Hajiqing was wrong. Hajiqing would never talk big again.
I'd just posted an update when I saw another four treasure chests. My whole world came crashing down, so I urgently canceled the bounty. The current count is sixteen chests; adding the previous nineteen extra chapters and the eight chapters from monthly votes, that comes to 187 chapters in total. I'll slowly pay off this debt from now on. Everyone, please stop—I'm really scared.
Lastly, thanks again to Liantaiye Usami, Canlang, Alderbert, and Zongbu. Hajiqing will never dare again.
The Faction Shift, the Fox Dragon Descends the Mountain
Heavy snow blanketed the mountain forests, and the temple was buried tight beneath its weight. The door was blocked shut.
A fox nimbly squeezed out through a crack in the window.
After Miss A-Long entered hibernation, she slept deeply. Even when Hebe stepped on her tail while leaving, she merely muttered and rolled over.
The falling snowflakes in the sky suddenly twisted, their patterns forming words that only Hebe could understand.
"Currently, the north wind howls and winter has arrived. Scar Father marshals His army and summons the harsh winter as His vanguard. All things lie dormant at this time, yet Canlang sharpens his claws in wait."
Power Struggle status: Stalemate.
Over the past year, Hebe had seen the status of "Power Struggle" change many times, but "Scar Father" had never gained the upper hand. At best, He reached a stalemate before being suppressed by Canlang once more.
Hebe shook her tail, scattering the snow that had accumulated on her body. Plum blossom-shaped pawprints appeared in the snow, only to be quickly buried.
She had completely mastered this body. She would no longer lose control unexpectedly because of emotional fluctuations.
In other words, Hebe could take advantage of Miss A-Long's hibernation and leave through the gaps between territories.
The endlessly falling snow would perfectly conceal her tracks. By the time spring returned and the snow melted next year, there would be no trace of her left.
But Hebe did not do that. She crossed the frozen stream and leaped into a dense forest hung with icicles.
This was no longer Miss A-Long's territory. A fox strutting about so openly here would inevitably draw ill-intentioned stares.
When Hebe had walked a dozen meters, a branch bearing a thick layer of snow finally gave way with a crack, sending down a spray of snow that obscured everything near and far.
A black shadow shot out from the snow and lunged at Hebe's back with astonishing speed.
The fox walking through the snow did not even turn her head. She merely flicked her huge, fluffy tail.
Smack!
The black shadow was struck squarely by the fox's tail and splattered in every direction.
Hebe could not even be bothered to find out what that shadow had been.
The depths of the forest returned to deathly silence, with only the fox pacing quietly onward.
Does this wilderness not have a lord? Hebe wondered.
She crossed the entire forest and headed toward the next region occupied by monsters.
It was a lake. Though not large, it was very deep.
A thick Ice Cap now covered the lake's surface. Hebe walked to the shore, pressed a paw against the ice, and exerted a little force.
Crack!
The Ice Cap covering the lake shattered into pieces, as though releasing a dying scream.
The great fish lurking beneath the ice, waiting for its chance, screamed as well.
This was the "lord" occupying the lake: a black fish already over two meters long. The last time Hebe had come here to fish, it had nearly bitten her tail.
Back then, after missing its first strike, the huge black fish had instantly fled into the winding, rugged caves at the bottom of the lake.
But it had never expected that, in the harsh winter when every beast should have been dormant, this fox would quietly come to the lakeside and crush both the entire ice surface and its body with one paw.
With her revenge complete, Hebe swished her tail and trotted back to Dragon King Temple with light steps.
Miss A-Long seemed to sense something, so Hebe gently patted the giant snake's head with her tail. Miss A-Long slept even more soundly afterward.
And throughout the mountain forests, tales of "the fox with terrible fishing skills and a strange temper" began to spread rapidly.
Spring thunder rumbled faintly, and the stream that had been sealed away all winter began to trickle again.
Though the chill of early spring still lingered, the mountain villagers had already begun entering the mountains to gather herbs.
Of course, they had not come solely to gather herbs this time.
Their herb baskets contained dried mice, while they carried strings of fresh frogs in their hands. They had come specifically to worship Miss A-Long and pray for her protection.
Though the villagers did not know exactly what had happened in the mountains, they could clearly feel that the vicious wild beasts had become fewer lately.
"The Dragon King must have shown His divine power."
The farther the villagers traveled along the small path Miss A-Long had flattened, the firmer their faith became.
The thunder of Jingzhe finally sounded. Accompanied by a satisfying downpour, the villagers encouraged one another, adjusted the straw sandals tied at their waists, and hurried up the mountain.
The doors and windows of Dragon King Temple, standing amid the mountains, were tightly shut. The villagers looked at one another. Just as the middle-aged villager leading them gathered his courage and took two steps forward, he saw the temple doors open on their own.
"Ah!"
The villagers' legs trembled, and some were so frightened that they turned and ran.
But the mountain path was slick with rain, and one of them lost his footing and fell flat on his backside.
By then, the temple doors had opened completely. An extremely tall woman sat on the ground expressionlessly, her thick, pitch black hair hanging loose around her. A layer of fine, taut dark scales covered her body.
The tall woman with thick black hair suddenly turned her head and stared fixedly at the frogs strung together with grass rope in the clearing outside the temple.
As she moved, her pitch black hair swept across the ground, leaving deep marks in the rock as though it had been violently cleaved by a famous blade.
The frogs instantly froze stiff.
The villagers exchanged glances.
Sensing that the black-haired woman had no intention of attacking them, the villagers carefully backed away, remembering to leave the mice and frogs behind.
