Journey to the End of the Night Chapter 1501 - 936: Jade Union (Part 2)

"This..." Baili An’s eyes widened involuntarily, a faint ache surfacing beneath his collarbone where the Immortal Tears resided.

Lin Xi’s expression remained largely unchanged, yet the gentle shaping of her lips seemed to lose a touch of its color. She softly traced the matching fissures on her own jade piece, a distant murmur escaping her, "That world... it truly exists..."

"What world are you referring to?" Baili An inquired.

A fleeting moment of distraction passed over Lin Xi. She gave a slight shake of her head. "It is nothing, Young Master Baili. You should keep the jade fragment safe."

Noticing her peculiar demeanor, Baili An suspected a connection between her and the jade. "Could it be that Hall Master Lin is the proprietary owner of this jade? If that is the case..."

"Young Master Baili, you are mistaken. This jade belongs to an Immortal Lord of the Heavenly Realm; how could it possibly be mine? Since you have stumbled upon this fortuitous discovery, it is best that you safeguard the jade."

With those words, Lin Xi carefully stored her half of the jade, drew the carriage curtain closed, and feigned sleep.

Observing her unwillingness to elaborate further, Baili An could only relent. He reluctantly proceeded alone towards the river for a bath.

As soon as he crouched by the riverbank and began to splash water on his face...

Clip-clop, clip-clop...

Small footsteps could be heard approaching from the shallow creek.

Shortly thereafter, Baili An sensed an intense gaze fixed directly upon him.

Upon lifting his head, Baili An saw a scruffy little fox, its fur matted, bedecked in leaves and mud, baring its teeth at him with a fierce display.

Baili An: "..."

For a moment, man and fox locked gazes, eyes wide with surprise.

Shu Ci was in a rather disheveled state, panting heavily, having finally caught up to the meal she had been anticipating. However, her frustration had also reached a boiling point.

She had never before encountered such a troublesome meal; one that could run, leap, and was protected by such a formidable mother figure.

She had taken great pains to extract him from the lightning-scorched pit and had sustained him for a considerable period.

She had even thoughtfully arranged for a young maiden to tend to him, on the understanding that he would serve as her sustenance once he had recovered.

It was truly beyond the pale for a corpse demon to be so capricious and unreliable.

Now reverted to her true form, with her cultivation significantly diminished, even with four legs, she was no match for the swift wheels of that carriage.

She had pursued relentlessly for an entire day, her small legs carrying her to the brink of exhaustion, barely managing to keep him in sight without losing him completely.

Had she foreseen this, she should never have heeded his pleas and gone to such lengths to care for him.

Regardless of his eventual taste, she should have simply consumed him whole right from the start.

A forcefully acquired melon might not be sweet, but at least it would be filling.

The thought that she, the mighty Lord of Mohe, had never before been compelled to exert herself so greatly for a simple meal, traversing mountains and rivers, her fox legs aching with fatigue, almost brought her to tears.

The more Shu Ci pondered her plight, the more indignant she became, her fox eyes practically bulging, consumed by the desire to devour him instantly.

At this particular juncture, her appearance was indeed pitiable. Her fur, covered in grime, prevented Baili An from recognizing her as the same little fox he had encountered earlier.

More importantly, Baili An found it improbable that a small fox could possess such swift traveling capabilities.

While he held an affection for small animals, Baili An was a pragmatist and had a preference for well-groomed fluffy creatures.

Currently, with Shu Ci’s fur damp and clinging to her frame, she presented a rather unappealing and peculiar sight.

With a single glance, Baili An found her somewhat repulsive, yet he still tossed a few cakes in her direction, albeit dismissively, uttering, "Shoo, shoo..."

Shu Ci was so incensed by being treated like a stray canine that she nearly rolled her eyes to the heavens. A storm of anger brewed within her, yet she understood the necessity of the situation.

Recognizing that to obtain her desired sustenance, she needed to devise a strategy to gain his favor and remain in his vicinity.

Thus, she trotted forward, let out a soft whine, and attempted to nuzzle against Baili An’s clothing, ostensibly begging for adoption.

Baili An, feeling the effects of motion sickness and at the peak of his impatience, observed her persistence with a frown and disdainfully moved away.

Shu Ci was profoundly affected by this rejection and resolved to alter her approach.

She rolled in the river, cleansing her fur, and then utilized her remaining spiritual power to dry it. She decided to try her luck appealing to someone else.

