A thick cloud of doubt surfaced in Bi Lan’s mind.
She examined the craftsmanship of the straw-woven fox more closely and suddenly understood.
It must have been a toy Yan Zhao made to amuse her fox. It could barely be considered the fox’s possession.
Bi Lan took the straw-woven fox from Yan Zhao’s hand, and nearly popped its eye off in the process, earning a fierce glare from Yan Zhao.
“Cough.” Embarrassed, Bi Lan pressed the little mung-bean eye back in place. To smooth things over, she said, “Junior Sister Yan, please wait a moment while I cast the spell.”
Yan Zhao held her tongue, standing quietly to one side, waiting patiently.
Bi Lan formed hand seals, drawing a strand of Karmic Qi from the straw-woven fox and circulating it through her compass to take a reading of the direction.
Before long, the needle on the compass stabilized, revealing a divination reading.
Bi Lan divined a clue and breathed a sigh of relief.
She didn’t know why, but this particular divination had made her far more nervous than usual.
She returned the straw-woven fox to Yan Zhao. “Junior Sister Yan, follow me.”
Yan Zhao put the straw-woven fox away carefully and stepped onto Bi Lan’s Flying Sword.
After a short flight, Bi Lan spoke. “It should be roughly around this area.”
Yan Zhao looked down and spotted a patch of forest. Wasn’t this the Plum Grove where she had been sleeping earlier?
Could the little fox have come back?
With this thought, the Flying Sword began its descent.
Bi Lan chose a wide, flat clearing to set Yan Zhao down. “Let’s search the surrounding area together.”
Yan Zhao was trying to determine the location of the tree she had slept in before, ignoring Bi Lan entirely.
After a moment, Bi Lan asked again. “By the way, Junior Sister Yan, what’s your fox’s name?”
Yan Zhao answered, “It doesn’t have a name.”
Bi Lan wasn’t surprised. Giving a name to a fox just didn’t seem like Yan Zhao’s nature.
But since Yan Zhao rarely took an interest in anything, Bi Lan offered a suggestion. “You should give it a name. That way, even if it wanders off, you can call it back.”
Hearing this, Yan Zhao tilted her head in thought. It seemed to make sense.
But what name should she give?
Yan Zhao pondered seriously.
Bi Lan accompanied Yan Zhao into the Plum Grove to search for the little fox. As they walked, a greenish figure darted into her field of vision.
“There’s someone!” Bi Lan grabbed Yan Zhao’s arm.
Yan Zhao glanced back. “Not a fox.”
Bi Lan chuckled despite herself. “We can go ask. Since there are people in the grove, what if someone saw it?”
Yan Zhao was convinced. She nodded. “Okay, let’s ask.”
They passed through the shadows of the trees, approaching the figure in green.
The silhouette of a woman gradually became clear.
As her features came into full view, Bi Lan’s face froze in shock, stopping in her tracks. “E-Eldest Senior Sister?!”
Ren Qingyue was equally surprised.
She had been just about to perform a divination to find out where Yan Zhao had run off to, never expecting to run straight into her when she suddenly backtracked.
Yan Zhao’s gaze paused on Ren Qingyue for a brief moment, but shifted away in the blink of an eye, landing on the tree beside Ren Qingyue.
This was the one.
She turned her head, looking left and right, her face falling more with each glance.
The little fox hadn’t come back.
Yan Zhao was getting anxious. Seeing Bi Lan frozen in shock, she simply walked right up to Ren Qingyue by herself.
Ren Qingyue met Yan Zhao’s gaze, her heart suddenly skipping a beat.
Could it be that Yan Zhao had recognized her?
Unexpectedly, Yan Zhao asked her expressionlessly, “Have you seen my fox?”
“…”
Ha, she can’t even bother to call me Senior Sister.
Bi Lan saw Ren Qingyue’s face darken, and her heart lurched.
Thinking back to her previous encounters with Ren Qingyue, this Eldest Senior Sister was cold, aloof, and hard to get along with.
Bi Lan felt a headache coming on. Yan Zhao’s tone was far too rude! Besides, how could Senior Sister possibly know what her fox looked like?!
Afraid Yan Zhao might get beaten up, Bi Lan stepped forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her back two steps, and tried to do damage control.
“S-Senior Sister, Yan Zhao’s Spirit Pet has gone missing. We’ve been searching for a long time without finding it, so she’s a little anxious. Please don’t take offense. Has Senior Sister perhaps seen a white Spirit Fox?”
Ren Qingyue mentally scoffed: She’s lying through her teeth. How does Yan Zhao look anxious in the slightest?
Lacking manners was Yan Zhao’s usual style.
“I have.”
Ren Qingyue’s expression was indifferent and cold as she glanced at Yan Zhao.
The latter immediately looked over.
Ren Qingyue continued, “Just a moment ago, a Spirit Fox was circling under this tree, as if looking for something. But it didn’t find it, so it’s already left.”
“Ah…” Bi Lan’s heart jumped. She quickly pressed, “Could Senior Sister tell us which direction it went?”
Ren Qingyue casually pointed. “That way.”
“I see, many thanks to Senior Sister!” Bi Lan grabbed Yan Zhao to leave, but when she tugged, Yan Zhao didn’t budge.
Yan Zhao stood rooted to the spot, lips tightly pursed, her expression cold.
Bi Lan asked her, “What’s wrong?”
“No more searching.” Yan Zhao replied. “If it wants to run away on its own, it’ll just run again even if we find it. No more.”
Ren Qingyue: “…”
Her brow furrowed deeply, her expression growing increasingly sour.
Her exquisitely beautiful face now looked as if coated in a layer of frost.
Bi Lan sensed the crushing low pressure, barely daring to breathe.
What’s gotten into Senior Sister?
Ren Qingyue said nothing more and walked away, turning her head.
