Detoxifying

Yan Jue didn’t know how long she had been unconscious.

When she woke, she was lying in a dim room.

The mattress beneath her was soft, and a censer in the distance sent up wisps of purple smoke.

The last thing Yan Jue remembered was desperately trying to tuck away her tail. The moment it disappeared, Qi Xianqing had walked in with Zhuying in hand, and Zhuying had let out a dragon’s cry and a phoenix’s call as it swept toward Chu Fu.

The two beads stuck to Chu Fu might have been some sort of control artifact. She was already exhausted, unable to withstand the burst of electricity Qi Xianqing brought with her, and then, overwhelmed by fear, she had simply fainted.

After that, she drifted in and out of consciousness and vaguely felt rainwater splashing onto her face.

Who had carried her along the mountain path?

Yan Jue forced her eyes open with great difficulty, her gaze moving before she recognized this as Qi Xianqing’s room in Thunderflame Sect.

Her heart lurched.

...

Yan Jue’s whole body felt like it was on fire, and her lips were slick with saliva.

Forget it.

Qi Xianqing’s room was Qi Xianqing’s room.

In her current state, Yan Jue didn’t have the energy to think carefully about what had happened.

She couldn’t help swallowing, checking herself once more to make sure her tail hadn’t slipped out again. Then she closed her eyes, only to suddenly catch a whiff of an extraordinarily familiar scent.

Qi Xianqing was sitting by the bed, head lowered as she undid Yan Jue’s clothes, her expression grave.

Yan Jue’s neck and throat had flushed a warm peach color, her throat bobbing up and down; it was impossible not to look.

Qi Xianqing also noticed the two copper beads stuck to Yan Jue. They were about the size of pellets, pitch-black all over, with faint traces of gilt visible on their surfaces.

It seemed to be some deeply sinister magical item; it couldn’t even be pulled off.

Yan Jue closed her eyes, her consciousness gradually scattering.

Qi Xianqing’s voice came from above her head. “These two artifacts on you need to be removed.”

Qi Xianqing: “It may hurt a little.”

Yan Jue gave a bitter laugh. She hadn’t expected that on the very day she was supposed to die, it would be Qi Xianqing who pulled her back from the edge.

Yan Jue: “It doesn’t matter.”

She gritted her teeth. Suddenly, her abdomen went cold, followed immediately by a stab of pain.

Qi Xianqing’s icy fingers slipped into her inner robe. With two fingers pressed together, she found the acupoint and struck hard.

Yan Jue’s entire body went numb, and in that instant, the sensation of pain was sealed away.

It felt almost like anesthesia; the strike itself hurt terribly.

When Qi Xianqing went out on missions before and ran into trouble, she often sealed off her own pain without a second thought.

But seeing Yan Jue bite down on her teeth, eyes glistening with moisture, she actually hesitated, rare as that was.

The gilt pellet clung to Yan Jue’s neck like a parasite, tightly attached, dyeing her snow-white skin with an eerie red.

Qi Xianqing drew out Zhuying. Zhuying let out a frightened little whimper. With Qi Xianqing’s left hand pressing Yan Jue down, sword light flashed where the blade passed, like a bolt of lightning.

In the once elegant room, the scent of blood immediately spread, along with a few other faint smells.

Clang—

Yan Jue frowned as the bead fell off her body.

A black mark spread across her skin. Qi Xianqing looked at it, lifted her right hand, and sent a trace of true qi into her fingertips, trying to force the demonic energy out. But the black mark only grew darker.

It was poison.

Qi Xianqing’s gaze dropped to Yan Jue’s flushed profile, and her face darkened slightly.

A charm poison.

Yan Jue barely managed to control her ragged breathing. Suddenly, she felt Qi Xianqing move in close.

The aura of an Immortal Spirit Physique was right in front of her, and Yan Jue’s whole body stiffened at once.

Qi Xianqing’s breath carried a damp warmth as she said softly, “You’ve been poisoned.”

Yan Jue had already sensed something was wrong with her body and could guess the poison with a fair degree of certainty. She frowned slightly, curled up, and leaned against the wall. “Forget it. I can bear it if I just grit my teeth—”

Before she could finish, she suddenly raised a hand to cover her mouth, biting hard into the back of her hand.

A soft, damp sensation spread over her skin. Qi Xianqing was sucking at the wound, and Yan Jue’s eyes rolled back; her whole body went weak, completely unable to move under Qi Xianqing’s suppression.

Her hands clenched the bedsheet, then loosened.

The room had long since been sealed by a barrier Qi Xianqing had set up. Even Bai Ying, who had formed a master-servant bond with Yan Jue, couldn’t get in.

Qi Xianqing’s voice was hoarse, especially soft in the quiet room. “Bear with it.”

Yan Jue: “Mm... mm...”

