Raising a Fox Spirit in My Home

Yan Hua heard Ruan Hongling's shout. He turned his head to look at her, then said with surprise and joy, "Hongling? Wh-where have you been these days? You didn't answer my call! I've been so worried about you!"

Ruan Hongling said with a snort, "Do you think I'm obligated to pick up when you call me? Who do you think you are?"

Yan Hua smiled sheepishly and said, "Well, I'm still your friend after all. It's only appropriate for me to show some concern for you!"

Ruan Hongling snorted again. "I'm fine. I don't need your care."

Yan Hua was disappointed. "Then why did you call me? If there's nothing else, I'll just leave."

Seeing that he was about to leave, Ruan Hongling shouted again in a hurry, "Hey, I have something I need to talk to you about!"

Yan Hua didn't want to leave at all. He had only been putting on an act, so when he heard Ruan Hongling's words, he immediately turned around and smiled obsequiously. "What's the matter, Hongling?"

"Where's the Six... your family heirloom magical sword? Is it still at home?" Ruan Hongling asked.

Yan Hua felt a little surprised about her changing her words mid-sentence, but he didn't overthink it. "It's still at home. Is something up?"

Ruan Hongling was overjoyed. Her eyes darted around and she asked, "Could I borrow it for my use?"

Yan Hua did not hesitate and immediately said, "Of course you can. No one can borrow it except you!"

Ruan Hongling was relieved to see him agree so readily. She said with a smile, "Really? That's great! Can you bring it to me tomorrow?"

Yan Hua nodded. "Sure!" But then he seemed to remember something and asked, "What do you want this sword for?"

Ruan Hongling said, "That's not important. It'll just be useful if I can borrow it!"

Yan Hua suddenly looked puzzled. He couldn't help glancing at Li Yundong in the distance and saying with jealousy, "You don't intend to lend it to that guy, do you?"

Ruan Hongling suddenly said angrily, "Hey, what are you saying? Do you want to lend me or not? If not, I'll leave!" After that, she stamped her feet and was about to turn and go.

Yan Hua hurriedly pulled her back and said with an embarrassed smile, "I was only asking. I can lend it to you, but you have to promise me that you won't give it to that guy."

Ruan Hongling frowned, still annoyed. "Yan Hua, do you know why I've never liked you? Because you're such a sissy! Borrowing is borrowing. If you're not going to lend it, don't ask me what I want to do with it. Why are you hemming and hawing? A big man like you, don't you feel ashamed? Let me go!"

Yan Hua smiled awkwardly and withdrew his hand. "I'm only like this in your presence. Don't worry, I won't ask anymore. I'll bring the sword to you tomorrow and lend it to you," he said humbly.

Ruan Hongling snorted angrily. "You really want to lend it to me? Look, if you're unwilling, don't let me borrow it. I won't blame you. Even if you lend it, don't expect me to appreciate it!"

Yan Hua smiled apologetically and said, "No, no, we are friends. It's no big deal if I let you borrow it."

Ruan Hongling harrumphed. "That's more like it. I'm leaving!"

Yan Hua saw her turn around and leave without any hesitation. He shouted weakly after her, but Ruan Hongling had already gone a good distance. Only her ponytail could be seen swishing behind her head, making Yan Hua's heart jump hard.

"Weird, what does she want this sword for?" Yan Hua wondered in confusion.

Yan Hua was thoroughly perplexed. When he returned home from school, after putting down his schoolbag, he went straight to his aunt Yan Fang's study.

His family was quite rich, and he lived in a courtyard house. His aunt had been gone for nine years, but his family still kept her room in the same state and cleaned it from time to time.

Yan Hua pushed Yan Fang's room door open and walked into the study, but he was shocked by what he saw!

A figure was standing next to the sword rack in the room, quietly gazing at the long sword on the rack. The figure was serious and focused as if it was looking at one of its long-lost relatives.

The figure was a graceful and charming woman, standing at about 1.7 meters. Her black hair cascaded down her shoulders like a glossy waterfall, and she exuded indescribable tranquility.

Yan Hua looked at the side of her face only to see that she was very pretty with a smile hovering around the corners of her mouth, looking as if she was recalling something.

Yan Hua glanced at her and asked in surprise, "... Aunty?"

Yan Fang seemed to have sensed that he had come in, but her eyes were still focused on the magical sword on the shelf. She said without looking back, "Hua, I haven't seen you for a long time. Do you still remember me?"

The last time Yan Hua had seen his aunt, he had still been a teenager. At that time, his impression of Yan Fang was that she was very beautiful, but a little difficult to get close to. Now he looked back and found that her appearance had not changed at all after more than a decade. She was still as beautiful as before, like a young girl in the prime of her life.

Yan Hua asked in surprise, "Aunt, when did you come back? Long... long time no see. You are as beautiful as ever!"

Yan Fang suddenly smiled, but her smile was dripping with sarcasm and self-deprecation. "Beautiful? What's the use in being beautiful? I am still no match for that fox spirit."

Yan Fang sighed and said faintly, "Hua, you must remember what I'm going to say!"

