The fox spirit Hu Lili fails her tribulation, gets blasted black with soot, and falls into the Demon Realm, where the passing Demon Lord Mo Yuan happens to find her.
Mo Yuan initially thinks she’ll be a nuisance and wants to get rid of her, but then he unexpectedly hears the little fox’s inner monologue as she lies unconscious:
“Waaah... My fur’s singed... I’m not pretty anymore...”
“It hurts so much... Mother...”
“That nasty lightning bolt! I curse you to walk in circles!”
Mo Yuan finds her amusing and decides to keep her around for now.
Mo Yuan discovers that although the fox looks timid and meek on the outside, inside she’s constantly making sarcastic remarks:
“The demon lord is so scary! He could kill someone with that look!”
“Could you stop making such a breeze when you walk? My fur!”
“This demon palace is so gloomy. I want to sunbathe...”
“His clothes look like a crow today, hahaha...”
Her stark contrast amuses him immensely. He starts “feeding” her, “smoothing her fur,” and teasing her on purpose, secretly enjoying her inner monologue and her instinctive fondness for him.
“Even though he’s a demon lord, he’s kind of... handsome?” “The spirit fruit he gave me is so sweet!”
The little fox’s post-tribulation side effects flare up from time to time. She tries to curry favor with Mo Yuan but sprays black smoke all over his face. She tries to clean the room with her meager magical powers but blows the curtains right off the windows. When she gets nervous, she can’t stop her tail from wagging wildly.
One night, the little fox notices that the Demon Lord has suddenly become a different person: gentle and considerate, telling her stories, healing her wounds with immortal magic, and even apologizing for his own rough behavior during the day.
The little fox thinks: “Wow! Is he a split personality? Or does he have two personalities? How exciting!” “I like this one! I like this one!”
The immortal lord personality can hear her thoughts too, and her antics amuse him, making him grow ever more fond of her.
