Chapter 37: Lord Fox King
"Mom..." Aqi sobbed even harder. "It’s all my fault. I’m the one who hurt you, Mom..."
Nan Zishi’s senses slowly returned. She twitched her ears, wagged her tail, and gradually grew accustomed to them.
’Strength, speed, agility... they all feel completely different!’
"I’m fine." Nan Zishi lovingly stroked his fur. A small smile touched her lips as she comforted him in a low voice, "Mommy was just borrowing this bad female’s Array to awaken. Don’t be afraid, Aqi."
"HAHAHAHA! Nan Zishi!" Fox Xin cackled maniacally. "I want your cub dead! I want you dead!"
RUMBLE!
Another peal of thunder cracked through the air.
Suddenly, a flash of lightning illuminated the cave.
At the mouth of the cave stood a male, gaunt yet carrying himself with a tall, straight posture.
Nan Zishi’s flare had finally caught his eye and drawn him here!
His fur seemed to have lengthened out of thin air. His ears were no longer as fluffy, appearing longer, and the tufts at their tips had grown longer too.
Nan Zishi looked up, a peculiar expression crossing her face for a second. "With his ears like this, they won’t be as nice to rub as they used to be."
Five years ago, after they had become mates, Nan Zishi had gone through a phase where she adored rubbing his fox ears.
Back then, the shy, young male fox would get terribly embarrassed whenever she did it, yet he never dared to resist.
Fox Qi raised his head and struggled to reach a hand out toward him. "Daddy... No, don’t!"
The instant the male saw the blood-drenched Nan Zishi holding an equally blood-drenched Fox Qi, he snapped.
A flash of light passed. The incomparably handsome male’s face was a mask of savagery. Three Beast Patterns appeared on the center of his forehead, with another two on each side of his face.
A Seven-striped Beast King!!
Seeing this scene again, Nan Zishi was still completely blown away.
Based on what she understood of the common knowledge in the Beast World...
In this world, even three stripes were rare, and seven stripes were virtually nonexistent.
And today, she had encountered one...
And this male was her Beast Husband!
"Hu Bai!!!" Fox Xin shrieked.
Everyone who saw Hu Bai was intimidated by his powerful aura. Fox Xin, Fox Zi, their Beast Husbands, and Hu Lie—who had failed to inherit Fox Qi’s bloodline—all clustered together.
It was as if huddling together could make them stronger, safer.
"Daddy! Don’t!!" Fox Qi cried out in terror.
"You hurt my female master." A streak of white light flashed. Hu Bai had Fox Xin by the throat, slamming her against the cave wall. The combined strength of all of Fox Xin’s Beast Husbands was utterly useless before him!
His face was a terrifying, savage mask.
"You hurt my cub!"
"Fox Xin, you deserve to die!"
"Hahahaha, Hu Bai, you’re a Seven-striped Beast King! You awakened your Ancient Bloodline so early?!" Fox Xin choked out, coughing several times. "The Ancient Bloodline of our Fox Clan is truly formidable. Hahaha, hahahahaha!"
Fox Xin’s expression shifted, and she said angrily, "Hu Bai... since you’ve awakened, why were you hiding it?!"
"Oh, I get it. You were born with a weak constitution. You can’t handle this kind of power at all... that’s why you don’t dare to use it." Fox Xin sounded absolutely certain.
"So what will happen now that you’ve used it today?"
"Will you die?!"
A flicker of pity appeared in Fox Xin’s eyes.
Originally, Stone Village should have had a Fox King, a Seven-striped Fox King!
If Stone Village had a Seven-striped Fox King, how would the neighboring villages dare to bully them? They could have ruled the entire surrounding forest region, maybe even developed from a village into a city...
And if they grew even larger, they might have been able to form a territory in the Eastern Forest. Hu Bai could have become a Lord ruling over his own domain!
If she had known Hu Bai was the Fox King, she never would have dared to have such thoughts. She would have revered him, naturally.
But now, it was too late. Everything was too late!
"Hahahaha! Nan Zishi, Hu Bai! One of you was forcibly awakened, the other used a power he can’t even handle! So what if you’re favored by the heavens! You’re going to die! Today, your whole family will be buried with us!"
Fox Qi let out a hoarse, mournful cry and couldn’t stop sobbing. "Da... Daddy..."
"Aqi, don’t cry." Nan Zishi hugged Fox Qi a little tighter. "Your father and mother are right here."
Perhaps it was because his mother’s embrace was so warm, but Fox Qi’s worried heart gradually calmed down. "Mm..."
"Does it still hurt?"
Fox Qi shook his head, still sniffling. "No, it doesn’t hurt... Mom, Aqi really isn’t in pain."
’It only hurt during the bloodline exchange. The Array stopped when Mom came over, and it didn’t hurt as much after that.’