Yan Zhao stood beneath the plum tree, pulling out the little straw-woven fox from her chest.
The two mung-bean eyes stared blankly; at the mouth, half a blade of grass stuck out, resembling a fox sticking out its tongue.
Only these lifeless things will never leave me, Yan Zhao thought.
That day at the foot of Fuyun Sect Mountain, when the little fox had leaped into her arms, it was the first time in her life she had ever felt so resolutely chosen.
She had thought this fox would be different.
The atmosphere was too heavy. Bi Lan felt a little lost. “J-Junior Sister Yan, maybe we should search a bit more?”
Yan Zhao didn’t make a sound; she probably hadn’t even heard her.
Bi Lan sighed, full of regret.
If she’d known this would happen, she never would have suggested Yan Zhao come this way.
Who could have known Eldest Senior Sister would be standing under that tree? Shouldn’t this Senior Sister be staying properly inside the Sect?
Appearing and disappearing like a ghost, scaring people to death.
Just as Bi Lan was thinking this, she suddenly caught a glimpse of movement in the night.
Looking closely, it was a tiny white fluffy thing.
“Hey! Junior Sister Yan, look!”
Bi Lan pulled hard on Yan Zhao’s arm. Yan Zhao was forced to turn her head.
She saw a Spirit Fox dart out from the forest, weaving through the shadows of the trees at incredible speed, rapidly approaching.
When it came near, it leaped with a whoosh into Yan Zhao’s arms, giving her no chance to dodge.
Seeing this, Bi Lan’s eyes crinkled with joy. “It actually found its way back on its own!”
The little fox burrowed into the folds of Yan Zhao’s clothes. A moment later, a tiny head poked out from the gap at the collar. It lifted its nose and nudged Yan Zhao’s chin.
Yan Zhao was unmoved.
Bi Lan tried to lighten the mood, saying to Yan Zhao, “Maybe it wasn’t running away before. Maybe it went looking for you nearby.”
Hearing this, Yan Zhao lowered her eyes, meeting the little fox’s gaze—those crystalline green eyes like polished glass.
The little fox’s eyes sparkled.
Suddenly, it stuck out a small part of its pink tongue, making the exact same silly expression as the straw-woven fox.
“…”
Yan Zhao’s brow trembled. Her tight expression suddenly loosened, and she was tickled into laughter.
She said, “That’s so ugly.”
The little fox: “…”
The next instant, Yan Zhao reached out and grabbed one of its ears.
The little fox: “???”
“This is punishment,” Yan Zhao said with utter seriousness.
The little fox pulled its head back into her clothes, ignoring her completely.
Bi Lan was entirely relieved, feeling the atmosphere return to normal. She seized the opportunity to ask Yan Zhao, “Junior Sister Yan, why don’t we stay one night at a relay station tonight, and decide where to go tomorrow.”
Yan Zhao nodded. “Okay.”
It was rare to have a back-and-forth conversation with Yan Zhao, so Bi Lan smiled.
As before, Bi Lan led the way, flying on her sword and taking Yan Zhao along to the Immortal Market.
In about the time it took to burn a stick of incense, they landed outside a Relay Station.
The little fox poked its head out from Yan Zhao’s chest. Seeing the sign swaying in the wind outside the station, it fell into deep thought.
This was the very same station where she had come to gather information earlier.
Bi Lan walked into the station with practiced ease and spoke with the shop assistant. “One upper room.”
Only one room?
Ren Qingyue couldn’t help but recall the content she had inadvertently overheard while previously snooping for information. Her expression became rather subtle.
Connecting this with Bi Lan’s various favors towards Yan Zhao—how she practically followed Yan Zhao everywhere she went, and even combed her hair—something she had previously overlooked suddenly clicked into her awareness.
Could it be?
Absolutely not! Ren Qingyue thought. Yan Zhao is still a child!
Bi Lan paid for the room and headed upstairs together with Yan Zhao, following the shop assistant.
Yan Zhao walked silently behind her, curiously examining the station’s surroundings. It was another new place she had never been to.
The assistant led Yan Zhao and Bi Lan to the room. The furnishings were simple, but chairs, tables, cabinets, and a bed were all present.
There were even two prayer mats beside the tea table.
The bed was quite spacious—enough for two people to lie down side-by-side.
The little fox stared at this bed, its tiny face scrunching up.
Bi Lan dusted off her clothes, formed a hand seal for an Ignition Spell to light the Oil Lamp on the table, and turned to call Yan Zhao. “Junior Sister Yan, if you’re tired—”
But she had only just started speaking when she saw Yan Zhao was already lying down, blanket pulled up to her chin.
“…”
Bi Lan laughed helplessly. She walked to the bedside and tucked in the corner of Yan Zhao’s blanket.
Yan Zhao had her eyes closed, but feeling Bi Lan’s movement, she opened them again.
She turned her head to look at Bi Lan at her bedside. “Do you want to sleep too?”
Bi Lan considered for a moment. “I could sleep.”
So Yan Zhao wrapped herself in the blanket and rolled to the far inside of the bed, leaving enough room for Bi Lan to lie down comfortably.
Bi Lan looked at the empty other half of the bed, and some unnamed emotion inexplicably stirred a corner of her heart.
Her lips moved slightly. She said softly, “Thank you.”
Bi Lan was just about to take off her shoes and lie down when a flash of white suddenly darted before her eyes.
The little fox emerged from Yan Zhao’s chest and sprawled itself brazenly over the empty half of the bed.
Its body stretched out, its pointy little mouth opening in a yawn, revealing a tiny pink tongue that curled up, then relaxed.
The little fox settled in to sleep with an extremely relaxed posture, its fluffy, big tail spreading out to completely fill an entire person’s spot.
Bi Lan: “…”
