“Whoa! Brother Xiao?” Liang Yun woke from sleep to find Xiao Chunhe standing there alive and well, and for a moment he nearly thought he was dreaming.
“Morning, Brother Liang.” Xiao Chunhe waved at him.
“Great King!” Ye Shijiu threw himself at Xiao Chunhe and wrapped him in a hug.
The impact made Xiao Chunhe stagger. Looking thoroughly disgusted, he said, “You climb trees and burrow through grass every day. You’re filthy. Shoo, shoo.”
That was what he said, but he did not actually push Ye Shijiu away.
Ye Shijiu said happily, “Now we can eat lots of roast chicken! When you’re around, Daoist Master Yue gets especially good at catching chickens. He can wipe out the whole nest!”
Yue Jingming caught him by the back of his collar and hauled him away. “Have you finished today’s morning lessons?”
Ye Shijiu instantly wilted. He silently pulled a book from his sleeve, walked to the side, and began reciting from it.
Xiao Chunhe gloated. “Even our little genius has to memorize books, Little Ye?”
Ye Shijiu continued reciting while casting Yue Jingming resentful looks.
“Precisely because you have talent, you should waste even less of it. There is no harm in memorizing more.” Yue Jingming had always been strict with his junior brothers and sisters, especially the gifted ones. He turned to Xiao Chunhe. “You also need to continue taking your medicine.”
Xiao Chunhe waved both hands. “I’ll take it in a couple of days.”
Yue Jingming turned his wrist, and a bowl of freshly decocted medicine appeared in his palm, giving off an indescribably bitter smell. Xiao Chunhe stared at him for a moment, then resignedly took the bowl, pinched his nose, and drained it in one gulp. It was so bitter he stuck out his tongue.
Liang Yun was enjoying the spectacle from the side. Then he turned and found Yue Jingming looking at him. He hesitated. “Do I have to drink some too?”
Yue Jingming studied him carefully again. “Brother Liang, a calamity involving bloodshed is approaching you.”
Liang Yun jolted. “When? What do I do? Is it serious? Am I going to die? Shouldn’t we find some way to ward it off?”
“Let me have a look too.” Xiao Chunhe draped an arm over Yue Jingming’s shoulder and leaned closer, staring at Liang Yun with a grave expression.
Liang Yun barely dared breathe for fear of disturbing the two experts while they read his fortune.
Xiao Chunhe pretentiously pinched his fingers together in calculation. “Mm, looks serious. How about this? Since we’re friends, give me seven thousand taels and I’ll resolve it for you.”
Liang Yun asked doubtfully, “Wouldn’t that be too little?”
Xiao Chunhe solemnly held out his hand. “You’re right. Seventy thousand taels would be better.”
Just as Liang Yun was about to reach for banknotes, Yue Jingming pushed Xiao Chunhe’s fox paw back down. “Brother Liang, there is no need to dwell on it. Just be careful over the next few days.”
With that, he handed Liang Yun a talisman. “Keep this on you.”
“Many thanks, Brother Yue!” Liang Yun immediately tried to offer banknotes in exchange.
Yue Jingming naturally refused. Xiao Chunhe looked regretful but said nothing. He clung to Yue Jingming for a while, then went to bother Ye Shijiu while he studied, then crowded beside Liang Yun to examine that battered copper bowl with him. In short, he could not stay still for even a moment. One fox returning was worth ten people, and the surroundings instantly became much noisier.
Only then did Yue Jingming finally relax.
After Xiao Chunhe drank the medicine, much of the baleful aura left from killing someone the night before dissipated. With Liang Yun and Ye Shijiu amusing him as well, the demon-gu that had climbed to his waist retreated and lay dormant in his lower leg again.
The group traveled for another two days. Whether intentionally or not, Yue Jingming and Xiao Chunhe clearly spoke less than before, with even a faint sense of distance between them. Even Ye Shijiu noticed.
“Fox Great King, why is Daoist Master Yue ignoring you?”
Xiao Chunhe raised an eyebrow. “Who says he’s ignoring me? He made me drink medicine yesterday.”
“But he hasn’t said a single word to you today,” Ye Shijiu said. “Did you two have a fight?”
“Nothing of the sort.” Xiao Chunhe waved him off.
