Wood

At the same time, Yun Jie raised a bronze mirror in her hand.

A demon-revealing mirror.

Unlike Chu Fu’s soul-summoning mirror, the demon-revealing mirror was not a particularly rare item in the cultivation world. Most immortal disciples had one; through it, one could see a demon’s true form.

Yan Jue looked into the mirror and saw that the woman who looked so much like Madam Li instantly transformed into a pure-white fox.

The fox was slender and frail, with brilliant blue eyes.

It was actually the same white fox she had encountered in Fengxian Town that day.

-

Yun Jie really had not guessed wrong. More often than not, the thing that seduced men and drained their yang energy was a fox demon.

Yun Jie stared at the demon-revealing mirror for a long while, then frowned slightly and flicked the fox nail in her hand up toward the sky.

The tiny nail emitted a faint golden light in midair; unexpectedly, it released a huge net that spread out and covered the entire room.

As Yun Jie moved the fox nail, the net moved with it.

Yan Jue quickly realized that this fox nail was probably some kind of control-type magical artifact.

With the fox nail in Yun Jie’s hand, this net specially designed to deal with fox spirits would not disappear.

The moment the lord saw the woman, he no longer looked drowsy and listless as before.

He sat up on the bed, his face lighting with joy. “Miss Bai, you’ve finally come.”

The woman looked at Old Master Li with tender affection.

The old master stood up and weakly took a few steps forward, already reaching for his belt.

It looked as though a thunderously passionate scene was about to unfold.

Then the woman suddenly sprang into the air and swept a leg across the man’s left cheek.

The man swayed twice in midair before crashing to the floor, unconscious.

Yan Jue: “?”

This felt a little different from what she had imagined.

She saw Madam Li step forward, lower her head, and close her eyes as if carefully inhaling the man’s scent; then she opened her mouth.

She was about to absorb his yang energy!

“Wait outside the window for news,” a voice sounded in her ear. “Without my orders, don’t come in.”

Yan Jue was startled. Before she could react, the huge golden net released by the fox nail suddenly descended, isolating the house from the outside world.

The Yun Jie beside her leapt out at once.

Yun Jie held the fox nail in her left hand and a purple-red wooden token in her right.

The golden net tightened immediately.

Yun Jie tossed the wooden token, sending it flying straight toward the fox demon.

Though it was only a wooden slip, it transformed in midair into a warrior as tall as a person.

This was a unique divine ability of the Mystic Escape Sect.

Wooden token into man.

The token soldier swayed its arms on both sides and charged at the demon.

At the same time, the fox nail in Yun Jie’s other hand shot out instantly, tearing through the air.

The fox demon looked as though it was about to be pierced through the chest by the nail.

It seemed to freeze for a moment, then flashed away in midair and disappeared at once.

The air fell into silence.

Yun Jie swept her gaze over the empty room and frowned.

She muttered, “That’s impossible. My fox nail is specially designed to restrain fox spirits. The net has already been laid; as long as the fox nail is still in my hand, that fox demon can’t get out of this room.”

Then suddenly, someone tapped her shoulder.

Yun Jie turned around and saw Duan Luxi standing beside her, looking at her with curiosity.

Yun Jie frowned instinctively. “Didn’t I tell you to wait by the door? Why are you—”

Duan Luxi looked at her curiously. “Senior Sister, what does your fox nail look like? Can I take a look?”

Yun Jie choked for a moment, then handed it over.

Duan Luxi took the fox nail and played with it curiously.

Then Yun Jie suddenly remembered there was still one more person. “What about that Watercloud Sect friend, Yan—keep an eye on her and don’t let her run around—”

Before she could finish, Duan Luxi lifted her eyes and smiled at her, then turned and ran.

The golden net that had been floating in the air from the very beginning gradually began to be absorbed into the fox nail and disappeared.

Yun Jie whirled around and saw another Duan Luxi standing obediently beneath the window, staring at the one who had just run out, her face full of disbelief.

Yun Jie frowned.

The token soldier on the ground sensed its master’s emotions and immediately swelled in size on the spot, then strode mechanically toward Duan Luxi.

Duan Luxi hurriedly said, “No, it’s not like that, Senior Sister, l-l-let me explain. I—”

“I was going to warn you just now, but this was so unbelievable that I froze too…”

“You wouldn’t even let me in…”

Fox spirits were skilled in transformations and could become anyone they wished. She had truly been careless just now.

