The arrival of the two Foundation Establishment cultivators had subtly shifted the atmosphere in the village.
Bai Heng could sense it.
The few Qi Refining spies were clearly venturing out less often.
The man surnamed Zhou no longer went to the back mountain to chop firewood every day. Instead, he split wood that had already been cut, right in his own courtyard.
The village woman kept her head lowered while washing clothes, no longer occasionally glancing around as she had before.
The peddler surnamed Liu had stopped setting up his goods stand entirely. He only left half his door open and sat inside, lost in thought.
The scholar surnamed Chen in the northern part of the village had not shown his face since the day he stepped out to look around. His doors and windows remained tightly shut, as if he were truly immersed in diligent study.
Yet Bai Heng knew that every so often, a gaze would sweep across the village from behind that window.
The widow surnamed Wang in the southern part of the village continued to hang laundry and cook every day with her usual calm composure. But her eyes would occasionally drift toward the other suspected spies in the village, lingering a little longer in the direction of Xu Cheng.
Bai Heng took note of all these changes and committed them to memory.
She did not alter her own routine.
During the day she still roamed the mountains and forests, sometimes basking in the sun, sometimes gathering medicinal herbs. At night she returned to her rock cave to cultivate, absorbing moonlight and refining her demonic energy.
She simply extended her cultivation sessions a little longer than before.
The demonic energy flowing through her body moved more smoothly now. The still-forming second tail at the base of her spine had solidified a little more, though she had no idea when it would fully emerge.
She did not rush.
Cultivation could not be forced. Yun Qing had said so, and so had Mu Xuejun. A shaky foundation meant one could not go far.
She simply progressed step by step, accumulating strength day by day.
The current situation was not something a mere second-tier little fox demon like her could control.
In that case, she would focus on cultivation.
Strength was the foundation of everything.
Qin Yun and Qin Yu still came into the mountains to see her from time to time.
Sometimes the siblings came together. Sometimes Qin Yu came alone.
The little girl’s small basket was always filled with wild fruit—some from the mountains, some from the trees in her own courtyard.
Bai Heng gradually stopped hiding from them.
When they arrived, she would emerge from behind the bushes and crouch at a short distance, watching them for a while.
Only after Qin Yu set down the fruit would she slowly walk over, pick it up in her mouth, and retreat just as slowly.
Sometimes other children followed along.
Li Dong, Wang Xiu, and Liu Dazhu were all playmates of Qin Yu’s from the village. After hearing her stories about the white fox, they grew curious and begged her to take them into the mountains to see it.
At first Qin Yu refused, afraid too many people would scare the fox. But the children pestered her every day until she finally agreed.
“You all have to promise me—no shouting, no running over. Just watch from far away.”
The children nodded like pecking chickens.
That day, Bai Heng crouched on a rock and watched Qin Yu leading a little train of followers along the forest path.
She narrowed her eyes slightly.
When the children saw her, their eyes lit up. But they remembered Qin Yu’s warning. They covered their mouths, not daring to make a sound, and simply crouched at a distance, pushing and whispering to one another.
“So white.”
“Whiter than snow.”
“Her eyes are so bright.”
Bai Heng watched them for a moment, then stood up and slowly walked over to the spot where Qin Yu had placed the wild fruit. She picked one up in her mouth and ate it unhurriedly.
The children stared without blinking.
After she finished, Bai Heng turned and vanished into the bushes.
Only then did the children dare speak.
“She ate it! She really ate it!”
“Qin Yu, you weren’t lying!”
“Can we come again tomorrow?”
Qin Yu shook her head.
“We can’t come every day. It’ll scare her.”
The children looked disappointed but could only agree.
Lin Lan sometimes came along as well.
She would crouch beside Qin Yu at a distance, watching quietly. When Bai Heng ate the wild fruit, the corners of Lin Lan’s mouth would curve up gently, her gaze soft.
Bai Heng had taken note of her.
The girl’s eyes were clean. There was none of the sharp vigilance the spies sometimes let slip, nor any trace of deliberate pretense. When Lin Lan looked at her, it was simple fondness, simple appreciation for something beautiful.
Just like Qin Yu.
Bai Heng gradually stopped deliberately avoiding her either.
When Lin Lan came, Bai Heng would still emerge and still eat the wild fruit Qin Yu brought. Occasionally, though, she would glance at Lin Lan a little longer.
Lin Lan would smile softly and say in a gentle voice, “Eat slowly. There’s no rush.”
Bai Heng never replied. She simply continued eating her fruit.
Her presence in the village was no longer a secret. There was no need to hide it anymore.
A little demon who had awakened her intelligence was nothing rare in these wild mountains. The big shots scheming over greater matters probably would not care.
Thinking this way, Bai Heng felt a little lighter.
This day was the night of the full moon.
It was also the autumn harvest festival of this world.
Bai Heng crouched at the entrance of her rock cave, gazing down at the village below.
The village was especially lively tonight.
A shelter had been set up on the drying ground, and lanterns hung everywhere.
