The shopkeeper's legs gave way, and he landed heavily on his rear. His mind struggled to process everything that was taking place right that moment.

The second the bindings on the imprisoned spirits and demons shattered, they bolted from their cages and immediately began wreaking havoc.

Knowing that he was the target of their hatred, the shopkeeper fled his store in fear of his life, escaping before the spirits could enact their revenge and kill him.

He jumped onto his mount's back and flew to Grandmaster Zhu Zhang's halls, hoping to appeal to him for reimbursement for his shop, and, more importantly, to get that wicked girl arrested!

Just because she was stronger didn't mean that she could come and ruin his life as she so pleased! There were laws in the sect for a reason!

His shop. His livelihood. Gone, all gone…

As the shopkeeper fled, the majority of the magical beasts had already escaped, breaking through transparent walls and crashing into the entranceway, smashing it and the door to a pile of rubble. 

The shop was reduced from luxurious establishment to a rundown shack, as though a stampede had passed through it, which was not far from accurate.

Li Meirong stayed in the shop until she had made sure every last one of the creatures was free. Wanting to hasten the process, Snowball helped the smaller spirits, such as sprites, with their bindings. 

Following Li Meirong's instructions, the fox spirit released a batch of bloodsucking fireflies that were stuffed inside glass jars. 

Meanwhile, in the inner room, only the fox demoness and her kits remained. Li Meirong went back inside, bent down, and opened the cage personally. The fox demoness warily stepped out.

Li Meirong's eyes started to fill with tears at the sight. The poor fox was covered in wounds – she must have fought almost to her last breath before she had been captured.

She thought about her poor, wounded Snowball, and wondered if had also suffered due to fighting off hunters. He was but a little fox and the wounds he bore were terrible, not unlike those of the mother fox before her.

"Don't worry, you're free to go now…"

The fox cubs followed their mother, one at a time, out of the cage. Their first action as a free litter was to leap onto Li Meirong, perfectly embodying the term 'puppy pile'.

Li Meirong's heart was immediately suffused with sweet warmth. Baby foxes were the most adorable creatures in the entire world!

Her lips curved up into a helpless grin as she let them nip at her sleeves and climb onto her lap. One of the kits even managed to get tangled in her hair.

Now, what was she to do? She really wanted to adopt all of them!

While the fox cubs were preoccupied with their new object of interest, their mother shapeshifted into a humanoid form. In a puff of smoke, a tall, regal woman with long hair and beguiling eyes materialized. She was dressed in a simple, light green dress, and three matching, hazel-brown tails sprouted from her back. Her wounds were mostly covered, except for the few visible bruises on her neck.

Li Meirong was momentarily stunned by the beautiful woman. Was she the mama fox? She had just changed into a person!

Not to mention, she was so enchantingly captivating… Li Meirong thought she was the most beautiful person she had ever seen, other than the Zhus.

"You turned into a beauty," she whispered in awe, stating the obvious. One of the cubs barked in response, as if saying 'of course, silly girl!'

The beautiful mother bashfully covered her lips with her hand, hiding her smile.

"For us fox demons, after three thousand years, we are able to change into human form, but we don't turn into humans. We remain foxes, but are better able to camouflage among society." She turned to the side slightly, showing off her furry tails. "My kind acquires a tail every thousand years we live. After rigorous practice, we are also able to conceal them from sight."

"Oh, I understand." To think that even simple-looking animals were so formidable. Didn't these three tails mean that the beautiful fox mother was more than three thousand years old?!

The world felt truly magical for Li Meirong at that moment. She knew that demons were expected to grow stronger as they aged, but to change into a human shape? That was wholly unexpected!

As she contemplated her new discovery, Li Meirong shifted her hair to the side and untangled the kit who had messed around with her locks.

"I wanted to thank you for saving my family," the fox demoness continued speaking, bowing her head. "In only a few days, my cubs would have been taken from me! In order to repay you for your kindness, I am willing to match my female cub with your fox spirit cub as a mating pair." The fox demoness made her suggestion kindly, thinking that Li Meirong's initial intention for entering the shop had been to offer her fox cub as a potential breeder.

Li Meirong was tempted by the offer. The prospect of fox cubs happily playing in her cabin danced through her mind.

Unbeknownst to her, a very grumpy Bai Qingyue, waiting outside the room, had peeked through the open door and had overheard the conversation. He was about to angrily rush inside and throttle the mother, but when he saw the cubs tumbling about and playing with Li Meirong, his ire faded. His cold eyes softened as he imagined his own young playing on their mother's lap.

'Surely my wife will not sell me off,' he thought, holding his breath and waiting for Li Meirong to decline the mother fox's offer.

"That sounds great!" Li Meirong answered cheerfully.