At this time, Yan Hua felt that his thoughts were in disarray. He did not know why Ruan Hongling wanted to borrow this sword from him. He also did not know why his aunt, who had disappeared for nine years, had suddenly come back, and why she suddenly wanted to tell him something?

Yan Hua replied blankly, "What do you mean?"

Yan Fang gently took one of the chain attackers, the Liuhe, from the sword rack. She lightly touched the shark skin cover of the sheath and said slightly, "If you like someone, you can't let others take them away. Sometimes you will even need to kill your competitors. You must take the initiative!"

Yan Hua was shocked. He hadn't expected that Yan Fang would advise him to kill someone. "Although I have a grudge against Li Yundong, I needn't go to the extent of killing him," he thought.

Yan Fang seemed to have guessed what he was thinking. She snorted and slowly unsheathed the long magical sword. In an instant, the magical sword was out and the sword Qi was shooting in all directions. "You may think that I am exaggerating, but in the future, you will know how correct my words are!" she exclaimed.

The look in Yan Fang's eyes suddenly became very profound. She said faintly, "I had the same thoughts as you in the beginning. I always felt that he could not truly be so heartless and would return to my side. But in the end, he would rather go up by himself than come back to my side. He even gave his sword to that seductive fox. Alas..."

Yan Hua was confused and thought to himself, "Go up? A fox? What is she on about?"

Yan Fang snorted and infused her Zhenqi into the Liuhe. "Last time, that bastard broke my Liuhe with the boy's Tongzi Yuanyang blood. I thought that the Liuhe would fall into his hands. It wasn't easy for me to find it again, but I wasn't expecting the Liuhe to still be in its original place! Hey, it's really an anomaly! It seems that heaven wanted this Liuhe to come back to me!"

After Yan Fang had poured her Zhenqi in for a while, the Liuhe suddenly jumped up by itself and floated in the air. It buzzed and let out a clear and loud swishing sound.

Yan Hua was completely stunned. He suddenly remembered that at the school's orientation party last time, Li Yundong had been holding this long sword. and the same thing happened back then too.

At that time, he had been so surprised and doubtful that he'd assumed it was some kind of special stunt, but now his aunt was making the sword do the exact same thing!

This time, Yan Hua was standing so close and could see everything clearly. He was shocked and confused. He stuttered, "Au, Aunt, who are you? What, what's going on?"

Yan Fang turned her face to him for the first time. She looked Yan Hua up and down and smiled slightly. "Do you really want to know? I've been hiding it from family for more than ten years. You're the first one to even know my identity. But, you'd better not know any more about this. Your aunt's enemies are scattered all around the world. It won't do you any good to know."

An idea suddenly struck Yan Hua and he blurted, "Aunt, are you a Sword God?"

Yan Fang burst out laughing. "A Sword God? I suppose you could call me that!"

Yan Hua was so excited that his entire face was flushed. "Aunt, can you teach me?" he asked loudly.

Yan Fang laughed. "Teach you? Why do you want to learn Cultivation?"

"The reason why Li Yundong overshadows me as he does is mostly that he is a Cultivator! Aunt, if you teach me Cultivation, I will definitely be able to defeat him!" he explained enthusiastically.

As soon as Yan Fang heard Li Yundong's name, her expression suddenly changed. "You have a grudge against Li Yundong?"

Yan Hua gritted his teeth. "Yes! He stole my Ruan Hongling from me!"

Yan Fang looked up at her nephew and laughed, "Our Yan family is really promising! How can everyone in it have their loves stolen by others?"

"Aunt, please teach me kung fu," Yan Hua said loudly. "I will definitely surpass him!"

Yan Fang laughed for a while, then lowered her head and looked at Yan Hua intensely. She shook her head and said, "No. Although Li Yundong and I have a grudge against each other, he is the most talented man I have ever seen in my life. Over the past 500 years, I have not once seen a Cultivator like him who can make such rapid progress. I even suspect that he is a reincarnated God, otherwise, he could not have cultivated so fast. You are no match for him, so don't ask for trouble."

Yan Hua's face was immediately flushed scarlet and he ground his teeth loudly. "Why am I no match for him? You haven't even taught me, how can you know that I'm no match for him? In what way am I inferior?"

Yan Fang looked at her nephew sympathetically. She shook her head and waved her hand at the Liuhe which was in the air. "Don't even think about it," she said. "I can only match him fifty-fifty even with my Cultivation Quotient, which I cultivated in Xuanmen sect for more than ten years. You have had a competitive character since you were young and are eager for quick success and instant benefits. This kind of character is not suitable for Cultivation at all. You can't surpass him. Just pretend that you didn't see me today."

After that, the Liuhe slid back into its sheath with a clang, and then jumped into her hand. Yan Fang then went out of the house in the blink of an eye.

Yan Hua ran out of the house only to see that it was empty all around. Even though it was broad daylight, he couldn't see the slightest trace of Yan Fang.

Yan Hua clenched his fists as pure rage coursed through his body. He roared, "How am I inferior to him? Ruan Hongling, Aunt, I will prove to you that I'm infinitely better than him!"