The Fox Spirit Xiao Zhi

"Awooo!" Another earth-shaking roar rang out. The mother Golden Lion, carrying a cub in her mouth, seemed to understand something. She dropped the cub and charged over in a fury.

Little Dot was terrified too, but with his tiny arms and legs, he had barely run a few meters before he fell flat on his backside, staring in horror as the mother Golden Lion came charging toward him.

Yet strangely, when the mother Golden Lion reached within three meters of him, she suddenly stopped short, twisted her lion body around, and dashed off at an angle.

Following the direction in which the mother Golden Lion ran, Liu Ding saw Liu Bo sprawled on the ground in the distance. Before the cloth sack could be tied shut, a little Golden Lion had rolled halfway out, babbling away. Liu Bo hastily stuffed the cub back into the sack and fled into the forest.

But only moments later, Liu Bo's miserable screams came from the woods, making goosebumps rise all over Liu Ding's body. He did not know what force supported him, but he scrambled to his feet and staggered off in the opposite direction, crossing the grassland toward the direction from which the mother Golden Lion had originally come.

Just as he was about to enter the woods on this side, Liu Ding saw a white object wriggling in the grass at the forest's edge. Looking closely, he found that it was a little white civet cat.

It was a pure white little civet cat, but its body was smeared with scarlet blood. It looked pitifully at Little Dot as he ran past.

After charging a few meters into the woods, Liu Ding suddenly stopped again. Biting his lip, he muttered, "No, the little kitty will get bitten to death by the big dog." He turned back, picked up the blood-covered little civet cat, and held it in his arms.

Little Dot ran blindly for a while. Hearing the little civet cat squeak in his arms, he covered its mouth and looked down. The little civet cat was still waving its tiny paw and pointing to one side. Little Dot kept running as he soothed it, "Don't cry, little kitty. The big dog will hear us."

"Squeak, squeak!" The little civet cat seemed furious. Its little paw kept smacking Liu Ding, while it repeatedly pointed to the right.

Liu Ding seemed to understand. "Are you telling me to run that way?"

"Squeak!" The little civet cat nodded again and again. Without another thought, Liu Ding turned and ran in the direction it pointed. The little civet cat let out a breath, wearing an almost human expression that said, You little brat, you finally got it.

Unexpectedly, a broad pool of water blocked their way. It had been carved out by a huge waterfall with three tiers of drops. Looking up, Liu Ding saw the waterfall pouring down the cliff in a roaring rush, raising clouds of mist and creating a magnificent sight.

Little Dot was stubborn as a mule. Although the little civet cat had been pointing toward the pool, he still plunged headfirst into it. The little civet cat froze for a moment, then quickly smiled. It stretched out a little paw and patted Little Dot's cheek a few times, looking very satisfied.

Though children raised by the riverbank could swim, when he reached the deeper part of the pool, Little Dot realized something was wrong. To the little civet cat clinging tightly around his neck, he said, "Little kitty, this won't do. It's too deep. I can't swim anymore. Should we go back?"

Before he could finish, a beast's roar suddenly swept over them like a tidal wave. Ripples spread across the deep pool's surface as the distant Golden Lion let out a terrifying howl. Frightened, Little Dot paddled forward even harder in a frantic doggy paddle.

"Squeak, squeak." The little civet cat called again, stretching out its little paw to point at the pouring waterfall, telling Little Dot to swim inside.

Single-minded Little Dot swam fiercely into the waterfall as it crashed down on him. To his delighted surprise, there was actually a water cave behind it. After swimming two or three meters in, his little feet finally touched solid ground. He walked upward along the slope and went deeper into a cave dwelling. It was not dark inside. A fist-sized Night-Luminescent Pearl rested atop a sharp, upright rock, casting a dreamlike, hazy glow throughout the cave.

"So pretty!" Little Dot exclaimed. He put down the little civet cat and wanted to climb the rock to take the Night-Luminescent Pearl.

"Squeak, squeak!" The little civet cat became unhappy and tugged hard at him.

Little Dot turned back and saw traces of pale red bloody water still on the little civet cat's body. He patted his little head in self-reproach. "I'm sorry, little kitty. You're hurt. I can't leave you behind just to play by myself."

He sat down cross-legged, took a tightly wrapped medicine pouch from his clothes, and pulled out wound medicine and bandages. Parting the little civet cat's fur, he searched for its wounds.

The children of the Liu Clan practiced martial arts and were active by nature, so bumps and scrapes were unavoidable. Every one of them carried wound medicine, and some even had medicinal pills for internal injuries.

"You're hurt so badly. That big dog was so vicious. It must hurt a lot, right?" Feeling the little civet cat's body tremble whenever he touched a wound, Little Dot's face was full of tenderness.

At last, he applied medicine to the little civet cat's wounds and wrapped bandages around the serious ones. The little civet cat could no longer hold itself up and lay there weakly, but its round black-jade crystal eyes still watched Little Dot quietly, blinking now and then, making it both lovable and pitiful.

"Little kitty, are you a kitty?" Little Dot could not help gently stroking the little civet cat's head and back.

