[Received 100 villain points from “Qiao Xiaoxian.”]
Huh? Is this dragon crazy? How did I inexplicably provoke her?
Jiang Ke’er scanned her surroundings, and only after confirming that Qiao Xiaoxian was indeed not on the cloud boat, did she finally let out a sigh of relief.
It’s good she’s not here. Anyway, I’m about to be free… Once I reach the Ancient Realm of Learning Inquiry, it’ll be like entering a completely safe novice village. Even if I still face various conflicts between cultivators, it’s better than facing Qiao Xiaoxian.
“Whew—”
Comfortable.
Jiang Ke’er leaned by the window, watching the cloud boat “pop~” as it burst out of the sea of clouds.
The warm light dyed the clouds golden, making them look crispy, crunchy, and very appetizing.
This sudden burst of elation dispelled all the gloom in Jiang Ke’er’s heart.
“Eh? Officer Jiang!”
A call, filled with surprise and nervousness, brought Jiang Ke’er back to her senses.
She followed the sound and saw two familiar dog ears.
“You’re the one from the security checkpoint…” Jiang Ke’er recalled.
“My name is Mu Guoguo. I’m a Class D Ranger from the Intelligence Department of the Ranger Guild, a scent detector with two and a half years of training,” Mu Guoguo seemed a little shy.
After introducing herself, she bowed gratefully to Jiang Ke’er, “Thank you again, Officer Jiang, for helping me out.”
[Righteousness points credited—50 points.]
Jiang Ke’er waved her hand, “We’re all demon race; making a living isn’t easy. When you’re out and about, you naturally have to help each other.”
“You probably don’t know, but you looked so majestic at the time!” Mu Guoguo’s eyes were full of adoration.
“I was almost scared to death then! I thought, ‘It’s over, how could a demon race dare to speak like that on human territory? This big sister is probably dead!’ I never expected that nothing would happen in the end. You completely stunned that group of grunts; all the demon race present were stunned!”
“Calm down, standard procedure,” Jiang Ke’er just smiled nonchalantly… Of course, she was actually incredibly pleased inside.
“Officer Jiang, may I sit here?” Mu Guoguo asked, pointing to the empty seat next to Jiang Ke’er.
“I guess so. It seems like there’s no one here.”
Jiang Ke’er stood up and looked around, finding that the entire cloud boat, apart from where Mu Guoguo was sitting before, only had this one empty seat right beside her.
Perhaps some poor soul had bought a ticket in advance but missed this cloud boat.
That truly was too tragic.
Jiang Ke’er mourned for that unknown person for one second, then patted the empty seat, enthusiastically inviting, “Come on, sit, sit~”
“Mhm mhm~”
Mu Guoguo obediently sat down.
Jiang Ke’er looked at Mu Guoguo, feeling that this dog girl was truly adorable.
This is the kind of wife one should look for! Small, obedient, and cute!
All those perverted dragon girls can just die!
Of course, she only grumbled in her heart; she was a loyal supporter of singlehood.
“Is this your first time in the Great Si Kingdom?” Mu Guoguo asked.
“Yes,” Jiang Ke’er nodded, admitting it.
Hearing that Jiang Ke’er was visiting the Great Si Kingdom for the first time, Mu Guoguo immediately became interested.
“I came to the Great Si Kingdom when I was very young, so I’m very familiar with it here! Feel free to ask me anything you don’t understand!” Mu Guoguo confidently patted her chest, clearly eager to help Jiang Ke’er.
Jiang Ke’er was also happy to have such a local who could help her understand the situation and culture of the Great Si Kingdom, which would help her avoid a lot of trouble after landing.
“The Great Si Kingdom, huh…”
In short, the Great Si Kingdom was the boss of the entire East Sheng Divine Continent.
Over 80% of the East Sheng Divine Continent’s territory belonged to the Great Si Kingdom. At the same time, the Great Si Kingdom was also the economic and cultural exchange center of the entire Four Great Continents. To describe it as “all nations coming to pay tribute” would not be an exaggeration in the slightest.
And living in the Great Si Kingdom, there were three things you absolutely could not offend.
First, the Great Si Kingdom’s government.
Second, the major sects.
Third, the Nine Palaces Chamber of Commerce.
These three were behemoths that commoners could not afford to provoke.
Offending even one would make life extremely difficult, and there wouldn’t even be enough time to flee the country.
“Nine Palaces Chamber of Commerce…”
Jiang Ke’er remembered that name clearly.
The Deep Valley Woven Grass that was found during the border security check belonged to the Nine Palaces Chamber of Commerce’s monopoly products.
“For demon beasts and low-level cultivators, this really is a terrible world!” Jiang Ke’er couldn’t help but exclaim.
“For thousands of years, ever since life awakened intelligence, hasn’t it always been like this?” Mu Guoguo also sighed, “How much better could it get anyway…”
This was a heavy topic.
Jiang Ke’er knew that as long as it wasn’t a utopia with infinite resources, life would never escape the hierarchy, and true equality would never be achieved.
“But perhaps it could be better than now.”
Jiang Ke’er had her own ideas.
At the very least, she didn’t want to struggle to survive as the lowest tier.
