The Wily Vixen

Du Chen's heart jolted violently. He clasped his hands, his battle qi sealing the doors and windows of the Precious Lotus Scripture, which he then enlarged and leaped into. But the sight of his daughter was as if a torrent of ice water had been dashed upon him, freezing him from crown to toe… his very heart turned to an icy void.

He reached out to check the little one's breath.

Beibei's breath was gone, unmistakably extinguished!

*Beibei dead? How could she die so easily, so inexplicably? I don't believe it!*

Du Chen's hands trembled slightly as he reluctantly reached for his daughter's pulse, but Beibei's body was frigid, its temperature indistinguishable from a corpse! Her tender neck, soft wrists, her small chest… offered no flutter of life!

He frantically scoured every medical precept he knew, but the result was singular—Beibei was dead… Du Chen collapsed beside his daughter.

The little one's lips were still stretched in her characteristic happy grin, as if saying, “Papa, don't be too nice!” But that smile was utterly stiff. Her wide eyes were open, and the once lively and playful gaze now held not a trace of vitality. Her dilated pupils stared blankly into the void, a silent testament to her dying indignation—*Papa, Beibei is only three. I don't want to die, I don't want to never see Papa again!*

All vitality seemed to drain from the Lotus Pedestal, leaving only Du Chen's ragged, choked gasps.

Suddenly, Du Chen leaped up, embracing his daughter, and scanned the people on the Lotus Pedestal. Eldest Brother Steve was disoriented and babbling, Xue Ji was unconscious, Andy was fast asleep… He rushed to the Green Gourd Beast, grabbing its neck. “Speak! What did you see just now!?”

“Oh dear, my life is in peril!” The Green Gourd Beast's eyes rolled back from the squeeze, and it took a while before it managed to stammer, “That, that little girl was telling, telling stories to that madman, who knew she suddenly saw the little bottle you left aside, then she very curiously walked over, looked at the bottle, and, and drank the stuff inside!”

Indeed, it was the relic left by Duhong that was causing this catastrophe! Du Chen snatched the little bottle from his daughter's hand and, with a *smash*, shattered it on the ground!

But this couldn't bring his daughter back to life!

“I'm a dead man! Why did I carelessly leave the bottle here? Beibei is intelligent, but, but she's still a child who loves strange and curious toys!”

Holding her lifeless body in one hand, while the fingers of his other hand dug deep into his hairline in bitter regret, Du Chen suddenly had a flash of inspiration: if his daughter was dead, what about his son? He urgently called out, “Daughter, daughter!” After two calls, the little one didn't respond. Du Chen, exasperated, shouted, “Alex, come out here for Papa!”

The little one's body slowly grew stiffer. No one responded; it seemed even Alex had died.

“Dus! Damn it, use Holy Light to heal!” Du Chen roared.

Sacred light shimmered within the Lotus Pedestal, gently caressing the little one's body, but it seemed to have absolutely no effect…

Just then, an official from the Diplomatic Residence outside inquired, “Esteemed Francis, a guest wishes to see you!”

How could Du Chen be in any mood to see guests now? He retorted without thinking, “I'm not seeing anyone!”

A moment of silence fell outside. Clearly, the official hadn't expected his courteous inquiry to be met with such a cold rebuff. Resentment brewed in the official's heart. This wasn't Lanning, but McAllen territory! Though Francis was an envoy from a victorious nation, did that mean an envoy could throw his weight around in their Diplomatic Residence, treating them, beastmen officials, as if they were nobody?

The official fumed, “Ambassador, the person who wishes to see you is an important figure of our nation. It would be best for Your Excellency to meet them, for the sake of relations between our two countries!”

“I said I'm not seeing anyone! What's with the chattering!?”

The official's expression instantly changed. He was about to press further when a soft, charming laugh drifted from behind him, “It's alright, it seems Mr. Francis isn't in a good mood! You may withdraw! All of you may withdraw!”

The Beastkin Diplomatic Residence was a connected block of buildings, with a spacious courtyard outside. The official was questioning Du Chen, who was residing on the first floor, at the building's entrance. However, in the courtyard, a gilded, luxurious carriage, rarely used by beastmen, was parked. The soft laugh came from within the carriage.

There were still a dozen or so Beastkin Diplomatic Residence officials in the courtyard. They all strictly adhered to the command from within the carriage, bowing to the Roaring Golden Lion on the roof, cupping their hands in salute while retreating backwards, not daring to breathe loudly.

The Roaring Golden Lion statue on the carriage roof represented the majesty of the McAllen royalty!

As for whose charming female voice that was… the official who had questioned Du Chen approached the carriage with indignation, harboring the same question. There were no women with such a voice within the McAllen royal family! He bowed, “Most esteemed Lord, Francis refuses to see guests, your…”

“I told you to withdraw! Didn't you hear me?” The carriage curtain was pulled aside, and a slender, fair hand emerged, holding a Golden Token.

Upon seeing the token, the official's expression changed once more. He dared not utter another word of nonsense, and imitating the other officials, he obediently retreated backward.

