Volume 1, Chapter 61 – Mingzhao City

The days in the Fox Palace were peaceful and fleeting.

Time passed like flowing water.

If before, Song Shiyuan’s days in the Fox Palace were no different from being in prison, ever since the little fox demon began keeping her company, she was startled to discover how swiftly time flew by.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Song Shiyuan noticed that the Fox Palace seemed livelier than usual.

“On the day of the Flower Festival, the Fox Palace gates will also open. On this day, the maidservants in the Fox Palace are allowed to leave and attend the lantern festival in Mingzhao City,” Ming Zhaoxi explained, noticing Song Shiyuan’s confusion.

“On this day, the Fox Palace maidservants don’t need to work. It’s a rare holiday for them.”

Lu Zhuxin had picked up on Song Shiyuan’s confusion and was explaining the setting to her.

She wasn’t even sure if that’s how it actually worked. That’s just what the setting said.

“I see.” Song Shiyuan nodded.

This was also a rule established by that brutal Fox Monarch?

How surprising. That Fox Monarch, known for her ferocity, actually had such a humane side.

“Come, Song Shiyuan,” Lu Zhuxin said. “I’ll take you out.”

Song Shiyuan nodded.

Lu Zhuxin smiled faintly. She leaned forward and gently kissed Song Shiyuan’s neck.

The warm breath against Song Shiyuan’s jade neck made her heart race a little.

Although they had confirmed their relationship, in reality, the little fox demon didn’t get very close to her most of the time.

Because Lu Zhuxin had established those ground rules earlier, Song Shiyuan didn’t dare take the initiative to get close to the little fox demon either.

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This resulted in Song Shiyuan being able to be intimate with the little fox demon only a handful of times over these past few days.

At most, she could only hug her, hold her, and touch her little hands.

They hadn’t kissed even once.

This left Song Shiyuan feeling a bit dejected.

She could sense that the little fox demon clearly enjoyed being close to her, yet for some reason, she was no longer willing to initiate intimacy.

Perhaps it was because she had gone too far that day when she pinned the little fox demon down on the bed.

That was the only reason Song Shiyuan could think of.

After a long moment, Lu Zhuxin finally withdrew from Song Shiyuan’s neck.

She saw that the little junior martial sister’s cheeks were already covered in a rosy flush.

Oh! She acts like a hungry wolf in bed, but outside she’s so innocent?

It’s not like this was their first kiss.

“Let’s go,” the little fox demon said cheerfully.

Song Shiyuan touched the metal collar around her neck. She could feel that the restraining force from the collar had completely withdrawn.

She didn’t know what the little fox demon had done, but this time, the pheromone mark seemed far more effective than before.

The two left the Fox Palace together.

Even after leaving the Fox Palace completely, Song Shiyuan still felt somewhat dazed.

Had she really just left the Fox Palace that had imprisoned her for several months?

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And so easily, without her even needing to do anything.

Until now, Song Shiyuan still had a sense of unreality about it all.

Only when she glanced at the little fox demon beside her did that feeling of unreality finally get dispelled by a gentle warmth in her heart.

No matter what, time spent with her little fox demon was always happy.

These past few days, even if Song Shiyuan did nothing but watch her, she would never feel bored.

“What’s wrong? Spacing out again,” Lu Zhuxin reached out and poked Song Shiyuan’s cheek. “You’re out playing with Axi, but you keep getting distracted. Do you have some complaint about Axi?”

“No… it’s just that I’ve been in the Fox Palace for so long, and suddenly coming outside, I feel a bit unaccustomed to it,” Song Shiyuan explained.

She reached out and grasped the little fox demon’s small hand, as if holding a piece of precious jade.

“But as long as I’m with you, I’ll be happy,” Song Shiyuan said gently.

“Mmm…”

Lu Zhuxin discovered that over these past few days, Song Shiyuan’s ability to say sweet words had improved rapidly.

Sometimes she found herself unable to handle it.

She’s clearly a smut novel female lead, so how is she better at this than romance novel leads?

…

“This is Mingzhao City, the fox clan’s greatest city!”

Even after following the little fox demon all the way into the city, Song Shiyuan remained immersed in the shock of seeing this city for the first time.

As a righteous path disciple, what she most often heard was various sect elders describing how brutal and savage the demon realm races were, how desolate and unbearable the demon realm’s environment was.

Fierce and ugly demons living in desolate, crumbling earthen cities.

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That was Song Shiyuan’s initial imagination of the demon races’ major cities.

The prosperous city before her eyes completely shattered her preconceptions.

This wasn’t some earthen city situated in the wilderness! This was clearly an incredibly prosperous super metropolis!

Song Shiyuan even wondered whether the human realm’s imperial capital could be this prosperous.

As the fox clan’s first major city where the World-Ending Fox Monarch presided, it was indeed equivalent to the fox clan’s capital.

The main thoroughfare, 10 meters wide, ran through the entire city district. At a glance, the avenue was filled with flowing traffic like water and horses like dragons.

Even with Song Shiyuan’s Fourth Realm cultivation level eyesight, she couldn’t see the end of this road.

Though this was the fox clan’s main city, along the way, Song Shiyuan also saw large numbers of people from other races.

Mighty tiger clan members, burly bear clan members, fierce wolf clan members… various demon realm races were all present…

Song Shiyuan even thought she glimpsed members of the most mysterious dragon clan in the demon realm.

Of course, besides the various demon realm races, what was most numerous in the main city was actually…

“Are there really this many humans in the demon realm too?”

Song Shiyuan was astonished. She had originally thought that her appearance as a sword cultivator together with the little fox demon would stand out in the city, like a crane among chickens.

Only after arriving here did she discover that humans like her were the most inconspicuous presence in the main city.

Of course, their outstanding appearances still drew countless people’s gazes.

Lu Zhuxin smiled.

As the Fox Monarch, walking through the fox clan’s main city, she wasn’t at all worried about being recognized.

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The World-Ending Demon Monarch hadn’t appeared publicly in a thousand years. Those who knew her could be counted on one hand.

In Mingzhao City, probably only the high-ranking administrators of the main city could recognize Lu Zhuxin.

Lu Zhuxin looked at Song Shiyuan with the kind of gaze one would use on a country bumpkin.

“Shiyuan, do you know what race in this world is best at commerce and trade?”

“Is it… the fox clan?” Song Shiyuan wasn’t certain.

“It’s the human race and the fox clan,” Lu Zhuxin said.

This was also part of the setting. As for why, Lu Zhuxin hadn’t written that.

“The fox clan isn’t skilled at combat. In terms of racial strength within the demon realm’s hundred races, they can only rank in the middle tier.”

“But the fox clan, with such a weak constitution, was able to ascend to become one of the four strongest clans in the demon realm.”

“What you see before you, this is what the fox clan relies on!”

Song Shiyuan was deeply shocked. It was as if she was learning about this extremely special race for the first time.

In the human lands, whether among cultivators or in the mortal world, descriptions of fox demons were always one-sided and uniform.

In the understanding she had previously encountered, fox demons were always synonymous with “lust and desire.” Whenever fox demons appeared in records or descriptions, they were always associated with such things.

But at this moment, Song Shiyuan felt she was finally encountering another side of this race that she had previously misunderstood.

“What’s wrong? Getting all serious again?” the silver-haired little fox demon said. “Axi brought you out to play today, so don’t keep such a stern face!”

“Alright.” Song Shiyuan smiled. “What shall we play?”

This prosperous fox clan’s main city made this little junior martial sister of the sword sect, who had lived in seclusion cultivating on Lingxiao Sword Sect’s snowy mountains for years, feel the rare desire to have fun.