Pretending To Be A Boss

Tang Xian understood meeting the parents.

Human civilization had gone through many twists and turns, and although male-female relationships had become more casual, the process of marriage hadn't changed much.

However, Tang Xian didn't understand what it meant to meet the children.

The fox tribe's den was deep in the Tree Sea.

Qing JiuYu and Tang Xian strolled and chatted leisurely.

Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity was correct, a long road, if accompanied by a beautiful woman, would feel much shorter.

The fox den was different from what Tang Xian had imagined, mainly in terms of scent.

Not long ago, his sea of consciousness had updated with information, enhancing his resistance and damage against the hellhound with three heads. His sense of smell had also been enhanced once more.

But the foxy scent of the den was not very strong. He could smell it from a distance, but upon arriving at the scene, he didn't find it pungent.

The scent of Biphasic Orchid did an excellent job of neutralizing the foxes' scent.

He began to understand why the foxes liked this kind of plant and had some inspiration as well.

"Do they not welcome me?" Tang Xian glanced at the foxes and realized that his favorability with them was quite low.

The favorability was fluctuating around 5.

"It's always like this when outsiders enter our territory. Don't worry, just follow me."

Tang Xian nodded.

The three-tailed spirit fox was an elite-level creature. In the Tree Sea, it wasn't powerful, but it had a strong backing. Not every race's pinnacle had a calamity-level boss creature as its leader.

He also didn't need to deliberately please them; he just had to avoid offending them.

The fox tribe's den, however, was bigger than Tang Xian had imagined, housing around twenty three-tailed foxes. Even an elite-level boss creature wouldn't dare to intrude carelessly.

Before long, Tang Xian saw a human child.

"Qing Auntie! You're back!"

The little girl had a round, chubby face with some baby fat, and by human standards, she seemed to be about five or six years old.

Her illusionary clothes were quite antique, different from Qing JiuYu's palace attire, belonging to a later period, closer to 21st-century ancient girls' garment.

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But what caught Tang Xian's attention was that the little girl had no tail.

As soon as the child saw Qing JiuYu, she hopped and skipped over, but then became somewhat frightened and hid behind Qing JiuYu upon seeing Tang Xian.

Tang Xian looked at the little girl; the panel displayed nothing unusual.

Gender: Female.

Good or Evil Value: 55.

Greed and Lust Index: 5.

Favorability: 2 (Strangers).

Financial Assessment: 5 (Dirt-poor).

Loved Items: Fish.

Disliked Items: Fishbones.

Feared Items: Snakes.

Current Honesty Level: 64 (Honest and Open).

Charm Value: 60 (Jade-like Home Beauty).

Current Luck Value: 52 (Minor Fortunate).

Current Needs Analysis:

[Eating caught fish (50%)]

[Catching fish to eat (45%)]

[Other (5%)]

The thinking of children is always simple; once you know what they like, it's very easy to raise their favorability.

Tang Xian was unclear about Qing JiuYu's purpose in showing him this fox tribe girl, but from the way she was addressed, he knew she was not Qing JiuYu's child.

However, she was a pretty little beauty in the making, and Tang Xian always liked beautiful things.

"Actually, there are many kinds of fish. If you're afraid of bones, you shouldn't eat Green Phosphorus Fish or Red Phosphorus Fish. Their meat is good, but they have too many bones and can easily get stuck in your throat. Plus, eating them is like eating watermelon—five seconds of eating, one minute of spitting seeds."

The little girl was taken aback. Tang Xian continued:

"In the March Marsh to the west of the Tree Sea, there's a type of fish called the Dragon Thorn Fish. Despite its name suggesting it's covered in thorns, it's actually named for its dragon-scale-like appearance. This fish is very delicious and particularly suitable for making fish soup, and it has no bones. Do you know fish soup?

It's made by sprinkling all kinds of spices into the broth and slowly simmering it over a gentle fire."

Although the little girl had never eaten fish soup, she mostly consumed fish by breathing out a burst of foxfire, then directly eating the somewhat charred flesh. Yet for some reason, she found herself swallowing her saliva at Tang Xian's description.

