Chapter 49: Master, Just Submit to Me

The scarlet marten was so frightened by the little fox that it curled up into a ball, trembling all over. This left the little fox utterly speechless—was she really that terrifying? She had merely released a tiny fraction of her majestic, kingly aura, and it had scared the creature out of its wits.

Ah, the martens of today! The little fox could not help but sigh. She raised her head to gaze at the night sky. So this was what it felt like to be so high up that it was cold. How utterly exhilarating!

Xuan辕 Yu watched the little fox acting so worldly and could not help smiling. This little creature always knew how to evoke his amusement.

"Little fox, do you like that scarlet marten? If you like it, I will keep it to keep you company," Xuan辕 Yu asked, looking down at the marten and then at the little fox. If she fancied it, he would let it stay as a playmate.

However, the little fox cast a look of utter disdain at the marten and squeaked very reluctantly, "Squeak, squeak, squeak! Let's not. Look at it, it is not even good-looking, and its fur is nowhere near as pretty as mine. Taking it out in public would simply be humiliating. Master, let's not keep it."

The scarlet marten cautiously raised its head and glared back at the little fox in silent protest. How was it ugly? It was clearly very cute! How could she say such a thing? They were practically half-relatives, after all; she shouldn't bully her own kin like this!

Feeling deeply wronged, the marten's eyes welled up with watery cuteness. It had been playing happily in the Endless Forest until humans captured it and brought it to this strange place, locking it in a cage. It was so pitiful! When it first saw the little fox, it had been overjoyed, only for tragedy to strike the very next moment: it was being looked down upon!

The little fox acted coquettishly toward Xuan辕 Yu, but upon noticing the scarlet marten glaring at her, she immediately glared right back without showing a shred of weakness. Seeing the marten tremble with fright, she smugly licked her little paw. *Hmph, a little nobody like you wants to compete with me for favor? Run along and play elsewhere. Master can only belong to me alone.*

Clinging tightly to Xuan辕 Yu's hand with her paws, the little fox squeaked, "Master, you cannot keep him. It's either him or me; we cannot stay under the same roof! Besides, he feels all warm and stuffy, I hate it."

"Squeak, squeak, squeak! Master, oh Master, just yield to me. I swear I'll treat you well, so you mustn't adopt him."

Seeing the trembling scarlet marten, Xuan辕 Yu lost any desire to keep it, especially since the little fox did not like it.

"Very well, since you said no, then we won't keep it," Xuan辕 Yu said gently, holding the little fox. The sheer indulgence in his tone nearly struck everyone present dumb.

Princess Leiqing crossed her arms over her chest, watching the exchange between the little fox and Xuan辕 Yu with intense excitement. It was simply too adorable, such a touching scene that Leiqing even had to use her sleeve to dab at the corners of her eyes.

"Since the Snow Emperor dislikes this scarlet marten, keeping it is of no use to me either." Shui Muchen's lips curved slightly, his eyes narrowing as he suddenly struck out with a palm toward the marten. Unable to evade in time, the marten was hit by the gale of the palm strike and instantly collapsed, lying on the ground on the brink of death.

The expressions of everyone present shifted dramatically. None of them had expected Shui Muchen to be daring enough to openly provoke the Snow Emperor to his face. This was no longer merely a test; it was a direct slap to the face.

Xuan辕 Yu's phoenix eyes remained calm and unrippled, though the slightly pressed corners of his lips betrayed the fact that the Snow Emperor was in a foul mood.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak! Master, please save that scarlet marten, it is so pitiful."

The little fox could not bear to watch the marten die just like that. Even though she disliked it, they were still practically half-family after all; she simply couldn't watch it perish before her eyes.