Ge Xian Overhears

"Ganlin niang... This woman wants to eat me."

The moment he was hit, Ge Xian instinctively cursed.

Clearly, he hadn't anticipated this kind of surprise. Hong Buyi had never said the Fox Whore madam of Willow Oriole Alley was a lunatic who attacked people the moment they met. He'd only said she was a delicate little beauty who inspired tender pity.

Was there any such thing as a delicate beauty like this in the world?

As Ge Xian cursed inwardly, he also called upon the Dragon Subduing Power within him. He then struck the Fox Whore girl before him with Three Palms in quick succession. Dragon's Roar rang through the fragrant, quiet room, and three oddly shaped shadows of Evil Dragon Qi took form, lunging at the sickly girl.

If she had truly been a frail human girl, that attack would have turned the entire room into a splatter of minced flesh.

Unfortunately, she was a Demon Fox.

With a tinkling laugh, the Fox Woman casually swatted the attack aside. In an instant, the dragons perished and the Qi scattered.

At the same time, alarms blared in Ge Xian's heart. But it was too late to do anything. A pale, slender hand settled on his neck, and his body went limp. A genuine "superior demon Qi" invaded him, easily subduing his body and soul and rendering the remaining Beat Dog power immobile.

Only then did the pale-faced girl, her cheeks flushed with a sickly red, draw close and stare at Ge Xian with interest.

Though he was still completely bewildered, that didn't stop Ge Xian from demanding, "What do you mean by this, Fox Woman?"

"I came here to do business. Why did you attack me? Is this how the Qingqiu Fox Clan treats its guests?"

Before he could finish pinning that accusation on her, the Fox Woman burst out laughing.

She waved her hand lazily, then smiled and said a few things that made Ge Xian's heart sink.

"The Qingqiu Fox Clan is a big name. No matter how far up the chain you go, you can't pin the blame on the likes of us in Fox Brothel Alley."

"If you, this 'Dragon Girl,' were selling other Secret Intelligence, you'd naturally leave with your pockets full. You wouldn't have fallen into my hands."

"But you just had to walk into my shop and try to sell news about my husband. How could I let you get away?"

"Judging by how dirt-poor you look, you haven't tried selling it anywhere else yet. Good."

With every word the Demon Fox spoke, the expression beneath Ge Xian's Skin Sac grew darker.

What kind of luck was this?

What kind of turn was this?

The Fox Whore madam of Willow Oriole Alley was the wife of Lu Hualong, the Qiantang County Magistrate?

Ge Xian had thought he'd adapted somewhat to this "strange world," and that no matter what bizarre things he encountered, they wouldn't leave him gaping in shock.

Now it seemed he'd been far too naive.

"I used my ability to obtain intelligence, and thought I could take advantage of its freshness by splitting it into several pieces. Then I'd find the Qingqiu Fox Clan, the Ghost Clan, the Rebel Army, heretical cults, and other organizations, sell it to each one separately, and rake in a fortune."

"Who could have guessed? I've fallen at the very first hurdle. The Demon County Magistrate married a brothel madam, deliberately leaked word that he wanted information about Lu Hualong, set a trap, and drew me out. And the first snake into the basket just had to be unlucky old me... Hong Buyi, you've done me in."

As Ge Xian continued cursing, his thoughts raced as he searched for a way to escape.

Unfortunately, he knew with a single thought that neither forcing his way out nor launching a sneak attack would work.

His only chance was to use his Charm Power and see if he could beguile the Demon Fox, turn the tables and use Cai Bu on her, or take the chance to flee.

But he wasn't sure it would work. According to Hong Buyi's guess, the Demon Fox should be at the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Yet at the instant she attacked, Ge Xian had clearly sensed a dangerous aura on the same level as Lu Hualong's. It wasn't as intense, but it was enough to make Ge Xian wary of acting rashly.

"By the standards of the Cultivation World, one enters the Dao Entry Realm upon permanently gaining supernatural power within the body... Once one's body and soul undergo permanent mutation, and one can manifest at least a 'Half-human Half-demon' form, one can be considered at the Foundation Establishment Realm... As for the Mortal Transformation Realm, that means completely transcending the ordinary and shedding one's human form to become a free demon."

"My Charm Talent should work against strange objects or spirits at the Dao Entry Realm."

"At the Foundation Establishment Realm, I probably won't be strong enough."

"And there's no way I can do it at the Mortal Transformation Realm."

"If this Demon Fox is Lu Hualong's wife, then even if she hasn't reached the Mortal Transformation Realm, she can't be far off."

"Damn it, am I going to get done in here... If all else fails, I'll have to really try becoming Male Daji."

Just as Ge Xian was lamenting his predicament and wondering whether he should go out and ruin someone else's marriage—

The Demon Fox had already started stripping him.

More precisely, she was peeling off the Skin Sac covering him.

Just as Ge Xian had sensed at first glance, this Fox Woman who looked like a "delicate young lady" was actually a lunatic.

