A sweet voice called out from behind, causing Yiren to freeze. She didn't feel anything, nor heard any steps. Yiren wanted to turn around abruptly but then realized her body didn't want to listen to her.
Both she and Lisa were like statues, unable to move, only realizing what happened a moment later. The water vapor stuck onto their bodies, immobilizing them. Milky steam began to coil around their legs as well, creeping up under their skirts.
"Yes!" Yiren exclaimed. "When we heard about you, we wanted to meet and become friends. Don't worry, we came in peace."
"Oh… I'm not worried. You are not a threat to me," the feminine voice replied as they finally heard slow steps coming from behind. They could at least confirm that Lady Fox already transformed into her humanoid form.
"What if I don't want to be anyone's friend?" She added right after, stopping right behind them.
"I will understand it but we still want to be given a chance. I am not a danger to any beasts. I'm friends with everyone," Yiren replied sweetly when something tickled her on the back.
It was like a snake, covered in soft fur as it wiggled towards her neck. Yiren forced herself to look down as it wrapped around it and exclaimed happily, "Tail!"
Her eyes shone with gold once again and she could suddenly move again. She quickly reached to the tail around her neck and hugged it, caressing the soft fur with care.
"Ahhh, it's so soft and comfy… I wish I had my own tail like this," Yiren muttered happily and turned around, gazing at the shocked lady fox. "Waah, you are so pretty!"
Yiren couldn't help but open her mouth wide as she ogled the long slim legs and the naked body of the goddess. Steam covered her skin but Yiren could still see the curvy outline of Lady Fox's bottom. Silver hair fell down onto her shoulders, rolling at the end while covering her perky chest but that wasn't the main asset of hers.
Nine white fluffy tails! Nine! Yiren couldn't believe it, wanting to jump onto Lady Fox's body and embraced her together with her nine softies. One of them was still wrapped around her neck while the other was holding onto Lisa but Yiren didn't panic, not feeling any threat energy coming from her.
"Did you just break through my binding…?" Lady Fox asked with a pair of knitted eyebrows, her face smooth like polished stones.
"Yes. Don't worry, I'm not your enemy," Yiren said with a bright smile. "I just want to be your friend."
Lady Fox's eyes widened but that was it. She didn't seem influenced by Yiren's ability at all.
"You have positive energy of nature, but how do I know it's not a trick?" Lady Fox questioned.
"Just feel my soul and you will see I have pure intentions," Yiren said with a smile and pleaded, "My sister is delicate so can you please spare her?"
Lady Fox glanced at Lisa who was already getting red on her face and released her neck, pulling both of her tails away. They were surprisingly long and flexible.
"What do you want exactly? I'm busy so be quick. I'm yet to take my daily bath," Lady Fox asked casually, covering her body with her tails while walking towards the hot spring.
Yiren was mesmerized by her tails, reaching out to pet one of them as she walked past but the tail dodged her hand. Yiren's eyes quickly lowered, watching Lady Fox's butt, moving from one side to another as she walked.
Her mouth opened after realizing all tails were part of Lady Fox's body, coming out right above her bottom directly from her lower back. Lady Fox's whole body was that of a human woman aside from her triangle-shaped ears, sharper teeth, and slanted blue eyes.
"Actually, to be completely honest with you, we came here after learning of your misconduct and actions towards the Hidden Leaf Village," Yiren explained honestly as she also walked up to the spring, taking off her sandals to soak her feet in the hot water.
"Hidden Leaf Village? I don't know it. What about them?" Lady Fox questioned casually, playing with the water in between of her fingers.
"We visited it earlier and the Village Leader complained you are attacking the male hunters of their village. Can I ask why? What happened between you and them?" Yiren questioned calmly while beckoning to Lisa. "Lisa, come join us. The water feels so nice."
"Sure…" Lisa muttered, still a bit wary of a person who almost choked her to death.
Lady Fox didn't seem to mind their presence anymore as she wondered out loud, "So those men were from the same Village? I didn't even know. I was just killing any man I meet. I'm not really picky who I kill. As long as they are male."
"Did they do something to you? If they are innocent, can't you just let them go? I came here to fix the bad blood between you," Yiren confessed the truth but Lady Fox wasn't happy at all.
The water around them began to shake, creating small waves.
"I hate all men. I can't let any of them go. No man is innocent. They are liars and manipulators. Promising you something only to break this promise the next day. I will hunt anyone I meet," Lady Fox replied coldly but Yiren disagreed firmly.
"This is not true. There are many bad men but not everyone is like this."
Yiren reached out her arm and proposed, "Please, touch my Storage Ring and tell me what you feel."
Lady Fox seemed ready to punish Yiren for disagreeing but then got confused, gazing at the only ring on her fingers. Lady Fox hesitated for a moment but still walked up and touched the ring.
Her eyes immediately opened wider. "I can hear a heartbeat… Is that yours?"
"No, it's my husband's heartbeat. He made a ring for all of his wives so we could always be together no matter how far we are," Yiren explained, showing Lisa's ring as well. "No matter how many wives he has, he takes care of each of us, giving us love and always prioritizing us over his own desires. You don't need to believe me but he loves us so much he would sacrifice his life for us. That's how much he loves us. Can you say that he is a bad man?"
"Doesn't he have multiple wives? It can only mean he is greed—" Lady Fox suggested, not at all convinced but Yiren cut her off.
"No, he is not. We were the ones who forced this to happen. His priority is to make everyone comfortable and feel loved. He never searched for other women and never made us feel unwanted. Why do you think all men are bad? You just fell in love with the wrong person I think but that doesn't mean all men are bad."
"…"
Lady Fox didn't reply this time, sealing her mouth tightly.
"You loved him, right? He came out of nowhere when you were new to this world and he helped you, explaining the rules of the human world. He cared for you the whole time, saying he will stay with you forever and you slowly began to love him, unable to separate from him," Yiren recounted the story.
Lady Fox looked up at Yiren, clearly moved by her words. Yiren didn't stop at that, continuing.
"You felt like he is the best thing that happened to you. He made you happy and whenever he left, you felt empty inside. You wanted to be in his embrace, to taste his lips, and hear his voice at all times. You didn't want to leave his side so whenever he came back, you would jump into his arms and not let go for hours. Am I right?"
"H-how… did you know…?" Lady Fox muttered softly, her eyes watering.
"After days or months of meeting, you finally gave his heart to him, maybe even gave your own body to him, yet he was interested in something else. He coveted one of your treasures. "Yiren added, not replying yet. "He asked you for it and you didn't hesitate but gave it to him because you loved him. I'm not sure what happened that made you realize his actions were not pure but you eventually discovered his true purpose and this crushed your heart. You ended up killing him and took your treasure away."
Drip, drip.
Tears streamed down Lady Fox's cheeks as her legs gave in. She fell in the water, her knees sinking. She wasn't the only one as Lisa also sniffed, unable to handle such a sad story.
"How could he be so cruel…?" Lisa lamented, wiping her own eyes. "Why did you made me cry Yiren…?"
"I was just honest. I don't know what exactly happened but I'm pretty sure I'm right," Yiren replied, also feeling a bit heavy on her chest. "I'm sorry if whatever I said brought back your memories."
"It's okay…" Lady Fox said softly, hugging onto her tails. "You are right about everything… He made me love him, made me feel happy and thankful I came to this world but it was short-lived…"
Lady Fox paused, wiping her face against her tails, and reached out towards her chest, pulling out a circular blue object.
"He never wanted me. All he wanted was this talisman… so I killed him. His body is at the bottom of the lake…"