At first, Li Meirong outright rejected this ridiculous idea, but then she remembered that upon her departure from the marketplace, s...o...b..ll had conveniently disappeared. "Nature called", was what he told her at that time.
"Tell me all you know." Li Meirong"s clear peach-blossom eyes had gained a sharp glint. Her usually calm and unguarded demeanour changed into a person who"s clearly on edge.
Bao Li didn"t need a second invitation to speak. The gossipy chef excitedly recounted the tale she was told by her neighbour who worked as a part-timer in a restaurant at the time the incident took place.
When Li Meirong departed the market, her Fox Spirit returned to the chattering crowd"s location. Without making a sound, the little cub covered the whole block with a sea of raging flames. Surprisingly, the fire projected did not cause any burns or serious harm. The Fox"s control over the flames reached an unprecedented level. He honed his skills to the point of restraining the destructive element and only igniting the disciples" clothes until they melted to ashes along with all their hairs, burnt to a crisp. The crowd cowered in fright and shame, covering their private areas. Oh, the nearby shops were also heavily damaged, but n.o.body bothered to care about those minor details.
The gossip relating to the event focused on Li Meirong"s savage and unruly ways of harming her own fellow sect members. The Fox Spirit"s intimidating prowess was considered as Li Meirong"s underhanded methods of sending her little Spirit Beast to do the dirty work for her. No one considered a one-tailed Fox Spirit to be able to control his spiritual powers to this extent. Surely, it was all an act. Now, instead of a being good for nothing furnace, Li Meirong"s reputation had changed to an evil woman with hidden powers. A vicious tigress pretending to be a pig!
Once Bao Li finished narrating the event, she let out a delighted snicker. "Now, about a quarter of our sect members turned from lofty, superior looking cultivators into bald monks! Haha!"
Li Meirong didn"t share in her friend"s amus.e.m.e.nt. Her small, pouty lips stretched in a thin line and she immediately shot a pointed look to s...o...b..ll.
The unsaid question was hanging thickly in the air. Are the rumours true?
Being scrutinized by her Ladys.h.i.+p caused Bai Yu to s.h.i.+ft uncomfortably on top of the stool, wiggling his little paws left and right. He was too busy thinking how to save his own hide than to care about propriety anymore!
What was he supposed to say? If he said he didn"t do it, he"d only be telling the truth! But most likely, his Lord was responsible for the act. Was he supposed to take the blame?
In his heart, Bai Yu blamed Bai Qingyue for this predicament. What kind of task was this?! Was his Sire"s behaviour reverting back to his youthful days when he used to turn the clan upside down with his trickery?!
Bai Yu couldn"t even count the number of times he fell for his Bai Qingyue"s traps when the Lord was but a young cub…
He stupidly thought that in the last few thousand years after his Lord had finally reached maturity that his personality had changed for the better. The Fox Lord grew all the more reserved, spending the majority of his time in solitude and handling all manners relating to the clan and his G.o.dly domain in an orderly and collective fas.h.i.+on. The air of superiority belonging to a natural born leader naturally exuded from him.
But who was ever able to tell with foxes if they were only pretending? Clearly, his methods remained the same!
Finding himself unjustly accused, Bai Yu could only attempt to lessen the damage. With his droopy ears, he averted his eyes, staring at his own paws "guiltily".
"Master, it"s not as bad as the rumours say it was…"
Li Meirong crossed her arms together and tapped her foot on the floor. "Oh. So now you finally decided to tell the truth."
Bao Li quickly sealed her lips shut. She never heard Li Meirong sound so upset before. "I"ll give both of you a little bit of privacy. I think my sheets had dried up by now…" she quietly said, offering a reasonable excuse as she left the room.
Bai Yu was filled with complaints. It was so unfair! He was being blamed for something he didn"t even do!
Look how loyal I am, Sire. I"m covering for you!
"I"m sorry for burning the people in the marketplace." "s...o...b..ll" pitifully apologised.
It was daytime outside and yet the bedroom was shrouded with gloom. The shawls covering the small window concealed their presence from prying eyes. Bai Yu kind of hoped for the lady Bao Li to return, the interrogation room seemed a lot more pleasant with her around.
Li Meirong"s stance didn"t change. Her delicate brows were knitted in a frown and her eyes darkened in anger, matching the charcoal colour of her long, flowy hair.
"I"m not upset because of what you did." Her tone was sharp and crisp.
The seasoned warrior, Bai Yu was not easily intimidated, but this was her Ladys.h.i.+p he was speaking to! With one word out of her mouth, he"d be banished out of the clan! How was he going to mend this relations.h.i.+p and prove his loyalty to the future matron later on? His Sire placed him in a big pile of trouble!
"Then, why are you upset?" s...o...b..ll swallowed his saliva and asked, huddling into himself.
At this point, Li Meirong wasn"t willing to back down. She waited all this while for s...o...b..ll to come clean about everything. He was her family now, so naturally, she would be more forgiving towards him than to others, however, his deceits only kept acc.u.mulating!
Her fair, slender hand reached to grasp the cloth on top of her neck, remembering the previous day. She wore an extra s.h.i.+rt with a high collar underneath her outer robe, hiding the bluish marks upon her skin
"I"m angry because you keep lying to me!" Li Meirong bristled.
"..." Now, what was he supposed to say?!
I"m a warrior, not a politician! Bai Yu thought to himself. He was not cut out for this task!
This was a terrible day for him. First, he was tortured. Then, he was demoted. Eventually, he was forced to change into a cub and go undercover. Now, he was being admonished for something he didn"t even do. He should have never accepted the second in command position!
Meanwhile, the cause of all this mess was probably lazily lounging in some fancy hall, enjoying himself.
Humph! I might be taking the blame for you right now, but your actions will bite your frilly white a.s.s, one day! Bai Yu silently cursed his Lord.