Listening to the deafening gongs and drums outside, Xiang Zhao cautiously shut the window and looked at the man meditating nearby. “Young Master, should we take advantage of the confusion and escape?”
Xue Lezhi slowly opened his eyes and smiled. “Why escape? Zixu Mountain of the red-fox clan isn’t somewhere just anyone can casually enter. We rarely get an opportunity like this.”
Xiang Zhao said, “But they are demons, after all. If they mean you harm, we may have trouble escaping.”
“You’re afraid they’ll harm you and the child, aren’t you?” Xue Lezhi scoffed.
Xiang Zhao said, “This subordinate would not dare.”
“Relax. Xiao Wen won’t kill us, and he wouldn’t dare.” Xue Lezhi rose and walked to the window. “Though Yue Jingming falling for a fox demon truly is unexpected. It doesn’t resemble anything he would ever do. Do you think he could have been possessed by a moyao?”
Xiang Zhao: “…It doesn’t look much like it.”
“Such a pity. I used to think his severing of emotion and desire truly made him an immortal from the heavens. Turns out he’s only an ordinary mortal after all.” Xue Lezhi suddenly raised a hand, amusement appearing in his eyes. “Tell me, if this fox demon died, would Yue Jingming go back to the way he was before?”
Xiang Zhao frowned. “Young Master, are we supposed to invite Yue Jingming to take charge at Shangyun Pavilion, or do we only need to obtain the Myriad Demons Scroll from him?”
Xue Lezhi brushed dust from his sleeve and said carelessly, “None of that matters. Don’t you think these people are all terribly entertaining?”
Xiang Zhao: “…”
“And you.” Xue Lezhi pointed to her lower abdomen. “I will definitely find out who this child’s father is. If he happens to be a cultivator too, then this child will be extraordinary.”
Xiang Zhao’s expression changed abruptly. “Young Master—”
“So you’d better behave.” Xue Lezhi cut her off and gave her a warning look. “Don’t try to help Yue Jingming and the others again. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee this child will be born safely.”
Xiang Zhao lowered her head. “…Yes.”
* * *
“Master, can these foxes really not see us?” Ye Shijiu could not help asking.
Yue Jingming looked at the yarrow stalks at his waist. “They can see us. These stalks have simply formed a formation that temporarily deceives their sight and makes them take us for ordinary foxes.”
Liang Yun looked at the fox demons who appeared entirely human except for the large fluffy tails behind them and whispered, “Can I touch one?”
Yue Jingming said, “Best not.”
“Ah!” The fox demon whose tail Liang Yun had touched shrieked, spun around, and slapped him across the face. “Lecher! Pah!”
The fox demon had been walking at the rear of the procession. Clutching its tail and sniffling, it ran toward the middle of the group.
Liang Yun covered his burning cheek, almost in tears. “Why did it hit me? I see you touching Brother Xiao’s tail all the time.”
Yue Jingming: “…”
Ye Shijiu sighed. “Master and Martial Uncle are Dao companions. Touching someone’s tail when you don’t even know them is t-taking liberties.”
Listening from the side with a complicated expression, Fang Jingyi asked gloomily, “Eldest Senior Brother, does a fox tail feel nice?”
Yue Jingming stared at him without expression.
Summoning his courage, Fang Jingyi retreated behind Liang Yun.
The procession carrying the chests and the foxes watching the excitement followed the winding mountain path upward. Strange and beautiful scenery lined the route, and more and more foxes joined them. Some had cultivated completely human forms. Men and women alike were strikingly beautiful, and their expressions and movements were no different from ordinary people. Others retained pointed ears and fluffy fox tails, their behavior carrying more of an animal nature, with every joy and anger plainly visible.
Still others had not cultivated far enough. Some had fox heads and human bodies, some human heads and fox bodies. They came in all sorts of shapes, chattering and running about. There were also quite a few like Hu Xiaohu who had not managed to cultivate any human features at all. Wearing human clothes, they stood around the outside watching the commotion. Being shorter, they noisily climbed trees or stacked themselves on one another’s shoulders like acrobats to crane their heads for a better view.
