After reading her stats, her breaths become shallow as she drifts off to sleep in Xu Hao’s arms. Noticing the sleeping fox cub, he smiles and continues walking through the forest towards a nearby path that leads to his vilge. The only reason you can tell that it's a path is because the trees have been cleared in a straight line to allow easier navigation, and there are footprints in the snow from his earlier trip to camp.

  As the two approach the vilge, dim lights can be seen in the distance. Drawing closer, more details of the vilge come into view. There is a poorly maintained stone wall about 10 feet (3.05 m) tall surrounding the vilge to protect it from any nearby beasts that may roam the forest. Across the stone wall are evenly pced dimly lit nterns. Most of the trees in a 50-foot (15.24 m) radius from the wall protecting the vilge have been chopped down in favor of visibility.

  Xu Hao walks towards the gate to the vilge. Standing next to and guarding the gate is a lone guard in shabby gear. Noticing Xu Hao approaching, he smiles and decides to greet him.

  “Hey, how was hunting today? Catch anything good?” he says, waving his hand at the approaching Xu Hao.

  “It went well, I captured 2 rabbits today! Though, they were repurposed… so, I have not brought home any food.”

  As Xu Hao approaches, the guard realizes he is carrying something in his arms. Looking at him skeptically, he decides to ask about it.

  “Oh really? Then what do you have there? Looks mighty tasty to me.” The guard pyfully licks his lips, teasing Xu Hao, knowing very well he wouldn't want to eat a fox cub.

  Surprised at his comment, Xu Hao protectively holds Han Xi close to his chest. “This little cub isn't food! Besides, there is not really much to eat anyway.”

  The guard ughs loudly and then pats Xu Hao on the shoulder as he stops in front of him. He takes a closer look at the still napping fox cub and gently strokes the fur on her head. “Yeah, I know you wouldn't want to eat such a cute fox like this. You're bringing it back to take care of it, right? It must be hurt pretty bad to be covered in this much blood.”

  “Well, something like that. I believe this little one might be special and worth looking after.” Truthfully, he has no idea why she is covered in so much blood. While carrying her, he wasn't able to find any injuries on her body, and she is just a fox cub. He has a hard time believing she managed to kill another animal or beast rge enough to produce this much blood on her own.

  “If you say so, it must be true. Anyway, gd you made it back alright. Please enter.” says the guard as he opens the gate, showing Xu Hao to enter the vilge.

  As he walks through the gate, the full vilge comes into view. The ground has been completely cleared of all snow, leaving rugged dirt and grass terrain in its pce. The houses were all made of weathered down wood and stone, made with the most basic of materials. Despite being worn down, there is nothing structurally wrong with any of the buildings, they simply aren't properly maintained. The vilge is lit up with mp posts with lighting fixtures simir to those surrounding the vilge walls, leaving the dirt roads through the vilge dimly lit.

  Xu Hao advances down the dimly lit road, eventually stopping in front of a house. Facing this house, he steals his resolve and prepares for death. ‘Lei Yue is going to kill me for not bringing home any food.’ He shudders thinking about the punishment he may face.

  ‘Even worse, I brought a fox cub home with me without consulting her. But once she sees how smart she is, surely she'll make an exception!’ Feeling a little more confident in his decision to bring the fox cub home, he gently nudges the fox cub awake. “Time to wake up Miss Han Xi.” he says now gently caressing the fur on her head. “We are about to enter my residence, and there will likely be yelling once I do so. I thought it's best to wake you here instead.”

  Han Xi groggily wakes up from her nap, looking up at Xu Hao. ‘Huh, it's morning already? Wait, no, it's still dark out. Oh right, that human was bringing me back to his vilge.’ Looking around, she realizes they are standing outside a house. ‘I suppose we are already here. Wait, did he say something about yelling? Why will there be yelling? That means there will be someone else in the house?’ she thinks to herself, slightly concerned about meeting another human.

  ‘I'm sure I'll be fine. He seems to be a nice person and I doubt whoever he associates with can be all that bad.’ she thinks to herself, nodding at Xu Hao indicating she is ready.

  Before they could even open the door, a woman's voice can be heard yelling from the other side. “Xu Hao, get your ASS in here! I know you're outside, hesitating!”

