“A young Daoist?” Cen Shuang set down his teacup. “The two foxes inside Young Master Zheng and Miss Zheng have several centuries of cultivation. If this man was capable of abducting them both, could he be Yue Jingming, the Number One Daoist Under Heaven?”
“No, Young Master Cen. To tell you the truth, that Daoist Master Yue arrived at my residence several days ago. Unfortunately, he’s all show and no substance. He spends every day eating, drinking, and fooling around with my son and daughter and hasn’t discovered a thing.” Zheng Hanwen continued, “The man struck me as greedy and cowardly. Sure enough, the moment something this serious happened in the residence, he vanished without a trace. He is nothing to fear.”
Cen Shuang laughed. “At fifteen, Yue Jingming had already mastered the Zushan Sect’s Taixu Sword Art to perfection. Later, he became famous after slaying a thousand-year-old charm demon with nothing but one man and one sword. If he hadn’t suddenly comprehended the No-Thought One-Mind Art and entered seclusion to cultivate, do you think his only distinction now would be the imperial title of Number One Daoist Under Heaven?”
Zheng Hanwen looked astonished. “Is he truly that formidable?”
“He dislikes drawing attention to himself and is even less inclined to flaunt his abilities. He may not travel the world under his real name.” Cen Shuang looked thoughtful. “That ‘Yue Jingming’ staying at your residence is probably some swindler trading on his reputation.”
Zheng Hanwen wiped the sweat from his brow. “Then perhaps Daoist Master Yue has not actually descended the mountain and entered the world after all.”
“No. We’ve already confirmed that he has come down the mountain. Finding him is one reason I came here.” Cen Shuang pinched the bridge of his nose, looking tired. “But that is less important than the matter at hand. Those above me are pressing hard. I must bring the people back this month. Squire Zheng, telling me now that they’ve been abducted puts me in a difficult position.”
More cold sweat broke out on Zheng Hanwen’s forehead. “I-I’ll have people find them as quickly as possible.”
Cen Shuang stared at him and drawled, “Surely Squire Zheng hasn’t grown too attached to his children and decided to change his mind?”
With a thud, Zheng Hanwen dropped to his knees. “How could this Zheng dare treat a matter concerning Heaven’s mandate as a joke! Truly, truly, it happened without warning. I’ve already seized everyone who knows anything and ordered them interrogated severely. We will catch those two!”
Cen Shuang rose and helped him up, smiling as he studied that youthful face. “Good. Since you covet this young, healthy body and your mountain of wealth, stop dreaming about children gathered around your knees. Nothing in this world can be perfectly complete. Look at the Li family in Jiarong County: their household shattered and their loved ones dead. What a pity.”
Zheng Hanwen forced out a smile uglier than crying. “Yes. Young Master is right.”
Cen Shuang asked, “Did that man leave anything behind?”
One incense-stick’s time later, someone brought in a damaged willow leaf. Zheng Hanwen said, “That Daoist gave this leaf to my steward.”
Cen Shuang picked it up and examined it carefully. He formed a hand seal, then said after a moment, “He is northwest of Dengling right now. His martial arts are strong, but he is wounded, and there are demonic creatures with him…”
His emerald eyes suddenly flashed. “You cannot handle him. I’ll capture this man myself.”
Zheng Hanwen was only too pleased. “All the servants and residence guards at my disposal will obey Young Master Cen’s commands.”
“They’re useless. Give me your children’s Eight Characters.” Cen Shuang’s expression darkened. “He won’t get away.”
＊
The yellow talisman slowly burned to ash. At the center of the formation, the little fat fox respectfully bowed to Yue Jingming, then gradually dissolved into the air.
Tears filled Zheng Han’s eyes. “The little fox turned into a star and ran away.”
The fox possessing Zheng Bing’s body said, “It was only a wandering ghost trapped inside the Zheng Residence. Now that it has left the estate, if it wasn’t sent on promptly, its soul would simply dissipate between Heaven and Earth. Being sent on now is already extraordinarily fortunate.”
Zheng Han looked at him. “Then what about you, Fox Brother?”
The fox froze. “You… know I’m not your brother?”
“My brother is silly. He always fights with me over things, and when I don’t listen, he scolds me. You’re different.” Zheng Han said, “Before, when I couldn’t come out, Fox Sister would talk to me. She said people become ghosts after they die. Daddy said you were already dead, and Daoist Master said dead people have to be sent on.”
Grief surged through the fox. He said bitterly, “Your father cost my sister and me our lives. I ought to kill you for revenge.”
Zheng Han said, “Fox Brother, when you kill me, can you do it gently? I’m afraid of pain.”
The fox clenched his teeth. “You aren’t afraid?”
Zheng Han’s eyes curved as she smiled. “Then I can turn into a star with you and Fox Sister, and I can go find the little fox too.”
The fox cursed, “You really are a fool.”
