Fox Friends and Dog Companions

As Ji Yuan's words fell, Jin Jia on the other side of the pond also circled around it and slowly returned to Ji Yuan's side. As he came back, the golden armor on his body gradually dimmed, and his body shrank somewhat as well. By the time he reached Ji Yuan, he had returned to his former red-skinned burly man form.

Ji Yuan had originally been preparing to leave, but halfway through turning around, he looked back and gave the pond several more glances.

Huli had grown a little braver by now and cautiously edged closer to the water's side. Seeing that even this fellow dared approach, the Big Black Dog refused to be outdone and followed behind, inching closer bit by bit.

"Mister Ji, what was that monster just now?"

Xiezhi's voice was very hoarse, and much of the time he spoke only to Ji Yuan. Huli and the Big Black Dog were standing rather far away, so they heard him only vaguely.

"A monster?"

Ji Yuan turned to glance at Huli and gently shook his head.

"It wasn't entirely wrong, but it was certainly not correct either. Legend had it that a Qiuchi was a Heavenly Dragon transformed after committing some grave offense. They generally cultivated in Yin Gathering Places, hoping that one day they could regain the body of a Heavenly Dragon. As for this one..."

Ji Yuan did not continue. This Qiuchi had been left with only a nearly instinctive pattern of behavior; its mind was no longer clear, and no one knew what it had experienced before. If the Deer Peace City City God had truly been bitten by it and poisoned to death, his body dying and his Dao disappearing, then he had truly been unlucky beyond measure.

Ji Yuan kept his gaze on