The demon disturbance in Creek Stone Village had settled like dust, yet the process had been far more uneventful than expected.
Wang Lang carried the snow-white fox out of the village.
The deep night held no moon, but with his ninth level of Qi Drawing cultivation, he saw as clearly as in broad daylight.
This spared him the trouble of relying on the [Night Vision] trait as he had in those days.
By rights, once the disaster had passed, there should have been a feast, but he politely declined the villagers' offer to host one in thanks.
For one thing, villagers had a hard enough time making a living these days, and he could not bear to consume the meager rations they had scraped together.
For another, given the cooking standards of this era, they probably could not produce anything particularly delicious. It would be nowhere near the rural banquet meals he remembered from his previous life.
Besides, he no longer needed to eat. Why go through the extra trouble?
Pulling his thoughts back, he weighed the soft, fluffy bundle in his hand and broke the silence. "Little fox, do you have a name?"
The Little White Fox replied weakly, "A name? No."
Wang Lang raised a brow. "You seem fairly intelligent, and your strength is passable too. Yet you are nameless?"
"Who says foxes have to have names?" The Little White Fox snorted, raising its voice.
"We of the Demon Race are born of heaven and earth and grow naturally. What use do we have for such empty names? You humans just have too many rules. What a nuisance!"
Wang Lang was almost amused by its righteous indignation.
"Fine, then let me ask you this. Earlier, you said you had merely happened to pass through here? Why would you pass through a godforsaken backwater like this?"
This time, the Little White Fox could not even be bothered to lift its eyelids. It muttered sullenly.
"Why do you have so many questions? Passing through means passing through. Why does there need to be a reason?"
"Fine, you do not want to say." Wang Lang did not press it, his tone calm. "Then I cannot be bothered to ask."
"Still, there is one more thing. You said you encountered Lin Xiu'er's resentful soul in the Back Mountain of Creek Stone Village.
But during the day, I carefully searched those hills in the Back Mountain and found nothing unusual."
The Little White Fox rolled its eyes at him, though it was not very obvious in the darkness. "Nonsense! What could you possibly find if you went during the day?"
"At the time, I was cultivating inside a concealed cave, refining the essence of malice left within those wicked men's organs.
Then I suddenly sensed a vast and resplendent Grand Righteous Qi passing nearby. It suppressed even my demon qi, making it sluggish.
I was at a critical point in my cultivation and did not reveal myself. Thinking about it now, that person must have been you.
The qi you cultivate has an enormous suppressive effect on demons and ghosts like us. Lin Xiu'er's resentful soul must also have been alarmed by you and hidden its traces long before."
After explaining, the Little White Fox looked Wang Lang up and down again, obvious confusion appearing on its fox face.
"I heard from my mother that humans who cultivate Grand Righteous Qi are mostly skinny scholars, forever spouting 'thus' and 'therefore.'
How did it become... well, so unusual when it came to you?"
"With that build of yours, an ordinary tiger would probably have to think long and hard about whether it should eat you or you should eat it, then take a detour."
Wang Lang lowered his head to inspect the bulging lines of his muscles, his loose robes stretched taut over his powerful physique, and shook his head helplessly.
"You fox really are superficial. How can you judge people by their outer skin alone?
Though I am broad and burly, inwardly, I am a genuine scholar."
That was not exactly a lie. Over the past year, he had devoured every volume Old Wang had collected and considered his learning quite solid.
The Little White Fox flicked its tail and replied perfunctorily, "Yes, yes. The Grand Righteous Qi inside you cannot be faked."
Wang Lang nodded and stopped dwelling on the matter.
He halted and gently set the Little White Fox on the ground. "Take me to where Lin Xiu'er's remains are."
Once its four paws touched the ground, the Little White Fox elegantly shook out its fur and glanced back at Wang Lang.
"Oh? You are just letting me down like that? Aren't you afraid I'll run?"
Wang Lang burst into laughter, startling several owls into flight.
"Why would I fear you running away? I protected you in the village earlier partly because I did not want to see Patrolman Li escort you to the Yuan Province prefectural capital, where life and death would be uncertain. But in truth, I was also protecting Patrolman Li's life."
"You are quite strong. If I had not captured you, then with Patrolman Li's first level Qi Drawing cultivation, escorting you on the road would likely have been a perilous venture with little hope of survival."
The Little White Fox snorted coldly. "You have thought things through quite thoroughly, but you miscalculated.
I have heard that the Demon Subduing Division of the Limitless Dynasty equips its people with special Demon Binding Cuffs, made specifically to capture demons like us.
Once cuffed, the demon qi throughout our bodies is sealed away, leaving us without the power to resist."
Wang Lang's heart stirred at that.
Demon Binding Cuffs? That was something new. It seemed the authorities truly had methods for dealing with the Demon Race. He still knew far too little about this world.
