Yue Jingming opened his eyes. The room was dark, with only a trace of cold white moonlight filtering in through the window.
He braced himself against the edge of the bed and sat up. The person sprawled at the foot of the bed jolted awake. Yue Jingming’s heart settled slightly. “Chunhe?”
“Eldest Senior Brother, you’re awake.” Fang Jingyi lit a candle and placed it by the bedside.
Yue Jingming froze, then blinked. “Jingyi?”
Fang Jingyi’s face was pale, dark shadows beneath his eyes. The moment he saw Yue Jingming awake, he could no longer hold back. He turned his head away and wiped at his tears.
Yue Jingming still remembered everything that had happened while he was in qi deviation. He raised a hand and patted Fang Jingyi’s shoulder. “Did I frighten you?”
“I’m not afraid. Eldest Senior Brother, you only became like that because villains harmed you!” Fang Jingyi said firmly. “Those hateful demons deserved to die. It’s just that, Eldest Senior Brother… your cultivation and your dantian… they’re both ruined.”
Yue Jingming’s gaze paused. “My dantian?”
Fang Jingyi’s eyes were full of pain. “That poison called Maple Frostfall was truly vicious. When I woke up, you had already destroyed your own cultivation, and your dantian had been damaged by an external force too. I’m afraid…”
Yue Jingming slowly remembered the final scene and said calmly, “It doesn’t matter. I struck it myself.”
“What?” Fang Jingyi shot to his feet in shock. “It wasn’t that fox demon who injured you?!”
“Chunhe used charm poison as a last resort to stop me from sinking deeper into qi deviation, but he has the antidote.” Yue Jingming looked around the room. “How is Chunhe? Are Shijiu and Brother Liang all right?”
Fang Jingyi grabbed the man who was trying to get out of bed and stopped him. “Eldest Senior Brother, you can barely look after yourself. How can you still have the heart to worry about everyone else?”
Yue Jingming patted his arm. “I’m fine. I had already anticipated this. There were simply a few unexpected complications in the middle, and all of you were dragged into it and frightened.”
While in qi deviation, he had first said many cruel things to Xiao Chunhe and then fought him viciously. Even if they had both anticipated some of it, Yue Jingming still should not have done those things. With Xiao Chunhe’s sensitive, soft-hearted nature, he was probably going to be hurt for a long time.
It was only natural that he would be angry and refuse even to show himself.
Seeing that Yue Jingming was determined to look for him, Fang Jingyi finally said, “That fox demon ran off long ago!”
Yue Jingming froze where he stood. “What did you say?”
“When I woke up, I only saw you and Ye Shijiu. That fox demon disappeared along with Feng Qingying and Xue Lezhi. Instead, you had that fox demon’s poisoned needle stuck in your waist, your dantian was completely shattered, and all your cultivation was gone!” Fang Jingyi said indignantly. “That fox demon must have joined forces with them to set you up—”
“Jingyi.” Yue Jingming’s expression darkened.
Fang Jingyi gritted his teeth. “Eldest Senior Brother, what exactly is your relationship with that fox demon? They… they even said you…”
He truly could not bring himself to say it. He only felt as though the entire world had been turned upside down. His own Eldest Senior Brother, so upright and pure, could not possibly be entangled with a demon no matter how he looked at it.
“He is the Dao companion I have chosen,” Yue Jingming said blandly. “Do not be rude to him.”
Fang Jingyi looked as though he had been struck by five bolts of lightning. He stood rooted to the spot, and after a long time finally squeezed out, “Eldest Senior Brother, are you… still in qi deviation?”
Yue Jingming patted his shoulder. “Rest properly and recover from your injuries.”
With that, he hurried out of the room.
The instant the door opened, he saw Ye Shijiu halfway through turning away. Ye Shijiu stared at him stiffly. “M-Master, y-you… you’re awake.”
“Were you injured?” Yue Jingming looked at him.
Ye Shijiu immediately shook his head. “I-I’m already fine.”
Yue Jingming frowned. “How long was I unconscious?”
Ye Shijiu suddenly turned around. “Master, Brother Liang had s-someone make food. L-let’s hurry and go eat.”
