Tian Shu Wu Wang Lu

Seeing Lin Ye's obsequious manner, the skinny man's mockery intensified. He kicked a rock beside Lin Ye, scattering pebbles all over him.

"A lowly servant like you dares to linger here in leisure?" The skinny man sneered, his eyes sweeping over Lin Ye with disgust. "You fooled us with your feigned madness that day, but we're in a bad mood today, so we'll make fun of you. If you know what's good for you, hand over the food and sect contribution points you're hiding, or you'll crawl back on your hands and knees!"

The two lackeys beside him joined in the commotion, closing in step by step until they cornered Lin Ye against the wall, completely disregarding this lowly servant. In their eyes, crushing such a nobody was easier than crushing an ant.

Lin Ye clenched his fists tighter at his sides, his palms turning slightly white, but the fear on his face didn't lessen at all. He even shrank back a little, his voice trembling with tears: "Senior brothers, spare me! This disciple has nothing on him, I only beg you senior brothers to show mercy..."

He begged for mercy, but his eyes quickly scanned his surroundings, looking for a way to escape. His pale golden star power quietly circulated within him, ready to dodge as soon as his opponent made a move.

Just as the skinny man reached out to shove Lin Ye hard, a faint sob suddenly came from the pile of weeds in the corner. The sound was weak and filled with deep pain.

The group was taken aback. The skinny man impatiently kicked at the haystack, yelling, "What's that noise? What bad luck!"

With that kick, the haystack was kicked open, revealing a small fox covered in wounds.

Its body is covered in snow-white down, it is small in size, has a golden flame-shaped star pattern on its forehead, and its eyes are like sapphires. It is cute and lively, and its body is surrounded by tiny starlight.

At this moment, it was covered in dust and blood, one of its hind legs was a bloody mess, clearly it had suffered a serious injury, its eyes were wet, and it was trembling with pain, but it still stubbornly looked at the people who surrounded it.

It turned out to be a rare Star Spirit Fox. Although it was a cub, its extraordinary bloodline was evident. However, it was severely injured and helpless at the moment, with no power to resist.

"It's a spirit fox! And it looks like a rare breed. If I catch it and refine it into pills, it will definitely improve my cultivation!" The skinny man's eyes lit up, his greed overflowing. He stared intently at the star spirit fox, determined not to let go of this opportunity that had come to him. He immediately forgot about causing trouble for Lin Ye and reached out to grab the star spirit fox fiercely.

The Star Spirit Fox was so frightened that it tried to shrink back, but due to its severe injuries, it could not escape at all. It could only let out a mournful wail, and its small body trembled even more violently.

Lin Ye's heart tightened.

In his past life, he couldn't bear to see such weak creatures being bullied. Now, looking at this little fox on the verge of death, a feeling of pity welled up in his heart.

His cultivation level was low, and it would be like throwing an egg against a rock to confront three outer disciples head-on. But he simply couldn't bear to watch the little fox be captured and used to refine pills.

In the blink of an eye, Lin Ye had made up his mind.

Before the skinny man could even touch the Star Spirit Fox, Lin Ye suddenly stumbled, as if tripped over a stone, and lost his balance, crashing into the skinny man while frantically shouting, "Senior brother, watch out!"

The collision, though seemingly accidental, was actually incredibly precise, striking the skinny man's elbow exactly.

The skinny man winced in pain, jerking his hand away. He failed to grab the Star Spirit Fox and was instead knocked off balance. A surge of anger welled up inside him: "You wretched servant, how dare you deliberately bump into me!"

"Disciple didn't mean it, disciple knows his mistake!" Lin Ye immediately knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, his face full of fear, looking terrified. "Disciple just slipped, I would never dare to offend senior brother, please forgive me!"

As he kowtowed, he stealthily moved towards the haystack, silently blocking the Star Spirit Fox's path and using his body to shield the little fox. He whispered urgently, "Run! Hide!"

"Still trying to argue!" The other two henchmen immediately stepped forward and raised their hands to strike Lin Ye. The skinny man also glared angrily and raised his foot to kick Lin Ye, his eyes still fixed on the Star Spirit Fox behind him, showing no intention of giving up on capturing it.

A cold glint flashed in Lin Ye's eyes, but he maintained his humble posture, secretly circulating his star power and deliberately dodging to the side, using the gaps in his movements to create an opening for the Star Spirit Fox to escape.

The Star Spirit Fox, being intelligent, instantly understood Lin Ye's intention. Despite the excruciating pain in its hind leg, it mustered all its strength and burst out from the gap in the haystack, dragging its injured leg as it plunged into the dense bushes beside it. In a few leaps, it disappeared from sight.

"Damn it! It got away!" The skinny man was furious, grabbing Lin Ye by the collar and yelling, "Tell me right now, where did that fox go! If we don't catch it today, I'll skin you alive!"

Lin Ye trembled all over, tears welling up in his eyes, and timidly pointed in the opposite direction: "Senior brother, it ran that way, hurry and chase it!"

He deliberately pointed in the wrong direction to completely lure the others away and protect Xinglinghu.

The skinny man, oblivious to Lin Ye's suspicions and preoccupied with catching the spirit fox for alchemy, spat at Lin Ye and, with his two henchmen, immediately chased after him in the direction Lin Ye had pointed, determined to capture the spirit fox.

Only after the three figures completely disappeared into the depths of the dense forest and the surroundings returned to complete silence did Lin Ye slowly stand up from the ground and pat the dust off his body.

The fear, cowardice, and humility on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a calm and indifferent expression, with only a trace of coldness remaining in his eyes.

He rubbed his slightly aching neck, pursed his lips, and muttered under his breath, "Finally got rid of them. Those greedy guys are really troublesome."

Lin Ye thought the Star Spirit Fox had escaped far away and would not come back. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, he heard a very light, painful footstep behind him.

He turned his head and saw the snow-white, fluffy Star Spirit Fox cautiously peeking out from the bushes and limping toward him.

It didn't run far in the direction they fled, but instead circled around to make sure the three skinny men were completely gone before daring to turn back.

The little fox walked up to Lin Ye, its sapphire eyes glistening with moisture. Without the slightest fear, it took the initiative to approach him and rub its wet little head against his fingertips, gentle and dependent.

Lin Ye looked at its bloodied and mangled hind leg, his heart softening slightly. He said softly, "Silly thing, why did you come back again? Aren't you afraid of encountering danger again?"

The Star Spirit Fox whimpered softly, nuzzling him even closer, its eyes filled with gratitude and dependence.

Lin Ye felt helpless yet soft-hearted. With a thought, he summoned the delivery box from his body, carefully picked up the young Star Spirit Fox, and gently placed it inside.

The box contains gentle star energy that can both heal wounds and perfectly conceal its presence, ensuring it will never be detected by outsiders.

Having done all this, Lin Ye put away the delivery box, patted the grass clippings off his hands, put on his honest expression again, picked up the tools beside him, and slowly left the corner of the backyard.

He became even more determined to cultivate diligently and break through to the first level of Stardust Body as soon as possible.

Only with strength in hand can one protect what one wants to protect, and only then can one stop having to endure and feign weakness to survive.