Once they had completely departed, Miss A-Long cheered and pounced on the frogs playing dead on the ground.
Hebe jumped down from the roof and watched Miss A-Long pick up frogs from the ground and eat them.
Perhaps sensing the fox's gaze, Miss A-Long turned back, her cheeks puffed out as she blinked her dark red eyes.
It was rather strange. When Miss A-Long moved about in her original form, her eyes were amber. Yet when she transformed into human form, her pupils became dark red.
Before Hebe could speak, Miss A-Long grabbed a frog and offered it to her.
"Foxy, eat frogs. There are lots here."
"Thank you, but no." Hebe once again declined Miss A-Long's generous affection.
The fox swished her tail.
"Miss A-Long, let's go down the mountain."
"Why go down the mountain?"
"Because there are lots of delicious and fun things outside the mountain."
"There are lots of frogs in the mountains too, and very fat mice."
"There may not be many frogs outside, but there are mice. More importantly, there are things tastier than mice."
Miss A-Long hesitantly said, "Miss A-Long doesn't like outside the mountain... but if Foxy wants to go, Miss A-Long has to follow and protect her."
The fox narrowed her eyes and smiled. "Miss A-Long can already transform into a human, so she's very impressive."
A proud expression immediately appeared on Miss A-Long's face.
"Foxy still can't transform into a human, so she has to follow Miss A-Long and can't run around everywhere."
She's so easy to handle. Even though she can take human form now, her personality hasn't changed at all... Hebe thought.
And the instant Miss A-Long agreed to go down the mountain, Hebe saw the patterns formed by raindrops falling upon the ground twist and change into new words.
Current Lostbelt progress: 5%
This showed that Hebe's approach was correct.
When Miss A-Long chose to leave the mountain and head for the human world, she had already begun drifting away from Canlang's faction and gradually leaning toward Scar Father.
Could I Be Amaterasu?
The journey down the mountain did not encounter much resistance.
Leaving aside the strange reputation Hebe had earned during winter, once Miss A-Long grew front claws, her presence began spreading rapidly as well.
After quickly weighing the difference in strength, the monsters that had once occupied the forests, lakes, and marshes decisively migrated away. They feared blocking the fox and dragon's path. Offending the giant snake that had transformed into a dragon meant nothing more than death. But if that fox spotted them, she might drag them off to use as fishing bait.
"The weak submit, while the strong stand proud." This was Canlang's teaching to his people and followers.
At least at this time, wisdom was not a word exclusive to humans. Beasts possessed intelligence as well.
Of course, Miss A-Long probably had little to do with the word wisdom.
Whenever Hebe flicked her tail and started a fire, Miss A-Long liked to squat beside the campfire.
She did nothing but squint at the flames radiating warmth.
Even though Miss A-Long had now entered the stage of becoming a dragon, this old instinct from her past had remained.
Meanwhile, Hebe gradually grasped the key.
"When I move around near Miss A-Long, all I gain is strength," Hebe thought. "But when I chose to go down the mountain, I awakened foxfire instead."
The fox narrowed her eyes.
Fire was the mark that distinguished humans from beasts. In Egypt, priests believed that humans had initially been one kind of beast. Yet while beasts feared and fled from fire, humans tried to form an alliance with it.
For humans, fire was both weapon and tool. It could drive away beasts and call companions together.
Hebe seemed to understand. "By choosing to go down the mountain, I left the beasts behind and entered the human world. That is why foxfire emerged."
It seemed that the Nine-Tailed Fox's talents changed along with her surroundings.
And what place could be more complex and ever-changing than human society?
The prosperous world of later generations also proved that Scar Father would eventually triumph over Canlang.
Having figured out a question that had troubled her for a long time, Hebe was in high spirits. She gazed at the shifting clouds in the sky when she suddenly heard rustling and turned around—
Miss A-Long was gathering mushrooms nearby.
Ever since Hebe had picked some mushrooms a few days ago and made a pot of delicious soup, Miss A-Long would dig around whenever they passed through a forest.
"Foxy." Miss A-Long ran over with a handful of bright mushrooms.
"..." Hebe looked at those colorful mushrooms, considered her words, and ultimately decided not to dampen Miss A-Long's enthusiasm.
"Miss A-Long is amazing." Hebe picked out the edible mushrooms and put them into a pot they had fashioned by smashing a stone.
"What about these?" Miss A-Long looked at the remaining bright mushrooms, somewhat reluctant to discard them.
"Miss A-Long must have seen small animals eating mushrooms in the mountains before. Some can still leap around after eating them, while others die on the spot." The fox twitched her lips. "Have you ever wondered why?"
"Why?"
"Because they're poisonous. Eating them will kill you."
"Eek—" A-Long flung the poisonous mushrooms away.
By the time the soup was ready to drink, it was already noon. The mountain mist had gradually dispersed, and Hebe used her tail to extinguish the embers.
Miss A-Long packed away the pot they had made from stone.
This was their final meal before leaving the mountains.
The stream babbled as it flowed toward a village where cooking smoke curled into the air.
Miss A-Long volunteered to ask for directions, but her height was simply too extraordinary. Even in the Eastern Kingdom at this time, let alone in the modern world of later generations, girls as tall as her were rare.
Before Miss A-Long could even speak, the children scattered in all directions.
"I'll do it." Hebe touched Miss A-Long, who was squatting on the ground, with her nose.
The sunlight suddenly seemed to waver.
A figure suddenly appeared before Miss A-Long.
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