Willow Oriole Alley's Fox Whores

After all the chaos tonight, Ge Xian had discovered a rare Cultivation Path that was most likely unique to him.

More astonishing still, this path might have a bright future. At least for now, it seemed full of promise.

It all came down to that final test!

The three kinds of Dao Qi Exotic Power he had obtained through Cai Bu had dispersed after he used them up.

But when a sudden inspiration struck and he called them forth again, he miraculously summoned a little of each. They were countless times weaker than the "originals"—less than one percent remained—but these faint traces of exotic power had clearly become something Ge Xian possessed permanently.

Even more surprising, it wasn't just Call Wind Summon Rain. The other two exotic powers, Bewitchment and Skin Painting, seemed to be there as well.

Of course, like the wind and rain, they were so weak as to be almost imperceptible.

"But can these exotic powers, regained after being lost, grow stronger again through cultivation?"

As the thought rose, Ge Xian immediately examined them closely.

Before long, the answer came to him, along with the reasoning behind it:

"No!"

"These powers seem to have become some kind of Bloodline Divine Ability, fixed within my body. I can call them forth and use them, but the total amount is limited. Once used, they disperse, and I have to wait for them to condense again. There's no way to make them stronger... It's almost as if I've skimmed a little off the top of these exotic powers I 'borrowed,' like a goose plucking feathers as it flies past?"

"I was never a cultivator to begin with. I don't have any cultivation method, nor have I taken anything into myself and entered the Dao. Naturally, I can't make these powers grow stronger bit by bit, every moment of every day?"

When he understood all this, the joy on Ge Xian's face dimmed somewhat.

"The original Call Wind Summon Rain wasn't all that powerful to begin with. It only summoned a gentle rain and a cool breeze, covering an area around one embankment."

"After I took it through Cai Bu, it was weakened to the state I just saw. When I summon it, it's not even enough to wash my face. Is there any exotic power in the world more useless and pathetic?"

"If nothing unexpected happens, once the two exotic powers I now possess—Beat Dog and Dragon Subdue—disperse, I'll also be able to pluck a little from each, maybe one or two parts in a hundred, and make them permanent in my body."

"When that time comes, I'll probably only be able to beat up a few ordinary stray dogs and subdue a few snakes, bugs, and lizards... How humiliating."

Ge Xian muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, ridiculous images involuntarily rose in his mind.

But soon, he cheered up again, his heart filled with hope.

"Even if they're weak, they're still supernatural powers. Permanently fixed in my body, they naturally count as divine abilities I, Ge Xian, possess."

"And it's not impossible for them to grow stronger. I can keep taking in more strange objects and spirits, gathering all kinds of exotic powers into one body... If fortune favors me, I might even get my hands on something substantial. For example, the Divine Dog Jade Staff, the Beggar Sect's treasured heirloom that Old Dog Hong Buyi has been coveting. The exotic power I could seize from it surely wouldn't be as miserable as this."

"Of course, I can't waste too much, or practice Cai Bu too often."

After turning the thought over a few times, Ge Xian regained his confidence.

This was his first taste of the supernatural. Though he lacked experience, he still felt he had a bright future ahead of him. A multitude of thoughts churned in his mind as he racked his brains, plotting one experiment after another and considering how to make the most of his talent and grow stronger.

He hadn't settled on any of his other ideas, but he decided on one thing first:

Containment!

He would contain as many strange objects and spirits as possible. The more, the better. No taboos, no exceptions.

"Hm?"

"Just when I was getting sleepy, a pillow appeared. I nearly let such a great opportunity slip by."

Ge Xian had been thinking of continuing his experiments, seeing if he could pluck a little more from the two powerful exotic forces within him before they faded. Then it struck him that a perfect opportunity was right before him—a chance to contain more strange objects and spirits.

He had spent the day wandering around Qiantang County, stirring up the crowd and watching duels to the death. Wasn't it all to gather intelligence, then sell it to the various spy organizations?

After all that commotion, he had nearly forgotten his real business.

Even though so many people had witnessed everything that happened at the Gu Spirit Temple today that there seemed to be no valuable Secret Intelligence to sell, Ge Xian was different.

He had gotten a juicy scoop from Hong Buyi.

He had just been so absorbed in his own cultivation that he'd forgotten about it for a while.

Now that he remembered, he didn't dare waste another moment.

The scoop was worth a lot, but it was also time-sensitive. If he waited too long, it might not be worth anything.

With that in mind, Ge Xian hurriedly fetched paper and brush and drew seven or eight "portraits of women," each with a completely different appearance and bearing. Tall or short, fat or thin—he had them all.

As for what they had in common, they were all ugly.

For one thing, the Skin Painting exotic power he possessed was extremely weak. For another, both the original owner of this body and Ge Xian himself were terrible at drawing.

