The water in the big pot hadn’t heated up yet, and the little fox was scrambling against the rim, trying to jump out.
“Don’t run!” Yan Zhao scooped it up with one hand and pressed it back in.
Then, with one hand supporting its belly, she scooped water from the pot with the other and poured it over its body, paying particularly harsh attention to its blood-stained head and big tail.
“…”
Feng Jin’s original intention might have been to just cast a Dust-Cleansing Spell on it. The reason Yan Zhao refused was actually to bathe it! In a large cooking pot!
The little fox’s struggle was futile. Resigned to its fate, it was thoroughly rubbed and scrubbed from head to tail by Yan Zhao.
After rinsing, Yan Zhao lifted the fox and squeezed the water from its fur, then found a rag in her Universe Pouch, wrapped it up, and dried it.
Finally, she flipped the entire fox over, parted the fur on its belly, and carefully checked how its injury was healing.
During this, she inevitably touched places she shouldn’t have. Ren Qingyue was so ashamed she wished she were dead, wanting nothing more than to chop Yan Zhao’s hand off with a sword!
Its fur was wet and could not bristle, so it had to curl its tail up to cover its modesty.
Unfortunately, Yan Zhao failed to notice the murderous look in the fox’s eyes at all. While rummaging through the fine, soft fur to inspect the wound, she sighed, “After two days of care, the injury is getting better. Good thing no new ones were added yesterday.”
Having said that, she ruffled the fox’s head. Its pointy little ears were pushed flat by her hand, then sprang back up the moment she let go.
The texture was incredibly pleasant.
The kitchen was very efficient. In just the time it takes to burn one incense stick, just as Yan Zhao finished bathing the fox, the meal was delivered to her room.
The person delivering the food was none other than Shen Tuo, the one who had previously tailed Luo Qi and the other man under Feng Jin’s orders.
Shen Tuo knocked on Yan Zhao’s door and called out, “Miss Yan, the food is here. I’m leaving it by the door.”
With that, he placed the tray on the ground by the door.
As he walked away, he was musing to himself that the rumors circulating the stronghold about the Boss and Miss Yan sounded so well-founded, they couldn’t be fake.
When he was bringing the food over, Feng Jin had even specifically warned him not to enter the room.
Shen Tuo clicked his tongue. “She’s guarding against this so tightly. If the Boss didn’t have other matters to attend to, she’d probably deliver Miss Yan’s meal personally.”
Passing by the adjacent room, he inadvertently glanced at its tightly shut door.
Recalling what he had overheard in the courtyard earlier, Shen Tuo’s gaze became meaningful.
The moment Shen Tuo left, the door to Yan Zhao’s guest room opened a crack, and the tray was brought inside.
She didn’t use the small bowl and chopsticks provided for her. Instead, she grabbed a piece of meat with her bare hand and offered it to the little fox. “Want to try?”
The little fox looked at Yan Zhao. The dark red blood-light in those eyes had vanished.
If it hadn’t seen it with its own eyes, it would be hard to associate the murderous devil boss from last night with the thin, frail-looking girl before her.
Seeing the fox sitting still, Yan Zhao gently coaxed it, “Eat a little. Today’s food shouldn’t be poisoned.”
Poisoned? Ren Qingyue paused slightly.
Immediately, she understood why Yan Zhao hadn’t let it touch that food early yesterday morning.
It had been the same last night. If Yan Zhao hadn’t held it so tightly, its fate might have been no different from Black Sky Tyrant’s.
Ren Qingyue remembered the wound on the back of Yan Zhao’s shoulder. When the Corpse Puppet’s sharp claws had slashed down on her shoulder, besides the sound of cloth and flesh tearing, there had also been the crisp snap of bone cracking.
Although Yan Zhao’s movements seemed unimpaired, such a severe injury likely wouldn’t heal so quickly.
It took the meat from Yan Zhao’s hand, its gaze moving up along her shoulder.
