Chapter 354: Episode 33.5 Tale Of The Celestial Fox Spirit
"It happened at the height of a long, merciless winter. The world was locked in famine, every creature gnawing at hunger’s bone. Deep in the forest where our young fox spirit prowled, beasts turned savage—claw against claw, fang against fang—for even the smallest scrap of food.
Ordinary humans, of course, had the good sense to stay far, far away from the beasts’ territory in such a season. Step one foot inside, and you weren’t a guest—you were dinner.
So imagine the fox spirit’s shock when, one bleak morning, he caught sight of not one, but two young humans wandering through his hunting grounds. Two reckless little morsels, practically begging to be eaten." Shen Yuan’s clear voice continued to narrate.
Yanyan peeked through the blanket. "Did they eat them?"
Bai Tingfeng also looked at Shen Yuan as though begging for an answer.
The celestial fox spirit rolled his eyes so discreetly that only Bai Tingfeng caught it. "The thing is," he began with a dramatic sigh, "humans were never exactly on the menu for that young fox spirit. You have to understand—skin care and hygiene weren’t a thing back then. To him, humans were... well, crusty. Smelly. Ugly, even. Definitely not worth ruining your digestion over."
He waved a hand dismissively. "And those two brats? Eight and fourteen years old, malnourished to the bone. Not even an appetizer."
Yanyan shivered and pulled the blanket to his chin. "Fox spirits are scary..."
Shen Yuan’s expression softened immediately. "Not really! Fox spirits are actually soft-hearted, you know. That’s why this one left them alone."
"But Daddy, that’s not good either," Yanyan countered, his little brows furrowing. "It’s freezing. The children must have been cold and hungry."
Something flickered in Shen Yuan’s eyes. That exact thought had crossed his mind, once upon a time. But back then... compassion for mortals wasn’t something he’d yet learned.
"Well," Shen Yuan continued, lowering his voice, "whether out of boredom or curiosity, the fox spirit decided to watch them. From the shadows, hidden by his powers, he spied on the two as they huddled inside a damp cave. They were rubbing two pathetic little sticks together, again and again, like squirrels with a death wish." He ruffled Yanyan’s hair with a sly smile. "Do you know what they were trying to do?"
"Make fire?" Yanyan guessed.
Bai Tingfeng, traitorously helpful, whispered the same answer.
Shen Yuan nodded. "Correct. Fire. But at that time, the fox spirit had no idea what fire meant to humans. He’d only seen animals, and animals didn’t care about such things. He himself had his own fox fire—why would he imagine others struggled to create it? So he watched. He watched them grit their teeth, blister their palms, and stubbornly coax life from two damp sticks."
His voice dropped into a hushed beat. "It wasn’t until a tiny spark leapt into the darkness, fragile and miraculous, that he realized what he’d been witnessing. The older child’s effort gave spark to the wood."
"They successfully created fire?" Yanyan happily yapped.
Bai Tingfeng smiled bitterly. This story is grounded in reality. There is no way that wet wood will catch fire in the middle of winter.
"No, it was a false hope." Shen Yuan said.
"Oh no." Yanyan sank deeper.
"Indeed, oh no," Shen Yuan seconded. "With their efforts wasted, the children could only cry bitterly. Is this the end for us? Are we going to freeze to death? Those must be their thoughts as their snot runs down their nose. They basically gave up on their around that time. But who would have guessed that because of the spark they desperately struggled to create and their tears, someone decided to lend a hand."
"The fox spirit decided to give them fire?!"
"The fox spirit lit up their wet wood with his bright, orange flame," Shen Yuan nodded to his son. "But not out of the kindness of his heart. He was thoroughly entertained by the children’s strong will to live. The children made the fox spirit realize that he loved seeing hope in humans’ eyes."
"He gave them fire because he doesn’t like seeing the fire in their eyes die." Shen Yuan said profoundly. "So, he lit up an actual fire to keep a philosophical fire burning."
"Then the children celebrated the fox spirit for being their savior?!" Yanyan chirped, hopeful.
Shen Yuan’s facial muscles twitched. See? This is why he said he doesn’t have any good bedtime stories. The stories he had are not conducive to a good night’s sleep.
But he still said the truth, "No. The little shits are peeved seeing a fox with three tails and can spit fire."
"Language," Bai Tingfeng cleared his throat.