Ye Shijiu hinted with remarkable directness, “Daoist Master Yue is much fiercer than before when he teaches me cultivation. He must be in a bad mood. Great King, you’re so capable. Hurry and think of something.”
Xiao Chunhe stubbornly said, “I’m in an even worse mood.”
Even so, he glanced at the Daoist sitting beneath a tree quietly writing and still could not resist going over.
Yue Jingming was carefully considering his wording when the space beside him suddenly grew warm. He turned and found Xiao Chunhe reading over the letter he was writing. “Why do you write a letter every time we reach a new place?”
“They are letters home to Master and my junior brothers and sisters, so they know I am safe,” Yue Jingming said. “It also lets me express how much I miss them.”
Xiao Chunhe raised an eyebrow. “You miss them that much?”
Yue Jingming said, “I grew up on Zushan from childhood. Master is loving, and my junior brothers and sisters are well-behaved and sensible. They are my family. Of course I miss them when I am away.”
“What about me?” Xiao Chunhe asked. “If you went a long time without seeing me, would you want to write to me?”
Yue Jingming lowered his eyes. “Naturally.”
“Then write me one too,” Xiao Chunhe said.
Yue Jingming was puzzled. “You are right here. What would I write to you?”
“Anything. Preferably a letter home like this one.” Xiao Chunhe was full of enthusiasm. “Secretly give it to me in a few days. I want one.”
As he spoke, he chose the prettiest sheet of paper. “This one looks good.”
Yue Jingming relented. “All right.”
Xiao Chunhe thought for a moment, picked up another sheet, and looked at him. “Can I have this one too?”
“Of course.” Yue Jingming laughed and handed him a writing brush as well. “Use this one. There’s a talisman on it, so it won’t dry out even if you leave it sitting.”
Xiao Chunhe’s eyes lit up. “Thank you.”
It was rare for him to thank someone so seriously. Yue Jingming said, “No need to be polite.”
Xiao Chunhe rubbed his nose, looking faintly uncomfortable. “That night I had just eaten the heart and wasn’t thinking clearly. I was out of line with you. If you’re angry, you can do it back.”
Yue Jingming glanced at Ye Shijiu and Liang Yun playing not far away, then calmly asked, “Do what back? Kiss you?”
Xiao Chunhe nearly tore the paper in his hands, but almost immediately decided this was an excellent idea. “Sure.”
Yue Jingming said blandly, “That mouthful of blood essence was to help suppress your qi deviation. I was rather harsh with you that day as well. There is no need to take it to heart.”
Xiao Chunhe cleared his throat. “I’ve thought about it carefully. Perhaps if we kissed from time to time, once we got used to it, the demon-gu and the No-Thought One-Mind Art might stop causing trouble. What do you think?”
Yue Jingming gathered his sleeve and continued writing. “Brother Xiao, things are fine as they are now. There is no need to complicate matters.”
Xiao Chunhe looked suspicious. “You aren’t disgusted because I fed you that piece of heart meat, are you?”
Yue Jingming’s brush paused. “…No.”
Xiao Chunhe explained, “That heart had already rolled around in my mouth once and been washed completely clean by demonic qi. Actually—”
“Xiao Chunhe.” Yue Jingming looked at him expressionlessly.
Xiao Chunhe raised a hand to cover his mouth, tilted his head, and smiled at him. “Good Rongxi, you’re not angry anymore, right?”
Yue Jingming sighed inwardly and caught the hand Xiao Chunhe was using to cover his mouth. A wound so deep the bone was visible crossed it. Xiao Chunhe had been waving that injury in front of Yue Jingming for two days, finding every possible excuse to make sure he saw it. Yue Jingming had ignored him all along, but apparently this fox was nothing if not persistent.
Xiao Chunhe’s eyes lit up. He watched in complete satisfaction as Yue Jingming bandaged the wound for him.
“Who did you kill?” Yue Jingming suddenly asked.
Xiao Chunhe’s smile faded slightly. “Zhou Ran.”
Yue Jingming covered the bandaged wound with a layer of true qi. “Be careful not to get it wet.”
Xiao Chunhe rested his wrapped paw in Yue Jingming’s palm. “Anything else?”
Yue Jingming: “…Don’t go eating filthy things at random.”
