Lin Yu followed behind the little fox, observing it closely.
Generally speaking, such mythical beasts rarely appear in human sight.
After all, if not handled properly, it could attract unwanted attention.
Therefore, these spiritual creatures mostly hide deep in the mountains.
Lin Yu was lucky to run into it today; the little thing didn't run away.
The little fox ran ahead, its bushy tail occasionally brushing against the grass beside it.
After running a certain distance, she would stop, turn around, and look at Lin Yu with her amber eyes.
Seeing that he was catching up, she let out two more babbling sounds, turned around and continued running forward, as if urging him on, or as if checking to make sure Lin Yu hadn't fallen behind.
Lin Yu followed behind, finding the little spirit fox increasingly interesting, so he quietly opened his Primordial Spirit and tried to connect with its consciousness.
This is a creature of heaven and earth, which, though unable to speak human language, possesses remarkable wisdom.
The inability to speak likely stems from being away from humans for extended periods and not having had any contact with them, thus failing to learn to speak.
As soon as he regained consciousness, Lin Yu heard a childish yet somewhat presumptuous thought, "This child looks so delicate, how dare he run into the deep mountains alone?"
"There are plenty of man-eating beasts in this forest. If he hadn't met this fox, he would have become their snack sooner or later."
Lin Yu paused, his lips twitching involuntarily. So this spirit fox had mistaken him for a lost child.
As he was thinking this, he heard the spirit fox's thoughts again. "Hey? He's running too fast, won't he lose the child?"
The little fox stopped and turned around, tiptoeing to look back. Seeing Lin Yu standing not far away, it seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and flicked its tail.
Lin Yu's Primordial Spirit sent another smug thought, "Luckily, this fox is kind-hearted, otherwise this child would be in real trouble. I need to get him out of the mountain as soon as possible."
Lin Yu then realized that the fox spirit had returned to call him not because it had any important request, but because it was afraid he would get lost and encounter danger in the mountains and wanted to lead him out of the forest.
Lin Yu followed behind the spirit fox, listening to its occasional little thoughts.
My mind gradually relaxed.
The creatures in these deep mountains are simpler than the people of this world.
A human and a fox walked through the forest, sunlight filtering through the leaves and casting dappled shadows on the ground.
Before we knew it, half an hour had passed.
Although Lin Yu didn't feel tired, he saw the red fox in front of him suddenly stop, turn around and let out two coos at him.
"This kid must be tired after running for so long. I'll go find him something to eat so he can rest here for a while."
Lin Yu read its thoughts from its mind and stopped in his tracks.
Upon seeing this, the little fox turned and darted into the nearby bushes, leaving only a red afterimage.
Lin Yu sat down on a smooth boulder, his fingertips brushing against the moss on the surface, feeling the fresh, spiritual energy of the mountain forest.
This moment truly brought him a rare moment of peace; lately, this beast had been driving him to the brink of murderous intent.
That's why he came to this natural place to experience this rare tranquility.
A moment later, a rustling sound was heard, and the little fox came running back carrying a twig as thick as a wrist. The twig was covered with fruits the size of fingernails, with pale red skins and glistening dew.
It placed the branch at Lin Yu's feet and rubbed its paw against Lin Yu's trouser leg. "Eeya eeya..." (Human, eat up, it's delicious)
Lin Yu understood its meaning from its thoughts.
So I picked a fruit, brought it to my nose and smelled it; a faint fruity fragrance wafted towards me.
I took a bite, and the juice spread throughout my mouth, sweet and sour. While not exactly a delicacy, it had a refreshing quality unique to nature.
Seeing that Lin Yu was enjoying his meal, the red fox also picked up a fruit, sat down beside him, and slowly chewed it, its tail swaying gently, showing that it was eating very contentedly.
After eating, the red fox was the first to stand up, barked twice at Lin Yu, and then continued to lead the way.
As dusk fell
Finally, the trees ahead began to thin out, and the outline of the mountain path became faintly visible.
Villages and farmlands outside the mountains came into view. Looking at the outside world so close at hand, Lin Yu stopped in his tracks.
The red fox realized he hadn't followed and quickly ran back. Seeing Lin Yu standing still, it cried out anxiously, "Eee-ooh!"
"Little child, little child, hurry up! It's getting dark, your family must be looking for you."
Lin Yu crouched down and gently touched the red fox's soft ears with his fingertips. The fluffy touch made him smile involuntarily. "I'm not lost, I'm not afraid of wild animals, and I don't need to worry about my family. I'm not a kid who came to the mountains to play."
The red fox froze instantly when he touched it, its amber eyes widening in surprise.
It stood there stunned for a while before suddenly jumping back two steps, circling Lin Yu twice, sniffing his scent constantly, its mind filled with doubt.
"This... this child can understand me? He's not an ordinary child? But he looks no different from the other children in the village..."
The little fox approached Lin Yu, tilted its head, and scrutinized him for a long time. It scratched its chin with its little paws but still couldn't see anything special about Lin Yu.
Clearly, its level of cultivation was insufficient to discern Lin Yu's extraordinary abilities.
Lin Yu had already concealed his Spiritual Power; in its eyes, he was nothing more than a human who looked clean and handsome.
Seeing the red fox's confused expression, Lin Yu couldn't help but smile. He took out a spirit fruit and handed it to the fox, saying, "Thank you for bringing me out of the mountain. This is a token of my gratitude."
The red fox sniffed the berries, and its eyes lit up instantly.
The spiritual energy contained in these berries is a hundred times more concentrated than that of the wild fruits it usually eats!
It carefully picked up the berry and made two "ee-yah" sounds at Lin Yu, as if to say thank you.
"Goodbye, little fox. I hope you'll still be here when I come again." Lin Yu waved goodbye to the little fox and then turned to walk towards the village outside the mountain.
The red fox, with the spirit fruit in its mouth, watched Lin Yu turn and walk towards the village outside the mountain, its amber eyes still holding a hint of bewilderment.
The little fox glanced at the spiritual fruit beneath it, then at Lin Yu's retreating figure.
It lowered its head and rubbed the spiritual fruit in its mouth. The rich spiritual energy surged from the tip of its tongue to its entire body, even more potent than the spiritual energy it had absorbed from heaven and earth for half a month.
Only then did it belatedly realize that ordinary humans could not possibly produce such a fruit brimming with spiritual energy.
"He... he's not an ordinary child, he's a highly skilled master!" A thought suddenly exploded in the little fox's mind, and it froze on the spot, forgetting to wag its fluffy tail.
Thinking about its past actions, it wished it could disappear into the ground.
Despite being a highly skilled cultivator, he was treated like a lost child, with the person constantly worrying about being eaten by wild beasts, leading the way, and even offering ordinary wild fruits as a treat...
A wave of shame washed over her, and the red fox's ears drooped instantly, its cheek fur turning slightly red.