Chapter 59 Awakening

  This voice is what I have been hoping to hear again for these two years... How could I possibly forget? How could I ever forget?!

  Nine! I called out the master's name in a low voice, and I'm calmer than I thought I'd be!

  Just like... I need to know, I can have a "family" with the same peace of mind.

  The surroundings, when I shouted the name "Jiǔ", the originally dark swamp background slowly disappeared into the depths of my heart like being corroded by sulfuric acid, as if swallowed by an even deeper darkness.

  The final scene was the same as two years ago, an endless dark and mysterious abyss, and a huge cage filled with talismans... ...and that still beautiful and arrogant existence - Jiu.

  "Huh? How come in these few years, you seem to not have grown up at all, still looking like a six-year-old kid! The feeling Jiu gives me is still a bit dazed and confused, just like being woken up suddenly from a deep sleep."

  (These few years? It seems like you haven't grown up much?) I think it's a bit strange, Jiu, how long have you been sleeping? The answer to this question should be able to dispel my doubts.

  I remember I was planning to sleep for five or six years, previously active for over a hundred years without rest, it's time to take a good break, anyway, by the way, strange? Why is this dream talking so much? And there's someone who looks exactly like him! It's really strange, haha... ends with a big yawn.

  I saw from the cage that Jiu's eyes were half-closed, and he stretched out a claw to scratch his head, while his tail was swishing around randomly, looking completely like he hadn't woken up yet!

  It seems that a certain beast is talking nonsense in his dream! No wonder he's so frank! I can imagine, on my forehead, the first wrinkle of my life must have appeared.

  However, there is still greater and more joy surging up in my heart, just like the first time I saw my brothers and sisters.

  "Hey, are you okay? I asked what's currently on my mind."

  Nothing's wrong? I'm the strongest Tailed Beast, the Nine-Tails' greatest - the Nine-Tails Demon Fox! What kind of stupid question is that?!

  As expected, even in a half-awake state, that arrogant aura remains unchanged, haha!

  I watched as Jiu's head swayed left and right, and before I knew it, a smile had spread across my entire face.

  Nine! Nine! I shouted a few times, only to find that it had absolutely no effect at all. Since there was no other way, and I wasn't used to shouting loudly anyway, I chose another method that would definitely shock Nine awake.

  I reached out to pull off the talismans on the cage, these talismans were directly acting on the sealed Tail Beast's body! Compared to the loudness of the sound, this kind of spiritual shockwave was more likely to attract Jū's attention!

  I previously only agreed with Jiu that when he "woke up", he would absolutely no longer randomly touch these talismans.

  Moreover, after a short period of time, tearing off one talisman at a time has almost no effect on me.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, when I was about to tear off the second one, I felt myself being lifted by the neck and moved in the opposite direction of the cage.

  What a pity!

  Jiu doesn't like being called "Ruo Can", so every time he is called that, it represents the mighty nine-tailed demon beast - getting angry!

  I seem to have heard a gnashing sound, don't blame me, Jiu, who made you so hard to wake up!

  Are you awake?

  Nonsense, being messed up by you like this, can't I wake up? If I sleep again, won't all the talismans disappear when I really wake up? Hmm? Although still asleep, suddenly felt a familiar power appearing at the bottom of my heart, attracting the attention of myself in the dream.

  Forced to muster up a bit of spiritual energy to investigate the situation, he discovered that it was a power from the same source as himself. After absorbing most of this power, he prepared to continue sleeping, after all, for a powerful demon like him, there was no safer place to sleep than where he was sealed, as long as his host remained alive.

  Then in a daze, it seemed like someone was talking to myself, I was confused and didn't know what I said either...

  A faint whisper was completely ignored by oneself, just when one thought the noise would not appear again, a wave of fluctuations suddenly appeared deep in the soul, and then the seal also shook with it!

  The seal is fluctuating! The talisman is being torn! Jiū felt a sudden fright! Before falling into deep sleep, he had deliberately set up a layer of warning seals on the talismans, precisely to prevent his host from secretly tearing them away... As soon as he thought of this, Jiū couldn't help but feel a bitter smile. The majestic nine-tailed fox spirit actually had to protect the prison that sealed itself, lest its own host break the seal.

  In short, when the first seal reaction occurred, I was still a bit dazed and couldn't stop the first talisman from being torn. I was already furious, my entire spirit was stirred up! My sleepiness instantly vanished without a trace!

  Then, when the second boundary produces a reaction, I immediately quickly lifted the only person who would do such a thing, the perpetrator, away from the crime scene!

  But I, apart from the anger of being woken up by a sudden shock, also felt the shock of being startled, and the anger of having my talisman torn. My mood was extremely bad, but the culprit in front of me had an open smile on its face.

  Looking at Jiu's expression now, I know he's really sober this time. After all, it's a very challenging task to show anger, shock, bitter smile, and doting, among many emotions on his face, for someone who is still in a half-dreaming state.

  Nine, don't be angry! Sorry for apologizing first, can I get a reduced sentence?

  You... Ugh! Seriously, don't do that again next time. Jiu's tone was like an elder who had caught a younger generation being mischievous, angry but couldn't bear to scold them.

  Don't worry, it's just a small piece of paper, really won't have any effect. I haven't been secretly tearing up IOUs these days!

  Hehe, that's great! Jiu never knew that he would feel happy about the seal on himself not weakening.

  Jiǔ was angry at his own excitement, a contradictory emotion arose in his heart.

  However, today, for the first time, he saw the host reveal a genuine smile that a six-year-old child should have. Jiu's mouth corners couldn't help but curve up into a smile, and at the same time, he stretched out one of his paws to scratch the moon-colored long hair.

  The foolish humans of the Hidden Leaf, must they wait until something irreparable happens before they understand the magnitude of their mistakes? Allowing a child as young as this to show such a genuine and heartfelt smile for the first time at this age. Perhaps it will be the only time in this child's life.

  I noticed Jiu's sudden silence and asked, "What's wrong?... Is your body still not feeling well? Should I not have disturbed you?" Although Jiu described everything he did to help me in a light and casual tone, if it were really that effortless, it wouldn't have caused him to enter deep sleep to recover his strength. Maybe it wasn't as serious as I thought, but definitely not as easy as Jiu said.

  Jiu still didn't answer me, so I asked again: ...Am I being too unreasonable, shouldn't I have just let you sleep instead of waking you up just because I wanted to see you?

  Staring at me with an odd gaze, his tone suddenly slowed down. No, it's nothing, I've had enough rest already. Lately, I've just been sleeping anyway. After all, it's been over a hundred years since I last truly slept.

  Is that so! That's good! I thought your previous silence was because you were angry with me, but, Jiǔ, your tone just now seems like there's something unpleasant in your heart, is it?

  No! I'm fine, can't be better. After all, having survived for so many years and being a nine-tailed fox tribe that's good at disguise, my emotional camouflage skills are almost unbeatable, I just sensed a slight abnormality.

  This child is always the first to discover others' pain, moving them time and again, not because he himself possesses more happiness, but because the scars in his heart are deeper, more painful, and more unforgettable than anyone else's!

  He was just a child under six years old, what secrets was he still hiding? Why did he still hide some thoughts so deeply in his heart?

  He couldn't help but think so in his heart.