Zheng Han did not mind being insulted. With the little fat fox gone, she looked around before finally crouching beside Yue Jingming. This person was the best one here. As for that worst, pretty older brother, getting too close to him felt as though he might stuff her into an urn, soak her in liquor, and drink her.
Xiao Chunhe was drinking in a corner. After Yue Jingming finished sending on the little fat fox, he asked, “What are you planning to do now?”
“You are seriously injured. You should not drink.” Yue Jingming looked at him. “The medicine and the liquor conflict. It can cause your meridians to run in reverse.”
“What if I can’t resist?” Xiao Chunhe raised a brow, but seeing Yue Jingming’s stern expression reminded him of that speech about their Ways being different. Resigned, he tucked the wine gourd back into his clothes. “I can resist, I can resist. Fine, I won’t drink. Stop looking at me like that.”
Yue Jingming said, “The Chalcedony Demon Heart is the key to separating the fox siblings from the Zheng siblings, but this object is not truly physical. It was condensed from vital essence. We have to return to the Zheng Residence and find the real heart.”
“The moyao’s heart?” Xiao Chunhe asked.
“We still cannot confirm whether it is truly a moyao heart,” Yue Jingming said.
After leaving the Zheng Residence, even with the Chalcedony Demon Heart in his possession, the Myriad Demons Scroll had not reacted again. The real demonic heart had to still be inside the Zheng Residence, but that was not something he could conveniently reveal to the others.
Xiao Chunhe smacked his lips. “All right, then. Let’s hurry back and get ourselves killed.”
Yue Jingming said, “Young Master Xiang, this matter has nothing to do with you. You need not go.”
“How could I do that?” Xiao Chunhe gazed at him with deep affection. “If something unfortunate happened to you, wouldn’t that make me a widower?”
Yue Jingming said, “…Let’s go.”
The greatest pleasure in teasing someone was watching them flush red from face to ears. The dullest reaction was complete indifference. Xiao Chunhe instantly found the whole thing much less entertaining.
All of them disguised themselves, and the soldiers hunting them passed right by without noticing a thing.
“Young Master Xiang, how much do you know about this moyao?” Yue Jingming asked.
Xiao Chunhe was carrying a bag of freshly bought sesame flatbreads. He handed Yue Jingming one. “Rumors started circulating a couple of years ago that a great demon would descend into the world, but no one has ever known what’s true and what’s false. Repeat a rumor often enough and people will believe anything. No one’s seen it anyway. Want some rice milk?”
He shoved the bag of flatbreads into Yue Jingming’s arms and went to a stall to buy several cups of rice milk, even telling the vendor to add extra sugar.
The fox and Zheng Han each received a cup, and Xiao Chunhe generously handed them several flatbreads as well. He blew on the steaming cup in his hand before giving it to Yue Jingming. “Careful, it’s hot. Drink slowly.”
Even while traveling, Yue Jingming usually insisted on sitting upright and eating in stillness. This was his first time eating while walking, and he found the experience rather novel. Xiao Chunhe, meanwhile, happily alternated bites of flatbread with sips of rice milk, showing not the slightest awareness that they were fleeing for their lives.
“Everyone else avoids that moyao as though it were a plague. Why are you looking for it?” Xiao Chunhe asked curiously.
Yue Jingming answered concisely, “My master ordered it.”
“Then your master must treat you very well.” Xiao Chunhe licked sesame crumbs from one corner of his mouth.
“My master raised me. He is like a father to me.” Yue Jingming glanced at him. “There is some on the other side too.”
Xiao Chunhe tried to lick the other corner, but the sesame seed sat too far away, and even when he reached up to wipe it, it seemed to dodge him. “Is it gone?”
Yue Jingming’s gaze paused. He raised a hand and brushed the sesame seed away with the pad of his finger.
Xiao Chunhe froze for a moment.
Yue Jingming withdrew his hand and looked away. “Let’s go.”
Yue Jingming had already walked ahead. The fox passed Xiao Chunhe with a flatbread between his teeth, waggled his brows, and gave him a teasing grin before silently mouthing, There’s hope.
Xiao Chunhe glared at him, then thoughtfully touched the cheek Yue Jingming had just brushed. An increasingly excited gleam lit his fox-like eyes.
The only pity was that he had changed to a fake face to avoid the pursuers. What a terrible miscalculation!
Before long, they left the bustling market. The fox carried the urn containing his sister on his back, Zheng Han walked beside him intent on eating her flatbread, and Xiao Chunhe had somehow bought a little red fox made of silk and insisted on draping it over Yue Jingming’s shoulder. With rice milk in one hand and flatbread in the other, Yue Jingming could only let him fool around.
“I finished my rice milk. Let me have a sip of yours.” Xiao Chunhe smiled.
Yue Jingming turned the wooden cup to hand it over. Xiao Chunhe leaned in and caught the rim with his mouth, but just as he was about to drink, a fierce sword-light suddenly swept toward them. He and Yue Jingming retreated together, and the wooden cup of rice milk shattered into pieces.