The sight was incredibly cute.

"But today we don't have time, I'll find a chance to make a sturdier fishing rod and then go catch you a dragon spike fish. Today, I'll take you for fish soup, and you'll realize that the soup is tastier than the meat."

The little girl's eyes widened as if they were shimmering with light, and then she quickly nodded, saying:

"Really?"

"Of course, I'll take you to catch fish in a little while."

"Okay!" The little girl glanced at Qing JiuYu.

Qing JiuYu smiled and said, "How did you know she likes to eat fish?"

"She smells faintly of fish," Tang Xian told the truth, even without relying on the panel, he could guess what the little girl liked.

"Do you like her?"

"She's quite cute, but why doesn't she have a tail?"

"She is also a descendant of a nine-tailed fox, but her parents... well, her origins are somewhat complicated. Her tails will grow out when she's older."

"So, no matter how young, all nine-tailed foxes can transform into human form?" Tang Xian noticed Qing JiuYu's candor had decreased.

"Not exactly... It's complicated, I'll tell you more about it later. She will be a powerful warrior for our fox clan in the future, possibly even surpassing me. But for now, she's still too small. I want her to grow a little in the Forest Sea, at least until she has a tail."

Qing JiuYu's expression seemed troubled, not because she didn't trust Tang Xian, but because there were some secrets of the fox clan she couldn't easily share with someone from another clan.

Tang Xian nodded and said, "So, the reason you asked me to wait a week is that you needed time to bring her here?"

"You're very clever."

"Where was she before?"

"In another place of the fox clan, but the people there didn't like her much."

Tang Xian sensed there was more to Qing JiuYu's words and that she had her difficulties, so he didn't press the matter, saying:

"The little girl is adorable. You say she has the potential to be even stronger than you in the future?"

"Yes, I have no doubt about that. Don't be fooled by her youth; she could easily handle a hellhound with three heads like we saw earlier."

Tang Xian laughed.

A member of the fox clan who looked entirely human on the outside but possessed combat strength exceeding that of elite-level bosses was rare.

Of course, he also understood the meaning behind Qing JiuYu introducing him to this child.

Qing JiuYu had arranged for the little girl to stay in the Forest Sea because it was safe, and the only thing in the Forest Sea that Qing JiuYu was a bit wary of was himself, acting out the role of a boss.

"You're planning to let her stay in the Forest Sea and have me help look after her."

Qing JiuYu realized Tang Xian was indeed clever, even more so than most humans she remembered.

Tang Xian looked into Qing JiuYu's eyes and saw that she truly trusted him.

He didn't ask why.

He figured it probably had to do with some doubts about him.

Nor would he ask something tactless like, "Do you really trust me that much?" Such a question would only breed suspicion.

He nodded, his voice calm and serious, "I promise you, and it just so happens I am setting up a nest in the Forest Sea, near your fox clan. You'd better clarify my relationship with you to your fox clan members."

"What should our relationship be?" Qing JiuYu's eyes were full of allure.

"Of course, a pure friendship."

Tang Xian crouched down, extending his hand.

He looked at the little girl in front of him, a girl shrouded in too many mysteries, but he wasn't in a hurry to unravel them. He smiled and said:

"Shall we go catch fish?"

"Yes, yes!"

The little girl also reached out her hand, grasping Tang Xian's, and her affection for him instantly grew a few points.

Children are like that—you play with them, and they'll like you.

"By the way, what's her name?" Suddenly, Tang Xian remembered, he couldn't just call the girl a nine-tailed fox, could he?

A shadow of sorrow flashed through Qing JiuYu's eyes as she shook her head, "Actually, she has no name; I've always called her Xiao Ni."

Tang Xian realized that the little nine-tailed girl's background was perhaps quite complex and her status somewhat special.

But when it came to naming, Tang Xian didn't mind at all, saying:

"If she has no name, let's give her one now. From henceforth, you'll be called Tang Chiyu."