Chapter 8: The Threat

At this moment, Chen Rui thought that it was probably her own words that had made the great-aunt crave something—not exactly hungry, but wanting to eat—and so she had followed along. If she had known things would turn out like this, Chen Rui would never have uttered those words, not for anything.

Bai Xi arched her brows at Chen Rui, her voice soft and childish as she retorted, “I told you I wasn’t following you. I’m just walking with you because it’s on my way.” There was nothing else to be done. If she were alone, she couldn’t avoid the villagers; anyone who saw her would instinctively keep an eye on her, afraid she might fall, get hurt, or wander off somewhere dangerous. If she headed to the back mountain, someone would certainly stop her and turn her back.

Bai Xi was not as foolish as the flower spirit. She decided to make use of Chen Rui, her little admirer. With Chen Rui there, she could walk alongside her for a stretch, and even though people saw them from a distance, nobody stopped her.

“Great-aunt, please don’t trick me,” Chen Rui, though young, was no fool; she wasn’t about to believe such nonsense.

Bai Xi didn’t reply, merely huffed and circled around Chen Rui, determined to show her by action that she hadn’t intended to follow.

Yet, in the very next moment, Chen Rui wrapped her arms around Bai Xi. “Great-aunt, I’m begging you, you really can’t go.” If her great-aunt went down the mountain and it was found out, there’d be trouble for sure.

She struggled a few times but couldn’t break free from Chen Rui’s embrace. Bai Xi grew more frustrated and angry. What was wrong with that foolish flower spirit? Had she never cultivated in this body before? This frail little form couldn’t even escape the grip of a ten-year-old child.

She seemed to have forgotten that she herself couldn’t cultivate at the moment—and that she was only five years old.

Unable to get free, Bai Xi’s face flushed red, and she fumed, “Stop talking nonsense! I’m just curious about where you cut pig grass. I just want to see it; I’m not doing anything. Why can you go there but I can’t?”

“No way, there’s nothing fun there. The grass is tall and it cuts you. If you got hurt, that would be terrible,” Chen Rui insisted.

“Look, great-aunt, this is what happens when the grass cuts you. It hurts a lot.” Chen Rui showed her hands, covered in small, old and new cuts from the grass. Bai Xi could see she wasn’t lying, but such reasoning wasn’t enough to scare her off.

“Let go of me! Let go of me now!”

Her final words came out in a furious shout, startling Chen Rui, who hesitated before releasing her, though she still wasn’t reassured. “Great-aunt, if you want wild fruit, I’ll pick some for you when they ripen in autumn. Please, be good, won’t you?”

Chen Rui had a younger brother. If he behaved so stubbornly, she’d have smacked his bottom a few times; she’d often done just that, behind her parents’ backs. But this was Bai Xi—her great-aunt. She wouldn’t dare, and could only coax her gently with patience.

Still, her great-aunt smelled so sweet, like milk candy, creamy and fragrant. When she got angry, her fair little face turned red, and Chen Rui almost couldn’t resist kissing her.

“…” Bai Xi was speechless. Did she really look like someone greedy for those wild fruits? Bai Xi conveniently forgot that she had just been drooling over them.

“Great-aunt, let me take you home, okay?”

“No!”

Chen Rui looked at Bai Xi, conflicted. “…”

“I want to go up the mountain.”

“No, great-aunt.”

Now it was Bai Xi’s turn to be speechless.

This stalemate couldn’t last; if others came up the mountain, Bai Xi knew she’d be coaxed back for sure. So Bai Xi crossed her arms and began to gently persuade Chen Rui.

“Chen Rui, who am I?”

“Great-aunt, you’re my great-aunt!” Chen Rui answered earnestly, though the question struck her as odd.

Bai Xi’s eyelids twitched. Dealing with a ten-year-old, it was better to threaten directly; otherwise, she’d be talking circles for ages.

“That’s right. I’ve already come this far, and if you don’t let me go, I’ll tell the village chief and the others you tried to trick me into going to the back mountain.”

Chen Rui stared at Bai Xi, startled, and waved her hands instinctively. “Great-aunt, I would never!”

“I know you wouldn’t.” If she had, Bai Xi wouldn’t need to waste her breath here.

To be honest, Bai Xi felt her life was hard. If only her universe pouch worked, she wouldn’t be so desperate to go up the mountain. Hadn’t the mighty Nine-Tailed Fox fallen so low, forced to threaten and cajole a ten-year-old child just to get something to eat?

“But if I say it, they’ll believe me.” Bai Xi lifted her small face, showing not the slightest embarrassment at her threat. She wanted meat; she didn’t want to be a rabbit spirit anymore.

After the stick, one must offer a date—she didn’t actually want Chen Rui to get a beating. So, Bai Xi softened her tone, coaxing, “I’ll just go with you to have a look. I won’t wander off.”

“Really?” Chen Rui still wasn’t sure.

Seeing the doubt on her face, Bai Xi stomped her foot in frustration. “Do you want to get spanked?”

“Great-aunt would never spank me.”

Bai Xi: “…”

Her eyes darted around, and Bai Xi, arms folded, said with deliberate calm, “If you don’t take me, I’ll just stay here. Once you leave, I’ll go up the mountain alone.”

At these words, Chen Rui’s expression changed.

Bai Xi simply watched her, saying nothing.

Either take her great-aunt to the foot of the mountain to cut pig grass, or let her sneak up the mountain alone. Chen Rui thought it over and knew which choice to make.

With a sour face, Chen Rui asked for a promise. “Great-aunt, you really won’t run around?”

At this point, she seemed to have forgotten her earlier resolve never to let Bai Xi go up the mountain, no matter what.

“I won’t!”

“Then…” Chen Rui wanted to say more, but Bai Xi gave her an impatient glare, and she immediately fell silent.

Ten minutes later, Bai Xi and Chen Rui arrived at the place where Chen Rui cut pig grass.

“Great-aunt, you promised me—just stay here, don’t wander off.”

Bai Xi stood atop a stone, surveying the surroundings. Her gaze lingered mostly on the mountain, and she replied absent-mindedly, “I know.”

“Great-aunt, don’t wander. I’ll finish quickly, and then we’ll go back.”

“Got it.”

Chen Rui still wasn’t reassured and began to speak again, but Bai Xi cut her off impatiently. “Stop dawdling and cut your pig grass. Who’s the great-aunt here, you or me?”

“Of course you’re the great-aunt,” Chen Rui replied, feeling aggrieved inside. But great-aunt, you’re really not obedient at all!

“Then hurry up and get to work!” Bai Xi commanded without the slightest sense that she was the reason Chen Rui’s time was being wasted.

It was ridiculous—she, the dignified Nine-Tailed Fox, couldn’t handle a little child? If word got out, she’d be laughed at.