The little fox ran to the area where the Aqua Vulpes lived.
"Hic...."
No one.
Not a single soul.
Instead of the sight of scattered corpses.
There was absolutely no one.
It could still see bloodstains everywhere.
But no bodies were found.
The little fox ran all around the village searching.
But found no one.
"Father..."
"Mother..."
"Where has everyone gone?!"
.
.
.
Snow Moon's eyes were welling up.
The waves of emotions from the little fox were flooding into her.
Mentally fragile, she felt like breaking down at that moment.
Could virtual reality really do this...?
These emotions overwhelming her mind...
Why?
.
.
.
"Sob sob..."
The little fox collapsed in the place that was once the fishing village.
It cried inconsolably.
It cried continuously without stopping.
. . .
Plop.
Plop.
Footsteps.
The little fox was startled.
Everything was pitch black.
Was it already late into the night?
It growled.
For the first time, it bared its fangs since it was born.
Furious.
Hateful.
The scent of a stranger.
Could it be the one who took away its parents?
The growl was filled with menace, wildly contrasting with the small figure of the little fox.
"Am I too late?"
Huh?That voice.
A woman.
Sniff sniff.
It used its fox nose to take a whiff.
A gentle fragrance.
Very pleasant.
No scent of the Aqua Vulpes.
Not the one who took its parents.
At this point, it calmed down somewhat.
Its head lowered to the ground.
Pat pat.
A hand stroked its head.
Then gently caressed its messy fur.
"I'm sorry, little fox. It's my fault for arriving too late."
That warm hand lifted it up.
"Huh..."
It could sense the sorrow from this person.
"How pitiful."
. . .
"Are you blind?"
. . .
"Ah...!!!"
Choking for breath.
Snow Moon gasped as she broke free from the memory of the Thousand Tails Yaoguai King.
But was that really the memory of the Thousand Tails Yaoguai King!?
The fox in the memory brought by the jade trinket was blind.
But that voice just now.
There was no mistaking it.
She had heard that voice singing in the Square before.
It belonged to the Heavenly Demon In Black.
. . .
"What's your name, little one?"
"…"
"What are your parents' names?"
"…"
"…"
The Heavenly Demon In Black fell silent.
The Aqua Vulpes Tribe are creatures with very high intelligence.
At this age, it should certainly be able to speak clearly.
Yet this little fox did not utter a single word.
Using her own abilities to check, the fox's vocal cords were intact.
It wasn't mute.
It must have been the result of immense shock that it couldn't speak.
Those fox eyes...The Aqua Vulpes Tribe has a very unusual structure.
Because of this, they can transform into water.
But it also means that many seemingly normal things can be harmful to them.
Being exposed to the sun for too long can cause permanent damage to their bodies.
They are very sensitive to certain fruits, which are nearly toxic to them.
However, the worst and most common issue is...
Crying too much.
If the eyes of the Aqua Vulpes cry too much...
It causes them to lose significantly more water than humans would.
So much so that their eyes can become dry and shriveled.
Then, the brain recognizes it and discards them.
Leading to permanent blindness.
The Heavenly Demon In Black thought and felt a pang of sympathy.
Just a child... facing such a tragic situation.
Crying until they blind.
The Heavenly Demon In Black gently patted its head.
Soothingly stroking its fur to reassure it.
"Don't worry, little one. First, I will heal your eyes."
"Then whatever you want to do, I will help you."---
Consciousness returned.
At this moment, Snow Moon awoke due to a notification sound.
[Transforming Water - Aqua Vulpes Tribe]
[A fox transforms into a stream of water, flowing back to the lake.]
[Passive: Increases dodge by 10% in aquatic environments.]
[Activate: Transforms into water to evade damage, becoming immune to damage for 5 seconds. If used in a water environment, immunity duration doubles.]
[Activation allows movement through narrow gaps.]
Finally, the skill was unlocked.
With each fragment of memory, a skill unlocked for her.
