“Master, where’s Martial Uncle?” Ye Shijiu asked.
“Right, why didn’t Brother Xiao come out with you?” Liang Yun asked worriedly as well.
Fang Jingyi frowned. “Eldest Senior Brother, why did you even change into dark-colored clothes after going in there?”
“That one got dirty by accident.” Yue Jingming paused. “He… is getting married tonight. He won’t be leaving with us.”
“What?!” Ye Shijiu abruptly raised his voice, only for Liang Yun to clap a hand over his mouth. “Ancestor, keep your voice down.”
“M-Martial Uncle w-w-won’t!” Ye Shijiu said anxiously. “H-he likes Master s-so much. How could he m-m-marry someone else?!”
“That bastard!” This was Fang Jingyi’s first time seeing Yue Jingming look so utterly lost. He snatched up his sword and was about to charge out.
“Jingyi.” Yue Jingming raised a hand to stop him.
“He was the one who insisted on provoking you in the first place, and now he can just say it’s over and walk away? Does he think our Zushan Sect is easy to bully?!” Fang Jingyi’s hands shook with fury.
Yue Jingming said, “He may have his reasons.”
“Reasons? He’s nothing but a fox demon. Even being refined into a spirit pet and allowed to stay by your side would be reaching above himself. I’ll drag him back and refine him into your spirit pet, so he has to stay with you forever whether he wants to or not!” Fang Jingyi was blazing with rage.
Yue Jingming put a hand on his shoulder. “How can feelings be forced? Let’s go.”
“Eldest Senior Brother?!” Fang Jingyi stared at him indignantly.
“Master, why don’t I go ask Martial Uncle?” Ye Shijiu was beside himself with anxiety. “What exactly did Martial Uncle say to you?”
Yue Jingming lowered his eyes.
“Aiya, stop asking.” Liang Yun grabbed Ye Shijiu by the collar and caught Fang Jingyi as well. “They aren’t children. They can make their own decisions. Stop making things more complicated.”
“Hmph!” Fang Jingyi flung his sleeve viciously. “Not a single fox is any good! Pah!”
Yue Jingming had already walked some distance away. Fang Jingyi hurried after him. Ye Shijiu glanced at Yue Jingming’s back and secretly slipped a hand inside the front of his robes. The little bamboo figure had only just hugged his finger when Yue Jingming’s cool voice drifted back from afar. “Ye Shijiu. Keep up.”
Being called by his full name out of nowhere made every hair on Ye Shijiu’s body stand on end. He immediately let go. Liang Yun shook his head vigorously at him and pushed him forward. “Hurry up.”
Still unwilling, Ye Shijiu turned for one last look at the bustling crowd of foxes. His heart felt sour, and he followed the others in a huff.
* * *
Inside the great hall, the clan elders wore all manner of expressions. Seated in the place of honor, Xiao Wen looked amiably at Xiao Chunhe. “Chunhe, your status is different now. How can you casually attack your clansmen? The child you just injured is the Grand Elder’s own grandson.”
Xiao Chunhe said, “He was the one who spoke offensively first. Since the Grand Elder doesn’t know how to teach him, I helped teach him instead. No need to thank me.”
“You!” A white-bearded old man slammed the table in fury. “Clan Chief, look how badly he’s been spoiled! It’s bad enough that he injures people at will, but he even dared sneak out. If the Saintess were still here, how could she possibly allow him to behave this outrageously?!”
Xiao Chunhe’s gaze instantly turned cold. He stared at the old man darkly, killing intent radiating from his body.
The old man saw the swollen black veins along his neck and shut his mouth with a wary expression.
“Chunhe.” Xiao Wen gave him a warning look.
Xiao Chunhe cupped his hands toward the group with perfunctory politeness. “Everyone, today is my wedding day. I don’t want to make things too ugly either. If you’re willing, drink a few more cups of wedding wine. If you truly can’t stand the sight of me, then safe travels. I won’t see you out.”
Those words were a slap in the face to everyone present. Xiao Wen nearly failed to maintain his smile. He rose and said, “The child is young and impetuous. If he has been inconsiderate in any way, allow me to apologize to everyone on his behalf.”
Who among them would truly dare accept an apology from the clan chief? They hurriedly rose and returned the courtesy. Xiao Wen lifted a hand with a smile. “The ceremony is about to begin. Please do us the honor.”
“Please.” The group of old foxes immediately put smiles back on their faces.
Xiao Wen deliberately stayed behind and met Xiao Chunhe’s eyes. “Chunhe, be obedient. I promise I’ll help you find the rest of your mother’s remains.”
Xiao Chunhe stared at him coldly. “I’ll get married.”
Xiao Wen patted his shoulder. “Seeing you marry and have children was your mother’s greatest wish. Don’t make her sad.”
With that, he left with his hands behind his back.
Xiao Chunhe lowered his head and touched the wound at the center of his chest, stitched closed with Yue Jingming’s red thread, then narrowed his eyes irritably.
* * *
The fiery-red wedding robes were put on. Xiao Chunhe drove every attendant out of the room, and Hu Xiaohu reminded him, “Young Master, there is only half an hour left before it’s time to perform the wedding bows.”
Xiao Chunhe reached out and stroked its head. “Did you put everything where I told you?”
Hu Xiaohu nodded. “Don’t worry, Young Master. The hundred chests of gold, hundred chests of silver, and hundred chests of jade are all in place. But can they really help Zixu Mountain’s formation absorb the essence of Heaven and Earth?”
Xiao Chunhe touched the puppet needle at its Baihui acupoint and tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Of course not.”
His tone frightened Hu Xiaohu badly enough that its tail tucked between its legs.
