Chapter 5 Who is the Bully Fox Spirit in the Demon Clan

Chapter 5: Who Is the Fox Spirit Bullying the Weak Among the Demons?

What? Training?

"I don't want to!" Xie Huanxiang pouted angrily. "I'm not going! I'll go find Master and tell on him—Senior Brother is bullying me again!"

Rong Jue walked away without looking back.

Xie Huanxiang had no choice but to enter the room.

He flopped onto the bed, exhausted, reaching out to touch the still-unconscious crow.

What's Rong Jue's deal?

Forcing him to go to Misty Peak for training is bad enough, but making him show up at five in the morning every day?

If he doesn't get to sleep at that hour, he'll lose all his fox fur.

This is clearly animal abuse.

Xie Huanxiang curled up under the covers and sniffled.

He kinda missed his brother. These humans are always picking on demons.

The next morning, at around 5:15 AM, Xie Huanxiang tried to hide in his bedding but failed. Senior Brother carried him off to Misty Peak, blanket and all.

"Get dressed and sit down on the cushion." As soon as it came to teaching him cultivation, Rong Jue's tone grew much harsher.

"I'm not getting dressed! I don't wanna practice that stupid technique!" Xie Huanxiang clung tightly to his blanket, dead set on sulking.

They stared each other down. He cursed up a storm, but instead of angering Rong Jue, he only ended up making himself cry.

"The words in that manual are so hard to read, and the chants are such tongue twisters. Why's Senior Brother gotta make me practice? I'm not joining some dumb cultivation tournament!"

Rong Jue squatted down to look him in the eye, wiped his tears away, and said seriously, "Junior Brother, cultivation isn't for showing off at tournaments."

Xie Huanxiang sniffled, "Then what's it for, then?"

"To spend more time with the people you care about," Rong Jue said. "Everything in this world has a limited lifespan—humans, demons, monsters, all of 'em."

"Doesn't Junior Brother have anyone he cares for?"

Xie Huanxiang suddenly shot back, "Does Senior Brother practice for that reason too?"

"Not before, no," Rong Jue said in a low voice. "But now I do, yeah."

"Oh," Xie Huanxiang mumbled under his breath.

But he's a demon. Even if he wants to live longer, practicing human spells is useless.

Since birth, his heart's been weak, so he could only learn a few harmless little demon tricks.

The great shaman of the demon tribe said he wouldn't live to adulthood.

He only made it to ninety-nine thanks to the cultivation his brother and parents gave him.

But Rong Jue doesn't know that.

Xie Huanxiang slowly cooled off, grudgingly put on his clothes, and sat cross-legged on the cushion, closing his eyes and listening to Senior Brother chant.

He listened, fell asleep, then got woken up by Senior Brother tapping his head. This went on and on until he totally conked out.

When he woke up, it was already pitch black.

Xie Huanxiang blinked sleepily, not seeing Rong Jue anywhere. He wondered what the guy was up to.

Clutching his growling stomach, he walked out of the meditation room. A pebble suddenly rolled up to his feet.

He turned his head on instinct and saw Wu Liu's figure hidden in the bamboo grove behind the house.

The night was thick and dark, and the sudden sight looked like a ghost.

But Xie Huanxiang was a wild fox—he could see the guy's face clearly even in the dark.

He walked over, taking out all his frustration from Rong Jue on Wu Liu.

"You're so late! I'm starving!" Even though he'd long forgotten about the man and hadn't even told him to bring food to Misty Peak, that didn't stop him from throwing a tantrum with utter confidence.

After speaking, he viciously stomped on the man's foot.

All humans are the same—they all annoy him.

Wu Liu pulled out a greasy, oil-drenched roast chicken from behind him.

No fox can resist a chicken.

Xie Huanxiang almost couldn't hide his fox claws as he reached out, tore off a drumstick, and nibbled at it.

As he ate, he kept nervously glancing around.

Cultivators avoid rich foods, and such heavy, oily meat is strictly forbidden. Luckily, he's always clever—he's eaten roast chicken many times without Senior Brother ever finding out.

"Is it good?" Wu Liu asked.

Xie Huanxiang nodded.

Wu Liu looked down at him. "Do I get a reward?"

Xie Huanxiang was too busy eating to care, so he casually replied, "Go ahead, tell me."

The man's cold, indifferent features were shrouded in the night, adding an eerie air.

"That night, Huanxiang saw me. Did he also see a fox?"

Xie Huanxiang's chewing came to an abrupt halt, his eyes darting around. "Wh-what little fox?"

Wu Liu leaned down, close to Xie Huanxiang's ear, and whispered, "A red fox that knows my secret. Huanxiang really didn't see it? Only if it dies will this secret belong to just the two of us."

The man's warm breath brushed against his ear.

"I... of course I saw it," Xie Huanxiang said, forcing himself to stay calm as he swallowed the meat. "It's just a fox. It can't even speak human language. How could it spill your secret?"

As he spoke, his temper flared again, and he kicked the man's leg. "You won't even spare a fox?! Are you even human?!"

"If you dare catch that fox, I'll have Senior Brother kick you off the mountain tomorrow!"

Wu Liu tore off the second drumstick and held it to his lips. "Huanxiang is so fierce."

Xie Huanxiang took it as an apology, snorted disdainfully, and reluctantly opened his mouth to accept the man's offering.

He had barely eaten half the chicken when a faint call came from afar, likely from Rong Jue: "Junior Brother?"

Xie Huanxiang tossed aside the chicken bone, licked the grease off his lips, grabbed Wu Liu's collar, and wiped his mouth clean on it. He glared at the man, then turned and ran out of the bamboo grove. "Senior Brother! I'm over here!"

In the shadows of the bamboo grove, Wu Liu's features were indistinct, his expression unreadable. He casually tore off a piece of the leftover roasted chicken the youth had eaten and slowly chewed it.

He watched Xie Huanxiang trot up to Rong Jue, smiling obediently, speaking softly, tugging at Rong Jue's sleeve and acting spoiled—a stark contrast to his domineering demeanor just moments ago.

What a fox spirit, a bully who preys on the weak and fears the strong.

The man swallowed the chewed chicken without expression, then dissolved into black mist, vanishing silently into the night.

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