Following Snowball's guidance, Li Meirong kneeled alongside him upon the dimly lit forest floor and bowed to the skies in reverence. Both had attentively closed their eyes.
"Follow my words and beseech the heavens; If you allow us to mar- ahem, make a contract together, please encompass us with a shroud of mist." Snowball carefully instructed while clasping both of his paws together.
As Snowball finished speaking, Li Meirong inquisitively squinted a peek at the white fox by her side. It was almost comical to see the little fox baby with his eyes shut tight in avid concentration as if his whole life depended upon making this contract succeed. Her eyes turned into crescent moons and her lips trembled as she witnessed the scene. Li Meirong quickly brought her hand to cover her lips, afraid of destroying this important moment for Snowball with her careless laughter.
Amused as she was by the whole predicament, her heart was still filled with warmth at the thought of Snowball caring for her to such an extent that he would be so engrossed in the ceremony. It made her feel all sweet and fuzzy inside.
So little Snowball already cares so much for me!
"Well…?" Seeing as Li Meirong remained silent, Bai Qingyue nervously urged her to continue. The faster they get on with the ceremony, the lesser the opportunity would be for her to bail out!
"Right away! If you allow us to make a contract together, please encompass us with a shroud of mist." Li Meirong didn't want Snowball to know she found the situation entertaining, so she quickly clasped her hands back together and closed her eyes, chanting the special words.
Unbeknownst to her, the heavens had indeed heard her words and enveloped the forest with a veil of heavy fog.
The ceremony continued as Bai Qingyue proceeded with his instructions, "Since we can't properly conclude the union, let's make do with what we can. Follow my words; 'I thank the Jade Emperor as*hole for allowing this contract to be made. What is once done cannot be undone, the red threads of fate shall entangle eternally.'" Bai Qingyue might be obligated to pray to the jerkface Emperor, but it didn't mean he had to be polite about it. Humph. That vicious dragon messed with his whole family line!
"..." Li Meirong stayed momentarily silent, her brows furrowed in thought. Why does it sound as though little Snowball has issues with the emperor of heaven? How does that even make any sense?
What was even sillier was that the whole speech strangely sounded as though they were about to get married! She felt foolish just thinking about such a ridiculous notion!
There were so many ceremonies containing speeches with threads of fate and requiring bows of respect. Surely, she was only overly suspicious.
Li Meirong sheepishly repeated Snowball's sentence, excluding the insult.
Directly after, they bowed in respect to each other.
"Perfect! Now let's exchange blood, hurry!"
Li Meirong opened her peach-blossom eyes and saw a thick coat of grey enveloping her as if the heavens had really heard their prayers. Snowball perched right in front of her and excitedly nipped his downturned paw hard enough for a trickle of blood to spill.
In response, Li Meirong unhesitantly bit on the soft flesh of her thumb. Since she was already regularly feeding Chou, her pearly white teeth sliced through her flesh with very little discomfort.
Bai Qingyue resolutely pressed his bleeding paw against her thumb. His usual large pupils turned to sharp slits. As soon as their blood connected with each other, an invisible breeze suddenly engulfed the pair surrounded by thick fog. Li Meirong found the whole experience had shifted from an amusing experience to an eerie and otherworldly sensation.
Snowball was only a little fox cub, barely the side of an adult cat, and yet…at this very moment, he looked frightening to her. The fog encircled his furry form like a demonic cloak. His eyed picked on a bewitching lavender shine, and his tiny snout stretched into a sinister smirk.
Wide-eyed, Li Meirong gazed at Snowball with a hint of trepidation, feeling itchiness all over her skin, as if a profound event far beyond her comprehension had just taken place. Making blood contracts with Chou and Feng Huang was so simple in comparison to this ceremony. She felt as though she stepped into a trap without the means to escape unscathed!
A chill flowed through her whole body. Was this really the helpless baby fox she picked up in the woods?
Why does it feel as if I just made a contract with the devil?
"Are we through? Umm...the weather took a turn for the worst, so let's hurry along now!" Said Li Meirong. She couldn't hide the trace of panic from her tone.
From one moment to the next, the fog had dissipated, the breeze had blown away and the terrifying impression had vanished as if it never happened. Snowball's demeanour went back to his sweet, adorable self. He lifted his upper limbs towards Li Meirong, preparing himself to get picked up by her as he gazed at her with the same puppy-face she was already used to.
Li Meirong felt completely confounded, unsure of what to make of what she saw. In times of stress, it was best to disregard unreasonable emotions and depend on logic. She must have gotten hit too many times on the head recently, to think Snowball was some sort of malevolent creature!
Li Meirong lifted her Fox Spirit and placed his chin on her shoulders so he could be held in comfort. She trod through the path which was now cleared of mist, failing to notice the little fox held in her arms grinning sinisterly from ear to ear.
Bai Qingyue was so elated, it was difficult to contain his joy! Ah, to think humans would be so foolish, she didn't suspect him for even one second!
From now on, Li Meirong would never be able to escape from him!
Perhaps later on, after he would bring them back to the Celestial realm, it would be necessary to provide an explanation for his...avoidance of the truth, but for now, this will do.
There was no way Bai Qingyue would be so careless as to end up in the same condition as his poor, heart-broken cousin who had lived her life in solitude for several millennia despite finding her fated person.
His cousin's destined partner was a human just the same as Li Meirong, but by the time she found him, the destined partner had already fallen in love with another.
This one-sided curse was a terrible burden to bear. Unfortunately, that human man was smitten by a cultivator and alongside her guidance, he had retained his life as an immortal.
Bai Qingyue's pitiful cousin wasn't even granted an opportunity to trace his soul in the afterlife and try to win him over again because the man's mortal lifespan defied its natural course due to his cultivation. Even now, she had gone looking for him, continuously remaining in anguish as her beloved was in the arms of another woman.
Bai Qingyue swore under his breath just from thinking of his family member's plight.
No. He has to tie this woman to his side using every means possible.
Should anyone attempt to take her away from him…
The fox's gaze darkened at the thought. A murderous aura emanated from his small physique.
Kill on sight!!!