Chapter 3

“Little Yin, what are you staring at?” Seeing Jing Yin staring intently in the direction of the white fox without even blinking, Grandma Jing couldn't help asking. Hearing this, Jing Yin turned around and walked over to Grandma Jing. She hesitated for a moment before whispering in a low voice. “Grandma, when I was captured by the bandits earlier, I was actually saved by the Fox Immortal too. The food and medicine were also things the Fox Immortal helped me find. I was just too scared before, so I didn't dare tell you the truth. I'm sorry, Grandma...” Jing Yin didn't even blink as she spoke, her expression utterly sincere. It wasn't exactly a lie, either. If word got out about the Fox Immortal, someone might mistake it for an evil spirit or monster and try to kill it. So keeping quiet about it was indeed the right thing to do. “Little Yin, you did the right thing. Remember, you must never tell anyone else. This matter should remain between you and Grandma.” Grandma Jing warned her solemnly in a low voice. The reason she had prayed to the Fox Immortal earlier was simply because she had been desperate and was willing to try anything. She hadn't expected it to actually help her find her granddaughter. However, she absolutely couldn't let anyone else know about this. Otherwise, what if those people started blaming her precious Little Yin for every misfortune that happened to them? “Grandma, the Fox Immortal seems to be injured. I still have some medicine left. I'll go take a look.” “Let your older brother go with you.” Grandma Jing called Jing Zhao over and instructed him to accompany Jing Yin to the Fox Immortal. Afterward, she reluctantly cut off a little less than half a strip of dried meat and had Zhao Xiao'e take it over to cook as well. After all, the Fox Immortal had saved her precious Little Yin's life. They couldn't possibly eat while letting the Fox Immortal stand there watching. What if it became angry and took revenge on their family? ... Jing Yin carefully approached the white fox. The fox warily ran some distance away, refusing to let a stranger get close. Seeing this, Jing Yin had no choice but to take out the bottle of wound medicine and show it to the fox. She then placed it on the ground and stepped back a little. She had no idea whether this would work. If things didn't go well, she could still receive a premium white fox pelt for failing the rescue mission. Either way, she wouldn't lose out. While the white fox repeatedly approached and retreated, testing her intentions, Jing Yin noticed that Jing Zhao, who had accompanied her, was looking at her with a serious expression. His deep eyes were as dark as ink. Jing Yin's heart skipped a beat. Could this man have discovered that she wasn't the original owner? Her acting skills were pretty good, weren't they? Although she was worried about accidentally exposing herself, Jing Yin maintained a harmless smile. “Little Sister, I was wrong. I shouldn't have hit you.” Unexpectedly, Jing Zhao walked up to her with a face full of guilt and gently patted her head. Jing Yin was stunned for a moment before remembering what had happened. Previously, after the original owner had given away the only food her family had painstakingly obtained to Li Yucai's household, her usually loving older brother had slapped her hard across the face. That slap hadn't brought the original owner to her senses. Instead, it had only made her angry enough to seek out Li Yucai again, which eventually led to everything that followed. Thinking about it, Jing Yin was speechless. In the apocalypse, if someone had taken the life-saving food she had painstakingly gathered and given it away to someone else out of generosity, then... Hehehe. It wouldn't have ended with just a slap. They would have ended up as fertilizer in a wild dog's digestive tract! “Big Brother, I was the one who did wrong before. You were right to hit me. If you hadn't slapped me in time, who knows when they might have gotten me killed?” Hearing that his little sister had forgiven him, the corners of Jing Zhao's tightly pressed lips lifted slightly, and the guilt in his eyes faded somewhat. More importantly, his little sister had finally stopped being so foolish. That was a good thing. At least she wouldn't be deceived by Li Yucai again. That entire Li family was nothing but a pack of wolves and tigers. Not a single one of them was any good. Jing Zhao was rather reserved and didn't talk much, so the two siblings could only wait quietly as the white fox continued testing them. Just as Jing Yin was preparing to take matters into her own hands, the white fox finally seemed satisfied with its assessment. It picked up the bottle of wound medicine in its mouth and limped toward Jing Yin. Jing Yin: “...”