Bai Qingyue sneered.
This could definitely be a true trial for ascension. Only a day had pa.s.sed and he"d already experienced tribulations worse than anything he had come across in thousands of years.
His large doe-like eyes gazed at his snowy front paws. A pair of jade bangles had been placed on each of them, sealing in his powers. They would not have affected him in his true form, but the fall had greatly weakened him.
It seemed there was no other way but to trick his way out of this ordeal. He stood up on all fours and glowered dangerously at the monks surrounding him.
"You dare think of absorbing my life essence?!" Bai Qingyue growled, thumping the center of his chest with a righteous white paw.
The head abbot rushed to the cage, hobbling with the a.s.sistance of another priest who held him upright. He stopped inches away from it, meeting the strange beast"s glare with a suspicious gaze.
"You speak now, I see. Does this mean you have grown tired of pretending to be dead? Don"t think I won"t get rid of you. I can sense your aura and know that you are weak. You best tell me exactly who and what you are and then, perhaps, we might reconsider our decision." The head abbot threatened.
He knew he wouldn"t change his mind. This trickster was far too dangerous to keep alive but curiosity got the better of him. He just had to know, where did this strange fox spring from?
The fox averted his eyes as the corners of his mouth tilted upwards into a smirk. "You can only sense what I am willing to show you, old man. Don"t pick a fight with someone so out of your league. You better release me soon, before my benevolence runs out and I shall wipe out you, as well as each and every one of your disciples, right here and now."
It was just a tiny, fluffy fox, trapped inside a locked cage, any magical powers it may have had was being blocked with enchanted power sealing bangles. And yet, the way he spoke, threatening his entire monastery sent involuntary s.h.i.+vers down the head abbot"s spine. His fellow priests were murmuring quietly between themselves. Some were alarmed by the threat, but others found it laughable.
No matter how you look at it, it"s just a little monster sealed in a cage talking big, right?
And in fact, they were right. Bai QingYue was not able to do much at that moment, however, their hesitation was all he really needed anyway.
The head abbot frowned. His feelings were mixed. Unsure which of them listen to, he decided to postpone the execution, for now, seeing as one wrong move could ignite this potentially dangerous fox"s anger and unleash his full wrath upon them after all.
But if he were to observe him for a while and see no significant changes, it would then be safe to do with him as he pleased, the head abbot concluded.
s.h.i.+fting his demeanour to that of a friendly old man, with a croaky voice and his best attempt at a winning smile, the head abbot addressed the fox once more.
"Fox beast, we truly apologize for our conduct until now. We are a humble monastery. We merely handle demons in order to better protect society from harmful creatures, taking care only to capture those that have done harm to those around them.
But clearly, you come from a distinguished background, and therefore we have no quarrel with you personally... and if you would care to tell me where you are from, we might be able to return you to your origins..." The abbot suggested, trying to sound helpful.
"Harmful creatures"? Those little demons in the cages around him were deemed "harmful"? Bai Qingyue almost laughed. This sudden change of behaviour sure was interesting, and this stupid man"s lies and attempts to get more information out of him were anything but subtle. But alright, he thought, he would play along for now.
Bai QingYue"s eight tails swished back and forth, occasionally one of them thumping against the walls of his wooden cage. He looked rather adorable with his snout wrinkled up in a foxy sneer, as he reproached the abbot condescendingly.
"Why should I tell you where I"m from? I"m locked in this cage, held at a fraction of my powers by these shackles you keep me in and now you act like we"re good friends… Are you trying to deceive me?" He squinted his golden eyes at the abbot.
The surrounding priests watched curiously as the two interacted. They never had never seen the head abbot talk to any non-humans before, much less be nice to them. Was this fox really something to be afraid of after all?
"No no no, how could I? A monk vows never to harm the innocent and always fight for righteousness." The head abbot raised a hand in dismissal.
Naturally, non-humans were not included when it came to defining "the innocent" in their traditions. He would be rid of this menace soon enough.
Bai Qingyue pointed his little claw at him. "You don"t sound very sincere to me. How about you show me an act of good faith like releasing me from this dreadful prison, and then I will reconsider my course of action? I may even let you know where I come from..." He suggested, raising an evocative eyebrow at his last words, perceiving that this was the information the abbot was most curious about.
"…" Said the head abbot.
Did this fox really expect him to unlock the cage, unseal his powers and just let him waltz free as a show of good faith?
What a headache!