His Lordship had rarely shown any emotions and when he did, it was usually a fit of anger. And yet, what could have possibly enraged him to the point of wishing to murder his own kin?!
She knew that she needed to speak up, but was far too scared to open her mouth!
Seeing the situation taking a turn for the worse, Lang Ju, the senior grey fox cried out, rushing to the rescue, "My Lord, the Jade Emperor has sent an official decree, commanding your presence at the Jade Palace!"
After those words were uttered, the very air stood still, and the mountains ceased to shake.
Bai Cuifeng, still tongue-tied with fright, took a moment to steal a nervous peek at His Lordship.
The news seemed to have caught him off guard, she could tell by the slight widening of those enchanting golden eyes and the subtle change of his bloodthirsty aura.
It was a well known fact among the inhabitants of the Heavenly Realm that despite the connections between the Huli Jing and The Jade Palace, the Celestial Foxes had never been summoned to the Royal Palace since the time of the great primordial ancestor who had originally provoked the curse.
The Celestial Foxes had remained loyal to the emperor. They fought for the Jade Emperor's sake, had bestowed the crown with the appropriate gifts and conducted trade between the clans when requested, but they did not ever meet, much less been summoned to the Jade Palace.
This decree could have been considered a great honour for any Sovereign Lord. However, as things stood between the royal family and the Bai clan, it was anything but that.
There had always been an unspoken rift between the dragons and the foxes, a cold war that had never been brought to light since it first began.
Without delay, Bai Qingyue shifted into a human form. The dark robe and the long pale hair along with his frosty gaze made him look like a devil lord instead of a heavenly deity.
Eventually, the violence emanating from the Fox God subsided.
An imperial decree from the Jade Emperor demanded an immediate response. It was no wonder that the subordinates had sent a distress signal.
With a flick of the wrist across the air, Bai Qingyue had torn a rift through space and time, opening a portal to the heavenly realm in the shape of an iridescent pillar, piercing through the skies.
Before heading into the pillar, he glanced at the shivering subordinates floating several centimetres above the ground and stated, "This Lord understands the reasons for your summons and absolves you of all crimes."
The surrounding foxes looked at their Lord in evident confusion, thinking to themselves, 'Sire… what sort of crimes have we committed?!'
As Bai Qingyue was about to ascend to the upper realm, Lang Ju hurriedly stepped towards him, changing into a handsome man in the process, and came close enough to whisper in his ear.
The Senior Servant's voice was filled with apprehension, "This servant wishes to report on the matter regarding Her Ladyship, Li Meirong, Sire…"
Lang Ju didn't know how to break the news to this temperamental Lord without receiving some sort of backlash.
"Speak with haste." Bai Qingyue's voice was low and dreadful, he had no time to spare for another person's sentiments.
Senior Servant Lang Ju wasn't given an option to ponder on how to break the news in a gentler manner. His palms were sweaty as he provided a detailed account of the investigation.
While he spoke, Bai Qingyue's eyes had grown darker and darker still.