The forest thinned as Yun Zhen stepped over a fallen trunk, the small silver fox resting in his arm rising and falling with his movement. Mei Ling's tail brushed his wrist every few steps, flicking like she wanted attention, or like she wanted him to know she wasn't happy pretending to be weak.
She whispered through a thin thread of telepathy, "Hold me better. My fur is sensitive."
"You're the one who said you wanted to hide," Yun Zhen muttered, adjusting his grip.
"Hide, yes. Be carried like some cheap pet, no," she complained, shifting until her head poked out of the crook of his elbow.
He sighed. "You killed an Elementary Spirit Realm Stage Four beast."
She puffed her fur. "That was the other me. I'm Little Fox now. A fragile flower."
"You're impossible."
"And you're slow," she teased.
Yun Zhen didn't answer. His ribs still ached from the last fight, and every step sent a pulse of pain through his chest. He held it back and kept walking, telling himself he'd rest later. The clan gates appeared after the next bend, two tall wooden towers with bored guards leaning on spears.
One guard glanced up. His jaw dropped. "Is that… Yun Zhen?"
The other guard elbowed him. "It can't be him. He should've died."
Yun Zhen stepped closer. Both guards stiffened, eyes locked on the fox in his arms.
"What is that?" one asked, leaning forward.
"A fox," the other answered. "Obviously."
"It looks expensive."
"It looks small," the guard said, lowering his voice.
Mei Ling's pink fox eyes narrowed. She stared at them like she was deciding which throat to bite first.
"Don't attack anyone," Yun Zhen whispered under his breath.
Her tail smacked his wrist. "I wasn't going to bite them. Much."
Elder Liang arrived before the guards could say anything else. His robe trailed behind him as he walked, his nose raised like the air should bow to him before he even breathed it. The moment he recognized Yun Zhen, his face twisted into a confused frown.
"You… survived?"
"Yes," Yun Zhen answered.
Elder Liang's gaze slid to the fox in his arm. "And you brought back a beast. A weak one."
The fox glared at him so hard her tiny body trembled. Yun Zhen tightened his grip to keep her from jumping at the elder's face.
"Congratulations," Elder Liang muttered. "Even trash can have luck."
Yun Zhen said nothing. Mei Ling hissed softly, the sound so faint only he could hear. He tilted his wrist in warning, and she reluctantly stopped.
A cold chime rang in his mind.
[Scan function recommended.]
[Target: Unknown Spirit Beast.]
He ignored it for a moment, but the system pulsed again.
[Suggestion: Immediate scan may provide critical information.]
Fine. He shifted his arm slightly so the fox faced upward, pretending to adjust her. Then he activated the scan in his mind.
A soft click echoed in his vision.
[Scanning Target…]
Text scrolled in bright silver lines:
[Name: Mei Ling]
[Race: Fox Spirit]
[Realm: Elementary Spirit Realm — Stage 5]
[Affinities: Illusion / Wind]
[Physique: None]
[Bloodline: Nine-tailed Fox Divine Beast — Divine Rank] [Unawakened]
[Temperament: Playful / Seductive]
[Compatibility: 85]
[Yin Level: High — High purity]
Yun Zhen almost stopped walking.
'A Divine Beast bloodline… unawakened. So that explains everything.'
Mei Ling's voice nudged into his mind, sharp and smug. "Done staring?"
"Yes."
"Then stop looking at me like you found treasure," she murmured.
"Did I?" he asked quietly.
She smirked, tail curling. "Maybe."
Before he could reply, a sharp, familiar voice cut through the noise.
"Yun Zhen!"
He turned. Yun Xue strode across the courtyard, steps firm, her black hair tied in a high tail that swayed behind her like a cold banner. Her white robes caught the breeze, showing the icy blue trim that marked her cultivation path. She stopped a few feet away and folded her arms across her chest.
"You were sent to gather herbs," she said, staring at the fox in his arms, "not to bring back random animals."
"She's not random," Yun Zhen answered.
The silver fox hissed softly at Yun Xue. Yun Xue's eyes narrowed.
"You're spoiling it already," she muttered. "Don't expect me to help if it claws you."
Mei Ling's tail rose straight up like an offended banner.
Yun Zhen exhaled slowly. "Yun Xue. It's just a fox."
She lifted her chin. "And you look guilty. Why?"
"Because you're accusing me of something I didn't do."
"That's not what your expression says."
Yun Zhen held back a sigh. This would go nowhere if she kept talking like that. He silently triggered Scan a second time.