The villagers had gathered there, setting out tables and chairs and laying out all kinds of food. Laughter, conversation, and the playful shouts of children drifted faintly across one or two li of mountain path into Bai Heng’s ears.
The spies were there as well.
The man surnamed Zhou sat at the edge of the crowd, chatting with nearby villagers and smiling with honest good humor.
The village woman helped carry dishes and bowls, bustling about just like any ordinary farmwife.
The peddler surnamed Liu had set up his stand today, selling candies and pastries. Children crowded around him, chattering nonstop.
The scholar surnamed Chen had come out tonight too. He wore a slightly worn green robe and stood at the edge of the crowd, occasionally nodding politely to passing villagers. His gaze, however, swept across the gathering from time to time.
The widow surnamed Wang sat at the side with her seven- or eight-year-old son. She placed food in his bowl and spoke to him softly, a gentle smile on her face. Every so often she would look up, her eyes drifting through the crowd as if searching for someone.
Xu Cheng and Lu Mingshuang were present as well.
Xu Cheng sat beside the village chief, speaking with several older villagers. His manner was humble and his words appropriate.
Lu Mingshuang stood behind him, smiling as she watched the children play. When the children pulled her over, she laughed and joined them for a while.
Everyone was fully committed.
Everyone was playing their role.
Bai Heng watched the scene in silence and suddenly remembered something from long ago.
This autumn harvest festival was somewhat similar to the Mid-Autumn Festival of her previous life.
Back then she had been an ordinary person.
She had family, a job, friends, and perhaps someone she liked… During the festival she would have dinner with colleagues, or stand alone on her balcony talking on the phone with family while looking at the moon and eating mooncakes.
Those memories had grown blurry.
Three thousand years was enough time to wash away many things.
Yet as she looked at the lively village below, those faded memories suddenly grew a little clearer.
Bai Heng withdrew her gaze and stopped thinking about it.
Those were things from the past.
She was a fox demon now.
She had her own path to walk and a promise to fulfill. She could recall the old days once in a while, but she could not dwell on them.
When the noise in the village below began to fade, she prepared to begin her cultivation for the night. Suddenly her ears twitched.
Someone was coming up the mountain.
Not one person—three.
Bai Heng extended her divine sense and swept it over them lightly.
It was Qin Yun, Qin Yu, and Lin Lan.
Why were they coming up the mountain so late?
Bai Heng did not move. She simply watched in that direction.
The moonlight was beautiful, illuminating the mountain path clearly.
Three figures slowly made their way up the trail, stopping and starting as if searching for something.
Qin Yu walked in front, carrying a small bamboo basket. Qin Yun followed behind her, holding a paper lantern with a candle inside that cast a warm, yellow glow. Lin Lan walked at the rear, carrying a cloth bundle.
“Brother, is it this way?” Qin Yu’s voice drifted on the night breeze.
Qin Yun looked around.
“It should be. I met her around here last time.”
Lin Lan said softly, “Don’t rush. Take it slow. She might be hiding at night.”
The three continued forward, heading toward the woods where Bai Heng usually stayed.
After a moment’s thought, Bai Heng leaped down from the cave entrance and moved silently in that direction.
She stopped at the edge of the woods and crouched on a rock, watching the three figures draw closer.
Moonlight bathed her, giving her snow-white fur a faint silvery sheen.
Qin Yu spotted her first.
“There she is!”
She lowered her voice, tugged Qin Yun’s sleeve, then Lin Lan’s hem.
The three slowed down and approached carefully.
They stopped roughly three zhang away from Bai Heng.
Qin Yu crouched down, set the bamboo basket on the ground, and lifted the cloth cover.
Inside were all kinds of food: several pieces of pastry, golden-fried glutinous rice cakes and roasted meat, a small dish of cured meat, and a few items wrapped in oil paper whose contents were unknown.
“Little White, we brought you some good things to eat.”
Qin Yu’s voice was soft and full of smiles.
“It’s the festival tonight. Every family made delicious food. I saved some for you. Try them.”
Bai Heng looked at the food in the basket, then at Qin Yu’s sparkling eyes, then at Qin Yun and Lin Lan standing behind her.
Qin Yun said nothing. He simply watched her quietly. Lin Lan smiled gently, her gaze soft.
Moonlight flowed quietly over the three humans, one fox, and the basket brimming with food.
Bai Heng remained silent for a moment, then finally leaped down from the rock.
She walked slowly to the basket, lowered her head, and sniffed the offerings.
The sweet scent of pastries, the rice fragrance of the glutinous cakes, the salty aroma of cured meat, and the mooncake scent from the oil-paper packets blended together into the unmistakable smell of the mortal world.
She gently picked up a piece of pastry in her mouth and ate it slowly.
Qin Yu’s eyes curved into crescents. She nearly jumped with joy but quickly held herself back.
Qin Yun watched, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
Lin Lan said softly, “She really trusts you two.”
Qin Yu nodded vigorously.
