After Faking Her Death and Fleeing, the Emotionless Daoist Master Regretted It - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Premonition – Learning the White Fox’s Origin

Su Lingqing returned to the Dongfu with the white fox in her arms, and only then realized something: she needed to prepare food for it.

She tried to feel the white fox’s belly, which was round, indicating it had eaten its fill before running over.

“Little fox, what do you like to eat? When it’s dinnertime, I’ll go to the dining hall and bring some food back for you. They have all kinds of demon beast meat, spiritual fruits, spiritual vegetables, and some common spiritual rice and noodle staples.”

Knowing the white fox couldn’t speak, she continued: “If you like to eat demon beast meat, nod once. If you like to eat spiritual fruits and spiritual vegetables, nod twice. If you like to eat staples, shake your head.”

No sooner had the words fallen than the white fox quickly nodded once, paused for a moment, and then nodded twice more.

Su Lingqing understood and noted its choices.

“Little fox, I need to start cultivating now and can’t play with you. You can walk around the Dongfu. If you feel bored and want to go out, you can leave directly. However, there are restrictions around the Dongfu, so if you want to come back in, you’ll have to wait.”

The white fox understood the young girl’s words. It barked twice, rubbing its furry head against the young girl’s palm, indicating that it would be good and would not run around.

Su Lingqing stroked the little fox’s soft, smooth fur, gently placed it on the ground, and then with a flash, entered the Spatial Pouch.

The white fox watched the young girl disappear right where she stood, its fox face momentarily stunned.

“Awoo?”

“Awoo!!!”

It barked several times in succession, receiving no response. The white fox drooped its head, lying dejectedly on the ground.

From the moment it saw the young girl, it had regarded her as its owner.

It had thought its owner meant to cultivate inside the Dongfu, and it could quietly accompany her. It never expected the owner to vanish in a blink of an eye, leaving it a lonely fox waiting here…

On the other side, Xu Miaoluo, through the wisp of divine sense attached to the white fox, witnessed Su Lingqing’s disappearance.

As the daughter of the Beast-Taming Peak Master, she had been exposed to much knowledge since childhood and immediately realized that the young girl possessed a portable spatial realm.

“Could it be a gift from the Venerable? She really is lucky.”

Xu Miaoluo snorted coldly, trying to express her disdain, thereby masking the envy hidden deep within her heart.

A person of unscrupulous means might have developed malicious thoughts because of this, plotting to seize the realm.

Fortunately, Xu Miaoluo had no such intention.

She repeatedly recalled the young girl’s various reactions after the white fox appeared and reached a preliminary conclusion.

Su Lingqing was a very soft-hearted person and focused on cultivation. She would not let a spirit pet disrupt this bottom line. This was vastly different from some spoiled second-generation cultivators in the sect who were lawless and only cared about feasting and playing.

Putting aside her background, Su Lingqing’s appearance and personality were very much to her liking.

Thinking this, a smile appeared on Xu Miaoluo’s face.

For her plan to succeed, she had to approach Su Lingqing. If the girl were someone she found annoying, the plan would likely cause a thousand injuries to the enemy while causing eight hundred to herself. As it was now, it suited her perfectly.

At this moment, Xu Miaoluo did not realize that her attitude towards the young girl had unknowingly begun to change…

Inside the Spatial Pouch, Su Lingqing chopped down a section of emerald bamboo and used spiritual power as a blade to slowly whittle it into several bamboo tubes.

Having done this, she walked to the Eight Trigrams Well, used one of the bamboo tubes to scoop some Spiritual Spring water, and returned to the Dongfu.

The dejected white fox saw the young girl appear and immediately leaped up from its spot, darting like a flash to its owner’s side.

Its fluffy tail swayed back and forth against its owner’s skirt, trying its best to get her attention.

Su Lingqing slowly squatted down, placed the bamboo tube in front of the clingy white fox, and casually stroked its soft fur.

“Little fox, this is Spiritual Spring water. Drink some if you’re thirsty.”

“Awoo~”

The white fox’s furry head carefully rubbed against the young girl’s hand, expressing its joy and gratitude.

A spiritual beast’s sense of smell is very sensitive. The moment the Spiritual Spring water was taken out, it knew this was a rare treasure that would greatly help in improving its strength.

Owner treats me so well, much better than that fierce woman. I will definitely guard my owner well in the future!

At the same moment, Xu Miaoluo, who had returned to Beast-Taming Peak and was using her divine sense to perceive the situation inside the Dongfu, sneezed.

At the time, Chi Wanyun was playing a game of weiqi (Go) with her. Seeing this, she said casually: “It seems someone in the sect is thinking of Senior Sister again.”

Xu Miaoluo snorted softly: “They’re just rats who only dare to talk behind my back, utterly insignificant.”

Chi Wanyun smiled, not responding to this. Instead, she brought up another matter.

“Half a month has passed now. Has Senior Sister’s plan made any progress?”

Xu Miaoluo slightly raised her eyes, looking at the woman: “Why are you asking this, Junior Sister?”

“Senior Sister, please don’t be angry. I was just curious.”

“Things are going smoothly so far. I can know Su Lingqing’s movements at any time.”

Chi Wanyun was initially surprised, then seemed to realize something, gradually understanding. Her Senior Sister had once, while drunk, mentioned a secret concerning Beast-Taming Peak.

She had sworn not to mention it in front of outsiders, but now she spoke without reservation.

“Did Senior Sister perhaps send a spiritual beast over?”

“The word ‘send’ is inappropriate. That fox ran over by itself.”