Yun Jie inwardly cried out that something was wrong. She saw “Duan Luxi” rush out of the door, then, as she ran, transform into a white fox. The white fox had the fox nail in its mouth and strolled off leisurely in that direction.

Yun Jie said angrily, “Bold creature!”

But without the fox nail in hand, her token soldier and token general were truly of no use.

The token soldier sprang up violently and charged toward it with a broadsword in hand, but it was still half a beat too slow; it was only one step away from the white fox’s body.

The white fox flashed through the air and was just about to change form again when it suddenly saw a girl standing across its path.

The girl had brows like a painting, wore a pale jade-colored daoist robe, and had raven-black hair pinned up with a hairpin, fluttering in the wind.

The white fox’s pupils contracted; it suddenly felt that this girl looked somewhat familiar.

It was as if she were the red fox lady from the last time in Fengxian Town.

Why should one fox make life difficult for another fox? The white fox was on the verge of tears, but there was no time to think. The girl held a glittering flying sword horizontally in her hand, and it looked as though it would pierce straight through her chest.

Yan Jue smiled at the white fox, then suddenly withdrew the sword in her hand.

The white fox met her gaze for a moment, then instantly turned into a wisp of blue smoke and fled.

Yan Jue stood where she was, watching that strand of smoke gradually disappear, when she suddenly heard footsteps behind her.

Duan Luxi: “Yan Jue, did you catch that demon?”

Yan Jue: “No. It ran too fast.”

Yun Jie hurried over after them, fox nail still in hand, and cursed in a low voice, “Damn it.”

“...”

Yun Jie and the others could be said to have returned to the Li residence in utter defeat.

Although they hadn’t managed to catch the white fox, driving it away was an unexpected gain.

Madam Li had already sent someone to the country estate to bring Old Master Li back.

The demon survived by absorbing people’s yang energy; if this continued, no one knew how badly Old Master Li’s body would be hollowed out.

Madam Li thanked them repeatedly and kept several of them for dinner at the Li residence.

“I’ve already settled the master in his room to rest,” she said. “The medicine given by the immortal lord... has also already been administered.”

Yun Jie nodded. “If the master feels unwell after taking the medicine, Madam may send word to me. I will come again.”

The first disciple had the first disciple’s professionalism; indeed, as Mystic Escape Sect’s chief disciple, Yun Jie’s thoroughness in handling tasks could actually be compared to Qi Xianqing’s.

She also possessed a spirit of refusing to admit defeat and was unwilling to lose to Qi Xianqing in any respect.

At the banquet, Yan Jue stared at Madam Li’s face, still puzzling over why the fox demon had transformed into Madam Li’s appearance to tangle with Old Master Li.

Madam Li smiled very kindly. “Why has this little immortal kept staring at this humble wife? Is there something on my face?”

Yan Jue hurriedly stood up. “I just think Madam is very beautiful. You must have been a great beauty when you were young.”

The old maidservant beside Madam Li laughed. “The little immortal guessed right. Our madam was once one of the most beautiful women in Qingye Town. The master was also a famous scholar in Qingye Town; the madam and the master were truly a match made in heaven.”

So that was it.

Yan Jue could not help but sigh inwardly.

Youth fades all too easily.

Time had already left its mark on Madam Li’s face, but Old Master Li was still attached to the appearance she had in her younger years.

Perhaps that was why the fox demon had taken Madam Li’s shape.

The banquet was lively, with cups being raised back and forth.

While eating, Yan Jue kept thinking about what the white fox had said before it left.

Little Spring Mountain, Spring Blossom Cave, Jade-Faced Lady.

...

Sure enough, this white fox was the Jade-Faced Lady of Spring Blossom Cave.

She had encountered it before the male lead did.

-

After going up the mountain, another few days passed.

Yan Jue took on the form of a little fox, her four tails swishing behind her as she made her way to Valley of a Hundred Flowers.

She often came to Valley of a Hundred Flowers before to gather flower nectar, so she was quite familiar with the varieties of flowers there.

Flowers, too, had rare and common types. Although the flowers in Valley of a Hundred Flowers bloomed all year round, some had very short blooming periods; it was extremely rare even to see them bloom once.

Yan Jue had previously been struck by lightning, and her leg was still a little lame. Hopping as she walked, she soon stopped before a plant called Winter Leaf.

Under the moonlight, the flower named Winter Leaf bloomed quietly, shimmering with a deep violet glow.