“Shijiu.” Yue Jingming stopped him. “Where did your Martial Uncle go?”
With his back still turned, Ye Shijiu sniffed. “Master, you were unconscious for a whole month. Martial Uncle went back.”
Yue Jingming was silent for a long time before asking, “Where did he go back to?”
“Zixu Mountain.” Ye Shijiu turned and handed him a letter. “We found this on you when we woke up.”
Yue Jingming took the letter.
It was written on the stationery he had given Xiao Chunhe. Back when they had been at odds, the fox had found every possible excuse to cling to him. The fox loved beautiful things, so even his stationery had to be the prettiest. His handwriting, however, was crooked and uneven, and Yue Jingming could tell at a glance that the fox had been imitating his handwriting.
The letter was short enough to finish at a glance, yet Yue Jingming stood there reading it for a long time.
【Yue Jingming, you were right. My demonic nature is hard to change. Human and demon walk different paths, and we were never meant to reach the same destination. If we stay together, we’ll only get each other killed. Don’t come looking for me. Xiao Chunhe.】
As though to prove his determination, the fox demon had pressed a bloody paw print beside his signature. Enough time had passed that the blood had turned dark brown, wrinkling the paper around it.
Yue Jingming stroked the tiny paw print.
Ye Shijiu lowered his head dejectedly. “Brother Liang and I searched for a long time but couldn’t find Martial Uncle. Every divination I cast came up empty. Master, did Martial Uncle really leave?”
Yue Jingming said, “With his temperament, even if I broke his heart, he would still wait until I woke up and demand an explanation. Something about this is probably wrong.”
Ye Shijiu asked, “Then where can we go to find Martial Uncle now?”
Yue Jingming lowered his eyes to the farewell letter, his gaze darkening.
* * *
Zixu Mountain.
Clouds and mist curled around jade pools, while strange stones, rare flowers, and immortal trees filled the landscape. A little fox carrying a box hopped through layer after layer of gauze curtains and entered the innermost room. The interior was a hundred times more extravagant than outside. Everywhere the eye fell were gold, jade, silver, and treasures rarely seen in the world. A golden couch stood in the room, woven from soft golden threads and steeped for a hundred days in rare fragrance, so rich in spiritual qi that it nearly overflowed.
A breathtakingly beautiful man lay lazily on the fragrant gold-thread-and-jade couch, his eyes half closed. Waterfall-like hair spilled across a snow-white blanket, half-braided golden thread tangled through it and trailing carelessly over the bedding. Beside him lay a little swallow molded from clay, its head buried upside down in the blanket as though thoroughly depressed.
Hu Xiaohu crept to the couch and whispered, “Young Master? Young Master?”
“Mm?” Xiao Chunhe drawled as he slowly lifted his eyelids.
Hu Xiaohu opened the box. A thousand-year-old ginseng root lay inside. “The clan chief sent this to nourish Young Master’s body. He said you lost too much blood last time and need to replenish yourself properly.”
“Throw it over there.” Xiao Chunhe tipped his chin toward the wall.
A pile of gift boxes sat there, all offerings presented by the foxes of the clan over the past few days. Ever since they heard Xiao Wen intended to make him young master of the red-fox clan, every one of those foxes had changed faces. They practically wanted to wag their tails into flight, terrified that this vindictive half-demon might still remember their old grudges.
What a joke. He remembered every single one of them perfectly. Did they really think tossing him a few gifts would settle everything? Dream on.
Hu Xiaohu set the ginseng on top of the pile and hopped back to the couch. “Young Master, is the clan chief really planning to make you young master?”
Xiao Chunhe rolled over without much interest. “Don’t know.”
“Then does that mean no fox will dare bully us anymore?” Hu Xiaohu was delighted. “You used to fight constantly over territory, but now none of them dare come near. Some even greet me when I go outside.”
“Heh.” Xiao Chunhe tapped its forehead with his fan. “Careful you don’t get sold by another fox and still count the money for them.”
Hu Xiaohu rubbed its head and asked cautiously, “But it’s still a good thing, isn’t it? Young Master, aren’t you happy?”
