The curious spirit beasts hiding in the bushes and on top of the tree branches shuddered as they felt the dangerous energy filled with killing intent emitting from the harmless-looking fox cub.
And to think they were scared of the girl bearing a god's halo! That fox is actually ten times worse, a harbinger of death!
The magical creatures viewing the pair swiftly made themselves scarce.
Suddenly, a familiar feline roar echoed from above. Li Meirong lifted her gaze up to the skies and saw a grey, furry belly several feet above her head.
The twin-tailed cat mount that had brought her to the Thousand Beasts forest gracefully glided in front of her.
Immediately, Snowball turned his head towards the incoming intruder and flashed his pearly white fangs threateningly, a low growl unconsciously coming from his throat.
We just got married and there's already an intruder!
Snowball's menacing thoughts went unnoticed by Li Meirong who cried out happily, recognizing the spoiled, lazy feline.
"Cai Huise! You've come to pick me up?" She asked while closing the distance between herself and the cat spirit.
Cai Huise noticed the little fox's murderous aura and kept his distance. Something was definitely amiss with that fox. He focused on the girl he searched for, his large, feline eyes glared accusingly at Li Meirong.
"So you remembered my name only when I'm already here?! I told you to call me when you were done. I would have come to pick you up~!" Cai Huise reprimanded the foolish girl. How dare she forget about his magnificent self?!
Ah. So he did…
Almond-shaped eyes widened in surprise as realization dawned upon Li Meirong. With the course of events leading to the explosion from the fire drake, the betrayal and death of her fellow disciples, meeting with the demonic cultivator and eventually the dimension with Feng Huang, she completely forgot about Cai Huise's favour of bringing her back to the sect when she calls for him.
Refraining from upsetting the grumpy mount any further, Li Meirong changed the subject. Seeing as Snowball already picked on an aggressive stance, she introduced the Cai Huise to her fox familiar.
"Thank you so much for finding me! If you didn't come to get me, I would have probably reached the foot of the mountain near the entrance to the sect by night."
Pointing her index finger with obvious pride towards the little bundle in her arms, she began introducing Snowball, "This is my new spirit familiar! I found him in the forest, he is heavily wounded so we'll have to reach the sect as soon as possible in order to treat his wounds."
Seeing how friendly Li Meriong was with the cat, Snowball ceased his hostilities. An expression of disdain was etched across his face as he allowed her to discuss unimportant matters with the domesticated beast.
Indeed, Cai Huise might be a domesticated spirit beast in the sect, but he was still a cat nonetheless. His shrewd, slanted pupils took note of the fox cub's abnormal behaviour.
A spirit beast usually waits for his master's command before jumping to action, this fox, however, looked as though Li Meirong was his territory and a foe has arrived to threaten his position.
Not to mention, he barely seemed injured. The fox's fur was coated with dry patches of red, but Cai Huise easily recognized it as the juice from the forest berries.
Whatever, it was not any of his business…disregarding the fox, the twin-tailed Cai Huise said with an accented slur, "Mmm...that's all well and good, but while you were picking up abandoned cubs in the forest, the sect masters heard an explosion in the forest and discovered the remains of the humans you travelled with. They're blaming you for their deaths. You're in a lot of trouble now!"
Her eyes widened in astonishment, Li Meirong staggered backwards and asked nervously, "What? Why!? I was the one who got ambushed."
Why was she in trouble? She was the one dropped inside a volcano, okay?!
"I don't know the entire details, but you have been a pleasant human to me so as soon as I've heard the news I rushed to look for you. We should head back right away and you better prepare yourself for a trial because Captain Liang of the Bestiary coalition is backing up the murder claim, the situation is not in your favour~." Cai Huise licked his slate grey fur clean after he finished explaining, seemingly nonchalant about the matter.
Meanwhile, Li Meirong's emotions turned turbulent. Her brows wrinkled as she bit her bottom lip. Was this the famous scheming scenarios she always read about? Will she be executed for a crime she didn't commit?!
Maybe it would be best to transfer herself and stay inside her dimension for a century or two…
As she thought of ways to escape to a hiding place, with an overwhelmingly lack of awareness she nervously whispered, "They were the ones who tried to kill me…I only defended myself."
Instantly, she felt the warmth of a soft paw on top of her hand as it caressed her pale skin in reassurance and helped her focus. Glancing at Snowball, Li Meirong saw the young fox observing her carefully, his golden eyes glowing with earnestness unbefitting his young, fluffy figure.
"Do not worry, I am here."
Bai Qingyue's fox cub voice sounded completely different than his human-like deep and masculine tone. It was now higher pitched as a young fledgeling would have, yet his calm demeanour and sincere countenance made Li Meirong feel as though she could really depend on him.
Suffused with warmth, Li Meirong felt her nervousness gradually lessening.
She mounted Cai Huise with Snowball placed between her legs, grasping the smooth grey fur for balance as the twin-tailed beast glided through the clouds and headed towards Forgotten Waters sect's main halls for questioning.
Calming herself, Li Meirong rationally thought of her situation. Justice was on her side. If she could explain everything accurately, the grandmasters would have to believe her. Right?