Chapter 2: The Perils of Perception

The target had been found.

Xiao Xi, brimming with confidence, clenched his short, fluffy little fox paws.

Yet, as he gazed at his entirely snow-white fox paws, a familiar headache began to throb.

After all, a monumental problem still lay before him: shapeshifting.

In this world, an unspoken rule governed all.

A small fraction of animals would, by serendipitous chance, awaken their spiritual intellect. However, these sentient beings could only speak after undergoing shapeshifting and then learning to do so.

This implied that as long as he couldn’t shapeshift, he couldn’t communicate with humans. And without communication, he couldn’t alter the plot. Judging by the two options he’d been given before his consciousness faded…

‘It seems only by saving the villain can I return to reality,’ he mused.

Many novels, after all, often presented such a premise.

The thought of shapeshifting, however, brought another wave of headache to Xiao Xi.

When reading novels, the protagonists were always human. Who would ever bother to remember what materials the ‘demonic’ villains needed for shapeshifting?

Xiao Xi, vexed by the challenge of altering the storyline, felt his frustration mount.

He instinctively pressed his small fox head against the soft peaks once more, savoring the delicate orchid fragrance and the plush, yielding sensation.

Only then did Xiao Xi feel a significant portion of his worries dissipate from his mind.

Due to his diminutive size, the little fox Xiao Xi felt as though he were floating atop a cloud, utterly content.

Su Mei felt the small creature in her embrace stir restlessly. As an elder of Violetmist Peak, she couldn’t help but smile.

She lowered her gaze slightly, observing the entirely snow-white furball, eyes closed in blissful repose, and a gentle smile unconsciously graced her lips.

****

Seven days prior, she had ventured out for experiential training, seeking her grand Dao amidst the mortal world.

Unexpectedly, she was ensnared by a group of treacherous individuals. After slaying one of the rogues, her spiritual energy was sealed by the effects of a potent drug, forcing her to flee into a mountain forest while pursued by several others.

It was then that she stumbled upon a small fox by chance. This marked the very first encounter between Su Mei and ‘Xiao Xi’.

As a late-stage Core Formation realm expert, Su Mei typically showed no mercy to demonic beasts. (Cultivation stages: Qi Condensation, Qi Gathering, Foundation Establishment, Crystallization, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Dao Comprehension, Ascension, Immortal Ascent).

After all, demonic beasts with cultivation or spiritual intellect would drop a Demonic Core upon death. These cores could aid humans in advancing their cultivation. Although Su Mei rarely returned to the sect, preferring to train outdoors…

She was more than willing to undertake such a small task, as it provided rewards for her disciples with minimal effort.

However, after encountering this ‘little fox’ while her spiritual energy was sealed, Su Mei had braced herself for an attack from the tiny creature.

To her surprise, the little creature not only refrained from attacking but even brought her several spiritual herbs.

Though these herbs weren’t particularly valuable, practically growing everywhere in the forest, and even contained a few weeds…

Among them, however, was a ‘Green Spirit Grass,’ which happened to be precisely what was needed to alleviate the spiritual energy sealing spell.

After consuming the herb and recovering her spiritual energy, Su Mei forced the villains to retreat. It was then that she noticed the little fox, far from being afraid, had unexpectedly grown attached to her.

The path of cultivation was long and arduous, often walked alone, silent and solitary.

Having reached the Core Formation stage, Su Mei’s cultivation already placed her among the continent’s elite. She had few friends, and most people regarded her with a mixture of fear and respect.

Observing the innocent little fox, freshly awakened to spiritual intellect and ignorant of worldly affairs, Su Mei naturally cherished its newfound closeness.

She watched the little creature, constantly clinging to her, nuzzling and seeking affection.

After some deliberation, Su Mei decided to bring the little one to the sect, and incidentally, also brought along its already shapeshifted brother, Xiao Changgu.

Now, Su Mei gazed at the little fox, its head burrowed into her body.

If not for her profound cultivation and the ‘Clear Sight Scrutiny’ technique, which revealed the ‘scenery’ beneath the little creature’s dense fur—thereby convincing her it was a female fox—she would have certainly suspected it of harboring ulterior motives.

