Volume One, Chapter Twelve: The Seven-Tailed Demon Fox

By the time they emerged from Yu the Great’s Cave, dawn had already broken. After a brief wash-up, they continued on toward Tianyi Town. Along the way, except for the endless banter and laughter between Yibing and Fatty Girl, the rest of the group was sullen and silent. Attending the Immortal Cultivation Conference had only been a secondary goal; their primary purpose was to seek out a certain treasure. Now, with the treasure in someone else’s hands and themselves empty-handed, everyone felt dejected and disgruntled.

“Senior Brother Mu, if we can’t find your senior brother in Tianyi Town, why don’t you come with us to the Immortal Cultivation Conference?” Fatty Girl piped up out of the blue.

“Um… Let’s see…” To be honest, Yibing himself had no idea where to go if he didn’t find his senior brother.

“Oh…” Fatty Girl’s tone was tinged with disappointment.

By midday, a broad river blocked their path. The water surged rapidly, shrouded in mist that carried an uncanny air.

“Go find a boat so we can cross!” Jin Guishan instructed Qi Yuanxiao, who frowned deeply—he’d been searching for ages but hadn’t seen a single sign of a boat.

Just then, a gentle and alluring singing voice drifted towards them, making Qi Yuanxiao’s limbs go weak. Following the melody, they saw a small boat gliding from the west bank, upon which three women in white danced gracefully.

“Gentlemen, do you wish to cross the river?” called the lead woman as she stood. Her white robes were as sheer as cicada wings, revealing glimpses of snowy skin, lips as red as coral and cheeks as rosy as dawn—she looked like a fairy descended from the heavens.

“S-sit… let’s… sit…” Qi Yuanxiao stammered, his words tumbling out.

“This gentleman?” The lead woman ignored Qi Yuanxiao and gazed directly at Jin Guishan.

“Sit… sit, why should we sit!” Jin Guishan, seasoned in the ways of the world, was momentarily stunned but quickly regained his composure.

“Oh my, so ungracious…” The woman pouted coquettishly before her figure flashed, suddenly appearing before them.

“What manner of demon are you?” Jin Guishan’s words were swift as his sword, stabbing straight for the woman’s face. But his opponent was no ordinary foe; with a sidestep and a flick of her sleeve, she wrapped his sword with ease. “Oh! Such a hasty gentleman,” she whispered, her words half-sigh, half-lure, making the men’s joints turn to jelly.

“That’s right! Such a hasty gentleman!” the two women behind joined in, their laughter seductive as their sleeves danced, filling the air with intoxicating fragrance.

In an instant, everyone except for Fatty Girl and He Lingchi was left dazed and slack-faced, as though their souls had slipped away. Though Fatty Girl and He Lingchi stayed mostly clear-headed, their faces burned with embarrassed blush, and it was all they could do to resist. Fatty Girl, desperate, let out a thunderous shout that echoed to the heavens, immediately snapping Jin Guishan and the others back to their senses.

“Fatty girl!” the lead enchantress, now surrounded, cursed angrily. Now, although their formation was once again the Xuanwu Pattern, with Yibing’s wild presence added, its power was much greater. In truth, the formation was meant for seven people—six as the tortoise, one as the serpent. Because they were short one, when they fought the Azure Dragon earlier, the pattern was incomplete.

“My, such capable gentlemen…” Suddenly, the lead enchantress’s demeanor shifted; she raised her hands, and her gauzy robe transformed into seven rainbow bands arching behind her, while the other two women bore five each. In a blink, they were all left utterly naked. As their bodies swayed in the lascivious, enchanting song, the newly-cleared minds of the men grew dizzy and befuddled again—even Fatty Girl and He Lingchi were flushed and entranced.

“Heh, apologies, gentlemen…” Seizing the moment, the three enchantresses unleashed their rainbows, felling the group with ease. Only Yibing, as the rainbow arced towards his throat, was suddenly yanked flat to the ground by a small hand from behind, narrowly dodging the blow.

“Toot! Which underworld colleague dares obstruct my business?” the lead enchantress cried, leaping into the air.

“Who’s your colleague, you hussy!” A white-clad girl limped over.

“Oh, I’m the hussy? Risking your neck for a chubby boy?” the lead enchantress giggled wickedly.

“So what if I do?” the white-clad girl glared, grave and determined.

“Him? Is he your sweetheart?” The enchantress covered her mouth in mock surprise. “And you call me a hussy!”

“You—!” The girl, face flushed with fury, raised her jade staff and sent a shaft of moonlight shooting forth. The enchantress dodged, but her seven-colored rainbow lost a hue.

“You’re courting death!” the lead enchantress snarled, her silver teeth clenched. With a grasp, a pitch-black fox rod appeared in her hand, exuding a stream of black mist that clashed against the girl’s yellow moonlight. The girl pressed forward, forcing the black mist to retreat. Suddenly, two streams of black mist shot from the sides, forcing her to roll away.

“Heh! Let me show you our Black Fox Rod!” The three enchantresses pointed their rods skyward, merging their black mists into a snarling fox head that lunged at the white-clad girl.

The girl quickly rose, bracing herself, both hands gripping the jade staff as the moonlight doubled in thickness, holding off the fox’s head. Yet the fox was cunning—suddenly, it withdrew and opened wide, swallowing the moonlight whole. As the beam shrank and was finally consumed, a deafening boom sent the girl flying. By chance, she landed right beside Yibing, who still lay there, ogling with drool dribbling from his mouth.

Exasperated, the girl slapped him hard across the face.

