Chapter 101: What does the fox say?

Kanan stepped forward and placed his hand on the cold soil. Spirit energy extended from his fingers and palm, seeping into the ground and spreading through the dirt like the roots of a plant. "Keep an eye out in case you happen to spot anything nearby, okay?"

"Yes. You can count on me!"

After smiling at Risha and watching her nearly faint from his handsomeness, Kanan closed his eyes to have a better sense of the ground as his spirit energy continued to spread.

He could feel everything: the soil shifting, objects falling onto the ground, water flowing through the soil, and even the bugs roaming around. That last part nearly made him stop, but this was important, so he pushed past his dislike for critters.

’Hmm. I don’t feel anything out of the ordinary. Alue said that it felt as if the Verminus Plant had a mind of its own. I don’t know if I would be able to feel the same thing, but so far, I’m not getting anything.’

"Y-You feel anything?" Risha asked in a whisper, leaning over Kanan’s shoulder as her large boobs pressed against his back.

"No, I can’t sense anything in the ground. Either the plant is out of my range, or I simply can’t feel its presence."

"Really? I can feel that it’s here just fine. Oh, maybe your powers aren’t working well like mine!"

"Risha, we have different powers."

She paused for a second, as if her brain was trying to process what he had just said. "R-Right. I forgot."

"You know, I think I have a way where you could be...more helpful than you already are."

"Seriously? Just say the word, and I’ll do what I can." She puffed out her chest with pride, happy that she could help someone as great as Kanan.

"First, I want you to feel the spirits around us and determine if you can feel them more in the air or in the ground. Can you do that?"

Risha nodded. "That’s easy." She began to manipulate spirit energy in her hands, the green power shifting into multiple forms as she moved her hands in different positions.

Her eyes began to glow a dark shade of green, and when she placed her hands on the ground, a burst of green energy erupted from the ground.

It caused no environmental or personal damage; instead, it looked as if the souls of the dead were escaping their earthly confinement.

"The spirits say that the Verminus Plant is not inside the ground but is on the ground."

"Really?"

"Yes. Oh, and they asked if you could find some blueshroom berries because they are hungry. Or am I hungry? I don’t know. I usually confuse the spirits with the voice in my head."

Now Kanan was starting to worry about Risha. "The voice in your head?"

"Yeah, it’s been there for a long time. Sometimes, when I think too hard, I hear a voice in my head speaking to me as if I’m speaking to myself. It’s scary. There was this one time when I was on the mountain, and the voice in my head told me that if I fell off, I’d die. So I avoided all cliffs on the mountain."

"Risha, those are just your inner thoughts. Everyone has that." Though her puzzled expression told Kanan that she was told otherwise, or at least assumed otherwise.

"T-Then were you also dropped on the head as a child?"

’Ah, all of the nutrients are going to her boobs instead of her brain.’

Kanan turned around and began to spread his spirit energy throughout the forest. He extended it as a dome, catching everything in the vicinity, even if it was on a tree.

He barely knew Risha, but he could already tell that she was the type of person who would say that the sky is connected to the trees, and since the trees are connected to the ground, whatever we were looking for is still on the ground.

His head was already starting to hurt just by thinking about that scenario.

’No, not there. Not there either. Hmm, just animals, and I can’t sense anything wrong with them. Nope, not there. This place is a dead end as well. Oh? I think I got something. A red energy? This is new.’

Every time Kanan used his spirit-enhanced senses, he would look at the blue flames of spirit energy that lurked inside their bodies. This extended to all creatures, no matter their size.

But a red energy was new. Even monsters were marked with a blue flame in their bodies.

"Risha, I think I got something. It’s close by as well."

"Awww, you’re so cute. Want a treat?" Risha asked

"Thanks for the compliment, but I don’t want a treat. And be careful. I sense something weird. It’s close to us, so be on the lookout."

"H-Huh? Were you saying something? I was petting this pretty fox. Look at how cute it is."

"Fox?" Kanan instantly turned around and saw the fox she was talking about. It was rubbing on her leg, then rolled over to get belly pats.

"Isn’t it cute, Kanan? Foxes are usually scared of people, but this one is brave, huh? Oh! That’s an amazing name! I’ll call you brave!"

"Risha, back away from that fox."

Risha pouted, doing as Kanan ordered. "Y-You’re not trying to steal my fox, are you?"

Instead of answering her, Kanan continued to observe the fox. He found many things odd about the creature.

First, its eyes were blank, as if it were dead. No color at all. This only happens when the eye dries up. Second, Kanan could clearly see that one of its legs was broken, yet it was standing and walking perfectly fine.

Third, foxes were timid creatures. No matter how kind and non-threatening a person is, they usually avoid contact with people. Fourth, this fox had that red energy Kanan had sensed.

"Risha, how are the spirits reacting to that fox?"

"Lemme see." Sensing the spirits around the fox, Risha saw that they were actively vanishing from the spot. "I don’t think the spirits like Brave."

"Yeah, I think I don’t like him either." He wasted no time blasting a hole through the animal’s head.