Chapter 9: Soothing the Fox

Yun Fu had always put herself first and would never recklessly put herself in danger for others.

But Lu Shiling’s condition was dire—he was on the brink of a complete mental breakdown, having fully regressed into a fox.

The fox had bright fiery red fur and was trapped in the center of the flames. Yun Fu was even a little worried that the flames Lu Shiling was producing might burn him into a bald fox.

System: “Host, please find a way to soothe Lu Shiling. If anything happens to him, your own health points will be reduced by a quarter.”

Yun Fu: “...You really think highly of me. Do you believe I can soothe him?”

No matter how much Yun Fu complained, she could only calm herself and try to stabilize Lu Shiling’s state.

She recalled the perfume she had obtained from the system, which was said to reduce pollution levels. She wondered if it would work on Lu Shiling in his current state.

Regardless, she had no choice but to try.

Using her handbag as a cover, Yun Fu took out the perfume from the system.

“This can lower pollution levels. You can spray it a few times inside the confinement room and see what happens,” she told Valen.

Valen knew that inhibitors could suppress pollution levels, but he had never heard of perfume having such an effect.

He looked at Yun Fu with a puzzled expression, suspecting that this beautiful female might have been deceived.

[Wait, the female supporting character didn’t carry much perfume when she left. Where did this come from?]

[In this novel, there’s no such thing as perfume that lowers pollution levels. Could she have added some drug to make the fox lose control even more?]

[That’s unlikely. Over the past few days, the female supporting character’s behavior has been strange—less vicious. She hasn’t harmed the Black Dragon or the mermaid, so there’s no reason to harm the fox either.]

[Isn’t it that I suspect the current Yun Fu isn’t the original malicious female supporting character?]

Qin Min lowered his gaze and gave Yun Fu a deep look, then took the perfume from her hand.

“Lu Shiling can’t wait. Open the protective wall. If there’s any accident, I will take responsibility.”

Valen glanced at the confinement room, where the flames surrounding their officer were growing more intense by the moment. If they delayed any longer, the confinement room wouldn’t be able to contain the fire. Gritting his teeth, he pressed a button, opening a gap in the transparent protective wall.

The flames inside surged out in a rush, instantly raising the temperature by over twenty degrees; the air became scorching hot.

Qin Min instructed Valen to take Yun Fu a little farther away, then used his spiritual power to push the flames back inside and swiftly sprayed the perfume.

The perfume landed on the flames, which surprisingly extinguished. The scent spread steadily. Lu Shiling’s eyes, once blazing red with a peak of destructive desire, dimmed slightly, regaining some clarity.

The fox looked up at Qin Min and the perfume in his hand. The flames dancing in the room suddenly snapped out, leaving only scorched walls.

Seeing him regain his senses, Qin Min withdrew his hand and glanced at the bottle—half of the liquid was gone, a hint of regret flashing in his eyes.

“It actually works! Miss Yun, where did you get this?”

Valen rushed over, his eyes shining brightly as he stared at the perfume.

Even an officer like him, a beastman with outrageously high pollution levels, could be calmed down by it.

If their supervision agency had this item, they could save companions who suffered mental breakdowns.

Yun Fu replied, “I obtained it by chance. It’s not for sale, but I can try to replicate it.”

In her original world, Yun Fu had enjoyed researching aromatherapy and essential oil perfumes.

After receiving the perfume from the system, she had smelled it and could discern the materials and proportions used. Reproducing it shouldn’t be too difficult.

Valen’s previously dim expression brightened instantly. Were it not for concern for their officer’s safety, he would have immediately begged Yun Fu to start research.

“If Miss Yun manages to replicate it, please consider selling it to our supervision agency.”

Yun Fu gave a noncommittal nod.

Qin Min’s expression remained unchanged as he returned the perfume to Yun Fu.

She put the bottle away, looking at the fox’s fiery red, beautifully fluffy fur with a bit of an itch to stroke it.

“Is it alright if I go soothe him now?” she asked Qin Min.

Yun Fu had just learned from him how to use spiritual power to soothe beastmen, and with this fox right here, she was eager to test her newfound skills.

“No problem. You’re our female master. He won’t hurt you, and with me here, rest assured,” Qin Min said, gently brushing the stray hair behind Yun Fu’s ear. His pale blue eyes were exceptionally gentle.

Yun Fu’s ear warmed slightly at the touch of his cool fingertips.

Was this flirting? Or was this flirting?

The fox lying in the confinement room glanced at the two and snorted coldly.

A perfectly good mermaid, yet she could be so seductive—and she was seducing Yun Fu, the malicious female. What blind eyes.

The fox flicked its tail, feeling quite pleased with itself.

Unlike this wavering fish, it vowed it would never be swayed by the malicious female Yun Fu. If it didn’t kill her, it wouldn’t be a true beast!

Unaware of the fox’s oath, Yun Fu steeled herself and entered the confinement room, carefully approaching the fox.

“I don’t want your soothing. Get out!” Lu Shiling snapped open his eyes, flicking his furry tail to shoo her away with a fierce tone.

[This fox is so annoying. No matter what, the female supporting character just helped him, yet he still chases her away. What an ungrateful creature.]

[Don’t be intimidated by this furry thing, female supporting character. Go ahead and stroke him bald, teach him a lesson in human cruelty.]

Lu Shiling froze. What was this? His pollution level was too high—was he mentally disordered?

Seeing the fox’s complete rejection of her, she crept closer, nearly bristling.

However, it wasn’t Lu Shiling’s hatred that was unjustified. The original owner had been cruel, having shaved off the fox’s beautiful fur to make a fur shawl, leaving Lu Shiling a bald fox for a time.

Yun Fu loved the smooth, shiny, beautiful fur, let alone Lu Shiling himself, so it was no wonder the original owner was so disliked.

Yun Fu needed to live with several beast husbands, so this hatred had to be eradicated.

But she had no desire to flatter or grovel like Fu Xiao, so she could only overwrite their poisonous impressions of the original owner and build new memories of herself.

“You think I want to come here? I just don’t want my beast husband to be burned bald. A beast husband’s appearance reflects on his female master. No matter what, you have to keep up appearances.”

Yun Fu spoke, feeling Lu Shiling’s anger flare as he flicked his tail at her.

Yun Fu released her spiritual form—a snowy white jellyfish stretching out its tentacles—and flicked a seed-shaped blow to the fox’s head.

Lu Shiling was stunned.

“You have spiritual power now?”

Yun Fu: “Otherwise, do you think my soothing words were fake?”

Lu Shiling said nothing. He had indeed thought it was fake—a trick Yun Fu used to coax him.

Yun Fu ignored him, placing her hand on the fox’s forehead, focusing her attention and releasing spiritual power, sending tendrils of it deep into Lu Shiling’s mental realm.

Her spiritual jellyfish entered Lu Shiling’s mindscape, and from its perspective, she saw a space engulfed by countless flames.

There, the red-furred fox was wounded all over, trapped in the sea of fire, whimpering pitifully.