“Ow!” The blow was so fierce, Yibing leapt up. Seeing the fox head lunging for the girl, he hastily swung his belt—but all he could think of were women’s thighs, so it transformed into a jade leg that kicked the fox’s snout, shattering it instantly and sending the three enchantresses sprawling three meters away.

“What was that… ah…” gasped one, coughing blood.

“Enough…” the lead enchantress stopped her sisters, swallowing her own blood with effort.

“Elder sister…”

“Pervert!” the girl snapped, seeing Yibing still clutching the jade leg. Only then did he flush and struggle to focus, but the first thing that came to mind was the pot Hong Kun had snatched.

“You—?” The girl’s nose wrinkled in anger.

The lead enchantress, seeing Yibing holding a steaming pot, burst into laughter.

“Hussy, what are you laughing at?” the girl scolded, turning away from the still-naked trio.

“What, did you like what you saw? Chubby boy, wasn’t it beautiful?” the enchantress said, flirting with Yibing.

“Hey!” The girl, furious, raised her staff.

“Oh, jealous now?” The enchantress laughed, dissolving into black smoke and vanishing. From beneath the earth came her teasing voice: “Chubby boy, don’t forget me! Hee hee…”

“Hussy!” The girl stamped her foot in anger.

“Thank you!” Yibing quickly bowed, head hanging with guilt.

“Hmph! You think I wanted to save a scoundrel like you? I wish I could kill you myself!” she retorted.

“By the way, may I ask your name?” Yibing quickly changed the subject.

“What for?!”

“So I’ll know how to address you when we meet again…”

“There won’t be a next time!”

“Oh…” Yibing drooped, defeated.

The girl gave him one last fierce look, then limped away: “I’m called Hanyu…”

“Really?” Yibing looked up, but she’d already vanished.

“Senior Brother Mu, are you alright?” Fatty Girl, just getting up, asked worriedly as Yibing stared after the girl.

“I’m fine! Are you alright?” Yibing quickly helped Fatty Girl and He Lingchi to their feet.

“Hmph! Useless, all of you!” He Lingchi sneered at the sheepish Qi Yuanxiao, who still couldn’t shake thoughts of the enchantresses’ bodies.

“Enough, Junior Sister! It’s enchantress magic, not entirely their fault… Ah, our cultivation is just too shallow…” Jin Guishan felt deeply ashamed; this venture had been a real embarrassment.

“Thanks again, Brother Mu…” Jin Guishan paused, noticing Yibing still holding the pot.

“Oh…” Yibing quickly put it away. “Actually…”

But then he realized: everyone else had been out cold; no one had seen the white-clad girl’s appearance.

“What was it?” Fatty Girl asked, curious.

“It… was just luck. I happened to hit it on the head!” Yibing forced a laugh.

“We haven’t won once on this trip! I say, let’s just skip the Immortal Cultivation Conference and spare ourselves the humiliation!” He Lingchi glared at Yibing, thinking, “Just luck, huh…”

Seeing everyone silent and downcast, Jin Guishan stepped forward: “Don’t lose heart, everyone! Our master sent us for a reason. We must give her an account of ourselves!”

“Exactly! Victory and defeat are routine for warriors!” Fatty Girl said cheerfully.

The immortal fairies had been an illusion, but the boat remained real. Taking the boat the enchantresses had left behind, they quickly crossed the river. Not long after landing, a small town with curling kitchen smoke appeared ahead—none other than the long-awaited Tianyi Town. As soon as they checked into an inn, Yibing rushed out to ask around, with Fatty Girl enthusiastically helping. The two chubby figures rolled around the town, and by noon, everyone knew two fat people were looking for someone.

“Senior Brother Mu, let’s go back for some lunch and keep searching afterward?” Fatty Girl, stomach rumbling, couldn’t help rubbing her belly.

“Mm…” Yibing nodded, disheartened. He truly had no idea what to do next.

As they entered the inn, the proprietor greeted them, curiosity piqued by their sweat and grime. “Gentlemen, what happened to you…?”

“We got separated from our senior brother. We heard he might have come to this town, but we’ve searched all morning and found nothing…” Yibing lowered his head as Fatty Girl explained.

“What’s going on? Lately it’s all ‘searching for senior brother’ and ‘searching for junior brother’!” The innkeeper scratched his head.

“What did you say?” Yibing’s eyes lit up.

“Oh, a couple of young men came two days ago, also looking for someone—a junior brother, a fat one, if I recall…” The innkeeper froze. “Could it be—?”

“Yes! Yes! I’m that fat one! They’re my senior brothers! Where are they now?” Yibing seized the man’s arm urgently.

“Your master’s beard is tied together?” the innkeeper pressed, unconvinced.

“Yes, yes! Four long whiskers!” Yibing gestured eagerly.

“Ah, that’s right! They asked about your master too, but left early yesterday!” The innkeeper, seeing Yibing’s disappointment, pointed north: “I think they headed toward Flat Horse Mountain…”

“Really?!” Yibing turned to rush out, but Fatty Girl tugged him back. “Senior Brother Mu, it’s already late. Let’s rest for the night and set out in the morning!”

“Junior Sister is right! Senior Brother Mu, calm yourself and go tomorrow. We’ll help you look together!” Jin Guishan, who had been ordering food downstairs, hurried over to persuade him.

In the end, it was the arrival of food that changed Yibing’s mind. The dishes were truly delicious, and Yibing’s cheeks nearly soared with joy as he ate. Glancing at the beaming Fatty Girl beside him, Jin Guishan could only smile wryly.