!!! This little thing was surprisingly intelligent! After placing the bottle of wound medicine beside Jing Yin's feet, the white fox cautiously circled her once before lying down. A look of astonishment appeared in Jing Zhao's eyes. When the white fox had led them to his little sister earlier, he had thought it was merely a coincidence. But now... Could this white fox really be that intelligent? ... The white fox had wounds on its neck and hind leg. It was unclear what had bitten it. The wound on its hind leg was deep enough to expose the bone, while the injury on its neck was also quite severe, with part of it already festering. If the wounds were allowed to worsen, this little creature definitely wouldn't survive much longer. No wonder it had sought their help. There was still more than half a bottle of wound medicine left. Jing Yin first cleaned the pus and infected tissue from the little creature's wounds. Although it bared its teeth in pain, it didn't struggle or move around. Jing Yin's movements were clean and efficient, and Jing Zhao, standing nearby, didn't find anything suspicious about it. The original owner had once spent some time learning how to identify medicinal herbs from the village's barefoot doctor because of that worthless man, Li Yucai. The Jing family had once done the barefoot doctor a favor. Therefore, although he didn't particularly like the original owner, he occasionally taught her a few things. The original owner's purpose in learning all this was naturally so that, after marrying Li Yucai, she could prepare medicinal meals to nourish his health... Anyway, whether that barefoot doctor was still alive or not was anyone's guess. So whatever skills she claimed to have now depended entirely on what she said. After cleaning the wounds, Jing Yin sprinkled some medicine over them. The wound medicine was extraordinarily effective. She had already observed its effects when treating Grandma Jing earlier. At that moment, Jing Zhao handed her two strips of cloth. Jing Yin turned around and saw that he had torn off half of the sleeve from his own inner garment. Just as she finished bandaging the little creature, the system's voice suddenly sounded in her mind. [Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have successfully completed the white fox rescue mission and received 2 points.] [Ding! One white fox has been discovered. Would the host like to spend 2 points to transform it into a spiritual fox?] Jing Yin was confused. The system offered no explanation either. Looking at her meager twelve points, she gritted her teeth and chose to proceed with the transformation. [Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have successfully transformed one spiritual fox and obtained one spiritual pet.] As the system's voice faded, Jing Yin suddenly discovered that she could sense the white fox's emotions. Furthermore, after it transformed into a spiritual fox, she could feel that most of its injuries had already healed. Even its previously emaciated body seemed to have become stronger and more muscular, while its fangs had grown noticeably sharper. “Tangyuan?” Jing Yin tentatively called out its name. The spiritual fox obediently stood up and rubbed its body against her ankle. “So well-behaved.” Jing Yin bent down, picked Tangyuan up in her arms, and walked toward Grandma Jing. Jing Zhao followed beside her, filled with curiosity. He reached out to touch the spiritual fox's head, but before he could even get close, the fox bared its teeth at him. Jing Zhao: “...” ... Seeing the little creature's reaction, Jing Yin couldn't help feeling delighted. Those two points had definitely been well spent. Besides, she happened to need a little creature like this to help conceal some of her secrets. Grandma Jing also happened to believe in this little creature wholeheartedly. From now on, whenever something happened, she could conveniently shift the blame onto it. The completely oblivious, superstitious little old lady: “...” Why did the back of her head suddenly feel a little chilly? ... “Grandma, its name is Tangyuan. Tangyuan says it wants to stay with me from now on.” As Jing Yin finished speaking, Tangyuan even raised one of its paws and waved. Grandma Jing: “...”!!! Grandma Jing's eyes widened enormously, and she couldn't hide the fear in them. She had hoped the Fox Immortal would show its divine power, but she hadn't expected it to move into her house! She couldn't afford to take care of a Fox Immortal right now! However, with the Fox Immortal right in front of her, she didn't dare say any of that aloud. “Father, it smells so good...” A tender, weak voice suddenly sounded. Jing Yin lowered her head and saw her younger uncle, Jing Erdan, hiding behind her grandfather, Jing Laotou. The little boy was so skinny that his entire body probably didn't even have two liang of flesh on it. As soon as Grandma Jing heard his voice, her expression immediately darkened.