Terrifying Old Monster

Exhale! As the sun set, Xu Yan put down his pen, a satisfied expression on his face. Another excellent painting had taken shape under his skillful hands. In this painting, a young man in white faced a small fox while sharing a roasted chicken. The depiction of the little fox was exquisite, lifelike, as if every strand of fur could be blown by the wind.

However, the face of the young man in the painting was blurry, impossible to discern. This was Xu Yan's consistent style. Whenever he appeared in his paintings, his features remained unclear, as if a mysterious veil covered his face.

He hung the painting in the most prominent position in the inner hall, alongside the one where Jiang Li knelt to thank him. As Xu Yan stepped out from the inner hall, Jiang Li had already arrived and was cleaning the area outside the shop.

After giving it some thought, Xu Yan walked to the entrance and asked, "Jiang Li, have you ever considered becoming a cultivator?"

Jiang Li scratched his head, smiling in response, "My family has been ordinary for generations, with no talent for cultivation."

In a world where almost everyone aspired to become a cultivator, Jiang Li had dreams of becoming one when he was young. However, he later realized that not everyone could become a cultivator, especially someone from a poor family struggling to even have enough to eat.

Xu Yan said, "Without giving it a try, how would you know? It’s almost the time when Tianren Sect recruits disciples. If you are interested, you can go and give it a shot."

With these words, he entered the backyard to water the flowers and plants.

He had conveyed what needed to be said. What Jiang Li chose to do next would depend on his own decisions.

"Master Xu, when Tianren Sect recruits disciples, I will participate," Jiang Li's voice came from the outer hall.

Xu Yan, still smiling, continued watering. Gardening seemed to be one of his hobbies during his free time.

...

Huh? Where is this?

Right, it seems to be that young man's home... No, that guy is definitely an unfathomable old monster.

Su Jiu'er suddenly woke up, recalling the powerful rules of Tao and the terrifying Tao insights before she fainted. It gave her lingering fear.

Someone who could leave such supreme Tao insights in a painting must not be an ordinary person; they had to be an extremely powerful and legendary old monster.

"You're awake, huh? Clearly, your body is so small, yet you insist on eating so much. It almost caused a problem," Xu Yan's voice suddenly sounded, startling Su Jiu'er.

Turning around, she saw Xu Yan's smiling face, and her eyes couldn't help but moisten.

She was frightened and desperate right now. Just escaping from those evil spirits, she inadvertently fell into the hands of this human old monster.

She wanted to cry... Why was her luck so bad?

Seeing Su Jiu'er trembling and her eyes moistening, Xu Yan felt inexplicably puzzled.

How did this little fox, which was perfectly fine, suddenly look so foolish? He mumbled to himself, "What's going on? Did this fox really eat itself to sick?"

With that, he reached out his hands towards Su Jiu'er.

Don't come over!

Su Jiu'er felt despair, screaming in her heart, too scared to move. She decided to let this human old monster handle her fate; giving up resistance might be a more dignified way to die.

She heard that those monsters who lived for countless years often had some quirks. For example, the more their captives resisted, the more excited they became. So, giving up resistance might allow her to die more decently.

Xu Yan picked up Su Jiu'er, took a closer look, and found that her body seemed fine. He gently patted Su Jiu'er's head and placed her back on the bed, muttering to himself, "Looks like this fox was already silly, and it has nothing to do with overeating."

Upon hearing Xu Yan's words, Su Jiu'er, in her heart, angrily cursed: You're the one who's silly, your whole family is silly! After cursing in her mind, she noticed that she was actually on Xu Yan's bed. Damn it, how shameless, to actually sleep in the same bed with this guy!

...

At dawn, Xu Yan got up. His life was very disciplined, and he rarely overslept. After opening the small shop and preparing two bowls of porridge, Xu Yan entered the inner hall. As expected, Su Jiu'er was still asleep.

"Little fox, wake up!" Xu Yan shouted, waking Su Jiu'er up.

As a beautiful fox, Su Jiu'er had a bit of a temper. When Xu Yan woke her up, she bared her teeth and claws at him. However, in her transformed state, she was small and cute, lacking any real threatening power.

"Alright, don't act cute so early in the morning. Breakfast is ready." Xu Yan grabbed Su Jiu'er and said. Then, he took Su Jiu'er to have porridge.

...

Su Jiu'er lay dejectedly on the table outside the small shop. Xu Yan had just forced her to have a bowl of porridge, claiming it was for nourishing health.

She was unhappy and wanted to scold someone. Clearly, this old monster had lived for countless years, probably able to live for countless more, yet here he was talking about eating porridge for health.

That was not the main issue. What's the meaning of not putting sugar in the porridge he gave to this lady? Is he discriminating against foxes? Porridge without sugar tastes so bland!

"Little fox, go outside and breathe some fresh air!" Xu Yan carried Su Jiu'er out of the shop door, sat under the cherry blossom tree in front of the shop, placed Su Jiu'er in his arms, and let his thoughts drift far away.

He didn't know how long this simple and plain life could last. Perhaps one day, things would go beyond his control.

Su Jiu'er, in Xu Yan's embrace, felt his warmth and breath. She raised her head slightly to look at Xu Yan's face. In her heart, she wondered why Xu Yan looked a bit sad. Could it be that even an unparalleled powerhouse like Xu Yan had moments of powerlessness?

At this moment, a group of extraordinary people walked on the street, attracting a lot of attention. Clearly, they were cultivators, and pedestrians made way for them. The group was clearly searching for something, sometimes entering people's homes, but they it seemed that so far they hadn’t found them.

A chubby man among them suspiciously asked an elegant black-clothed woman in front, "Miss, is the little fox from the Celestial Fox Clan really in Tianren City?"

The black-clothed woman replied coldly, "This is the information given by the Demon Tiger Clan to our family; it should be accurate."

She didn't want to come and look for a little fox from the Celestial Fox Clan, but the Demon Tiger Clan came to her family. They entrusted her family with capturing the little fox and promised a spirit-refining-grade treasure in return.

Therefore, her family sent her with a few people to Tianren City to find the little fox from the Celestial Fox Clan.

The chubby man complained, "There are so many people in Tianren City. Searching house by house for a fox, who knows how long it will take."

As soon as he finished speaking, he looked around and noticed, under a cherry blossom tree, a young man was holding a small fox in his arms.