"Aren't you even a little bit shocked? Your family's fox can talk now...."
Momo commented exasperatedly, "You're not surprised that the little fox can talk, yet you were completely flabbergasted when I transformed into a Fox Lady... Also, aren't you curious what the little fox's secret society is up to?"
Upon hearing what Momo considered to be earth-shattering news, Ah Qing remained surprisingly calm.
Her expression was like, "Oh, so that's how it is? Well... that sounds pretty neat!" with a hint of mild astonishment.
"It's different."
Ah Qing thought for a moment and said seriously, "It's unexpected yet reasonable for the little fox, who knows Sister Lingyu and the others, to be able to speak. After all... cultivators exist in the world, so becoming an immortal through cultivation is normal."
"But... you transformed into a Fox Lady! That's a complete species change, isn't it?"
As she spoke, Ah Qing gave Momo a frustrated look, teasing her for not knowing what was truly important.
While it's indeed shocking that Huhu can talk now, Huhu is still the same old Huhu, just with a mouth to speak.
But Momo's entire species changed, Ah Qing was so shocked she almost lost her jaw.
"Some kind of ridiculous fox cultivation legend...."
After Ah Qing's explanation, Momo, with dark lines across her face, lifted her arms to pull at Ah Qing's cheeks and began to knead them:
"Who's not getting the point here?! I'm talking about how your little fox has become the leader, and after we discovered his secret, he opened the door to a new world for us!"
"In our world right now, there's no such thing as cultivation immortals — all those cultivators are just your Huhu's underlings!"
"Uh, wait....."
Ah Qing was stunned, as if she had been hit with a question mark, and looked at Momo in shock.
No... no cultivation immortals? Then what are Sister Lingyu and the others cultivating?
How could a normal person wield a hundred-pound wok over a stove without collapsing from exhaustion after stir-frying a dish?
"Talking to you exhausts me; this involves a substance called [Spiritual Particles]..."
Momo began to explain to Ah Qing the basic knowledge of Spirit Particle Science she had recently learned from Wang Qiqi.
The interaction with Ah Qing wasn't difficult; it's just that Ah Qing had seen too much, surrounded by Spirit Beasts all the time.
But she herself wasn't knowledgeable about the so-called Spiritual Particles and the common knowledge about Spirit Particle Catalysis, which led to the current worldview where she understood Spirit Beasts but didn't know about Spiritual Particles.
Wild animals being intelligent isn't abnormal, is it? In a group with dozens or even hundreds of individuals, one or two genius-level talents emerging isn't strange. Ah Qing had encountered such phenomena frequently growing up.
Huhu being so smart, knowing about cultivation, and now being able to speak human language is something we should celebrate!
However.
After Momo asserted there were no cultivator immortals, Ah Qing truly displayed a shocked face, looking dazed.
......
Momo explained to Ah Qing everything about Spiritual Particles and their catalytic properties from start to finish.
She also mentioned the basic theory of [Blue Star organism's alien origin].
All the ancestors of Blue Star organisms had undergone base fusion in the cosmic space, hitching a ride on meteors and landing on Blue Star, being born through Spirit Particle Catalysis.
Among observable life forms, removing carbon-based biological similarities reveals that the [Primordial Gene] has an extremely high degree of similarity at the root level.
Discarding the genetic differences caused by environmental evolution, there is not even a true biological reproductive isolation between Blue Star organisms.
"....Wow."
Ah Qing looked at Momo, who was lecturing on Spirit Particle Science and biological origins, as if she were gazing at an immortal, face full of astonishment.
"So...all this time without my knowing, Xiaolan has actually been working for the Security Bureau, acting as a translator ambassador between humans and Spirit Beasts, promoting harmonious coexistence between humans, Spirit Beasts, and nature, right?"
"Turns out... what the teachers referred to as [L-type chemical pollutants] are actually the magical Spiritual Particles."
"I was wondering! Why do the crops I hybridize to be advantageous on accumulating pollutants always end up either eaten by the Spirit Beasts from the neighboring sect or frequently disappear!"
"They grew legs and ran off, ungrateful creatures!"
With the gap in basic Spirit Particle knowledge filled, Ah Qing's mind brightened up, even solving some perplexities she'd encountered in her life.
For example..... those mysteriously disappearing plants and the bugs with peculiar deaths in her rice paddies.
Insects eating plants is normal.
But every tomato harvest season, Ah Qing would notice something odd — inside the dead bugs' abdomens were undigested tomato juice and seeds.
These unsolved mysteries seemed to receive a comprehensive yet unspoken explanation at this moment.
The tomatoes likely had enough of being chewed on and smacked the bugs' butts hard with their metaphorical hands.
"Speaking of crops..."
"The animals from the School of Animal Science seem to have a particular fondness for the crops you bred, Ah Qing?" Momo said with a strange expression as if she had just thought of something, prompted by Ah Qing's reminder:
"The advantageous breeds you've developed wouldn't be turning the school's animals into Spirit Beasts, would they?"
"I don't know! The professor said these things are normal and to handle disputes with the neighboring sects with a fight if necessary..." Ah Qing shook her head, indicating her lack of understanding, as the professors always came off as well-informed and unreasonably persuasive.
If not for Momo mentioning these things, how could she have known about Spiritual Particles or anything related?
"However, I feel that my priority now isn't discussing Spiritual Particles here! I need to find Xiaolan!"
Ah Qing suddenly leaped up from the sofa, speaking with high-spirited determination, clenching her fists vigorously.
"Ah Qing, don't be like that..."
Momo grabbed Ah Qing to persuade her: "The little fox didn't deliberately hide it from you. You should know how bizarre it is for an animal to suddenly start speaking fluent Mandarin!"
"The little fox didn't want to scare us. Look, once we discovered his secret, he told us everything honestly, even mentioning Spiritualization..."
"Let's discuss this calmly, so as not to scare the little fox away when you get home."
In this scenario, there's no right or wrong; the little fox didn't want Ah Qing to be afraid or worried.
Nor did he want to be seen as something abnormal and get kicked out of the house by Ah Qing.
With you looking so exhilarated, we're really worried you'll scare the little fox into jumping off the balcony when you return.
"What are you guys talking about!"
Ah Qing said happily, putting Momo and Lingren over her shoulders, as she excitedly exclaimed:
"The little fox can talk now! I definitely need to go back and interview it, see how it feels."
Although in the video, Huhu's voice, broadcasted through the microphone and compressed by WeChat, sounded peculiar, resembling a recording more than Huhu's genuine voice.
Even though the little fox's first words weren't directed at her specifically, upon learning about the little fox's feats, Ah Qing wasn't concerned about anything else; her biggest desire was to hold up the little fox to her face and personally hear Xiaolan call her name...
And then, properly reward the little fox.
"Hey, hey, hey, clothes, clothes! It's winter now, and you want me to go out just like this?"
Being carried on Ah Qing's shoulder, Momo rolled her eyes and patted Ah Qing's behind, urging her to let her down.
It's not that she couldn't go outside like this, but considering what's it like in Chang'an City right now!
Aren't you worried about me freezing to death?
"Oh oh oh....."