The Crazy Fox Demon Devours My Heart - Chapter 10
When Fuyin woke up, her body was chilled and aching. She clutched her head in confusion.
Strange… why did I fall asleep on the ground?
As though recalling something, she abruptly scrambled up, reaching a hand to feel the forehead of the person lying on the bed.
Thank goodness… the fever had broken.
Qingyu slowly stirred awake, staring blankly at the empty bed for a while.
Last night, she seemed to have dreamed of Mo Mo.
But it didn’t feel quite the same—it was more like the grown-up version of Mo Mo.
Mo Mo was her friend in the Cold Palace—a very special little black dog.
Its eyes shone like gemstones, its tail was longer than an ordinary dog’s.
Its fur was pitch-black and glossy, smoother than the finest silk, soft to the touch.
And under sunlight, it gleamed faintly with rainbow hues, dazzling and rare.
The first time she met it, they were the same—both being hunted, both being bullied.
It had been pelted with stones until its body was covered in bl00d, fleeing in panic until it stumbled into the Cold Palace.
Through the crack of the heavy doors, the soot-stained, disheveled Qingyu saw the equally filthy little black dog. She pursed her lips and made soft “tch-tch” sounds to call it over.
The dog glanced at her, then looked nervously behind itself, as if hesitating.
Its eyes seemed… almost human.
Qingyu thought she must be imagining it. She pointed at the crack and whispered for it to come inside.
The little dog tested the way forward.
But the gap was too narrow, and its body got stuck halfway.
Its tiny paws scrabbled desperately, but it couldn’t squeeze through no matter how hard it tried.
Qingyu was young, her frail arms far too weak to push open the locked doors, no matter how much she tried.
From not far away came the shouting of eunuchs and palace maids—they were clearly coming to catch it.
Qingyu knew all too well what sort of people they were. If they caught the dog, they’d surely torment it to death.
Hearing the footsteps draw nearer, she panicked.
Suddenly, an idea struck her. She pointed at a spot near the wall.
“There’s a hole there! Quick, go through it!”
She had no idea if it could understand, but she slapped the door in urgency.
“Hurry, little dog!”
Running to the hole inside the yard wall, Qingyu crouched down and tore away the weeds covering it.
Her childish black eyes stared out anxiously, praying with all her heart that the dog would understand her words.
Time ticked by. The shouts outside grew closer.
But no sign of the little dog appeared at the hole.
“There it is!”
It’s over—they’ve found it!
Her hands fell limply. She quickly covered the hole with grass again, heart sinking.
Curling into a corner, she clamped her hands over her ears. She dared not think, dared not listen to what fate awaited that poor dog.
Just as she thought it had been caught, there was a rustle in the weeds.
Something pushed through the hole, crushing the grass flat.
The little black dog wriggled in, dashing across the yard before collapsing, panting heavily.
Its wet eyes stared straight at her.
Qingyu’s face lit up with joy. It really came in—it really understood me!
Overjoyed, she quickly knelt, patting the weeds back into place until the hole was hidden again.
Outside, the eunuchs and maids cursed when they lost sight of the dog.
“The little beast runs fast. If I catch it, I’ll skin it and make a muff for the princess!”
“Don’t waste time cursing, hurry and find it! If we can’t, we’ll be punished again.”
“It has to be nearby. Search carefully!”
Qingyu listened to their voices, peeking through the door crack. They were holding stones in their hands.
They won’t give up easily.
She hugged the dog tightly against her chest and hurried back into the room.
The little thing didn’t resist—it trembled faintly, clearly in pain.
It was injured, no doubt from being stoned.
She blew softly over its wounds, whispering, “Don’t hurt, don’t hurt.”
Inside, Fuyin saw the pup and gasped in delight.
“Princess, where did this little dog come from?”
“It ran here by itself.”
The nursemaid put away her needle and thread, frowning as she glanced toward the courtyard.
Of course she had heard the curses outside just now.
“Princess… could this be the Third Princess’s missing dog?”
Qingyu thought of its injuries and shook her head.
“They stoned it—how could it be hers?”
The nursemaid wanted to argue further, but seeing how tightly Qingyu clutched the pup, she sighed.
The Cold Palace was desolate. If the princess liked the dog, at least it would bring some warmth.
So be it. As long as the princess was happy.
She only reminded them gravely to hide it well.
Qingyu and Fuyin nodded.
Looking at the trembling little body, Qingyu’s heart ached.
The swelling bruises from the stones looked painful. There were no medicines in the Cold Palace; it would just have to endure.
She knew the pain—her own bruises had once taken more than ten days to fade.
She could only be careful not to touch its wounds.
She gave it a name: Mo Mo.
She even shared what little food she had with it.
At first, the pup glared at her with hostility, baring teeth and huffing.
When she offered her own dark, mushy food, it sniffed once and gagged in disgust.
This dog is picky, too?!
The Cold Palace gates stayed locked year-round, few ever visited. No one would notice the tiny hole hidden by weeds.
Her body, always malnourished, was just small enough to crawl through.
So at night, she slipped into the imperial kitchens and stole a roast chicken leg.
The leg was bigger than Mo Mo’s head.
The pup’s eyes lit up at the sight.
Starving, it pounced on the leg, clutching it in its paws and gnawing fiercely.
Qingyu swallowed her saliva, sitting quietly by, waiting patiently until it finished.
Its sunken belly slowly rounded out, and the hostility in its eyes faded.
It tilted its head at her.
She stretched out her tiny hand before its wet nose.
Mo Mo sniffed carefully for a long while, then finally licked her palm with its little tongue.
That meant they were now friends.
Qingyu thought it was dirty and wanted to wash it. She filled a basin in the yard.
Seeing her own reflection in the water, her face streaked with grime, she scrubbed herself as well.
Mo Mo hated bathing—its little face even showed an indignant expression.
But Qingyu was firm. “This bath is happening whether you like it or not!”
Afterward, both shivered under a tattered straw mat, teeth chattering.
But Mo Mo’s fur, once washed, turned fluffy and sleek, shiny and soft, irresistibly adorable.
Qingyu longed to pet it, but Mo Mo kept up an aloof posture—Come closer and I’ll bite you.
She could only pull her hand back in disappointment.
The little fellow was far too picky, refusing ordinary food.
So Qingyu had to keep sneaking into the kitchens every few days.
Eventually, she was caught.
The dim kitchen flames lit up her terrified face as someone grabbed her by the collar and slammed her onto the ground.
The chicken leg in her arms rolled away, stomped flat underfoot.
The kitchen steward, a fat man with a face full of jowls, looked down at her condescendingly.
“Well, well, who do we have here? The little lunatic from the Cold Palace.”
“Stealing from me again and again… what, desperate for meat?”
He grabbed the greasy mess off the floor and shoved it toward Qingyu’s mouth.
“Then eat, eat until you choke on it!”
The onlookers laughed cruelly.
Qingyu struggled fiercely, but how could a frail child fight against a hulking man?
In desperation, she bit down hard.
The steward howled, jerking his hand away. Two rows of deep teeth marks marred his flesh.
He was about to explode in fury when he saw her bolt for the door.
Several men lunged to grab her like hawks after a chick.
But Qingyu’s small, wiry body was agile.
They couldn’t catch her, and she slipped away.
Back in the Cold Palace, she was still shaken.
She knew these kinds of people well—they bullied the weak and fawned on the strong.
The steward would never let her go.
That was fine—she could take it.
But if they discovered Mo Mo, they’d surely skin him alive for their wine cups.