The Fox King

Chapter 23: Missing Child

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Her prize in hand, Zhe Huo began to worry over how Luo Qinghan and Wu Shan were getting on, and so she hurried back down the mountain.

Just as she made it back to town, she happened to run into Wu Shan.

Wu Shan himself had just finished with his own quest, and had been on his way up to Frostsoul Peak to see how Zhe Huo was doing. It was a strange thing, because Zhe Huo’s task should have clearly been the more attractive of the two, with Wu Shan’s task being both more arduous as well as less lucrative. And yet, all the other demon hunters had inexplicably gone after his task instead.

After expending a considerable amount of time and effort, Wu Shan had managed to prevail nevertheless—and just as he was setting out again, he’d run into Zhe Huo.

“Wu Shan! Why are you here?” Delighted, Zhe Huo hurried towards him.

Seeing her in such good spirits told him that she’d been successful in her own venture as well, so he didn’t ask. “I’ve captured that demon, and was just on my way back.”

Zhe Huo nodded and looked about—but Qinghan was not with him. Unable to restrain herself, she asked, “Wu Shan, where’s Qinghan?”

There was a hint of displeasure in Wu Shan’s expression at how quickly her thoughts returned to the boy. “He went ahead,” he replied indifferently.

“Went ahead?” Zhe Huo frowned at Wu Shan, not quite comprehending.

“Originally, I brought him along with me on my quest. Perhaps he couldn’t stand the boredom from having nothing to do, because he soon asked to return by himself.”

“And you just let him go? All by himself?” The thought of wee little Qinghan wandering through the streets of a town packed with demon hunters great and small… if he got caught by any one of them, it would all be over.

Wu Shan’s mood soured even more when he saw how worried Zhe Huo was becoming. Sullenly, he said, “I didn’t like the idea either, but he insisted on finding his way on his own.”

Wu Shan wasn’t as soft-hearted as Zhe Huo. Since Qinghan had been so dead set on being stubborn, he hadn’t felt obligated to keep protecting the child.

However, Zhe Huo’s frown only deepened at these words. “Wu Shan, you…” She wanted to say that he shouldn’t have let Qinghan do so anyway. Him getting lost was a secondary matter—if something actually happened… how would she ever make it up to Qinghan?

But now was not the time to cast blame. She spoke just three more words, then bit down hard on her lip, and muttered, “Let’s go back and see.”

Zhe Huo raced back to the inn. As she’d feared, Qinghan wasn’t there. On the verge of hysteria, she questioned the front desk, but no one had seen the child come in. Now her eyes were bloodshot with anxiety. It was her fault. She should have just taken him with her.

She knew that she shouldn’t blame Wu Shan for this, yet she couldn’t help feeling that way regardless. They’d already discussed this the night before—Wu Shan had agreed to take care of the boy. Now she’d come back to find him missing.

As such, she didn’t have anything more to say to Wu Shan besides, “I’m going out to look for Qinghan.” Teeth gritted, she didn’t even look at him as she ran back outside.

The streets were packed. Zhe Huo squeezed her way through the bustling crowds, searching through the whole town, stalking through every street and back alley. She eventually ran into Wu Shan, who’d grumpily come out to help with her search, but she wasn’t in any mood to talk to him. One look at each other, and they knew that neither one had found the boy yet, so they parted ways and kept looking.

As the hunt went on, Zhe Huo kept telling herself that she had to stay positive—but her mind defiantly brought up all the darkest possibilities instead. A cute kid like Luo Qinghan couldn’t possibly move through these crowds unnoticed. What if he’d been snatched away by some slave trader? What if his true nature had been noticed by one of the demon hunters around here? He could be sitting in a cookpot right now… the thought of it was too horrible to bear.