Everyone stared blankly at the suddenly sprung-up shorty.
Silence.
After a long silence, someone in the crowd timidly asked, “Is it only foxes that have these two tufts of fur?”
“It shouldn’t be,” another replied.
“This is called ‘smart fur.’ My cat has these two tufts too. Last night, it even made me a four-dish one-soup meal.”
The crowd all turned their gaze to Xu Muxue.
“Can you make four dishes and one soup?”
“I—I can’t…” Xu Muxue lowered her head in shame.
“Then you’re not a fox!”
The snot-nosed brat pointed at Xu Muxue and shouted.
“I heard foxes always repay kindness.
If you can’t cook, how can you repay your benefactor?”
That brat actually made some sense?!
Xu Muxue wavered.
Seeing the crowd murmuring all around, Xu Muxue began to doubt herself.
Could Wadasi really just be a little Dog Demon?
Only the storyteller wore a look of terror.
That was an Evil Spirit, an Evil Spirit! The Qingyue Fairy personally came down the mountain to capture that Evil Spirit! How could you all be talking about four dishes and one soup instead?
Am I crazy or is this world crazy?!
“Dear viewers, this demon is the very Evil Spirit captured by the Qingyue Fairy back then. Don’t just stand there—run!”
Yet no one moved an inch.
“She’s so cute, how could she possibly be an Evil Spirit?”
A timid voice came from the crowd.
Everyone nodded vigorously.
“Yeah, yeah.”
Xu Muxue nodded too.
“Don’t be fooled by the Evil Spirit’s beauty!”
The storyteller lamented.
“This Evil Spirit is merciless—she digs out people’s hearts and livers without batting an eye!”
“Bu-but…”
Xu Muxue blinked her big eyes, her eyes turning red.
“But I really haven’t done anything bad…”
Seeing Xu Muxue’s tearful, delicate face, the crowd became restless.
Tears dripped down Xu Muxue’s cheeks.
“I was originally just a little free-spirited Little Fox living in the wild mountains. Absorbing the Spirit Energy of heaven and earth, gathering the essence of sun and moon, I was lucky enough to cultivate into a human form.”
“After becoming human, I was unwilling to endure the loneliness of the mountains, so I came to the Human Clan’s town.”
“I know, everyone in the Human Clan has their own rules, so I only watched from afar and never dared to disturb anyone. But I didn’t know that even this would get me captured…”
“That day, I was just secretly blending in with the crowd, wanting to listen to the stories told by this gentleman. Unexpectedly, I ran into the Qingyue Fairy. Without a word, she grabbed me and took me back to the Sword Sect to be confined.”
Xu Muxue stretched out her hands, and everyone saw that on her slender white wrists were indeed two jet-black bracelets.
“I’ve never harmed anyone. Though I can’t cook, I’ve raised four little girls… But what was the result?”
Xu Muxue’s voice choked with emotion.
“Are harmless little demons like me even wrong for just listening to a story?!”
A chorus of sobs broke out among the crowd, all touched by Xu Muxue’s sincere confession.
Who would have thought that this so-called Evil Spirit was just an innocent Little Fox?
Even more surprising was that the noble Qingyue Fairy would so blatantly disregard the truth and act without distinguishing right from wrong!
The Qingyue Fairy Shen Qinghan’s reputation was being slandered!
“Everyone must not believe this Evil Spirit’s one-sided words!”
The storyteller cried out loudly.
“Sir, have you personally witnessed this Evil Spirit harming others?”
“N-no…”
“Did the Qingyue Fairy herself tell you this?”
“What kind of person is the Qingyue Fairy? How could I be so lucky to hear her divine words?”
“Then how did this story come about?”
The storyteller broke out in a cold sweat, and under everyone’s watchful eyes, he could only admit reluctantly, “Hehe, well, that’s something I made up…”
“Pfft!”
“Hey, you old geezer!”
Countless curses flew from the crowd. The storyteller awkwardly scratched his head and added, “It’s all just for fun, everyone, just take it lightly, just take it lightly.”
“Poor thing.” An older lady walked up to Xu Muxue and gently patted her head with sympathy.
“I heard you demons live for a long time? But no matter how old you are, you look about the same age as my daughter.”
Xu Muxue blinked her big eyes, her ears wobbling.
“If you don’t mind, just stay here. We are all ordinary mortals who don’t understand cultivation or meditation, but at least you’ll have company when you’re lonely.”
The lady grabbed Xu Muxue’s hands and gently removed the Binding Spirit Shackles from her wrists.
In an instant, a powerful surge of Spirit Energy burst from Xu Muxue’s body. A strong gust of wind formed around her, radiating outward.
The crowd was blown this way and that; many fell flat on the ground, and a large empty area immediately formed around Xu Muxue.
“See? See? She really is an Evil Spirit!”
The storyteller backed away in horror.
“Those shackles must be what sealed her power. She tricked us into taking them off!”
His words stirred up a storm. Many already suspicious became panicked.
“Would you just shut up? You made up the story and actually believe it yourself.”
Xu Muxue rolled her eyes and grabbed a meat bun from a nearby stall, stuffing it into the storyteller’s mouth.
“Auntie, I’m sorry for not controlling myself just now, thank you for helping me take off the shackles.”
Xu Muxue reached out and helped the fallen lady up.
“The Qingyue Fairy did capture me back then, but it wasn’t because I was some evil spirit causing havoc in the world. She just wanted to question me about something.”
“I really did want you all to remove the shackles. The Qingyue Fairy is in danger right now, and these shackles were put on me by the enemy to suppress my power. But I didn’t lie to you—I really have raised four little girls, and the Qingyue Fairy Shen Qinghan is one of them.”
“I’m not an Evil Spirit. I’m just a worried old father… old mother. Now, I’m going to save my beloved eldest daughter.”
Xu Muxue bowed respectfully to the crowd, then turned and transformed into a streak of light, disappearing into the horizon.
These mortals had never seen such a display of magic and were all stunned. Only some carefree children jumped and laughed, chasing after Xu Muxue’s departing light.
***
With her powers restored, Xu Muxue could finally fly normally without struggling with her two pitiful big tails.
She began to think.
That day when she was captured, hiding in Shen Qinghan’s arms pretending to be an ornament, she overheard the conditions of two Nascent Soul Cultivators.
They wanted to take advantage of the Sword Sect’s weakened state to completely swallow it up and seize all the resources controlled by the Sword Sect.
However, mobilizing the Spirit Energy of the entire Sword Sect required the Sect Master Command Token. And as the former Sect Master Xu Mu’s direct disciple, surely the Sect Master Command Token was in Shen Qinghan’s possession—
No way!
Xu Muxue flipped her palm, and a dark command token appeared in her hand.
When she had tried to return to Blue Star, the spatial turbulence in the portal had destroyed her entire System Backpack without a trace.
Except for the Sword Sect’s Sect Master Command Token.
Hehe.
Xu Muxue chuckled foolishly.
Good thing I put this thing in the System Backpack back then!