The Amnesiac Omega Who Reels Me In Every Day – Chapter 120
by Little PandaSome Sweetness
The AO Swap Fantasy Arc
The Rabbit Clan’s Only Little Princess
Late December — wind and snow in a fury, a cold that froze the very earth.
Every animal had retreated to its den, save one little rabbit, all but indistinguishable from the snow itself, hopping desperately through the drifts. She finally found a cave that might offer some warmth — but barely a few steps in, the great snake coiled inside sent her rocketing back out, tearing across the snowfield in a blind panic.
“Help! Help! Don’t eat me! Aaaaah…”
The little rabbit fled so frantically for her life that she never watched her footing, caught a stone, and went tumbling head over heels down the mountainside. “Aaagh—”
She rolled too fast to stop, and it was a long while before she slowly came to rest halfway down the slope, all four paws in the air, stars dancing before her eyes.
She was so dizzy she’d entirely forgotten the snake still chased her — and she hadn’t the faintest idea that a caravan had halted directly ahead of her.
When she came to her senses again, she was locked inside an iron cage that looked exceedingly precious, surrounded by rows of identical cages holding all manner of animals: great serpents as fearsome as the one in the cave, a haughty, elegant rooster, a dopey duck, a graceful swan, and a whole cluster of little rabbits just as snow-white and fluffy as herself.
The animals all regarded the newcomer with pitying eyes. The little rabbit tried to strike up a conversation: “Where is this place? Why are you all locked up?”
The rooster heaved a sigh, despair in his eyes. “This is a caravan bound for the Fox Clan Palace. And we are the food to be offered in tribute to the Fox Demon Venerable.”
“The Fox Clan… food…?” The little rabbit jolted with terror, bouncing wildly inside her cage, cracking her head against the bars and very nearly knocking herself out cold.
“I won’t go to Fox Clan territory! I won’t be eaten!”
The very words “Fox Clan” were too dreadful to bear!
Mother Empress1 had said the Fox Clan was the most powerful clan on this continent. Its ruler, legend had it, was an ancient Demon Venerable who had cultivated for eight thousand years — savage and bloodthirsty, invading and plundering wherever she pleased, and fondest above all else of eating rabbits. She had devoured so very many of the Rabbit Clan’s kin — an unforgivable2 old hag!
Delivered into the Fox Clan Palace, she would surely end as nothing but a meal in that old hag’s belly…
The little rabbit, Jiang Jinyi, trembled like a leaf. She had only just differentiated into a Zekun. Her life had only just begun. She hadn’t had her fill of fun yet. She still hadn’t tasted the alfalfa that grew on the cliffs at the very southernmost edge of the continent. She was the Rabbit Clan’s most precious Little Princess — she still had to go home to her Mother Empress…
Boohoo… she’d never even gotten to see her Mother Empress one last time.
It was all her own fault. She shouldn’t have been so greedy for fun, shouldn’t have slipped out of the imperial palace on her own.
The little rabbit hiccupped and sobbed, begging the other animals for help — but every creature here could barely save itself. How could any of them save her?
The carriage rolled slowly into the palace city, and still there was nothing she could do to stop herself from being delivered into the Fox Clan Palace.
After who knew how long, an envoy of the Wolf Clan carried her up and presented her at the Fox Clan’s banquet. Seated around the feast were the Fox Clan’s dignitaries and nobles. She was set down upon the table of tribute offerings, surrounded by fellow unfortunates in the same sorry plight.
“Your Highness the Demon Venerable, these are the gifts our Wolf Clan presents to you in tribute — an expression of our clan’s reverence and respect, and a wish that the friendship between our two clans endure forever.”
The scent of foxes pressed in from every side, and the little rabbits trembled uncontrollably with fear. Jiang Jinyi trembled too — yet she couldn’t suppress her curiosity, and followed the envoy’s gaze toward the woman upon the throne.
She was indeed a fox, and bewitchingly beautiful at that: long, narrow eyes; a high, straight nose; a pair of red fox ears rising from her thick dark hair. Heavily painted, clad in the Fox Clan’s gorgeous robes, she lounged at her ease with one leg crossed over the other — indolent in posture, yet radiating an indescribable menace that chilled the marrow, forbade deep breath, and permitted no offense in her presence.
