Heavenly Yin Enchantress

A rustling came from the bamboo grove, and an elfin girl in white stepped out. She looked no older than fifteen or sixteen, with a graceful, curving figure and a full bosom. Her bare feet were snowy white, and her glossy black hair fell to her waist. As her limpid eyes shimmered, an intoxicating, irresistible allure radiated from her.

"Heavenly Yin Enchantress, you wicked woman, you're still following me? Do you really think my Cold Abyss Sword fears your Enchantress Art?" The moment the middle-aged Daoist saw the barefoot girl, he cried out in alarm as though he'd spotted a snake or scorpion, and instantly reached back to grip the hilt of the sword on his back.

"Cold Abyss Sword, you should know very well why I came looking for you. Poor Lan Yun, your junior sister, loved you with all her heart. Could you really bear to leave her alone beneath the earth?" The girl's gaze was as limpid as water as she slowly approached the Daoist.

"Wicked woman, how many times must I say it? Lan Yun's death had nothing to do with me. Someone overheard the place where she and I were meeting, and that was why she was surrounded and killed." The Daoist's face twisted ferociously. With a shing, he yanked out a long sword wreathed in a hazy green light and growled.

"Whether you meant to or not makes no difference to me. You swore to Lan Yun that you'd live and die together, so I've come to help you fulfill that vow. No need to thank me." The barefoot girl smiled lightly. Suddenly, she flicked her sleeve, revealing a short ruler as white as jade.

The ruler was no more than half a foot long and two inches wide, yet wisps of white mist coiled around its surface without dispersing, making it seem mysterious indeed..

"Th-the Mystic Ice Ruler! Isn't that the Heavenly Yin Sect's treasure? You're crazy! You stole such a precious treasure for the sake of someone who's dead. Aren't you afraid the sect's law-enforcing elders will find out and cripple your cultivation?" The Daoist, who had been ready to fight the girl in white to the death, stammered in dismay when he saw the ruler.

"Giggle, you needn't worry about that. I'll send you on your way first." The barefoot girl smiled and gave the ruler a light shake. The air nearby rippled, and clusters of white mist appeared, spinning rapidly before transforming into white flowers the size of bowls.

"Want to kill me? In your dreams!"

With a whoosh, the middle-aged Daoist suddenly hurled the small beast in his hand at the girl. Then he pushed off hard with his feet and shot backward into the air. He wheeled through the air like a great bird and plunged into another patch of dark woods not far behind him.

"Wicked woman, once I get back, I'll spread the word about the Mystic Ice Ruler. Let's see how you explain yourself to your sect!" The Daoist's vicious voice came from the woods, its final syllable already faint and distant. He had clearly fled far away.

"Fool. A mere imitation, and it scared you off! You've been marked with Soul-Chasing Incense. You can run as far as you like—you still won't escape. Hm? This Golden Silk Rat has already awakened its spirit pupils!" The barefoot girl lifted a slender hand and deftly caught the Golden Silk Rat. A trace of mockery crossed her face as she murmured, but when she looked down at the little beast, she suddenly seemed surprised.

"I was wondering why someone of Cold Abyss Sword's standing would steal an ordinary Golden Silk Rat. So it's a Spirit Pupil Rat, on the verge of becoming a spirit beast." The barefoot girl put away the jade ruler, cradled the golden beast against her chest, and stroked it with evident delight.

The little beast looked like a golden mouse. Its two green eyes darted about, but under the girl's slender fingers it didn't dare move an inch.

"Oh, right. There's another little fellow here." After playing with the golden mouse for quite some time, the barefoot girl seemed to finally notice "Shi Mu," who was nearly frozen stiff nearby.

Shi Mu was still standing where he had been, but a thin layer of white frost had formed over his body. Only his eyes remained fixed on the barefoot girl.

The girl giggled and slowly walked over.

Shi Mu's eyes followed her as she moved, turning slowly from side to side without ever looking away.

"Interesting."

The barefoot girl saw this and looked intrigued. Her figure began drifting unpredictably, now to the left, now to the right.

Shi Mu couldn't move a muscle, but his eyes kept following her back and forth, making him look utterly ridiculous.

"Giggle, this is so entertaining." The barefoot girl stopped in front of Shi Mu. Still clutching the little beast, she bent over and laughed so hard it seemed her stomach hurt.

The girl laughed for quite a while before straightening up. She flicked her sleeve, sending a puff of white mist flying into Shi Mu's body in a flash.

An astonishing sight followed.

The frost covering Shi Mu's body melted away at a visible speed.

With a thud,

Shi Mu suddenly pitched straight forward and crashed heavily to the ground. His arms and legs were too weak to move, and he couldn't get up. He could only manage to lift his head a little.

