The kidnapping of the Fox Queen happened not in the main village square but in the alley behind one of the rows of houses in one of the oldest part of town.  It was so masterfully done that after it was over, none who were present during the abduction had a clue as to who could have done it.  

General AnHuier continued to observe the Queen for the next two weeks.  He noticed that while she was accompanied by different family members every time she was out, the one who was always with her was the young child.  AnHuier had subsequently learned from some of the revelers that the child was A'Li, the son of the Crown Prince Ye Hua and Princess Bai Qian.  Whenever he was in Qingqiu, which was often, he would spend all his time with his cousin, the Fox Queen.  Since this was the first time AnHuier had seen the young Queen in her original setting, he was struck by her youthfulness.  During the Trial, she had seemed so mature and regal.  True she was often seen smiling.  But now, with her young cousin, you can clearly see how playful and exuberant she was, flitting from one stall to another buying everything from candies, to masks, to embroidered purses.  He realized that she was only 42,000 years old, too young really to be the Queen of a Realm.  No wonder the old God had created a fortress around her.  AnHuier felt a little pang at what he intended to do.  But, the Demon Clan had continued to subjugate more and more of his people as the years went on.  He could not continue seeing that and not go to their aid using whatever means he had at his disposal.

As he mapped out his strategy to capture the young Queen, he recognized that her cousin was the key. On the last day before the end of the festival, he found the right opportunity.  AnHuier had noticed that the child liked sweets a lot and frequented a stall selling candied sugar.  As luck would have it, the sweets stall was not on the main avenue but rather on a little street on the side of the uninhabited old houses which led to a dead end.  Every time the Queen and her cousin were out in public, inevitably, they would end up on that street buying the candies.  The two would then happily eat their candies as the young child would run hereto and fro in and out of the old houses.  The young Queen chasing after him.  He noticed that the Sentries will place themselves at the opening of the street but would not go into the street itself.  Before the young Queen will get there, they would double check the old houses to make sure no one was there and then once the young Queen and her cousin would arrive, they would just stay at the other end of the street guarding its entrance.  

That day, the young Queen and her young charge were actually with General Bai Zhen at first, but the General had seen some comrade of his and stopped to chat for a few minutes waving at the young Queen to go ahead to the candy stall.  The Sentries had stationed themselves as usual in the entrance of the street.  AnHuier had been hiding in one of the old houses for a few days now waiting for the perfect opportunity.  Once the young child entered the old house, he put a lethargy spell against him rendering him unconscious.  A few minutes later, the young Queen herself entered the old house looking for A'Li.  As she was calling for him, AnHuier jumped down behind her, covered her nose and mouth with a handkerchief soaked in deep sleep potion and teleported themselves out of the old houses.  It was only about 30 minutes later that the Sentries realized that the young Queen had been taken.  They had no idea who took her as AnHuier did not leave any clues behind.

*** 

Xiao Bai woke up with a slight headache and her hand bound in heavy iron.  She was lying on a small cot in a cavern lighted by a single orb. She squinted trying to make out if there was someone with her. She tried to lift up her her body into a sitting position as it was aching from having been in the same position apparently for a significant period of time.  She realized she didn't even know how long she had been there. "Hello? Anyone here?" She said as calmly as she could. Although she was a little scared, it didn't seem that she had been harmed yet so she decided that it would be make more sense for her to know what was happening rather than to pretend to still be unconscious so she would be left alone. She knew she could not use her magic as her hand have been bound by iron. It seems that whoever took her knew a lot about her and the fox realm. An immortal's magic was not usually subjugated by any form of restraints. It was only in the Fox Realm that there was a little quirk in that design.  The strength of their magic can be lessened by an iron restraint.  It was usually hard to get an iron restraint on them in the first place since  at the first sign of danger, they can usually transform to their fox form and scamper away.  She tried to move her hands a little but found that when she stretched them, there was a ward in front of her imprisoning her.

Soft footstep approached opposite from the light source so Xiao Bai couldn't see who it was.  "You're awake Your Highness.  How are you feeling?" a raspy voice said.  General AnHuier had been waiting for the young Queen to wake up for the past 3 days.  He had used the deep sleeping potion on her because he wanted to make sure she stayed still the entire time that he would need to transport her to the caverns.  He had been dozing on and off at the corner when he heard her soft melodious voice.    

