The Spirit Herb Garden was located in a sun-drenched valley on the sect's western slope. It was normally a place of serene tranquility and fragrant aromas. Today, it smelled of fear.
A perimeter of nervous outer sect disciples, armed with farming implements and a few rusty swords, stood well back from the main garden. Their faces were pale, their knuckles white. They weren't a blockade; they were a nervous audience.
In the center of the garden, near the prized plot of Seven-Star Ginseng, stood the chief gardener, a stout man named Uncle Wu. He wasn't standing by choice. A creature was coiled around his legs, holding him hostage.
It was the Three-Tailed Spirit Fox.
And it was bigger than I remembered.
Previously, it had been the size of a large dog. Now, it was as big as a pony. Its fur, once a simple auburn, now shimmered with an unnatural, silvery light. Its three tails swished through the air, each one crackling with faint sparks of raw spiritual energy. Its eyes glowed with a cunning intelligence that hadn't been there before. This was not the same beast I had scared off with a temporary aura of dread.
The System mentioned a 'celestial event'. Did a meteor full of growth hormones land on its head? This is not a fox. This is a small, furry kaiju.
As I approached, the nervous disciples parted like the Red Sea, their expressions a mixture of relief and expectation.
"Master Li is here!"
"We're saved! He'll subdue the beast with a single glance!"
Their adulation felt like sandpaper on my soul. Each word of praise was a reminder of the Mandatory Quest forcing me here against my will.
I needed the reward from my latest provocation of Chen Wei, and I needed it now.
[Reward has finished condensing.]
Finally! What is it? A beast-slaying sword? A suit of impenetrable armor? A fox-repellent spray?
[Reward: Alchemical Condensation - The Pill of Beastly Empathy.]
My heart sank. Empathy? I didn't want to empathize with the fox. I wanted it to run away in terror so I could go back to my room and have a panic attack in peace.
[Pill Effect: Upon consumption, you will be able to perfectly understand the emotional state and surface-level thoughts of any one non-humanoid beast for one hour. Grants no ability to communicate back.]
This was the System's idea of a cruel joke. The reward was... a translation service. A one-way translation service. How was knowing the fox was "hangry" going to help me when it was trying to eat my face?
I palmed the pill that had materialized in my sleeve. It was warm and smelled faintly of lavender and ozone. I had no choice.
I walked forward, stopping at the edge of the decimated ginseng patch. The fox's glowing eyes swiveled to meet mine. It let out a low, rumbling growl. Uncle Wu, caught in its coils, whimpered.
Okay, here goes nothing. Maybe it's just misunderstood.
Externally, I maintained my mask of unshakable calm. I popped the pill into my mouth. It tasted surprisingly sweet.
The effect was instantaneous. It wasn't a sound or a voice. It was a flood of pure, unfiltered emotion and instinct crashing into my consciousness.
[Fox's Primary Emotion: FEAR.]
I blinked. Fear? The giant, super-charged monster holding a man hostage was afraid?
[Fox's Surface Thought: The Shiny Man is here! The Shiny Man who smells like the Big Roaring Light! He hurts! He burns! But the Little Shiny Thing… it called me here. The Little Shiny Thing is warm. I must protect the Little Shiny Thing from the Shiny Man!]
My mind reeled. Shiny Man? Big Roaring Light? That must have been the [Aura of Unfathomable Dread] I used last time. It had clearly left an impression. But what was the Little Shiny Thing?
The fox's gaze wasn't on me. It was on Uncle Wu. No, not on him, but on the satchel at his waist. From the satchel, I could feel a faint, warm pulse of energy. It was a comforting, gentle warmth, completely at odds with the fox's crackling power.
The "celestial event" wasn't some random meteor. Something had appeared in this garden, something the fox was drawn to, something it now felt compelled to protect. And it saw me, the monster from its memories, as the primary threat. It wasn't holding Uncle Wu hostage out of malice; it was using him as a shield.
This changed everything.
A new mandate flickered to life, overriding my previous thoughts. The System, it seemed, was adapting to the new information.
[Mandatory Heroic Quest has been updated.]
[Objective: You have understood the beast's fear. A true master does not use force where wisdom will suffice.]
[Action: Convince the Spirit Fox to release its hostage willingly.]
[Method: You must demonstrate that you are not a threat to the 'Little Shiny Thing'.]
Convince it? The pill was a one-way street! I couldn't talk to it! How was I supposed to demonstrate my peaceful intentions? Mime?
Oh, you have got to be kidding me.