Xiao Chunhe narrowed his eyes. He truly could not see what the old fox Xiao Wen was planning, but one thing was certain: a good thing like this would never simply fall into his lap. He might have relied on Xiao Wen’s indulgence in the past to fight and kill other foxes, but possessing the formal title of “young master” was an entirely different matter.
“Could it be because of… that Daoist?” Hu Xiaohu asked carefully.
Xiao Chunhe suddenly fell silent. He picked up the small box beside his pillow. The swallow carved on its lid looked lifelike, and the salve inside was almost used up. Before, Yue Jingming had always reminded him on time to rub medicine onto his scars and, no matter how busy he was, decocted two bowls of medicine for him every day. Now there was nothing, which only made Xiao Chunhe even more reluctant to finish the salve.
Hu Xiaohu reminded him, “I heard the clan chief is already looking for a fiancée for Young Master. If you marry by the end of the year, next year you could be holding a whole litter of little foxes.”
Xiao Chunhe gave it a chilly look and pointed toward the door.
Hu Xiaohu immediately patted its mouth. “I’ll roll out right now.”
The chatty little fox rolled away, but Xiao Chunhe’s mood did not improve in the slightest. Propping up his head, he studied the small sandalwood box, skillfully opened the hidden compartment underneath, and took out the neatly folded sheets inside. They carried handwriting he had already read countless times.
“…Though we part across a thousand mountains and ten thousand waters, year after year we will return together.” He sighed and laid the sheet over his face. He could still faintly smell pine in the ink.
He wondered how Yue Jingming was now, and whether he had read the letter Xiao Chunhe left behind.
That palm strike had probably shattered Yue Jingming’s own dantian. His cultivation and merit were both gone, and Xiao Chunhe had still simply left him there… Hopefully nothing else had happened.
But a full month had already passed. By now, Yue Jingming should have accepted the reality that Xiao Chunhe had left.
Xiao Chunhe rolled over irritably and stared at the sheet in a daze. He had lived freely for more than twenty years, and this was the first time he had ever tasted what it meant to be consumed by longing. He wanted Yue Jingming to read the letter and sever things cleanly, yet he also wanted Yue Jingming to cling stubbornly and come demand an explanation. At the same time, he feared that once Yue Jingming learned what had happened in the past, Yue Jingming would cut ties with him completely. Knowing Xiao Wen, everything he had said might not be true, but if he had dared say those things at all, then the deaths of Xiao Chunhe’s mother and Yue Jingming’s parents were certainly connected somehow.
Yet no matter how carefully Xiao Chunhe weighed his choices, no matter how clear-headed and rational he tried to remain, he still could not stop himself from missing Yue Jingming.
Why couldn’t someone that good belong to him?
He would rather exchange every piece of gold, silver, treasure, and rare object in this room for one Yue Jingming.
Xiao Chunhe grabbed the outer robe from the couch, threw it over his shoulders, and strode out. Fox demons came and went along the mountain. At the sight of him, they hurriedly avoided him, while some even bowed ingratiatingly and tried to greet him. Xiao Chunhe did not spare them a glance. Wearing a cold expression, he headed straight down the mountain.
“Is he really going to be the young master from now on?”
“The ceremony hasn’t even been held yet.”
“What does the clan chief see in him? He’s only a half-demon.”
“But he really is handsome. I hope I get chosen to become the clan chief’s wife.”
“Stop dreaming. I heard he got together with a Daoist down the mountain.”
“Heavens, has he gone mad? The clan rules say Daoists are especially troublesome! What if that Daoist fights his way up here to demand an explanation? Then we’ll all be finished…”
Xiao Chunhe stopped when he heard them.
The loose-tongued fox demon went cold all over beneath his stare and laughed awkwardly. “Xiao Chunhe, I-I was talking nonsense.”
Xiao Chunhe gave him a cold glance and continued onward.
“So what if he’s handsome? He’s still cold and hard, hardly speaks, and doesn’t know how to coax anyone. Whoever becomes his wife must have accumulated bad luck for eight lifetimes,” another fox muttered disdainfully.
Xiao Chunhe did not pause. He went all the way to the mountain gate and swept one sleeve, about to open the barrier, when two foxes suddenly jumped out and blocked him.
