped his damp little nose. “As you wish. It’s getting late.”
“Then I’ll be going.” Xiao Chunhe stood and looked toward the window. His hind legs coiled, and he sprang toward the sill. But a faint fragrance swept past, and a hand slid under his belly and scooped up the entire fox.
Yue Jingming calmly shut the window, then carried him back to the bed.
The fox stared at him in shock. “What are you doing?”
“Aren’t you supposed to stay in Xiao Chunhe’s place and take care of me?” Yue Jingming set him down among the soft bedding. “How are you going to do that if you aren’t here?”
Xiao Chunhe was baffled. “I already brought you an Ice Crystal Pill!”
Yue Jingming lowered his eyes to him. “That counts as taking care of me?”
Xiao Chunhe said, “Of course. This is already excellent care. There isn’t a more considerate fox anywhere under Heaven than me!”
Whenever he had been injured in the past, he had simply licked his wounds and healed on his own. The few times he had nearly died and the Clan Chief happened to find him, the Clan Chief had considerately given him good medicine. Xiao Chunhe would find a cave, hide inside, take the medicine, and survive. As far as he was concerned, that was already exceptionally attentive care.
He could not understand what Yue Jingming was dissatisfied with and grew a little annoyed. “Don’t be so greedy.”
Yue Jingming had applied medicine and bandaged him before, but expecting the same thing from a fox with four paws was asking far too much.
“My fever may rise again. If I’m thirsty, someone will need to pour water for me. If I’m hungry, someone will have to bring me food.” Yue Jingming blocked off his escape. He lay on his side and lifted one corner of the blanket over the little fox, then added softly, “When I meditate while my true qi is running in reverse, I’ll need someone to stand guard. I’ll feel more at ease if you’re here.”
After thinking it over, Xiao Chunhe actually found that quite reasonable. “Fine, fine. I’ll stay and take care of you.”
Seeing the fox curl itself into a furry ball, Yue Jingming turned and blew out the candle.
The room went dark. Xiao Chunhe had not had time to meditate and regulate his breathing after leaving the treasure mirror. He had spent the entire day busy over the Ice Crystal Pill, his paws barely touching the ground, and on top of that he had overdrawn his demonic qi. Within a few breaths, he was fast asleep.
Yue Jingming pillowed his head on one arm and studied the exhausted little fox in the bedding by moonlight. He reached out and took one of the front paws sticking out from beneath the blanket.
It was warm, and the paw pads were soft. The white fur on its belly, the gray-brown fur on its legs, and the red fur along its back were all beautiful. Its belly rose and fell with each breath. The kerchief it had tied around itself lay crooked to one side, and the little orange pendant was half hidden behind one pointed ear. Even its black nose was adorable…
This little fox was actually Xiao Chunhe’s true form.
Yue Jingming frowned slightly. Suddenly, he could no longer understand how he had once come to hate every fox simply because of one fox demon that had done evil.
He lifted the little fox and placed it on his chest. Lying flat pressed painfully against the wound on his back, but it was nothing serious. If Xiao Chunhe had been in human form, Yue Jingming naturally would never have been so discourteous as to let the man lie on top of him. But a skinny little fox was different. The bed boards were hard and cold. Surely it would not sleep comfortably there.
Sensing the familiar warmth, Xiao Chunhe gave two sleepy little hums, burrowed his fox head into the hollow of Yue Jingming’s neck, draped his fluffy tail over Yue Jingming’s shoulder, and settled back into peaceful sleep.
Yue Jingming stroked his back, then carefully sent his own true qi into him little by little, silently helping him recover his vitality.
…It had taken so much effort just to get a little weight on him.