Uncertain how much time had passed, Xiao Bangchui suddenly woke up with a start, realizing she had cried herself to sleep.
Her eyes hurt severely, and her throat was dry and scratchy. Rubbing her eyes, she looked around to find that it was getting dark. The warm sunset cast a gentle glow in the courtyard, and the forest was eerily quiet, only the sound of the wind could be heard. At this time of day, if Master wasn’t gambling or drinking, he would have returned by now.
She jumped up and dashed outside, calling out, “Master!”
No one answered her. The small courtyard seemed unusually empty, devoid of the pungent smell of smoke and alcohol, and the irritable old man with white hair was nowhere to be found.
As the sky gradually darkened, silence enveloped her, and Xiao Bangchui felt a strange loneliness, as if it were washing over her like a tide—was she truly going to be alone from now on? If she waited, would Master come back?
Still just a child, her eyes stung again, and she felt the urge to cry.
Xiao Bangchui pinched herself hard, wiping away the useless tears. She refused to cry, not anymore. Just like Master said, she had to treat herself like a man—men didn’t shed tears easily.
Once she calmed down, she read Master’s letter back and forth, growing increasingly uneasy with each read. His tone was vague; he only mentioned having to leave for some reason. But if it were just a trivial matter, Master wouldn’t have bought her clothes or left money, nor would he have written a letter that felt like a farewell.
So, he must have encountered a tremendous disaster, perhaps something life-threatening, and realizing that his chances of survival were slim, he put on a show.
No, she couldn’t just stand there. She had to find Master! But… she didn’t know anything; she hadn’t even learned any spells. Even if she found Master, what could she do?
Suddenly, Xiao Bangchui began to loathe herself. Why wasn’t she as talented as that senior brother who learned everything so quickly? Thinking of her senior brother, she suddenly had a spark of inspiration—Senior Brother! Wu Yue Ting! Since he was so capable, she would go find him! She would find Senior Brother, and together they would save Master!
But where was Wu Yue Ting? After all these years following Master, she had seen quite a bit but had never heard of Wu Yue Ting—was it some secret sect?
Thinking aimlessly here wouldn’t help. Xiao Bangchui carelessly added water and heated up some braised radish, filling her belly. After eating, she seriously washed up, took off the skirt that Master had bought for her, and carefully folded it to put in her green cloth bundle. She put back on her patched-up clothes, which had faded to a point that their colour was unrecognizable, tied her hair up neatly, and transformed back into a tomboy.
Although she didn’t know where Wu Yue Ting was, she would ask for directions and search slowly. First, she would find Senior Brother, then discuss Master’s situation with him.
The mountain forest at night was quiet and eerie, strange sounds occasionally echoed from afar. Thick branches and leaves obscured the moonlight, rendering everything pitch black. Xiao Bangchui hurried along with her bundle, making rustling sounds.
She didn’t know how many times she had walked this path down the mountain with Master. If she walked quickly, she could reach the town by dawn. In the past, when she came down with Master, they always had to find a place to light a fire and rest for the night after dark. Master never allowed them to travel at night. Now that he was gone, she, being small and bold, was delighted to walk the mountain path alone in the night.
After about half an hour, the path suddenly opened up before her. It was a barren cliff that dropped hundreds of feet, resembling a tiger’s mouth. That’s why Master called it Tiger’s Mouth Cliff. The edge was littered with jagged stones, and Xiao Bangchui rummaged around the pile of rocks for a moment before quickly finding a hemp rope as thick as her arm.
Due to the treacherous terrain of this mountain, there were no regular paths. Master and she used to go up and down the mountain through Tiger’s Mouth Cliff. Just a few days ago, the hemp rope had been replaced, and many small copper bells were tied along it. Xiao Bangchui pulled on the rope with all her strength and shook it hard. The sound of bells tinkling echoed from deep below the cliff.
Good, the rope should be fine.
Wiping her sweat, she realized she was a bit tired from walking all night. She looked up at the sky, where a crescent moon hung, estimating that it was around the time of the Ox hour (**Nomad between 1-3 AM). She should be able to reach the town by dawn. After eating some dry food, she found a large rock sheltered from the wind to lean against. Initially, she only intended to rest for a moment, but after eating, she easily felt drowsy. She had never stayed up all night before, and the cool night breeze brushed against her, causing her eyelids to droop uncontrollably.
Uncertain how much time had passed, she suddenly felt warm breaths blowing on her face, hot, almost like they carried a hint of blood.
Xiao Bangchui woke up with a start, her eyes opened to see two beastly, copper-bell-sized eyes staring at her, making her gasp in shock, her whole body stiffening.
A wild beast? No… it was too huge… not a wild beast.
It stood several feet tall, covered in snow-white fur, with four claws planted firmly on the ground, its claws sharp as blades the thickness of a human leg. Behind it, nine long tails swayed in a spectacular display. It was looking down at her, its pupils a ghastly green, and its ears perked up high—was it a fox? A giant fox demon?
Its ghastly green eyes stared intently at her. After a moment, Xiao Bangchui watched in astonishment as its massive head leaned closer—was it going to eat her?! She stiffened and tried to shrink back, but her back was already pressed tightly against the stone, leaving her nowhere to retreat. It lowered its head, sniffing her, its intelligent eyes once again fixated on her.
Xiao Bangchui felt as if it softly groaned. At that moment, she noticed that its snowy fur was stained with blood, and a large wound seemed to be on its front leg, blood streaming down in thick clots. Had it been chased?
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, when suddenly a sharp wind howled from across the cliff, like thousands of bamboo flutes blowing at once. The fox demon’s eyes showed a hint of anxiety. It groaned again, looking at Xiao Bangchui in desperation.
