Little Flame, Insight Spirit Fox

The stone house was far more spacious than Lin Yi had imagined.

The walls were built from whole blocks of blue-gray mountain stone, the gaps filled with some grayish-white binding material that looked smooth and hard.

A low stone table stood in the middle of the room, its surface polished flat and smooth. Several stone stools of the same material stood beside it, each padded with thick beast-hide cushions.

The old man gestured for Lin Yi to sit on one of the stone stools, then took a seat opposite him.

A rustling sound came from nearby.

Lin Yi turned to look and saw that the little boy had already climbed onto a smaller stone chair beside them with Little Flame in his arms, his two short legs dangling in the air and swinging back and forth.

Little Flame lay curled in his embrace, its head resting in the crook of the boy's arm. Its amber eyes were half-closed, and it looked so comfortable it was about to fall asleep.

Its leisurely, carefree appearance was as different from the capable, composed air it had shown while leading the way through the forest as two entirely different foxes.

Lin Yi withdrew his gaze. The old man across from him was watching him, his expression calm and gentle, yet his eyes carried a penetrating force that left nowhere to hide.

The stone house fell silent for roughly two breaths.

Then the old man suddenly spoke, his tone as casual as if he were discussing the day's weather.

"Are you wondering why I knew you hadn't told the truth, yet still brought you into the tribe?"

Lin Yi's heart suddenly tightened.

In an instant, all sorts of guesses and possible responses surged through his mind. The muscles around his mouth tensed instinctively, refusing to reveal even a trace of panic.

Yet he also knew that before those eyes, any deliberate concealment would likely be futile.

He remained silent and did not answer.

The old man smiled instead, the wrinkles on his face easing as his tone softened somewhat.

"There is no need to be nervous. This old man has lived in the Great Wilderness for nearly seventy years and met more people than I have eaten meat from Ferocious Beasts. Whether you told the truth or not, I could tell at a glance. But that is not something important."

He paused and lightly stroked the sparse gray-white beard on his chin.

"What matters is that Little Flame brought you here."

Hearing this, Lin Yi could not help looking again at the drowsy Red Fox on the nearby chair.

As though sensing his gaze, one of Little Flame's ears twitched slightly. It did not open its eyes, merely lazily flicking the tip of its tail.

The old man continued, "Little Flame is a spirit beast raised by our Bluestone Tribe since it was small. It has lived alongside us day and night for eight years.

"Its kind possesses the gift of Mind-and-Nature Discernment, able to perceive good and evil. Any living being that comes within three zhang of it, it can sense the truest layer of that being's thoughts—whether they bear goodwill, malice, or nothing but selfish intent."

Lin Yi's heart skipped a beat.

It could sense good and evil? Then Little Flame had stared at him for so long in the forest—had it not already seen through every little scheme in his heart?

The old man seemed to see through his thoughts and waved his hand with a chuckle.

"Don't worry. It only senses goodwill and malice; it cannot read minds. It cannot see through all the twists and turns of your specific thoughts."

Lin Yi breathed a sigh of relief, but a new question immediately arose. If it could not see his exact thoughts, what made it certain he was safe?

"If you harbored malice," the old man said slowly, "even the slightest thought of harming others or taking lives by force, Little Flame would not have been willing to touch you, much less approach you and guide you.

"The fact that you were able to follow it safely all the way to the tribe entrance is itself the best proof."

After saying this, the old man leaned back against the stone stool, tucked his hands into his sleeves, and looked at Lin Yi with a smiling expression.

"So perhaps you have secrets that are difficult to speak of, things that make it inconvenient for you to reveal your origins. That is not important.

"Though our Bluestone Tribe is no great tribe, we would never do something so rude as digging into your roots and pressing you step by step.

"If you come, we will treat you with courtesy. If you leave, we will never stop you."

An indescribable feeling welled up in Lin Yi's heart. The old man clearly knew he was lying, yet openly chose not to pursue the matter. He had even given him a dignified way down.