However, now that she believed she understood its gender…

Seeing the little creature’s utterly blissful expression, Su Mei found herself unconcerned.

Instead, she extended a pair of slender, jade-like hands, her five delicate fingers gently stroking from its long, graceful neck all the way down to the tip of its entirely snow-white tail.

Su Mei’s touch was exceedingly gentle, and with each soft caress, Xiao Xi felt the continuous orchid fragrance emanating from her grow even stronger.

It was a dreamlike, ethereal aroma that deeply relaxed him, a fox by nature.

Coupled with the blissful sensation of being petted and the soft, cloud-like cushion beneath him…

‘Xi, xi, xi, xi…’

The un-shapeshifted little fox couldn’t help but emit its species’ characteristic cries.

Su Mei observed the little creature’s contented expression in her arms, and a tender smile involuntarily bloomed on a face usually stern with a master’s gravitas.

Gazing at Su Mei’s smile, Xiao Xi felt the novel’s original description—’all flowers lose their luster, a single smile can topple cities’—was no exaggeration at all.

To Xiao Xi’s regret, this captivating smile didn’t last long. Soon, Su Mei reverted to her usual ‘ice queen’ demeanor.

Not long after she resumed her normal state,

Xiao Xi, nestled in her soft embrace, heard the sound of light footsteps, followed by a slightly cold but remarkably clear voice from behind.

“Master, Luozhu has settled Junior Brother Xiao’s accommodation, and the sect attire is also ready!”

As Bai Luozhu spoke, she lowered her head slightly. Her three thousand strands of black hair, stirred by the valley breeze, fanned out around her, revealing a face as exquisitely beautiful as white porcelain beneath.

Xiao Xi twisted his little fox head and saw Bai Luozhu’s beautiful face, partially obscured by her slightly gloomy hair.

Gazing at that exquisite image, like a beautiful game CG, he was captivated.

Xiao Xi couldn’t help but sigh with emotion, ‘As expected of the first female protagonist to appear in this novel.’

Even though she hadn’t yet met the protagonist Ye Chen, her personality was still gloomy, and her hairstyle hadn’t changed, it had to be said that the female protagonist’s beauty was truly striking.

However, while the current Bai Luozhu was indeed beautiful…

Due to his recent days spent with Su Mei, Xiao Xi had quickly discovered a certain ‘shortcoming’ in her.

‘It seems the current female protagonist is somewhat… ‘plain’!’ he thought.

As is widely known, women’s sensitivity regarding certain ‘areas’ is no less keen than Sherlock Holmes’.

Even though Xiao Xi had only taken a careful, fleeting glance, without lingering…

As a little fox, however, Xiao Xi didn’t realize that his tiny action, in this unscientific world filled with cultivators, was tantamount to a fool’s dream if he hoped to hide it from the two powerful individuals present.

Soon, Xiao Xi heard a gentle voice from above his head.

“Oh, you! Are you trying to compare yourself to your senior sister again?”

Su Mei’s voice was exceedingly soft, offering the feeling of a kind older sister, yet infused with an intangible, alluring charm.

While her words contained no ‘clip tones’ or the intricate subtleties of Wu dialect…

To Xiao Xi, however, it always seemed to carry an invisible allure, subtly enchanting him.

At this moment, Xiao Xi couldn’t help but feel a pang of relief. ‘Thankfully, I’m just a little fox right now. If I were to shapeshift into ‘Qing Zhou,’ I’d be terrified of losing control of my body,’ he thought. ‘If I had a reaction, especially considering Su Mei’s conservative personality, so different from her alluring appearance as described in the original novel…’

‘I’d fear for my life right then and there,’ he concluded.

In that instant, he was profoundly grateful to still be a mere little fox.

However, Xiao Xi quickly realized something was amiss.

It was the content of Su Mei’s words just now.

‘What did she mean by, ‘Are you trying to compare yourself to your senior sister again?’

‘As a male fox, why would I be comparing *that* with Bai Luozhu?!’