Bai Qingyue's thoughts darkened as he wondered what would be most appropriate to stuff his wife's mouth with, considering everything she's been saying lately had been sheer, utter nonsense.

If only she knew that her "Snowball" had a legion of far greater familiars at his beck and call, no way would she have said such ridiculous words.

He chose to pardon his wife's slight this time. Next time, there will surely be retribution made for this kind of insolence. Moving to another subject at hand, Bai Qingyue's shrewd golden eyes assessed the room, finding it most disgraceful.

"That foolish fox was a weakling, but capturing a pregnant mother is too foul a move. Let's incinerate the shop as an act of good faith." Snowball kindly suggested.

Li Meirong's brow arched after hearing Snowball's suggestions, wondering what caused her young familiar to pick up on such violent thoughts…

Truthfully, the whole matter had escalated to a far larger scale than she had predicted. It wouldn't be out of place to say she was in trouble now.

It goes without saying that she'll be expecting another summons back for another interrogation.

"Nevermind the shop, let's go back home. I might have gotten myself into trouble now, but it will be my burden to bear. This time, if anything happens to me, you must keep your distance and stay safely away, is that understood?" Li Meirong reprimanded Snowball.

The silver-furred cub agreed without hesitation, "Don't worry, Snowball will patiently wait this time!"

"Good boy!" Said Li Meirong.

Meanwhile, the "naive" looking cub's eyes narrowed, as he was in thought.

Snowball won't be there, but Zhu Qingyue will definitely stay close by! He couldn't very well just leave his silly wife alone.

Appeased with his reply, Li Meirong rose to her feet and dusted her robe from debris, then she lifted Snowball up and held him by the waist, placing the top of his fluffy head right underneath her chin as she exited the shop only to discover a crowd of cultivators had made a circle around the battered entrance.

She tried ignoring their intrusive stares while she was leaving the shopkeeper's premises but the attention still managed to make her flustered.

The swarm of gossiping disciples parted in two when Li Meirong came closer. She had no choice but to walk between the crowd. Despite her anxiety rearing its ugly head, Li Meirong managed to stride forward with her back straight as she passed through, keeping her field of vision forward.

Unfortunately, it was inevitable for her to hear some of the words of the gossiping disciples, not even bothering to hide their disdain.

"She just ruined Senior Mu's shop, they'll definitely kick her out now!"

"The girl is such a menace, even for a furnace she's too much of a handful to deal with."

"I heard that she was put on trial today and her Fox Spirit disfigured Captain Liang's face." A familiar womanly voice mentioned. Li Meirong recognized the voice to be one of No Eyebrows lackey's.

Her words rippled through the crowd.

"I heard that too! It's beyond my understanding to comprehend what our sect's succeeding disciple Mo Cheng finds in her, despite having so many beautiful and talented girls by his side, he insists on leaving the main wife position to her...a furnace should just scurry off to become a concubine, that's all they're good for anyway!"

One person whispered to another, "Do you think Grandmaster Zhu Zhang fell for her charms and that's why he chose to turn a blind eye when Captain Liang was attacked by that evil seductress?"

"Heh, it wouldn't be the first time he fell for someone's charms! I heard that a long time ago he had another disciple who was a furnace too, some say they were in an illicit relationship between master and disciple. Perhaps the Grandmaster has a thing for Human Cauldrons?"

Li Meirong hastened her pace as her hands began to shake and sweat trickled down her nose. 'This' was precisely the reason why she hated leaving the sanctuary of her residence. Every time there was a need for her to head out, she would be forced to overhear the whispers of passerby slandering her.

Finally, she distanced herself far enough for the dreaded chattering to dissipate. A familiar row of mounts perched by the edge of the island's cliffside came into view.

She rushed to mount the Crane at the stables.

In her awkward, nerve-stricken state, she had failed to notice the little fluffy bundle in her arms had long since disappeared.

Panic-stricken, Li Meirong's heartbeat thundered in her ears. She grasped the back of her head in agitation and just as she was about to scream for her fox cub, his light footsteps and small frame could be seen running towards her from afar.

"Snowball! Where have you run off to again??" Li Meirong worriedly asked.

"Nature called!" said Snowball, lifting his arms high in the air, begging to be lifted up.

"..." said Li Meirong. This fox will be the death of her...

Still, she was glad to be far away from the bustling market and was in no hurry to go back. Picking up her fox, she mounted the waiting Crane and after a short-term flight, she reached her destination.