In modern society, such worldly consideration was already rare, much less when shown to a stranger one had just met.

After a moment of silence, he rose to his feet and solemnly cupped his hands toward the old man.

"Thank you for your tolerance, Elder. I truly do have origins that are inconvenient to explain, but please rest assured that I bear absolutely no ill intent toward the tribe. I will remember this trust in my heart."

The old man smiled and nodded, seemingly quite pleased by Lin Yi's words.

"May I ask how I should address you, Elder?" Lin Yi asked smoothly.

"Everyone in the tribe calls me Village Chief," the old man said with a cheerful smile. "You may call me the same."

"Village Chief." Lin Yi sat down again, made a quick calculation in his heart, and decided to strike while the iron was hot.

"May I stay in the tribe for some time? Of course, I will not stay for nothing. If there is any work within my abilities, Village Chief may instruct me to do it at any time."

The Village Chief looked him up and down, his gaze landing on the grass skirt that was already on the verge of falling apart. The corner of his mouth twitched again.

"Staying is naturally not a problem. In a while, I'll have Xiao Hu take you to the empty stone house on the western side. It isn't large, but it will be enough for one person."

As he spoke, he pointed toward the little boy on the nearby chair.

Hearing his own name, the little boy immediately puffed out his small chest, wearing an expression that said, Leave it to me.

Little Flame was awakened by his movement. It yawned, revealing a row of tiny sharp teeth, then lazily let its head droop again.

After thanking the Village Chief, Lin Yi thought for a moment and asked, "Village Chief, could you explain where exactly this place is?"

At that question, the Village Chief's gaze deepened again, like a still pool struck by a stone, ripples spreading across its surface so faintly they were almost imperceptible.

He did not answer immediately. Instead, he fell silent for two breaths, as though considering where to begin.

"The land beneath our feet is called the Great Wilderness."

The Village Chief's voice became steadier, carrying the solemnity of one recounting an ancient tale.

"The Great Wilderness is vast and boundless, with Ferocious Beasts running rampant and danger lurking on all sides. Most people living here gather by clan and dwell in tribes.

"Like our Bluestone Tribe, we have put down roots in this valley for generations. We hunt Ferocious Beasts for food and grow some drought-resistant grains to fill our stomachs."

Lin Yi listened intently, quietly recording this information in his rapidly turning mind.

"Ferocious Beasts come in strong and weak varieties," the Village Chief continued. "The weaker ones are much like ordinary wild animals. Strong adults can handle them.

"But those powerful Ferocious Beasts... a single one can destroy a small or medium-sized tribe. Every year, tribes in the Great Wilderness are wiped out by Beast Tides or by accidentally provoking high-ranking Ferocious Beasts, leaving not even bones behind."

His tone was calm, but the brutal meaning behind his words made Lin Yi's back tighten slightly.

After a moment of silence, Lin Yi still asked the most crucial question, the one that had been itching at his heart.

"Village Chief, does the tribe... have some kind of cultivation method that can make people stronger?"

The Village Chief glanced at him. There was no surprise in his gaze; instead, it held the understanding of someone who had been waiting for this question.

"That is right. Our Bluestone Tribe has indeed inherited a cultivation method through the generations."

The Village Chief's words confirmed Lin Yi's guess, and his heartbeat quietly quickened.

"But not everyone can cultivate." The Village Chief changed course, his calm tone carrying a trace of gravity. "Everyone's aptitude is different.

"Some are born with open meridians and awakened spirit apertures. They advance a thousand miles in a day when cultivating. Others have blocked meridians and unopened spirit apertures; even after exhausting an entire lifetime, they cannot sense the slightest bit of spiritual energy and cannot even cross the threshold of cultivation."

Lin Yi's heart rose to his throat again. He was, after all, an outsider. Though this body had been tempered once by spiritual energy, he had no idea whether he could cultivate at all or what his aptitude might be.

He opened his mouth, dearly wanting to ask the Village Chief for that cultivation method.

