The Snow Cloud Fox

Han Li was studying the man’s appearance when the man, smiling, stepped into the herb garden and greeted him with exaggerated warmth:

“Junior Martial Brother is also a disciple of Heavenly Spring Peak, right? Your face is quite unfamiliar—were you admitted last year? In that case, I suppose I am a true senior after all.”

“My surname is Han. I did indeed enter the sect just over a year ago. Senior Martial Brother is a distinguished disciple of Hidden Sword Peak, I presume?” Han Li withdrew his gaze and said with a faint smile.

“So you’re Junior Han! I’m Kui Huan of Hidden Sword Peak. I look after a nearby spirit beast ranch along with a few senior brothers, about a dozen miles away in a small basin. If you have the chance, do come by for a visit. My cultivation isn’t high, but I’ve been a disciple for seven or eight years now. There isn’t much about Falling Cloud Sect—the affairs, the senior and junior brothers of each peak—that I don’t know. If you ever have any questions, feel free to ask me.” The man immediately adopted an easy familiarity.

Han Li smiled faintly.

The chatterbox before him reminded him of Little Abacus from the Seven Mysteries Sect back in the day. The same glib tongue, the same polished social skill.

Clearly both were cut from the same cloth.

Feeling mildly amused, Han Li nevertheless held no particular aversion to the man.

“Thank you for your kindness, Senior Brother. But, Brother Kui, is there some urgent matter that brings you here?” He crossed his arms and blinked.

Hearing this, Kui Huan showed a hint of embarrassment. After hesitating for a moment, he scratched his head and said:

“Urgent, perhaps not. I originally came to ask Senior Sister Yuan for a favor. But it seems she left in a hurry after managing this garden for five or six years. That complicates things a bit.”

“A favor?” Han Li furrowed his brow, a hint of doubt in his eyes.

“It’s nothing serious. As you probably know, we Outer Affairs disciples are rarely valued by the sect because of our aptitude. When the sect distributes magical tools or pills, we never see a share. And the spirit stones we earn in a year can’t buy the pills we need to improve our cultivation. So a few of us have been catching a rare little animal called the ‘Snow Cloud Fox’ in the Green Trace Swamp not far from here and selling it at Market Town. It isn’t a demon beast, but it’s small, cute, and quite clever. It’s very popular with the female disciples in the sect, so we’ve made a decent sum. Not long ago, though, we discovered an unusual Snow Cloud Fox—it had a faint spiritual aura, as if it had evolved into a low-grade demon beast. Naturally we were overjoyed—if we could capture it alive, we could sell it for at least a hundred spirit stones. That’s a rare big score. But we were too hasty and didn’t plan well, and the beast slipped through our fingers. Since then it’s been hiding deep in the swamp, rarely showing itself. We searched most of the Green Trace Swamp and ran into it a few times, but before we could get close, it would dive into the mud and vanish.”

Kui Huan’s face was full of regret.

Seeing Han Li’s thoughtful expression, he paused, then continued:

“Later we studied it and found that this unusual Snow Cloud Fox is very fond of aged yellow polygonatum—especially those with more than ten years of potency. It can’t resist them. We figured the only way to lure it out was to use at least a fifty-year-old yellow polygonatum, so it would jump into our trap regardless. But as you know, any herb that has aged decades costs more than a few or a dozen spirit stones. We had some savings, but recently we pooled our resources to buy a bottle of cultivation-accelerating pills, so we’re practically broke. Out of options, I remembered that Senior Sister Yuan’s garden had two or three aged yellow polygonatum plants. So I came to ask. But it turns out the garden has been handed over to you, Junior Han. I wonder… could you lend us one?” When Kui Huan reached the last sentence, his voice dropped; he seemed unsure of himself.

He clearly knew this was a rather excessive request.

After listening, Han Li’s expression revealed nothing. He neither agreed nor refused. He was silent for a moment before speaking slowly:

“The garden does indeed have two yellow polygonatum plants over fifty years old. They would suit your needs perfectly. In principle, since Brother Kui is asking me for a favor for the first time, I shouldn’t refuse as your junior. But you should know that I don’t have the authority to use any aged spirit herbs in this garden. If one goes missing or is damaged, I wouldn’t be able to answer to the master above. I might even face punishment. I’m afraid I can’t help in this matter.”

