Chapter 76: Teaching the fox a lesson
Not one of them trusted the river.
Not with their small female in it.
Lin Huahua could see some tiny fish darting around the clearer part of the water, and because they were there and visible, her confidence rose immediately.
Good.
Very good.
This was not impossible.
She adjusted her grip on the spear, stared hard at the water, narrowed her eyes, and then struck.
Nothing.
The fish were gone.
Lin Huahua blinked.
Then tried again.
Nothing.
Again.
Nothing.
After over ten minutes, not one fish.
Not even a foolish one.
Not even a half-blind one.
The river was full of tiny swimming insults at this point.
After over ten minutes, not one fish.
Not even a foolish one.
Not even a half-blind one.
The river was full of tiny swimming insults at this point.
Lin Huahua’s mood became worse and worse.
Her hair had begun clinging lightly to her face from the warmth, her cheeks were pink from effort, and although she was still trying hard, each failure made her look more and more like a tiny white rat personally offended by the entire fish population.
Feng Yiren watched for a while.
Then, because he was Feng Yiren and peace was not in his nature, he finally stepped in.
The fox took up his own spear, waded to one side, and with a movement so fast it almost looked insulting, struck once.
A fish.
Another strike.
Another fish.
A third.
Another.
He was not just fishing.
He was showing off shamelessly and deliberately, that it was so obvious.
Lin Huahua stared at him in disbelief.
Then her face changed with anger.
Then she shouted, "Feng Yiren!"
The fox looked over with entirely too much satisfaction in his red eyes.
"You bully!" Lin Huahua cried. "You are doing this on purpose! You are heartless! You do not have a heart at all!"
Feng Yiren did not even try to deny it. In fact, the more annoyed she looked, the happier he seemed. His fox ears stood high, his tail swayed lazily behind him, and his whole body practically radiated fox-like delight.
He loved this.
He absolutely loved it.
Because yes, he was still holding a grudge over that question she had asked him earlier, and yes, seeing her angry like this pleased him in a very bad way.
Lin Huahua turned helplessly toward Mu Qingyi and Hu Baiyu as if asking whether there was truly no justice left in the world.
Neither of them laughed.
But both of them looked as though laughing was trying to happen somewhere inside and being forcefully held back.
That only made Lin Huahua feel more wronged.
At this point, her dream of proving herself to her father was floating away downstream with every fish she failed to catch.
How was she supposed to show that she was useful now?
Her little shoulders drooped.
Her ears lowered a bit.
Even her tail lost some life.
After another miserable attempt, Lin Huahua finally gave up without anyone even needing to tell her to stop. She only let out a long suffering sigh and started walking back toward the bank, looking so defeated that even the river might have felt a little guilty.
Mu Qingyi saw it immediately.
The deer beastman’s heart softened at once, because no matter how cute she looked pouting and suffering, seeing her genuinely discouraged still made him feel bad. He wanted to comfort her, but he also knew that if he said the wrong thing right now, she might become even more upset. So he only followed her quietly, ready to help the moment she looked like she wanted help.
Lin Huahua did not even care about the stones anymore.
At least, that was what she told herself.
In reality, the ground still hurt, but now she was too mentally wounded to give it proper attention.
Unfortunately, Feng Yiren still did not know when to stop.
That stupid fox came right up beside her and started again.
"So," he said lightly, his red eyes bright with evil satisfaction, "our mighty fisher has returned. Tell me, did the fish apologize before escaping? Or did they simply decide that your spear was not worthy of them?"
Lin Huahua stopped.
Very slowly.
Then she turned to look at him.
The fox looked far too pleased with himself.
That was when she noticed something up in a nearby tree.
A beehive.
Her eyes moved from the hive to Feng Yiren.
Then from Feng Yiren back to the hive.
A smile slowly appeared on her face.
It was not a sweet smile.
No.
It was the kind of smile that should make a wise fox immediately leave the area.
But Feng Yiren, too busy enjoying himself, noticed nothing.
Lin Huahua then called in an unusually mild voice, "Feng Yiren."
The fox lifted his brows.
That tone?
Interesting.
He smirked. "What?"
Lin Huahua looked up at him and asked very politely, "Are you sure you want to keep doing this?"
Feng Yiren’s chest filled with fresh fox pride. "Why would I not be sure? I am enjoying rubbing it in your face that you cannot fish."
That was all she needed.
The next second, Lin Huahua lifted the spear and threw it.
Thankfully, her aim was perfect.
Or maybe the heavens themselves had grown tired of Feng Yiren’s mouth.
Either way, the spear struck true.
The beehive dropped.
Feng Yiren looked up just in time to see his fate descending on him.
Then the honeybees came out.
All of them.
At once.
For one second the fox stood there frozen.
Then he screamed.
Actually screamed.
And took off running like his entire fox bloodline depended on it.
Lin Huahua stared for half a breath.
Then she burst into laughter so hard she nearly folded in half, her white rat tail swishing wildly behind her while Feng Yiren ran farther and farther away, swatting at himself and yelling in outrage as the furious honeybees chased him down the riverbank.