Chapter 26: Caught the Red-Tailed Fire Fox

An Xiyan sensed something unusual in the air and subtly signaled the three others—Qingzhu, He Lianrong, and Meng Guangping—to stay silent.

The three nodded slightly without changing their expressions. Their eyes didn’t wander, afraid of arousing suspicion. They could already guess that the red-tailed fire fox was likely nearby.

In an instant, a whip resembling a tree vine appeared in An Xiyan’s hand. She used her wood-type ability to track the little fox’s aura.

At that moment, the fiery red little fox was hiding in the grass, craning its neck to peek at An Xiyan and her group. Its pair of cunning, round eyes darted about constantly.

It grinned mischievously, stuffed the last bite of the bun in its paw into its mouth, then licked the corners of its lips with its tongue.

Next, it poked its fox head up again and glanced longingly at the last bun on the short table, swallowing its saliva involuntarily.

If one looked closely, there was even a glimmer of drool at the corner of its mouth.

Seeing that the humans weren’t paying attention to the bun, its eyes flicked around, and in one swift leap, its tiny body shot forward.

An Xiyan’s eyes flashed, and the vine whip in her hand instantly lengthened. As if it had eyes of its own, it swiftly wrapped itself around the little fox.

The little fox panicked, its tiny body flailing and struggling wildly to break free from the vine’s grip. It let out high-pitched squeals of “yip yip awoo,” full of distress.

Its expression was one of alarm and fear, but it still bared its sharp little teeth and growled fiercely at the four of them, putting on an act of bravado like a fox borrowing a tiger’s might.

Qingzhu looked at the fox with a face full of delight. “Miss, this is the red-tailed fire fox! There’s an illustration of it in the books—I remember it clearly.”

He Lianrong and Meng Guangping were also intrigued. They stared fixedly at the fox, their eyes full of wonder and fascination.

“Miss, it’s just a tiny fox, yet it managed to eat a whole half-pound meat bun? Can its small body really handle that?” He Lianrong asked An Xiyan, her tone filled with shock and concern.

Qingzhu, clearly excited, explained, “Mother, don’t be fooled by how small the red-tailed fire fox is. It’s got a huge appetite. Even with that little body, it can fit one whole big bun.”

“But eating a second one? Probably not. I think the only reason it came back to steal another is because Miss’s buns are just too delicious—it couldn’t resist the temptation.”

An Xiyan chuckled softly at those words. With a flick of her whip, the red-tailed fire fox was sent swinging through the air like a pendulum.

The red-tailed fire fox was absolutely terrified, letting out a soul-piercing—

A piercing cry erupted from the tiny fox’s lungs, its delicate little face full of fear and panic.

“Awwooo awwooo… Let me down! Hurry, let me down! Help…!”

“Awwooo awwooo… I was wrong! I won’t steal again, I swear! Please let me go, I’m begging you!”

An Xiyan froze, her bright eyes narrowing slightly. She stopped moving her hand, and the red-tailed fire fox dropped straight to the ground, letting out a sharp, pained wail as it landed.

Turning to the three behind her with a puzzled expression, An Xiyan asked, “Qingzhu, did you guys just hear that little thing speak human words?”

All three of them shook their heads simultaneously.

After thinking for a moment, Qingzhu said, “Miss, did you just hear the red-tailed fire fox talking?”

An Xiyan looked at Qingzhu and nodded quickly. “Yes! I heard a voice that sounded like a little boy—maybe four or five years old. It was begging me to let it go. I’m pretty sure it was coming from that little creature.”

“Then it must be true,” Qingzhu nodded slightly. “Miss, according to the books, a red-tailed fire fox can only be understood by its master once it has recognized them.”

“But the records also mention that no one has ever verified this firsthand. It’s always been just speculation.”

“Now that you mention it, it seems the books were right after all. It must’ve acknowledged you as its master—otherwise, why would you be the only one who can hear it speak?”

“Oh, so that’s how it is.” An Xiyan suddenly understood after Qingzhu’s explanation.

That would explain why she only heard the fox’s voice clearly when she was swinging it in the air earlier. Before that, all she could hear were its unintelligible cries.

An Xiyan looked at the red-tailed fire fox with amusement and teased in a playful tone, “So, little guy, turns out you’re quite the coward, huh?”

The tiny body of the red-tailed fire fox froze at once, its fur standing on end in fear.

“You… you can’t say that about me! I’m the young master of the red-tailed clan!” it retorted loudly, as if trying to bolster its own courage.

Then, it sneaked a wary glance at An Xiyan and mustered its strength to declare, “You should consider it an honor that I acknowledged you as my master! You should know—the red-tailed clan is a proud race of spirit beasts. We don’t just accept humans lightly!”

“Oh… is that so?” An Xiyan looked at the red-tailed fire fox coldly, her tone indifferent, and in that moment—

A chilling, terrifying aura suddenly radiated from An Xiyan’s body.

The red-tailed fire fox trembled all over, its fur that had been standing upright instantly lay flat. It hunched its neck and crouched low to the ground.

It felt as if icy air were seeping through its body, a cold sweat running down its spine. At that moment, it was convinced that its little fox head might not survive the next second.

Whimper… It had made a mistake. It knew this human wasn’t simple—that’s exactly why it chose to recognize her as its master. But as the young master of the red-tailed fox clan, it still had its pride.

Seeing the little fox shrink in fear, An Xiyan smiled slightly. Her red lips parted as she spoke, “Little thing, you haven’t answered my question yet.”

The cold voice echoed beside the red-tailed fire fox’s ears, making it shiver involuntarily. It quickly raised its head to look at An Xiyan.

“N-no, I misspoke! It’s my honor to recognize you as my master. Please, great one, be merciful and don’t hold it against this foolish little thing!”

It felt like it was on the verge of death. Pride of the fox clan? What was that? Never heard of it. Didn’t exist. All of it could go to hell!

An Xiyan chuckled softly, but the blade-like gleam in her eyes shot straight at the red-tailed fire fox. “Tell me—why did you recognize me as your master without my permission?”

“Uhh…” The fox gave a flattering grin. “Master, you have this… really nice, grassy fragrance on you. I really like it.”

“And… after smelling it for a while, I felt this surge of power in my body. That’s why I recognized you as my master without asking.”

“And also…” the fox added awkwardly, “I thought if I became your spiritual beast, you wouldn’t hurt me.”

“And?” An Xiyan stared down at the stammering little fox, her face cold. Clearly, it hadn’t told her everything.

“A-and…” The fox shrank back further, then lifted one paw to point at the large meat bun on the short table. It couldn’t help but swallow a mouthful of drool.

“Master, you also smell like that white, delicious thing…” the red-tailed fire fox blurted everything out in one breath, then looked up at An Xiyan.

Its eyes darted around nervously, and it said loudly with feigned sincerity, “Master, I’ve told you everything! I promise I didn’t keep anything from you. Please believe me!”

Just don’t scare it anymore—this tiny body really couldn’t withstand its master’s terrifying presence.

Especially since… it really hated swinging through the air like that.