Yet, Snow Moon's emotions were a whirlwind at this moment.
She was still floating within the water-filled Secret Chamber.
The jade trinket continued to glow relentlessly.
---
The Heavenly Demon In Black was in his Grand Hall.
She was drinking a gourd of Immortal Wine, her face flushed as if intoxicated.
Her was reminiscing about the past.The encounter with Amethyst today brought back many memories for her.
She remembered the little fox.
She recalled the time she was with Avery Snow in Qiu Yu City.
Telling him about Amethyst.
"You know."
"That little one."
"As soon as I gave it light so its eyes could see again."
"It immediately wanted to go find its parents."
"At that time, I felt so sympathetic."
"That year, the Yaoguai were in great turmoil."
"The Divine Tiger, the mightiest existence back then, wanted humans and the Yaoguais to live in peace."
"Unexpectedly, that intention caused a great upheaval, leading countless Yaoguais to rebel."
"They hated humans and despised the Yaoguais who befriended humans even more."
"But the strength of the Divine Tiger was overwhelming, capable of creating eternal ice with just a roar."
"To confront the Divine Tiger, those beasts aimed to kill the Aqua Vulpes."
"The fur of the Aqua Vulpes not only resisted water but when worn, almost completely countered the absolute cold created by the Divine Tiger."
"Legend says that when the Divine Tiger was young, it owed a favor to the Aqua Vulpes Tribe, thus blessing their fur with the ability to resist such godly power."
"Unexpectedly, that became their doom."
"The Yaoguais that wanting to overthrow the Divine Tiger went on a hunt for the Aqua Vulpes."
"Back then, I was a friend of the Divine Tiger, and upon hearing the news, I tracked them to stop it."
"But when I arrived, an entire fishing village was devastated."
"The entire Aqua Vulpes had been captured."
The Heavenly Demon In Black was truly heartbroken at the time.
"The Aqua Vulpes Tribe had a custom of offering a fish to the Aqua Vulpes Ancestor before heading to sea."
"They knew that they couldn't capture the Aqua Vulpes near the sea."
"So they placed a fish at the Aqua Vulpes Ancestor Statue, tricking the Aqua Vulpes into believing there would be a great storm, causing the whole tribe to stay in one place."
"After that, they were easily captured."
The Heavenly Demon In Black sighed.
"When the little one wanted to find its parents."
"How could I tell it that after I brought it back, I followed the traces."
"And found its parents."
"Only to see them as the two fur coats worn by those scoundrels."
...
Many years later, Amethyst and the Heavenly Demon In Black arrived at a camp where Aqua Vulpes were imprisoned.
By then, the little fox once known as Amethyst had been given everything by the Heavenly Demon In Black.
Eyes that could see past and future.
The power to seek revenge.
To rescue its kin.
The moment she arrived at that camp.
She could only cry at what was happening.
Hundreds of Aqua Vulpes pelts laid bare under the sun.
Many young foxes had been killed early to make gloves, small bags.
Aqua Vulpes were confined in small cages, riddled with disease and sores.Because the Aqua Vulpes' fur was water-resistant and difficult to dye, they were forced to eat poison from a young age to change the color of their fur. They were also injected with toxins and forced to breed unnaturally. When they grew up, their bodies were severely damaged, left only to linger until death.
The rage within Amethyst on that day was like an explosion. She slaughtered all those bastards. But it was not enough. Never enough.
Her true Aqua Vulpes form revealed itself. Amethyst transformed into a gigantic fox. At that moment, the Heavenly Demon In Black could not believe his eyes. A Yaoguai Fox as large as a mountain.
One tail... two tails... No... What is this? Countless tails obscured the sky. There must have been a thousand. Her fury had driven Amethyst to evolve. To break through.
Countless Yaoguais at that moment witnessed the sight and knelt down in reverence.
At that time, she was the most powerful existence among the Yaoguais.
A Thousand Tails Fox That Covered The Entire Sky.
Thousand Tails Fox Yaoguai.