“Then… after observing her, what do you think of Su Lingqing’s character, Senior Sister?”

“She is very soft-hearted, a kind person. She is not annoying. It’s just that a personality like hers will eventually suffer in the brutal cultivation world. I hope she can change in the future.”

Hearing this, the smile on Chi Wanyun’s face stiffened slightly.

“Didn’t Senior Sister previously regard her as an enemy? Why would you hope for her to change?”

Xu Miaoluo placed a white stone on the board and casually replied: “That was simply due to not understanding her and having a preconceived notion that she was a villain. Now that I have met her in person and know she is not what I originally thought, I naturally wish her well.”

“Senior Sister…”

“Hmm? Does Junior Sister Chi still have questions?”

“No…”

Chi Wanyun placed a black stone on the board, her heart full of bitterness.

Having been by her Senior Sister’s side for so many years, she was all too familiar with her.

If her Senior Sister truly hated someone, her feelings would never change because of that person’s character. The reason for her current attitude could only be one: her Senior Sister had developed different feelings for Su Lingqing…

Chi Wanyun knew her Senior Sister didn’t like her. She had confessed a long time ago, only to be rejected mercilessly by her Senior Sister.

Later, she shamelessly begged to stay by her Senior Sister’s side, asking her to treat her as a mere maid for serving tea and pouring water.

Her Senior Sister agreed.

The condition was that she must strictly adhere to her duties and not make any presumptuous moves.

All these years later, Chi Wanyun didn’t know what she was holding on to. Perhaps, just like her Senior Sister’s inability to take the Venerable as her Master, it was simply a matter of being unwilling to give up…

Inside the Dongfu on Profound Heaven Peak, Su Lingqing continued to stroke the white fox’s soft long fur for a while, intending to return to the Spatial Pouch. Just then, the restriction outside the Dongfu rippled like water.

She looked up and saw the all-too-familiar figure, a look of pleasant surprise on her face.

“Master?”

After the trip to the Treasure Depository and returning to Profound Heaven Peak, Ling Yunyue had received a transmission from the Sect Leader and left in a hurry. Half a month had passed since then.

During this half-month, the Master and disciple had not been able to meet.

Noticing the improvement in her disciple’s strength, Ling Yunyue nodded with a smile.

“In the half-month I was gone, Lingqing has made great progress. I left in a hurry then and have not yet imparted sword techniques to Lingqing. Does Lingqing have time now?”

Facing her Master’s inquiry, the young girl nodded repeatedly: “Yes, this disciple is ready to learn at any time.”

The white fox squatting on the ground immediately barked loudly upon hearing this.

Its voice was filled with grievance.

It really wanted its owner to spend more time with it. Before the Venerable came, the owner’s eyes were only on cultivation. After the Venerable came, the owner’s eyes were only on Master…

The white fox’s barking caught Ling Yunyue’s attention.

“This Irises Fox seems not to have recognized a Master. Where did Lingqing get it?”

“This disciple encountered it on the peak. It is very clingy. I initially thought it was someone’s spirit pet that had accidentally run away, and I waited there for about an hour, but no one came looking for it. Later, I confirmed with the little fox that it had no owner before bringing it back to the Dongfu.”

Ling Yunyue pondered: “Although this fox is only Rank One, its potential is great, and its intelligence is extremely high. Its combat power is also not weak among spirit beasts of the same rank. Furthermore, its cute appearance makes it a popular type of spirit beast. It’s unlikely that it has no owner, having grown this large, unless… it came from Beast-Taming Peak.”

Hearing this, Su Lingqing instantly recalled what Mu Xin had said when she went to the dining hall, and the smile on her face faded slightly.

Could it be… that the appearance of the white fox was not accidental, but deliberate by someone?

But what was the purpose of doing this?

The little fox did not seem intent on harming her.

If it truly wanted to attack, there were many opportunities, especially when she first encountered it. The little fox pounced on her without warning. If it had attempted a killing blow then, she would have had a hard time dodging it.

Was I overthinking things?

“Master, since the little fox is quite popular, even on Beast-Taming Peak, it shouldn’t lack an owner. Why…”

Ling Yunyue had already guessed the unspoken meaning in her words.

“The number of spiritual beasts on Beast-Taming Peak is beyond imagination. Although the Irises Fox is very popular externally, it is not scarce on the peak. The most important point is that this beast is exchanged with sect contribution points, requiring nine thousand points per fox. Cultivators in the sect who have the ability to exchange for one basically do not lack such assistance.”

“I see.”

Su Lingqing suddenly understood, followed by confusion.

The little fox might be problematic. What should she do with it?

“Awoo~~”

A mournful cry abruptly reached her ears. Su Lingqing turned her head and met the white fox’s tear-filled eyes.

She was startled, instantly remembering that the little fox could understand human speech.

Everything just now was speculation, with no concrete evidence. What if she had wronged the little fox?

Her intuition told her that the little fox meant her no harm.

Su Lingqing hesitated for a moment, then slowly made a decision and squatted down again.

The white fox sensed its owner’s intention. The eyes, which had been full of tears, instantly showed a glimmer of joy. It slightly bent its hind legs, gave a light leap, and the entire fox immediately jumped into the young girl’s arms.

Ling Yunyue watched this scene, her beautiful willow eyebrows slightly furrowed.

Lingqing had made her choice. Without concrete evidence, she would not interfere. However, a vague, uneasy premonition lingered in her heart.

This premonition was indefinable and could only be confirmed as not originating from safety concerns.