79 Volume 4: Little White Foxes Bearing Gifts (2/2)

”Yes, and you haven't finished your end of it.”

He clucked his tongue rudely at her while muttering ”Bothersome”. Then he took a single hop-step forward and floated in the air, gliding forward until he was a few feet from Jin and Mei Hua.

Holding the white five tailed fox out, he said impatiently to it, ”Get on with it.”

”G-Greetings Emperor of the F-Fairies, Mighty S-Spirit of the Mountains, and C-Conqueror of th-the East,” Came a sweet youthful voice that trembled, ”Greetings B-Beloved Wife of the E-Emperor, Im-Imperial Mother t-to the P-Princes.”

Mei Hua felt like she'd been hit with an arrow… of cuteness, and speaking from prior experience she liked this one much more. Of course she'd seen mountain foxes before and they were cute in a wild, cunning way. But this white, five tailed fox had wide silver eyes (currently cast down respectfully), large fluffy ears, a tiny little snout with a coal black nose, and fur so soft looking it made anyone who saw it want to stick their fingers in it. She clasped her hands together in a noble effort to resist the urge to do just that.

Jin, on the other hand, was pleasantly surprised that this little fox knew how to greet people of authority properly. Since it was associated with Shuya, he'd not expected anything even halfway decent to come out of its mouth.

Seeing that it was properly nervous in his presence—which also pleased him—he decided to be magnanimous towards it.

”And why has the Twig—”

”Shuya! My name is Shuya!”

”—the Twig Shuya brought you here?”

Without looking up, head still bowed, the charming fox gulped before speaking.

”T-this humble little fox and her clan have come to p-present t-themselves as a gift to the g-gracious and b-beautiful Imperial Princess Consort Bao.”

”Me?” Mei Hua pointed at herself in surprise.

Jin couldn't help narrowing his eyes.

”You're making your entire clan a gift?”

”Yes, Great and Mighty One.”

”Why?” Jin asked sharply. No matter how polite, this fox was related to that damn twig, which meant it could not be easily trusted. If it lied or told half-truths, he'd kicked it out without any remorse.

”Imperial Majesty is wise to ask, very wise.” The little fox's ears quivered. ”Th-this humble one, and all the li—little ones below, are o-orphans from Jianghu. I-It is not s-safe for us th-there. W-we heard that the Fairy Emperor is most benevolent and generous. If w-we little ones offered ourselves up, we were told that s-surely Your Imperial Majesty w-would give us a new ho-home.”

The fox sincerely believed every single thing it was saying, Jin could tell. Mei Hua grabbed Jin's sleeve and tugged it, a compassionate look on her face at hearing the fox's story. He sighed inwardly, knowing Mei Hua was already on the fox's side and that meant he would be too.

Fighting the inevitable, he asked with a grave face and a stern voice, ”And who told you that this Emperor would give you a place to stay just for asking nicely?”

The fox kit's whole body shook badly in fear. Mei Hua started pinching him ruthlessly on the arm and mouthed silently ”Don't bully!”. He could only shake his head helplessly to show his innocence. He'd only been a little harsh, it barely counted as bullying!

”Th-the World Tree, Imperial Majesty.”

Jin was in the middle of grabbing Mei's pinching fingers to protect himself when he heard this. His face stiffened and his eyes narrowed. Out of the corner of his eye he could see one of his oldest deer also focus his attention on the fox child.

”World Tree? As in the Tree of Wisdom?” The Fox kit nodded. ”When did you talk to this tree?”

”Not e—even a few h—hours ago, Fairy Emperor.”

”So it's alive then.”

”Of course?” The white fox tilted her head cutely, confused.

Jin looked down at his old deer and saw the deer-turned-man looking at Shuya with a face so full of anger it was almost black. Puzzled about this, he looked at Shuya, only to be astonished. That rebellious rude twig was completely red in the face, looking anywhere but at the buck, sweating profusely.

Then it occurred to him.

Ah….

Shuya was the World Tree.

There had been some guesses and theories that Shuya and the World Tree might be one and the same. But he'd found the World Tree rotted and decaying, dead. He'd abandoned the idea with that discovery.

The buck had told him, the World Tree was the first tree his Sister changed. Jin hadn't known, as he never paid attention to plants. No wonder Shuya called herself ”Ancient One”, even he had trouble remembering that far back. He also understood her rude behavior. Shuya's anger was in proportion to her love for his Sister. A love that had lasted for eons… how could the grief that resulted from such a love simply be forgotten because he'd repented?

Suddenly all the genuine anger and irritation he had toward this troublesome twig vanished.

Even the very trees hated him for what he'd done.

It made him want to laugh in despair. How could he make it right? There was no way to bring his Sister back now, if she was even alive to be brought back. He couldn't blame the trees for their fury. He hated himself just as much for what he'd done, for the actions he could never take back.

The pinching fingers of his wife suddenly became a gentle squeeze. He turned and saw Mei's brow slightly furrowed in concern.

He gave a slight shake of his head, his mouth curving up slightly.

Right. Now wasn't the time to be morose and melancholy. Turning to the Fox he asked,

”What happened to your clan in Jianghu that you should be orphans?”

The fox's whole body dropped, even if it's five tails appearing to go lifeless. Her speech became sloppy and impolite (causal) as she recounted what had happened.

”A-a month ago, E-Evil Clans and Sects m-murdered our parents. They s-stole th-their cores, ch-choped up their bodies, and a-absorbed their essence. T-they can't even re-reincarnate n-now. Ooouu ouuuu!” The little fox's eyes filled with tears, which dropped like crystals onto her soft paws. With a deep bitterness she continued, ”Father and M-Mother are—were—nine and eight tailed f-foxes. S-Strongest in Jianghu! But who knew those Evil Clans and Sects would join forces? They ha-hate each other! N-no one exp-expected it! Wi-with so many and so su-suddenly, even my parents and all the adults did not stand a chance. On-only some us ch-children managed to—to escape and only—only because— because Mother gave up her life for— for us! Oouuu ouuu uuuu!”

This was too tragic to think about further, the little fox started to make a sobbing howl sound in her grief. The other little foxes also began to cry, some very human-like, but others in high tones similar to wild foxes. Nearby beasties and tree spirits who couldn't bear watching the kits mourn, stepped out to comfort them.

Jin had always had a weak paternal instinct and wasn't emotionally moved by the fox kit's tale of woe. He was, however, interested in the information contained in it. He looked for Ye, who'd been curiously watching the whole series of events within the crowd below, and saw Ye tilt his head slightly to the side.

Ye's voice whispered in Jin's ear, as if the fairy was right next to him instead of below, ”Fear of a common enemy united them? Shan Hui's doing, perhaps?”

Jin kept his expression neutral. His eldest son had rarely been at home since his Mother had been in a coma. Half the time, Jin didn't know where the boy was or what he was doing. If Shan Hui finally made it to the Jianghu Islands, there was a very high chance he was sowing mayhem and chaos amongst their enemies. And possibly anyone who'd annoyed him along the way.

Naturally Jin approved.