Yan Zhao’s clothes were already tattered beyond recognition. A huge gash was torn open at the shoulder, its edges stained red with blood, then dried by the wind, congealing into black-brown scabs that stuck stiffly to her body.
It looked incredibly uncomfortable.
The little fox came back to its senses, lowered its head, and silently ate its meat.
It didn’t look for long, but when it did glance, the meat in its mouth almost fell out.
Before it could finish even one piece of meat, the food on the tray had already been swept clean by Yan Zhao.
Yan Zhao was sucking her oil-glistening fingers and met the little fox’s resentful gaze. “You ate too slowly yourself; you can’t blame me for not sharing.”
The fox’s teeth itched again.
It must have been blind to be moved by Yan Zhao!
The little fox successfully bristled, and Yan Zhao’s eyes curved in delight.
Suddenly, as if conjuring a trick, she produced a bowl from behind her back and placed it in front of the little fox.
The bowl was full of meat.
Yan Zhao patted its head, grinning. “See? You have to follow me to get meat!”
The little fox: “…”
About half an hour later, Ah Ling came into the courtyard to collect the bowls. Stepping into the small yard, she was immediately overwhelmed by a stench that sent her retreating. “What is that smell?!”
She looked left and right, searching carefully for a long time before finally finding the source of the odor.
On the roof of the guest room.
Yan Zhao was sitting on the roof, basking in the sun with the fox in her arms.
Just like the day she first came up the mountain, she was covered in blood, her clothes in tatters and worn improperly. Just sitting there, her presence made the entire courtyard stink.
Ah Ling was instantly furious and shouted at the roof, “Yan Zhao! Get down here!”
Feng Jin passed by outside the courtyard and heard Ah Ling’s voice, her heart lurching in alarm.
What was that little ancestor clashing with Yan Zhao about now?
Ah Ling didn’t know how formidable Yan Zhao was. Feng Jin felt uneasy and hurriedly stepped into the small courtyard to find out what was going on.
The door to the other guest room also opened at that moment. Bi Lan stood inside the doorway, leaning out in confusion. “What’s going on?”
Today’s sun was warm and gentle, making one drowsy.
Yan Zhao was on the verge of falling asleep when Ah Ling’s sudden yell jolted her awake. She opened her eyes, completely baffled.
Ah Ling had been yelling under the eaves for ages, but Yan Zhao ignored her completely, too lazy to move. Ah Ling simply fetched a ladder, leaned it against the wall, and started climbing up.
Feng Jin rushed over to stop her. “Ah Ling, what are you doing?”
Ah Ling was even angry at Feng Jin now and forcefully shook off her hand. “You might be able to stand it, but I can’t!”
Saying that, she stomped up the ladder, cracking a few roof tiles along the way. In two or three steps, she reached Yan Zhao, grabbed her clothes, and hauled her down.
Seeing the situation turning bad, the little fox jumped out of Yan Zhao’s arms.
Like a boneless rag doll, Yan Zhao was light as anything, letting Ah Ling carry her all the way to the well.
Ah Ling drew a bucket of water and went to the kitchen to fetch some hot water to mix in. When the temperature was about right, she soaked a towel and slapped it onto Yan Zhao’s face. “Wash up properly! A young lady, so slovenly and filthy—what does that look like?!”
Feng Jin gasped, so frightened she reached out and pulled Ah Ling’s arm, dragging her back.
This time she used force, and Ah Ling couldn’t shake her off.
At the same time, she carefully observed Yan Zhao’s expression, terrified that Ah Ling’s lit-firecracker attitude would offend Yan Zhao and make this monster fly into a rage.
Once Yan Zhao went berserk, the few people in this stronghold wouldn’t be enough for her to kill.
Forced to distance herself from Yan Zhao, Ah Ling was fuming inside and silently cursed Feng Jin for playing favorites.
A complex expression also appeared on Bi Lan’s face.
She wasn’t as tense and careful as Feng Jin; from her past experience, she knew that Yan Zhao probably wouldn’t listen to any request Ah Ling made.
