9: Chapter 9 The little guy is quite valuable.

The main thing was that the sound very much resembled a baby's cry, which made Xu Lin feel uneasy.

Could he have run into something evil?

After all, it was already past midnight, and it would soon be one o'clock.

Walking to the door, Xu Lin listened carefully.

Whimper, whimper...

A faint cry drifted in, sending a chill down Xu Lin's spine.

He shouldn't jinx himself.

But then, on second thought, he was now a cultivator, so what was there to be afraid of?

"Xiaobai, come here." He turned and called out to Xiaobai to help him bolster his courage.

Opening the door for a look, Xu Lin instantly calmed down.

"So it's just a little fox."

It was indeed a little fox, a pure white one, about the size of a two-month-old kitten.

The little one, for some reason, was lying on the steps, emitting faint cries.

Seeing Xu Lin come out, it didn't show any signs of fear; instead, it raised its head and cried out at him twice.

Seeing that it wasn't moving, Xu Lin crouched down to examine it.

"What's going on?"

He simultaneously activated the Beast Language Technique on the Little White Fox.

[Pain]

[So painful]

[I can't walk, Mom said not to get close to humans, but I really wanted to come here.]

[There's a very comfortable aura here.]

[Mom is gone, I can't go home. I heard that not all humans are bad.]

[This human has a pleasant scent on him. I hope he isn't a bad human; otherwise, I'll sneak away again.]

...

The sounds Xu Lin heard were just like this, chaotic and disorganized.

It seemed this Little White Fox had simply followed its instincts to come outside his Pet Shop.

And it was injured.

"Don't bite me, let me look at your injury," Xu Lin said.

Because of the Beast Language Technique, the Little White Fox, which had initially recoiled when it saw Xu Lin reach out, relaxed its body.

[It seems I can understand what you're saying.]

[I can't understand other humans.]

The Little White Fox raised its head to look at Xu Lin and opened its mouth to cry twice.

Xu Lin said, "Be quiet. What happened to your leg?"

He discovered the injury on the Little White Fox's left hind leg. It was very severe, leaving it unable to walk.

To run this far into the city on three legs and reach his Pet Shop—it was truly capable of running.

Woof...

Xiaobai curiously approached.

[Ah... don't come over, don't come over!]

The Little White Fox struggled, crying out in a sharp voice.

Xu Lin immediately turned to look at Xiaobai. Xiaobai flinched, shrank its neck, and helplessly opened its mouth.

[I didn't mean to; I just wanted to see how it was doing.]

Xu Lin patted the Little White Fox's head and said, "Don't be afraid, it's a friend."

Only then did the Little White Fox gradually stop trembling.

The fearful reaction it just had gave Xu Lin some guesses.

He asked, "How did you get injured, and where did you come from?"

The Little White Fox hurriedly replied.

[I was in the mountains with Mom, but some humans brought dogs in. Mom protected me and was bitten to death. I ran away and was bitten too.]

[Wuwuwu... Mom.]

[I smelled a pleasant scent here, so I ran away and came here.]

...

Hearing this, Xu Lin was stunned.

"You were captured and brought to the city?"

The Little White Fox nodded its head.

[Yes.]

"How far from here?"

[I ran for a while, maybe one hundred, no, one hundred and fifty breaths.]

The Little White Fox looked at Xu Lin, its voice still childish.

Xu Lin felt a headache upon hearing this. One hundred and fifty breaths—that meant it was nearby.

He subconsciously looked at the dark street all around.

In the dead of night, footsteps approached.

He immediately picked up the Little White Fox, went back into the Pet Shop, closed the door, and casually turned off the lights.

A minute later, barking sounds came from outside the Pet Shop.

Xiaobai glanced at Xu Lin but then lay back down.

It wasn't afraid of other dogs because ordinary dogs were terrified when they saw it.

But since Xu Lin hadn't given the command, it didn't dare to act rashly.

Xu Lin sighed helplessly.

It seemed they couldn't avoid this.

The other party had brought dogs; no matter how much the injured Little White Fox ran, it would still be found.

A dog's nose was exceptionally sensitive, especially that of a hunting dog.

Bang, bang, bang...

The sound of someone pounding on the door rang out.

"Open the door! Your lights were just on a moment ago."

The voice outside was rough, accompanied by shouting and the barking of several hunting dogs.

Xu Lin looked at the Little White Fox.

"They've come for you."

The Little White Fox immediately lay down.

[Save me, I will repay you.]

"How can a little fox like you repay me?"

[I... right, I know where there is a spiritual herb; you humans will definitely find it useful.]

"Hm? You even know about spiritual herbs?"

[Mom said it's a spiritual herb that can cure human illnesses. It's useful for us too, but Mom didn't let me eat much of it.]

Xu Lin had only asked casually; this trouble was definitely unavoidable.

However, the Little White Fox's answer actually surprised him a bit.

He hadn't expected to actually ask about something good.

What the spiritual herb it mentioned was made Xu Lin quite curious.

"Stay here and don't move. Xiaobai, watch over it and don't let it get hurt again."

Woof, woof...

Xiaobai stood up and barked twice at Xu Lin, guaranteeing it would complete the mission.

Xu Lin turned on the lights and opened the door.

There were two men and two dogs outside the door.

One of the men was sturdy, the other thin and tall; their faces were indistinguishable.

The two dogs were a tall, thin Greyhound and a smaller Beagle.

No wonder they were able to track the scent here.

The Beagle had a very well-developed sense of smell.

Although it was small, its tracking ability could be considered top-tier.

"What's wrong?" Xu Lin asked, pretending to be ignorant first.

"A Little White Fox came here just now, right? There's still blood on the steps outside."

The sturdy middle-aged man leading them wore a hat; under the light, only his stubble-filled lower face could be seen.

"Yes."

Xu Lin replied; the matter had to be resolved eventually.

Seeing Xu Lin admit it so simply, the other party gave him a surprised look.

"That's ours. Just hand it over."

The middle-aged man held the two hunting dogs back and said.

"You're poaching, aren't you?"

Xu Lin looked at the two and said without avoiding the subject.

Both men froze, seemingly not expecting Xu Lin to be so blunt.

"Seeing that you run a Pet Shop, you shouldn't stick your nose into other people's business. There's no need for you to be so clear about the origin of that Little White Fox."

The middle-aged man's voice dropped.

Xu Lin said, "I don't do illegal things."

"We'll give you ten thousand yuan. Give us that Little White Fox, and we'll pretend today's incident never happened. Otherwise..."

The leading middle-aged man stepped forward twice; his sturdy build was quite oppressive.

But Xu Lin acted as if he hadn't noticed and shrugged, saying, "Ten thousand yuan, it seems this Little White Fox is quite valuable."

"We'll add another five thousand. That's enough for a month's earnings."

The thin, tall man spoke urgently and subconsciously looked around, seemingly worried about being discovered by others.

Xu Lin said, "No need. I'm determined to save this Little White Fox. You guys should leave; I can also pretend today never happened."

"Kid, don't think we don't dare to touch you."

The thin, tall man moved his right hand. A cold glint flashed, and a dagger appeared in his hand.

Xu Lin chuckled and took two steps back.

"I already gave you a chance to leave. Don't force me; I've trained before."

He casually dialed the police emergency number, and the faces of the two men opposite him changed instantly.

"Kid, you dare to call the police? You're courting death."

"You're poaching and you came to my door to threaten me with a knife. This is enough to convict you."

After Xu Lin finished speaking, he saw both men attack simultaneously, clearly not intending to let him go.

That was perfect; Xu Lin didn't intend to let them go either.