Fox Demon Yue Jian

Dawn broke, the crowing of roosters shattering the quiet of the small mountain village.

West of the village, close to the foot of the mountain, Yang Yi opened his eyes inside a small dwelling, freshened up briefly, and stepped out with a medicine basket strapped to his back.

In the neighboring yard, a middle-aged woman carrying a pair of water buckets glanced toward his feet. "Yang Yi, make sure to head into town tomorrow and sell this fox. Your eldest brother is getting engaged next month, and the household is short on cash."

The woman was Yang Yi's aunt, living right next door.

The fox the aunt spoke of was a white fox that followed Yang Yi around. He had rescued it in the mountains a year ago, and it was quite pretty.

As for his parents... he had never seen them since coming to this world at the age of seven. The village elders said they had been eaten by a mountain tiger.

Ever since then, although Yang Yi had inherited his parents' house and had his own place to live, he had essentially led a life of depending on others.

His uncle was a decent man, but unfortunately his aunt had a fiery temper, and with a son and daughter to raise on top of that, she naturally treated Yang Yi as a freeloaders.

Yang Yi didn't take up the topic, simply greeting his uncle who sat under the eaves smoking a dry tobacco pipe. "Uncle, I'm heading up the mountain."

As farming folk, breakfast was skipped entirely just to save a little grain.

Uncle Yang instructed, "Don't run off toward West Peak. A few days ago, people said they ran into the mountain lord over there and barely escaped being eaten."

Yang Yi acknowledged the warning and strode outward.

He hadn't gone far when a voice suddenly came from behind. "Second Brother, wait!"

Yang Yi turned his head to look and saw Yang Ya, his uncle's daughter. She was two years younger than him, turning fourteen this year.

Since she called Yang Yong eldest brother, she naturally called Yang Yi second brother.

"Second Brother, take this." Yang Ya shoved a flatbread into Yang Yi's hand and, without waiting for him to say anything, turned and ran off without looking back.

Yang Yi opened his mouth and sighed.

Aside from his aunt, who didn't look upon him very favorably, the rest of Uncle's family were fairly all right. Especially Yang Ya, who had a kind heart and often saved a portion of her own food, secretly stuffing it into his hands just like now.

The morning breeze was slightly chilly, and Yang Yi tightened his clothes and shrank his neck.

The youth's frame appeared somewhat slender, yet he possessed a broad bone structure. Even though he was only sixteen, he already had a somewhat towering and strapping presence.

His year-round rushing about in the mountains made Yang Yi's face look exceptionally resolute.

Gazing at the undulating mountain ranges ahead, Yang Yi's gaze turned profound.

When he first arrived in this world, he too had been full of soaring ambitions. Yet because he was too young back then, he was powerless to act; by the time he grew a bit older, he couldn't even fill his stomach, so how could he speak of anything else?

Entering Crouching Ox Mountain, he familiarly crossed two peaks and checked his previous traps, but his luck was poor and there was nothing inside.

Instead, the white fox that had accompanied him up the mountain dragged over a plump wild hare from somewhere and walked with an elegant posture to drop it at Yang Yi's feet.

"Well done!" Yang Yi squatted down and rubbed the white fox's head.

The white fox turned away with a look that seemed to be one of disdain.

Yang Yi was accustomed to it.

The white fox possessed human intelligence. For over a year it had often helped him catch some game, and on several occasions it had even helped him find medicinal herbs—how could he bear to sell it?

Had it been any other time, securing this rabbit would have meant Yang Yi immediately turning back.

Today, however, he thoroughly cleaned the rabbit and set it on a fire to roast.

The white fox squatted quietly to one side.

A moment later, Yang Yi grabbed the golden-roasted rabbit, tore off a strip of meat, and handed it to the white fox. "Little White, our bond as brothers has come to an end!"

"Auntie wants to sell you. Once you reach the city, those people will definitely skin you and eat your meat. I can't bear to see that happen, so let us part ways here. Eat your fill, enter this mountain, and be free and unrestrained from now on. Don't wander toward West Peak; the mountain lord is there."

"When Big Brother comes up the mountain again, if you have free time, come visit me, and Big Brother will be content."

Auntie hadn't given up on the white fox for a day or two. This white fox was lovely in appearance, and if its skin were stripped off and sold to someone who knew their wares, it could surely fetch a fine price.

Yet Yang Yi never relented, and Auntie couldn't well use force either. But things had reached their limit; eldest son Yang Yong was now fully eighteen, and his upcoming engagement next month would not be cheap.