His eyes fell upon a pair of lotus-root-white feet. The tips of all ten toes were painted a vivid red, as alluring as flower petals.

"Do my feet look pretty?"

Their owner asked languidly.

At her words, Shi Mu's face suddenly flushed crimson. Somehow, strength returned to his body, and he managed to slowly push himself up from the ground. Then he gazed at the peerlessly beautiful face before him with an unusual intensity.

"Little fellow, do you know that if you were two or three years older and looked at me like that, I'd pluck your eyes out on the spot?" The barefoot girl held the little beast in her arms, her eyes rippling with charm even as she spoke words that sent a chill down the spine.

"What's your name?" Shi Mu finally spoke. His voice was a little hoarse, but his composure surprised the girl.

"Do you think I'd tell you?" the barefoot girl replied with a giggle after a brief pause.

"I need to know your name so I can send a betrothal gift to your family and ask for your hand."

"What did you say? I didn't hear you clearly." The barefoot girl thought she must have misheard. She widened her beautiful eyes and asked in astonishment.

"I want you to be my wife. I'm going to marry you," Shi Mu said without hesitation, his expression utterly serious.

"You... What nonsense are you talking about? Do you know how old I am, or what my status is? How dare you say something like that?" Even though the barefoot girl was usually ruthless and unfathomably cunning, the boy's words left her dumbfounded.

"Are you engaged to someone, or are you already in your forties or fifties?" Shi Mu asked, frowning.

"No, I'm only in my twenties... Why am I even answering you? You..." The barefoot girl answered instinctively, then realized what she'd done and flushed with anger and embarrassment.

"In your twenties, and not engaged—that's good! I don't care what your status is. From the first moment I saw you, I liked you terribly, so I'm definitely going to marry you." Shi Mu let out a sigh of relief and spoke solemnly.

"Giggle, you like me, so you can marry me? You're nothing but a Martial Disciple. Even if you reached the Xiantian realm... Forget it, why am I even telling you this? To be honest, I don't believe any man's sweet talk. I've already decided I'll never marry in this life." The barefoot girl finally regained some of her usual composure and laughed, though her gaze couldn't help slipping away from his burning eyes.

"My mother once told me that if I ever met a woman I truly loved, I should confess my feelings to her at once, so I wouldn't miss out on a wonderful match. I, Shi Mu, swear here and now that I will marry the young lady before me. If I break this vow, may I be pierced by ten thousand arrows and die beneath the ax and the halberd!" Without taking his eyes off the barefoot girl, Shi Mu suddenly raised his hand and swore the terrible oath without even blinking.

Whether by coincidence or not, the moment Shi Mu finished speaking, several peals of thunder suddenly rumbled through the clear sky.

The barefoot girl's lips parted, and her beautiful eyes widened as she stared at Shi Mu. She was speechless. After a long while, she suddenly burst into laughter.

"This... This is hilarious! I, the Heavenly Yin Enchantress, have actually had someone propose to me to my face—and it's a boy barely in his teens. Fine, fine. Don't say I didn't give you a chance. If you can reach the Xiantian realm before you turn thirty, you may come find me at the Heavenly Yin Sect on Wanlong Mountain. Only then will I tell you my real name. Take this as payment for the Spirit Pupil Rat."

After laughing, the barefoot girl straightened up and tossed Shi Mu a small bottle. Then she crushed something she had hidden in her sleeve.

With a pop,

A gale suddenly swept through the air nearby. Clouds blossomed into view, and a mass of them lifted the girl more than ten zhang into the sky and carried her soaring toward the distant horizon. Only her lingering voice remained.

"One more thing: that spirit beast was clearly pretending to be unconscious. If Cold Abyss Sword hadn't snatched it first, you might really have gone home empty-handed."

From the moment the barefoot girl finished speaking and tossed him the bottle to when she picked up the little beast and soared away, everything happened in a flash. There was an unmistakable air of hurried retreat about it.

"She actually flew... The Heavenly Yin Enchantress..."

Shi Mu held the small bottle in one hand and stared blankly in the direction the girl had vanished. He gaped in astonishment for a long while, then began murmuring to himself.

Only after a while did he finally come to his senses. He looked at the bottle in his hand, then at the trap he had laid earlier, and his expression turned wry.

"This time, aside from losing several hundred taels of silver and getting this thing, I guess I've ended up losing the chicken and wasting the rice."

He couldn't help wondering what was inside the bottle.

After all, the girl was so mysterious that whatever she'd given him couldn't be ordinary.

Shi Mu gave it only a moment's thought before uncorking the bottle without hesitation. He tipped it into his palm, and a milky-white pill, about the size of his thumb, rolled out. Faint silver threads shimmered across its surface.

"Spirit Qi Pill!"

When the boy recognized the pill, the words escaped him in a startled cry.