Chapter 4 — The Nine-Tailed Fox Who Loved Sweet Potatoes

Early the next morning, the heavy stone door of the Glacial Cavern was shattered with brute violence. The Third Elder stormed in at the head of a menacing crowd. Following closely behind him was Mei Ji, her eyes red and swollen, her face streaked with tears, wearing the unmistakable expression of someone bearing a grievance as heavy as the heavens.

You wretched, wicked creature, Wu Wu! What did you do to Mei Ji last night? The Third Elder roared at me the moment he stepped across the threshold.

I was leaning against the ice wall, pretending to sleep, and his screeching nearly deafened me. Lazily, I opened my eyes. What could I possibly have done to her? Invited her to a digestive meal, perhaps?

You still dare to quibble! The Third Elder pointed a trembling finger at Mei Ji. Mei Ji had the kind heart to come and visit you, to bring you precious spiritual pills, yet not only did you refuse to appreciate her goodwill, but you also attacked and injured the child! Truly devoid of a conscience!

I looked at Mei Ji, who was whimpering delicately like pear blossoms drenched in rain, gazing at me with a gaze steeped in the profound sorrow of the sentiment: My heart was set on the bright moon, yet why does the bright moon shine upon a ditch? Keep acting, just keep acting.

I injured her? I let out a light laugh. Third Elder, with which of your eyes did you see me injure her? Did she lose a single strand of fur, or fracture a single bone?

Mei Ji was immaculate from head to toe, and even her clothes were not the least bit disheveled. Naturally, she dared not speak the truth. She had no way to explain why she had sneaked into the Glacial Cavern in the dead of night, nor could she explain why she had tried to force me to swallow that drug. Even less could she explain why a three-tailed good-for-nothing like me could frighten her so badly that she nearly wet herself. Therefore, she could do nothing but cry.

I... I only saw that my younger sister was suffering and wanted to offer her some comfort, who would have thought that she... she would suddenly go mad and snatch my Gathering Essence Pill away... She sobbed so hard she could barely catch her breath.

Did you hear that! The Third Elder acted as though he had seized ironclad proof. Plundering the spiritual pills of a fellow clansman, an inferior offending a superior! A crime compounding upon another! Men, drag her down to the ancestral hall. Today we shall hold a tribal assembly and pass judgment on this ungrateful ingrate!

I did not even lift an eyebrow. The ancestral hall? Very well, I was just fretting over how to find an excuse to go there. The ancestral hall of the Green Hill clan was the most sacred place among our people, and also where justice was meted out to clan members. I was dragged right into the center of the ancestral hall, surrounded tightly by fellow clansmen who pointed fingers at me and whispered in a noisy uproar.

Look at her, that is the one, such an ungrateful and treacherous wretch.

How truly shameless. Lady Mei Ji treated her with such kindness, yet she returns evil for good.

A person like this should have her cultivation crippled and be cast out of the Green Hill clan forever!

The Patriarch, an aged fox with snowy hair and a long beard, sat upon the highest seat, his expression grave and solemn. Mei Ji knelt beside him, weeping so bitterly that it stirred the pity of everyone present.

Patriarch, Third Elder, and esteemed clansmen. I cleared my throat, my voice not particularly loud, yet it carried clearly throughout the entire ancestral hall. You all claim I robbed her of her spiritual pill, but where is the proof?

Mei Ji stated it with her own mouth, are you saying her words are false? the Third Elder barked.

Oh, if her words count as evidence, then if I say she is falsely accusing me, does that count as evidence as well? I retorted.

The Third Elder was choked by my logic, his face flushing a deep, angry crimson.

You are simply playing with wordplay and arguing sophistry!

I am merely speaking the dictates of reason. I cast my gaze around the room, letting it finally rest upon Mei Ji. You claim I snatched your Gathering Essence Pill. Very well, then I ask you, where is the pill?

Mei Ji froze in place.

It was... it was eaten by you!

I ate it? I spread my arms wide. For a three-tailed good-for-nothing like me to consume a supreme healing medicine like the Gathering Essence Pill, logically speaking, shouldn't my spiritual energy be surging and my complexion glowing with radiant health right now?

I pointed to my own pale face and the tattered, threadbare garments hanging from my frame.

Look at me, everyone. Do I look anything like someone who just devoured a potent tonic pill? I feel as though a passing gust of wind could blow me right over.

With that, I even cooperatively swayed unsteadily twice, putting on a flawless performance of someone on the verge of fainting. The surrounding clansmen exchanged uncertain glances. Indeed, my current appearance bore no resemblance whatsoever to someone flooded with miraculous medicine. Mei Ji grew frantic. You... you are just faking this!

I am faking it? Why would I fake it? I assumed an expression of absolute innocence. Could it be that after consuming your spiritual pill, I would deliberately pretend to be on death's door just to frame you? Am I truly that foolish? Furthermore, where would I even find the ability, right in front of a six-tailed genius like you, to snatch anything from your hands?

These words were entirely logical and sound. For a useless outcast to steal an item from the hands of a gifted prodigy? That sounded like something straight out of a fairy tale.

This... The Third Elder was left speechless once more.

Patriarch! I turned my attention to the Patriarch, who had remained silent all this time. Ho Mi Co claims I robbed her of her spiritual pill, yet not a single scratch can be found on her body. She claims I consumed the pill, yet my body shows no signs of an explosive surge in spiritual energy. Empty words carry no weight; to convict me based solely on her unilateral claims—surely that violates clan protocol?

The Patriarch furrowed his brows and directed a stern look toward Mei Ji. Her face turned a mottled shade of green and red. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that I would not only dare to confront her openly before everyone, but also dismantle her lies with such impeccable logic.

I... I... She stammered, entirely unable to string a coherent sentence together.

At that precise moment, someone stepped forward whom nobody expected. It was the old caretaker of the ancestral hall. Leaning heavily upon his wooden staff, he shuffled tremblingly into the center of the hall.

This old one... has something to say.

Instantly, the gaze of every single person in the room snapped toward him.