42: Chapter 42 Accompanying

This trip to the mountain forest for cultivation could be considered a close call.

After Ye Jing and the other two came down the mountain, they were so disheveled and dirty that Wu Guiyun and Liu Xianglan couldn't even recognize them.

After Ye Jing placed the tightly bound fox in the house, Wu Guiyun was amazed to see how extraordinary the fox looked.

Upon hearing Ye Xuan explain that this was a Essence Spirit fox, Wu Guiyun and Liu Xianglan were even more shocked.

"This... is a Essence Spirit fox!" Wu Guiyun exclaimed.

Ye Jing was amused by his eldest daughter-in-law: "That's right, a cunning Essence Spirit fox. I'll be taming it in a little while!"

After saying this, he picked up the fierce but utterly dejected Essence Spirit fox, and smiled as he said to it, "You've fallen into my hands after all. Get used to being here!"

The ability of Immortal Light is that it can only be used to tame animals that submit to their master.

Taming an animal isn't as simple as just using Immortal Light to make it obey.

Ye Jing worried that this Essence Spirit wouldn't easily submit to him; after all, it held a grudge against him for exterminating its kind. If it were to turn on its master, the loss would outweigh the gain.

He still wanted to play it safe.

Therefore, he decided to keep the Red Fox at home to get accustomed to its surroundings, feed it a little, and if it refused to obey, he would simply kill it.

That same day, Ye Xuan and Ye Yi quickly bought an iron cage from the small town. Ye Jing threw the fox into the cage without untying the ropes and placed it in the backyard, letting it stay there.

At night, after Tianhao and Tianyao finished their lessons and saw their grandfather and father had returned, they were overjoyed and crowded around Ye Jing to hear about the events in the mountains.

Upon hearing that Ye Jing had caught a Red Fox that had become a Essence Spirit, they all curiously went behind the house to see it.

Tianyao reached out her finger and poked the fox's head, and the Red Fox let out a low, dejected whine.

"Brother! It's so interesting! When I touch it, it makes a sound!" Tianyao said happily.

"Yaoyao, don't touch it randomly, it's a Essence Spirit!" Tianhao quickly stopped his sister.

Tianyao puffed up her cheeks and said, "Brother, what's there to be afraid of? Isn't it tied up? Grandfather said he wants to keep this fox as a pet! Maybe I can play with it in the future!"

Her innocent smile caused the Red Fox on the side to bare its teeth.

Next, Ye Jing continued to practice his Stake Technique.

During his training breaks, he would stop by to check on the caged Red Fox.

Since being bound for a few days, the Red Fox hadn't been fed anything by Ye Jing except for water, and its whole body had become thin and gaunt.

Ye Jing figured it had no offensive power left, so he took some scissors and untied the Red Fox's bindings.

The Red Fox finally gained its freedom, but now it looked at Ye Jing with fear, shrinking inside the iron cage without making a sound.

Ye Jing was very satisfied with its fearful appearance; to tame a wild beast, one must first make it feel fear, and then it will develop a sense of submission.

Ye Jing brought some Mountain Delicacy Chicken eggs. The Red Fox immediately let out a craving cry; it was nearly starving to death. Seeing food, especially these eggs containing Spiritual Qi, it desperately wanted to break through the iron cage to feast.

Seeing this, Ye Jing's lips curled up slightly, and he placed an egg into the cage.

Starving, the Red Fox immediately pounced on it, swallowing the egg shell and all, then looked at Ye Jing with longing.

Seeing this, Ye Jing reached out to pet it through the cage, but the Red Fox immediately bared its fangs, attempting to bite him.

Ye Jing immediately pulled his hand back: "It seems you still aren't obedient. You'll have to go hungry for a while longer."

After saying this, he took away the remaining eggs in his hand and ignored the Red Fox's shrill cries.

After repeating this process.

The Red Fox realized its situation, so it had no choice but to suppress its temper, allowing Ye Jing to touch it, and subsequently receiving an egg as a reward.

Seeing that his training had achieved some results, Ye Jing stopped starving it, but he still kept it locked in the cage to continue tempering its temperament.

He also strictly warned his grandchildren not to go near the Red Fox; the two grandchildren were naturally sensible and agreed immediately.

