Chapter 1 The Hunter's Wish

"Host, we pulled a few strings and can see what's happening with the Fox Immortal. Do you want to watch?"

Mingmei, who had just scrambled away from Mu Chen, was playing dead. Gui Gui's words immediately shifted her attention from her earlier embarrassment.

Mu Chen looked slender, but the feeling of touching him through his clothes was really… quite something!

But after she sat up, he said softly, "Do you want to touch a little longer?"

Those words made Mingmei want to burrow into the ground!

Just as she was feeling ashamed and contemplating running away, Mingmei suddenly heard Gui Gui's voice.

So she responded decisively, "Of course I want to watch! Wait, what did you do?"

"I just greeted the Fox Immortal NPC and arranged a little live broadcast for you…"

"You had this function and didn't tell me sooner?"

Mingmei regretted not seeing Da Yao and Julian making their wishes. Judging by their current behavior, Mingmei thought their wishes would be quite the spectacle.

"That takes time to arrange! I'm not like you…"

"Not like me how?" Mingmei heard a hint of emotion in her AI assistant's voice.

"All you do is touch people. A girl should be more reserved."

"I've only touched Mu Chen, okay?"

"Are you saying Mu Chen isn't just anyone?! I just went to make arrangements, and in that short time, you two! How did your relationship progress so quickly! What did I miss?"

Mingmei: "…"

Forget it. The less she said, the worse it would sound.

"Turn on the broadcast over there. Let me take a look."

"Okay!"

As soon as she changed the subject, Mingmei's little AI assistant's mood improved immediately. Mingmei was even more confused.

Such a quick change of face!

The Fox Immortal's Main Hall.

Zhen Hu knelt on a prayer mat. The room in front of him was very empty, with layers of purple gauze swaying gently, obscuring his vision. He couldn't see the expression on the Fox Immortal's face as she reclined on a beauty couch at the back of the room.

"Have you decided? Is this your wish?"

The Fox Immortal's voice echoed in the empty room.

"Yes."

"The offering?"

Before directly answering about the offering, Zhen Hu looked intently at the figure behind the gauze and asked, "Can I ask you a question, Your Ladyship?"

"Speak."

There was no hint of displeasure in her tone.

"My wife and child… what wishes did they make to you? So that I, so that I can live."

When Zhen Hu, who was playing the role of a hunter, saw the description of his character, he didn't feel anything. In his eyes, it was just a game. But the previous dream felt like his character background had come to life.

The hunter's deepest desires, the memories he cherished most, were displayed in the dream. But this dream also reminded him that they were destined to be unfulfilled.

"It's hard to fight four hands with two fists, let alone a pack of wolves?" The Fox Immortal's gaze pierced through the gauze, looking at the kneeling hunter. "Last year, heavy snow blocked the mountains, and the winter was extremely cold. It's understandable that the wolves came down the mountain in search of food. Your village organized able-bodied men to patrol and hunt the wolves to protect the village, but…"

"But you hunted too many wolves. Wolves aren't exactly forgiving creatures."

"I know…"

Zhen Hu smiled wryly and didn't deny any of it.

"So, it's your own fault that you were ambushed and killed by the alpha wolf."

"Yes…"

"But you're the only breadwinner in your family. Your wife is sickly, and your child's health isn't good either."

"Your wife originally wished to exchange her life for your return. Unfortunately, it's not worth it for me to trade your wife's body for a strong man like you. As for your young, undeveloped child, their health is also poor. I'll take them both as payment."

"Actually… without you, living would be suffering for them. Even if you were alive, they would be a burden to you."

"No!"

Zhen Hu immediately denied the Fox Immortal's words. "They're not a burden! Their existence is the reason I work so hard. When the wolves come down the mountain, I worry every day that my child, being so weak, will be snatched away. I worry that my wife will be frightened, so I try so hard to shoot those wolves!"

"Everything I've done has been for them! Even if I die, I won't regret it! I just, I just regret not seeing their happy lives in the future…"

As he spoke, Zhen Hu, a grown man, empathized with his character and began to cry.

Mingmei could roughly guess what would happen next through the video…

Wishes are always equal in value.

Perhaps his dream was a family reunion.

"Then what is your offering?"

"Can I offer myself? I hope they can come back, that she can live happily with our child, that our child can grow up safely, that she, that she can meet someone who treats her well…"

Zhen Hu choked up as he spoke.

"Is it worth it? You're in your prime. You have a great opportunity to remarry and have children. If you joined the army with your martial skills, you could not only achieve great things but also protect more people. Even so… do you still want to trade?"

The Fox Immortal painted a bright picture for him, but her eyes remained fixed on his unwavering gaze.

"Trade!"

"No regrets?"

"No."

"Even if your life is worth more than theirs?"

"It's not about worth. To me, their lives are priceless treasures."

Zhen Hu was angered by the Fox Immortal's repeated implications that his wife and children's lives were worthless.

"Oh, so the future I described earlier could really come true? The day you join the army, achieve great things, and protect the people, surrounded by beautiful wives and concubines – you wouldn't regret giving that up?"

"No regrets."

The Fox Immortal chuckled softly.

"Very well. Your soul is quite good. I don't care about anything else. Now that you've made your wish, if it succeeds, I'll never see your wife and children again. It'll save me the trouble of them coming to me for another exchange."

"You are far more valuable than your wife and children. A shining soul, a powerful body – all will belong to me."

"It is my honor to be accepted by the Fox Immortal." Zhen Hu said decisively, then paused and asked, "Am I, am I really worth more than them?"

"Hmm? Do you regret it?" Although the gauze obscured her, Zhen Hu couldn't see the Fox Immortal's expression. But at that moment, he felt as if she had opened her eyes, her sharp gaze piercing him.

"No, I, I mean, besides exchanging myself for them… can I ask for a little more?"

"What do you want to exchange for?"

The next moment, the terrifying atmosphere vanished.

"Exchange… for my wife and child to have healthy bodies, and a small sum of money for them to live on…" Zhen Hu immediately lowered his head, afraid that the Fox Immortal would scold him for being greedy.

"Just that?"

"Yes… that's all."

"Nothing else?"

"Nothing."

"Pfft." The Fox Immortal laughed as she watched Zhen Hu shake his head so honestly. "Very well. Today, I will be a philanthropist and help you a little more."

"Your wife and children came to the mountain to make a wish to me while you were 'seriously injured.' You recovered, but they never returned. I imagine, people in your village must be gossiping about it, saying your wife ran away with your child and abandoned you."

"Ah… yes, that's right."

"Then I'll give the people in your village a new memory. In their memory, you died in a wolf attack. Your wife was grief-stricken, and it wasn't easy for her to raise a child alone at such a young age, so her family took her in. How does that sound?"

"Thank you, thank you so much, Fox Immortal!"

…

Seeing this, Mingmei felt her eyes heat up. She picked up her teacup, and a hand reached out to refill it.

Mingmei turned her head and saw Mu Chen whisper, "Don't be angry anymore. I was wrong earlier."

Unaware that Mingmei was absorbed in the story, Mu Chen thought she was still upset about what had happened earlier and had been crying because of him. So he quickly poured her a cup of tea while she was drinking.

"Host, he means you're petty, getting angry over such a small thing and holding onto it until now."

At this moment, Gui Gui suddenly chimed in to stir up trouble.

"Gui Gui."

"Hmm?"

"How much did my godfather pay you to betray me? I, Ming, will pay you half that to betray him."

Gui Gui: …