But it was still a disguise. Even a clumsy one was better than none.

Ge Xian stuffed the skins into his robe, then reached out and caught the Broom Spirit. He told it to keep a close eye on the house, then quickly went out while the night was still deep.

As soon as he left, the pretty young wife drifted out of the Soul Residence. At first, she was delighted, thinking her master had let her out again despite his gruff words.

But when she opened her eyes, all she saw was a house in utter disarray.

Her fair, delicate face visibly reddened. She was clearly annoyed. If Ge Xian had still been there, she would have given him a fierce tongue-lashing. Even if she hadn't dared say it aloud, she would have cursed him in her heart.

As it was, she dared to tidy up while muttering under her breath:

"What a reckless boy, with no self-control at all. Even a wild boar wouldn't root around this much. I'd only just finished cleaning the house..."

Ge Xian left home again and slipped into the night. In a secluded alley, he began changing his "skin."

After the astonishing battle earlier, everyone in Qiantang County was now on edge, hiding in their homes. Few people ventured out, which made things convenient for Ge Xian.

Before long, the Young Peddler was gone.

A short, thin woman emerged from the alley. Using the surface of a nearby stinking ditch and the moonlight, Ge Xian took a look at his current appearance: sallow skin, hair like weeds, crooked mouth and eyes. He was truly ugly.

With the real Skin Painting exotic power, Ge Xian could have turned himself into a peerless beauty. But he only possessed a weakened version and couldn't afford to be choosy.

Besides, such a clumsy disguise looked all the more convincing.

As Ge Xian reassured himself, he followed the memories of the original owner and headed first for a place called Willow Oriole Alley.

There was still time, so he didn't use any exotic powers. He walked like an ordinary person.

Along the way, he kept turning over this plan that had come to him on a whim, considering whether it had any flaws and whether it would work.

"After the original owner awakened his talent, he was in a hurry to enter the Dao. That's why he wasn't cautious enough and accepted invitations from several spy organizations... He thought that after sensing and peering into some Secret Intelligence, he could compare the terms of each one and choose the best organization to join. That was far too reckless."

"Even if he really did glimpse some secret, he'd probably have been forcibly recruited as soon as he formally contacted the first organization. If he refused, he might well have been killed on the spot."

"The cultivators of this world are all inhuman creatures. Naturally, they don't go around showing kindness."

"I may be very different, but I still have to be careful. I can't let them see my true identity."

By the time he finished reminding himself, Ge Xian was standing at the entrance to Willow Oriole Alley.

Before he could even enter, two figures as imposing as iron towers suddenly appeared from a dark corner. They were two burly men in short jackets, their bodies knotted with muscle and their faces fierce. A mole like a fleshy horn jutted from each of their foreheads, and their bloodshot eyes fixed on Ge Xian.

They possessed exotic powers, but weren't cultivators. They were "blood cattle slaves," bred by the Fox Clan for menial service.

They were cheap and easy to obtain. Across the countless Fox Clan settlements in the Dayuan Dynasty, they could be found everywhere.

When the two Ox Slaves saw Ge Xian in his Skin Painting disguise, they froze for a moment, then burst into laughter and shooed him away in deep, rumbling voices:

"Where'd an ugly woman like you come from? Shoo, shoo! Get out of here!"

"Sure, our Willow Oriole Alley can't compare to the brothels in Dadu, and we're a little worse than the pleasure houses in the city, but we'd never take a woman with looks like yours. If you're really desperate to make a living on your back, you'll have to go to some whorehouse or black-market den. Even the boat prostitutes probably wouldn't take you."

Their words sent anger surging through Ge Xian.

Clearly, these two watchdogs had mistaken him for a woman applying for work as a prostitute—and were mocking him for it.

Ge Xian recalled Hong Buyi's Memory and weighed his options. Then he suddenly struck.

A pair of seemingly emaciated hands shot out like dragons rising from the sea, clamping down on the two men's hands. He let a little of his Dragon Subdue strength flow out. The men nearly had their hands crushed and wanted to howl, but strict rules forced them to grit their teeth. Before long, their mouths were bloody from biting down.

The two exchanged a glance, surprise and understanding in their eyes: this ugly woman practiced a Dragon Clan Evil Method.

Just as they were about to send for help, they heard Ge Xian's altered voice, sharp and cutting, by their ears:

"A guest is a guest, whether I'm beautiful or ugly."

"Besides, I've come to sell a piece of intelligence your master has been longing to learn. If you two delay important business, you may be sent off for breeding. I hear that even the most virile men in the world can't hold on to a drop of their essence once they enter the Fox Mother Tomb. In no more than the time it takes an incense stick to burn, they'll be drained completely dry."

