The Greedy Animal

Three days had passed since that confrontation, and Xiao Xiao had not run into that monster again.

Although he had never seen the monster's true form, the Little Fox on her shoulder and the enormous fox tails he had glimpsed in a daze gave him reason to believe that she was a fox demon—in other words, what people commonly called a fox spirit.

Her final words still lingered in his ears, making them instinctively tingle.

He had to admit, she really was a fox spirit.

Unfortunately, she was nothing like the harmless, beautiful, lovestruck fox spirits in storybooks.

The cold indifference in this fox spirit's eyes chilled him to the bone and filled him with dread.

He wondered whether a monster whose true form he had never seen would appear in the black notebook.

At last, there came a day when he was alone in the dormitory. Xiao Xiao eagerly pulled out the black notebook.

The Qiuqiu fish, Ear Mouse, and Qin Yuan appeared vividly on the yellowed pages. The grotesque monsters looked lifelike, while the bright-red cinnabar seemed almost alive, giving the illusion that it was slowly flowing.

Xiao Xiao stopped turning the pages and slowly ran his fingers over the page bearing Qin Yuan's image.

Its slightly rough texture carried the aura of mountains and vast waters, causing his heart to sink involuntarily into a tranquil, distant state.

Xiao Xiao slowly turned the page, and a blank sheet came into view.

Xiao Xiao gently brushed the paper with his fingertip.

Brilliant-red cinnabar slowly seeped out.

Xiao Xiao moved his finger away, and faint patterns emerged. Like an ink painting, they gradually spread and deepened from light to dark.

It was a red fox.

Xiao Xiao was somewhat surprised, yet it was also more or less what he had expected.

"As expected, it's a fox demon." Xiao Xiao murmured aloud.

However, Xiao Xiao tapped the page with his fingertip. One, two... He was not seeing things. This was indeed a fox with two tails.

Could this be the incomplete, not-yet-fully-evolved version of the legendary Nine-tailed Fox?

But Xiao Xiao suddenly thought of a problem. Since the fox demon's image could appear in the notebook, would he be able to summon a fox demon the next time he encountered that fox demon?

There was one thing he had never quite figured out.

When he summoned monsters afterward, were they the very ones he had encountered?

Or were they merely the same species, but different individuals?

Perhaps he could try it if he got the chance next time.

After all, whether it was a confrontation between two fox demons or his ability to forcibly summon the fox demon he had encountered, either possibility was quite interesting.

"Hey, have you heard? Ruan Rou is dead!" Zhuge Yun had not even set one foot into the dormitory before he started shouting.

His voice was filled with sighs and lamentation, tinged with sorrow and melancholy.

Even though she had only been a classmate he had met a few times, they had clearly seen each other not long ago. Yet in such a short time, they had already been separated forever.

It was impossible not to sigh at the unpredictability of life.

"What?"

"Really?"

Zhang Bo and Zhao Luzheng were stunned. They straightened up and exchanged bewildered looks.

"How did she die?" Xiao Xiao clenched both hands, his whitening fingertips digging viciously into his palms and causing a faint sting.

"I heard she died in a traffic accident."

"A traffic accident? Cars these days are really getting more and more reckless."

"Yeah. You can hardly guard against them. Who knows when a car will suddenly come barreling out?"

"Is she really dead?" Xiao Xiao still found it somewhat unbelievable.

What a joke! She was a dignified fox demon. Although he still did not understand the strength levels of monsters, a fox that could possess a human and had two tails—along with the oppressive presence of a Great Yao that he had personally felt—how could she possibly have been killed by a car just like that?

It was utterly absurd!

Since the earlier guess was unreliable, then could it have been intentional?

If so, why?

Why die?

Was she simply bored? Or... had she achieved her goal?

"Don't make me wait too long." The girl's clear, youthful voice had become slightly hoarse because she had deliberately lowered it. It carried a seductive charm like rosemary, a murmur that seemed to sound right beside his ear and made it tingle for no reason.

Xiao Xiao rubbed his ear. The words that had suddenly echoed in his mind had the effect of a thunderclap, making his entire body stiffen and his expression freeze.

What did she mean?

Could it be that the words she had seemed to casually say last time had already hinted at what would happen today?

If so, he had been played like a fool!

He had been desperately working to save that girl, growing depressed several times over his inability to do anything and rejoicing over every tiny discovery. Yet while he had been devoting himself wholeheartedly to his efforts, she had died? The person he wanted to save had died!

How could this be?! Xiao Xiao felt a twitching sensation in his cerebral cortex, making his vision go black.

How dare that fox demon?!

Even without knowing the exact circumstances, he had a powerful premonition: the girl's traffic accident had been orchestrated entirely by that fox demon. The girl had been killed by her!

She had clearly possessed someone else's body, and in the end, she had even taken the host's life?

"Life really is unpredictable. How could this have happened..."

"Yeah. She was such a beautiful girl."

"What a pity. She was so young."

Zhang Bo and the others had all been shocked by the news. They were students from the same school and had met her a few times, so after their initial shock, they fell silent. For a while, the atmosphere in the dormitory grew tense and stifling.

Later, Zhuge Yun was the first to speak, breaking the oppressive atmosphere.

The others gradually began chatting.

After all, they had not been particularly close. Their gloom lasted only for a while, leaving behind merely some sorrow and regret over the fragility of life and the impossibility of bringing back the dead.

"Third Brother, what's wrong?" Zhao Luzheng asked, puzzled by Xiao Xiao's prolonged silence.

"Hm? Third Brother, why are you being so quiet?"

"Third Brother, don't tell me you're crying?"

Zhuge Yun's exaggerated, ill-intentioned question earned him a tremendous eye-roll from Xiao Xiao.

"I'm fine." He had simply lost control of his emotions earlier. To keep Zhang Bo and the others from noticing anything unusual, he had kept his head lowered, hiding every trace of his expression.

Xiao Xiao smiled as he always did, without the slightest shadow between his brows.

But he knew that if he encountered that fox demon again, he would never let her go!

Then again, perhaps he was merely boasting. Even with certain unusual advantages, he was still an ordinary human at heart. What could he possibly use to fight a monster? Especially one as powerful as this monster.

Could he rely on the black notebook to summon monsters?

A powerful unwillingness suddenly surged within him. He could clearly see monsters and summon monsters, so why did he himself possess not the slightest ability to contend with them?

An ability that did not rely on external forces, but belonged solely to him.

He wanted that kind of power.

Desperately. Yearning for it.

Were humans truly greedy animals?

He had already received heaven's favor, yet he still did not know how to be satisfied.