The Demon Fox

Night had already fallen.

At first, Ye Wuyou had wondered why they were heading to some village to rest in the dead of night. Wouldn't anyone with even a little concern for safety mistake them for bandits and drive them out?

But he soon realized he had been overthinking it.

Despite the late hour, lights still burned in the village at the foot of the Cloudmist Mountains, and someone was even waiting at its entrance.

"Two taels of silver per person. Take any vacant house by the Eastern Village Entrance."

Lin Qingqing took it all in stride. After paying, she led the three men to an empty room where they could rest for the time being.

"Find it strange? The Cloudmist Mountains are the only place near Skywave City with Demon Beasts. Cultivators often come here to train. As the only inhabited place nearby, this village at the foot of the mountains gradually developed into what you see now."

"They don't just provide lodging. They also offer mountain guides, help finding spirit herbs, and all sorts of other services. The people here are shrewd."

Surprised, Ye Wuyou asked, "Then aren't they afraid of Demon Beasts attacking, living here?"

"Afraid? Of course they are. But there's money to be made. They earn more silver in a month than they would in a year of farming and working in the mountains. And this is the winter off-season, when most of the Demon Beasts up in the mountains are hibernating. If disciples from certain cultivation sects happen to come out for worldly experience, the price rises to twenty taels per person."

"If those privileged sect disciples suddenly feel charitable, or get jealous while competing over a beauty, the things they casually hand out as rewards can amount to untold riches."

"People die for wealth, just as birds die for food. With luck, they can earn in these few months what an ordinary person makes in a lifetime. Besides, haven't you noticed that most of the villagers are elderly? The young people left the mountains for the city long ago. What does life count for to them?" Lin Qingqing said with a smile.

Ye Wuyou had no answer, though he was beginning to understand.

The four of them crowded into the little wooden hut, where a single oil lamp cast a hazy glow. Beyond the shabby little window lay darkness, punctuated by the occasional howl of mountain wind.

Apparently feeling mischievous, Lin Qingqing lifted the oil lamp and waved it in front of her face, lowering her voice as she spoke slowly.

"Did you know? The most frightening thing for this village isn't actually Demon Beasts. It's people."

"Demon Beast attacks at least follow patterns. Besides, there are often cultivators in the village, and the beasts at the foot of the mountains are only minor demons. They aren't difficult to deal with."

"But there are always cultivators who fall onto an evil path and slaughter indiscriminately. What do you think would happen if they came across this group of lonely old people left behind in the mountains?"

[Amid the laughter and conversation, you keenly caught a trace of something unsettling in her words. In the eyes of true cultivators, mortals are no more than curs...]

Whooo, whooo, whooo...

The mountain wind blew fiercely at night. The old window shutter seemed unable to withstand its force, and one corner broke away.

Wind poured through the gap, making the oil lamp flicker.

Xu Fang scoffed. The burly man turned his back, refusing to pay any attention.

Bai Changzai kept his eyes shut, remaining silent.

Ye Wuyou listened quietly, but when no continuation came for a long while, he couldn't resist asking.

"What happened next?"

Lin Qingqing burst into a giggle, then set down the oil lamp and spread her hands helplessly.

"I don't know either. But this village has been here for decades, and nothing has ever happened. Maybe, as time passed, even cultivators with crooked intentions stopped daring to act rashly. Who knows what tricks this seemingly harmless village has up its sleeve?"

[This woman truly knows how to leave you hanging. You wish to uncover the truth about this village. Since you cannot get an answer out of her, you might as well act yourself. Slaughter the entire village tonight, and see just what these supposed tricks are!]

That would be one way to do it... Like hell!

Ye Wuyou stared at the woman, who was shaking with laughter like blossoms trembling on a branch, and found himself speechless.

Wasn't she just leaving us hanging? No wonder those two couldn't be bothered to listen.

The brief banter eased some of their travel fatigue. Lin Qingqing gave a light cough and grew serious.

"Let's talk about that demon fox instead."

She took out the bell issued by the Heavenly Prison, infused it with a thread of Vital Breath, and gave it a gentle shake.

Jingle, jingle...

An illusory display appeared between the four of them, showing both images and written descriptions.

The Qingqiu Three-Tailed Fox crossed the Ten Thousand Mountains thirty-six years ago and arrived in Great Yan.

Due to her innate talents as a demon fox, she possessed the ability to transform even before reaching the fourth tier. She frequently assumed the form of a beautiful woman, traveling throughout Great Yan and taking human lives.

Twenty-four years ago, the Qingqiu Three-Tailed Fox assumed the form of a beautiful woman and infiltrated the Thousand Illusions Sect, a cultivation sect. She bewitched its sect master with her fox charms and stole the sect's supreme treasure, subsequently bringing about the sect's destruction.

Twenty-three years ago, a certain Class [A] official of the Heavenly Prison, while conducting an inspection at the "Spring Breeze Tower," happened to discover the demon fox beguiling civilians in the guise of a beautiful woman. After a fierce battle, he captured her and brought her into custody.

Notes: 1. As the demon fox is suspected of possessing Qingqiu Royal Clan blood, and the whereabouts of the Thousand Illusions Sect's supreme treasure remain unknown, sentencing has been deferred in favor of indefinite detention.

2. The demon fox's innate abilities have little destructive power, but her illusions are formidable. Our department has captured her on numerous occasions, only for her to escape.

This was Ye Wuyou's first time seeing what the treasure could do. Initially, he had thought it was merely a Magical Treasure for locating the demon fox.

But...

"Hahaha! A certain Class [A] official was conducting an inspection at the 'Spring Breeze Tower'? As if we don't know what sort of place that is! I'd really like to know which official had such leisurely, refined tastes!" Xu Fang roared with laughter.

Lin Qingqing's eyes narrowed in a cold smile. "Oh? Then tell me, what sort of place is the Spring Breeze Tower? Once the captain returns from the mission, I'll pass it along."

The laughter stopped abruptly.

But Ye Wuyou stared at that entry again and again, feeling that it seemed... familiar.

[Familiar? Of course it is. Who besides that damned old man could do something so depraved? Your heart fills with contempt. The next time you see that wretched old man, be sure to ask why he did not take you along, since cultivation in such a place offers tremendous benefits.]

Zhao Changhe?

His pondering did not last long. The ringing of a bell interrupted his thoughts.

The bell containing a wisp of the demon fox's aura began moving without any wind, giving off clear chimes.

Lin Qingqing narrowed her eyes slightly. In the next instant, she was already out the door.

"Good, good, good! I was just wondering how we'd find you in such a vast mountain forest, yet this demon fox actually dares to come to us! That saves us some trouble."

"Huh... What's this?"

The four of them were now outside the house. Their surroundings remained just as they had been, with no disturbance in the village.

But looking past the village, they could see a crimson column of signal smoke slowly rising from the distant mountains.

"Crimson signal smoke. That's an internal Heavenly Prison signal... Is one of our colleagues trapped?" Lin Qingqing looked startled, clearly not having expected this.

When she looked down at the bell in her hand again, it had already gone still.

The change plainly left Lin Qingqing momentarily bewildered. She looked at the crimson signal smoke on the mountain, then at the village around them, where everything remained normal.

"We're going up the mountain to rescue them."