Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 65856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65856 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 329(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Xiao Dan laughed and spat out mouthfuls of fur as he tried to get his hands on the fox. When he could get the creature in hand, he pushed it away so he could get a good look at him.
“Huli, you can talk now? How? Where have you been?”
The wild huli jing broke free and rolled onto his back, throwing all his black feet into the air. “Huli can talk! Huli can talk just like a human now.”
“Yes, you can. I’m so impressed…and…and…stunned. I never…” Huli might have learned how to speak, but Xiao Dan found himself speechless, as if the fox had stolen away all of his words.
Huli rolled over and bounced to his feet. “I am a huli jing, and we are magic.”
“Yes, I know. I—”
Huli paced in front of him, seeming to flick his tails.
Tails!
Huli had two tails now. They looked identical, as if it were a trick of his eyes or some kind of illusion, but it wasn’t. They both brushed across his hand. The fur was soft and so very fluffy.
“You have two tails,” Xiao Dan exhaled, still unable to tear his eyes away from them.
“I do!” Huli sat, his chest puffed out as if he were exceptionally proud. His tails flicked and moved constantly. “I traveled far away and cultivated for many years in a magical, secret place. The moment I was strong enough, my second tail appeared, and I could speak. I could return to Zhang-ge.”
“I’m so proud of you, Huli!” Xiao Dan lifted his hands to cup Huli’s cheeks and scratch his ears with his long fingers. The fox’s tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth and his eyes rolled up into his head as if he were in heaven. Huli didn’t need words for Xiao Dan to know this was his very favorite spot to be scratched. He’d learned that trick years ago, and it still held true.
“Does this mean you’ll stay now?” he asked, and the fox stiffened in his hands. Huli’s triangular ears drooped, and the fox moved closer, bumping his head against the center of Xiao Dan’s chest. It was like he wanted to be picked up and cuddled—something he’d done as a tiny pup. But Huli was now bigger than every fox he’d ever seen. It wasn’t a matter of Huli being too big to cuddle, but rather that his size now made it awkward.
“Huli?” he prodded at the fox’s sudden silence.
“Don’t be mad.”
“Why would I be mad? What’s wrong?”
“Huli can’t stay, and Huli wants to stay with Zhang-ge forever.”
Joy and fear warred in Xiao Dan’s chest, but he pushed all those feelings away so he could focus on his sad fox. “Look at me and tell me what’s going on. Is someone forcing you to leave? If that’s the case, I will help you. I would never allow anyone to threaten or harm you.”
“This is why Huli loves his Zhang-ge. He always protects Huli and keeps him safe.”
“Of course. You are precious to me.”
Huli rubbed his head on the palm of Xiao Dan’s hand once before sitting up to face him. “I…I must leave because there isn’t enough magic here for me to cultivate, and I will become a true jiuweihu. I want all my nine tails.” The fierceness of Huli’s words brought a smile to Xiao Dan’s lips even as his throat tightened. “I returned when I could speak, so I could tell Zhang-ge why I was gone. I want Zhang-ge to wait for me while I become more powerful.”
“Will you return to visit each time you gain a new tail?”
“I don’t know. The places I must travel are very far away. It will take me a long time to return to you each time.”
Xiao Dan put a hand under Huli’s chin and forced the fox to lift his head so he could stare into those warm amber eyes. “I will be here waiting for Huli, no matter how long it takes you to return. This is important to you, and I support you. If you wish to be a powerful jiuweihu, then you do whatever you must do to become that.”
The fox whined and pushed into his lap, startling a laugh out of Xiao Dan. “But I miss Zhang-ge so much. I don’t want to leave!”
Xiao Dan hugged the fox as best he could, despite all his wiggling and flicking tails. “I miss you too. But each time you return from your adventures, you’ll have so many stories to tell me and new tails to show off.”
That lifted Huli’s spirits in a flash. The fox bounded out of his arms and raced around the orchard as if he had to once again show off his new tail. He zoomed over to Xiao Dan, his mouth open wide. “One night, I will come back to Zhang-ge and I will shift into a human. Zhang-ge will fall hopelessly in love with me!”