"It stinks!"
The little fox immediately covered its nose.
That putrid smell was a very familiar one, it was... the smell he had encountered not long ago in the small mountain village, in the space behind the mirror.
It was the smell of the dead.
Upon realizing this, the little fox was startled.
He immediately shared his discovery with Ye Tiancheng, "Big Brother, this smells like the scent we smelled in that stone room before! It's so stinky!"
The little fox didn't explicitly state what kind of smell it was, but by mentioning the location, Ye Tiancheng understood immediately.
He exclaimed, "Why would there be such a smell here?"
Both Ye Tiancheng and the little fox looked at Long Miaomiao. It was Long Miaomiao who had pointed this out, allowing them to discover it.
Long Miaomiao glanced in the direction where the homeowner had disappeared and said gravely, "It's a living corpse."
This was a rather unusual term.
It wasn't that Ye Tiancheng and the little fox had never heard of a "living corpse," but they had never actually encountered such an existence.
Ye Tiancheng's heart sank, "How could this be?"
The little fox also looked thoughtful, glancing first at the direction the homeowner had gone, then lowering his head in contemplation. Finally, he spoke, "Big Brother, wasn't our original plan to investigate the anomalies of this cabin if we couldn't find the fragments? Perhaps we were destined to look into this matter."
"We didn't have much success searching for the fragments outside, so we can't avoid investigating it now."
The little fox's voice was muffled.
He simply couldn't stand the smell in the house.
When he couldn't smell it, it was fine, but ever since Long Miaomiao had pointed it out, the little fox couldn't block out the scent, which made him feel dizzy.
Seeing the little fox like this, Long Miaomiao asked in surprise, "After you smelled that scent, couldn't you control yourself and stop smelling it?"
The little fox's constitution was sensitive, and he had always had both advantages and disadvantages in these matters. He was surprised that his abilities could be used to counteract this, and he looked at Long Miaomiao in astonishment, "Can this be controlled?"
Long Miaomiao nodded, "Of course, it can be controlled. Otherwise, wouldn't I be suffocating from the smell like you are now?"
Ye Tiancheng was quite concerned about the homeowner's status as a living corpse. However, seeing how miserable the little fox looked from the smell, even though he couldn't smell it himself, he could imagine that the smell of a corpse wouldn't be pleasant. He said to Long Miaomiao, "He really can't control it. We didn't know this could be controlled."
"This has been quite taxing for him. If it can be controlled, Miaomiao, could you teach the little fox how to control it?"
Long Miaomiao hadn't expected that after pointing this out, the little fox would suffer so much. It was something she had inadvertently caused, and since they were companions, she felt she had no reason not to help.
Long Miaomiao said, "Hmm, it can certainly be controlled, but this control requires training. Since the little fox didn't know before and was accustomed to using his senses like an ordinary person, he might not be able to change immediately."
The little fox curled his index finger and rubbed his nose, saying pitifully, "So, until I learn to control it, I'll have to keep smelling this odor?"
"You can temporarily block your sense of smell to solve this problem, but it's not conducive to your training and learning to use your senses correctly..." Long Miaomiao hesitated, then thought for a moment before reassuring the little fox, "Don't worry too much. Even if you can't block the smell for now, it's not a big deal."
The little fox said incredulously, "This isn't a big deal? This smell is making my head ache and making me dizzy. If I have to smell it constantly, I suspect my sense of smell will be ruined!"
The thought of facing such a dire reality without blocking his sense of smell made the little fox agitated.
Ye Tiancheng said with great sympathy, "Why don't we just block the little fox's sense of smell for now? We can leave the training for later. The little fox is so overwhelmed by the smell right now that he probably can't even think straight."
The little fox nodded vigorously in agreement with Ye Tiancheng.
Long Miaomiao was somewhat speechless.
She didn't quite agree with this approach. In fact, extreme environments were more effective for training such habits. Under the pressure of survival, one could adapt to the environment more quickly and thus achieve success in training.
Long Miaomiao said, "If we move to a more comfortable environment, the little fox might take a long time to learn how to use his senses normally. The more extreme the environment, the easier it is to train successfully. In a situation like this, where there's no immediate harm to his body, why not take advantage of it? If we keep delaying, do we have to hit a wall before we turn back?"
She expressed her disagreement and tried to persuade and comfort the little fox.
Long Miaomiao continued, "As the ancient saying goes: 'Living in a fragrant orchid room for a long time, one no longer smells its fragrance; entering a room with fermented fish, one no longer smells its stench.' Little Fox, you're only now smelling such a potent odor and you can't control your senses, which is why you feel so uncomfortable."