"Sorry," Shen Yuan sighed. "They both fainted in shock. And the fox spirit left the cave. He decided to keep watching the children from afar."
Yanyan pouted his lips. "Now, I feel bad for the fox spirit."
Shen Yuan smirked at his husband. "Well, don’t be. The fox spirit didn’t make a big deal out of those children’s reaction. He watched over the kids for the entirety of their stay until those two walked back to civilization. For him, those children are like the Kardashians. He was just hanging around to watch them breathe, eat, poop and scratch their butts."
"But still..." Yanyan is still bummed. Shen Yuan massaged his son’s leg, causing the boy to start feeling sleepy.
"Well, don’t be too bitter about it. This encounter ultimately changed the fox spirit’s life forever." Shen Yuan said, smiling at the nostalgia. "The fox spirit was late to realize that he actually saved someone important. "Those children are actually blessed by the heavens, and they are destined to build a great empire under the heavens."
"Saving their lives gave the fox spirit great merit. As a reward, the heavens allowed him to wield the strongest fire in nature. The blue fire."
"Whoa!" Yanyan’s eyes went wide. His sleepiness went away momentarily. "Just like your fire, Daddy?"
"Just like my fire," Shen Yuan kissed his boy’s forehead.
"Wow!" Yanyan gushed again. "What happened to the fox spirit after that?"
Shen Yuan and Bai Tingfeng exchanged a look.
"Well," Shen Yuan murmured, idly combing his fingers through Yanyan’s hair. Story time had stretched far longer than he intended, and now his little boy’s eyes were heavy-lidded, fluttering between wakefulness and dreams. The gentle strokes of Shen Yuan’s hand, paired with his soft, melodic voice, lulled him closer to sleep with every breath.
"With such powerful fire at his command, the fox spirit lived with ease for many years. His fondness for humans only grew, and eventually, he even settled near them. By the time he reached a thousand years old, his fur turned pure white—a symbol of his purity. That was when he ascended to the heavens, where he spent his days... still kicking plenty of ass."
Bai Tingfeng smirked, voice warm with mischief. "And what about now?"
Shen Yuan’s lips curved into a sly smile. "Now? He got scammed into pregnancy by the very human he chose to love."
But before Bai Tingfeng could quip back, Shen Yuan noticed the soft rhythm of their son’s breathing. Yanyan was already fast asleep, curled in his embrace.
The celestial fox spirit’s gaze lingered fondly on their boy before flicking to his husband. His voice dropped to a low murmur.
"You think Yanyan knows it was me?"
Bai Tingfeng hummed. "Well, he was too young to realize the parallels. But he will connect the dots once he grows up— that is, if you didn’t intend to tell him about your background yet."
Shen Yuan bit his lip. He will need to take time before he confesses his real identity to his son.
Judging from Shen Yuan’s expression, Bai Tingfeng knew the decision. He just nodded his head in understanding.
He just moved on to the question that he’s been keeping to himself, "So, when did your need for human essence start?"
Without thinking, Shen Yuan answered promptly. "After I turned into a celestial fox spirit. Several sacrifices must be made for me to complete my ascension. One of them was my physical body. And since then, I must need to find a body that will serve as a vessel for me to stay in the mortal world."
"So, how many times did you occupy a body?" Bai Tingfeng asked.
"I don’t know— wait," Shen Yuan paused answering. "I think I know where you are heading. Are you sure you wanted to know? This is a slippery slope. You might end up sleeping outside— this time, in your own volition."
Bai Tingfeng’s face looked sour. Shen Yuan was right. He is not ready to hear about that colorful past of his thousands-year-old husband.
He will never be ready because he is a jealous husband!
Just the thought of other men touching his husband— it’s in a different body— is enough to make him turn into a rabid dog.
Just imagining his husband milking...
"Damn it!" Bai Tingfeng snappily got off the bed without disturbing Yanyan’s sleep. Sometimes, his martial arts mastery is really helpful.
"Hey!" Shen Yuan blurted out, lost at the sudden move of his husband. But the surprise for him didn’t end there, because Bai Tingfeng went to him and carried him out of the bed.
"Ao?" Yangyang the panda looked at the couple, concerned. It’s already night. Why are these two monstrous humans so restless?
"From now on, you will only milk me and only me!"
Shit! Shen Yuan’s getting his "D" tonight!