143: Chapter 143 Just Read Me
Jiang Xun hesitated for a moment.
He still had to investigate.
Without recovering his cultivation, trying to escape from White Fox Jiu was like a fantasy, out of the question.
Was he really going to pretend with her for the rest of his life?
Besides...
How was Long Ninger doing now? Did she have anything to eat? Whenever he thought of these things, he felt anxious.
Jiang Xun tried to mobilize the red mist within his body.
A layer of eerie red mist immediately surfaced on his skin.
The red mist was very faint, only extending two or three inches from his body.
He squeezed out a tiny wisp of ownerless Spiritual Qi.
The moment that wisp of Spiritual Qi spilled from his fingertips, before it had even drifted an inch, the red mist pounced on it like a shark smelling blood and swallowed it in one gulp.
The Spiritual Qi vanished.
Nothing escaped.
Jiang Xun felt a surge of joy.
This red mist loved consuming things filled with spirituality the most. To it, Spiritual Qi was like meat to a wild beast.
Back at Musong Mountain, he had used the red mist to consume the Spiritual Qi on his body to disguise himself as being at the Foundation Establishment Stage.
Jiang Xun formed a hand seal, forcing out the last few wisps of Spiritual Qi from his Dantian and gathering them at his fingertips.
There was very little Spiritual Qi, so he carefully condensed it into a beam and pressed it against his own glabella.
A flash of spiritual light flickered.
His consciousness sank deep into his Divine Soul.
Jiang Xun saw it.
His own Divine Soul, like a dim, hazy candlelight, hung in the depths of his consciousness.
Surrounding the Divine Soul were wisps of pearly-white threads that looked like flowing light.
These threads were very thin; they stretched over from all directions, wrapping around his Divine Soul layer by layer, weaving into an airtight cage.
Jiang Xun gasped.
If the Spiritual Root was a lightbulb, then the Divine Soul was the switch.
These white streams of light isolated him from the Spiritual Qi of the outside world.
This meant he could no longer sense the Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth, let alone absorb it.
White Fox Jiu wanted to turn him into a Mortal.
Even more terrifying was that these streams of light were slowly fusing with his Divine Soul Origin bit by bit.
Like tree roots digging into soil, like vines climbing up a wall.
They were infiltrating, eroding, as if they wanted to merge with his Divine Soul.
Jiang Xun did not know when these things had entered his body.
But they were definitely not good things.
He withdrew from his internal vision.
The last remaining Spiritual Qi in his body had been completely exhausted; not a trace remained.
His face turned even paler, and fine beads of cold sweat seeped from his forehead.
But he did not panic.
He guided the red mist within his body to permeate his Divine Soul.
The red mist followed his consciousness, surging toward his Divine Soul.
It bypassed his Meridians, bypassed his Dantian, and drilled directly into his mind to approach the white streams of light.
As soon as the red mist touched the white fluorescent light, his Divine Soul jolted.
A mouthful of blood spilled from the corner of Jiang Xun's mouth.
He raised his hand to wipe it away.
He could not be too hasty; he had to take it one step at a time.
Jiang Xun transformed the red mist into fine needles, inserting them one by one into the gaps of the white light cage.
Then, he urged the red mist to start slowly devouring and grinding away at it.
After doing all this, Jiang Xun checked his surroundings for any traces of escaping Spiritual Qi.
None; it was completely clean.
The red mist had swallowed everything, not leaving behind even a trace of Spiritual Qi.
After confirming there were no issues.
He finally lay down on the bed with peace of mind, continuing to play the role of an amnesiac invalid.
...
At night.
White Fox Jiu came in carrying a bowl of white porridge.
The porridge was cooked thick, the rice grains already boiled down, with a few goji berries and red dates floating on top.
Steam rose in curling wisps, carrying a faint scent of rice.
"Husband, it's time to eat porridge."
She sat on the edge of the bed, scooped up a spoonful, blew on it, and brought it to Jiang Xun's lips.
Jiang Xun opened his mouth and drank it.
The temperature of the porridge was just right, and he swallowed it spoonful by spoonful, letting the warmth flow down his throat into his stomach.
After finishing the bowl of porridge, White Fox Jiu placed the bowl on the table with no intention of leaving.
She sat on the edge of the bed, head lowered, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes.
She looked like a young wife who had something to say but was too shy to speak.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Xun asked.
White Fox Jiu looked up at him, her cheeks flushed with a faint blush.
"Husband... it is getting late."
Jiang Xun glanced out the window.
The sky had indeed turned dark, with the moon hanging on the horizon, casting a clear radiance over the ground.
But it was still too early to talk about sleeping.
"Hmm, you should go back and rest early."
White Fox Jiu bit her lip, "I want... to sleep with you, Husband."
Jiang Xun was stunned.
She had to watch him even while sleeping?
Could it be that this fox had discovered something?
"I'm scared alone," White Fox Jiu said, lowering her head. "This shop was just taken over, the backyard is big and empty, and I can't sleep soundly by myself."
After she finished speaking, two faint flushes of red appeared on her face.
"We used to sleep together before," White Fox Jiu added.
It was as if she were providing a reasonable excuse for this behavior.
"Although we are..." Jiang Xun fell silent for a moment, deliberately demurring, "I don't remember anything now; wouldn't that be inappropriate?"
White Fox Jiu lowered her head, her shoulders suddenly trembling, "Husband, do you dislike me?"
"Do you think I was too wanton to suddenly kiss you during the day?"
"No..."
"Then why don't you want to sleep with me?"
She looked up, tears already swirling in her eyes, "We are husband and wife; shouldn't husband and wife sleep together?"
Jiang Xun opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.
White Fox Jiu scooted closer to him and reached out to tug on his sleeve.
"Husband, I'll just lie next to you and won't do anything. I just... don't want to be alone."
Jiang Xun looked at her.
If he didn't know her, if he didn't know what kind of person she was, he might have truly softened.
But he did know.
He knew her all too well.
But even though he knew this fox was acting, he had no reason or confidence to refuse.
"...Alright," Jiang Xun said with a sigh.
White Fox Jiu broke into a smile through her tears, unfastened her clothes, quickly took off her shoes, climbed onto the bed, and lay down beside Jiang Xun.
She turned on her side, facing Jiang Xun, reached out to hug his arm, and buried her face in the crook of his shoulder.
"Husband, good night."
"Good night."
White Fox Jiu closed her eyes.
Jiang Xun stared at the rafters above, motionless.
He could feel her breathing, her body temperature, and the strength with which she gripped his arm.
She held on very tightly, as if afraid he would run away.
After a long time, White Fox Jiu's voice came muffled from the crook of his shoulder:
"Husband, are you asleep?"
"No."
"Why can't you sleep?"
"I'm thinking about some things."
"What things?"
"Things I can't remember."
White Fox Jiu did not ask again. She just buried her face deeper into the crook of his shoulder and hugged him even tighter.
She said, "The owner of that Hecai Pavilion is really strange. He said he wanted to order a thousand catties of wine from our shop."
Jiang Xun recalled that pale-faced Young Master and said, "That's a good thing!"
But White Fox Jiu said with some worry, "But the way that person looked at me made me uncomfortable."
Jiang Xun hugged her back. "It's fine; we won't look at him. You only need to look at me."
White Fox Jiu looked up at him, then quickly buried her face again, and then a muffled sound came out, "Mm."