In the blink of an eye, the day to deliver the golden spirit rice as agreed with Guo Zhengning arrived.

Just as Ye Xuan and Ye Yi were preparing to set off, Ye Jing stopped them: "Xuaner, Yier, this time Father will accompany you."

Ye Yi was somewhat surprised: "Father, why have you suddenly decided to accompany us to deliver the golden spirit rice?"

Ye Jing said: "Nothing much, I just want to accompany you to ensure the delivery goes smoothly. I'm afraid the Tang Family might pull some tricks."

The two sons heard this and nodded in agreement, then set off with Ye Jing, pulling a thousand jin of golden spirit rice toward Yuanhe Town.

Ye Jing sat cross-legged on the ox cart, which carried him along with a swaying motion.

About an hour or so later.

They reached the outskirts of Yuanhe Town. Ye Jing and his two sons put on bamboo hats and black clothing to conceal their identities, waiting quietly for Guo Zhengning's arrival.

Meanwhile, after leaving Yanggu City, Guo Zhengning and his two attendants looked around vigilantly, stopping and going along the way; their alertness was extremely high.

The two attendants followed behind him, not daring to lower their guard.

Guo Zhengning led his attendants into the dense forest, following winding paths along the way. The road conditions here were complex and changeable, and Guo Zhengning relied on this terrain to shake off the tails following him.

Beneath the dense forest, after walking for a long time, Guo Zhengning and his attendants finally arrived at the agreed-upon location.

On a flat piece of ground stood three Men in Black, all wearing bamboo hats. Seeing an extra, somewhat gaunt man in black, Guo Zhengning didn't think much of it.

His hanging heart relaxed slightly, but he still didn't lower his guard. He waved his hand to signal his two attendants to stand guard on the spot, then stepped forward slowly, maintaining a distance of three zhang from Ye Jing and the others: "Brothers, you've worked hard. I wonder if the goods..."

"The goods are on the ox cart over there, a thousand jin, not a bit less." Ye Jing turned sideways and pointed to the ox cart not far away. "Director Guo can inspect them first, and after confirming everything is correct, we can exchange the silver."

Hearing that the voice belonged to an older man, Guo Zhengning was somewhat surprised, but he quickly suppressed his reaction and signaled the attendant on the right to go and inspect.

The attendant walked quickly to the ox cart and lifted the coarse cloth covering it. He saw many sacks inside, and upon opening one, he saw it was full of plump golden spirit rice, emitting a faint golden halo. It was undoubtedly the genuine product.

He grabbed a handful and brought it to his nose to sniff lightly; there was no strange odor, so he turned and nodded to Guo Zhengning.

Seeing this, Guo Zhengning gave a look to the attendant on the left. The attendant on the left immediately stepped forward and handed over the sack on his shoulder along with the money bag.

The sack was for Ye Jing to hold the golden spirit rice, so that Ye Jing wouldn't be suspected because of purchasing a large number of sacks in town.

Just as both parties were about to complete the exchange, several flying knives suddenly flew out from not far away, attacking Guo Zhengning.

Guo Zhengning was greatly alarmed. He quickly drew his sword and slashed them away, sparks flying as the blades fell to the ground.

"Who is it!" Guo Zhengning shouted sternly.

Ye Jing also whispered to his two sons: "Be on guard!"

The three of them quickly pulled out the hand axes tucked at their waists, preparing to face the enemy.

Two figures dressed in black suddenly darted out from the dense forest, followed immediately by over twenty people who quickly surrounded them.

The leader of the Men in Black held a large saber, pointing it at them with great contempt: "You guys are quite good at hiding! Hand over the golden spirit rice quickly, and I'll spare your lives!"

"Who are you?!" Guo Zhengning narrowed his eyes. These people had actually been able to approach him silently, especially the two leaders; he could feel that they possessed power identical to his own.

Could these two leaders be Second-Stage Martial Artists?

"Attack! Keep the seller alive, but kill all the others!"

The Martial Artist who had thrown the flying knives charged forward without further ado, his flying knives shooting out. This time, the target was the three father and sons of the Ye family who were delivering the golden spirit rice!