After making a show of declining, Su Changsheng said goodbye to Bai Ling.
Long after he had left, Bai Ling was looking down, arranging the runes on her stall, when a question came from behind her:
"Did he agree?"
It was Fox Woman Little Four. She had appeared from somewhere and come straight up behind Bai Ling.
Bai Ling's expression remained unchanged, as though she had known Little Four would come. Without turning, she said, "He said he'd think about it, but I don't think there'll be much trouble. He's interested in joining. But are you sure there's nothing wrong with him?"
Fox Woman Little Four nodded and continued, "There's nothing wrong. I took the opportunity to pat his tail just now, and there really wasn't any trace of the Turtle Breath Art's aura inside. He's probably just an unlucky fellow who happened to see the Turtle Breath Art's cultivation instructions, as you said."
Bai Ling breathed a sigh of relief, her expression relaxing. She turned toward Fox Woman Little Four and said, "That's good. I kept worrying that Male Fox's death had something to do with him."
She meant Male Fox, who had clashed with her last time and had been found dead in a grove after encountering something uncanny.
A yao had noticed Su Changsheng following Male Fox at the time, so she had worried that a bond-coupling phenomenon had developed between them and drawn the uncanny incident.
Fox Woman Little Four shook her head, her expression somewhat grave as well. "It wasn't him. That fellow probably just wanted to stand up for you and take revenge on Male Fox. We investigated carefully afterward. Something uncanny had already set its sights on Male Fox long before that. Even without that big black snake, he would have died for