The fox looked confused at Ji Li, tipping its head to one side. Ji Li smiled at it as he said, "Do you really think I will not understand? It is not too late; I can still give you to the Eunuch Palace and tell them how special you are, they would consider twice if it was worth it to sent you to the Beastkin Kingdom."
The foxes' eyes dimmed as it looked at Ji Li and said hesitantly "What do you want?"
Smiling even more, Ji Li shook his head "See, I wasn't even sure if you could fully understand me. Why would you fall for such an easy-to-see-through bait?"
Looking even more confused, it answered Ji Li "You were not joking, you truly had the intent to send me to the Eunuch Palace and tell them about me. How would I know that it was a joke?"
"So, you have an ability to perceive the truth? That's interesting. Yes, I would have given you to the Eunuch Palace if you didn't reply, your aura is way too strong to be normal. A 'deep bloodline' would be the understatement of the year."
The reason Ji Li could feel it was because he was special. He glimpsed at the river of oblivion and felt several strong souls, even as he was reincarnated, he was in a stream of souls traveling all around. So, when it came to souls, Ji Li could somewhat see when one is particularly strong. It wasn't helpful in everyday life, but he could feel it when someone has a special soul, just like the time he felt it on Wu Xun, he now felt it with the fox.
The fox glanced at Ji Li, then it sighed, it itself wasn't sure if it was one of relief or distress "Tell me what you wish for."
Thinking aloud, Ji Li asked firstly about the foxes' origin.
"I am a descendant of the Heavenly Eye Fox, one of the highest experts in the Fox Clan. There was… some conflict inside of the Alliance. For those reasons, I was sent away to keep me safe. In truth, I was only to stay in your Grand Duchy of Trade, then come back later. But there were some traitors, and I was forced to flee to the mainland of your empire."
It was Ji Li's turn to be confused "Why would that happen? I thought the Feline Clans and the Canine Clans are balancing each other in the Beastkin Alliance? How come there is infighting? That could only mean that another Canine Clan attacked your Fox Clan?"
The fox was somewhat surprised Ji Li knew so much "Yes, the Wolf Clan intends to unify the canines, so we, the Fox Clan, are naturally his biggest enemy. Even though we are canines, our position is more of a neutral one inside of the alliance, taking on positions such as officials and merchants, being a bridge between the alliance and the outside world.
They understood that if we were under them, they'd have more than enough support to overthrow the Lion Clan of the felines and turn the alliance into an empire… they take much inspiration from you."
Ji Li shook his head "We might be an empire, but our power is split very strongly. We have the imperial faction with the emperor ruling the noble faction with the kings at the head and the official faction with the prime minister leading. The military defends the empire without strong influence, while the eunuchs balance the powers to ensure none harms the empire.
Isn't it the same for you? Although canines and felines are the strongest factions, aren't there the cervine, ursine and avian? The deer, bears and birds are a large neutral faction last time I heard. How come none of them are stopping the infighting?"
The fox nodded "That's exactly what happened after I was forced to flee, the deer that represent the herbivores, the bears that represent the nobles and the avians that represent all birds of the entire world punished the Wolf Clan, weakening them, while also punishing the Lion Clan, for inciting inner turmoil with schemes.
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Because of this, the Fox Clan fully joined the neutral faction and is quasi-leading it, as the avian don't concern themselves with politics, the bears are sleeping half the year, and the deer are too busy with their agriculture to care for higher politics.
The existence of the Fox Clan now causes the neutral faction to truly be represented in the alliance, forming a new three-way balance."
"Say, you know so much when you are so far away from everything… how is that possible?"
The fox moved around a bit before answering "It's not really a secret, so I can tell you. We, the Heavenly Eye Foxes, are proficient in divinations. They wanted to catch me to force my ancestor, while this ability also enabled me to escape. I have divined the state to know when I can return… but even now, it's too chaotic to return yet."
Ji Li understood. Although he wasn't too deep into the politics of the Beastkin Alliance, he knew that the world was chaotic as it is. The Bandit Junta seems to be planning something, while the Quinington Kingdom on the eastern continent, just south-west of the alliance and bordering the Junta have been behaving just as weird recently.
He heard rumours about how the Quinington Kingdom formed an agreement with the Grand Duchies Ruvka and Suvka south of the alliance. Those were the first indications that war on the eastern continent would come in great numbers.
The western continent is already on a long war. The great Emerald Brilliance Empire being in the centre had not made it easy for them; the south on an all-time battle, the west seemingly only calm before the storm, as the Holy Kingdom never stopped sending their useless missionaries trying to convert those under the emerald tree's crown, the northern border had a quick reformation when the Frost Wind Kingdom joined the empire, but who knew what those barbaric Northern Mountain Tribes would do when they are hit with a strong winter? Not to mention the Dragon Den that bordered them too, although their territory also stretched to the eastern continent… and they were peaceful as long as no one bothered them.
Ji Li only knew that three of the eastern continent's countries could form a somewhat peaceful alliance, as the Magic Tower focused more on understanding the world, while the Beastkin Alliance and the Merfolk Kingdom were already allied… but the Mechanic Federation was always an eyesore in the empire's eyes, as they always had to gather enough resources to live, destroying all nature along their expansion, while the Merchant Republic was basically a Mercenary Crops when it came to war.
The last power on the eastern continent was the 'Unified Guild Headquarters', which were the headquarters of all guilds across the world… but they were never going to include themselves in a war, as that would mean being kicked out of several if not all territories.
'If I had to guess… nah I will not jinx it. Forget it' Ji Li thought as he asked the fox "So, do you want me to send you to your clan, or do you want to stay with me for some time till I personally bring you? I will probably not visit the Beastkin Alliance anytime soon, but I plan to at least visit all duchies, the Grand Duchy of Trade included, before I become a Palace Eunuch."
The fox had to contemplate "As long as you get me to the Clan in around ten years, I will be eternally grateful."
"Ten years? I will take at most five years… well, let's not talk too early. But yes, ten years will be more than enough. How about it, I take you with me for now, but you have to use you ability for me as long as you are coming along."
"That… I can accept these terms. But please understand that although we are known for our divination arts, everything of that sort is vague. I do however posses the ability to perceive truth, like you said… and if it is only simple divination, such as locating someone or feeling immediate danger, then I can also help with that."
"Great, now one last thing… how are you so mature? Although it is possible for you to know a lot of with your divination arts, it shouldn't make you older, right? And how is your name? I don't want to call you 'the fox' all the time."
The fox jumped on the table and somehow bowed "I am princess Lila of the Heavenly Eye Fox family, my father is the Clan Head of the Fox Clan, while my mother is the Queen of the Fox Clan. I greet thee, esteemed eunuch of the Emerald Brilliance Empire." She said as she led off a bit of her essence, indicating she also was in the Essence Awakening Stage, meaning she had at least reached puberty in her terms… which made her older than Ji Li by quite ab it.
Ji Li smiled as he also bowed "I also greet thee, lost princess of the Fox Clan." Although her title was impressive, in the empire, only strength mattered. No matter who your parents were, if you yourself were powerless, then there would be no respect towards you. Even the Emperor's children had to prove themselves worthy till they gained the title 'prince' and 'princesses'.
One of them would eventually become emperor, while the rest would either join the military, become a noble or do their own thing. It was more common for them to just live their life as protectors of the Imperial Family, supporting its long standing.