“Fellow Daoist, why are you keeping company with demonic creatures?” A young man in emerald-green robes blocked their path.
The fox and Zheng Han immediately ducked behind Yue Jingming. Xiao Chunhe stood beside him, wiping splashed rice milk from his sleeve with a distinctly unfriendly expression. Yue Jingming stepped forward. “There are circumstances behind this. May I ask your name, fellow Daoist?”
“This one is Cen Shuang of Cangyang Mountain.” Cen Shuang cupped his fists. “And what lineage does fellow Daoist come from?”
Great An had long had a saying: Cangyang in the north, Zushan in the south. The Zushan Sect and Cangyang Mountain had always maintained relations, but Yue Jingming lived reclusively and had later spent years in seclusion, so he was not particularly familiar with Cangyang Mountain.
“Su Zheng. Merely an obscure Daoist from the wild mountains.” Yue Jingming returned the courtesy. “I have urgent business. I hope Fellow Daoist Cen will grant us passage.”
“I’m afraid I cannot. The master of the Zheng family entrusted me with rescuing his son and daughter, who have been bewitched by demonic creatures.” Cen Shuang’s gaze shifted to Xiao Chunhe. “But now it seems they are not the only ones bewitched.”
“What do you mean by that, fellow Daoist?” Yue Jingming asked in a low voice.
Cen Shuang pointed his sword at Xiao Chunhe. “This man was transformed from a demonic creature. Could Fellow Daoist Su truly have failed to notice?”
Xiao Chunhe’s eyes instantly darkened.
Demon-Suppressing Bells rang from all directions. Yellow talismans covered the red cords that rose around them, and a Demon-Capturing Formation sealed the crowd on the street outside. Cen Shuang murmured an incantation. The fox cried out and rolled across the ground as the shape of a huge white fox flickered over his body. The urn on his back burst apart as well, and the white fox inside screamed in agony as its flesh burned away wherever it touched the red cords.
Xiao Chunhe bared his teeth impatiently. Blue-black veins bulged across the skin of his neck, a faint red glow rising in his narrow fox-like eyes. He had just curled his fingers into claws when someone suddenly stuffed a bag of flatbreads into his hands.
He stared blankly. The little cloth fox from Yue Jingming’s shoulder was pushed into his arms as well, and Yue Jingming’s cool, even voice sounded beside his ear. “Hold these.”
Then Yue Jingming drew his sword and severed the red cord trying to coil around Xiao Chunhe. True qi flowed through his palm, blasting the trembling yellow talismans into powder.
The clash of swords rang out in a long hum. Cen Shuang looked up in astonishment. “That’s the Taixu Sword Art—”
The rest of his words vanished beneath the howling wind. Yue Jingming turned his wrist, and a freezing arc of sword-light drove Cen Shuang back several dozen feet while slicing clean through the red cords of the Demon-Capturing Formation.
Horror rose in Cen Shuang’s heart. He exchanged nearly a hundred moves with Yue Jingming without finding a single chance to speak. He sprang onto a rooftop, drawing cries of alarm from the people below, but in the next instant Yue Jingming kicked him in the shoulder. Sword-light followed. Pain exploded through his chest, and he flew backward, staggering several steps before crashing into a wall.
The Clear Breeze Sword stopped steadily in midair, mere inches from his throat.
Cen Shuang clutched his shoulder and spat out a mouthful of dark blood. He looked up at the plain-faced Daoist before him. “Who exactly are you? Why do you know the Zushan Sect’s sword art?”
Expressionless, Yue Jingming said, “Who I am does not matter. You should never have raised a Demon-Capturing Formation in a crowded market. This formation consumes people’s vital essence. Ordinary people nearby will fall ill at best and lose their souls at worst. Did your master never teach you that?”
Cen Shuang gritted his teeth. “Those demons have committed countless evils. If they aren’t captured quickly, even more people will die!”
“Zheng Hanwen has harmed countless people. The blood-debt clinging to him can be seen at a glance, yet you help him.” Yue Jingming stared coldly at him. “Your skills are poor and your temperament unstable. Cangyangzi actually allowed you to descend the mountain?”
“Why waste words on him? If Zheng Hanwen sent him, just kill him with one stroke.” Xiao Chunhe had caught up with the fox and Zheng Han. He gave a derisive snort at the sight.
Cen Shuang’s face flushed with fury. He shouted at Yue Jingming, “You keep accusing me of aiding evil, yet you’re the one mingling with this fox spirit! The fox stink on this great demon has nearly pickled you through!”
Xiao Chunhe’s hand clenched hard around the little cloth fox.
The Clear Breeze Sword pressed directly to Cen Shuang’s neck. Blood instantly ran along the edge of the blade. Yue Jingming lowered his gaze to the Daoist from Cangyang Mountain before him, neither sorrowful nor pleased.
“Whether he is human or demon is not for you to decide.”