Then came the pellet at her waist. Since the pain had already been sealed off, Yan Jue didn’t feel much of it. Qi Xianqing helped force all the poison out, checked the wound again, and confirmed that the residual poison outside the skin had been completely drawn out.

Qi Xianqing picked up the bead again and set it on the table.

She hadn’t done it on purpose.

It was just that this charm poison was a rare toxin from Absolved Valley; when one was first infected, desire became impossible to suppress. But if the poison was left untreated, it would seep into the limbs and bones, slowly corroding a cultivator’s spiritual power.

In severe cases, it could even affect future cultivation.

Yan Jue’s face was burning red, all the way to the tips of her ears. She couldn’t force out a single word.

Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might burst out of her chest.

Then her shoulder suddenly sank.

Someone gently covered her with the blanket.

Qi Xianqing’s bedding was very soft. The rain outside was heavy, and Yan Jue, wrapped in the quilt, felt like a tiny baby.

Qi Xianqing sat at the bedside, holding Zhuying, her expression stern as she looked out into the night beyond the window.

The blood on her face had been wiped clean, but her lips remained vividly red, adding an unearthly touch to her features.

If one looked closely, they would see that the tips of her ears were also thoroughly red.

Two hours later, the seal on Yan Jue’s sense of pain gradually lifted.

Pain from the wounds at her waist and neck surged over her all at once.

Yan Jue hissed through her teeth and turned over again and again.

A soft touch fell on her shoulder. Qi Xianqing looked down at her, seeming very patient as she said gently, “There’s no one else here. It’s all right.”

Yan Jue had endured for a long while before she finally started to sniffle in tiny, broken sounds. “It hurts...”

That soft touch settled on her shoulder again, and Qi Xianqing gently patted her.

It made Yan Jue feel very safe, as if she were still a little fox.

After crying for a while, Yan Jue finally felt a little better and drifted off into a groggy sleep.

In the fading consciousness, there was only one thought in her head: Did Qi Xianqing know?

Did Qi Xianqing know?

But it hurt too much for her to keep thinking. Soon, she fell asleep.

-

Deep in the night.

The rain had stopped.

Qi Xianqing left Zhuying to guard Yan Jue, then went out herself.

For cultivators, leaving an immortal sword outside one’s body was extremely dangerous.

Zhuying obediently lay beside Yan Jue, its jade-like blade radiating a cold, snow-clear chill that lowered the girl’s too-high body temperature.

Qi Xianqing stood up and walked out.

She had changed into clean clothes; her long robe was as white as snow, and her black hair was pinned up with a jade hairpin. She went straight to the Mystic Escape Sect residence where Five Dragons Sect Master Mu Zhongzi lived.

The great hall was stern and imposing, carrying a silent air of authority.

“Come in.”

Beside the incense burner stood an old man in a Taoist robe, his beard and hair both white, yet his face still youthful and ruddy.

Immortal bearing shone through him to the fullest.

Five Dragons Sect Master, Mu Zhongzi.

The light was dim, so Mu Zhongzi’s features couldn’t be made out clearly, but one could still feel the terrifying pressure radiating from him.

Qi Xianqing: “Uncle-Master, there is evidence of a demonic cultivator within the sect.”

She held up two small pellets. Under the candlelight, the gilt beads shimmered with a faint, eerie luster.

Mu Zhongzi made a gesture, and the pellets in Qi Xianqing’s palm flew into his hand.

He lowered his head and examined them carefully before saying in a deep voice, “These Nine Yin Poison Pearls must belong to a monster. I already sensed the aura of a beast at Sword-Dance Arena earlier. The world situation has been unstable recently; the demon race has already tilted toward the demonic path. It isn’t strange for monsters to use items from the Demonic Cult.”

“The monster I asked you about today—did you kill it?”

Mu Zhongzi turned back. Though he was old, his gaze was like lightning, naturally carrying a crushing weight.

Qi Xianqing was silent for a long while. “This disciple has already killed it.”

Mu Zhongzi: “What was it?”

Qi Xianqing did not answer immediately. Instead, she pressed her lips together in an uncomfortable way.

“Such hesitation is not your usual way of doing things. What’s wrong with you today?”

Mu Zhongzi said sharply, “Humans and demons are mortal enemies; don’t forget that your family was killed by a monster back then!”

The crushing pressure of a ninth-stage cultivator came pouring down from all sides. Even though Qi Xianqing had an Immortal Spirit Physique, she still felt immense pressure.

Qi Xianqing reached behind her and took out a boar hide, placing it on the floor. “The monster this disciple discovered was a wild boar demon.”

Laid out on the ground was a very beautiful boar pelt, its fur showing faint watermelon-like stripes.

Mu Zhongzi froze. “The demonic aura that had been coiled at Sword-Dance Arena that day was caused by this monster?”

Qi Xianqing: “Yes.”

The air fell into a brief silence.

