Aoki? That’s the name.
Appearance? Very much like that person from before, but definitely not the same one.
Behavior? Comfortable—so comfortable it felt strange.
Since arriving here, Nongli had been utterly puzzled by this man named Aoki.
Aoki was unlike anyone she had ever met. He didn’t resent her being a yokai; instead, he showed an unusual level of care and indulgence toward her, far beyond what one would expect among their kind.
He gave her a place to rest, food to fill her stomach, and even medicinal pills to heal her wounds.
It was hard not to suspect that Aoki had some ulterior motive toward her.
Therefore, every night, she transformed into her fox form and hid away to rest, determined not to let any possible desires he had over her body come to fruition.
However, such thoughts seemed unnecessary. Aoki showed no inappropriate interest in her. Even on nights when she forgot to revert to human form, she would wake up unharmed.
Did Aoki truly have no interest in her body?
Yet his hands were quite persistent, always groping around.
Although… it did feel good.
Really, where did he learn that kind of touch?
Sitting in the alchemy room, Nongli ate the meat Aoki had somehow procured, thinking to herself just how strange everything was.
She couldn’t leave; Aoki had explicitly told her that disciples of Youjian Sect were still nearby. If she were caught, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Naturally, she knew better than anyone what would happen if those disciples took her away.
That madwoman Lin Qiyou would never let her off.
Judging by the hatred in her eyes, skinning and dismembering Nongli wouldn’t be an exaggeration.
But did she have to listen to everything Aoki said?
Nongli checked the spiritual energy within her and found her wounds nearly healed. Soon, she would be able to continue cultivating and sprout her second tail.
In truth, Nongli was no ordinary fox. She bore the bloodline of the ancient nine-tailed fox demon, something obvious just from her appearance. She only knew this because her spiritual awareness had been opened—how it had opened was a story tied to Lin Qiyou.
She vaguely remembered that years ago, Lin Qiyou force-fed her a large number of spiritual power pills and then helped her resolve her spiritual energy.
But Nongli would never be grateful to Lin Qiyou, because as a great demon, awakening spiritual awareness was inevitable.
Back then, Lin Qiyou’s actions were tantamount to trying to kill her.
So naturally, Nongli had her reasons to hate Lin Qiyou.
As for why Lin Qiyou hated her… it was just because of something she had eaten… she couldn’t quite remember, but it definitely wasn’t anything important!
Ever since Lin Qiyou, Nongli hadn’t met any humans who treated her kindly. Counting carefully, it was probably only the one who helped her relieve the medicinal effects back then, and now this Aoki.
They looked quite similar—do good people really all look alike?
Wait! Why was she assuming he was a good person?
What if he was… what if he was?
Nongli suddenly looked at the alchemy furnace, a very bad thought forming in her mind.
What if Aoki wanted to turn her into a pill?
As soon as this thought surfaced, it spread like wildfire through her mind.
The once peaceful courtyard suddenly felt like a den of snakes and wolves.
She worried the food in her hand was drugged. She believed she had long been watched by someone!
No good—she couldn’t just wait to be killed!
With this in mind, Nongli decided she needed to act. First, she would stop eating and start being cautious of Aoki, beginning with what she ate!
“Nongli, open your mouth.”
Aoki’s voice rang out. Nongli immediately grinned and opened her mouth.
“Ah—”
Then, several pills entered her mouth. She chewed them contentedly, her little brows furrowing.
The pills were fine; she had watched him refine them herself, so there was no way he could tamper with them.
I’ll pretend to get along with you while keeping my guard up, learning all the knowledge of the human world from you, and in the end—
Nongli plotted her plan. Her crimson eyes glinted fiercely, her gaze fixed on Aoki’s back as if she wanted to devour him.
“Here, open your mouth.”
“Ah—ahh!”
Nongli took a few more pills, feeling the medicinal power surge inside her. She hugged her cheeks, her fox ears twitching, tail flicking wildly from how good it tasted.
“All right, still no wandering around.”
After finishing the morning’s alchemy work and cleaning up, Aoki put on his clothes, sent Nongli back inside, and asked, “Is there anything you want to eat?”
This was the usual ordering session. Sometimes Aoki would ask what Nongli wanted, and generally, unless it was something too strange or rare, he would bring it back for her.
At the mention of food, Nongli immediately perked up and reached out to order, “Fried tofu with pork, steamed egg.”
Then her brows furrowed again as she asked, “Who are you going to see?”
Aoki was somewhat surprised by the question, as Nongli had never been curious enough to ask such things before. He thought for a moment, shook his head, and answered, “No one. I’ll be back soon.”
After speaking, Aoki glanced at a cage under a tree with a mouse inside. The cage and mouse had been placed there several days ago, and Nongli was strictly forbidden to touch it.
“I’ll behave.”
Nongli nodded and watched Aoki leave.
She would behave? Fat chance.
Once suspicion takes root, trust begins to vanish. This was a matter of fox life or death, and Nongli knew she couldn’t be careless.
So not long after Aoki stepped out, she transformed into her fox form and quietly followed him from the shadows.
Previously, Aoki had said he was going to the kitchen or delivering pills, but Nongli instinctively felt he wasn’t headed to either place.
Sure enough, she saw Aoki meeting someone.
Seeing who Aoki was meeting, Nongli’s heart jolted.
Wasn’t that a disciple of Youjian Sect?
Why was Aoki secretly meeting with a Youjian disciple?
What were they talking about?
In her fox form, Nongli crept closer and saw the two eating and chatting, as comfortable as old friends.
At that moment, Nongli dismissed the thought that Aoki planned to harm her or turn her into pills.
It was obvious now—too obvious.
Aoki meeting a Youjian disciple meant he intended to hand her over to them.
But what was the point of that?
Since he had already started helping her, why bother mingling with Youjian Sect disciples?
Why not do so from the very beginning…
Nongli couldn’t figure out what Aoki was thinking. She eavesdropped, but all she heard was trivial talk about the weather, food, and other meaningless topics.
Not long after, several Youjian disciples approached, and Nongli had to leave.
Should she escape?
She thought not, since Aoki probably wouldn’t act so quickly.
She decided to strike first—she would give Aoki a feast of traps!
Back in the courtyard, her attention suddenly focused on the caged mouse.
She walked over, opened the cage, and tossed the lethargic mouse into her mouth.
How dare it betray me?
This mouse was definitely some kind of surveillance tool!
With this thought, Nongli waited in the courtyard. She didn’t know how much time passed before her face suddenly flushed red, blood streaming from her seven orifices.