The System was, in fact, not kidding.
[New Mandate Issued: The Act of Ultimate Trust.]
[Action: Turn your back on the creature. Approach the most valuable plant in the garden, the plot of Seven-Star Ginseng.]
[Follow-up Action: Begin to meticulously and slowly... weed the garden patch.]
I wanted to scream. I was mandated to show my vulnerability to a terrified, super-powered fox by... gardening. I was supposed to turn my back on it, expose my unprotected spine, and perform manual labor.
This is insane! It's going to see me near the ginseng, think I'm trying to steal more shiny things, and maul me from behind! The pill only lets me understand its feelings, it doesn't stop its claws!
[Failure to comply will result in an immediate and agonizing case of full-body hives.]
The System was a tyrant. Hives were better than being mauled, but not by much.
I took a deep breath. My life was a farce.
To the assembled crowd, what happened next was a moment of legendary compassion.
Master Li looked at the fearsome beast, and his cold, detached expression softened ever so slightly. He did not draw a weapon. He did not release a powerful aura. He simply sighed, a sound that seemed to contain all the weariness of the world.
Then, he turned his back on the monster.
A collective gasp went through the crowd. "He's leaving his back open!" someone shrieked.
He walked calmly, not toward the fox, but toward the ravaged patch of priceless Seven-Star Ginseng. He knelt down, his fine robes brushing against the dirt. And then, with a slow, deliberate grace, he plucked a single, ugly weed from the soil. Then another.
He was… gardening. In the face of a deadly standoff, the legendary Master Li was tending to the plants.
The Spirit Fox, which had been tensed to spring, froze.
[Fox's Emotion: CONFUSION.]
[Surface Thought: The Shiny Man isn't attacking? He isn't roaring? He... smells like dirt now. And leaves. He is touching the ground-food, but not taking it. Why? Is he... cleaning? The ground-food likes being clean. The Little Shiny Thing likes the ground-food. Is... is the Shiny Man helping?]
A glimmer of hope. It was a stupid, insane, utterly ridiculous plan, but it seemed to be working.
I continued my work, my back screaming with phantom pain from the anticipated pounce. I plucked weed after weed, my movements calm and rhythmic. Each pluck was a prayer.
Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me. I'm just a humble librarian who wants to live. I'm a friend to all woodland creatures. See? Weeding. Very friendly.
After a full minute that felt like a century, the pressure at my back lessened. I heard a soft whine. The fox's mental "voice" was no longer sharp with fear, but soft with uncertainty.
[Fox's Emotion: Curiosity -> Tentative Trust]
The coils around Uncle Wu's legs loosened. The stout gardener, seeing his chance, scrambled away, collapsing in a heap a safe distance away. He was free.
The fox took a hesitant step toward me. It was no longer a monster. It was just a big, confused, magically-overcharged animal. It lowered its head and nudged my shoulder with its nose.
[Surface Thought: The Shiny Man is... warm? Not like the Big Roaring Light. Like the sun. He is a friend to the Little Shiny Thing. I will show him.]
The fox trotted over to the satchel that Uncle Wu had dropped in his haste. It nudged the bag open with its snout, revealing the contents.
Inside, nestled amongst gardening tools, was not a plant or a spirit stone.
It was an egg.
It was the size of an ostrich egg, shimmering with a faint, pearlescent light. It pulsed with a gentle, warm energy. The "celestial event" wasn't a meteor. It was this egg, falling from the heavens and landing right in the middle of the sect's herb garden.
A new screen appeared, its text glowing a menacing gold.
[Quest Objective Complete: Hostage Rescued.]
[SECRET Objective Discovered: The Phoenix Egg.]
[Your fame as a Master of Beasts and a being of profound compassion is now cemented.]
[The Chains of Acclaim have sprouted golden leaves.]
[Inherent Cultivation Speed: -35%]
[Continental Threat Detected...]
My heart plummeted into the abyss. I knew that notification. I knew what came next.
[An Ancient Evil has sensed the rebirth of its nemesis, the Phoenix.]
[The Black-Hearted Serpent of the Cursed Mire has awakened.]
[As the ordained guardian of this nascent life, your presence is required to defend it.]
[Mandatory World-Saving Quest Issued.]
I stared at the glowing egg. I looked at the now-friendly super-fox nudging my hand. I felt the crushing, beautiful weight of my own reputation.
I had come here to solve a fox problem.
And I had ended up becoming the nanny for a baby god-beast, with a giant snake on its way to kill us both.
I needed to make someone very, very angry, very, very soon.