556 White Foxes (2/2)
”Swish! Swish!”
The white tiger had lost the protection of the white light and was struggling with the arrow wounds on its body. One of its paws had been maimed and it was finally going away.
”Attack!”
Meng Kuo did not intend to let the beast escape. On his orders, a dozen Shang spearmen closed in on the tiger.
”Haha...I shall take your life!”
Hei Zhong let out a coarse laugh and brought his axe down onto the white tiger's neck!
”Poof!”
The tiger's head had been cut halfway off its neck. Blood spouted out of the large gash in streams.
”Roar! Roar!”
The gigantic tiger put up a terminal struggle where it broke a few spears and mauled a few soldiers to death. Finally, it collapsed to the ground and stopped moving.
Even in death, the tiger looked menacing.
Its ferocious aura was keeping the soldiers away from its body.
”Orders from Senior Fang: Our army has encountered a white tiger, which is a good omen. Skin it and present its fur to the King!”
A soldier moved up to the front of the procession and read out Senior Fang's decree.
A military order was not to be defied. A few soldiers approached the tiger gingerly until they were sure that the tiger was truly dead.
At last, someone cheered, and the others echoed their jubilation.
Fang Yuan observed the proceedings with a glint in his eye.
That night, the army set up camp and tiger meat was distributed to the men. It was a happy affair.
Fang Yuan walked alone out of the camp with an iron sword hanging at his waist.
The golden gleam in Fang Yuan's eyes helped him to see the shimmering white marks on the ground that formed a path in the dark.
”Indeed, there are two of these little fellows!”
Fang Yuan retracted his spiritual aura, dimmed the light in his eyes and turned off his spiritual tracer. After walking on for a while, Fang Yuan arrived at a small valley.
He could hear small chattering sounds coming from ahead.
Fang Yuan quickly hid behind a tree and extended the tendrils of his spiritual sense.
Although Fang Yuan had not recovered the entirety of his cultivation, he possessed a high level of magical energy that allowed him to scan his surroundings thoroughly within a radius of a few yards.
The silent glow of the moon, the gentle mountain breeze and leaves whirling close to the ground all contributed to the beauty of the night.
In the clearing ahead, two white foxes were bowing to the moon.
The foxes had tiny bodies and large bushy tails. They did not have the stench of common animals and had a strange fragrance on their bodies. Their eyes darted about animatedly and their movements were intelligent. They were surely elves of the mountain.
'In terms of raw strength, even ten foxes would not be able to match the white tiger. However, not even a hundred white tigers will be able to match the foxes' intelligence...is this what it means by a trade-off?'
Fang Yuan watched the foxes silently.
They had been snooping around the camp and were now bowing to the moon. The moonlight that had fallen on their bodies looked especially dense. They were obviously in the middle of a cultivation ritual.
Moments later.
The two white foxes had completed their cultivation and began to play with each other. They chittered away without a care in the world while Fang Yuan watched on in the distance.
He could not understand the language of animals.
”Forget it, it's just two little demons!”
Fang Yuan took a big step forward.
”Hey!”
”Swoosh!”
The white foxes had not expected anyone to appear from behind the trees and were startled. They immediately sped off like two white arrows.
”Swish! Swish!”
Fang Yuan flicked two stones towards the foxes.
The white foxes were hit and fell to the ground, their eyes glassy.
”These little creatures have been bad!”
Fang Yuan hoisted both foxes up by the scruff of their necks. Their fur was extremely smooth to the touch, which aroused in Fang Yuan a passing impulse to make a fur coat out of them. However, upon closer inspection, the two foxes barely had enough fur between them to make a pair of gloves.
He released them and let them drop to the ground. Light returned to the foxes' eyes but they did not move and pretended to be dead.
”Enough of this...if you carry on with this act, I'll kill and skin you two!”
Fang Yuan intimidated them by baring his teeth.
”Nng! Nng!”
The two white foxes clasped their paws together and pleaded for mercy.
”Enough, take on your human forms!”
Fang Yuan pursed his lips.
The two foxes shared a look and decided to accept their fate. They hung their heads in resignation.
The foxes seemingly absorbed the essence of the moon and transformed into two white-robed servant girls.
They hugged each other and looked at Fang Yuan fearfully as if he was a predatory beast.
”Oh? Your cultivation has reached such a high level?”
Fang Yuan was surprised.
”This isn't the conventional path of the demon race. This is more similar to the celestial dao!”
”What...what do you want?”
The two fox girls were bright-eyed and had white teeth. They were around 13 or 14 years of age and were nearly identical to each other. One of them had gathered enough courage to speak up but looked like she was going to burst into tears at any moment.
”Nothing. I just wanted to know who was spying on the army camp!”
Fang Yuan rubbed his nose. He was feeling somewhat guilty about bullying these kids.
Nevertheless, Fang Yuan was thick-skinned and let the feeling pass.
”Tell me honestly, what are your intentions?”
”Boohoo...we only wanted to steal the fur of the White Mountain Lady...boohoo...we don't mean any harm!”
The two fox girls were terrified and Fang Yuan could not help but find it funny.