“Tell me, if the clan chief knew I’d put a puppet needle in you long ago, would he regret sticking another one into you himself, hm?” Xiao Chunhe looked down at it. “Whatever he tells you to do, I know about it.”
Hu Xiaohu swallowed. “I-I don’t know.”
“Not knowing is best.” Xiao Chunhe patted its fluffy little head. “Originally, you should have stayed on Zixu Mountain with the rest of them. But considering how much you’ve helped me, go down the mountain now.”
Hu Xiaohu stared at him, uncertain and alarmed. “Young Master, what are you planning to do?”
Instead, Xiao Chunhe abruptly asked, “Tell me, if charm incense is used too much, can it really make someone fall in love with another person?”
Hu Xiaohu stared at him blankly. “Yue Jingming?”
“I can’t quite tell anymore.” Xiao Chunhe looked somewhat lost as he stared at the puppet nail in his hand. “I’ve lied to him about too many things. If he finds out I’m even worse than I’ve let him see, will he truly hate me?”
Hu Xiaohu looked equally baffled. “Aren’t you already madly in love with him? You hug that little swallow box and stare at it every day.”
“Doing that hurts, but it also makes me feel better. Only today did I realize there really are good people in this world.” Xiao Chunhe sighed. “Give me some advice. Like Yue Jingming would.”
Hu Xiaohu racked its brains. “Young Master, how about not getting married? You still haven’t slept with that Daoist, have you?”
“All right.” Xiao Chunhe tapped its head.
“Two ke. Get off the mountain immediately, or the puppet nail in your head will explode and turn you into a puddle of meat.”
From the look in his eyes, Hu Xiaohu knew he was not joking. It clutched its head and fled, practically rolling and crawling out the door.
“Hahahahaha.” Xiao Chunhe sat on the floor laughing, the puppet nail spinning rapidly between his fingers.
Not long afterward, someone knocked. “Young Master, the auspicious hour is almost here.”
The door was suddenly yanked open.
Dark clouds abruptly covered the moon. The red silk fluttering everywhere reflected the cold, frostlike moon essence in an eerie crimson glow. A spray of even redder blood splashed across the silk. Someone cried out, but almost immediately another spray of hot blood followed.
A man in red walked forward with black hair cascading like a waterfall, each step blooming into a red lotus beneath his feet.
As though sensing him, the mountain-protecting formation let out a dangerous metallic hum that resounded through all of Zixu Mountain.
Xiao Chunhe pushed open the courtyard gate, then suddenly stopped.
The night was dark, red silk crossing every direction. A Daoist with a sword and horsetail whisk on his back stood there like a green pine, looking toward him without sorrow or joy, his gaze clear and calm.
Xiao Chunhe dropped the fox corpse in his hand and sighed. “Yue Jingming, what are you doing here again?”
“An abnormal sign has appeared in Heaven, and an evil demon has descended into the world.” Yue Jingming looked at him without expression. “I came to subdue the demon.”
“With you as you are now?” Xiao Chunhe clearly did not understand.
“Where is the Myriad Demons Scroll?” Yue Jingming frowned at the black veins along his neck.
Xiao Chunhe raised a brow. “How would I know? I didn’t even take the compass with me.”
“The Myriad Demons Scroll, compass, and copper spoon are all gone. More than half the purple qi around Liang Yun has vanished, and Shijiu has lost a great deal of merit and part of his yuan core as well.” Yue Jingming steadied his breathing. “You taught Shijiu how to draw qi into his body in the first place, then hinted at the inn that he should set up a bamboo formation and split his soul, all to make it easier for you to act.”
Liang Yun was only a mortal and had noticed nothing at all. Ye Shijiu was playful by nature and liked splitting his soul in two; busy with the formation, he had not noticed the damage to his yuan core either. Yue Jingming had only discovered all this after calming down, returning to the inn, and looking for the Myriad Demons Scroll. Xiao Chunhe had probably been planning this for a long time.
Xiao Chunhe frowned and suppressed the sudden sour ache rising in his chest. “If that’s what you want to think, fine.”
Yue Jingming’s gaze fell on the demon-gu lying dormant along his neck. “That really is a demon-gu? Whenever your emotions are stirred, you suffer unbearable pain?”
Xiao Chunhe curled his lips. “Of course. But that’s only one small side effect. My mother personally planted this demon-gu in me to help suppress my demonic qi.”
“Weren’t you weak and sickly from birth?” Yue Jingming ground his teeth.
“The moment I was born and gained awareness, I ate more than ten foxes and mortals, forcing my mother and the clan elders to suppress me.” Xiao Chunhe folded his arms and leaned against the doorframe. “Don’t make that face. If I’d told you from the start, I’m afraid you never would have kept me around.”
“You stayed by my side for the Myriad Demons Scroll.” Yue Jingming stared straight at him.
“You carried a supreme treasure, were covered in merit, and above all were innocent and easy to fool.” Xiao Chunhe wore a tangled, helpless expression. “I gave you plenty of chances to stay away from me, but every time you insisted on tangling yourself up with me again. I’m not some monk free of all worldly desires. What was I supposed to do?”
“So the poisonous oath you swore during the day was true?” Yue Jingming asked.
Xiao Chunhe was silent for a long time before he finally said, “I don’t know either. Go. I won’t kill you.”
Yue Jingming said quietly, “Xiao Chunhe, I can no longer tell which of your words are true and which are false.”
Xiao Chunhe said coldly, “I told you long ago. I’m the worst fox on Zixu Mountain.”
“But since I have already chosen you as my Dao companion, then whether you are good or bad, truthful or false does not matter.” Yue Jingming enunciated each word. “If there is virtue, we share it equally. If there is sin, I bear it with you.”
“I, Yue Jingming, will never regret it.”