Chapter 12: Red Fox

Ji Yuan internally cursed Zhang Shilin and the others' ancestors. Even though they were thinking of their own lives, he had, after all, saved them. How could they just leave without him, without even a word?

What frustrated Ji Yuan most was that he couldn't even yell out his curses; he had to hold them in, his face turning red from suppressed anger.

After a long while, Ji Yuan's emotions finally settled.

"Hoo... hoo..."

Taking a moment to compose himself, Ji Yuan slumped down beside the mountain god statue.

'Damn it, what do I do now? Should I risk going down the mountain?'

Ji Yuan looked at the food and water by the mountain god statue. At least those guys had some conscience, leaving him something to eat.

Once he had calmed down a bit, Ji Yuan recalled that he might have heard Zhang Shilin calling him when he was asleep, but he had been in such a deep sleep that he probably hadn't responded at all.

"I saved your lives, after all. Couldn't you have waited for me to wake up and thank me in person before leaving? Or at least shaken me awake..."

Ji Yuan still couldn't help but sigh. With the peddlers gone, all his plans were ruined.

After all, he had arrived in an unfamiliar world. Originally, Ji Yuan had planned to go down the mountain with the peddlers, ideally using his status as their savior to get them to help him find a place to settle down before making further arrangements.

Since there was a tiger spirit in this world, there must be true masters, perhaps even immortal cultivators or immortals. In that case, his eyes might not be incurable. If he was lucky, Ji Yuan might even be able to embark on the path of cultivation.

Given that transmigration had occurred, and he had immediately encountered a tiger spirit, Ji Yuan seemed to be experiencing a series of low-probability events. From a probabilistic standpoint, this was certainly a run of good luck.

Thinking this way, Ji Yuan actually felt a slight thrill.

He picked up the small burlap sack of food from the ground, took out a steamed bun to chew on, and then slung the bamboo canteen with its hemp rope diagonally across his body. Ji Yuan then cautiously made his way out of the mountain god temple.

With his limited vision, he could barely make out outlines of his surroundings, which was just enough to be useful, but he had to be extra careful where he stepped.

"Hooooowl~"

Just as he reached the temple entrance, the distant roar of a tiger echoed from deep within the mountains.

Ji Yuan flinched, his faint excitement immediately replaced by fear. He instinctively stumbled backward, then suddenly stepped on something round, instantly losing his balance.

"Whoosh..." "Clang~"

"Thump..."

"Ouch..."

Ji Yuan had stepped on a candle stub, falling backward and hitting the mountain god temple's altar before tumbling further, getting completely disoriented by the fall.

"Hiss... cough... Damn it... when you're unlucky, even drinking cold water can get stuck in your teeth!"

Ji Yuan struggled to sit up, carefully feeling the back of his head where it hurt. He found a large bump that throbbed with every touch. Fortunately, the pain was superficial, so his brain seemed fine.

After resting for a while, Ji Yuan felt a little better and stared blankly at the small burlap sack and bamboo canteen beside him.

This fall somewhat curbed Ji Yuan's impulse to go down the mountain. If he were to suffer a similar tumble while climbing or descending, wouldn't there be a good chance of him being utterly finished?

Ji Yuan had always been someone who valued his life, even someone afraid of pain. He had lost his life in his previous existence, and although this one had started poorly, at least there was still hope.

"Rumble..."

Thunder rumbled, and silver lightning danced across the sky once more. Ji Yuan wasn't startled this time, but seeing that a mountain storm was imminent, it seemed even less appropriate for him, half-blind, to descend.

As the saying goes, climbing a mountain is easy, but descending is hard. How utterly fitting!

'Perhaps... I should just rest a bit longer?'

"Pitter-patter, pitter-patter..."

Soon after, rain poured down heavily. The weather in the mountains truly changed in an instant. Now Ji Yuan didn't have to hesitate; going out now would surely be futile.

Fortunately, Ji Yuan was seated in front of the altar. He closed his eyes, reined in his thoughts, and allowed himself to calm down.

Indeed, as his mind settled, the colorless yet beautiful mental image slowly emerged with the sound of the rain, revealing a vibrant landscape bathed in the mountain downpour.