When Xiao Bai saw who was holding her captive, her eyes flickered .  "General, how may I assist you?" She asked calmly, inclining her head.  General AnHuier felt nonplussed, she still recognized him from 10,000 years ago?  AnHuier knew enough not to be flattered that he had been remembered.  The young Queen was not acting in the way that he was expecting.   He was expecting anger, panic and even hysteria.  But she was talking to him as if they were having a normal conversation in Tai Chen Palace exchanging pleasantries, rather than here, in a cold, dark cavern wherein he was holding her a prisoner.  

"You... you're not afraid to be here?"  he couldn't help asking even though clearly she was not.  

"Well, I can't say how I'm really feeling right now.  But I've been in worst situations before, so.." she trailed off.  AnHuier couldn't imagine someone like her who had been born a princess and likely spoiled by her parents and her husband could have experienced something worse than being imprisoned in this cavern.  "What do you want with me General?" she continued, her voice steady and alert.  While he was still trying to formulate a response to her, she continued, "Does this have anything to do with Dijun?"  For the first time, he heard a small tremble in her voice when she said the name "Dijun"  She wasn't as confident as she wanted to appear.  

"Do you want something to eat?"  he asked brusquely refusing to answer her,  hating that the small tremble in her voice had brought pinpricks of guilt upon him.  

"Yes, please, and something to drink." she said politely.  Again, he was surprise by her answer, expecting her to reject his offer of food defiantly.  She wasn't acting like a normal prisoner.  He brought some meat pies and watched her while she ate.  She finished the entire thing including the glass of water he gave her.  He was tempted to offer her something else but forced himself to remember that she was a prisoner and not his guest.  

"Where is this place?" she asked suddenly, looking around the cavern with interest, "Is this your place?"  

"No more questions. I need you to answer some questions for me now."  he said.  AnHuier needed to know how long he had.  He couldn't stomach yet the idea of killing the young Queen in cold blood but he knew what he had to do.  In truth, he'd known from the start that the moment he had taken her, he had signed his own death warrant.  He could never hope to come out alive after Donghua Dijun goes after him.  However, as long as he still had a little bit of time, he will do everything he could to save his people.  "Where's Dijun?"  he asked.  "Don't lie to me, I know he's in seclusion, I need to know where and how long will he still be in seclusion?"

"I have no idea."  Xiao Bai said.  She was not prevaricating, she really had no idea.  All Donghua had told her was that he was going to a sacred area deep in the forest on top of the mountain where the Universe was closest to the Heavens.  There was no specific name to the place as it has remained untouched from both immortals and mortals.  Only Donghua Dijun has ever been granted entry to this sacred place so the he can commune with the Universe.  As to time frame, all she had going was how long it usually took but she knew as with everything in the Universe, it could be less or it could be more.  AnHuier heard the honesty in her voice.  AnHuier closed his eyes to think.  The old doctor of the Ghost Clan had told him before that usually Donghua Dijun would disappear for hundreds of years at a time to seclude himself at least based on the former's understanding of the ancient texts.  AnHuier knew that he had been gone for more or less only five years so he knew he still had a little bit of time.  He relaxed a little.  I can do the minor beasts first,  I don't need to kill her yet as any of her blood can be used for them, it doesn't have to come from her heart.  "Try to get some sleep.  It's going to be a long day tomorrow." AnHuier said as he swept out of the cavern.

Xiao Bai watched him leave, not knowing what to think.  He didn't seem to be the type to harm someone but then he did kidnap her.  She wondered what he was planning to do tomorrow.  She didn't think he was going to kill her, well at least not yet, because if he was, why go through this elaborate drama.  Was he planning to ransom her?  Maybe he needed something from Donghua?  At the thought of her husband, Xiao Bai's heart constricted.   Xiao Bai closed her eyes to think.  She knew Donghua will get to her one way or another, of that she had no doubt.  He will turnover the whole Universe looking for her.  The only unknown was when.   He was still in seclusion and she knew he would not find out about her being gone until he came out of it.  So, all she had to do was wait for him to come find her.  In the meantime, she had to do all she could to remain alive. Oh, how I wish we were together Donghua. Not here in this dark cave, but at home in Bihai Cangling. I miss you Donghua, you don't know how much.