Chapter 186 Cyan Fox
The cyan fox does put a piece of sealwort on the ground, and the sealwort is at least 100 years old. This little fox is so smart and nice.
Lin Luoran has heard of stories about “fox returning favors”. However, she is sure that she has never helped this little fox. Since the 100-year-old sealwort is not a gift of grat.i.tude, does it mean that the fox wants Lin’s help? Usually, Lin Luoran would patiently try to figure out the intention of the fox. But now, she has been looking for Baojia and Wen Guanjing for two days, and she found nothing. She really doesn’t have the patience for the fox.
Lin Luoran doesn’t take the sealwort. The fox gets anxious and angry. Its round eyes are watery and s.h.i.+ny. It turns and leaves without the sealwort. The fox soon disappears in the tunnels.
Lin sighs. If she had the time, she would be happy to help the little fox. It’s such a pity… Looking at the back of the fox, Lin feels guilty. She leaves the sealwort and goes ahead.
Where do these tunnels lead to? Are these natural or manual? The tunnels seem to be irrelevant to the mural they are looking for. Lin wonders where Baojia is.
Lin Luoran keeps walking for half a day. Suddenly, she hears something moving behind her. Lin turns around and sees the cyan fox. Its silky fur is stained and its paws are covered with mud. The fox is holding a piece of larger and older sealwort, looking at Lin wretchedly.
Why doesn’t the fox give up?
From the look of the little fox, Lin a.s.sumes that it has found all of the sealworts by itself. This cyan little fox is indeed capable. Lin Luoran hardens her heart and says, waving her hand, “Just leave!”
The fox keeps kowtowing. Lin Luoran remains unmoved. Like before, it runs away without the sealwort.
Lin Luoran checks on the sealwort on the ground. This piece is at least three hundred years old. The fox must have worked hard in order to find it. However, Lin is so occupied and she can’t be distracted. Lin Luoran makes a long list of reasons why she should not help the fox in her heart and forces herself to stay apathy.
Lin finds herself walking slower unintentionally. Half a day later, unsurprisingly, the fox catches up with Lin again.
Lin stops walking and checks on the fox. It is holding another piece of sealwort. This piece is smaller than the two pieces before, but Lin can feel the abundant Reiki inside of it from a distance. This piece of sealwort must be over seven hundred years old.
“I said I couldn’t help you. Why are you doing this…?” Lin sighs. Guilt fills her heart.
The cyan little fox raises the sealwort and begs Lin to take it. Lin Luoran forces herself to overlook it and turn around. Lin takes a few steps ahead. Finally, she can’t be apathy anymore. Lin looks back. This time, the fox doesn’t leave. It stands still, holding the piece of sealwort. The ground is wet. Tears are dropping down from its chin.
Is the fox crying?
At this time, Lin Luoran notices that one of the fox’s feet is not normal. Its body is almost covered with mud. The fragrance of herb fails to cover up the smell of blood. Is the fox hurt? Lin Luoran turns around and walks back. The cyan little fox looks at her. Its eyes are watery. It is crying!
“Hey, did you find all of these sealwort?” Lin Luoran says. Her voice startles the fox. Being afraid that Lin doesn’t believe that it has found all the sealwort by itself, the fox sniffs the sealwort and starts to dig into the ground.
Lin Luoran wonders, can the little fox be a master of finding herbs?
“You’ve offered me sealworts three times. Are you seeking help?” Lin squats and casts a “Cleaning Spell” to wash away the mud on the fox.
The fox nods and believes that Lin has changed her mind. It pushes the sealwort to Lin.
The fox gets anxious when Lin doesn’t take the sealwort. Its right foot is injured, and this is the best herb it can find for now. It will be helpless if Lin doesn’t take this piece.
Lin’s heart gets soft. She holds the fox up in her arms and comforts it, “I’ll take the sealwort. What do you need me to do?” Lin puts the sealwort into her s.p.a.ce and uses a flash of green light to cover the fox’s injured foot.
This is only a flesh wound. There is no need to cast the “Healing Spell”. All Lin needs to do is to use some wood Reiki to stop the bleeding and cure the wound gradually.
“Go ahead. What do you need me to help you with?”
The fox buries itself deeper into Lin’s arms. It points to one of the tunnels. Lin Luoran holds the fox tightly and walks quickly towards the tunnel.
The fox seems to be worn out, yet it forces itself to stay awake. Lin has no idea what the fox has gone through and what makes it seek help from a human. However, the fox is highly intelligent because the sealworts it brings for her get better every time. Besides, the fox is expressive and it can understand Lin’s words. Lin Luoran wonders what kind of fox it is.
The fox must have got hurt when it went to look for the sealwort for the third time… Lin would help it before if she had knew it would get hurt. Though Lin is fully aware that she should not be so softhearted, she can’t just stand by and ignore the pitiful fox.
Lin has been walking fast. After several turns, the fox jumps out of Lin’s arms and p.r.i.c.ks up its ears.
The fox walks on tiptoe and Lin holds her breath. There are many forks in the tunnel. Lin stays alerted. She walks ahead and sees an open cave. A bigger white fox is hanging in the mid-air in the cave. Its paws are s.h.i.+vering. It is still alive.
Does the cyan little fox lead her here to save the white fox?
Lin Luoran looks down. The cyan fox is pointing at the white fox anxiously.
It should not be impossible for the cyan fox to jump up and save the white fox by itself… Is there any other reason? A flash of golden light rushes out of Lin’s fingertip. The vines around the white fox are broken. The white fox falls into Lin’s arms.
The cyan little fox is thrilled. It runs to the white fox and pats it on the back.
Suddenly, a huge web falls from the ceiling and caps Lin and the two foxes.
Many creatures with long tails run into the cave. They are the gophers Lin came across before.
Creatures living underground are indeed strange. There are highly-intelligent foxes and gophers who can set up traps. Lin Luoran holds both of the foxes in her arms and looks at the gophers. The gophers seem to be so glad. Lin can’t figure out what they want.
A huge gopher in the size of a leopard walks into the cave with a group of gophers. Its whiskers have turned gray. It stares at the foxes in Lin’s arms and can’t hide its disgust.
Lin Luoran immediately understands the situation. These two foxes must be the enemies of the gophers. The gophers managed to catch the white fox and they used it as a lure to catch the cyan one. When did gophers become so clever…? What advantage does human still have?
For example, this is such a s.h.i.+tty web… Lin looks at the s.h.i.+vering cyan little fox in her arms and fondles its head,
“Don’t be afraid. They are no match for me.”
The gophers grin ferociously.