Mo Ren only wished to show off his exuberant talent, he never imagined the unconscious girl to be a monster in disguise. He gritted his teeth and continued to direct more of his cold qi into Jun Lan's body. He involuntarily remembered how the girl's brother boasted about her: cute and lovable, the man had said.Mo Ren sneered, a leech, that was his impression on Jun Lan.
'Endure...' Mo Ren reminded himself as he felt his energy drop by a level.
Unknown to him, the process of pumping the energy continued for about a Shichen.
Never act arrogant and overconfident. Mo Ren learned his lesson.
...
Jun Lan had no idea about the happenings around her. She could feel her body recover and her senses slowly return to her. As the numbing sensation faded, Jun Lan slowly blinked her eyes open.
"So, you are finally awake..."
Jun Lan knitted her brows when she heard the familiar voice which was laced with an unfamiliar arrogance. Pushing herself to sit straight, Jun Lan turned around. Her eyes widened at the sight of her brother, but they narrowed as she took in his face.
When did his eyes turn red?
Jun Lan was puzzled only for a moment; soon her face hardened. Grabbing the knife from the fruit bowl, she leaped forward.
Swish!
Mo Ren sensed the incoming danger and an amused smile played on his lips; the scene of the little girl leaping on him was clearly funny. As the cold knife tip appeared dangerously close towards him, he raised his hands to block the attack.
Locking Jun Lan's wrist in his hands, he gently removed the knife from her grasp, in a caring tone he chided her "Little girls shouldn't be playing with knives!"
Jun Lan felt a shiver down her spine at the eerie tone of his voice. Dissatisfied, she pursed her lips and glared at the smiling man who looked too similar to her brother "Whoever you might be, leave my brother's body! You stink, leave right now!"
"Aye, you are a blind little one. You can't recognize your own brother?!" Mo Ren pouted.
"Y-you!" Jun Lan could not find the right words as she was startled by his antics.
Adopting a stubborn stance she retorted "You are not my brother, I don't know why and how, but I know that you are not him."
Jun Lan stared at the 'brother' for a while. As she observed his blood red eyes, she was hit with a sudden realization.
"You are the five tailed fox, right?!"
Before Mo Ren could answer, he found the girl nodding to herself.
"Yes, you must be the five tailed fox spirit..." Jun Lan was sure of her deduction as she remembered that her fluffy's eyes were also a deep red, thinking that the fox family eyes are in a natural shade of red, she relaxed. "Be a good fox and give my brother back to me." Jun Lan spoke as she patted his shoulder with her free hand.
"Dumb girl!" Mo Ren flicked her head, her frail wrist still in his grasp.
On seeing her glare at him, he sneered at her intelligence "Have you ever seen a fox which has red eyes? Spirit foxes are all black-eyed, and I'm not the five tailed fox!"
"Eh, my nine-tailed fox has red eyes! Don't lie to me!" Jun Lan narrowed her eyes in disbelief.
"Your fox spirit has red eyes, did you say that it's the nine tailed fox?" Mo Ren's eyes shifted as he stared at the unconscious black furred nine-tailed fox: Black claws, red mark on the forehead, and tails marked with white on their edges. An understanding glint shone in Mo Ren's eyes as recognition dawned on him; he remembered this particular nine tailed fox.
Then, he flashed a complicated gaze at Jun Lan before reverting to his playful appearance. In an enigmatic voice, he spoke "I'm not the nine tailed fox and fox spirits do not have red eyes! I'm called Mo Ren. Believe me or not, it's up to you!"
Before Jun Lan could protest, she saw the red eyes disappear. A pair of pitch black eyes stared right back at her, and soon various emotions filled them. While Jun Lan froze, Jun Ling stared at his sister and the harmless knife at his throat. For his cute sister to attack him, there was only one reason: Mo Ren!
"Zhu-Zhu, are you trying to murder me?" Though he guessed the reason, he played dumb.
Jun Lan rolled her eyes at her brother who was still in the mood to tease her. She did not know if Mo Ren was a five tailed fox or not, so she directly addressed the latter as a thing.
"Not you, I attacked that thing inside you!"
"What did the old ghost say?" Jun Ling was curious.
An old ghost? It's more like a playful ghost!
"Nothing, I attacked him thinking that an imposter possessed my brother..."
"You sensed him on your own?!" Jun Ling stared at his sister, incredulous.
"I can sense my brother, I'm not that dumb!"
Eh, really? But, I can't sense you, little sister.
Jun Ling rubbed his nose sheepishly, he kept his thoughts inside lest she murders him for real.
"How is your body? Are you still feeling weak? Are you in pain?" Pushing the irrelevant matters to the back of his head, Jun Ling started to question her nervously.
"Big brother, calm down! I'm fine..."
"I can see that you are waving your hands, I'm not blind!"
"Ah! You don't pinch my hands, I did not lose my senses..."
"What is that in your hands? Why is it smelling so bad? Y-you! Take that thing away from my nose!"
On seeing that he is prepared to test her again, Jun Lan did not hesitate to beg "Big Brother, Oh great god! Please spare me, I'm as fit as a bull!"
"Bull, that did not sound quite right?" Jun Ling had an evil smirk on his face.
Jun Lan snorted and turned away from the infuriating bully, she knew what he wanted her to say. There was no way she was going to say that, it's far too humiliating. She had her pride and dignity!
"Zhu-Zhu, I planned to take you to Dong's shop, too bad..."
Dong's shop! That's the best dumplings shop in the capital!
Dignity or Food? Jun Lan did not think twice before making her decision.
She chose food.
"Oh, great brother, protector of the little pig and the guardian of the little pig's soul..." Jun Lan spat the words with great distaste. "Zhu-Zhu will always take care of herself and follow her brother..."
Jun Ling's smile widened as he heard recite the pledge, one which he made her learn when they were young and careless. He had not heard her say that childish pledge from the moment he left her to join the army, and later they did not have the chance to see each other, much less speak. He even wondered if she remembered all their notorious childhood. Hearing her recite without a single mistake, Jun Ling felt content and silly at the same time. He was going to tease the little pig more in the future.
At that thought, he broke into a wide smile while his eyes turned into crescents.
Jun Lan precisely saw this particular eerie smile on Jun Ling's face as she looked at him after reciting the foolish pledge.
All of a sudden, she felt that she should stay away from her brother in the future.