Striving for Science C88

The white fox, which had been lazily lying in its cradle, suddenly squeaked and lunged forward. Unfortunately, it was separated from Shen Chang'an by a thick glass wall. Not only could its voice not reach him, but even if it could, Shen Chang'an wouldn't understand its squeaking fox language.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak." Hu Ming kept digging at the wall with his front paws.

Heavenly Dao Lord, help!

Ever since he nearly died in the yao clan's deep pool and inexplicably ended up in a corner of the zoo, rescued by a mother and daughter, he'd been staying at this zoo. His yao core had cracked, and he couldn't transform back into human form for the next few years.

Unable to transform, he dared not return to the Beast yao clan for help, because he didn't know if anyone else besides Elder Pig had secretly colluded with that mysterious person.

He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to wait for the person who saved him and would be killed instead. Thankfully, the zookeeper here was patient, the food prepared for the fox was good, and these humans were particularly easy to seduce. All he had to do was kick his legs, wag his tail, and twitch his ears, and they would squeal with delight.

The only problem was that recently, the zookeeper insisted that he was overweight and wanted to create a new diet for him to help him lose weight healthily.

Hu Ming was extremely dissatisfied with this. He, a young and promising fox yao, was already feeling wronged enough being stuck in this broken place, being watched by humans every day, and now he was being deprived of food by humans?

Truly, a fox fallen into the plains is bullied by humans. These mortals are truly audacious.

Shen Chang'an saw that this chubby fox became very excited and rushed towards them after they appeared. He had to admit that this fox, fat as a pig, was the one they had sent to the police station.

"It seems like it recognizes us?" Shen Chang'an bent down to tease the fox, "Little fox, what are you saying?"

"Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak!"

"Brother Liu, this fox seems very happy to see us, is it saying it misses us?" Shen Chang'an smiled and waved to Hu Ming, "Little fox, we miss you too. It seems like you're living happily in the zoo, you've gotten so fat."

"Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak!"

Shen Chang'an, you big idiot!

"Well, this fox is very intelligent..." Liu Mao had just finished speaking when he heard the fox calling Shen Chang'an an idiot, so he added, "It used to be a bit intelligent?"

"Squeak?"

You're crazy, I, the most handsome fox prince of the Fox Clan, have always been intelligent.

"Let's go after we've seen enough." Dao Nian said expressionlessly, "I see this fox is doing well, you don't need to worry about it anymore."

"Squeak, squeak, squeak, squeak."

What?! It wasn't that our yao clan discovered he was missing and asked Heavenly Dao Lord to find him, but because Shen Chang'an wasn't at ease about him, so he came to the zoo to see him?

Hu Ming felt a mix of emotions. He didn't know whether to lament his own misfortune or to be moved that his rival still cared about him.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

Heavenly Dao Lord, don't leave, this little yao has something important to report.

Dao Nian stopped and looked at him coldly, gesturing for him to continue.

"There are yaos in our clan who have dealings with an unidentified mysterious person, and they... they…"

Hu Ming watched Shen Chang'an, who was lying against the glass wall, grinning foolishly at him. "They seem to have ill intentions towards Shen Chang'an."

Dao Nian's brows furrowed slightly, and he asked with his divine sense, "Who?"

"It's... it's... Elder Pig." Hu Ming knew that concealing this matter would not only be detrimental to him but also to the entire Beast yao race. He couldn't understand why Elder Pig would collude with someone of unknown origin, and he couldn't imagine that Elder Pig would watch him die, even wanting to pin all the blame on him.

Because the most obedient people in the world are the dead, so he should die?

"Who is the one colluding with him?"

"It's... it's..." Hu Ming realized that he not only couldn't remember the mysterious person's appearance, but he couldn't even recall their voice. It was as if he knew there was such a person, but had no other impressions.

Seeing that the fox had been chirping at Dao Nian ever since it saw him, and was acting very docile, Shen Chang'an couldn't help but say, "I never thought that foxes are also creatures who judge by appearance. Seeing that Dao Nian is handsome, it's being particularly enthusiastic towards him."

Liu Mao: "..."

Ignorance is bliss. Chang'an probably doesn't know that his personal safety has been targeted by unknown individuals.

"I understand." Dao Nian glanced at the children around them, who were looking at Hu Ming with a mixture of amazement and joy. "Do you want to stay here or come with me?"

If it had been a few months ago, upon hearing that the Heavenly Dao Lord was going to take him away, he would have been overjoyed and bowed his head in gratitude. But...

The mother and daughter who saved him would come to see him every weekend. If he disappeared with the Master, wouldn't that silly little girl be sad?

And what would he do if he went back now? Watch Elder Pig walk towards his doom, or be suspected by the Beast yao race?

It would be better to stay here quietly for two years. When that little girl grows up, makes more friends, and stops coming here every day, then he would consider leaving.

Actually, eating, sleeping, and not having to worry about cultivation is quite comfortable.

"You don't want to come with me?" Dao Nian saw Hu Ming's hesitation. Although he had developed feelings for Chang'an, he didn't have any extra emotions for other creatures. So he sent a divine sense into Hu Ming's consciousness.

