"This fox is like a dog," Bao Li grumbled quietly, "only loyal to one master…" She hastily drew back the offending appendage as she spoke. Her pouting capabilities were on a par with Chou's. Li Meirong turned to Snowball and gently patted his head. Even though he was being rude, a tiny, hidden part of her relished that he would only allow her to touch him like this.

"He's just a little shy around other people, aren't you, Snowball?" She asked her spirit fox in a lighthearted tone. Her eyes shone with unabashed pride as she spoke. "You eat at Bao Li's place so often, the least you could do is let her touch your fur, no?"

Snowball scoffed loudly, the bright gold of his irises darkening to amber as he seethed silently at her presumption. 'Does this silly wife of mine think it so easy to allow others to lay their hands on me?' he thought irritably. 'Because this venerable deity must pretend to be a harmless fox, there are those foolish enough to think themselves capable of taking liberties with my person!'

Li Meirong laughed at the reaction from Snowball, the sound of her laughter echoing brightly like tiny bells. She was none the wiser to the true thought pattern of the fox spirit and was equally unaware of how far from the truth her perception of him really was.

She had always considered him to be a 'tsundere' kind of character - someone with a cold and hostile outer persona who used it to conceal their true, shy, caring nature.

Truth be told, Li Meirong knew she was being a little hypocritical. She didn't mind so much how he behaved towards others, despite scolding him repeatedly for his temperamental attitude. Perhaps it was because it made her feel like she was more special in his eyes.

In a way, it kind of felt similar to raising a cat. Unlike dogs who showered their love on every single person who was a little nice to them, cats were rather picky with who they favored, and who they liked being affectionate with.

Being surrounded by her dear ones slowly made Li Meirong's sorrows fade away into the background. Regarding the matter of the tournament… she had truly done her best to fight in earnest from the start, but she refused to stoop so low as to steal someone else's rightful place in the competition. She could only hope that Zhu Qingyue would not be too disappointed in her, as he was the one who had been urging her to fight in the first place.

"Why is my Snowball so grumpy today? Snowball is so beautiful and impressive; how can he be grumpy?" She started scratching under his ears and around his jaw while showering the irritated fox spirit with compliments that didn't make much sense, as one might do to their pets.

Despite his obvious sour mood, Snowball reflexively leaned into her tender touch, bending slightly so Li Meirong could gain better access to the sensitive spot right where his jaw met the base of his ear.

Oh, the Fox Lord was no fool. He knew all too well how ridiculous he must seem in the eyes of his subordinates, but he knew they would not dare to mention it. He was being treated like a mundane little pet, but he did not have the heart to get mad at Li Meirong for the rather untoward behaviour she was demonstrating. His little wife had some kind of magic in her fingers, he would swear to it.

With only a touch of her delicate hand, all his anger faded away as if it had never existed.

Swishing his furry tail left and right, Snowball involuntarily uttered a sound not so dissimilar to a purr. He did quite enjoy being showered with praise and affection by his lovely wife.

So what if he had to suffer some unjust humiliation that was unbefitting of his godly rank or station to do so? He could also, at times, be magnanimous, and allow a few unintended insults to slide for his wife's sake…

Li Meirong brought the fingertips of her free hand to her lips, concealing a knowing little smile as Snowball veritably melted beneath her attention. Her currently-not-so-little fox spirit might act all tough and grumpy, but she knew just how much he really loved being doted upon.

With grumpy fellows such as him, compliments were the way to go!

She stared thoughtfully at Snowball as she continued lavishing him with affection, paying close attention to the changes he had undergone while shapeshifting from cub form to this disguise of an adult fox. She could recognize that he really was a beautiful fox spirit, even for his own kind.

Seeing him as an adult had her recalling the mama fox she had once rescued from the pet shop and how beautiful she had been; yet when comparing that fox to Snowball, the little rascal would easily outshine the beautiful vixen and, she assumed, other females of his kind.

One stray thought led to another, and suddenly Li Meirong remembered the mama fox's little cubs. Seeing her own Snowball disguise himself as an adult once again had made her determined to renew her future efforts to find him a suitable lady fox once he was grown, so she could gain the benefit of raising a whole litter of adorable fox spirit cubs.

Bao Li suddenly nudged her with her elbow, giving an all-knowing wink when Li Meirong looked at her.

"Don't forget what you promised me!" she reminded cheerily.

Li Meirong went rigid, her mouth forming a perfect 'o' shape. She belatedly and unwittingly recalled the foolish promise she had made to her friend. 'That's right,' she thought, 'I told Bao Li to adopt one of the cubs from Snowball's future litter… Peh! Peh, peh, peh!'

She seriously wanted to slap herself for letting her silly mouth make such wild promises! What on Earth had she been thinking? When Snowball grew big enough to become a daddy, he would likely be furious if she chose to deliver his cubs to whoever she wished. She always tried to treat her spirit pets as the sentient beings they truly were, rather than as common pets; she tried to treat them with the same honour and respect as one would give their companions and close friends. However, sometimes her narrow-sighted mind could only see them as adorable animals (or plants, in Chou's case) and unintentionally let her grasp on her own principles slip.

She deeply regretted the promise she had made on a careless impulse.

The disguised Fox Lord in question suddenly felt a shiver run down his spine. A terrible premonition came over him; someone was harbouring ill intentions towards him and his own. He shrewdly scanned the vicinity, taking note of how most spectators had already left the premises by the time Li Meirong's battle with Senior Wei had concluded. He could see no sign of any potential enemy.

'How odd,' he thought. His instincts had never failed him before...

Snowball nudged his dark nose against Li Meirong's arm. He had decided not to risk exposing his wife to a danger he could not pinpoint.

"Master, time to go home," he murmured under his breath to her, gently pushing her to leave.

Li Meirong hummed in agreement and said her goodbyes; she was delayed briefly by explaining what a lobster was to Bao Li. She dusted the sides of her robe absently and then headed for the stables at a brisk stride. Snowball remained where he was.

"Master, where are you going?" he asked.

Li Meirong turned and gave him a questioning look.

"You said we should head back home, no? So I'm going home," she said, as if it were obvious.

Snowball sighed and bent forward slightly, stretching his front legs out in front of him until his shoulders were low enough in height for Li Meirong to hop on without a struggle.

"Come back here and hop on my back," he said.

Her eyes widened. "You want me to climb up on you?"

Snowball simply nodded his head at her. He kind of liked how she phrased that question...