Han Li spoke coolly and calmly, which only made the yellow-robed man’s disappointment more apparent.

“Don’t worry, Junior Brother—we only need to borrow the herb for a few days. We’ll return it in its original state. We’ll be extremely careful when digging and transplanting it. It will be fine. And of course, we won’t use it for nothing—if we succeed, we’ll give you a share of the spirit stones. You won’t lose out.” Kui Huan was still unwilling to give up.

“Sorry. This is too important—I won’t touch the garden’s spirit herbs. However, if you brothers are truly short on spirit stones, I happen to have saved a few. I could lend them to you to go buy another plant at Market Town.” Han Li refused firmly at first, then changed tack and offered a loan of spirit stones with a light smile.

Kui Huan’s expression darkened at the first part, but brightened at the last. He asked eagerly:

“Is Junior Brother serious? If you’re willing to lend us spirit stones, then we naturally won’t need the garden’s herbs. But such a several-decade-old herb costs at least thirty spirit stones! Do you really have that many?” After his initial excitement, a trace of doubt crept into Kui Huan’s voice.

To a Qi Condensation cultivator, that was no small sum.

“I saved these spirit stones before I entered the sect. For now, I have no immediate use for them, so I’ll lend them to you for a while. If a few days can turn them into a tidy profit, I wouldn’t want to miss the chance.” Han Li said slowly.

“Haha! So Junior Brother is a businessman too! Rest assured, as long as we have that polygonatum, catching the Snow Cloud Fox is almost certain.” Only then did Kui Huan believe that Han Li was serious, and his face broke into a grin.

Han Li smiled without replying. He reached into his storage pouch and pulled out over twenty spirit stones of various colors, then handed them to Kui Huan without hesitation.

Kui Huan took the stones with delight, patting his chest and swearing there would be no problem.

After a few more pleasantries, he took his leave, clearly preoccupied.

Watching the figure disappear into the distance, Han Li’s smile faded. He shook his head slightly.

He didn’t really care about the promise of twenty or thirty spirit stones; he simply didn’t want to offend anyone so soon after joining Falling Cloud Sect.

He would be staying here for a long time. Kui Huan was a well-informed man; he might prove useful someday.

With that thought, Han Li wordlessly reactivated the garden’s restrictions, returned to the secret chamber inside the small stone hill, and continued his cultivation.

…

Three days later, Han Li looked speechlessly at Kui Huan, who stood before him with an apologetic expression.

This time the man hadn’t come to repay the spirit stones—he had come to ask Han Li to join them in capturing the Snow Cloud Fox.

“You have several men. Is that not enough to catch one low-grade demon beast?” Han Li pursed his lips, a skeptical look on his face.

“Junior Brother doesn’t know—this fox is incredibly cunning and moves like the wind. Ordinary flying magical tools can’t keep up with it. We originally borrowed a set of Maze Formation Flags from an Inner Disciple senior brother, enough to set up a small Maze Formation to trap the fox. But one of our brothers was assigned a task yesterday and is no longer in the sect. Now the formation is short one person. If we ask someone else, we’ll have to split the spirit stones with an extra person. The other brothers aren’t keen on that, so I came to ask you, Junior Brother. Naturally, we’ll give you a larger share of the stones.” Kui Huan said with a smile.

Han Li rubbed his chin, lost in thought.

At any other time, he would have refused outright—there was no point wasting time on such trivial matters.

But recently, while cultivating the fourth layer of the Great Derivative Art in seclusion, he had felt a rising restlessness in his heart. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t calm his mind.

This was a sign that his cultivation had hit a bottleneck.

Thus, going out for a stroll today might not be a bad idea.

After all, the opportunity to break through a bottleneck could never be predicted.

Having made his decision, Han Li gave a slight nod and said:

“Since Brother Kui has come to me, I’ll go along. I am a bit curious to see where this Green Trace Swamp is.”

With that, a lazy smile appeared on his face.

(That’s all for tonight!)