Yue Jingming and the others blended among the foxes and attracted no attention at all.
After walking for roughly one shichen, the fox crowd stopped before an exquisite residence. Peach blossoms had been planted everywhere inside and outside the courtyard. Some spell kept pink petals drifting through the air while rich fragrance covered the entire mountain.
“The groom is here! The groom is here!” a fox shouted.
A group of fox demons dressed in red soon blocked the entrance, laughing and clamoring for reward money from the groom.
Xiao Chunhe looked at them coldly without reacting.
The lively atmosphere abruptly froze. The foxes exchanged awkward looks. Xiao Chunhe strode into the courtyard, tossed the live chickens in his hands toward the gate, and pushed the door open to enter.
“Young Master, it isn’t yet the proper hour for the wedding. By the rules, you cannot go inside,” an elderly fox demon tried to stop him.
“Xiao Chunhe, what exactly are you trying to do?” an elder who had hurried over scolded sharply.
Within moments, every fox who tried to stop him had a live chicken stuffed into its mouth. The rest immediately lost the courage to step forward.
Xiao Chunhe brushed chicken feathers from his sleeve and said coldly, “I’m the one getting married. I can hardly do that without knowing what the bride looks like. There’s no need for the rest of you to concern yourselves.”
A young fox demon said, “Xiao Chunhe, don’t think becoming young master means you can do whatever you want! I’m going to tell the clan chief right now!”
Bang!
With a flick of Xiao Chunhe’s sleeve, a poison needle pierced straight through the fox demon’s shoulder and pinned him to the ground. The fox instantly reverted to its true form.
“I did whatever I wanted before I became young master too.” Xiao Chunhe gave him a cold glance and pushed the door open.
The room was filled with red gauze curtains and an intoxicating fragrance. Behind layer after layer of gauze stood the faint silhouette of a person, presumably his “bride.” Xiao Chunhe’s expression turned sinister. His narrow fox eyes carried a chilling killing intent as he licked his itching canine tooth and approached one step at a time.
Dig out the heart, strip the bones, make a puppet. Human or demon, afterward they would only be able to obey him.
In a flash, fox claws tore apart the soft gauze. A puppet nail gleaming coldly shot straight toward the bride’s Baihui acupoint. The bride raised a hand to block, but lacked the strength. The nail grazed his cheek, leaving a deep bloody cut.
The red gauze between them fell away, revealing a face Xiao Chunhe had yearned for day and night.
Xiao Chunhe hurriedly pulled his hand back, but the puppet nail still stabbed into Yue Jingming’s shoulder. Blood immediately soaked through the snow-white outer robe.
Yue Jingming swayed. Xiao Chunhe instinctively reached out to support him, only to force himself to stop halfway. The killing intent had not yet left his face, and his expression remained cold. “Why are you here?”
Yue Jingming froze slightly. “Chunhe?”
Xiao Chunhe stared at him coldly without speaking.
Yue Jingming seemed to realize something and frowned. “You… truly intend to marry someone else?”
“My letter made it perfectly clear. Human and demon walk different paths. You and I can never be together,” Xiao Chunhe said coldly.
“I have already abandoned the No-Thought One-Mind Art and will cultivate another method. As long as we resolve your demon-gu and puppet nails, we can be together.” Yue Jingming’s expression was calm. “Why did you suddenly change your mind? Is it because of… the things I said to you while I was in qi deviation?”
“Resolve the demon-gu and puppet nails?” Xiao Chunhe scoffed. “Stop dreaming. I’ve been tormented by them for years and never found a solution. Fine, suppose they can be solved. Your solution still means both of us lose all our cultivation and start over from nothing. Will you be able to protect me, or will I be able to protect you? Forget Zixu Mountain for a moment. Would the Zushan Sect agree? Would your master agree? Haven’t you understood anything from the way that little junior brother of yours treats me?”
