"Well, last time Big Brother mentioned it was the mating season for foxes this time of year, I didn't pay much attention. I hadn't bought a cage yet, and it ran off again. Sigh!" I sighed, clenching my fists.
"How do you know it ran back here?" the young ranger asked.
"When my fox returned last time, it barely ate or slept. It must have met a mate in the mountains. I'm guessing, somewhere in these mountains. Now that it's escaped again, it's definitely coming back to find its beloved. That little vixen..." I shook my head and gave a wry smile. I took out my cigarettes and stuffed two packs of soft Zhonghua cigarettes into the ranger's pockets.
The young ranger smiled obsequiously and held out his hand, "The usual, let's go into the mountain."
I handed over my lighter for the ranger to hold, then started up the mountain. After taking a couple of steps, I turned back and said, "Brother, that young lady behind me is with me. I'll be following your patrol path up the mountain. Tell her to stick to the small path. Oh, and she doesn't smoke, so no need to check her lighter."
The ranger glanced downhill but saw no one. He did, however, spot my car and said, "Alright, you two go ahead."
With that, the ranger returned to his hut. It was a bit cold outside today, and the mountain wind stung the face.
I entered the woods and found a sheltered spot to squat down. Hidden by the overgrown grass, I looked down the mountain. In a short while, a beautiful young woman in a mink coat emerged from behind my car. She wore a white felt hat, what appeared to be flesh-colored sheer stockings on her legs, and white thigh-high boots with seemingly high heels. This attire was hardly suitable for climbing, yet she navigated the rough terrain as if on flat ground, arriving near the hut with surprising speed before slowing down to appear human.
She must have hidden behind the car, seen me heading up the mountain through the tinted glass, but she still knocked on the hut door. She was probably trying to find out where I was headed. I gestured in the direction I was going.
The young ranger greeted the beauty warmly and pointed in the direction I had gone. The woman thanked the handsome young man and sauntered towards me.
The distance was too great for me to see the face of this blue-aura great demon clearly, but she must have been stunning. The young ranger stared blankly at her retreating figure for a good ten seconds before reluctantly returning to his hut.
I activated my Qi-sensing technique to observe the fox demon's location.
She was three kilometers away and heading this way. Accompanying her was a dark purple aura – the Whale God. Together, they would be more than enough to deal with a blue-aura great demon.
If it were a Bai Ze demon, it would have been simpler. Judging by her furtive movements, I suspected she was a Shanhai demon. Therefore, I wanted to know why she was tracking me and what her intentions were. I called the fox demon, instructing her to rendezvous with me but not to act rashly; to observe the situation before revealing herself.
"What's the opponent's strength?" the fox demon asked.
"Just blue aura," I replied.
"Oh, no problem then."
After hanging up, I continued up the mountain, soon arriving at a small, flat clearing in the forest where I had previously met the fox demon. It was surrounded by dense pine trees. This area was also covered in pines, but the soil might have been cultivated from being a former burial site, preventing the growth of grass and trees. This was a forest farm, and burials were not permitted, so they had been moved, leaving only a small mound.
I sat on a long stone by the edge of the mound – likely the base of a former tombstone. I took out another pack of cigarettes and a new lighter from my pocket, lit one, and waited quietly.
Three minutes later, I heard rustling footsteps in the woods. It was deep winter, and the pine needles on the ground were dry. When stepped on, they snapped with a crisp sound, impossible to avoid. This small grave mound was not on the patrol path. Fearing she might not find me, I deliberately let out a whistle.
The footsteps turned in my direction. A few seconds later, a woman parted the pine branches and bent down to enter the clearing. Her icy face was obscured by a large pair of black sunglasses, making her features hard to discern. However, the shape of her jaw, her small red lips, and her well-defined nose clearly indicated she was a beauty. With such a foundation, even a pair of phoenix eyes would have been breathtakingly beautiful.
"Hello there, beautiful," I said with a smile.
The woman stood still, not speaking. She meticulously removed her thin gloves finger by finger, then placed them in her mink coat pocket. Only then did she lower her sunglasses slightly, tilting her head. A pair of soulful, large eyes peered at me from above the lenses: "Are you, Wu Chengfeng?"
"That's me. And who might you be, immortal esteemed one?" I asked, taking a puff of my cigarette and smiling.