Even as she cowered, Jiang Jinyi marveled inwardly. She really was a fox. Mother Empress had said so: foxes were all great beauties, seductive and sensual, wielding their charm arts to bewitch the heart — wicked and cunning to the bone.
The one before her, born so enchanting and alluring, must have harmed who knew how many with those charm arts, swindled who knew how much spiritual power. And in a moment she was going to eat her… Jiang Jinyi gritted her teeth and stamped her, in her heart, with countless seals reading BAD WOMAN.
Bad woman, bad woman!
The instant she finished cursing inwardly, the Demon Venerable’s gaze swept across the tribute table — idle, careless — until it landed upon a certain rabbit. Then her eyes narrowed, and her gaze turned razor-sharp.
That single look very nearly frightened Jiang Jinyi into an early grave; even as she shook, she kept trembling out her curses. Bad woman, bad woman.
Why is she looking at me? What does she want? Stinking fox, stinking fox!
Jiang Jinyi quaked, too frightened to remember what her Mother Empress had told her: fox demons of a certain cultivation all possessed the art of mind-reading.
She had no idea that everything she thought, every word she cursed, was pouring straight into that fox’s ears.
“That rabbit…” The fox’s indolent voice rang through the great hall, uncommonly clear. Seeing her interest, the envoy hastened to elaborate: “This is a spiritual rabbit our Wolf Clan captured for you from the Rabbit Clan itself — pure of bloodline, with five hundred years of cultivation behind her. Her fur is glossy and snow-white, her eyes bright and spirited. The meat is certain to be incomparably delicious. You will be pleased.”
Not true, not true! I’m not delicious at all — I’m an old rabbit, my meat is tough! The Wolf Clan really is exactly as stupid and wicked as Mother Empress said — always spouting nonsense!
“Oh? Is that so?” The fox arched a brow, drawling with mischief: “A rabbit this fine, if one means to eat her, should first be stripped of her skin — then savored one small bite at a time…”
“Bring her up. I want a taste right now.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” The envoy assented and turned to fetch the rabbit. Jiang Jinyi spun in frantic circles inside her cage, sick with regret.
Boohoo… if she’d known she’d be eaten so cruelly by a stinking fox, she’d have let the great snake in the cave swallow her in one gulp — a quicker death by far!
The envoy set the cage down before the woman and opened it with utmost deference — and in one careless instant, the rabbit inside shot out and bolted for the doors of the hall.
The envoy started after her at once, but the fox gave a soft laugh and tapped a single finger. The fleeing rabbit was struck down by a beam of spiritual power, and her true form was revealed.
The rabbit barely two hand-spans across became a young girl carved out of pink jade3, who landed plump on her backside on the floor, the rabbit ears atop her head wobbling with the impact. Her clear eyes brimmed with moisture — pitiable, heartrending.
The very picture of tender skin and sweet, juicy meat.
Under the fox’s smiling gaze, the little rabbit scrabbled backward on her palms, loudly attempting intimidation: “You can’t eat me! I’m the Rabbit Clan’s only princess! If you dare eat me, my Mother Empress will never let you go!”
“Oh? The Rabbit Clan’s only Little Princess?” The fox listened to words their speaker clearly believed threatening — though her voice had long since dissolved into sobs — and an even more excited, playful light glittered in her eyes. “The Wolf Clan envoy didn’t lie to me. The bloodline is pure indeed. What now, Little Princess? I want a taste even more~”
The author has something to say:
omega = Zekun, alpha = Qian Yuan
Footnotes
- 母皇 | Mǔ Huáng | Literally 'mother-emperor' — the address imperial children used for a reigning empress regnant rather than an emperor's consort; history's most famous holder was Wu Zetian, the only woman ever to rule China in her own name.
- 十恶不赦 | Shí È Bù Shě | Literally 'the ten evils that admit no pardon' — from the Ten Abominations, the Tang dynasty legal code's catalogue of the gravest capital crimes; the idiom now brands anyone utterly beyond forgiveness.
- 粉雕玉琢 | Fěn Diāo Yù Zhuó | Literally 'carved of powder and chiseled of jade' — a classical idiom for a child so exquisitely lovely she seems sculpted from precious materials rather than born of them.
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