Chapter 31 Who is the Most Softhearted Little Fox Spirit

Chapter 31: The Softest-Hearted Little Fox Spirit

Under the cloak, Xie Huanxiang heard a familiar voice and froze for a moment.

The voice was so clear, every word distinct without any blurring, having echoed countless times in his dreams over the past decades.

The little fox spirit could barely believe it.

In mortal storybooks, the protagonist must cross thousands of mountains and rivers, taste every bitterness in the world, and endure every hardship before heaven rewards them with a reunion with their long-lost kin.

But he had done nothing yet, as if heaven couldn’t bear to let him suffer even a little, granting his wish early, just to make him happy.

Xie Huanxiang poked his head out from the cloak, his two paws pushing aside the man's annoying clothes, “Brother?”

The demon power that had been clashing fiercely with the demonic aura suddenly stopped.

The white-clad man saw the fluffy, reddish-orange head in the male demon’s arms, raised a hand to send a wind blade made of demon power, and the head of a beast lunging with bared fangs was instantly severed.

He stepped forward, his steps a little unsteady.

“Xiangbao?”

“Brother!” Xie Huanxiang leaped lightly from the man’s embrace, hopping into Xie Jiuyan's arms in a few steps, wrapping his paws around the other’s neck and nuzzling him repeatedly, his voice brimming with joy, “It really is you, brother! I found you!”

“It’s brother who found Xiangbao,” Xie Jiuyan gently rubbed the little fox’s ears, his fingers trembling slightly, “Xiangbao has grown up; your tail and ears are bigger now.”

Xie Huanxiang tilted his head back, letting him scratch under his chin, his mouth spreading into a grin, eyes narrowing into crescents, his ears quivering with pleasure.

“Brother, what happened to your tail?” Xie Huanxiang looked down at Xie Jiuyan’s bloody severed tail and hugged his own tail in fear.

“Then you'll have to ask Xiangbao's friend,” Xie Jiuyan said with a faint, ambiguous smile, lifting his gaze.

Xie Huanxiang followed his eyes, turning to look at the male demon standing alone a few steps away.

“Did you break my brother’s tail?” Xie Huanxiang asked, frowning.

The Archdemon was silent.

“The night before last, Huanxiang was crying bitterly over the elder’s death,” the Archdemon said, “I just went to get revenge for him.”

“Then you should have gone after the World-Ending Demon to take it out on him, not my brother!” Xie Huanxiang swished his tail, “My brother isn't...”

The World-Ending Demon.

“...”

Xie Huanxiang’s tail stopped swaying.

The joy of reunion was so sudden that he had forgotten—his brother had led a pack of ferocious beasts to surround them, coming for revenge.

He jumped down from Xie Jiuyan’s arms, changing back into human form, biting his full, rosy lips until teeth marks appeared, “Brother, did you kill Elder Grandpa and the others?”

Xie Jiuyan: “...”

“Why did you do it, brother? Why are you the one they call the World-Ending Demon? Why did you hurt the people of Cangshan? Elder Grandpa was our family—how could you do this?!” Xie Huanxiang looked up at him, his eyes reddening.

“Xiangbao, only you and I are family,” Xie Jiuyan lowered his gaze, stepping forward to grip his arm, his tone as gentle as always, “We’ve been apart for so many years; I’ve missed you every moment. Don't be mad at me over these irrelevant people, okay?”

“No,” Xie Huanxiang shook his head, “Brother used to say all the demons of Cangshan are one family.”

“One family?” Xie Jiuyan let out a low chuckle, his gaze tender and helpless as he traced Xie Huanxiang’s reddened eyes, “Xiangbao, from the moment they teamed up with humans to send me into the Pagoda just to split us up, they became my enemies.”

“Do you know how I survived these fifty years in the Pagoda, Xiangbao?”

“It was so dark in there, not a single soul to talk to. Only thinking of you, missing you, kept me alive.”

Xie Jiuyan’s eyes flushed with a hint of red, his voice raspy, “Xiangbao, I can't live without you. You understand?”

“Elder Grandpa and the others said... the World-Ending Demon killed a lot of people and demons before being locked away in the Pagoda,” Xie Huanxiang murmured, “Did brother really do that many bad things?”

Xie Jiuyan closed his eyes, the cold cruelty rising in his expression, impossible to hold back. He forced a faint smile and coaxed gently, “As long as Xiangbao is safe and stays with me forever, isn’t that enough? Are the lives of ants more important to you than your own brother?”

“If they are, then they deserve to die even more.” Xie Jiuyan smiled. “Alright, Xiangbao, let's not—”

“Slap!”

The surrounding beasts gasped and scrambled back a few steps.

Xie Jiuyan slowly turned his head back from the slap, staring at his brother, who glared at him with tear-filled eyes, holding his breath.

After a moment, he let out a quiet laugh.

“Xiangbao really has grown up, even learning to scold your brother.”

“The demons of Cangshan are my clan,” Xie Huanxiang mustered his courage, meeting Xie Jiuyan’s gaze, “Even if it's you, brother, it's not okay.”

“Fine, let that slap be Xiangbao's welcome-back gift to me,” Xie Jiuyan stepped forward, but Xie Huanxiang backed away, hiding behind the male demon.

Xie Jiuyan’s outstretched hand hung frozen in midair.

“Xiangbao, are you leaving your brother?”

“I've missed you all these years, too. The elders in the clan said you’d never come back, but I refused to believe it. But if you've done wrong, you have to take the punishment, just like when we were kids.” Xie Huanxiang poked his head out from behind the tall, cold male demon, his expression deadly serious, “Brother, I’m a good fox. I can't protect you.”

“...” Xie Jiuyan stared at him without a word.

Xie Huanxiang tugged the Archdemon's sleeve. “Let’s go.”

“Mm.” The Archdemon bent down, wrapped an arm around his waist, and lifted him up.

Xie Huanxiang looped his arms around the Archdemon's neck and lowered his head in silence.

“I didn't know he was your brother,” the Archdemon said softly. “Sorry.”

Xie Huanxiang mimicked him with a quiet “Mm.”

“...”

The pain of a severed tail was nothing compared to the deep ache of being abandoned by blood. Xie Jiuyan leaned against a tree trunk, slowly dropping to one knee, his head bowed as loose hair fell, hiding his reddened eyes.

Humans, demons—how wonderful.

The pain of being torn from family would be repaid in blood.

Xie Jiuyan’s sharp claws dug into the trunk, the tree on the verge of splitting apart, when he suddenly heard the crisp sound of bells growing closer.

He turned his head, then looked away, his voice hoarse, “Didn’t you say you were leaving me? Why come back?”

“Because you’re important to me, brother,” Xie Huanxiang touched his head, his clear eyes reflecting Xie Jiuyan’s disheveled state, “Demons who do bad things are cast out by Cangshan. You can’t go back, and I can’t forgive you on Cangshan’s behalf, but we’re blood kin—inseparable. So I can take you in.”

“But no more bad things from now on, okay?”

Xie Jiuyan held him tightly in his arms, his chin resting on Xie Huanxiang’s shoulder, his gaze cold and sharp as it met the silent, observing Archdemon in the distance. Softly, he said, “Okay.”

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