Yan Jue knew that Qi Xianqing had been badly injured this time when she went down the mountain.

She was also a little fox who knew how to repay kindness. Qi Xianqing had treated her so well, so then she would... gather flowers to repay her.

Yan Jue had read about this flower called Winter Leaf in the Library Pavilion before.

Winter Leaf bloomed only once every three years, so it could also be considered a rare flower.

It had a beautifying effect; according to legend, if one drank its nectar year after year, even a fifty-year-old woman could regain the appearance of a maiden.

It was said that the skin-preserving art once refined by Immortal Lady Yun Zhen required this flower as an ingredient for alchemy.

More importantly, this flower also had the effect of expelling poison.

Qi Xianqing had been poisoned all over the last time she went to the Suyang immortal residence, hadn’t she?

This flower should be quite useful to her.

Even if it weren’t used as medicine, it would still make very good flower tea.

Yan Jue carried eight purple Winter Leaves in her mouth and left Valley of a Hundred Flowers.

Treading with her four tiny black paws, she soon arrived at Frozen Peach Haven.

When Yan Jue reached Frozen Peach Haven, Qi Xianqing was sitting at the desk reading.

Her hearing had always been keen; the moment Yan Jue stepped into the courtyard gate, she heard her footsteps.

Qi Xianqing looked up, and when she saw Yan Jue running over, the corners of her brows and eyes curved slightly. She said softly, “Slow down. Your injury has just healed, and you’re still running so fast.”

Yan Jue jumped onto her desk, spat out the flowers in her mouth, and flicked her tails.

Qi Xianqing was stunned.

She knew that the purple Winter Leaf bloomed only once every three years.

A few days ago, when she had seen her master, her master knew that her remaining poison had not yet been fully cleared and had also mentioned this flower to her, telling her to look for it in Valley of a Hundred Flowers.

It was just that she had been too busy and had no time at all to go to Valley of a Hundred Flowers to look for Winter Leaf.

So the matter had been left at that.

Qi Xianqing: “These are for me?”

Yan Jue nodded. “Owooo.” Her beautiful amber eyes stared at her.

Qi Xianqing: “Thank you, little fox baby.”

She rubbed the little fox’s fluffy head, then after a pause added, “You’re even more thoughtful than Junior Sister Yan.”

Yan Jue: “...”

Yan Jue was unconvinced. Her four long tails slapped at the desk, and she rubbed her chin against Qi Xianqing’s arm.

Qi Xianqing stroked her head and smiled. “I also prepared something for you.”

Hm? Yan Jue looked over curiously and saw Qi Xianqing slowly take something out of her Qiankun bag.

A black, glossy muzzle, glittering brilliantly in the candlelight.

Yan Jue: “Chi?”

Yan Jue looked at the muzzle, then at Qi Xianqing, gradually realizing what Qi Xianqing wanted to do.

“...”

Yan Jue steeled herself, pretending not to know what it was, and leaned in to sniff it. With a soft pop, Qi Xianqing slipped the muzzle onto her and used her fingertips to hook the strap at the back and fasten it.

Instantly, a cold sensation climbed to the tip of her nose.

Yan Jue immediately felt as though her lifeline had been taken control of by someone.

She lifted a paw and fussed at the muzzle, feeling that the whole fox was deeply uncomfortable; she wanted to open her mouth and cry out, but no sound would come. It was terribly unpleasant.

Qi Xianqing was slightly taken aback.

Yan Jue whined and hummed in confusion, using her paw to claw at it; she lowered her head and huffed around in disorder, only to realize that her entire body was slowly retreating backward. Her hind paws soon stepped onto the edge of the desk, and with one sudden slip she was about to fall off, so frightened that all the fur on her body stood on end.

Qi Xianqing hurriedly caught her. “You don’t like it?”

As if you need to ask. Yan Jue rolled her eyes dramatically, her fluffy body struggling wildly in Qi Xianqing’s arms, clearly not happy at all.

The amber eyes above the black muzzle looked at her with deep resentment.

She didn’t want the muzzle.

Qi Xianqing’s heart softened. She took the muzzle off her. “Fine. If you don’t want it, then you don’t want it.”

With another soft pop, the black muzzle was removed from Yan Jue’s mouth.

Yan Jue instantly felt much better. She looked up at Qi Xianqing, her whole fox body melting limply in the girl’s arms as her whiskers twitched.

As expected, Qi Xianqing’s resolve never lasted more than three seconds.

