After a round of laughing and horseplay, they had dinner at Jade Hill Mountain that evening. Unfortunately, Jade Hill Mountain's Jade Faced Fairy was in seclusion and did not make an appearance.
The next day, led by several Jade Faced Foxes, they toured a few scenic spots and wandered through the tribes under Jade Hill Mountain's command. Shen Ying even bought several local wood carvings.
"Hisss—"
Toward evening, they arrived by a river, hunted a horned deer and several pheasants, and prepared to roast them. Then a water python crawled ashore from the riverbank, winding its way toward them.
A Jade Faced Fox named Su Lin glanced at the water python and flicked a stream of magical power at it.
"Thump!"
With a soft sound, the water python recoiled in pain. It instantly coiled up, turned its head toward them, flicked its tongue, and assumed an attacking posture.
"Tsk!"
Su Lin bared his teeth at it as well. His head instantly transformed into an enormous fox head, his eyes blood-red, sharp fangs exposed, his face greenish-blue like a Fierce Ghost.
The water python shrank back in fright, then shot into the water in a blur and fled at high speed.
Su Lin burst out laughing. When he turned back, he had once again become a refined and handsome scholar.
Lu Zheng clicked his tongue. Good heavens—judging by Su Lin's appearance just now, people would probably believe it if he were called a Ghost Faced Fox instead of a Jade Faced Fox.
"A little farther across this river is Twin Star Snake territory," Su Lin said with a smile. "That's why there are more snakes around here."
Liu Qingyan asked, "Could that python just now have been a Twin Star Snake?"
She had noticed star-like speckles on the water python's body.