In the heavy rain, what Ji Yuan enjoyed most was listening to the sounds of animals scurrying about. Such vivid auditory scenes were incredibly lively, even making him think of the smell of barbecue.

Suddenly, Ji Yuan heard a small animal, frantic in the rain, seemingly running towards the mountain god temple. With a few quick steps, it darted under the temple eaves.

Water was still dripping from the small animal's body as it cautiously moved deeper into the mountain god temple, at least from Ji Yuan's perspective through sound. However, it stopped abruptly just past the entrance, seemingly having spotted Ji Yuan sitting in front of the altar.

Ji Yuan opened his eyes to a blurry haze of light and shadow. The small animal was also a vague outline, slightly smaller than a local dog.

From his earlier observation of its movements in the rain, Ji Yuan knew it was likely a fox.

This type of animal was generally timid and would not attack humans, so Ji Yuan felt relatively at ease.

Strictly speaking, this dilapidated mountain god temple belonged mostly to animals most of the time, as evidenced by the animal droppings inside. Ji Yuan and the peddlers were merely temporary guests.

They were both seeking shelter from the rain, and Ji Yuan had no intention of chasing the fox away; being alone was rather boring anyway.

It was a relatively brightly colored red fox, pausing at the temple entrance and continuously staring at Ji Yuan. Seeing no reaction from the person inside for quite some time, it relaxed slightly, hesitated, then stepped through the entrance and flattened itself against the front wall, where it began to shake its body.

"Splish-splash, splish-splash, splish-splash..."

The rainwater on the red fox's fur was flung off with its rapid shaking, much of it flying several meters to land on Ji Yuan, causing him to instinctively shield his face.

However, as the fox shook off the water, Ji Yuan was able to hear its details more clearly. Its fluffy fur seemed distinct in every strand, indicating it was clearly a beautiful little animal.

The fox was quite well-behaved. After shaking off the water, it lay down to rest against the wall by the temple entrance, occasionally observing Ji Yuan's reactions with caution.

So, the man and the fox—one temporarily unable to leave, the other sheltering from the rain in the temple—remained in quiet coexistence.

At this point, Ji Yuan finally felt somewhat hungry. While there was no fancy food to be had, he at least had a small bag of dry rations to fill his stomach.

He fumbled to open the bag and squeezed the contents. The dry biscuits were as hard as stone, but the steamed buns, while not soft, were much better by comparison, so he took one out.

Tearing off a small piece, he sniffed it to ensure there was no moldy smell, then put it in his mouth and began to eat. The more he ate, the hungrier he felt, and one steamed bun was gone in less than fifteen seconds.

Ji Yuan couldn't resist taking another bun, devouring it quickly, then forcibly suppressing the urge to eat a third.

The bag wasn't large; with two buns gone, it felt significantly lighter. He reached in to carefully count, finding only two more buns and three dry biscuits left.

As a young man who had lived in the 21st century with a stable job, he had heard people complain about livelihood worries, but had never truly worried about starvation. This explained his somewhat slow reaction to the situation. Now, Ji Yuan suddenly realized that his food supply was alarmingly meager!

Even if he got down the mountain, he likely had no friends or family to rely on. How would he make a living? What could he do in his current state, beg?

"This is awful!"

Ji Yuan couldn't help but blurt out, almost hysterically.

The fox, sitting near the entrance, was startled and rose to its feet, alert.

This, however, drew Ji Yuan's attention.

"Heh heh, little fox," Ji Yuan said, "I'm blind and I didn't bring anything to feed you. I have some buns and biscuits, but first, you don't eat them, and second, I wouldn't give them to you anyway. If you could eat me, though, it would save me a lot of trouble."

"Hiss..."

The fox's fur bristled slightly, its limbs tensed, and it bared its teeth at Ji Yuan with a hiss.

"Just kidding, just kidding! You're better off catching field mice and rabbits..."

Ji Yuan spoke in a gentle, reassuring tone. He figured his voice and movements had definitely startled the fox. Even a cornered rabbit bites, so he shouldn't underestimate a fox just because it seemed timid.

For a long while, neither the man nor the fox made another sound. The fox carefully lay back down in the corner, and Ji Yuan, relieved, leaned against the altar and continued to stare blankly.