The curious spirit beasts, hiding in bushes and in the canopy of the trees, shuddered as they sensed a dangerous, malicious energy radiating from the harmless-looking fox spirit.

The nearby spirit beasts cowered in fright. To think they'd been scared of the girl bearing a god's aura, when the fox was, in fact, ten times worse; a harbinger of death! The killing intent was so strong, the creatures watching swiftly made themselves scarce.

At once, a familiar, feline roar echoed from high above. Li Meirong lifted her gaze to the skies, and watched as a grey-furred belly slowly descended above her head.

The twin-tailed cat which had brought her to the Thousand Beasts Forest gracefully glided to the ground in front of her.

Snowball's head whipped about towards the intruder, and he flashed his pearly white fangs threateningly. A low growl rumbled up out of his throat.

'We only just got married, and already, there is an intruder.' Snowball's menacing thoughts went unnoticed by Li Meirong, who cried out happily upon recognizing the spoiled, lazy feline.

"Cai Huise! You came to pick me up?" she asked, closing the distance between herself and the cat spirit.

The first thing Cai Huise noticed was the fox spirit's murderous aura, and unconsciously took a few steps back, keeping his distance. Something was definitely amiss with that fox. He thought, focusing instead on the girl he had been searching for. His large, feline eyes glared accusingly at Li Meirong.

"So, you remember my name only when I am already here? I told you to call for me when you were done. I would have come to get you!" Cai Huise reprimanded the foolish girl. How dare she forget about his magnificent self?

'Ah… so he did.' Almond-shaped eyes widened, as realization dawned upon Li Meirong. With the events that had transpired – the explosion from the fire drake, the betrayal and death of her fellow disciples, the confrontation with the evil cultivator, and eventually the dimension with Feng Huang – she had completely forgotten that Cai Huise had said he would take her back to the sect when she would call upon him.

Wishing to refrain from upsetting the grumpy mount any further, Li Meirong changed the subject.

"Thank you so much for coming to find me. If you didn't come to get me, I probably wouldn't have reached the foot of the mountain until nightfall." Seeing that Snowball had taken on an aggressive stance, she introduced Cai Huise to her new fox familiar, pointing her index finger at the fox with obvious pride. "This is my new spirit familiar, Snowball. I found him in the forest, heavily wounded. We'll have to reach the sect as soon as possible to treat his injuries."

Upon seeing how friendly Li Meirong was with the cat, Snowball ceased his hostile behaviour.

An expression of disdain remained present on his features, however, as he listened to her discussing unimportant matters with the domesticated spirit beast.

While Cai Huise was indeed domesticated, he was still a cat. His shrewd, slanted pupils took note of the fox cub's abnormal behaviour. Usually, a spirit beast would wait for their Master's command before jumping into action. This fox, however, behaved as though Li Meirong was his exclusive territory and a foe had arrived to threaten his position.

Not to mention the fact that said "Snowball" barely seemed injured at all. The fox's white fur was coated in dry patches of red, but Cai Huise could easily recognise it as juice from forest berries, not blood.

Whatever the reason for the fox's behaviour, it was none of his business, and so, the twin-tailed Cai Huise disregarded the fox.

"Hm, that's all well and good, but while you were picking up abandoned cubs in the forest, the sect masters heard an explosion in the forest and went to investigate. They found the remains of the humans you travelled with, and they're blaming you for their deaths. You're in a lot of trouble, little girl!"

Eyes going wide, Li Meirong staggered back a step.

"What? Why? I was the one who was ambushed!" she exclaimed.

Why was she in trouble? Wasn't she the one who'd been dropped into a volcano?!

"I do not know all the details, but you have been a pleasant enough human to me, so as soon as I heard the news, I rushed to look for you." Cai Huise settled onto his haunches. "We should head back right away. You should prepare yourself for a trial, because the succeeding disciple of the Bestiary Coalition is backing the murder claim. The situation is not in your favour," he added, seemingly nonchalant about the entire matter. He licked his slate-grey fur clean once he had finished explaining, allowing Li Meirong time to process the information.

Li Meirong's emotions had turned turbulent, rolling about inside her. Her brow wrinkled as she bit her bottom lip. Was this one of those infamous schemes she had read about? Would she be executed for a crime she didn't commit?

Maybe it would be best to transport herself to her dimension and stay there for a century or two…?

"They were the ones who tried to kill me," she whispered, barely aware of doing so as she tried to think of ways to escape to a hiding place. "I only defended myself."

In an instant, she felt the warmth of a soft paw atop her hand. It caressed her pale skin in reassurance, helping her focus. She glanced at Snowball, seeing the young fox observing her carefully. His golden eyes glowed with an earnestness unbefitting his young, fluffy form.

"Do not worry, I am here with you." Bai Qingyue's voice sounded different in this form, completely unlike his human-like, deep, masculine tone. It was the high pitched sound, that a youngster would have. Yet, his calm demeanour made Li Meirong feel as though she could actually depend on him.

"Alright, I'll trouble you to take care of me." Li Meirong answered, giving Snowball a small smile of gratitude.

"Naturally," said Snowball, puffing out his furry chest with pride.

Suffused with warmth, Li Meirong felt her anxiety beginning to lessen. She mounted Cai Huise and placed Snowball between her legs. She grasped the twin-tailed cat's smooth grey fur for balance as he glided through the clouds, heading straight towards the Forgotten Waters sect's main halls for questioning.

To calm herself further, Li Meirong thought rationally about the situation. Justice was on her side, for she had done nothing wrong. If she could explain everything accurately, the grandmasters would have to believe her, right?