[Scanning Target…]
[Name: Yun Xue]
[Race: Human]
[Realm: Elementary Spirit Realm — Stage 3]
[Affinities: Ice]
[Physique: Frost Yin Physique — Earth Rank]
[Bloodline: None]
[Temperament: Proud / Competitive / Easily Jealous]
[Compatibility: 78]
[Yin Level: Medium — High purity]
Yun Zhen blinked. That "easily jealous" line was not something he wanted to think about right now.
Yun Xue caught the change in his eyes. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she demanded.
"No reason."
"Liar."
Before the argument could escalate, Yun Xue moved closer and grabbed his arm. "Come with me. I need to talk to you." Her voice dropped. "Alone."
Mei Ling, still in fox form, climbed up his shoulder in silent protest.
He followed Yun Xue behind a side building, where the noise of the courtyard faded. The moment they were alone, Yun Xue turned on him.
"What are you doing?" she asked, footsteps sharp as she paced in front of him. "You can't just bring beasts here. This clan has rules. You ignore them, and the elders will punish you."
The fox perched on his shoulder tilted her head. Yun Xue's voice tightened. "And that thing keeps staring at me."
The fox's ears flattened.
Yun Zhen exhaled. "Yun Xue. Calm down."
"I am calm!" she snapped. She absolutely wasn't.
"You're shouting."
"I'm speaking firmly," she corrected, even louder.
Mei Ling muttered in his mind, "I'm transforming."
"No."
"Too late."
A soft silver glow burst from his shoulder. Yun Zhen tried to grip the fox before she jumped, but she slipped forward with a smooth twist. Light wrapped around her small body, expanding outward.
Yun Xue stepped back. "What—what is—"
The light cracked apart, and Mei Ling's humanoid form took shape. Silver-white hair flowed over her shoulders, two fluffy fox ears twitched at the top of her head, and her long tail swayed behind her. Her petite frame pressed into Yun Zhen's chest as she leaned on him for support, her big breasts pushing lightly against him.
Yun Xue froze, her breath caught halfway out of her mouth.
Mei Ling smiled at her, slow and sweet. "Hi."
Yun Xue's voice cracked. "What… WHAT… is THAT?!"
"A fox spirit," Mei Ling answered like she was introducing herself at a market booth. She wrapped her arm around Yun Zhen's. "This form is cuter, right?"
Yun Xue's eyes widened so much he thought she might faint. "You— you— you were a beast!"
"Still am," Mei Ling sang, brushing her tail across Yun Zhen's hand. "Just a pretty one."
Yun Xue's face turned red, then pale, then red again. "You… brought back a fox spirit girl?"
"She followed me," Yun Zhen said.
Mei Ling smirked. "He saved me. So I belong to him now."
Yun Xue made a noise like a kettle boiling over. "You— you— you can't just— you can't—!"
Mei Ling stepped closer, her chest brushing Yun Zhen's arm. "Am I not welcome, little ice princess?"
Yun Xue's Frost Yin burst out of her body in a cold gust. "D-Don't call me that!"
Mei Ling giggled. "Then don't glare at me like you want to push me in a river."
Yun Xue shook, fists clenched. She spun around and stormed off, the ground frosting under her feet as she walked.
Yun Zhen pinched the bridge of his nose. "You didn't have to do that."
Mei Ling flicked her tail against him. "She started it."
"You made it worse."
"She deserved it."
He sighed. "This is going to cause trouble."
She answered with a proud grin. "Ohh…I'm in trouble."
Before Yun Zhen could respond, Elder Liang called them back to the courtyard. Yun Zhen walked over, Mei Ling willingly shifting back into fox form with a shimmer of light so no one else would see the truth. She curled in his arms again, nose poking out.
The mission officer inspected the herb bag. "Everything is intact. Perfect condition. Huh."
Elder Liang scowled. "Even trash can succeed once."
Yun Zhen said nothing. Mei Ling whispered in his ear, "Let me bite him."
"No."
"Just one bite."
"No."
"Coward."
Elder Liang didn't notice their quiet exchange. He was too busy sulking that Yun Zhen survived again.
As Yun Zhen turned away, he heard whispers from the elders near the hall entrance.
"Prepare a test for him."
"If he fails, punishment."
"If he passes… We'll think of something."
Mei Ling's fox ears twitched. "They're planning something."
"I know," Yun Zhen said.
She nudged his chin with her small paw. "Don't lose. I'll be disappointed."
"I'll try not to," he muttered.
"You better not try," she said smugly. "You'd better win."
Yun Zhen sighed and headed toward his small courtyard with the fox curled in his arms, already knowing tomorrow would be louder, colder, and ten times more annoying than today.
End Of Chapter 10