"Squeak." The little civet cat froze for a moment, then shook its little head hard.

"Oh, you're not a kitty." Little Dot understood. Looking at the little civet cat's face, he asked, "Could you be a little doggy?"

"Squeak!" The little civet cat flung away Little Dot's hand and glared at him angrily, its face full of outrage.

"Not a little kitty, and not a little doggy." Little Dot was puzzled. "Could you be a little piggy? No—"

Before he could say it did not look like one, the little civet cat gave a puff and spat out a mouthful of foul blood. Its anger had attacked its heart. It turned its little head away and ignored foolish Little Dot.

Little Dot scratched the back of his head and said apologetically, "Sorry, little cat. Oh, no, little dog. Oh, no..." Not knowing what to call it, he looked awkwardly at the little civet cat with his own black-jade eyes.

The little civet cat could not hold it in any longer and leaked a breath through its teeth. Blinking its ink-jade crystal eyes, it struggled to spit out a single word: "Civet."

"Civet?" Little Dot examined the little civet cat closely. Looking at its pointed muzzle and adorable little button nose, he suddenly came to a realization. Slapping the back of his head in delight, he said, "I know! You're a little fox spirit."

The little fox spirit rolled its eyes and nearly toppled over.

Little Dot was delighted. Clapping his hands, he cried, "Then I'll call you Little Spirit from now on."

Depressed—unbelievably depressed. The little civet cat pressed a paw to its chest. You're Little Spirit! Your whole family is Little Spirit! Sadly, it could not speak. At most, it could angrily huff out one word: "Squeak!"

"Little Squeak doesn't sound nice." Little Dot shook his head, then thought for a moment. "I'll call you Little Hu."

"Squeak!" The little civet cat shook its head again in protest.

Softheartedly, Little Dot said, "You still don't like it? Fine, let me see whether you're male or female first." As he spoke, he reached out to pick up the little civet cat.

The little civet cat jumped in fright and struggled, but it was far too weak now. Seeing Little Dot's other hand reach over, it could only clamp its fluffy tail tightly shut.

But Little Dot still touched that soft spot. The snow-white fur on the little civet cat's face was instantly dyed with a blush of red, and its tiny body trembled lightly.

"You're female. Not very Mighty." Little Dot was a little disappointed. "Little Hu isn't good either. Fine, I'll listen to you. I'll call you Xiao Zhi."

I was protesting, not asking to be called Little Squeak! Seeing Little Dot's disappointed expression after being set down, the little civet cat was as frustrated as could be. And besides, do you know nothing about appreciating beauty, you little brat? Female foxes are treasures, because they can become spirits and turn into beautiful women someday—ptui, I just called myself a fox spirit. Xiao Zhi lay far away to one side, thoroughly depressed and ignoring Little Dot.

Having confirmed the little civet cat's identity and given it a nice name, Little Dot felt he had completed a great task and was very happy. Then his eyes were drawn to the dreamlike cave lit by the Night-Luminescent Pearl, and he began looking here and there.

By the time the depressed Xiao Zhi noticed, Little Dot had discovered its little storeroom of Spirit Orbs and immortal herbs. He cried out in delight, "There are even fragrant fruits! They must be delicious!"

"Squeak!" Xiao Zhi cried out in alarm and hurriedly pounced over, but he had already beaten it to the punch and stuffed two Spirit Fruits into his mouth. Xiao Zhi's heart ached terribly as she grabbed Little Dot, refusing to let him mess around any further.

"I only ate two little fruits. You're so stingy." Little Dot pouted as he swallowed the last Fire Dragon Fruit.

Xiao Zhi was speechless. Those two were a Fire Dragon Fruit and a Moon Yin Fruit! One was yang and one was yin; eating them together was like water and fire colliding.

Xiao Zhi suddenly realized the danger in horror. Sure enough, Little Dot's little face alternated between bright red and deathly pale. She was terrified.

"So hot... so cold..." Little Dot shivered all over. He felt two currents of energy twisting and crashing wildly through his body, swelling his meridians until they tore with waves of pain. Unable to endure it, he dropped onto the ground.

Only then did Xiao Zhi think of making Little Dot vomit up the Spirit Fruits immediately. She was about to pounce over and pinch his throat when she saw him sit cross-legged, form several hand seals with his little arms, and begin breathing exercises.

Eh? Xiao Zhi stopped in surprise. She could see that Little Dot was refining the Spirit Fruits.

Little Dot truly was trying to refine the Spirit Fruits. Though the two streams of energy burrowing into his meridians were one cold and one hot, this felt somewhat like when Grandpa gave him medicinal pills. He immediately followed the breathing method Liu Yandong had taught him and began refining the Spirit Fruits.

Once he began cultivating, Little Dot could not stop at all. The slightest lapse would make the hot and cold energies within him tangle and collide, rushing straight toward the Heavenly Spirit Gate. Only by continuously breathing and guiding them could he feel a little better.

Little Dot sat motionless, cultivating for three days and three nights in the blink of an eye. During that time, the Liu Clan was thrown into complete chaos.