As she ran her hands over him, her cheeks flushed red and she giggled shyly.

"You're an honest Dragon Girl, aren't you? If you're dirt-poor, why not go rob someone? Why wear such an ugly, clumsy Skin Sac and come to Willow Oriole Alley to scam a free meal?"

"Nobody in the world knows this, but women who Devour Dragon Qi and practice Dragon Law Cultivation can't be ugly."

"Come on, let big sister see your true face. Then we can have some fun together... After I've had my fill, I'll let you go out and see customers. If you can't wait, big sister can give you a nice name first. How about Xiang Niang..."

At that last line, the Fox Woman suddenly stopped.

She pinched the ugly skin she'd peeled away, her face full of disgust, then looked at Ge Xian helplessly.

Had she discovered he was a man?

No. What she saw was still an ugly, repulsive woman.

Of course, she was ugly in a different way.

"Heh, what a mischievous little sister."

"Today, I'm going to see your true form no matter what."

With that, the Fox Woman continued stripping him.

Before long, she peeled off another Skin Sac, only to find a third layer beneath it.

The Fox Woman's mouth fell open. She was so furious she laughed, and her interest only grew.

But just as she was about to continue stripping him, and Ge Xian was preparing to try his Charm Power, a Fox Whore maidservant called from outside the quiet room:

"Madam!"

"Master is here."

The Fox Woman's expression shifted at the interruption. Her intense desire vanished so visibly it might as well have been swept away by the wind.

Still, she didn't immediately release Ge Xian. She turned and looked him over, then seemed to think of something and smiled teasingly.

"Don't worry, little sister. Once big sister has dealt with that stinking bug, I'll give you a proper helping of affection. For now, you'll have to put up with being unconscious for a while and stay in my Fox Tail Sac."

Anyone with half a brain could tell from those words that the Demon Fox and Lu Hualong didn't have a very harmonious marriage.

But Ge Xian had no time to dwell on it. In his haste, all he could do was widen his eyes and watch the delicate young lady transform into her Demonic Body before him, bit by bit, without the slightest concealment. Her demonic Dao Qi wrapped around bloodstained fur as it unfurled. In the blink of an eye, she became a fox-beast about two zhang tall, with three tails.

Those tails were hairless, soft and sticky-looking, like great slabs of fresh red meat: Flesh Tails.

The three tails drew together and turned into a flesh sac, swallowing Ge Xian.

The moment he entered the sac, a thick, rank demon Qi rushed at him and knocked him out.

A flash of light later, the Fox Woman had returned to human form.

Just then, the door opened, and a tall, strikingly dignified man entered.

It was none other than Lu Hualong, the Qiantang Gegu County Magistrate whose name was famous throughout the nine townships.

At a glance, he caught the last moment of the Fox Woman withdrawing her Flesh Tail. Displeasure immediately flashed in County Magistrate Lu's eyes.

His expression was just like that of a husband who'd discovered his wife cheating, yet dared not make a scene and could only endure the humiliation in silence.

Of course, he knew his wife hadn't cheated with a man.

Because the one she'd cheated with... was actually a woman!

He'd known about his wife's tastes before they'd even exchanged wedding vows, but he couldn't object. That was the price of marrying above his station—or, one could even say, of being a live-in son-in-law.

But over the years, he'd gradually found it harder to endure. The reason, naturally, was that his cultivation and Dao attainment had steadily grown, and his wings had grown strong enough to take flight.

If he hadn't feared the power and official prestige of his "father-in-law," he would have made his move years ago.

Even now, he still didn't dare do anything. He couldn't force his mad wife to obey him, and he couldn't divorce her either. All he could do was pinch his nose and do his best to keep up appearances.

He didn't dare act, but the Fox Woman did.

The instant she saw his disgusted expression, as if he'd just eaten a fly, she arched her brows and scolded him in a sweet, charming voice.

"Lu Hualong, stop pulling that wretched face in front of me. It wasn't I who wanted you to marry me. You were the one who wanted to get support from that Old Turtle, Green Turtle, Yelü Tianzheng. You came begging to be a live-in son-in-law."

"What, today you got a piece of that big bug's flesh from the Gu-Eating Spirit God, got your hands on the Gu Devouring Immortal Scripture, and now you think your wings have grown strong enough to pull a face at me?"

"If you've really got guts, go pull that face in front of Yelü Tianzheng or my brother Jade Phoenix."

"Hmph, do you take me for some lust-crazed wild fox who's ready to rut anytime, anywhere? I only caught a reckless Dragon Girl who came to sell information about you, the great county magistrate. I was interrogating her when you suddenly barged in."

The Fox Woman's fury, combined with her perfectly reasonable excuse, immediately softened Lu Hualong's expression.

Whether or not he believed her, he hurriedly lowered himself and stepped forward to placate her in a gentle voice.

