Little Fox Spirit woke up at dawn, while the sky was still dim. He felt terrible all over. Not only did he feel as if his bones were about to fall apart, he was also extremely drowsy.
Through the haze of his confusion, he sensed a warm body pressing up against him and folding him to its chest, but he had no strength to turn around. A soft murmur was all he could manage, “Scholar, are you awake?”
Quite unlike how weak the Little Fox Spirit was, Wu Tian seemed energetic and refreshed. He had awakened around the same time as his little fox; hearing Little Fox Spirit call out to him, he hurried to hug him tight. “Good morning, little fellow.”
“Scholar, have I caught a cold?” Master had always told him from young that he’d catch a cold if he didn’t cover up properly at night. Last night, not only did they not have any blankets to keep them covered, they weren’t even wearing any clothes, and they fell asleep just like that… He must have caught a cold, he was certain. “I feel so terrible!”
“Mn?” When Little Spirit called for him, Wu Tian had expected to hear some sweet nothings from the little fellow. He was even looking forward to some more canoodling after that; after all, he truly enjoyed himself all through their night-long lovemaking. Never did he imagine that the little fellow would start whining about feeling unwell.
Since Little Fox Spirit seemed to have matured not too long ago and was still little more than a child, Wu Tian – not quite a heartless scummy top – sat up as soon as he heard the little fox’s whimpering. Covering the little fellow with a shirt, he asked, “Where do you feel unwell?”
“I-I feel weak all over. My head’s a little dizzy too. ” Little Fox Spirit sounded very sorry for himself. Despite being held in Wu Tian’s arms, he was still plagued by discomfort. “I think my little butt is swollen as well, but I can’t get up at all. I get dizzy even if I move my head just a little.”
Little Fox Spirit was so upset that he broke into tears. “Master lied! He said that we’d be energised after sleeping with men, but I feel horrible!”
Hearing such complaints, Wu Tian was dumbfounded with shock as a sudden thought struck him out of the blue. In the next instant, his heart began to ache and he became filled with self-reproach.
Last night, after seeing how skilful and adept Little Fox Spirit was at ‘teaching’ him, Wu Tian had assumed that the little fellow would be just as good at harvesting vital essence from men. He had thought that apart from his youth, Little Fox Spirit would have no trouble doing what any other fox spirit should be capable of doing.
So, in their exchange last night, apart from giving away his essence to Little Fox Spirit, Wu Tian also took some of the little fellow’s demonic essence in return.
He had treated their night together as a dual cultivation session, but who would have thought that the little fellow was so weak that he knew nothing? Not only did he fail to harvest any vital essence, the silly little thing even lost his own essence without realising it.
“Little fool, why didn’t you harvest my vital essence last night? ”
“Huh?” What was the scholar saying? Why couldn’t he make sense of his question? “I… you… isn’t y-your load of stuff already in my tummy? Do you mean that I have to eat it to make it count?”
“…” Wu Tian wanted to roll his eyes all of a sudden. “You have to convert my load into vital energy before absorbing it into your core. What’s the use of me shooting it in you if you’re not going to absorb it?”
“Oh…” Little Fox Spirit struggled to keep up his weak gaze as he stared in amazement at Wu Tian. Perhaps the loss of his demonic essence had muddled his head, making it difficult for him to figure out certain things. “How do you know so much about this?”
“I…” Having exposed himself by accident, Wu Tian was at a loss for words. Since he did not know how to explain himself, he turned his attention elsewhere. Wordlessly, he helped Little Fox Spirit into his clothes, piece by piece, and sneaked some energy into the little fellow under the guise of a kiss. “Feeling better now?”
Little Fox Spirit was indeed feeling much better; thanks to the recovery, his mind also cleared at last, taking Wu Tian by surprise. As he fastened his buttons, the little thing frowned at the man and asked, “Even Master has never taught me how to harvest vital essence. How do you know so much? Aren’t you a scholar…?”
Wu Tian hesitated to tell the truth. Given how pure and innocent Little Fox Spirit was, he feared that he would frighten the little fellow away if he revealed his identity as a demon catcher. Yet, he’d already given so much away just now, and the little fox had begun suspecting something was amiss. He had no choice but to explain the truth, tentatively, “I’m a priest, commonly referred to as ‘demon catcher.’”
“Ah——!!!”
Although Wu Tian had expected a huge reaction from Little Fox Spirit, he did not expect it to be this huge.
As soon as he finished speaking, Little Fox Spirit screamed and began to bawl his eyes out. Crying, the little fellow turned and dashed into the woods on his bare feet, at a speed matching that of Usain Bolt.