“There will always be a way.” Yue Jingming frowned. “If you remain on Zixu Mountain, you’ll only stay under someone else’s control.”
“With you the way you are now?” Xiao Chunhe raised a hand and poked his injured shoulder, sneering. “No cultivation, no merit. Yue Jingming, you have nothing left. I’d have to be insane to stay with you.”
Yue Jingming caught his wrist and stared directly into his eyes. “Chunhe, did something happen to you?”
“Here on Zixu Mountain I have food when I want food, wine when I want wine. I’ve even been made young master, and I’m about to get married. Oh, and I can kill whoever I want and do whatever evil I like without anyone controlling me. I’m having the time of my life. What difficulty?” Xiao Chunhe tore his hand free. “Leave.”
“Then why did you attack the bride just now?” Yue Jingming did not believe him.
Xiao Chunhe’s face broke into a frivolous smile. “Obviously to make the other person more obedient. I’m hardly going to marry only one. Once I become clan chief, how could I let some arranged spouse control me?”
Yue Jingming carefully studied his expression. The fox demon before him seemed like an entirely different person. As he said those things, his face wore an exceptionally cold and frivolous smile, calculation and chill filling his eyes, nothing like the Xiao Chunhe Yue Jingming knew.
“But if you’re willing…” Xiao Chunhe suddenly leaned close and lightly hooked a finger beneath his chin. “I suppose I could keep you as a lover on the side. I originally only wanted to sleep with you once to sample something new. Who knew you would be this difficult, wanting this and that but never agreeing? I don’t have the patience to keep acting out some mutual-love drama with you.”
Yue Jingming’s jaw tightened as he forced his mind steady. “Chunhe, are those truly your heartfelt words?”
Xiao Chunhe’s lips curved. He raised a hand. “I, Xiao Chunhe, swear to Heaven that every word I just said came from my true heart. If not, may five thunderbolts strike me down and may I never be reborn.”
Yue Jingming’s pupils trembled.
Xiao Chunhe’s mouth suddenly drooped. His eyes instantly reddened and filled with tears as he looked at Yue Jingming pitifully. “Good Jingming, I was only acting just now to deceive you. I’m suffering so badly I could die. Hurry and hug me.”
Yue Jingming instinctively raised his hand. The fox demon before him tilted his head and instantly returned to a blank expression, staring at him coldly. “Satisfied? I can act like this for anyone. I only deliberately behaved that way because I saw you liked me. I truly didn’t expect you to be this naive and easy to fool.”
Yue Jingming lowered the hand frozen in midair and dropped his gaze. “All right.”
Xiao Chunhe clicked his tongue. “I’ve liked deceiving you from the beginning. You’re rather pitiful, actually, trusting a fox demon for real. In the future, stay farther away from demons.”
Yue Jingming said heavily, “Since you don’t like this young woman, don’t ruin her life. Why use a puppet nail on her?”
“That has nothing to do with you. Every fox on Zixu Mountain is mine to beat or kill however I please.” Xiao Chunhe spun the puppet nail between his fingers. “All right, hurry up and leave. Stop delaying my wedding night.”
Inside his sleeve, Yue Jingming’s hand slowly clenched into a fist. He raised his head and looked at Xiao Chunhe, his eyes bloodshot. “I have intruded. Farewell.”
Xiao Chunhe smiled. “Take care. I won’t see you off.”
Yue Jingming stepped across the red gauze scattered over the floor and walked slowly toward the door.
“Hey.” Xiao Chunhe suddenly called after him.
Yue Jingming stopped. After a pause, he turned around.
Xiao Chunhe pointed at the window. “Go out that way. If you walk out the front, how am I supposed to explain it to the bride and my clan? You’ll ruin my reputation.”
Yue Jingming stared at him expressionlessly. “…Fine.”