Qi Xianqing: “You don’t have to wear the muzzle, but you’re not allowed to tear the place apart. If you do, I’ll put it back on.”

The little fox understood nothing; it stared blankly at Qi Xianqing and swished its four fluffy tails.

It nudged the girl’s hand with its head, wanting her to pet it.

Qi Xianqing was helpless; her fingertips absentmindedly scratched the head of the four-tailed spirit fox.

This was happy time belonging to the little fox and Qi Xianqing. The little fox made gurgling sounds in its throat, happily humming.

Then from the doorway over there came a friendly cry.

“Snort snort.”

Yan Jue immediately grew alert and looked over.

A pitch-black little wild boar had appeared at the door at some unknown point.

It was wearing a brand-new cloak woven from withered straw and swaying as it walked over.

After being apart for more than a month, the little wild boar probably still hadn’t taken human form.

But it had grown a whole circle larger; it was already a half-grown boar, and those two snow-white tusks had also grown in, quite pretty.

Yan Jue wrinkled her nose and curled her lips to bare a row of tiny front teeth, giving an unhappy cry: “Owooo—”

The little wild boar abruptly stopped, then immediately flopped onto its back and rolled around.

This could also count as a unique way for spirit beasts to communicate; it was a sign of submission.

Yan Jue did not move for the moment. The little wild boar glanced at her carefully, then slowly trotted to Qi Xianqing’s side, keeping two steps away.

Only then did Yan Jue slowly lie back down in Qi Xianqing’s arms, her narrow eyes still fixed unblinkingly on it.

Her gaze remained wary.

The little wild boar knew that Qi Xianqing belonged to that senior sister.

As long as it approached her, the senior sister would get angry.

So the little wild boar sat properly on the ground, very obedient.

Qi Xianqing patted Yan Jue’s head and stood up. “You two play. I’m going out to water the plants.”

She pinched the little fox’s cheek. “Your injury hasn’t healed yet; don’t play too wildly.”

After Qi Xianqing left the room, Yan Jue jumped down from the chair.

The little wild boar called to her a few times with snorts, circled around her, then dug out a cuju ball from under the table and nudged it back and forth with its nose.

Yan Jue immediately hopped over, snatched the cuju ball away, and kept a cold face, saying nothing: Don’t touch that!

Last time, when she had played with the little wild boar, she had been careless and turned Qi Xianqing’s room into a complete mess, making Qi Xianqing angry.

This time she had to be very careful.

The little wild boar rolled its eyes, then happily ran to the bed and dug out a small wooden box.

Yan Jue rushed over, baring her teeth.

You’re not allowed to touch that either!

The little wild boar was unhappy. It snorted and circled the room; this couldn’t be touched and that couldn’t be touched—what was there left to do?

This feels like your home, doesn’t it?

The little wild boar circled the room once, its long snout rooting on the ground as it sniffed here and there. Then it somehow dug out a piece of wood and lay on the floor chewing it.

Yan Jue had originally been sitting motionless there, but when she saw how happily it was chewing, her big fox ears folded skeptically. She walked over to the little wild boar and suddenly caught a fragrance.

It was a very fresh woody scent, soft and lingering, as though it even carried a hint of post-rain mist.

Yan Jue tilted her head, stunned.

The piece of wood the little pig was chewing on actually smelled this good.

And by the time she came to her senses, she had already started chewing along with the little wild boar.

Anyway, it was just a piece of wood.

It couldn’t possibly be some priceless piece of timber, could it?

Crunch... crunch... crunch...

It also had a pretty good texture; very suitable for grinding the teeth.

For some reason, Yan Jue felt more and more that she had become a little spoiled by indulgence.

Perhaps because Qi Xianqing neither hit her nor scolded her, she was increasingly exposing some of the fox’s more unruly nature in front of her.

...

When Qi Xianqing returned, the little fox had already fallen asleep by the wall.

The little wild boar was long gone.

Only the little fox remained by the wall, its belly bulging, something still clamped in its mouth as it rolled around uncomfortably.

The floor was covered in powder, and even the wall, which had been perfectly fine before, had been gnawed into pits and hollows.

Qi Xianqing: “...”

Qi Xianqing bent down and picked up the piece of wood the little fox had gnawed until only one end remained.

“...”

If she remembered correctly, this was the Northern Sea red ancient wood her master had given her just a few days ago to help her advance in cultivation.

It was worth a fortune, after all.!