The two Ox Slaves didn't know which part of those two sentences had frightened them so much, but their massive bodies trembled violently.

They immediately became meek and fell over one another to lead this Ugly Dragon Girl who kept calling herself "this lord" inside.

This confirmed for Ge Xian once again that Hong Buyi's experience had indeed come in handy.

The Qingqiu Fox Clan!

It was one of the world's best-known bloodline Holy Lands, with immense power. Some of its Fox Ancestors even held corresponding Spirit God positions within the Myriad Laws Sect.

The Fox Clan had outposts in every region, making it easier to conduct its affairs.

Willow Oriole Alley was one of the Fox Clan's lowest-level outposts in Qiantang County. On the surface, it ran a prostitution business; behind the scenes, it also gathered information on current affairs and other matters.

Hong Buyi had done business with them before. These wicked foxes, wearing human skins, captured human women and practiced evil methods on them. A few had accidentally escaped, only to run into Hong Buyi and a group of beggars. They seized the women and delivered them to the Fox Clan, earning a hefty reward.

Of course, they hadn't managed to take away even a single copper coin. The money was soon spent on the Fox Demons' bodies.

The Fox Whore who had invited the original owner to become a spy had also been loitering in this alley. When the original owner passed by with his Peddler's Pole, she bought a comb and a bronze mirror from him. After noticing that he had some talent, she casually tried to recruit him.

Now that Ge Xian thought back on it, he immediately guessed that the Fox Whore had harbored ill intentions.

As he entered the alley, Ge Xian immediately caught a complex smell—fishy, foul, and fragrant all at once. He pretended to casually look around.

As expected, one sordid scene after another came into view: bodies twisting and rolling together, accompanied by moans, roars, and all sorts of other sounds.

Though Ge Xian had come from Earth in his previous life and had lived through an entertainment boom, seeing plenty of beautiful bodies, every "Fox Whore" he had just glimpsed was a stunning beauty, each with her own charms. No wonder business was so good.

At the same time, he couldn't help sighing inwardly:

"The battle tonight in Qiantang County was so terrifying!"

"Yet these people are still so calm, still coming here for pleasure. That's remarkable."

"They must have been completely bewitched."

As he speculated, he quietly activated his Supernatural Perception.

A few breaths later, with Hong Buyi's account to guide him, Ge Xian quickly reached a conclusion:

"So-called Fox Whores were originally all human. They mutated after practicing the Fox Clan's evil methods."

"Almost all of them are in the Dao Entry Realm, though their cultivation is unstable. The price is terrifying. If they can't keep replenishing their essence and blood through Cai Bu, these dozens of Fox Whores will either die suddenly or lose their minds and become mad Fox Demons."

"Besides, their Cai Bu divine abilities are far inferior to mine."

That last thought was why Ge Xian had chosen Willow Oriole Alley as the first place to conduct business.

With Hong Buyi's experience, his Skin Painting disguise, and the Beat Dog and Dragon Subdue exotic powers in his body, his combat strength was already far greater than that of Five-Bag Beggar Gang Hong Buyi.

Still, caution could never hurt.

Even if the Fox Whores captured him, he could activate his Bewitchment and turn the tables.

It was, all things considered, an extremely safe plan.

Before long, Ge Xian met the master of Willow Oriole Alley. Contrary to what most people would have expected, she wasn't a middle-aged woman whose charms had begun to fade.

Instead, she was a young woman with a slender figure and a swaying, willow-like gait. Her eyes and brows brimmed with tenderness, while her gaze was tinged with sorrow.

Perhaps she had hurried over, for her light robes were slightly damp with fragrant sweat, instantly revealing an endless allure.

Almost any man who saw her would feel an involuntary pang of tenderness and want to learn her story, understand her heart, and win her favor.

Of course, Ge Xian was not included.

The moment he saw her, he recalled a few words Hong Buyi had let slip while describing her.

"That Fox Demon from Willow Oriole Alley must come from a mighty family. She's probably a young lady from some great clan. I don't know why she lost her mind. Instead of practicing some peaceful method from the Myriad Laws Sect or following one of its Spirit Gods, she chose the Qingqiu Fox Clan's method—and not just any method, but the most dangerous and terrifying branch, the Heart Devouring Fox."

"That little lady looks so delicate, you'd want to pin her beneath you and cherish her. Tsk, tsk. But if she took off her human skin, her appetite would be enough to eat hundreds of people in a single night."

At that very moment, Ge Xian suddenly felt a chill of terror. His Supernatural Perception, which had been operating automatically, gave him an utterly frightening impression.

In a daze, he seemed to see a figure approaching, exuding a rich fragrance and possessing a sinuous, enchanting form. It writhed closer, covering everything, shrouding everything, and tried to wrap around and devour Ge Xian, inside and out.