“The clan chief has ordered that, because you are seriously injured, you are not permitted to leave Zixu Mountain even one step,” one fox said.
Xiao Chunhe stared at him without expression. “Get lost.”
“There’s no need to make things difficult for us. Even if we step aside, you still won’t be able to leave,” the other fox said submissively. “The young master investiture ceremony is approaching. Please return.”
Xiao Chunhe swept his sleeve and knocked them both aside, then formed a seal and tried to open the barrier. The barrier he had once passed through freely was now immovable as iron. Refusing to believe it, he tried again. The demon-gu immediately drove black veins across his face, while the puppet nails buried deep in his flesh erupted in agony. The demon-gu suddenly exerted force, the two powers collided, and Xiao Chunhe spat out a mouthful of blood.
The two foxes hesitated, too afraid to approach, and could only urge him to stop from the side.
The talismanic markings over the heart at the center of his chest began to burn. Xiao Wen’s voice came from the summit. “Chunhe, come to the main hall.”
“…” Xiao Chunhe wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with a dark expression, looked once at the completely unmoving barrier, and turned back up the mountain.
The two foxes guarding the gate instantly relaxed.
“He really is vicious.”
“I heard he likes killing foxes and digging out their hearts. Scared me half to death. They’re really making a half-demon like that our young master?”
“Stop talking. Be careful he hears you…”
A crimson flash flickered inside the barrier. Before either of them could look closely, it disappeared again.
* * *
“No. I disagree!” Fang Jingyi shot to his feet. “Eldest Senior Brother, you are seriously injured. You should return to Zushan immediately to recover. How can you go somewhere like Zixu Mountain, where fox demons are everywhere?”
“I think Master is right. Martial Uncle left so abruptly that it doesn’t fit the way he normally behaves. What if he was forced to leave?” Ye Shijiu stood as well, refusing to yield an inch. “Even if Master has lost all his cultivation, he’ll definitely find a way!”
“It isn’t your turn to speak here!” Fang Jingyi snapped.
“How is it not my turn when it concerns my master?” Ye Shijiu said angrily.
“You’re not even registered on Zushan’s jade register, and you haven’t performed the disciple ceremony. What kind of disciple are you?” Fang Jingyi said. “I think you’ve been bewitched by fox demons too!”
“Stop calling him ‘fox demon’ every other breath. A half-baked amateur like you would be one bite for my Martial Uncle!” Ye Shijiu sneered. “If we hadn’t needed to rescue you, Master and Martial Uncle’s entire plan wouldn’t have been thrown into chaos!”
Fang Jingyi slapped the table. “You—”
“Enough.” Yue Jingming cut off their argument. “Jingyi, you still need to return to the capital to visit your grandmother. I have already delayed you for too long. Leave today.”
Fang Jingyi said, “Eldest Senior Brother, my family wrote that Grandmother is no longer in danger. How can I leave with you like this?”
“I’ll protect Master. We don’t need you.” Ye Shijiu snorted.
“With you?” Fang Jingyi scoffed.
“Both of you go back to your rooms and practice.” Yue Jingming’s expression chilled. “If you argue again, you can both go kneel before the incense.”
The moment Fang Jingyi and Ye Shijiu heard that, they both immediately shut their mouths and obediently left the room.
Liang Yun rubbed his ears hard and sighed. “Those two boys have incredible lungs. They argued every day while you were unconscious. I almost wished I were deaf.”
Yue Jingming said, “I’ve burdened you, Brother Liang. My illness has probably delayed your journey as well.”
“Eh, I’m fine. Everyone already knows I travel slowly, and my family let me out partly to clear my head anyway.” Liang Yun rubbed his face. “But Brother Chunhe leaving so suddenly really is worrying. Have you truly decided to go to Zixu Mountain?”
“Mm.” Yue Jingming lowered his eyes to the letter on the table. “No matter what, he owes me an explanation.”
Even if Yue Jingming had been the one in the wrong first, Xiao Chunhe should at least give him a chance to explain and correct it, rather than leave without a word and even try to cut ties with him completely.
Absolutely impossible.