"Since you don't want to come with me, I'll leave a divine thought on you. If you encounter an insurmountable crisis, you can call upon me once." Dao Nian turned his head to look at Shen Chang'an, who was still teasing the fox, and added, "Since Chang'an wants you to live well, then you should live well."

Hu Ming suddenly realized that even the Heavenly Dao Lord's willingness to leave this divine thought was because of Shen Chang'an.

Back then, he was chosen by the Beast yao clan elders and sent to the Heavenly Dao Lord. But from beginning to end, the Lord never even glanced at him.

Even now, the Lord was finally willing to look at him directly, all because of Shen Chang'an.

For a moment, he felt that his past self was absurd and laughable.

He thought his clan was united, but he was just a pawn that Elder Pig could sacrifice for his own benefit. He thought he was talented, but in front of a true master, he couldn't even land a single blow. He thought he was charming, but even a human was better than him.

"This little yao thanks the Heavenly Dao Lord." Hu Ming clasped his two front paws together and bowed to Dao Nian.

"Wow, look, this fox is actually bowing to a person."

"Look over here, look over here, bow to us too."

"Come, come, come, I have a handsome guy here, look over here."

"Nonsense! With that pointy-faced, weaselly look, he's not even worthy of being called handsome. His human form is leagues ahead of him."

"This fox is so smart," Shen Chang'an said, looking at Dao Nian with some envy. "I wish it would bow to me too."

Bah! You want me, this handsome young man, to bow to you? That's impossible, never in a million years!

As soon as he finished his vow, Hu Ming felt his body become unresponsive, and he involuntarily bowed to Shen Chang'an.

And one wasn't enough, he bowed three times before stopping.

Hu Ming: "..."

His long life as a yao had left him with no face left.

"It must be a female fox, otherwise why would it only bow to handsome guys and ignore us?"

Hu Ming: I'm a dashing, charming male fox.

"But this white fox does seem very clever, it has the intelligence of at least a three-year-old."

Hu Ming: Who are you insulting? You're the one with the intelligence of a three-year-old, your whole family, your whole neighborhood!

"Fox-fox!" A slightly chubby little girl squeezed through the crowd and squatted at Shen Chang'an's feet. Her eyes were fixed on Hu Ming. "Fox-fox, I'm here to see you again."

Hu Ming couldn't help but wag his tail when he saw the little girl.

The little girl took off the small yellow duck backpack on her back and pulled out a photo. In the photo, she was wearing a big red flower, her cheeks painted like a monkey's bottom. "This is my performance at the New Year's Day event, isn't it pretty?"

Pretty?

What's wrong with these humans? They take perfectly good children, draw their eyebrows like caterpillars, paint their faces like monkey bottoms, and then cram them all together, making them all look the same.

In front of Dao Nian and Shen Chang'an, Hu Ming tried his best to maintain his aloof demeanor.

"Fox-Fox, why aren't you paying attention to me?" The little fat girl sniffed, tears welling up in her eyes.

Hu Ming: Aaaah, he hated human brats crying the most!

He stiffly turned his head towards the little girl and wagged his tail.

"I knew Fox-Fox still remembers me." The little girl squatted outside the glass wall, muttering to herself. Her mother, worried that adults might step on her, carefully shielded her.

As he extended his arm, the fat girl's mother accidentally bumped into Shen Chang'an's arm, giving him an apologetic smile.

Shen Chang'an shifted to the side, squeezing himself against Dao Nian. Dao Nian glanced at the fat girl's mother's posture and silently reached out, shielding Shen Chang'an in the same way.

Chang'an is also their little cub, someone who needs to be well protected by him.

Hu Ming, witnessing this scene: "..."

Doing this in front of a dejected and depressed fox, isn't that animal abuse?

Foxes belong to the Canidae family, so by rounding up, this is animal cruelty, and we must severely condemn this irresponsible behavior!

Shen Chang'an saw that the little girl next to him was so fond of the fox, and the white fox was plump and healthy at the zoo, not looking like it was being abused at all. So he felt relieved and prepared to take Dao Nian to see other areas of the zoo.

"Dao Nian, let's go see the pandas." Shen Chang'an turned around and bumped into Dao Nian's chest. He only then realized that Dao Nian had been subtly using his arm to create a space for him.

"There are so many kids here, it wouldn't be good if they bumped into someone." Dao Nian casually retracted his arm, "Let's go."

"Yeah." Shen Chang'an walked a few steps beside Dao Nian, turned around and saw a crowd of children outside the white fox exhibition area. He said to Dao Nian, "It seems like kids still prefer fluffy, chubby little creatures."

"What about you?" Dao Nian asked.

"Me?" Shen Chang'an was taken aback. "I like those too."

Dao Nian thought, if Chang'an accidentally discovered his ability to use magic, would he turn into a panda or a fox? Would Chang'an forgive his mistakes for the sake of these cute animals?

"It's a shame the government doesn't assign pandas to people, otherwise I'd really want to raise one," Shen Chang'an said. "So I can only watch panda livestreams to satisfy my cravings."

Outside the panda enclosure, there were already quite a few tourists, both adults and children.

Pandas...

Pandas...

Dao Nian watched Shen Chang'an excitedly pressed against the glass wall, watching the pandas. He had a good idea: what if he told Chang'an that he was actually a panda spirit who had cultivated for ten thousand years?