  “Lei Yue is already pretty mad. This is not good. Please, prepare yourself, little one.” he said quietly so Lei Yue could not hear him.

  “Little one!? Get in here NOW unless you wish to court a fate worse than death!” she screams nearly at the top of her lungs. By now, some neighbors have already peeked out of their front doors and are watching the current scene unfold. They are used to Lei Yue’s temper, but tolerate it as despite her temper, she is actually quite a caring person.

  Finalizing his resolve, he opens the door to the house. Standing in front of him, not even giving him the chance to enter before he can defend himself, stands a woman with dark blonde hair and blue eyes. Her facial expression can only be described with a single word, rage.

  “Where in the HEAVENS have you been?! Do you see how te it is?! Do you even realize how hungry I am from waiting for you to return all day long?! You are well aware that you are supposed to be back BEFORE it gets dark out, and here you are, showing up while it's pitch bck outside now!” She fires a barrage of words, not even giving Xu Hao the chance to retort any of her questions. Even if he did try to defend himself, he has come home with absolutely no food, and now another mouth to feed. No excuse will save him from her wrath.

  ‘Holy shit, is this what he comes home to every day? Maybe my den isn't so bad after all…’ Shuddering, she now wishes she was back in her safe den in the snowy forest. At least there, no scary dies would yell in her direction.

  “I-I’m sorry, Lei Yue, I was preoccupied with a bit of a situation. See, I found this fox cub in the forest an-” Before Xu Hao even has the chance to finish his sentence, Lei Yue starts screaming yet again.

  “So THIS is the little one you were referring to?! Well, it's absolutely beautiful, but It's covered in blood.” Taking a deep breath, she calms her temper a little, not wanting to scare the fox cub much more. Giggling can be heard all around from the other houses as neighbors enjoy watching Xu Hao getting ripped into. It's not that they hate Xu Hao; quite the opposite. Ever since he moved to this vilge several years back, he has been extraordinarily helpful to everyone in the vilge. They just enjoy watching Lei Yue rip into him.

  “Yes, she is, which is why I’d like to give her a bath. Would you mind if we talk about food after I take care of her?” He starts to walk inside the house and closes the door behind him. All the neighbors make a disappointed sigh and close their doors, realizing the show is most likely over.

  “Fine, take care of the fox first, and then we will finish our little discussion~.” Lei Yue walks towards and sits down at a table, patiently waiting for Xu Hao to finish what he needs to do. While most would think that he is about to get away with little scolding, only Xu Hao knows how scary she will be when she quiets down.

  The inside of the house is made of mostly wood, except some parts of the walls being made of stone. Most of the furniture in the house appears to be homemade and the inside is lit up by using candles rather than the lights seen in the town. The lights in town are made using basic inscriptions, and thus, are more expensive to produce and purchase.

  Xu Hao ascends the stairs on the other side of the room and enters the bathroom with Han Xi still in his arms. He draws the water necessary for a bath and looks down at the little fur ball in his arms. “Are you ready for your bath, Miss Han Xi?” he says with a smile on his face.

  ‘It feels strange letting myself get bathed by a human, let alone a male human. But I really don't like the feeling of having all of this blood on my fur… so I will put up with it for now.’ She nods her head in agreement, and Xu Hao lowers her body into the bath and starts cleansing her fur with soap and water. The water in the bath starts turning red as he scrubs the blood off her fur until she was completely clean. Taking her out of the bath and pcing her on the ground, he can't help but chuckle at the drenched fox in front of him. Her fur no longer fluffy and completely bogged down by the water, making her look even smaller than before.

  ‘HEY! What are you ughing at?!’ Han Xi makes a wronged and irritated expression, looking up at Xu Hao from the ground. Her expression made him chuckle even more, before bursting out into full-blown ughter. Han Xi jumps up and sps him in the face, this time, with her wet tail, making a loud spping sound. Loud enough to be barely heard by Lei Yue downstairs.

  “What was that noise just now?” Lei Yue says from the bottom of the stairs, worried he may have broken something.

  “Nothing, don't worry about it…” he replies, now also with a wronged expression, and a tail-shaped red mark on his cheek which has started to swell slightly. He dries her off and both of them proceed to return downstairs and greet the impatient Lei Yue.

  AnDwHaT5