She had the pursuits of a common person and a small bottom line from civilized society…as well as a serious beast-ear fetish!
“What’s going on with those guys outside?” Jiang Ke’er suddenly pointed out the window and asked Mu Guoguo.
Outside the window, a group of human cultivators were flying on their swords above the clouds.
The key was that they were all wearing thick padded jackets, with their hands tucked into their sleeves, and large cotton hats on their heads. They looked nothing like dignified cultivators, but rather like middle-aged people in northern winters.
“Could they be hijackers?” Jiang Ke’er was a little nervous, but even more excited.
“No, they’re just some cultivators on long-distance flights,” Mu Guoguo laughed.
“The Great Si Kingdom’s legal sword-riding navigation height is 4,000 zhang, and cultivators on long journeys must fly at this height. But it’s very cold at this height… so the cheapest and most practical solution is to dress warmly.”
“…”
Was it an illusion? She just felt a bit silly…
“It’s just plain ugly!” Mu Guoguo spoke Jiang Ke’er’s mind.
“Fortunately, we demon race don’t need to wear padded jackets when flying on swords; we have fur!”
“Fur?”
Jiang Ke’er couldn’t immediately understand what Mu Guoguo meant by fur.
After transformation, demon beasts had smooth skin just like humans; where would they get fur?
“Woof~”
Mu Guoguo lowered her voice and let out a soft bark, and with a “boom,” a layer of mist enveloped her body.
When the mist dissipated, the original Mu Guoguo was gone, leaving only a large Golden Retriever wearing clothes.
“It’s the Spirit Reversion Art! Haven’t you learned it? This is a basic skill for us demon race!” the Golden Retriever spoke, Mu Guoguo’s voice coming from its throat. “With the Spirit Reversion Art, many things become much more convenient. This is our innate advantage!”
“Uh, no, I haven’t actually learned it. To be honest, I don’t interact much with other demon beasts…” Jiang Ke’er scratched behind her ear, feeling guilty. She had only transformed a few days ago, so she naturally hadn’t had the chance to learn these spells.
“I’ll teach you!” Mu Guoguo said, transforming back to her original form.
“Great!”
The journey still had a few hours left, so Mu Guoguo began to explain the principles and key points of the Spirit Reversion Art to Jiang Ke’er.
This was Jiang Ke’er’s first proper spell lesson, and it was the first spell she ever learned.
She discovered that spells weren’t difficult to use, and their principles were mostly the same: it was merely about controlling how spiritual energy flowed within the body, what kind of nature change occurred in a specific part of it, and how it was finally released.
More powerful spells were more complex, but the Spirit Reversion Art was the most basic demon beast spell, making it much easier to use. It only required controlling the spiritual energy in the meridians to flow in the opposite direction to achieve the reversion effect and return to one’s original form.
In just a few minutes, Jiang Ke’er had mastered the key points of the Spirit Reversion Art. She eagerly prepared to cast it, wanting to see what her original form looked like.
In the little fox’s memory, there was no image of her original form, as there were no mirrors in the forest after all.
Spirit Reversion Art! Change~
“Boom~”
After a burst of white mist, Jiang Ke’er felt the entire world grow larger.
Of course, in reality, she had shrunk.
A warm sensation spread across her skin; now her entire body was covered in shiny, soft, pure white fur.
She looked down at her plump little paws—huh? So small! So soft!
“Here, a mirror!”
Mu Guoguo placed the mirror in front of Jiang Ke’er, who finally saw her reflection clearly.
Such big ears!
Jiang Ke’er, in shock, covered her face with her two small paws, staring wide-eyed at herself in the mirror.
“A fennec fox?!”
Good heavens! No wonder the little fox ended up freezing to death!
This was a type of fox that lived in the desert; it naturally couldn’t withstand the severe cold of the North Ju Lu Continent.
Heaven knew how she survived until the day she transformed.
However…
So small and so cute!
Wuwuwu, I really want to pet a fox! But this is me, I can’t pet myself, I can only be petted… How frustrating!
The fennec fox is one of the smallest canids, completely different from regular foxes, about the size of a small cat, named for its two large ears.
“Wow, what new breed of dog is this!” Mu Guoguo didn’t recognize Jiang Ke’er’s species at all. Her eyes sparkling, she picked Jiang Ke’er up.
Jiang Ke’er was simply too small now. Mu Guoguo easily held her up for observation, and Jiang Ke’er’s entire body was smaller than her head.
Fennec foxes looked nothing like typical foxes, and even when fox demons weren’t extinct, they were extremely rare, making their identity very difficult to discern.
Mu Guoguo put Jiang Ke’er down and also cast the Spirit Reversion Art, returning to her original form, and lay down beside Jiang Ke’er.
Jiang Ke’er then climbed onto Mu Guoguo’s back, burying herself in the other’s warm, golden long fur, feeling utterly blissful.
Achievement Unlocked!
[Righteous/Villain System Notification: Achievement unlocked — Fox and Dog Friends.]
[Reward: Unlocked Spirit Reversion State Limited Prize Pool.]
(1.5/1.5)
(Some fennec fox pictures were dynamically displayed. Interested friends can go and “murder” some A Weis.)