Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 114 - 34: Fox Demon Chronicles

Chapter 114: Chapter 34: Fox Demon Chronicles

Stepping into the painted dormitory, Duan Mingyuan’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the scene before him.

There was only one candle lit in the room. Looking further ahead, Jiuyue stood before a mirror, meticulously applying makeup.

The scent of incense wafted through the air, and she had somehow found a phoenix crown to wear, the jade crown studded with dazzling gems that shimmered with luster and opulence.

Clad in fiery red garments, her back to him, their reflection revealed Jiuyue’s beautiful face. She saw Duan Mingyuan enter the room through the mirror. Her red lips, accentuated by rouge, curved upward slightly, and her long, black, silky hair seemed to have grown much longer than before, almost touching her ankles.

All it took was her gentle smile to dispel the fatigue of the entire day.

Duan Mingyuan recalled the part related to the Fox Demon in "New Compilation of Monsters" from the academy, where the author mentioned a story he had heard while passing through a certain mountain village.

There had been an old man in the village. When he was young, he was a woodcutter. One day, while chopping wood in the mountains, he accidentally fell off a cliff but was luckily saved by a Fox Demon. The Fox Lady bandaged his wounds and fed him a concoction. Ever since coming down from the mountain, he couldn’t stop thinking about the Fox Lady. Over the next decades, he searched for the Fox Demon countless times, but never succeeded in finding her again.

The village people said the woodcutter had been a dashing young man with many girls in the village fond of him. Yet, since encountering the Fox Lady, he was bewitched as if enchanted, remained unmarried all his life, and never spared another girl a second glance. That’s why the old man lived alone in his old age, went senile early, and even forgot his own name. But whenever the village children asked him about the Fox Demon, his clouded eyes would regain their clarity, and he could recollect every detail of his encounter with the Fox Lady.

In his final moments, the woodcutter simply lay in bed, smiling at the door, mumbling unclearly that the Fox Lady had come to fetch him.

The author didn’t offer any direct descriptions of the Fox Lady in the mountains; at the end of the tale, he lamented how hard it was to imagine an encounter that would engrave itself on a person’s heart for a lifetime, to the point where they could no longer spare attention for any other girl.

Without imagination, there can be no description.

The author of "New Compilation of Monsters" expressed profound regret, saying he had been to many places and encountered numerous monsters in his life, yet even until the war ended and he wrote this book, he had never truly seen a Fox Demon. Thinking of the woodcutter’s story, he felt it was one of the great regrets of his life.

Duan Mingyuan couldn’t understand it when he read the book.

Because he had seen the Fox Demon, the even rarer Nine-tailed Fox at that.

The Nine-tailed Fox was certainly beautiful and captivating, but not to the extent described in the book.

In retrospect, the main reason probably was that Jiuyue rarely dressed up in front of him. At home, she preferred wearing a loose nightgown and running barefoot on the ground.

Yet even that had been enough to elevate Duan Mingyuan’s self-control by several levels.

And now, watching Jiuyue in front of him, dressed in fine clothes, time seemed to stop at that moment.

He was somewhat dazed, watching Jiuyue turn around and walk gracefully towards him.

"What is it, why are you standing there motionless?"

Jiuyue said this, but Duan Mingyuan’s reaction was very pleasing to her, making the effort she’d spent dressing up in front of the mirror all night worthwhile.

This proud and cunning smile, she was still the same little Fox Demon who would romp around him on a regular basis.

"Why did you suddenly decide to dress up?"

"The monsters on the mountain insisted, and they gave me this phoenix crown as a token of gratitude," Jiuyue said.

Jiuyue held the phoenix crown with both hands, turned a circle in front of Duan Mingyuan, "How is it? Does it look good?"

"Madam looks beautiful in anything."

"Oh my, oh my!"

Instead, Jiuyue was somewhat uneasy, her cheeks flushed red, thankful that the rouge helped mask her obvious embarrassment, "You, when did you become so smooth-talking!"

"Effort makes it possible," said Duan Mingyuan. Indeed, he had been deemed the least suitable for romance by his colleagues for several years in a row, partly because he was not interested, and he also had no inclination to study the subject normally.

But after Jiuyue expressed her feelings for him, he consciously started to learn more about romance.

Duan Mingyuan then asked, "Is there any other reason?"

This little fox was not good at keeping secrets, her cunning little eyes had already betrayed what she was thinking. It must be more than simply because a "coincidental" gift of a Phoenix Crown from a Monster on the mountain made her spend so much time dressing up herself.

"I heard that this is how princesses at the Imperial Court dress up."

When the tale of Elder Princess Ning Ruyue spread, it not only greatly boosted the morale of the academy but also intensified the students’ admiration for her to an incomparable degree. During court sessions, Jiuyue had come to realize Ning Ruyue’s feelings for Duan Mingyuan.

Although it was still at the level of a student’s admiration for a teacher, such feelings were the easiest to transform when spending days and nights together.

"Everyone... likes the princess, don’t you? If we’re counting, I am actually a princess of the Ruihu clan too."

This wasn’t really a lie.

Her father had once held the position of clan leader, so as his daughter, she should be able to carry the title of a princess as well.

Though her family was far from as well-known as the Royal Family of the Imperial Court, and their reputation was not as illustrious as that of the Prime Monarch, when it came to beauty, Jiuyue was very confident.

If it had been the Duan Mingyuan of the past, he surely would have thought Jiuyue was being foolish.

But the him of now compared to several months ago had changed completely. He picked up on the testing tone in Jiuyue’s voice and also noticed her uneasy and somewhat evasive gaze.

It was because of the Elder Princess’s matter.

Duan Mingyuan thought of Li Hua’s evaluation of Jiuyue.

This little fox’s protective instincts and territoriality were particularly strong; analyzing from the books he had recently read, this was probably because Jiuyue had lost too much in her childhood, making her easily lack a sense of security.

With that in mind, he took action.

A hand on his waist, another on his thigh, a slight effort was enough to lift the light Jiuyue around his waist.

"Ah—!"

The little fox exclaimed, "What are you doing?"

"Since you are a princess, naturally you should enjoy the privilege of being carried princess-style."

Jiuyue did not respond, her cheeks burning hot, and it took her a while to find her voice. She wrapped her arms around Duan Mingyuan’s shoulders and instinctively hid her face in his chest, preventing Duan Mingyuan from seeing her current expression.

Soon, she heard a voice from above her head, "Don’t overthink it."

"Huh?"

"At least to me, the status of a princess is not appealing."

Duan Mingyuan paused, then said, "Whether you are a princess or a commoner, my feelings will not waver."

Jiuyue still did not speak but her actions spoke volumes in response.

Her breathing became rapid and disordered, and she even employed the long-lost martial skill of Nine Nether White Bone Claw—her fingers clutching Duan Mingyuan’s shoulder tightened a bit more, seemingly trying to distract herself from her shy emotions.

Duan Mingyuan looked at Jiuyue; the little fox’s sneaky glances did not escape his observant eyes.

He suddenly felt he could understand the woodcutter in "Fox Demon Chronicles."

There were indeed moments in life that would be remembered for a long time, unchanged by the passage of time.

It’s just that the woodcutter in "Fox Demon Chronicles" was mostly a tragic figure, searching his entire life and never seeing the Fox Lady again.

But him,

As a war god ready to draw his sword, he would inherit the legacy of the characters in the book and head towards a comedic ending.