Su Daji felt that she was somewhat special for being acquainted with a powerful fox spirit… with Mu Yue. Although she was certain that the fox would deny it, she figured that their companionship had already transcended into them being friends.
“So, only I could be allowed to call you that?”
“En,” the fox affirmed. “If you feel like your life is in danger, you only need to call my name, and I will come to you immediately.”
Su Daji smiled and tested the name on her lips again. “Mu Yue…”
The fox only huffed. It was also for this reason that she could arrive at the cliff that night. Mu Yue had left a part of her magic on Su Daji’s body to stabilize the effects of the spell the ninth prince left on her body. Because of that sliver, the fox had pinpointed the young lady’s location.
That day, she had left Su Daji’s side to eliminate the growing presence of the demons at the peak of the mountain. Mu Yue didn’t expect that during her absence, the black magic would stream at full force, causing Su Daji’s body to fall under the ninth prince’s absolute control.
If the fox was a minute late, Mu Yue was sure that this young lady would be brain-dead by now, with her body under the care of the ninth prince.
No. She didn’t save Su Daji’s life because she had come to care for the young lady, but she felt like Xuan Yanrui was playing dirty by forcing Su Daji to leave the camp and ‘willingly’ come to him.
This kind of end didn’t suit Su Daji one bit, so how could the fox allow this young lady to perish like that?
Now that Su Daji was aware of what happened to her that night, the young lady would only feel repulsive towards him. Obviously, the more Xuan Yanrui tried to force her, the harder Su Daji would reject him.
It was no wonder that Su Daji had agreed easily with Jiang Mo’s request for her to return home. Alas, Mu Yue was certain that the ninth prince wouldn’t let Su Daji off the hook that easily. With the black magic spell removed from Su Daji, the fox could only wait and see how Xuan Yanrui would proceed after this.
“You said that you need some assistance. Is there something I could do for you?” Su Daji’s clear and soft voice pulled Mu Yue back to reality.
“En. I’m looking for a human body I could possess. I cannot stay in this form for too long if I intend to mingle among humans like you,” she told the young lady.
Su Daji was startled at that. She wasn’t expecting to hear such a request from the fox spirit.
“I’m afraid… that isn’t something we could easily obtain…” She whispered. Mu Yue’s request only reminded Su Daji that this fox was truly a demon.
“I know that. I have tried to possess young women at the brink of their deaths, but their bodies somewhat repelled my spirit,” Mu Yue replied. She didn’t dare to tell this young woman about the ending of those bodies.
Su Daji blinked in understanding. She wasn’t that dumb not to understand that the fox had some criteria for finding a host.
“Then, is there something I could do?” She asked Mu Yue. “Are there any requirements to look out for?”
“It’s easier to possess a dying person for us demons, but because of my origin, it wouldn’t be easy to find a perfect host that could contain my spirit.” Mu Yue started. “Most probably, those young women who had high spiritual awareness would be ideal, but it has become a chore to find one these days.”
“That’s true.” Su Daji agreed with her. It would also be hard for the young lady to find a suitable person who would fit the requirements. People might also suspect that she was involved in black magic if she proactively sought dying young women within the Su province.
“Then, how do you want me to assist you?” She asked the fox. “Can you only possess women?”
“Women naturally contain Yin energy just like demons like us, so it’s natural for us to choose them. That’s why many are accused of being bewitched by a demon through association. We can also possess a child or an infant if their soul has just recently perished… and that their bodies haven’t started decomposing yet. Of course, for stronger demons, so long as a body is a fit; it didn’t matter if it was a male or a female.”
“Oh, that makes a lot of sense.” Su Daji nodded. “Then, shouldn’t you easily find one, considering that we’re in a midst of war?”
The fox sighed dejectedly. She wouldn’t be in this predicament if any of those vessels managed to contain her soul.
“It’s not that easy. Actually, I was hoping to possess that maidservant of yours if she didn’t manage to survive that night. Alas, luck is clearly on her side.”
The young lady blinked at that. She wasn’t sure what to feel about it.
Mu Yue was amused by her reaction.
“You really don’t know how to be mad, do you?” The fox asked.
The young lady smiled bashfully.
“I tried not to.” Su Daji tried to explain. “Father said that many times, humans would commit mistakes that they would regret for a long time… just because they allowed themselves to get carried away by their emotions.
“But it’s not true that I can’t get mad. I feel upset sometimes, but I would rather keep silent than lash out on others.”
Perhaps, this was one of the reasons why Su Daji’s soul remained untainted. She would always try to find logical reasoning behind every disagreement. Still, she identified as a fickle human that was vulnerable to the matters of the heart. Soon enough, her heart—as a woman in love—would test her resolve.
It didn’t take too long for Su Daji’s people to prepare for their journey back home. By the next morning, their small group was ready to leave the northern border, with Su Daji bidding goodbye to her brother.
However, before that, Jiang Mo requested to speak with the white fox in private.
“I cannot thank you enough for looking after Daji during our absence. I heard that it was not the first time you saved her life from harm. I know this sounds unfair, but I hope you will continue to look after Daji for years to come. Furthermore, I’m not sure how long this war will take before it ends.”
“Are you going to ask for her hand by then?”
It took some time for Jiang Mo to recover from his shock, but he still nodded. He didn’t expect that this fox spirit was aware of those indecent feelings he harbored towards his sister.
Wasn’t this one of the reasons why he followed Minister Su to protect the borders? He thought that if he was away from her, he would be able to clear his mind and forget about her. However, a year and months later, he was proved to be wrong.
“En. I hope it wouldn’t be too late for the two of us, then,” he answered the fox truthfully. “However, I’m deeply aware that with her current age, she should have already received a lot of marriage proposals from others.”
Just from looking at its clear amber eyes, Jiang Mo could sense that this fox spirit could scent a lie from humans like him. This fox was sensitive and had a stronger instinct than any wild animal he encountered so far.
“She did receive a lot of marriage proposals, but she politely turned them all down because of you. I hope you also know what the two of you would face if you decided to be together.”
Jiang Mo’s jaws hardened at that. First and foremost, he needed to drive the invaders away and defeat Xuan Yanrui for him to ensure Daji’s safety. Since he would stay here, fighting was tantamount to assuring that she would lead a happy and safe life even if she wasn’t with him.
“I know. I appreciate your concern. I hope I will be able to become properly acquainted with you once this war ends,” Jiang Mo said before bidding goodbye.
Once he deemed the roads safe for passage, he led Su Daji’s small caravan to the south until he eventually parted from her group.
As the carriage continued without Jiang Mo’s assistance, Su Daji chose to look out the window to seek him from afar. Her hopeful eyes met his determined gaze as he remained saddled up on his horse at the same spot where they parted.
Su Daji’s eyes were stung with tears, and she grieved in her heart. Perhaps, this was for the best. If she remained any longer, she feared that she might only lead him to death, with Xuan Yanrui successfully acquiring their province through war.