The towel slipped from Yan Zhao’s face and was caught by her own hand.
Everyone, including the little fox at Yan Zhao’s side, held their breath simultaneously.
No one could predict Yan Zhao’s next reaction.
They saw Yan Zhao clutching the towel with both hands, then looking down at herself.
Because she had bathed the fox, she had conveniently washed her hands, so both her hands were clean and fair. But aside from her hands, the rest of her was also covered in filth.
Much dirtier than the fox was.
“Oh.”
Yan Zhao mused.
The next instant, she lifted the water bucket and, with a splash, poured it over herself from head to toe.
The three other people present, plus one fox: “…”
Yan Zhao was drenched.
Feng Jin and Bi Lan were startled; Ah Ling was completely taken aback.
Water splashed onto the little fox’s paws.
It lifted a little paw and shook it off with distaste.
“Y-you-you!” Ah Ling stuttered for ages without finding a suitable description, finally blurting out, “What is wrong with you?!”
Yan Zhao tilted her head in puzzlement. Isn’t this the fastest way?
Ah Ling felt that interacting with Yan Zhao would shorten her life by ten years.
She suspected Yan Zhao was deliberately defying her.
The little fox also raised its head, its crystal-bright eyes revealing obvious incomprehension.
It had originally thought Yan Zhao was dirty because of laziness or a dislike of cleanliness. Now it seemed that Yan Zhao simply had no idea how to take care of herself.
It seriously doubted: how had Yan Zhao grown up like this? In three hundred years at Fuyun Sect, had no one taught her how to wash and groom?
Ren Qingyue suddenly fell silent.
Indeed, no one had.
Immortal Venerable Yuan Yi perhaps knew Yan Zhao’s identity. Whatever he thought in his heart, even if he cared for the bond of kinship, because of those old fossils in the sect, he couldn’t openly give Yan Zhao too much attention, so the help he could provide was very limited.
Furthermore, as a male elder of a different surname, he couldn’t personally attend to every aspect of Yan Zhao’s care.
Those inner disciples on Tianzhu Peak either were as indifferent as Ren Qingyue had previously been, or like Luo Qi and Lin Chao, mocked and bullied Yan Zhao because she couldn’t cultivate.
Yan Zhao grew up in such an environment, so naturally, she understood nothing.
Because no one taught her.
That she managed to survive at all was already lucky.
If Immortal Venerable Yuanqing were still alive, how could she let her child live like this?
Ren Qingyue’s heart ached faintly with shame.
She was utterly ashamed of her own cold detachment over all those years.
After Yan Zhao threw the water, her clothes were soaked through, and her body felt chilly.
She didn’t understand why Ah Ling was angry.
It had always been this way for her.
Tianzhu Peak was full of demon beasts; whether she was finding her own food or dealing with wild beasts that wanted to eat her, getting her clothes dirty was inevitable.
Rather than waste time washing them, it was better to find more food.
When it rained anyway, standing in the rain would wash her clean.
The soaked, tattered clothes clung to her body in strips, making her frame look even more gaunt and thin.
Being stared at by everyone with such strange expressions, she suddenly felt a little cold.
This feeling was different from when she was humiliated by her fellow disciples on Tianzhu Peak.
But exactly how it was different, she couldn’t put into words.
Just then, the little fox came to Yan Zhao’s feet, reached out a small paw, and gently tugged at her trouser leg.
Yan Zhao looked down and met a pair of bright, lively eyes.
She sensed an emotion in its eyes entirely different from before.
She crouched down and picked it up.
Then, the little fox’s pointy snout came close to her.
The fox’s moist little nose gently touched her face. Its breath was warm, quietly brushing past her ear, bringing a ticklish, numb sensation.
And a strange, heart-racing closeness that made her heartbeat suddenly quicken.
![The Villain Is The True Beauty [Quick Transmigration]](https://i0.wp.com/dobytranslations.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/quick-tr.png?resize=151,215 "The Villain Is The True Beauty [Quick Transmigration]")