Yang Yi spoke casually, regardless of whether the white fox could understand. The white fox ate a few bites of rabbit meat, its eyes gazing at him deeply.

"Are you full?" Yang Yi saw its expression, waved his hand, and said, "If you're full, then go."

"I am not called Little White!"

"Then you are called..." Yang Yi instinctively asked, a chill rolling down his spine as his entire body stiffened in place, his scalp tingling.

Amidst his daze, the white fox before him suddenly twisted and transformed into a human shape. Her skin was like congealed fat, her figure alluring, and her cascade of snowy-white hair was flawless like jade, falling in a waterfall down to her waist. Several fluffy tails swayed slightly behind her, blooming with enchanting splendor.

"A—a—a monster!" Yang Yi's upper and lower teeth clattered together, his voice trembling.

"Do not be afraid. If I wanted to harm you, you would have lost your life long ago." A crisp, melodious voice arrived, seemingly able to soothe the mind and pacify the fear within him.

Moreover, the face of the one the white fox had transformed into... for some reason, this face gave him an immensely familiar feeling, as if he had seen it in dreams, and more than once at that.

As for those dreams... they were not fit to be spoken of to outsiders.

Yang Yi slowly steadied his heart. In both his past and present lives he had heard many tales of fox spirits. He hadn't thought in that direction before, but now how could he not know that the one he had saved was a fox demon!

The fox demon spoke, her voice crisp. "My name is Yue Jian!"

"Yue Jian..." Yang Yi only felt his brain in some disorder. He wanted to ask something, yet didn't know how to begin.

Yue Jian said, "Want to cultivate?"

"Cultivate?" Yang Yi was stunned.

When he had first come to this world, he had also inquired about this sort of thing, but after so many years of having gained nothing, he had simply assumed this was an ancient era similar to the place he had come from.

Yet right now a fox demon had transformed into a human before him, so naturally the matter of cultivation existed as well.

"Can I cultivate?"

If he could cultivate, then he could cast off his current predicament; to say nothing else, at the very least he could stand on his own two feet and would not have to live under someone else's roof.

To him, this was undoubtedly a huge temptation.

And... that mass of Golden Light inside his brain that had appeared ever since he had come to this world might perhaps be related to cultivation!

"You saved my life; if not for that, I would not reveal my human form before you. Now that my departure is imminent, I will pass on to you some cultivation methods to settle this good affinity. One day, you and I might even have a time of reunion." Saying this, Yue Jian suddenly raised a tender, white finger and pressed it toward the center of Yang Yi's forehead.

The instant their fingertips touched, Yang Yi only felt as though something were surging into his mind, and his entire person was like someone who had drunk wine, feeling dizzy.

Only after a long while did he slowly open his eyes, turn his head to look around, and call out, "Xiao Bai... no, Yue Jian, Yue Jian!"

Where was there any response?

He searched around for a while longer, but Yue Jian's figure was still nowhere to be seen.

The fox demon had already left.

Instead, a cloth bag had been left behind before him, about the size of a palm.

Yang Yi grabbed the cloth bag, recalled the information Yue Jian had instilled into his mind, and solemnly tucked it into his bosom.

The sky was already quite late, so he did not dare to linger on the mountain much longer, hurriedly gathering his things to head down the mountain.

Although Yue Jian's departure left him feeling a sense of loss, the extra information that had appeared in his mind nevertheless made his mood thrill with excitement.

Along the return journey, he constantly sorted through that information.

Until this moment, he learned for the first time that the world he lived in was shattered!

It had been smashed apart by some formidable expert.

If one viewed the entire world as a piece of porcelain, then the porcelain was currently covered all over in cracks, ready to break apart at any moment.

The shattered world had transformed into individual fragments, each forming its own realm, divided into mortal domains and spirit domains.

Just like the world fragment where Yang Yi was located, one without spiritual energy was a mortal domain; even those cultivators were unwilling to come to such places, because if they stayed for too long, they would have their own strength sucked away by the mortal domain.

Those with spiritual energy were spirit domains.

Every single world fragment had its own origin, which was the Source Crystal.

Years ago, Yue Jian had passed through this mortal domain and accidentally discovered the location of the Source Crystal. Seeing it and feeling tempted, she wanted to refine it, but ended up being backlashed by the Source Crystal, shattering her foundations, losing all her strength, and failing even to maintain a human shape.

Human Race, Demon Race, cultivation, the shattered world, Source Crystal...

As various thoughts flashed past, Yang Yi immersed his mind, and a speck of Golden Light suddenly appeared within his consciousness.