"I have a feeling... that so-called Boss Bai must be Tu Song White."
Sitting crouched in a bath, enjoying a massage sauna from Yu Xueqing and Mo Yiqing, Ansheng listened to the rising and falling sounds of dogs barking in the village, his eye twitching:
"Why can’t they come sooner or later? Why do they have to come right after I just finished bathing..."
Ansheng vented with a mind full of frustration.
Today, while delivering goods to Qiu Lingling, Tu Song White, due to their owner’s influence, reluctantly acknowledged a fox, one of their lifelong rivals, as a friend.
And the local dogs of Xia Country, when it comes to guarding homes and loyalty, have countless virtues.
But these dogs also have one major flaw—they are notoriously fond of team-building activities.
With Tu Song White acknowledging the fox as a brother, naturally, they had to invite Ansheng to their activities as well.
As for the reason Tu Song White came to call on him, Ansheng had a vague idea.
It probably had something to do with a big fish in the river.
When at the seafood market, Ansheng had heard from other dogs that a new family member had joined and suggested they all go to the river to catch a paddlefish to bring back and eat.
The paddlefish the dogs mentioned was likely a spirit beast living in the river.
"Mew?"
Just as Ansheng was lost in thought, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest and looked at Mo Yiqing with confusion.
"Uh... sorry." Mo Yiqing apologized awkwardly upon hearing the little fox’s cry of pain:
"Male foxes don’t have to breastfeed, so I wonder what they’re even meant for."
"Mew?"
Mo Yiqing’s casual remark left Ansheng forgetting about the stinging sensation in his chest.
"Maybe... maybe the ancestors of foxes foresaw the spiritual energy recovery in the world, so they planned a way out for all the male foxes!"
How should I know what I’m for!
After bathing, Ansheng habitually mewled at Yu Xueqing and casually made an excuse to go out.
"Ah Qing, your fox has left!" Mo Yiqing, having taken off her jacket and t-shirt, dressed in sportswear, sat on the sofa chatting with her "boyfriend" while watching the little fox slip out the window.
"It’s fine. Xiaolan went next door to find Lai Foo and the sheepdog across the street to let loose. By morning, the little fox will be refreshed in his nest," Yu Xueqing told Mo Yiqing from the bath.
Mo Yiqing slowly formed a question mark in the air and shouted towards the bathroom:
"Ah Qing... why don’t you change careers and become a veterinarian or a beast tamer?"
"With your talent, farming is such a waste..."
......
Leaving home, Ansheng turned right diagonally and skillfully climbed onto the gate pillar of Lin Ying’s villa, glancing inside where lights were blazing on all three floors.
A business car was parked in front of the villa, the swimming pool was cleaned and restored, with some goldfish swimming inside and decorations scattered at the bottom.
The pool is naturally for swimming.
But Lin Ying’s daughter had placed a couple of goldfish from a fair booth inside, turning the pool into a goldfish pond as a matter of course.
"Mew mew mew!"
Ansheng avoided the first-floor maid, climbed up the drainpipe to the second floor for a peek, saw it was empty of people, then climbed to the third floor, where he saw Lin Ying sitting on a bench, expression calm like an undisturbed lake, lifting dumbbells.
Ansheng tapped the glass window, and upon seeing Master Fox, Lin Ying was momentarily stunned, quickly stepped forward to open the sliding window, and reached out to bring Master Fox, clinging to the drainpipe, into the room.
"Mew mew mew!"
The little fox headed straight for the phone nearby, entered the password, opened the memo, and tapped out a line:
[How’s your health feeling? Yesterday I went to the mountains and solved a big case. Someone left nine sets of automatic rifle parts there... scattered in the woods.]
Lin Ying, half-squatting behind the little fox, saw what Master Fox had typed, and the calm expression like an undisturbed well stirred with ripples as she said:
"Sickness strikes like a landslide, and recovery is long. Currently relying on external medication to maintain condition, with timely medication and moderate exercise to stimulate the secretion of endorphins and dopamine, which benefits my body."
"It’s just... sometimes I feel mentally and physically exhausted."
Lin Ying spoke slowly, revealing the changes in her mental state over the past two days.
"Mew..."
The little fox nodded gently and tapped out another line on the phone:
[Listen to the doctor, follow the treatment plan, I, a fox, don’t understand much else, but I’ve met a new canine friend outside. They’re having a gathering tonight to hunt a spirit beast from the river. Are you interested in taking a look at the dock’s seafood market?]
[Oh, and the new tenants in house number 32 are not really a couple; they seem to be intelligence agents directly under the Security Bureau. They know about me, so we need to avoid meeting them.]
Seeing Master Fox type "Security Bureau," Lin Ying said, "If they’re here because of Master Fox, they might be forest rangers."
"A forest ranger’s main job generally involves investigating spirit beasts in the woods or, when necessary, preventing rampaging spirit beasts from entering the city."
"Mew?"
Ansheng turned around, showing a look of curiosity.
"Our Lin Holdings specializes in real industries, with employees across the country; learning about certain non-confidential matters isn’t difficult. Previously, even if we talked about such things, no one would believe them."
Spirit beasts, forest rangers, drone pilots... their codenames or group names all have real-world references.
You say you saw a forest ranger chasing some spirit beast in the woods.
Those in the know might listen, but to those who aren’t, saying that might earn you a rolling eye or a look that calls you crazy.
While recuperating, Lin Ying didn’t pay much attention to the Security Bureau or Grandmaster Lin.
But she did some basic intelligence gathering and has a rudimentary understanding of the spirit beast-related departments.
"Master Fox, please wait a moment while I go to my room and change clothes, then we’ll head out."
Lin Ying cradled the little fox as she headed to the second floor, returned to her room, not bathing but using wet wipes to wipe off the sweat from her recent workout, then changed clothes and sent a message to Lin Shu, standing by on the first floor, to prepare the car.
Lin Ying put Master Fox into her bag, carried her shoulder bag, and sat inside the business car.
"Head straight to the dock’s seafood market." Lin Ying told Lin Shu, who was seated in the driver’s seat.
As the car windows slowly rose, Lin Ying released Master Fox and asked:
"Master Fox, is there anything you’d like to eat?"
Eat? Do you know where you can get authentic Buddha Jumps Over the Wall?
At the mention of eating, the face of Mo Yiqing and her mutterings about food rose in the little fox’s mind.