That night, the forest was quiet and solitude reigned, studded with twinkling stars.
Lu Bei got up to shake off the stiffness in his body. Seeing that Bai Jin hadn't returned yet, he rummaged through his bag for a fire starter, gathered some dry grass and firewood in the front yard, and lit a small fire for light and warmth.
Pairing his plain bun with cooked food, Lu Bei remembered the lonely little box next door. He hurriedly put three buns on the offering table to prevent Mo Buxiu from ghosting him in the middle of the night to chitchat about respecting elders.
With his hunger satiated, Lu Bei added more firewood to the fire, ingested two Spirit Awakening Elixirs, and once again closed his eyes to meditate.
A while later, a rustling sound came from the offering table. Lu Bei's eyebrows furrowed, and a cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
Although he didn't open his eyes, he could imagine that if he wasn't mistaken, the surroundings would be crowded with people.
"The night is quiet, and the scariest thing is to frighten oneself. Don't think too much. With sister Bai's formation here, there should be no problem." Lu Bei took a deep breath, slowly opened his eyes, and used the firelight to inspect the condition of the offering table.
The buns were gone.
"No big issue, the little box is still there."
Lacking any expression, Lu Bei reached for two buns to calm his nerves, for the less he wanted to think about it, the more he was certain there was someone behind him.
Well, he hoped it was a person.
Just then, two bright green lights shone from the corner of the wall. They flickered eerily, casting a chill that prickled the nape of Lu Bei's neck.
Crackle!
The sound of firewood popping was piercing to the ear. Lu Bei shivered, stretching his tremulous hands into his bag to grab a bun.
Stave off the fear!
Out of respect for the ghost, his trembling hand couldn't grip the bun firmly. It hit Lu Bei's knee, rolled away from the range of the formation, did a roundabout on the ground, and finally stopped beneath the offering table.
The eerie green lights dimmed drastically. Immediately after, a red figure darted from the side, swiftly coming to where the bun had fallen, and used its mouth and paws to push it back into the shadowy corner.
Lu Bei: "..."
He had a clear view, it was a little fox.
At that moment, a chattering noise broke out from the corner, and the cold green lights flared, attempting to stabilize the chaotic scene.
It was to no avail. Regardless of whatever was happening in the corner, all that mattered was that Lu Bei was no longer panicking. Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he felt a mixture of embarrassment and relief at his earlier timidity. He then tossed a slice of cooked beef outside the formation.
The corner instantly quietened down.
The allure of cooked food greatly surpassed that of buns. The green lights faded in utter despair. At the same time, four little foxes bolted out from the shadows, grabbing the beef slice and rolling away.
On Lu Bei's side, he threw out another piece of cooked beef without watching the squabbling little foxes. His eyes were fixed on the shadowy corner, having accounted for one ghost and four pits, but there was still one fox missing.
The cold gaze from earlier suggested that this fox was not only spiritually intelligent but also capable of employing spells to scare people.
Wild animals shouldn't be fed cooked food, once they get a taste of it, they become addicted. After a few mouthfuls of cooked beef, having tasted the salt, the four little foxes became increasingly fierce in their fights.
The green-eyed fox hidden in the shadowy corner could no longer sit still. It stomped out angrily to confront the four unqualified teammates.
Like the four little foxes, its fur was red, and it was slightly bigger, with intelligence shining in its eyes. It was indeed a small demon fox.
Whack Whack Whack!
With four consecutive swipes, the little foxes whimpered on the ground. After glowering at them for a few moments, the demon fox turned to look at Lu Bei inside the formation.
In its eyes, there was a touch of fierceness, some fear, and a lot of yearning. The fear was for the formation, the yearning for the food.
As for the fierceness...
Appearing fierce was no longer of any use.
"Hehe."
With a twinkle in his eyes, Lu Bei picks up several pieces of cooked beef...
And pops them into his mouth.
Little Fox Demon: "..."
The four cubs: "..."
