62 Tribe's Extinction

Golden eyes covertly glinted with the glow of a blue fire. Bai Qingyue's gaze had turned deep and unfathomable under the cover of darkness, a certain air of intimacy could be felt between the soft-spoken girl and the mysterious fox cub.

There was so much to be mentioned that a simple explanation couldn't possibly describe all the reasons for what he said.

In the end, the fox opted out with a lie. Suppressing his turbulent emotions, his pupils widened and his voice sounded monotone, devoid of feeling. "It was the only thing I could think of at that moment."

Seeing the little fox's innocent expression, Li Meirong believed him without hesitation. Her voice was but a whisper as she sighed in relief, "Oh, so that's why...I was worried for nothing."

Bai Qingyue's gaze darkened to an unnerving abyss of an endless night. His paws clenched into tiny fists, restraining his nerves.

She believes his lies so easily and sighs in contentment. Was it such an insult to be married to him?

It's not as though he could easily explain to her the curse passing down through every generation of Bai clan members, making it only possible for them to become attached to only one soul in the entire universe.

The curse only works in one direction. The fated person of a cursed clan member wouldn't necessarily possess the same form of attachment towards the cursed person.

He has to tread carefully with his little bride.

Having only one person to be soul-bound to in the entirety of existence only sounded romantic on the surface. In actuality, it was anything but.

The celestial Bai fox clan had always been a desirable and powerful tribe to make alliances with. Known for their might, beauty and prominent family status filled with ancient history, there have always been gods and goddesses of all realms lined up waiting, if only for an opportunity of catching a glimpse of their visage.

Eons ago, the Primordial Sovereign Fox Lord of the realm was the cause of the terrible curse. He was a distinguished god, peerless in his powers and intelligence. A truly perfect and unique existence, if not for his womanizing ways, he would have remained as one of the top among the most renowned heavenly lords. Apparently, it was not enough for him to have just a harem of a thousand concubines, his lust was seemingly endless and he always sought to conquer more.

One of his conquests led to his inevitable demise. It was a royal dragon princess pretending to be a servant in attendance at the heavenly Tree of life banquet. The tree bearing the fruit of eternal life, sprouting only once every ten thousand years was an exclusive event, and only a select few were allowed admittance. The dragon princess impersonated a servant in order to attend the gathering and fell in love at first sight with the dashing Sovereign Bai Clan Lord.

The old fox god easily charmed the young dragon princess the moment they met, unaware of her special identity. They shared a brief passionate time in each other's embrace, as couples naturally tend to do. It didn't take long until the dragon princess found herself discarded and alone. Her charming lover had disappeared altogether.

If only the ancient Sovereign Fox Lord had known the woman he messed with was the most beloved great-granddaughter of the Jade Emperor, there was no way he would have placed his mischievous paws on her.

The elder Bai Clan Lord found out about his mistake only after a summoning order to the court hall was sent. As punishment for his heathen ways and low moral conduct, the Jade Emperor ordered a permanent curse to be placed upon his clan and all generations that follows. The curse was casted directly by the very same abandoned dragon princess, arriving at the Punishment Hall in her full prestige and adorned with the royal dragon crest, no longer pretending to be an insignificant servant.

The Fox Lord and all his clan would only be able to develop feelings and desires for one sole existence throughout their whole life. They would be unable to be attracted to anyone else except for their fated person.

There were many theories circulating throughout the centuries about that fateful tale of the cursed Bai Clan. Some gods had thought the Bai fox gods had grown too strong and became a potential threat to the royal dragon clan. The emperor grew wary of the white fox clan and sent his family member under guise in an attempt to purposefully trap the dreaded Bai lord. The curse was intended from the very beginning, meted out as collective punishment, it was nothing short of the tribe's imminent extinction.

After all, even if gods can live indefinitely, finding one soul in the whole universe to continue the bloodline would be nothing short of a miracle. The intention was the decimation of the powerful clan. After many battles and so few offspring born, the large and terrifying Bai clan went from several thousand members to a short few hundreds remaining. Taking matters into his own hands, the old Sovereign Lord assembled the rest of the fox clans under the heavenly realm, subservient under his rule and made the Bai clan take control over the Huli Jing. Taking leadership over all celestial foxes.

A counter curse was placed on the clan by the Sovereign Lord, ensuring that at least the bloodline would survive, since the choice of mates was now out of the clan's control and was left in the hands of fate. It would also mean that newborns, in all likelihood, would all be mixed until there would be no blood from the original Bai clan remaining.

The Jade Emperor was indeed wise and conniving. He guaranteed his prestige remained intact with underhanded methods instead of an all-out war, wiping out a potential threat by breeding it out.

The counter curse ensured the clan's survival by making the male's bloodline overtake the maternal line. In essence, when a male Bai member finds his fated person outside of the clan, the offspring of the union would only take after the Bai bloodline and follow the father's lineage. However, the counter curse did not work with the Bai females, causing a lot of mixed bloods to form sub-branches in the tribe. These days, it was more common to find mixed bloods than pure-blooded Bai members remaining. It was a surprise for many that the clan hadmanaged to survive and even prosper altogether under such harsh circumstances.

The curse had also left a dissension among the fox clan members who were forced into marriage and copulation, such as Bai Qingyue's own father. The Bai elders went as far as to drug some of the males to perform in bed in order to continue the lineage.

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

How could Bai Qingyue possibly explain what kind of a special existence Li Meirong was to him?

Unfortunately, Li Meirong's lack of knowledge didn't mean that Bai Qingyue didn't get mad at her response. The grumpy little fox placed his snout on the curve of Li Meirong's neck and nipped his wife's smooth skin in reprimand.

"Ouch! Snowball, that hurts!" Li Meirong frowned, her doe-eyes watered from the sudden pain as she moved Snowball away from her neck and glared at his guiltless, baby face.

Snowball's ears drooped down, his fluffy tail curved around his belly. The fox averted his gaze bashfully and using a low tone, he muttered, "I stopped the mosquito from sucking your blood..."