Liang Yun had spent the past two days being extraordinarily careful. He did not even dare ride his horse too quickly, afraid the foretold calamity of bloodshed would come true. But constant vigilance was exhausting, and eventually he relaxed enough to go fetch water with Ye Shijiu.
Ye Shijiu learned quickly, so locating a water source was easy for him. Carrying a water flask, he led Liang Yun through the dense forest, farther and farther away.
Liang Yun gradually began to feel uneasy. “Shijiu, how much farther?”
Ye Shijiu looked around. “Another li.”
The forest was deep and dark. Liang Yun grabbed one of his arms. “How about we go back instead?”
“We’re out of water, and Daoist Master Yue and the Fox Great King only just made up. We should give them time alone together,” Ye Shijiu said with complete conviction.
Liang Yun stared at him in surprise. “Kid, you know an awful lot.”
Ye Shijiu said, “You all taught me well.”
“Hey?” Liang Yun pointed at him with a laugh and was about to tease him when a piercing cry suddenly rang out. Then, from the corner of his eye, he caught a cold flash shooting straight toward his brow.
Ye Shijiu reacted instantly and caught the object. The razor-sharp tip of a broken blade stopped just short of Liang Yun’s forehead, leaving only a tiny bead of blood where it had nicked him.
Liang Yun’s legs went weak and he nearly dropped to his knees.
Ye Shijiu stared in confusion at the half blade in his hand. “Where did a broken knife come from in a forest this deep?”
Still badly shaken, Liang Yun’s thoughts moved quickly. “Could someone have been tricked into the mountains by a demon and brought here to be killed?”
Ye Shijiu could not understand it. “Who would be stupid enough to follow a demon into the mountains?”
Liang Yun gave a dry laugh. “Maybe someone especially kind and simple.”
Ye Shijiu: “Who?”
Liang Yun: “…Me.”
* * *
Yue Jingming and Xiao Chunhe rushed over as soon as they received Ye Shijiu’s Yingshi Talisman.
The pool Ye Shijiu had found lay beneath a sheer cliff. Now a soaked man was lying beside the water. He wore a bright red robe, his body covered in injuries, and he was barely breathing.
“He fell from the top of that cliff.” Liang Yun vividly recounted the strange rescue, pointing to a protruding section of rock. “He probably struck that part of the cliff hard enough to break the knife at his waist. The broken blade flew straight toward me. If Shijiu hadn’t been there, it would’ve gone right through my head! And it’s also thanks to that talisman you gave me, Brother Yue. For some reason, just now I kept wanting to stay close to Shijiu.”
Yue Jingming took the protective talisman he handed over. Sure enough, it had already lost its effect.
“This fellow is unbelievably unlucky. A happy occasion turned into a funeral.” Xiao Chunhe looked at the double-happiness character embroidered on the red robe.
“A demon did this?” Yue Jingming asked.
Xiao Chunhe shook his head. “There isn’t a trace of demonic qi on him. He’s an ordinary person. A demon with no grudge against him wouldn’t harm him for no reason.”
“Maybe not a demon, but you can’t say the same for people.” Ye Shijiu pulled open the man’s wedding robe, revealing an official robe beneath it. He turned to Liang Yun. “High-ranking?”
“Whoa, that’s the top scholar’s robe.” Liang Yun recognized it immediately. “I heard His Majesty unexpectedly ordered a special imperial examination this autumn. Judging by the timing, the results should have just been announced. But what is the new top scholar doing out here?”
After Yue Jingming fed the man a medicinal pill, he soon stirred and slowly regained consciousness, but he was unable to speak. Seeing this, Yue Jingming transferred more true qi into him to protect his heart meridians.
Xiao Chunhe caught his wrist. “Enough, enough. You cultivated all this true qi through hard work. Stop wasting it so freely.”
Yue Jingming said, “Saving a life comes first.”
“Charm incense works better in a situation like this.” Xiao Chunhe generously took out the phantom stone and released a tiny wisp of the charm demon’s charm incense from within it for the injured man. Then, with extraordinary stinginess, he drew Yue Jingming’s true qi back as well.
Yue Jingming, waiting for his true qi to be returned: “?”
Xiao Chunhe pointed at the injury on the back of his own hand and shamelessly pocketed it.