“I…” she managed to utter a word, but that piercing, bamboo-flute-like sound came rushing in an instant, everything happening in a flash. Several dark figures dashed up the cliff at lightning speed, followed by a flash of sword light, and someone shouted loudly, “Stop!”
The sharp sword light halted just two inches from Xiao Bangchui’s forehead, and the piercing sound like bamboo flutes was emitted from the dazzling sword. She held her breath, feeling a tickle on her nose as a few strands of hair were cut off by the sword wind, silently falling to the ground.
“Is it a person?!” someone shouted.
“It’s a little boy! An ordinary person?!”
“Absurd! How could a mortal be in Qingqiu at this late hour!”
A hand reached out to her effortlessly, lifting her up. In the dim moonlight, Xiao Bangchui could finally see that the person holding her was a middle-aged woman. She wore a long robe of black and white, was quite beautiful, yet her gaze was sharp and assessing as she examined Xiao Bangchui with uncertainty.
Behind the middle-aged woman, two long swords hovered in the air, their blades shining brilliantly like cold stars—just moments ago, they had nearly severed Xiao Bangchui’s head.
“…Whose child are you? What are you doing up in the mountains at this hour?” The middle-aged woman asked, her tone softening.
Xiao Bangchui remained silent, quietly assessing the people before her: one woman and three men, all dressed in flowing robes, exuding an otherworldly air, surrounded by divine weapons. The old man with the grey beard was even standing on a large gourd, several feet off the ground, balancing quite steadily.
Who were they? Could they fly? Were they immortals? She had lived in the mountains with Master and had never seen outsiders; the only way up and down was through Tiger’s Mouth Cliff. It was a perilous path, and aside from the two of them, no one else could come or go from there. But could they have flown up?
Her gaze shifted to the large pool of blood on the ground, presumably left by that fox demon. But where had it gone? Had it vanished in the blink of an eye?
“Is this child scared silly? Why isn’t he speaking?” The middle-aged woman waved her hand in front of her. “Did you see the monster? Can you tell us where it went?”
Xiao Bangchui hesitated. Should she say something? She remembered the pleading look in the fox demon’s eyes. Did demons have feelings too? Was it pleading with her? Looking at the people before her, were they hunting that fox demon?
“I’ll ask.”
A young man in white stepped forward slowly, bending down to stare into her eyes. She felt as if his gaze was as cold as ice, causing her to tremble. He asked softly, “Little brother, did you see a giant white fox demon?”
His voice was colder than his gaze, reminiscent of an underground spring at the depths of hell. At the sound of it, she shivered all over, and an uncontrollable desire to obey him and reveal everything surged within her. Suddenly alert, Xiao Bangchui watched him warily, retreating a step, unwilling to speak.
“Zhen Yunzi, he’s just an ordinary boy; why must you use the ‘Tianyin Language Spirit Technique’ on him?” The middle-aged woman frowned, clearly dissatisfied.
Zhen Yunzi smiled faintly. “Long Jingyuan, you overestimate it. I just thought we have been chasing that vile fox demon for several months, and it seemed we were close to capturing it in Qingqiu, when suddenly this strange child appeared. Now that the fox demon has lost its trace, I must be cautious.”
Long Jingyuan was momentarily speechless, turning to sigh, “Mr. Zhou, Master Dongyang, the fox demon is extremely cunning; it must have fled far away. What should we do now?”
The two behind him also sighed repeatedly. Zhen Yunzi said, “Let’s ask this child first.”
He crouched down, looking steadily at Xiao Bangchui. “Why are you here?”
Again, that overwhelming urge to submit to him grew stronger, and Xiao Bangchui pressed her lips together, wanting to escape… but they could fly. They must possess great abilities, and even if Master were here, he probably wouldn’t be able to help her escape.
“A child this small must be terrified. Zhen Yunzi, let him take his time.”
Long Jingyuan recalled how her flying sword had almost severed this child’s head, and it was no wonder the child couldn’t speak. She felt a bit guilty and squatted down in front of Xiao Bangchui, softening her voice, gently saying, “Little brother, don’t be afraid. Did you see the monster?”
Xiao Bangchui stared at her, suddenly bursting into tears, crying out loud. Long Jingyuan was taken aback, surprised as the child clutched her arms and began to wail, repeatedly saying, “There’s a monster.” Seeing the snot and tears sticking to her sleeve, forming a wet patch, Long Jingyuan frowned. But since the child was just a little one, she couldn’t do anything but silently endure until the child finished crying.
Xiao Bangchui intended to cry for half an hour. She had no good feelings towards these people; that woman had nearly killed her without hesitation, and they didn’t even apologize, instead looking down at her as if they were interrogating her. The others just stood by and watched. She would rather help that fox demon; at least it had once looked at her with pleading eyes.
Just as she was about to continue her wailing, the cold-eyed Zhen Yunzi approached and gently patted her head. His palm felt as cold as ice, and she felt a chilling sensation creeping in from the top of her head. Suddenly, she heard his voice, as cold as an underground spring, saying, “No more crying.”
That chill began to envelop her whole body. Xiao Bangchui shivered involuntarily, and her cries stopped immediately.
“Zhen Yunzi,” the old man standing on the gourd suddenly spoke, his tone gentle, “He’s just an ordinary child; please don’t get angry.” Before his words faded, a hand gently pulled Xiao Bangchui away, and the piercing coldness instantly disappeared.
**Nomad: Sorry, I was sick for a while and haven’t been posting new chapters. Only the ones I had scheduled were posted. I will try to get back on track, but please bear with me in the meantime. Thank you.
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