He gathered his thoughts. "Enough nonsense. Lead the way."
The Little White Fox reluctantly huffed and puffed as it led the way ahead.
After twisting and turning through the terrain for roughly the time it took an incense stick to burn, they stopped before a steep cliff face near a mountain stream.
"It's here." The Little White Fox pointed a claw at a cave entrance hidden beneath vines.
"This was where I cultivated during the day. Lin Xiu'er's remains are inside that natural rock crevice."
When Wang Lang had searched the Back Mountain during the day, the area had been too vast. This place was too well concealed, its aura almost entirely obscured by the rocks, grass, and trees, so overlooking it was only natural.
Wang Lang pushed aside the vines, only to find that Daoist Xuan Cheng was already there.
He held a whisk in hand, eyes closed and head bowed, quietly chanting obscure scriptures.
On the ground before him, a simple ritual array had been drawn in cinnabar, and a woman's corpse lay at its center.
As the Daoist chanted, specks of golden light carrying a sense of tranquility rose from the array.
Wang Lang was slightly surprised, then understood. He stood quietly to one side without disturbing him.
After a long while, Xuan Cheng's chanting ceased, and he lightly swept his whisk.
A woman's phantom unexpectedly appeared, bowed gracefully to him, then dispersed between heaven and earth.
Only after finishing all this did Xuan Cheng turn around. Upon seeing Wang Lang, he did not appear particularly surprised. He made a Daoist salute.
"Infinite Heavenly Venerable, Fellow Daoist Wang. You have come."
Wang Lang cupped his hands in return. "Daoist."
Xuan Cheng looked at Wang Lang, his eyes filled with undisguised admiration.
"Fellow Daoist Wang, what remarkable skill. When I first met you, I only thought your attainments in the path of qi cultivation were extraordinary. I never expected your accomplishments in Body Refinement to be even more astonishing.
Earlier in the village, your blood and qi surged forth. In that instant, your might was like mountains and towering peaks, several times stronger than many martial men I have seen who specialized in Body Refinement.
Could it be... that Fellow Daoist has already reached the Bedrock Realm in Body Refinement?"
Wang Lang quickly waved his hands. "Daoist, you flatter me."
"I merely possess a little brute strength. I am still far from the Bedrock Realm and do not deserve such praise from you."
Now that Wang Lang had personally witnessed Xuan Cheng's means of delivering a soul onward and purifying the departed spirit, the tiny doubts born from the overly coincidental timing of his appearance completely vanished like smoke.
He praised him sincerely. "Daoist, your method of sending departed souls onward was truly wondrous beyond compare. This is the first time I have seen such a thing. My eyes have been opened."
Xuan Cheng chuckled. "They are merely insignificant tricks, nothing more than giving wronged souls adrift in the sea of suffering a chance at release. Not worth mentioning, not worth mentioning."
He pointed to the woman's corpse and continued, "As for Lin Xiu'er's remains, I will inform Patrolman Li and have him bring people to collect them.
Now that matters here are settled, I must continue my travels elsewhere. I shall take my leave first."
"Travel safely, Daoist." Wang Lang cupped his hands again.
After Xuan Cheng departed, Wang Lang turned to return to Listening Waves Mountain Manor.
To his surprise, the Little White Fox followed after him.
Wang Lang stopped, somewhat puzzled. "Why are you following me?"
The Little White Fox lifted its head. "Didn't you tell Patrolman Li and the villagers earlier that I would be under your protection from now on?
I know what 'under your protection' means! It means you are responsible for protecting me, so of course I have to follow you!"
Hearing this, Wang Lang looked at the Little White Fox's determined expression and smiled faintly.
So be it. This little thing was fairly intelligent and reasonably capable. Keeping it by his side might at least relieve some boredom.
As for tales of a fox immortal repaying kindness or transforming into a fox maiden... Wang Lang shook his head inwardly. He would not entertain such unrealistic fantasies.
Mm, absolutely not.
After walking several steps, the Little White Fox suddenly spoke again, its voice softer than before.
"Um... actually, I lied to you earlier... I do have a name."
"Oh?" Wang Lang looked at it, signaling it to continue.
The Little White Fox puffed out its chest and said with a touch of pride, "My surname is Su, and my given name is Yao. I am Su Yao."
"Su Yao..." Wang Lang softly repeated it, then nodded. "Jade gleams and shines; that is yao. It is a beautiful name. Did your mother give it to you?"
The little fox, Su Yao, nodded her tiny head vigorously.
"Yes, my mother gave it to me. She said that when I was born, the fur on my body looked like fine jade beneath the moonlight..."
Wang Lang smiled faintly. "Then your mother was quite a cultured fox."
Hearing Wang Lang praise her mother, Su Yao's tail rose proudly, her voice brimming with shared pride. "Of course!"
Before you continue