But the words reached his lips and were forcibly swallowed back down. They had only just met. The man had kindly taken him in, given him a place to live, and answered his questions—was he going to turn around and ask for the foundation of the tribe's existence, its secret inheritance?

That would be far too rash. If he angered the Village Chief and was driven from the tribe, where would he find a second place willing to accept him?

Lin Yi lowered his eyes and lightly tapped his fingertips against his knee twice, suppressing that impulse.

Yet the Village Chief seemed to have seen straight through his thoughts and suddenly spoke with a genial chuckle.

"I can teach you the cultivation method."

Lin Yi abruptly raised his head, almost thinking he had misheard. "...What?"

He had not even asked, and the Village Chief was offering it of his own accord?

Seeing the expression of stunned speechlessness on his face, the Village Chief smiled more deeply, the creases at the corners of his eyes piling up like a chrysanthemum.

"You need not be so surprised. The reason I am willing to trust you is naturally because of Little Flame's judgment.

"But there is another reason I decided to pass the method on to you."

Lin Yi held his breath and waited for what came next.

The Village Chief slowly raised three fingers. "In eight years, you are the first living person Little Flame has led into the tribe. Do you know what that means?"

Lin Yi shook his head.

"The Insight Spirit Fox can not only perceive good and evil, but also sense the depth of a person's talent."

The Village Chief's gaze settled on Lin Yi with an appraising air—but there was no malice in that appraisal. Rather, it was like a craftsman examining a piece of uncut jade freshly unearthed from the soil.

"Little Flame's willingness to guide you means it judged your heart to be pure and kind, or at the very least harmless.

"And its willingness to touch you of its own accord, even staying beside you without leaving while you were unconscious, means..."

The Village Chief paused, lowering his voice.

"It sensed that your talent far surpasses that of ordinary people."

At that moment, Lin Yi's heartbeat suddenly accelerated, and a rush of heat surged from his chest to his mind.

The Village Chief looked at him, his tone calm and solemn. "Teaching you the cultivation method is both an act of trust and the forging of a good bond. To be even more frank—"

The old man leaned forward slightly. In those ancient-well-like eyes flashed a faint sharpness belonging to one who had survived in the wilderness.

"The Great Wilderness is perilous. Though the Bluestone Tribe has taken root here for generations, no one knows what tomorrow will bring.

"If you succeed in cultivation and become powerful in the future, I hope you will remember the favor shown to you today. When the tribe stands at the brink of life and death, I hope you can lend us a hand."

His voice was not loud, yet it pressed heavily upon Lin Yi's heart.

After hearing him out, the wild joy sparked by the prospect of the cultivation method immediately settled somewhat.

He swiftly weighed the pros and cons in his heart. He had to agree; he would get the cultivation method first, and as for whether he could fulfill the promise later—who knew whether tomorrow or disaster would arrive first?

For all he knew, before he made anything of his cultivation, some Ferocious Beast might carry him off in its jaws. As for debts, only the living had the right to repay them.

But outwardly, he showed not the slightest hesitation. Rising to his feet, he cupped his fists and declared in a voice that struck the ground like iron.

"If the tribe faces danger in the future, I, Lin Yi, will surely give my utmost assistance and never break my word."

The Village Chief looked at him and slowly nodded.

Meanwhile, Little Flame in Xiao Hu's arms quietly opened one eye. Lin Yi's figure reflected in its amber pupil, before the eye soon closed again.

Its tail lightly swayed once over the edge of the chair, silent and soundless.

The wind outside the stone house suddenly grew stronger, rushing through the crack in the door with a low, mournful whistle.

The Village Chief rose to his feet and walked to a low wooden rack in the corner of the stone house.

The rack looked old, its edges worn smooth and bright. Only two things rested upon it: a palm-sized crude pottery jar and an old, yellowed beast-hide scroll.

The Village Chief reached out and took down the beast-hide scroll, moving gently as though he were holding a fragile treasure.

He turned and extended the scroll toward Lin Yi.