’But his heart ached for his mother. She had stumbled into the Array because of him and was forced to awaken her bloodline.’
’Now, his heart ached even more for his father.’
She twitched her ears, and sure enough, felt the ones on top of her head move. She touched the center of her forehead.
"Fox Qi, do I have a Beast Pattern on my forehead?"
’I’m a woman, a woman from Earth! If a beast-like Beast Pattern appeared on my forehead, it would be hideous!’
Fox Qi nodded, then shook his head.
"So is there one or not?"
"There is,"
’Ahhh, this is bad!! What does my Beast Pattern look like? It’s not like a stretch mark, is it?!’
"There is, but it’s not a Beast Pattern. It’s just a tiny white dot."
"..." ’Why couldn’t he just say that all at once?!’
’A tiny white dot. That’s a relief.’
Seeing his mother’s rich array of expressions, Fox Qi’s worries suddenly dissipated.
’Mom is so funny. She’s so carefree.’
’It seems like she wouldn’t be scared even if the sky were falling.’
’He and Father have to protect her.’
The little fox’s paws curled slightly, and he buried his head in Nan Zishi’s embrace.
"Don’t be scared, Fox Qi. It’s okay."
Cradling Little Fox Qi, Nan Zishi walked toward Hu Bai.
When Hu Bai saw Nan Zishi approaching, he suddenly recoiled.
’She doesn’t like him. She hates him. She abandoned him, again and again.’
’He shouldn’t have appeared before her again...’
Hu Bai’s already breathtakingly beautiful eyes now looked shattered, making them all the more captivating.
The moment his eyes met hers, Nan Zishi sucked in a sharp breath.
Nan Zishi walked to Hu Bai’s side. The three White Fox Beastmen standing together looked incredibly harmonious, just like a family.
Of course, they were a family.
Nan Zishi’s gaze softened. "Why did you run off before? I have something to ask you later."
Hu Bai’s face was pale. His body was straining under the unbearable power, and his internal organs felt like they were spasming in pain.
He glanced at her, putting on a brave front. "Ask what? You already know something, don’t you?"
Hu Bai sneered, "So, are you going to abandon me again?"
"Go ahead and abandon me. I don’t care anymore. I just don’t care!"
Hu Bai abruptly averted his gaze, refusing to look at her any longer.
’But his heart felt like it was being squeezed.’
Nan Zishi was speechless. ’You’ve already said everything, so what’s left for me to say?’
’I never said I was going to abandon you.’
’Her fox Beast Husband was so difficult.’
Nan Zishi said cautiously, "How about we deal with the matter at hand first? After we take care of them, we can have a proper talk?"
’A woman has to be the bigger person... and tolerate her delicate little husband.’
Nan Zishi glanced at Fox Xin and Fox Zi’s family, her face cold as she asked, "Hu Bai, I really despise them. If I wanted to kill them, would you have any objections?"
’The mother-daughter pair, Fox Xin and Fox Zi, had worked together to manipulate her Beast Husband and cub, and had even used such a vicious Array to harm them.’
’According to Nan Zishi’s principles, she could never forgive such Beastmen. And she wouldn’t!’
’But Fox Xin was, after all, the chief of her Beast Husband’s village. She worried her decision might affect Hu Bai, so she decided to ask.’
Hu Bai’s eyes flickered toward Nan Zishi for a moment before he quickly looked away.
Enduring the pain racking his body, he said:
"As you wish."
The awakened Fox King’s snow-white hair touched the ground, yet remained unstained by dust. He just stood there quietly, exuding an inviolable, sacred aura.
The male White Fox Beastman’s frigid aura was terrifying, as if everyone besides his female master and cub was nothing but an ant waiting to be crushed.
He glanced contemptuously at the group of Fox Clan Beastmen to the side.
His snow-white eyes held the group of Beastmen completely captivated, unable to look away.
"Lord... Lord Fox King."
Fox Xin snapped her eyes shut and shouted, "Don’t look at his eyes! The Fox Clan’s ancient superpower is a charm of absolute enthrallment! If you look into his eyes, you’ll fall uncontrollably in love with him and be at his command!"
Nan Zishi felt a profound and mysterious power spreading out.
The superpower of the Fox Clan’s Ancient Bloodline was Charm. This superpower had a very beautiful name: World-Toppling Infatuation.
Any Beastman whose level was not higher than his would be bewitched just by looking into his eyes. They would "fall in love" with him, unable to pull themselves away, willing to do anything for him.
Even give up their lives.
A white glow seemed to surround Hu Bai now, making him even more beautiful—so gorgeous it was like a dream.
And yet, a trickle of blood seemed to seep from the corner of his mouth.
At that moment, Nan Zishi, with her instincts as a Beast Doctor, finally noticed that something was wrong with his body.
"Hu Bai, stop!"