A vicious female is trapped in a beastly hell.

Chapter 453 Mother
Is this Shen Li as a child?

Shen Tang couldn't help but chuckle at its anxious, babyish howling, trembling with fear, its nine tails practically wavy from shaking... It was much cuter than when it grew up.

Shen Tang stood under the tree, arms outstretched, "Don't be afraid, little one, jump down, I'll catch you!"

The little fox seemed not to see her, ignoring her offer of help, and continued to howl anxiously in the tree.

Shen Tang thought it was just shy, so she tried to climb the tree to take the cub down, but her hand went through the tree trunk as if it were passing through air.

Shen Tang was stunned for a moment, then tried again, and without exception.

She turned her head to look at the palace wall beside her, rushed in, and passed through the wall like a lost soul, then returned effortlessly.

"System, what's going on?" I've never encountered this situation before.

The system explained, "The mental environment completely simulates the real environment, but frankly, everything here is fake. It's constructed from Shen Li's mental memories. His current mental state is extremely unstable, suppressing your mental body. The mental space is also on the verge of collapse, and it's unknown how long it can be maintained. This situation is quite normal."

"Then what am I supposed to do here? All this effort to get in would just be a waste of my energy."

[The host can try focusing their mental energy.]

Shen Tang nodded, but before she could make a move, she heard a cacophony of footsteps and exclamations behind her.

"Your Highness, what happened to you up in the tree! We've been looking for you for ages, we thought you were lost!"

"Oh my god, what if someone falls and gets hurt from such a tall tree!"

"Your Highness is so naughty and dangerous!"

A group of palace servants and guards rushed over.

The tall, upright young man in the lead looked somewhat familiar.

Shen Tang couldn't help but take a second look, and with a twitch of her lips, she recognized Qiu Yang.

He was much younger than I remembered, looking only fifteen or sixteen years old. His features were regular and strong, and he still gave off a slightly naive feeling, completely unlike the cunning and blindly loyal person he would become later.

Qiu Yang quickly climbed the tree and picked up the little fox. He handled it with such care, as if he were afraid it would melt in his mouth or break in his hands.

"Mother~" The little fox suddenly looked in a certain direction, called out in a childish voice, jumped out of his arms, landed on the ground, and ran away into the distance, wagging its nine fluffy tails.

The little fox happily pounced into the arms of the gorgeously dressed female.

Shen Tang also looked over, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

The female had a head of beautiful, fiery red hair, just like Shen Li's. Her graceful and ethereal figure was enough to suggest how stunningly beautiful she was. But for some reason, Shen Tang could never see her face clearly, as if through a thin, blurry mist. She gave off a warm feeling, like springtime, and one could vaguely sense that she was a beauty, but no matter what, one could not see her specific features.

Soon, Shen Tang understood the reason: the mental illusion was constructed from Shen Li's memories.

The people in my memory are gradually becoming blurry.

It's because so much time has passed that even the owner can't remember what she looks like.

Shen Tang had not deliberately inquired about Shen Li's background, but she had heard that the late empress had passed away long ago.

The late empress carried the little fox back to the palace.

Shen Tang pondered for a moment, then followed.

The surrounding scenery changed at lightning speed. It was as if winter had arrived without anyone noticing. Heavy snowflakes fell, covering the eaves and towering palace walls, and the palace roads were covered with a thick layer of snow. The beastmen, however, were not in a hurry to clear the snow and ice from the roads. Instead, they happily chased and played in the snow, and many of them transformed into their beast forms, rolling around in the snow.

Because of its geographical location, the Yiyuan Empire has a hotter climate than the Yehui Empire, and it rarely snows in winter. So the beastmen in the city were very happy to see such a heavy snowfall.

Zhuqiong Palace is where the emperor and empress reside. The young prince is too young to move to a new palace yet, and will continue to live with his beast father and mother.

A man with long, snow-white hair sat upright by the window. He wore a moon-white undergarment and a heavy black fur coat draped over his shoulders. The coat was embroidered with exquisite and intricate flowing cloud and gold patterns, making him look noble, elegant, dignified, and beautiful.

The man was exceptionally handsome, with long eyebrows that reached his temples, captivating golden eyes, a straight nose like a piece of jade, and soft red lips that were not overly flamboyant. Behind him, nine fluffy white fox tails swayed gently in the air without wind, with golden lotus marks at the tips of the tails.

The aura of evil and holiness is mixed together, yet it does not appear abrupt at all; it is as beautiful as a painting, making it hard to look away.

Shen Tang stood there in the courtyard, staring blankly at the tall figure inside the window. The man's features were at least four or five points similar to Shen Li's, so it wasn't hard to recognize him.

Ji Jin, the former emperor of the Yiyuan Empire and the father beast of Shen Li.

The late emperor has been gone for many years, and I never expected to see him in the depths of Shen Li's memory.

Shen Tang had once heard Qiu Yang mention in his rambling reminiscences that the late emperor was in poor health, suffering from chronic illness for many years, and had passed away long before Shen Li ascended the throne at the age of nine.

At this time, the late emperor still looked very healthy, showing no signs of illness or weakness.

Ji Jin, with her long, slender, jade-like fingers, held a white plum branch she had picked from the courtyard and placed it in a vase.

Hearing the sounds from outside, a gentle smile appeared on his handsome face. He got up and walked over. "Xiao Li is back?"

"Father, I missed you so much~ I was a good boy today, I came back before dark!" The little red fox flew into his arms like a cannonball.

At this time, Shen Li was no longer as chubby as when they first met. He had grown up quite a bit and looked to be about two or three years old.

Its nine tails were longer and more voluminous, and the faint golden hue at the tips of its tails was more distinct. It was the same golden lotus mark as its father's tail, but its mark was also wrapped with golden fire cloud patterns, making it look even more noble and beautiful.

Fox cubs at this age are usually very active and mischievous. Ji Jin didn't want it to run around outside all the time, but she couldn't stop it. When she got impatient, it started climbing walls and jumping trees. So she had to let it go out to play and asked Qiu Yang and the others to follow and protect it closely, telling him that it had to be home before dark.

Fortunately, the little fox was a very obedient child and always did it on time.

"Did you have fun today?" Ji Jin stroked her son's fluffy fur, gently grooming it with her fingers. After playing wildly outside all day, its paws were all black.

"I'm happy, but those people always let me have my way, so my son can't show his true strength! I want to find some real friends to play with!" The little fox found a comfortable position in his father's arms, enjoying the soft caresses, and comfortably squinted his eyes and started snoring, tired and sleepy from playing.

Ji Jin smiled and said, "You are a noble prince, unlike others. You will be the future ruler of Yiyuan Kingdom. You cannot afford to make any mistakes. If they accidentally hurt you, it would be a capital offense that no one can bear."

The little fox thought about it and agreed that it made sense, but it was still a little annoyed.

Looking at its adorable appearance, Ji Jin couldn't help but shake her head with a smile, feeling somewhat helpless.

One major reason why the bloodline of the nine-tailed fox clan is becoming increasingly rare is that they are extremely prone to dying young.

He valued the child highly and wanted to give it the best protection, but this also made it feel somewhat restricted.

But there's no way around it; sitting in this position means you have to bear all of this.

After these carefree years, the burden that will fall on its shoulders will be even heavier.

That's all for today, goodnight~