Mu Zhongzi turned back and said lightly, “All right. Go back. Don’t tell anyone about tonight.”

-

When Yan Jue woke again, it was several days later.

Morning sunlight fell into the room, and the clear, pleasant chirping of birds could faintly be heard outside the window.

Yan Jue still hurt all over. Her mind held only one thought.

She was actually still alive!

Yan Jue opened her heavy eyelids and suddenly noticed something in the corner of the wall.

She moved her shoulder slightly, slowly opened her eyes, and finally saw what it was.

A little girl with fair skin, wearing a cloak woven from dried reeds, was sitting in the corner, head lowered as she fiddled with a wooden object in her hands.

A little familiar.

Yan Jue paused, then shifted her gaze and unexpectedly saw the complicated-looking white fox head beside her.

Yan Jue looked at the little girl and asked in a hoarse voice, “She...?”

Bai Ying: “She’s been here ever since a few days ago; no matter how much we chased her, she wouldn’t leave.”

Yan Jue: “...”

Perhaps sensing that they were talking about her, the girl stood up from the floor and came over.

Yan Jue asked, “Who are you?”

The girl stared at Yan Jue and squeezed out a stiff smile. “Hmph-hmph.”

Yan Jue: “All right.”

Sure enough, it was that little wild boar.

Some time ago, the little boar had successfully taken human form, though she had only transformed into a little girl of five or six.

It was probably because she hadn’t gathered all the needed materials before transforming, which led to this rather unsatisfactory result.

She didn’t seem very smart.

Yan Jue asked, “Why are you here?”

You know that if Qi Xianqing finds out, it’ll be very troublesome.

The girl didn’t say anything. Instead, she put the wooden piece on top of her head and held it there, her lips tightly pressed together, her cheeks red with strain, but she still couldn’t force out a single word.

She probably hadn’t transformed for very long yet, so she still wasn’t good at speaking.

Yan Jue gave up trying to communicate with her and turned to Bai Ying. “Did she find out?”

That “she” naturally referred to Qi Xianqing.

Though she asked the question, Yan Jue felt that she had probably gotten incredibly lucky; Qi Xianqing had not discovered her true identity.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t still be alive and in one piece now.

Bai Ying lifted a paw and pointed at the little girl. “When Master was tangled up with Chu Fu that day, for some reason this thing was also in that room.”

“That day she happened to be transforming, and her demonic aura leaked out all at once.”

“Then Lord Meng Heng just happened to walk in. From the look on her face, she probably mistook this thing for the monster leaking the demonic aura.”

Yes. Yan Jue remembered that day as her tail slipping out, and when Qi Xianqing came in, she had just happened to tuck it back in.

Frowning, Yan Jue lay on the bed and went over everything that had happened that day.

It could be said that everything had gone extremely smoothly.

She had begun preparing for yesterday’s events many days ago.

Going down the mountain to buy pills, learning charm arts from Bai Ying... everything Yan Jue had done was actually to probe the Heavenly Dao’s bottom line.

If her fate was truly fixed, and all she could ever be was the male lead’s opportunity...

Then if she changed her approach and let the male lead grow stronger without harming him, would that work?

It seemed that it would.

The pain that had sometimes gathered in her chest before had actually vanished without a trace ever since that night.

Yan Jue suddenly thought of something and frowned at the little girl. “You can’t tell her that I’m... that thing, understand?”

The girl didn’t know whether she understood or not. She grinned and nodded. “Won’t say.”

All of a sudden, there was a sound of footsteps from outside.

Yan Jue’s heart jolted. She immediately lay back down and pretended to sleep, closing her eyes as she curled herself up, her brows tightly furrowed.

Qi Xianqing entered in a white robe, a black sword hanging on her back.

The girl in the cloak stood up and walked over to Qi Xianqing, gesturing with both hands. “Skin.”

Qi Xianqing: “Sorry. I’ll weave you one in a few days.”

The girl nodded and lay back on the floor to play with a piece of wood.

Qi Xianqing sat down beside Yan Jue and turned her head to look at the girl pretending to sleep on the bed. “Feeling better?”

Caught completely off guard, Yan Jue: “...”

The room fell instantly silent; Qi Xianqing’s question seemed to have been tossed into a corner with no one answering it. Yan Jue had originally wanted to keep pretending to sleep, but suddenly she felt a little unable to bear it.

After a few seconds of silence, Yan Jue sat up expressionlessly, her fingertips unconsciously tightening around her knees. “A little better...”

Qi Xianqing: “Mm.”

Yan Jue looked at Qi Xianqing and couldn’t help letting out a quiet breath of relief.

It seemed Qi Xianqing really hadn’t discovered her.

Thank heavens.

If Qi Xianqing knew she was the little fox, oh heavens—the two of them had even lived together so intimately for so long, and she had even licked Qi Xianqing...

