"On rainy days, thunder crashes, and the wind howls. Mom says a big wolf lives in the valley, hunting lone little foxes~"
Lingling blinked her eyes, singing a nursery rhyme from home. As the tune trailed off, her eyes grew slightly moist at the corners.
Her golden tail drooped lifelessly on the floor. "Lingling... misses Mom..."
A flood of sorrow washed over her. Lenna’s heart clenched. She rushed over, wrapped Lingling in a hug, and murmured softly, "There will be a chance."
Lingling had been cheaply bought by Lenna from a slave trader. Caked in mud and reeking, the trader hadn’t recognized her as a rare Foxfolk. Lenna snagged a huge bargain.
Lenna never asked about Lingling’s past.
Out with the old, in with the new. Some scars hadn’t healed; reopening them would tear flesh and bone, bringing heart-wrenching pain...
"I’m sorry," Lenna said, bowing her head to Lingling.
"I’ll do everything to help you find your family—and that valley where ‘thunder crashes on rainy days and the wind howls.’ One day, you’ll return to your birthplace and reunite. I swear it by the Gray Robe’s name."
Heartbeats pulsed through their clothes, syncing into one rhythm.
"Thank you, Miss," Lingling whispered, feeling that steady beat, flustered. "Just as Lingling guessed... Miss really has changed."
"Changed how?" Lenna stroked her head.
"Changed..." Lingling stammered, face flushing crimson before darting away.
Soon, half a body peeked from the doorway. The Fox Maiden hid behind wide sleeves, voice soft and sweet: "Miss didn’t bully Lingling all day yesterday. No harsh words. Even after drinking my low-grade stamina potion, she just held me while sleeping—no groping. And she gently applied medicine to my wounds..."
Lingling had bottled these words all day, forcing them out with every ounce of courage.
She trusted Lenna. The Foxfolk’s innate heart-to-heart bond had already confirmed it.
"Can Lingling... have Miss’s gentleness too?"
"Just so you know, I’m not gentle."
Lenna dressed in her deep red plaid academy uniform, vibrant and sharp. She braided her long hair into twin pigtails over her chest, then slipped on thick round glasses.
They walked side by side, the mood warm. Only after boarding the mana-powered carriage did Lenna draw the curtains and say slowly, "If you imagine me too kindly, Lingling, you’ll taste bitter sorrow in the end."
"I don’t understand," Lingling shook her head, her innocent face mirrored in Lenna’s pupils.
Lingling couldn’t grasp Lenna’s words—or why she helped while playing the villain. A new game?
"Miss helped Lingling so much. Promised to find Mom with me. How could she not be good?"
"Whether I’m good isn’t yours alone to decide."
......
The maid dress embroidered with the Falmore Family crest crumpled in her grip.
The Fox Maiden chewed over those words.
......
186 Imperial Avenue.
A century-old antique shop met its most lavish customer yet.
The shopkeeper beamed, watching the gray-haired girl splurge on piles of obvious junk.
Genuine at first glance! A capricious rich heiress!
Not ripping her off would betray his "silver-tongued" reputation.
No business for half a year, one deal feeds you for half a year. Suckers were common—but a juicy, dripping-rich one? Rare.
"Excellent taste, Miss! Everything here is antique—zero refurbishment!"
The shopkeeper rubbed his hands, wrinkles fanning like chrysanthemums.
"See here, and here! Artifacts from the Poli Empire ruins—extinct ten thousand years! Real treasures to clutch as heirlooms. Priceless!"
"And these... I bled coins collecting them from merchants worldwide..."
Lenna picked up a magical trinket, glanced, then set it down. She turned casually. "Do you have new stones?"
His smile froze. "Worthless rocks? Check my real treasures—"
"Show me all the stones." Lenna tossed a gold coin on the table.
Clink! The crisp ring was sweeter than any music.
"Sure, sure!" The shopkeeper chuckled slyly.
He’d scanned the mana crystal batch days ago with a detector. A few could be sold as low-grade mana crystals; the rest were pure junk. He’d overpaid one gold coin and despaired of offloading them.
A sleepy head gets its pillow—a sucker walked in.
He didn’t care why she wanted trash. If she bought, he’d rip her off.
Turn crow to phoenix—all on his silver tongue.
"One hundred gold coins for the lot. Deal?"
"Quality’s poor," Lenna said, toying with a cracked, impure crystal. Experts would refuse even if paid to haul it; garden pebbles suited it better. One hundred coins was robbery—he saw her as prey.
"Discount?" She set it down, playing the reluctant newbie.
"Ninety-eight! Final offer—consider it friendship!" The shopkeeper, a master actor, "reluctantly" pushed the sack forward.
"Lower..."
"Ninety-five."
"I’m leaving."
"Ninety! Ninety! Truly can’t—" Sweat beaded on his brow.
Letting this feast escape? His peers would laugh him out of business.
He’d sell for fifty or more.
Lenna sneered. "Four gold coins cover your junk. Charge this much for mana crystals? I’ll report you to the Imperial Street Office."
"You can’t slash like that!" He fumed, blood rushing to his head. "Halving it? How do I run a business, Miss!"
......
Lenna said nothing. Her icy gaze swept his aged face. Like a calamity beast’s stare—it made his knees shake.
"Damn it! Four it is!"
"Thanks. Leaving." Lenna pulled out three coins, turned, then paused near the door. "This ring... price?"
"Take it! Free!" He grumbled, stuffing all four coins into his pouch. He stormed into the back room. "Pah. Stingiest heiress ever."
"Thank you." Hearing his muffled curses, Lenna’s tight face cracked into a victorious smile.
Buying stones was bait. The real catch was here. Some spent lifetimes in antiques but stayed blind to true treasures. Perks of reincarnation~
[The Sacred Chant of the Narcissus King]
The sack of mana crystals distracted eyes—Lenna’s true target was this ring. The damaged divine artifact wouldn’t wait for its destined owner. Satisfied, she wrapped it in a handkerchief, tucked it close, and hurried back to the carriage...
