Bai Qingyue's thoughts were dark as he wondered what the most appropriate thing would be to stuff his wife's mouth with, considering the sheer, utter nonsense that had been coming out of her mouth lately. Something long and thick would do, so she'd have no opportunity to speak at all.

If only she knew that her "Snowball" had a legion of familiars at his beck and call, all of them far greater than a mere three-tailed vixen. If she knew, there was no way she would have said such ridiculous words.

He chose to pardon his wife's slight this time. Next time, there would surely be retribution for this kind of insolence. Moving his thoughts on to the other, more immediate issue, Bai Qingyue's shrewd golden eyes assessed the room, and found it most disgraceful.

"That foolish fox was a weakling, but capturing a pregnant mother is a foul move. Let us incinerate the shop as an act of good faith," Snowball 'kindly' suggested.

Li Meirong's brow arched after hearing the suggestion, wondering what had caused her young familiar to have such violent thoughts. Surely, he could not have picked them up from her.

Truthfully, the entire matter had escalated on a far greater scale than she had predicted. It wouldn't be out of place to say that she would be in big trouble.

She was fully expecting another summons, back to Grandmaster Zhu Zhang's halls, for another interrogation.

"Never mind the shop," she said hurriedly. "Let's go back home. I might have gotten myself into trouble, but it will be my burden to bear. If anything happens to me, this time, you must keep your distance and stay safely away, understood?" Li Meirong reprimanded.

The silver-furred cub agreed without hesitation, his eyes narrowed in thought.

"Don't worry, Snowball will wait patiently this time." said the fox spirit.

Snowball would not be there, but Zhu Qingyue would definitely stay close. He could not just leave his silly wife alone, after all.

"Good boy," Li Meirong said, ignorant of the 'naïve' cub's thoughts.

Appeased, she rose to her feet and dusted off her robe. She then lifted Snowball up and held him around the waist, the top of his fluffy head right beneath her chin as she exited the shop. However, her optimism died out as she stepped outside, only to find a crowd of cultivators had made a circle around the battered entranceway.

She tried to ignore their intrusive stares as she left the premises, but the attention still managed to fluster her.

The swarm of gossiping disciples parted in two when Li Meirong approached. She had no choice but to walk between the two halves of the crowd. Despite her anxiety rearing its ugly head, she strode forward with her back held straight, passing through with her eyes fixed forward.

Unfortunately, even without looking, it was inevitable for her to hear the words of the gossips, who did not even attempt to hide their disdain.

"She just ruined Senior Mu's shop! They'll definitely kick her out now."

"That girl is such a menace. Even for a furnace, she's too much of a handful to deal with."

"I heard that she was put on trial today, and her spirit beast disfigured Captain Liang's face."

A familiar, feminine voice mentioned. Li Meirong recognised it as belonging to one of No-Eyebrows' lackeys.

Her words rippled through the crowd.

"I heard that too! It's beyond my understanding what our talented youth, Mo Cheng, finds in her. I cannot comprehend it! Despite having so many beautiful and talented girls by his side, he insists on leaving the main wife position to her… a furnace should just scurry off and become a concubine, that's all they're good for anyway!"

"Do you think Grandmaster Zhu Zhang fell for her charms as well?" one person whispered to another. "Perhaps that's why he chose to turn a blind eye when Captain Liang was viciously attacked?"

"Heh, it wouldn't be the first time he fell for someone's charms! I heard that a long time ago, he had another disciple who was a furnace. Some say they were in an illicit relationship, master and disciple, pah! Perhaps the Grandmaster has a preference for Human Cauldrons?"

Li Meirong hastened her pace, her hands beginning to shake as sweat trickled down her nose. This was precisely the reason she hated leaving the sanctuary of her residence. Every time there was a need for her to leave it, she would be forced to overhear the whispers of passers-by, slandering her.

Finally, she was far enough away for the dreaded chattering to dissipate. A familiar row of mounts, perched by the edge of the island's cliff-side, came into view. She rushed to mount the crane at the stables.

In her awkward, nerve-wracked state, she failed to notice until that instant, that the fluffy bundle in her arms had long since vanished.

Panicked, Li Meirong's heartbeat thundered in her ears. She grasped at her hair in agitation, and just as she was about to scream for her fox cub, he came running up to her from afar.

"Snowball! Where did you run off to again?" Li Meirong asked worriedly.

"Nature called," Snowball replied, lifting his forelegs high in the air in a silent plea to be lifted up.

"…" This fox would be the death of her…

Still, she was glad to be away from the bustling market, and was in no hurry to go back. She picked up her fox spirit and mounted the waiting crane. After a short flight, she reached her destination.