Yan Jue suspected Qi Xianqing might just cut her down on the spot.

Just like she had cut Chu Fu that day.

The wounds at her collarbone and waist still throbbed faintly. Yan Jue had no strength in her body at all, and there was no way she could keep sitting up for long.

Qi Xianqing took a wooden box from her Qiankun bag. When the lid was opened, inside was a thick, pale-purple ointment.

Qi Xianqing dabbed some of the salve onto her fingertips and leaned in to apply it to Yan Jue’s wounds.

A wave of coolness spread through her limbs and bones, turning directly into boundless heat.

Yan Jue’s heart pounded like a drum. She swallowed with difficulty and reached out to brace Qi Xianqing’s shoulder.

Why did she feel like Qi Xianqing was becoming more and more unrestrained with her?

Qi Xianqing held her wrist and gently lowered her hand.

She was serious and focused on applying the medicine, with absolutely no other meaning in it.

Yan Jue lowered her eyes.

Forget it. She was overthinking it.

Qi Xianqing suddenly said, “Explain.”

Yan Jue’s brow jumped. “Explain what?”

Qi Xianqing: “What exactly happened that day? Why was Chu Fu in your room?”

Qi Xianqing considered herself a very rational person.

But that day was the first time she had not figured out what had happened before she struck someone down.

Chu Fu had been stabbed into grievous injury by her, and in that state, he would have a very hard time recovering without top-grade medicinal pills.

Yan Jue: “That day at Sword-Dance Arena, I drank too much. Uncle-Master told me to go back to my room and rest. I had only been back in the room for a little while when Chu Fu came in.”

“What happened after that, you already saw.”

Yan Jue was telling the truth.

When she woke earlier, she discovered that the transmission talisman Qi Xianqing had given her had somehow broken in two.

It must have shattered while she was struggling with Chu Fu; that was why Qi Xianqing had been able to judge her location so quickly and accurately.

Qi Xianqing was silent for a long while before saying coolly, “So only Chu Fu bullied you, is that right?”

Yan Jue paused slightly. After a moment, she finally understood what Qi Xianqing meant.

Qi Xianqing was avenging her.

Yan Jue’s nose suddenly stung.

The white fox beside her also spoke: “And at Sword-Dance Arena, Elder Li made things difficult for Master because Master had taught his son a lesson a few days earlier at Five Dragons Square.”

Qi Xianqing looked at the white fox, her brow moving. “This is...?”

Yan Jue gave an awkward laugh. “A few days ago when I went down the mountain, I happened to take in a spirit beast. This is a spirit beast that formed a master-servant bond with me.”

Beasts in this world really were very unwelcome creatures.

But if a beast formed a master-servant bond with a human cultivator, that was different.

Perhaps this involved the darker side of cultivator nature; they would not feel hostility toward a beast already branded by a human, but if an unbound beast walked among humans, it would invite all kinds of trouble.

Qi Xianqing looked at the white fox, her brows lowered in thought.

Yan Jue’s heart was pounding very fast.

After the room was quiet for a while, Qi Xianqing’s gaze suddenly fell on the little girl beside them.

The girl was still lying on the floor playing with wood, occasionally bursting into foolish giggles. Although she had taken human form, she still retained some of an animal’s habits; that was also a consequence of incomplete transformation.

When Qi Xianqing first came in, the first thing she saw had been Yan Jue and Chu Fu.

Only after that did she notice the half-transformed little wild boar lying on the floor.

During her earlier exchange with Uncle-Master, she had lied to him.

That was also something she had never done before.

Uncle-Master had brought her back to Five Dragons Mountain and was the greatest benefactor of her life. By rights, if she was going to lie to anyone, she should not lie to the Sect Master.

Qi Xianqing looked at the little wild boar for a long while before saying slowly, “She’s a transformed beast, and she can’t stay in Five Dragons Sect under a proper name. I’ll use a Spirit-Slashing Pearl and finish her off now.”

She then took a Spirit-Slashing Pearl from her Qiankun bag.

It had not been used for a long time, and its light was dazzling.

Yan Jue froze; cold sweat broke out all over her body in terror. She quickly sat up and stood in front of the little wild boar. “Senior Sister, don’t... she...”

“She’s actually quite cute.”

Seeing how anxious Yan Jue looked, Qi Xianqing lifted a brow slightly. “In that case, I’ll form a master-servant bond with it and let her become my spirit beast. Then she can live in Five Dragons Sect openly and properly.”

Form a master-servant bond with the little wild boar?!

A master-servant bond was a very intimate contract. Once a beast and a human formed such a bond, the beast would develop a sense of attachment to its master and would have to stay by the master’s side at all times.

It might even protect its master.

Yan Jue somehow found herself absolutely refusing. “No!”

Qi Xianqing lifted her eyes. “Why not?”

Yan Jue: “...”