Chapter 172: Moonlight Fruit
However, Hui Xiong quickly realized something.
This little ancestor—could it be she didn't even know where she was?
If she provoked the wrong people here, even her father, the Monster Clan's Sacred Lord, wouldn't be able to save her.
Gathering his courage, Hui Xiong asked carefully, "Saintess, do you… know what this place is?"
"What place? Isn't it just an ordinary valley? It's only that the spiritual energy here is a little denser," Bai Hu replied matter-of-factly.
So she really didn't know anything!
Hui Xiong gave a bitter smile, just about to explain, when a crisp voice suddenly echoed from afar—
"Xiao Hui! Where are you hiding and slacking off again?"
Hui Xiong's ears shot up, and all his fur bristled.
It was the young mistress!
Before he could think, he instinctively dropped Bai Hu from his back with a heavy thud and bolted off on all fours, charging straight into the rain, splashing mud everywhere without so much as a backward glance.
He wasn't stupid.
After years in the Immortal Spirit Valley, Hui Xiong had long grasped a crucial truth—
The Monster Clan's Saintess? Even if he offended her, whether he lived or died was uncertain, and even if he were to die, that would come later.
But if he offended the young mistress…
He wouldn't even make it to the next sunrise. Her senior brothers alone would chop him up and make soup before sunset!
Jiang Che's sword was fast. Han Yu's sword was fierce. And Xiao Chen's sword—fast and fierce both!
Hui Xiong ran faster than he ever had in his life, his paws kicking up waves of mud, looking as if ten thousand thunderbolts were chasing behind him.
Bai Hu stood frozen where she was, rain dripping down her snowy fur.
She, the only daughter of the Monster Clan's Sacred Lord, had just been thrown off by a gray bear?!
"Hey! Stop right there!" Bai Hu shouted furiously, her tail bristling in anger.
In rare fury, nine ghostly fox tails flared behind her—an unmistakable sign that she was truly enraged. A flash of light, and she disappeared from sight, streaking after him.
Hearing the sharp whistle of air behind him, Hui Xiong's heart nearly stopped. He ran even faster, despair welling up in his chest.
He was doomed!
He'd acted purely on reflex, completely forgetting the other little ancestor standing right there.
Now he was trapped between his young mistress, Chen Xingcai, in front—and the Monster Clan Saintess behind!
He was dead either way. They'd mince him into dumpling filling before dawn!
Just as Bai Hu was about to catch up and Hui Xiong's despair reached its peak—
"Xiao Hui, what are you doing?"
A gentle voice rang out. Hui Xiong's ears perked instantly, his heart soaring in relief.
Thank the heavens—it was the young mistress's gentle mood today! He was saved!
He half-rolled, half-sprinted toward her, then collapsed at her feet with a heavy thud. Clutching her leg with both paws, tears filled his eyes. "Young Mistress! Save me!"
Chen Xingcai looked down at the soaking wet, mud-covered bear and couldn't help but laugh. "What happened to you? Rolling in the mud pit again? Who in the Immortal Spirit Valley could possibly threaten your life?"
She reached out to pat his head—but her hand froze midair as her gaze shifted past him.
Behind Hui Xiong, Bai Hu landed lightly, her nine phantom tails swaying faintly in the rain. Her eyes glinted coldly as she glared at the bear, then swept an icy glance toward Chen Xingcai.
"So that's how it is," Bai Hu sneered. "No wonder you ran so fast—you've acknowledged a human as your master?"
Hui Xiong's whole body stiffened. His paws clutched even tighter at Chen Xingcai's leg, not daring to lift his head.
However, Chen Xingcai's reaction surprised Bai Li.
She blinked, unfazed by Bai Li's aura, and instead regarded her with interest. "Oh? What a pretty fox!"
Bai Li: "…?"
Hui Xiong: "…??"
Wait! Young Mistress! This is the Sacred Lord's only daughter of the Monster Clan!
Hui Xiong cried silently, but despite knowing that even if the master discovered it could speak nothing severe would likely happen, it still tried to maintain its wild-animal persona.
In the next moment, Chen Xingcai was already squatting down with a smile and reached out a hand. "Little fox, what's your name?"
Bai Li narrowed her eyes and arrogantly lifted her chin. "Who are you, daring to seize my demon servant and speak to me so familiarly?"
"My?!" Chen Xingcai paused. "Wow, calling yourself that is so cute. And you say demon servant? Sorry, Xiao Hui has been my pet for ten years—I can't give him to you."
A Returning Origin Realm bear, barely near the title of demon king in the northern wastelands, was now treated as a human's pet.
Bai Li, a born demon, felt shame. She fixed Chen Xingcai with a dangerous gaze and said proudly, "I am the Monster Clan Saintess, Bai Li. Who are you? State your name!"
She expected that upon hearing her title the human girl would turn pale and at least bow respectfully.
Instead—
"Whoa! Really?" Chen Xingcai's eyes lit up, not frightened but even more excited. "Monster Clan Saintess? Does that mean you can take human form?"
Bai Li: "…"
Hui Xiong: "…"
Miss! Aren't you focusing on the wrong thing?!
Bai Li inhaled deeply and suppressed her anger. The other's words struck at her core. "I am a nine-tailed celestial fox, not comparable to other races. Only after a millennium of cultivation, when the nine tails condense into substance, can a nine-tailed fox assume human form!"
"Oh~" Chen Xingcai nodded, then, taking advantage of Bai Li's momentary lapse, she reached out and poked the phantom of Bai Li's tail. "Is your tail real right now?"
Bai Li: "!!!"
She recoiled, her nine tails flaring, and cried angrily, "How dare you!"
Hui Xiong was nearly fainting, paws clamped over his eyes, unwilling to witness the impending disaster.
But Chen Xingcai was not intimidated; she laughed even more brightly. "Aiyah, don't be mad~"
She produced a crystal-clear spirit fruit from her sleeve as if by sleight of hand. "Here, eat this."
Bai Li intended to refuse, but her nose twitched as a rich spiritual aura filled the air.
Moonlight Fruit?!
And an exceptional one at that!
She suppressed her shock and fixed Chen Xingcai with suspicion. "Where did you get it?"
The Moonlight Fruit is a rare marvel unique to the northern lands of the Monster Clan—flowers bloom once in a thousand years and bear fruit once in a thousand years. When ripe, the fruit is crystalline like jade and contains moonlight essence, greatly benefiting demon cultivation, especially the path of transformation; it is an unsurpassed treasure.
"My father gave it to me~" Chen Xingcai waved the fruit. "Want some?"
Bai Li hesitated.
This human had repeatedly insulted her and even reached for her precious tail—enough to deserve death ten times over by right.
But… it's a Moonlight Fruit…
Bai Li quietly swallowed.
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