“Mhm! Little White is so well-behaved.”
Bai Heng finished the pastry, then tasted a glutinous rice cake and some of the roasted meat and cured meat. She ate very slowly and gracefully, taking small bites as if savoring every flavor.
As Qin Yun watched, he suddenly spoke.
“Little sister, your feeding skills are really something.”
Qin Yu blinked.
“Huh?”
Qin Yun pointed at Bai Heng.
“Look at her. She’s clearly put on a little weight since we first saw her.”
Bai Heng had just picked up a mooncake in her mouth. At his words, her movement paused slightly.
Qin Yu studied her seriously and nodded.
“She does look a bit rounder.”
Qin Yun smiled.
“That’s good. Winter’s coming. A little extra fat will help her get through it.”
Bai Heng slowly set the mooncake back down.
She lifted her head and looked at Qin Yun.
In the moonlight, her clear fox eyes held an indescribable meaning.
Qin Yun felt a little bewildered under her gaze.
“Wh… what’s wrong?”
Bai Heng did not answer. She simply watched him for a moment, then stood up and lightly stamped her front paw.
She turned and walked toward her rock cave.
After a few steps she glanced back.
The three of them were still standing there, watching her.
Bai Heng did not stop. Her figure melted into the moonlight.
Qin Yu whispered, “Why did Little White leave? She hasn’t finished eating yet.”
Qin Yun scratched his head.
“Did I say something wrong?”
Lin Lan watched the scene and suddenly laughed.
Qin Yun looked at her.
“What are you laughing at?”
Lin Lan held back her laughter and shook her head.
“Nothing. It’s just that, Qin Yun, you really don’t know how to talk to a lady.”
Qin Yun was stunned.
“A lady? What lady?”
Lin Lan pointed in the direction Bai Heng had disappeared.
“That white fox is female. You called her fat. Of course she wasn’t happy.”
Qin Yun opened his mouth, wanting to say something but not knowing what.
Qin Yu nodded seriously.
“That’s right. Little White is a girl. Brother, you have to be more careful with your words. You can’t say things like that to her.”
Qin Yun smiled helplessly.
“She’s not a person, she’s a fox…”
Qin Yu shook her head.
“No, no! Little White isn’t an ordinary fox. She’s an intelligent fox immortal. Brother, you have to treat her like a lady.”
Qin Yun looked at his sister’s earnest expression and could only smile wryly.
“Fine, fine, fine. I was wrong. I won’t say it again.”
He turned toward the direction Bai Heng had vanished and cupped his hands seriously.
“Miss Little White, I apologize for my earlier words. Please be magnanimous and don’t take it to heart.”
Lin Lan laughed even harder at the sight.
Qin Yu covered her mouth and giggled too.
Their laughter drifted lightly through the moonlit forest.
After waiting a while and seeing that the white fox had not returned, Qin Yu looked a little disappointed.
“Is Little White angry? Is she not coming back out?”
Lin Lan shook her head.
“She won’t be. She probably just went back to rest.”
She opened the cloth bundle she had brought. It also contained food. She arranged everything neatly together with the items from Qin Yu’s basket on the rock where Bai Heng usually crouched.
“Leave these for her. She’ll eat them when she sees them tomorrow.”
Qin Yu nodded and took the rest of the food from her basket, arranging it as well.
The three of them stood there a little longer before turning and slowly making their way down the mountain.
Qin Yun walked at the rear. After a few steps he suddenly looked back.
In the moonlight the food sat neatly arranged on the rock. The direction of the rock cave was quiet.
He scratched his head with a smile and turned to catch up with his sister and Lin Lan.
The three figures gradually receded and disappeared into the moonlight.
At the rock cave entrance, Bai Heng sat watching the three figures grow smaller until they vanished at the end of the trail.
Only then did she stand up and walk slowly back to the rock.
The food was arranged neatly, gleaming softly under the moonlight.
She leaped onto the rock, looked down at it, and said softly, “It would be a shame to waste it.”
Then she lowered her head and began to eat slowly.
Pastries, glutinous rice cakes, various meats, and the unfinished mooncakes.
She ate bite by bite, savoring the flavors of the mortal world.
Finally she picked up the last mooncake, lifted her head, and gazed at the bright moon overhead.
The silver disk was large and perfectly round. Its clear radiance bathed the mountains and forests, bathing her snow-white fur.
She watched it for a long time, then suddenly let out a soft laugh.
The laughter was light and faint, instantly carried away by the night breeze.
She tilted her head back and swallowed the last of the mooncake.
It was as if she had swallowed the bright moon itself.
Then she closed her eyes and began circulating the Heavenly Fox Moon-Drawing Art.
Lunar essence surged in from all directions, thread by thread merging into her body. The cool demonic energy flowed through her meridians more smoothly than ever before.
The foundation of her second tail seemed to solidify a little more.
Moonlight flowed quietly, illuminating the white fox crouched on the rock.
She remained perfectly still, as if she had become one with the moonlight.
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Nice, comfy chapter