A Fox's Story (I)

"Save it, I'm not a little girl that can be fooled like that." Jasmine didn't believe him.

She felt annoyed but she also found this shadow fox's confidence refreshing. He was a bit slow in the head but he was pretty funny. His human form wasn't that good looking compared to other humans she'd seen but his fox form was quite dashing. She didn't know why but she found his demeanor disarming and his presence comforting.

Chen Wentian wasn't kidding and he really did want to save her. He wanted to know more about her so he a few basic questions which she answered straightforwardly.

Jasmine was over five hundred years old though she didn't know her exact age. He Zicheng was indeed the one that captured her and imprisoned her down here but Chen Wentian was surprised when she told him she had only been imprisoned for about two months.

"Where did you stay before you were captured?" He asked.

"With my adoptive father." Jasmine said, a frown forming on her face. "But he died..."

A few gears clicked into place in Chen Wentian's head, "Wait... is he Immortal Mamba of Shadow?"

Jasmine nodded. She saw his face was filled with shock and disbelief so she explained further.

"Zhuge Kang had many names; Snake Lord, Immortal Mamba of Shadow, and adoptive father. My first memory was seeing his face and he was the only family I've ever known. In the beginning, I couldn't speak or turn into my human form. Instead, I simply ate and slept. I was happy that adoptive father would feed me and take care of me. I guess he thought of me as a pet. He knew something was amiss due to my long lifespan and that I kept slowly increasing my cultivation while doing nothing. The other lords were also curious but my adoptive father was very protective and never let them touch me."

"When I reached the Mind Focusing Realm, I gained the ability to speak. Adoptive father was surprised but delighted. By the Spirit Initiate Realm, I was able to turn into my human form. He was jubilant, not because I was an origin beast but because he had gained a daughter. He treated me just like his own daughter and it was a wonderful time. The years passed liked a blur."

Jasmine smiled wistfully as she recalled the memories. Chen Wentian listened silently, taking in her expressions as she told her story. It seemed like Immortal Mamba of Shadow really wasn't a bad guy. But then again, not everyone could be an asshole like He Zicheng.

"He kept all of this a secret from his family and friends. To them I was merely a fox with a weirdly long lifespan. That all changed fifteen years ago... I broke through. I didn't know how it happened. One day, I went to take a nap after lunch and I woke up with two tails and I was at the Spirit Lord Realm."

She looked up to see Chen Wentian's reaction but he merely shrugged.

"What? Five hundred years is actually pretty slow to get your second tail." He said.

"You!" Jasmine puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.

"Sorry, sorry. Please continue."

Jasmine still looked irritated but she proceeded with her story.

Inevitably, her breakthrough alerted the other two lords as well as the other immortals in the Beast God Sanctum. They managed to hide her existence from the common people but she was no longer a secret within the highest ranks of the sect.

With her two tails, she also could no longer hide her status as a divine beast. This caused a huge conflict between the three lords. The other two wanted to use her and research ways to increase their cultivation but Zhuge Kang thought of her as his daughter and he flatly refused. This inevitably broke down their brotherhood that had stood for hundreds of years.

Chen Wentian understood completely. Humans were frightening and they became insatiable demons in the presence of divine beast. Divine beasts were powerful but they were not invincible. They could be killed and their dead bodies could provide priceless cultivation resources. He also had a nagging suspicion that origin and divine beasts could be used as dual cultivation cauldrons, especially for beast arts cultivators.

Jasmine indirectly gave his hypothesis more credence as she described how her emergence also fractured the Snake Lord's own faction. Zhuge Kang openly treated Jasmine as his daughter in his household and this alienated his wives and children. His most talented son Zhuge Ming, who was a Spirit Lord immortal, desired Jasmine and asked to marry her. The Snake Lord flat out refused and even threatened to disown him.

"I suspect that this episode left a dark mark in Zhuge Ming's heart." Jasmine said. "This ultimately led him to betray adopted father. Qu Shen and He Zicheng gradually brought Zhuge Ming to their side over the years. They came up with a plan to lure me out of Snake Castle and I was captured. My adoptive father tried to fight for me but he had been secretly poisoned. He fell against the combined strength of the other two."

"Zhuge Ming's work?" Chen Wentian asked.

Jasmine nodded.

"Where is Zhuge Ming now?"

"Dead." Jasmine said simply, "Qu Shen and He Zicheng couldn't leave him alive."

"So then, how did Qu Shen and He Zicheng get into it with each other afterwards?"

"Oh that... I suppose He Zicheng betrayed Qu Shen at the last moment and put me inside Lion castle and out of reach. I've only seen He Zicheng's ugly face down here and never Qu Shen."

Chen Wentian felt this was reasonable. Greed led two sworn brothers to betray the third so they might as well take it all the way. Jasmine also explained that the three lords had a spiritual oath between them that prevented them from attacking each other's families and followers within Beast God City. However, they found a loophole where they could forcibly transfer the oath to a direct blood descendant who was also an immortal. Zhuge Ming probably didn't expect that doing so would doom his entire faction. He assumed that the two lords had finally accepted him as the new Snake Lord when they transferred the oath but in reality, those two had already decided to wipe out the Snake faction.

Jasmine became melancholy and quiet as Chen Wentian told her about the destruction of the Snake faction. From what He Xingping knew, the other three immortals under the Snake Lord managed to escape but everyone else was wiped out. Fresh tears welled in her eyes and threatened to overflow as he described the empty Snake Castle, abandoned and ransacked.

"Hey Jasmine... It's not your fault."

"Of course, it's my fault!" She snapped at him, tears flying, "It's all my fault... Why did I have to break through? I could have just been a nice little fox by adoptive father's side. But I ruined everything. I killed him... I was the one that killed him..."

Chen Wentian couldn't find any words that could comfort her as he watched her cry out her emotions. His heart went out to her as he couldn't imagine what she was feeling. She was just an innocent divine beast but everywhere she turned, she was met with the brutality of human desire and selfishness. She had lost everything she knew and loved in the last five hundred years.

He stayed by Jasmine's side even though she refused to talk anymore. He still had plenty of time. He knew from his shadow anchors as well as He Xingping that He Zicheng would not be back this night.

He eventually had an idea and turned back into his shadow fox form. He created a raised bed out of shadow so he was at the same height as her.

"Jasmine, let me tell you a story about a little shadow fox..."