Volume 5 Chapter 84
by Need_More_SleepVolume 5 + Chapter 84: The Disappearing Little Fox
Yue Liu finished eating the fish.
Still feeling unsatisfied, she stuck out her small pink tongue and licked the fish bones clean.
“So foxes really do love eating fish,” Xia Yi remarked with a sigh as she watched the little fox.
“Mm…!”
The little fox hurriedly stopped what she was doing.
This was terrible, how could she behave so disgracefully in front of her nemesis?
“I was only doing that to make sure my condition wouldn’t be affected during the upcoming Forbidden Trial!”
“If you like it, you like it. There’s nothing wrong with admitting it,” Xia Yi said.
The little fox panicked and hurriedly clarified, “I’m not saying I like you!!”
The moment she said those words, she clapped a hand over her mouth, instantly filled with regret.
What on earth was she saying?!
Her nemesis would definitely misunderstand,
“Yes, I know. Fox-radish, the one you like is fish, not me,” Xia Yi replied seriously. “Don’t worry, I absolutely won’t develop any strange misunderstandings about that.”
“…”
The little fox was completely speechless. Why was it that her nemesis wouldn’t even allow herself to misunderstand for a moment? Could it be that her own charm simply wasn’t enough?
How irritating!!
“Since we’ve filled our stomachs and rested enough, let’s get ready and set off,” Xia Yi said.
She began packing up their things.
The little fox watched from the side and noticed something remarkable. Xia Yi cleaned up the area with remarkable professionalism. An ordinary person would hardly be able to tell that anyone had been here at all. It would be extremely difficult for anyone with ill intentions to track their movements.
She recalled their time at Laurel Tree Academy, when she and Xia Yi had shared the same dormitory. Back then, Xia Yi had seemed like nothing more than a lazy silver dragon who only knew how to slack off and have fun. Where had this mature, capable side of her come from?
It made her curious.
Could it be that her nemesis only acted lazy in front of her, while back in the dragon royal palace she was actually working hard behind the scenes, constantly studying and training?
“Alright, everything’s ready. Let’s go,” Xia Yi said after finishing the cleanup.
“Mm.”
The little fox nodded.
One dragon and one fox walked forward through the cherry blossom forest. A gentle breeze brushed against them as petals drifted down and settled on the ground, layer upon layer, forming a path of blossoms that seemed to guide them onward.
The little fox deliberately slowed her pace and walked slightly behind Xia Yi so she could secretly watch her the entire time.
As she gazed at the face of her nemesis, she found herself thinking about something.
In this world, everyone had abandoned her. Yet at her most desperate moment, it had been Xia Yi who reached out a hand to help her.
Not only that, she herself had decided to take part in this emergency trial, one that carried the risk of death. And yet Xia Yi had followed her here, willing to risk her life as well… even though this matter had nothing to do with her.
The little fox was of the Nine-Tailed Fox clan. She knew well that in the history of the fox race, countless nine-tailed foxes had sought the power of the Red Fox God and entered the Forbidden Trial, never to return.
If Xia Yi were to encounter danger…
At that thought, her gaze subtly changed.
“Fox-radish, why does the path stop here?” Xia Yi suddenly said, stopping and pointing ahead.
The cherry blossom path ended abruptly. The trees ahead overlapped and intertwined, forming what looked like a barrier that blocked their way forward.
There were no paths in any other direction either.
“To participate in Lord Fox God’s Forbidden Trial, there are conditions. Not every fox has the right to pursue such powerful strength,” the little fox explained. “Right here, I must demonstrate my own qualifications.”
“How do you do that?”
“I will perform a ritual dance here. If Lord Fox God acknowledges it, the path will open and allow us to proceed to the Forbidden Trial.”
“Fox-radish, can you really do it?” Xia Yi asked curiously. “You can’t even take human form right now.”
“Of course I know that. Even in this form, I can still perform the ritual dance.”
“Really?!” Xia Yi became even more curious.
“Stand farther away. You’re not allowed to laugh at me, and you’re not allowed to make a single sound!”
“Okay, okay.”
Xia Yi agreed and stepped aside, looking extremely expectant.
After taking a deep breath, Yue Liu began her dance.
The small pink nine-tailed fox danced gracefully, displaying an elegant and beautiful performance. Contrary to what Xia Yi had imagined, there was no awkwardness in the movement at all. Instead, there was a sense of sacred purity that stirred the heart and drew the viewer into its spell.
The ritual dance seemed to possess a mysterious magic. The surrounding cherry blossom trees resonated with it, their falling petals turning into silent partners in the dance, circling rhythmically around the little fox. Even the sound of the wind seemed to transform into song.
The interwoven cherry blossom trees ahead slowly began to move, as though satisfied spectators stepping aside to reveal a path forward.
When the dance ended, the cherry blossom path once again appeared before the little fox.
“Alright. This means Lord Fox God has acknowledged me, I have the qualifications to participate in the Forbidden Trial,” the little fox said. “Now we can continue.”
“Fox-radish, your dance was truly beautiful. I think I’ll remember it for the rest of my life,” Xia Yi said.
“What? D-don’t casually say things like ‘for the rest of your life’ in front of me…! Don’t tease me like that!”
“I’m not teasing you this time. I’m serious.”
“If it’s sincere… then I suppose I won’t argue with you about it.”
Although she said that aloud, the little fox looked visibly happy.
The two of them continued forward. After walking for some distance, they arrived at a fork in the road. The little fox suddenly seemed to remember something, stopped, and turned around.
“My nemesis, I just remembered something,” she said, pointing toward a hill in the distance. “At the foot of that hill there’s a magical beast guarding a treasure chest. The next stage requires the key inside that chest to open the way. Go defeat the beast and bring back the key so we don’t have to come all the way back later.”
“What about you?” Xia Yi asked.
“I won’t go. That magical beast looks very unpleasant to me. Just seeing it makes me uncomfortable. I’ll wait here!”
“Alright then.”
Xia Yi agreed.
After all, the little fox currently had almost no combat ability, her power had been sealed by Bai Lian.
So Xia Yi headed toward the hill alone.
After some time, she arrived at the small hill and prepared to eliminate the magical beast and retrieve the key from the treasure chest.
However, something inexplicable happened.
There was no magical beast at the foot of the hill as the little fox had described. There wasn’t even a treasure chest.
She circled the area several times. Forget magical beasts, she couldn’t even find traces of animals passing through.
“Did Fox-radish remember wrong?”
Having wasted quite a bit of time here, Xia Yi decided to go back and ask Fox-radish for clarification.
But when she returned to the fork in the road, she suddenly froze.
The little fox had not stayed there waiting for her.
She had vanished without a trace.
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