Wen Hanwei was by the river, attempting to catch fish, and was roasting a couple over a small fire, her gaze fixed blankly on her meager catch.

Shu Ci strategically darted from the undergrowth, her now clean fur fluffed out into an appealingly fuzzy ball, slowly entering Wen Hanwei’s field of vision.

Her freshly dried fur billowed outwards, making her look quite attractive, and Wen Hanwei quickly took notice of the small creature.

Perhaps as a consequence of her prolonged cultivation of the Sword Heart Clarity technique, her heart had become akin to stone.

She regarded small animals with the same indifference she would stones by the roadside, eliciting little emotional response.

After a brief glance, her interest waned, and she redirected her attention back to the fish sizzling over the fire.

Shu Ci felt a surge of frustration. How had she become so unappealing?

With no other recourse, she was compelled to shift her objective once more.

Her gaze fixated on the carriage, tail giving a little wag and her hindquarters wiggling, she trotted over. Paws clutching the wheel, she started to clamber inside relentlessly.

Finally, she managed to flip open the carriage curtain, just about to take a breath.

At that precise moment, a cold hand snaked out, with uncanny accuracy gripping the back of her head.

The hand appeared delicate and lovely, yet the force behind it was more than enough to shatter her skull.

Pain! Pain! Pain! Pain! Pain! Pain! Pain! Pain!

Shu Ci's eyes bulged, veins engorged and bloodshot; she hadn't even the time to let out a single scream.

Her brain matter exploded directly from her ears. Then, her vision plunged into darkness, and she inexplicably experienced a resurrection!

Oh, that long-lost sensation of impending doom...

The woman within the carriage effortlessly crushed her as if she were a mere fly, then slowly withdrew her hand.

Her voice, cool and tinged with a hint of bewilderment, inquired, "What is this?"

Only then did Shu Ci grasp the realization that the woman in the carriage was, in fact, blind!

But even if you cannot see, surely you shouldn't casually crush small, intruding creatures!

Is this how you explore the unknown, by annihilation?

Observing the red and white stains adorning her hand, Shu Ci felt an icy dread creep into her heart.

She silently retreated from the carriage, collapsing onto a stone stool and gazing up at the heavens.

Her heart was utterly consumed by despair.

In this current world, being a fox is a truly arduous existence.

Just as this wave of despair washed over her, a soft "Huh?" echoed from not too far away.

"Where did this little one come from?"

It was Ying Ji. She walked over, scooped Shu Ci into her arms, and turned her about to inspect, her expression shifting to one of subtle joy and delight.

Gently dabbing away the bloodstains from Shu Ci's head, she cooed, "How did you get injured, little one? You poor thing. Why don't you come with me?"

Shu Ci had absolutely not anticipated that the person who seemed the most formidable within the group would actually be the most approachable.

Even the Empress of the Central Netherworld possessed such a girlish heart.

Shu Ci felt a rekindling of her fighting spirit, her claws sharpening. Nestled within Ying Ji's embrace, she offered a sinisterly vacant grin.

Thus, Shu Ci considered herself to have undergone eighty-one tribulations, a near-death ordeal narrowly survived, yet still remaining perilously close to Baili An.

Shu Ci mused internally that surely, after enduring such hardships, her trials must now be at an end.

When no one was paying attention, perhaps pilfering a tiny bit of her son wouldn't be too much to ask, would it?

However, it wasn't until Shu Ci actually boarded the carriage that she truly comprehended the naivete of her thoughts.

It turned out this was merely the prelude to an extensive series of trials.

She was personally carried onto the carriage by Lady Ying Ji. Her heart's treasure lay there, barely clinging to life, covered in grievous wounds.

Li Jiujiu trembled as he took hold of the carriage reins outside, snapping the whip. The wheels began to turn, carrying them forward.

Baili An softly murmured, a gout of blood escaping his lips, his face alarmingly pale.

Then, as if contagion had spread, Ying Ji could not contain herself, and the recently devoured grilled fish re-emerged.

The large-headed fox cradled in her arms was soaked through from head to toe.

Shu Ci's eyes grew dazed. What terrible sins had she committed to befall such a mother and son combination?

The journey continued, day and night, within the confines of the carriage.

Inside, a vibrant spectacle unfolded, courtesy of the mother and son duo.

Shu Ci's fractured skull began to throb faintly once more.

......

Over these two agonizing days, a blur between life and death, the carriage leisurely proceeded, finally reaching Wusu County.