Chapter 5 — Ten Lifetimes of a Fox

The Fox Emperor was compelled to raise his hand in opposition, and father and daughter clashed fiercely right in the center of the grand hall. Having just given birth, her mother’s physical strength was depleted to the absolute limit; every single sword strike she delivered strained her so severely that her face turned ghostly pale and cold sweat drenched her entire body. Yet, setting her teeth hard, she drove one blade after the movement of another, granting the Fox Emperor not even a momentary chance to catch his breath. At that exact juncture, Orchid suddenly shifted. Taking advantage of the intense duel between the mother and the Fox Emperor, she glided silently to the mother's flank, a pitch-black dagger materializing in her hand as she thrust it viciously toward the back of the mother's heart.

"A-Y!"

With a single motion, father seized Orchid’s wrist, his free hand instantly transforming into sharp, fire-red claws that lunged without a shred of hesitation straight for her throat. Yet, that fierce blow never landed on Orchid. Xuan Lie stepped directly in front of her, taking the brunt of the strike with his own body. Enraged, father shouted:

"Xuan Lie, have you lost your mind?"

Seizing the opening, Orchid cowered behind Xuan Lie’s back, crying out:

"Young Lord, Young Lord, save me!"

Turning her head, the mother cast an icy gaze upon Xuan Lie:

"Xuan Lie, can you still not see through this woman? Just how vicious and venomous can she be? Are your eyes utterly blind?"

Falling silent for a brief moment, Xuan Lie ultimately spoke:

"Vicious though she may be, she once saved my life."

The mother laughed in pure, biting anger:

"She saved you? She deliberately orchestrated that entire trap to lure you in, turning you into nothing more than a pawn in the palm of her hand! You have been played completely by her deceptions, and yet you still wish to throw your life away for her?"

"I know." Xuan Lie’s voice was remarkably low. "I know she has been deceiving me, but the fact that she saved me remains true. If not for her on that day, I would have perished in the desolate mountains long ago. Imperial Princess, today I will protect her and take her away. From this moment onward, she and I owe each other nothing. Whatever Qingqiu wishes to do with her afterward, I shall not interfere in the slightest."

"You..."

Before the mother could utter another word, a profound emptiness gripped her chest. Slipping out from behind Xuan Lie unobserved, Orchid had lunged forward amidst the general distraction and snatched the infant straight from the mother's embrace.

"Orchid!"

"Give the child back!"

Multiple voices rang out in unison, but Orchid had already retreated all the way to the threshold of the grand hall. One hand clamped tightly around the infant's delicate neck, madness blazed in the depths of her eyes.

"White Yi, you have won after all. In the end, you remain the Imperial Princess, and I could never defeat you. But it matters not; since I cannot live, your child shall not live either."

Her fingers suddenly constricted. The tiny, fragile body struggled desperately within her grasp, and the familiar sensation of suffocation instantly drowned the senses. Mother, save me! The little legs kicked out with all their might, and the field of vision began to blur into obscurity.

"Do not harm my child!"

Driven to the brink of madness, the mother lunged forward like a wild beast. Orchid’s fingers tightened further still:

"White Yi, I will never let you have your way. In this lifetime, do not ever dream of raising a nine-tailed fox..."

Before the words could fully fade, a deafening crash echoed through the air. Without the slightest warning, a bolt of heavenly lightning descended directly from the highest heavens upon Orchid’s head. Orchid’s fingers instantly loosened. Plummeting from mid-air, the infant was gently caught by a soft, luminous golden radiance and carried slowly back into the mother's arms. Immediately following, a second bolt of divine lightning struck down. Then a third. Then a fourth. The heavenly mandate had arrived, exactly as foreseen. Standing not far away, the Fox Emperor’s face was as white as paper. The instant the final bolt of lightning plunged downward, the Fox Emperor rushed forward as if attempting to block the divine wrath with a barrier of pure energy. Unyielding and merciless, the heavenly thunder shattered the barrier entirely and struck the Fox Emperor directly. Blown violently backward, he slammed heavily against the dragon pillar within the great hall, sliding down its length to the stone floor as a massive torrent of blood gushed from his mouth. In the end, the heavenly decree could not be defied: Orchid was dead, and the Fox Emperor, grievously wounded, was forced to cede the throne of Qingqiu to the mother. Following Orchid’s demise, Xuan Lie, struck as if by a devastating blow, departed the realm taking with him the ten children Orchid had left behind. Meanwhile, under the tender protection and care of both mother and father, the infant quickly grew to maturity. Naturally, it was not long before they welcomed a second child, and then a third. Every single one of them was a nine-tailed fox. The End.