"Ah, it tastes so-so. Is it because I'm too full?" Lu Bei shook his head regretfully, under the astonished eyes of the Little Fox Demon. He picked up a steamed bun...rip it in half and tossed the piece over.
"Eat, it's because I'm too considerate!"
The Little Fox Demon shivered, its red fur standing on end. Sadly, her team was a bunch of freeloaders. All the four little foxes, though they found the bun bland and tasteless, began to wrestle for it.
Seeing this, the Little Fox Demon deflated completely. She walked dejectedly over to the formation, performing a human-like bow, with her paws clasping each other on the ground, her head pressed tightly to them.
How impressive!
Noticing her compliant behavior, Lu Bei couldn't help but feel impressed. Setting aside his mischievousness, he divided some food and steamed buns and tossed them out of the formation.
The four little foxes rushed over. The Little Fox Demon stood on the side warily, waiting for them to finish, before she began to eat the leftover scraps.
After eating, the four little foxes disappeared into the shadows at the corner of the wall, heading back the way they came, through the hole. The Little Fox Demon, however, started to chatter and bow again.
"We barely know each other, sharing a meal is enough, you want me to provide all meals?"
"Chitter-Chatter."
"Huh, you can understand me?!"
Lu Bei lifted an eyebrow in surprise, glancing down where the Little Fox Demon was looking. His gaze locked onto a porcelain bottle at his feet.
Spirit Awakening Elixir.
Picking up the bottle and shaking it lightly, Lu Bei examined the Elixir. Each pill was about the size of a soybean, and there were twelve in the bottle. He took ten before, leaving only two pills left.
"It's not that I don't want to give it to you; it's just that there's not much left."
He poured out the last two Spirit Awakening Elixirs with a raised brow. "If I'm not mistaken, you want this elixir for those four little foxes. They don't seem very intelligent, but there are only two pills left. If we give it to one, it would be unfair for the others. I don't want to cause trouble for you."
The Little Fox Demon let out a cry, bowed low with her head barely leaving the ground.
"How about this, come back tomorrow at the same time. My senior sister should have some stock, and I will ask her to distribute... Hey, don't go! We can negotiate further! I don't have any hidden agenda, I won't harm you!"
The moment Bai Jin's name was mentioned, the Little Fox Demon became alert. The demon retreated fearfully into the shadows of the corner, disregarding whatever else Lu Bei had to say and ran off without a trace.
"Mr. Lu, what are you doing?"
Floating in a gust of wind clad in white, Bai Jin alighted behind Lu Bei, she'd just returned from the Great Victory Pass. After withdrawing the formation, she cast a glance at the corner.
"There's a family of foxes in the sect grounds. One of them has developed Spiritual Intelligence and requested Spirit Awakening Elixir from me. I amused myself by interacting with them for a while," Lu Bei explained sheepishly.
"Don't be distracted from your cultivation by these trivial matters," admonished Bai Jin. She wasn't particularly interested in the little fox who had developed Spiritual Intelligence, instead, she enquired about the progress of Lu Bei's foundation laying.
Lu Bei honestly answered her, "Sister Bai, didn't we agree to return before dusk? Did something go awry on your journey?"
"Just catching up with an old friend, that's why it got delayed."
Bai Jin replied, "The trip went well. With her help, the paperwork and registration are already in order."
As she spoke, Bai Jin handed over the sect leader's seal and title deed of Feather Gate, as well as paperwork bearing Lu Bei's name.
Lu Bei took them in hand, glancing over them briefly. He also opened his personal panel; the fortune and camp sections were already updated.
On the fortune panel, besides gold and silver coins, there were other sections for treasures, elixirs, and so forth, with the title deed included. In terms of camps, Feather Gate belonged to Nine Bamboo Mountain, by default, part of the Wuzhou Camp; both the merit values and influence were currently at zero.
With official recognition and documented records, Lu Bei was now truly the leader of Feather Gate.