With no one else in the courtyard, the coachman steered the carriage to face the entrance of the building, pulled aside the curtain, and a woman in a red dress with a red veil over her face elegantly stepped down from the carriage. With light steps and an almost ethereal grace, she walked directly to Du Chen's outer room. Her finger, delicate as an orchid, tapped on the wooden windowpane. “Francis, Thirteenth Master! Don't you want to see an old friend?”

Du Chen was still heartbroken over Beibei's sudden death, but upon hearing that voice, he jolted with a shock of recognition: Susanna! The Susanna he had betrayed that day on the McAllen Great Plains while digging up his ancestor's corpse?

*This wily vixen wasn't dead yet? Wasn't she captured by the Saint Baton Family, tortured, and sacrificed to their ancestors?*

He slapped himself hard, forcing himself to snap out of his grief, “Dus, you're more vital than I am right now. See to Beibei and Alex for me…”

“Francis, in my opinion, they truly are dead.”

“Nonsense, they are merely in slumber! Keep using Holy Light to heal them! If… if all hope is lost, then you must find a way to turn them into The Undead, understand?”

With that, Du Chen leaped out of the Precious Lotus Scripture, composed himself, and came to the door. He took a long, deep breath and, donning a facade of geniality, said, “Old friend? I don't have many old friends in McAllen!” *Creak*, he opened the door and saw that the face beneath the red veil was indeed that wily vixen, Susanna. After many days apart, the wily vixen had become even more alluring, emanating an intoxicating, seductive charm.

Du Chen wore a puzzled expression, “Madam, do you recognize me, Francis?”

“My darling tormentor! Don't play coy with me!” Susanna glanced at Du Chen standing at the door, then brazenly pressed her ample bosom forward and squeezed into the room. She let out a tinkling laugh, watching Du Chen hastily dodge her prominent curves, then sat boldly on the bed, lifting her skirt and crossing her legs, revealing a generous expanse of pale, silken skin. “Thirteenth Master! My Lord! Since you say you don't recognize me, very well! You and I have never met before… but surely you've heard the name Susanna?”

With just one sentence, the wily vixen had swept away all past grievances! One must remember, Susanna's uncle Babylon, over a dozen beloved male concubines, tens of thousands of painstakingly cultivated troops, and her dream of becoming an empress, had all been effectively ruined by Du Chen!

Could such hatred simply be erased, could a mere smile resolve all past enmity? Who would believe that?

Du Chen rubbed his nose and said, “You are Susanna? Oh! Of course I've heard of you. Back then, the Saint Baton Clan mistakenly believed I stole the Beast Emperor’s Seal and hunted me for thousands of miles. It seemed to have originated with you, Miss Susanna, didn't it?” Du Chen shot Susanna a displeased look. “Never mind, the Saint Baton Clan and I have thoroughly investigated the matter. It was a scoundrel named Brockman who impersonated my Thirteenth Master and committed that sacrilegious act! So much time has passed, I won't pursue it further!”

Susanna offered a sly, foxy smile, “Oh, come now, Thirteenth Master, you and I both know who truly betrayed me back then! The only ones who don't know are those fools in the Saint Baton Clan and the McAllen royal family. And only those fools would believe it was some Brockman who stole the Beast Emperor’s Seal…”

Du Chen's eyes turned cold. “Madam Susanna, I don't understand what you're saying!”

Susanna chuckled, “Thirteenth Master, my Lord! I've already made it perfectly clear to you: whatever happened between us back then, it's all water under the bridge now! Don't feign ignorance with poor little me!” She beckoned with a finger, “For every man who has been close to me, I remember them vividly! Thirteenth Master's 'might', I will never forget it my entire life!”

“When was I ever close to you? This old man back then used the Precious Lotus Scripture to hide alcohol and got you drunk!” Du Chen could only mutter this internally, while maintaining his facade of confusion.

Susanna sighed mournfully, “Very well, you don't know me, and I didn't know you before! Now, let me reintroduce myself…” She stood up and gave a slight bow, “This humble one is Susanna. Formerly a princess of McAllen, more recently a rebel whom the Saint Baton Clan had once yearned to swiftly execute, and now, I am the… Mistress of the Saint Baton Clan!”

Seeming to relish the flash of shock in Du Chen's eyes, she laughed heartily, swaying her hips, “Surprised? Do you recall my words from back then? 'No man, once entangled, can ever truly escape my grasp.' And quite inconveniently, the Family Head of the Saint Baton Clan is also a man, the heir of the Saint Baton Clan is also a man… And everyone of consequence within the Saint Baton Clan… they are all men!”

*This wily vixen not only escaped death with her beauty but also seduced the Family Head of the Saint Baton Clan?* Du Chen could only inwardly exclaim, *Women, by the heavens, they are truly formidable!*

Susanna sat back on the bed after her laugh. “Just now, Sonora informed the Saint Baton Clan that you want a map of the Celestial Capital, is that right? You want to trade tens of thousands of corpses for a map of the Celestial Capital; your appetite is too large. The Saint Baton Clan will not agree! But I…” She pointed to the tip of her nose, “can easily fulfill your tiny little request.”