A Fated Encounter

She should have been terrified or trembling, but surprisingly, she felt utterly safe. She still thought she might die an unexpected death here. But looking closely at this handsome young man, she sensed a profound spiritual energy, gentle and soothing, giving one a feeling of peace and security. She unconsciously blurted out:

"Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox."

The handsome young man smiled lightly, gracefully leaped down from the tree, and slowly walked towards her. She was rooted to the spot. Was this the feeling of truly encountering a powerful being, rendering one unable to escape?

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox's pure white figure was like a snowflake suspended in the sky. His voice was captivating.

"Young lady wishes to find those maidens, do you not?"

He came to her side, gently brushed her hair, and mischievously said:

"Was I scared of you? Now you wish to find those maidens he captured, do you not? Perhaps those maidens have all been eaten by that pig demon. Surely only bones remain."

She thought that this fellow might be the guardian of this mountain, so she said:

"Are you the guardian of this mountain?"

He raised a hand to his mouth, scoffing with a laugh:

"Young lady is too frightened to think clearly, are you not? If I were the guardian of this mountain, it would not be your turn to come here."

"Then can you take this humble one to the pig demon's lair?"

He placed a hand on his chin, feigning thought, and said:

"Yes, but on one condition."

He leaned close to her ear and said:

"Come wander the mountains with me."

She turned to look at him with a suspicious expression. The handsome young man saw through her thoughts and said:

"I have no intention of harming the young lady. And if the young lady tries to find it herself, she will not succeed."

She turned, shook hands with the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox, and said:

"Then what is your name?"

"Xue Lan."

Xue Lan put one arm around her waist, lifted her into the air, and moved through the treetops. Xue Lan said:

"Hold on tight."

She looked down, terrified. Wan Ru lost her balance and almost fell. Learning from experience, she leaned slightly towards Xue Lan.

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox smiled. His smile rivaled the moonlight, its curve matching that of a crescent moon.

The stars seemed born to make Xue Lan shine, his eyes like a verdant spring.

Not long after, Xue Lan and she stood before a cave. Xue Lan, holding a torch, entered first, and she followed.

As soon as they stepped in, a foul stench assaulted her nose. Wan Ru quickly covered her nose with her sleeve.

Before her lay piles of human bones. She went deeper inside, checking every corner. Going even further, she found a small cave niche.

Xue Lan understood, shone the torch into the niche, and saw a girl.

She quickly used her slender figure to squeeze inside and pulled the girl out.

Wan Ru supported her, looked at the young maiden, and said:

"So thin. Let's quickly take her back to the village."

They brought the young maiden back to the village together. As they reached the edge of the village, the villagers rushed out.

Xue Lan had, at some point, hidden his tails.

An old mother came forward, hugged the young maiden, and said:

"This is my daughter. Thank you, benefactor, for saving her. All thanks to your virtue and kindness, benefactor."

She helped the girl to her mother, cared for her, and said:

"It's nothing. This is what this humble one should do."

Some others clamored, saying:

"What about my daughter, what about the others?"

She sadly pointed towards the cave, not hiding anything, and said: "They are all in that cave over there."

Everyone understood the meaning of those words. Some collapsed to the ground, weeping, while others buried their faces in the shoulders of those next to them, sobbing uncontrollably.

A desolate scene, filled with cries of lament and suffering. She was about to comfort everyone when the village elder approached, bowed, and said:

"Thank you, benefactor, for saving this small village."

She went to help the village elder up and said: "There's no need for that."

The village elder looked up and said: "Benefactor, please do not be so modest."

The village elder turned to the children and said:

"Quick, bring everything here."

The children quickly ran off. When they returned, they carried baskets of fruit and meat.

The children came to her, offering food. The village elder held a basket of fruit and offered it to her, saying:

"May benefactor please accept this."

"If benefactor does not accept, this old man will feel immense guilt."

Xue Lan nudged her shoulder and said: "Accept it."

She reluctantly accepted the basket of fruit and said:

"This humble one will only accept this."

She cupped her hands and bowed, saying: "Thank you."

She looked at the villagers, feeling a little sad, and said:

"This humble one is at fault for not arriving sooner, which led to things reaching this point."

A farmer said: "It is not benefactor's fault."

A woman said: "It is because we were not vigilant that this happened."

She turned and said: "Farewell. I hope you all will have a better life."

Everyone was surprised that she was leaving so soon and said: "Why is benefactor leaving already?"

"This humble one has other matters to attend to. I hope you all will understand."

Xue Lan also bid farewell to the villagers. The villagers saw her off to the village gate before returning home.

When she and Xue Lan were out of sight of the villagers.

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox unexpectedly picked her up, leaped onto a tree branch, and moved through the treetops. She was caught off guard and simply went along with Xue Lan.

"Hey, put me down! Taking me the way you did before was fine."

"Earlier, young lady wouldn't hold onto me and almost fell. Now, if I carry you, you won't fall."

She began to struggle, stubbornly saying, "Just do that, I'll hold onto you."

Seeing this, Xue Lan let her down, wrapped his arm around her waist, and said:

"By the way, what is your name?"

She didn't want Xue Lan to know her name. He might have ulterior motives and would surely cause her trouble. "My name is Qing Yan."

The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox said decisively: "You're lying."

Wan Ru defended herself: "How do you know I'm lying?"

"I know from your aura. Be honest."

Wan Ru was forced to concede, saying: "Alright, alright, my name is Liao Wan Ru."

Xue Lan chuckled. The beauty of this Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox was indeed "captivating." A young man, at first glance, would be stirred; at the second, would fall completely; at the third, would desire him even unto death.

As she thought of a man's beauty, she suddenly thought of Bai Xiao.

Bai Xiao was also exceptionally handsome and heroic. He had hair as black as a flowing stream, eyes like a mysterious night sky. His skin was like fine porcelain.

If Bai Xiao's beauty was scholarly and refined, Xue Lan's was dashing and sharp.

She thought of the Emotion Orbs, secretly speculating that Xue Lan, having lived for ages, must be more knowledgeable than her.

"By the way, do you know where one can find Emotion Orbs?"