The fake couple had no idea that inside the Fox Tail Sac, the "Dragon Girl," who should have been unconscious, had her eyes open. She tilted her ear and strained to release her Supernatural Perception, eavesdropping on their conversation.

The secrets he'd overheard in that brief encounter were already enough to astonish Ge Xian.

"The name Yelü Tianzheng sounds like it belongs to some high-ranking official. Could he be Yelü Tianzheng, the chancellor of Jiangzhe Province in the Dayuan Dynasty?"

"Good heavens!"

"The daughter of a mighty Border Governor is actually a Fox Whore madam?"

"So this Fox Woman's surname is Yelü too. I just don't know her name. Judging by the way she described Yelü Tianzheng, their father-daughter relationship must be terrible. An ordinary daughter wouldn't call her father an Old Turtle or a Green Turtle."

Ge Xian was both excited and numb. He'd experienced far too many twists and bizarre turns tonight.

As it happened, the Fox Woman's casual technique could knock out any Dao Entry Realm cultivator, but Ge Xian was different.

He wasn't a proper cultivator to begin with. The demon Qi had barely taken effect before Ge Xian instinctively "Cai Bu'd" it away.

That surprise had given Ge Xian another insight into his talent.

"The Fox Woman's demonic power focuses on Charm."

"So it overlaps somewhat with the Charm power I already possess. It was judged to be the same kind of power, which is why I managed to Cai Bu it."

"And afterward, I could sense that my Charm Talent had grown ever so slightly—so little it was almost impossible to notice."

"Following this line of thought, could I cultivate by using Cai Bu on powers of the same kind? For instance, the Call Wind Summon Rain, skin-changing, Beat Dog, Dragon Subdue, and other powers I've already permanently gained—or will probably gain..."

At the thought, Ge Xian's face lit up with delight. He wished he could escape at once and start experimenting.

To be honest!

Though Ge Xian had previously comforted himself that he'd found a Cultivation Path, he knew it was far too weak. He could retain only one or two parts in a hundred—or even one or two parts in a thousand—of the powers he Cai Bu'd, and once he got them, they had no room to grow.

How much use could that be?

Even if he Cai Bu'd a strange object or spirit with the power to Move Mountains Fill Seas, after that power was weakened a hundred or a thousand times, he'd only be able to lift a few small stones.

Even if he were allowed to Cai Bu hundreds or thousands of strange objects and spirits, all those powers combined would probably still be no match for a single Foundation Establishment Realm demon, let alone the demons of the Mortal Transformation Realm or the Spirit Connection Realm, which he had never even seen.

But now, everything was different.

He'd seen the potential for growth in his rare Cultivation Path.

Of course, his top priority was escaping, while continuing to eavesdrop on the shocking secrets the fake couple let slip in their conversation.

At first, all he heard was family gossip and private affairs.

The more Ge Xian listened, the more his tongue clicked in amazement, and the harder each revelation hit him.

It wasn't his fault. The Yelü Family was such a mess that "a passionate romance twisted by cruelty" was no exaggeration.

"The Fox Woman's real name is Yelü Yuyan. Her father is one of the Dayuan Dynasty's Border Governors, Yelü Tianzheng, the chancellor of Jiangzhe Province."

"He's a prodigy from the Yelü Family. He worships the Myriad Laws Celestial Pivot Supreme Minister Spirit God, a being of exalted status in the Myriad Laws Sect, said to possess omniscience and know all things, all ghosts, and all gods. He obtained its flesh and cultivated its immortal scripture; his Dao attainment has genuinely reached the Spirit Connection Realm."

"What is the Spirit Connection Realm? Only those who can visualize the Spirit God's true form and comprehend supreme divine powers are considered to have reached it."

"Yet Yelü Tianzheng, who sounded so formidable, really was an Old Turtle. The reason was that he too had been a live-in son-in-law, though he married a princess of the Dayuan Dynasty, a member of the royal bloodline. That was how he rose to power, and naturally, he feared his wife."

"The princess was domineering and ferocious. She wouldn't let him take a concubine, so he truly didn't dare."

"Later, however, he fell in love with a Fox Clan maidservant by his side. They secretly had a pair of siblings: the younger sister, Yelü Yuyan, and the older brother, Yelü Yufeng."

"Who knew how the secret got out? The princess casually used her divine power to roast the Fox Clan maidservant into a 'human jerky.' Then, for reasons of her own, she returned the daughter to Yelü Tianzheng and kept the son with her to raise."

"No one knew what that family went through afterward, but in the end, Yelü Yuyan became a madwoman obsessed with grinding mirrors, and she deeply admired her older brother, Yelü Yufeng, whom she barely ever saw after they grew up. She often did outrageous things for his sake."

"Yelü Yufeng, meanwhile, was raised by the royal princess and received her full support. He displayed the bearing of a prodigy from childhood, worshipped the Myriad Laws Sect Master, and cultivated the supreme Gods and Devils arts... This made Yelü Tianzheng intensely jealous, and their father-son relationship was utterly terrible."