Chapter 136: The Fox with a Severed Tail

Upon arriving in City A, Wen Qian and the Little Fox went straight to the prison.

Wen Qian sat quietly in the waiting room. When her number was called, she immediately stood up.

The Little Fox stared quietly at her back, his eyes empty. After a long moment, he clasped his hands together. For some unknown reason, a flicker of sorrow returned to his brow.

He felt little about being separated from relatives after so long; the very word "family" was foreign to him.

He had wondered what sort of joyful expression Wen Qian would wear upon seeing her adoptive mother. He’d even practiced in the mirror the night before, trying to figure out how he should act to make it seem plausible.

But now that they were here, he realized Wen Qian was far too calm.

So calm it was as if she were meeting a total stranger...

’Still, compared to my own wretched past, at least there are some feelings involved, right?’

The Fox Clan, unlike the Tiger Clan, was ruled by a single king.

Although the Little Fox was of the Fox King’s blood, he wasn’t favored within the family due to his mother’s humble status.

Yet, of all his siblings, he was born the most beautiful, and he had been ostracized for it since childhood.

His mother constantly harped on about his looks, telling him to keep a low profile and not wander about. The Fox Clan prided itself on beauty, yet he was forced to be ashamed of his, even deliberately making himself look ugly at his mother’s insistence...

Yet even then, as soon as his mother gave birth to his younger brother, she had him adopted by another one of the fox concubines.

That fox concubine was a vicious woman. Jealous that her own children were not as beautiful as the Little Fox, she seized on the excuse of him spilling a cup of tea that very day and had one of his tails severed.

Members of the Fox Clan grow a new tail every three years after reaching adulthood. But the Little Fox was now twenty years old, and he still had only a single tail...

The Fox Clan’s hierarchy was based on the number of one’s tails. The Little Fox, a descendant of the nine-tailed line, had only one—just like a common, non-sapient red fox.

At this thought, the youth’s gaze darkened. He was a symbol of shame for the Fox Clan. For him, what did it matter whether he returned to the Beast World or not?

He had lost his home the moment he fled the Fox Clan, unable to bear the humiliation any longer.

His birth mother could never have imagined it. Not two years after she sent him away, the Fox Clan welcomed a new Fox King.

’When she came to me for refuge, clutching my younger brother, did she regret it as much as she had regretted giving birth to me in the first place?’

Qi Ke’s eyes were half-closed. The drink he cupped in his hands had long gone cold. A few soft strands of his hair brushed against his brow.

The hatred that had built up in his heart began to dissipate, and along with it, so did any love or hope.

The youth closed his eyes, listening to the wind howl outside. In that moment, a sudden weariness washed over him.

...

When it was Wen Qian’s turn, she instantly recognized the beautiful, elegant woman on the other side of the glass.

She looked the same as ever, her expression a picture of gentle grace.

But as Wen Qian superimposed that gentle image onto her horrific memories, she felt a sudden daze.

"Have you been well?" The stiff pleasantry escaped Wen Qian’s lips.

The woman on the other side of the glass was stunned for a moment, then smiled and nodded. After gazing at Wen Qian for a long while, she replied in a low voice, "I’m doing fine."

Though the voice was familiar, it sounded utterly foreign to Wen Qian.

After regaining her memories, hazy emotions had gradually sharpened. For a moment, she had no idea how to face the woman before her.

Joy and pain warred within her. She couldn’t tell which was stronger—the love or the hate.

Her adoptive mother had used her to harm countless Beastmen, then imprisoned her at home, nearly driving her insane.

But she had also raised her for many years, clothed and fed her well, and had even offered her companionship like any ordinary mother...

So in a way, her adoptive mother didn’t owe her anything.

And Wen Qian, in turn, had long since repaid that kindness.

"Do you remember the fragment I gave you?" She lowered her gaze, her voice quiet. After a moment, she added, "I want it back."

Her adoptive mother was stunned for a moment. A slightly hoarse voice came through the receiver. "Why bring that up all of a sudden..."

"I remember everything. The Beastmen..."

The woman watched Wen Qian in silence. She had known all along that Wen Qian had lost her memory. Even without anyone telling her, she could tell something was off just from the look in her eyes and the things she said.

She had changed. She was no longer hostile and on edge, and she never brought up the Beastmen.

"Aren’t you surprised?" Wen Qian asked, watching her.

"Qianqian, I already know... But can you tell me, what do you need the fragment for?"

Wen Qian was a little surprised by her reaction, but she answered truthfully, "I want to help the Beastmen."

"No, you can’t..."

"Qianqian, you can’t get involved in this... It’s not something a child can handle."

The woman’s knuckles turned white from how hard she was gripping the receiver.

"I’m an adult, not a child." Wen Qian frowned. "I also know you and my adoptive father were experimenting on the Beastmen. I can’t change what happened in the past, but right now, I just want to know where the fragment is."

At the coldness in her voice, the woman pressed her lips together, her hand on the receiver trembling. She wanted to hang up but couldn’t bear to cut off contact with the "daughter" she hadn’t seen in so long.

Wen Qian saw her intention, and her brow tightened. She lowered her voice. "The Beastmen don’t belong here. They aren’t animals. I refuse to believe you don’t know that."

’You could use the Critical Stone to make potions that forced animals to take human form.’

’You knew how to use me to lure Beastmen and capture them...’

’So how could you possibly not know that these Beastmen are different from animals?’

"What you were doing was murder."

"Or was this the result you wanted all along?"

"You killed so many Beastmen. Aren’t you afraid?"

The hand holding the receiver trembled even more violently.

As Wen Qian spoke to her in that tone, her greatest fear wasn’t the accusation, but that her "daughter" would break ties with her for good and never visit again.

They weren’t related by blood, but she had to admit, the early days after bringing her home were some of the few times in recent years she’d felt truly happy.

Perhaps it was because her husband was still with her back then. Beyond just money, she had fame, fortune, and love. She possessed everything she had ever craved, including a sweet, adorable daughter.

Back then, she wanted for nothing.

But then everything changed. Those people came to their door, inviting her and her husband to participate in a research project, claiming it was all for the sake of Blue Star.

She believed them and selflessly dedicated years of her life.

Although she spent less and less time with her daughter, her career flourished and her wealth grew... As countless new potions were developed, she grew ever more greedy.

She even set her sights on her own adopted daughter—and the pendant she had arrived with.

She discovered the pendant Wen Qian wore was special; it always attracted Beastmen who hadn’t yet taken human form. She tried asking for it, and Wen Qian readily gave her a piece.

That was when she changed her mind. She wanted Wen Qian to keep wearing her own fragment, to help her lure in even more Beastmen...