"But when your body finds the environment unbearable and uncomfortable, and you want to feel better, you will naturally be less affected by the smell."
The little fox listened, still somewhat reluctant.
However, what Long Miaomiao said seemed to have some truth to it. Everyone understood the logic, but it was difficult to put into practice.
The little fox looked pleadingly at Ye Tiancheng.
Ye Tiancheng was also somewhat persuaded by Long Miaomiao. Successfully training the little fox to adapt and control his senses would undoubtedly be beneficial for him.
However, he still preferred to respect the little fox's own wishes.
This wasn't a life-or-death situation. While it might seem like indulging the little fox too much, Ye Tiancheng really couldn't bring himself to force him. If it made the little fox uncomfortable, it was better to let him decide when he was ready.
Ye Tiancheng said to the little fox, "Little Fox, what do you think? Whatever you decide, Big Brother will support your choice."
The little fox frowned, but he wasn't ungrateful.
This was something that was good for him. If he didn't learn to control his senses now, would he wait until he was subjected to the smell again next time?
Wouldn't that just be more trouble for himself?
The little fox finally said to Long Miaomiao, "Alright, I'll learn now. How should I get used to controlling my senses?"
Long Miaomiao began to impart her experience to the little fox.
For her, this was almost an instinctive ability, so it was difficult for her to explain it immediately. She thought carefully about how she achieved these things and then tried to explain the method to the little fox in terms he could understand.
After thinking for a while, Long Miaomiao said to the little fox, "As I said before, under the pressure of a harsh environment, the body will automatically adapt to the surroundings for survival. This is a very important training method."
"You need to learn to filter the information you receive. In simple terms, try your best to control yourself and focus all your attention on other things, and try to ignore the information that makes you uncomfortable. If you feel uncomfortable, try to find something in the same environment that might have a more pleasant smell."
"By deliberately controlling your attention and utilizing your body's inherent adaptability, you will soon unconsciously grasp preliminary control. In this situation, achieving this preliminary level of control is sufficient. Later, you can gradually try to consciously control these things. The preliminary level of control is easy to achieve because it is an instinct. When your personal will cannot control it, your instincts will make the choice for you."
The little fox listened to Long Miaomiao's words and pondered for a moment.
These explanations seemed simple, but putting them into practice might not be so easy. Nevertheless, he memorized all her words.
The little fox said to Long Miaomiao, "I've got it all. I'll try it first. If I can't manage it, I'll ask you again what to do."
Although the little fox said this, seeing her companion's pitiful state, Long Miaomiao felt a pang of sympathy and wanted to help the little fox. Finally, she said, "How about this? Training like this is too hard for you, and it's not easy to find something with a pleasant smell in this place to shift your attention."
"Let me help you a little."
The little fox quickly asked, "How can you help? Can this be helped?"
Although he didn't know how Long Miaomiao could help him, if it could make him feel a bit better, the little fox certainly wouldn't be stingy.
Long Miaomiao said, "I'll teach you a small technique. With this technique, you can conjure a pleasant scent to cover your nose. This way, you won't smell the outside odors, and it will help you transition and adapt."
"However, I must state in advance that you need to have enough self-control. Don't choose to escape by constantly smelling good scents and finding temporary relief, thus neglecting to learn to adapt to the environment and control your abilities."
"Because you absolutely must not lose this ability. Having this ability is itself an instinct for self-preservation, allowing you to quickly identify dangers in your surroundings through your keen senses. It would be extremely inadvisable to lose this instinct for the sake of comfort."
The little fox understood this reasoning.
Therefore, he solemnly promised Long Miaomiao, "I understand. I will absolutely not misuse this technique to escape."
Long Miaomiao nodded, said goodbye to Ye Tiancheng, and took the little fox to learn the technique. Ye Tiancheng remained in place, constantly monitoring the homeowner's situation.
Since the homeowner was a living corpse and of that stature, he would likely be difficult to deal with. He carried a saber and a hunting rifle, and brought back prey, so he probably hunted himself. Her danger level was unknown. In any case, they should remain vigilant.
Ye Tiancheng kept this in mind.
It was good that even if the homeowner returned now, Ye Tiancheng and the others, despite occupying two rooms, wouldn't have to give up their rooms to him. Because upon arriving here, Ye Tiancheng and the others had found the homeowner's own room and hadn't touched it, leaving it vacant.
This way, when the homeowner returned, they wouldn't be in a situation where they had to give up rooms because they had occupied the homeowner's rooms.
Besides, they were guests, and it wouldn't be right to usurp the host's position and occupy the homeowner's room as well.
Regardless of the homeowner's identity, there was no justification for such behavior.
Ye Tiancheng's only hope was that there would be no other threats within this house.