Xiao Bang Chui suddenly awoke, realizing she had cried herself to sleep.
Her eyes stung, and her throat felt dry and sore. Rubbing her eyes, she looked around. It was nearly dark, with the warm sunset light falling on the courtyard. The woods were quiet, with only the sound of the wind. Usually at this time, if Master wasn’t gambling or drinking, he would have returned.
She jumped up and ran out, calling, “Master!”
There was no answer. The small courtyard now seemed strangely empty, without the pungent smell of tobacco and alcohol, or the moody white-haired old man.
As darkness fell, silence enveloped everything. Xiao Bang Chui felt an unusual loneliness, surrounding her like a tide. Would she be alone from now on? If she waited, would Master return?
Still a child, her eyes stung again, and she wanted to cry.
Xiao Bang Chui pinched herself hard and wiped away the useless tears. She wouldn’t cry, never again. As Master said, she was on her own now and had to treat herself like a man. Men don’t easily shed tears.
After calming down, she read Master’s letter over and over. The more she read, the more suspicious it seemed. His tone was vague, only saying he had to leave for some matter. But if it were an ordinary business, Master wouldn’t have bought her clothes, left money, and such a farewell-like letter.
So, he must have encountered great trouble, perhaps even life-threatening. Knowing his chances of survival were slim, he had made all these preparations.
She couldn’t just sit here; she had to find Master! But… she knew nothing, hadn’t mastered any spells. Even if she found Master, what could she do?
Xiao Bang Chui suddenly hated herself. Why couldn’t she be a prodigy like her Senior Brother, learning everything instantly? Thinking of Senior Brother, she had a sudden inspiration—Senior Brother! Wuyue Palace! Since he was so skilled, she would go find him! Find Senior Brother, then rescue Master together!
But where was Wuyue Palace? In all her years with Master, despite seeing much, she had never heard of Wuyue Palace. Was it some secret sect?
Sitting here thinking wouldn’t help. Xiao Bang Chui hastily reheated the braised radishes and ate her fill. After eating, she carefully washed herself, took off the silk dress Master had bought, folded it neatly into the blue cloth bundle, and put on her old patched clothes of indistinguishable color. She tied up all her hair, once again looking like a boy.
Though she didn’t know where Wuyue Palace was, she would ask for directions along the way. First, find Senior Brother, then discuss Master’s situation with him.
The night forest was quiet and eerie, with occasional strange sounds from afar. Dense branches blocked the moonlight, leaving everything pitch black. Yet, Xiao Bang Chui, carrying her bundle, moved swiftly through the rustling undergrowth.
She had traveled the mountain path with Master countless times. At a quick pace, she could reach town by dawn. Previously, when descending the mountain with Master, they always stopped to rest by a fire at night. Master never allowed night travel. Now that he was gone, this small, brave girl happily walked the mountain path alone in the dead of night.
After half an hour, the path suddenly opened up to a barren cliff, hundreds of zhang deep, shaped like a tiger’s mouth—hence Master called it Tiger’s Mouth Cliff. The cliff edge was strewn with oddly shaped rocks. Xiao Bang Chui searched among them briefly before finding a rope as thick as an arm.
Due to the mountain’s treacherous terrain, there was no ordinary path up. She and Master always used this route at Tiger’s Mouth Cliff. The rope had been replaced recently, with small copper bells tied along its length. Xiao Bang Chui pulled the rope hard and shook it, causing a series of tinkling sounds to echo from the depths below.
Good, the rope seemed fine.
Xiao Bang Chui wiped her sweat. She had walked most of the night and was quite tired. Looking up at the crescent moon, she estimated it was around 1-3 AM. She should reach the town by dawn. After eating some dry food, she sat down against a large windbreak stone, intending to rest briefly. But with a full stomach and never having stayed up all night before, the cool night breeze made her eyelids droop involuntarily.
Sometime later, she suddenly felt hot breath on her face, scorching, with a hint of blood.
Xiao Bang Chui woke with a start. Opening her eyes, she saw two huge, ghastly green eyes the size of copper bells right in front of her. She gasped, her whole body freezing.
A wild beast? No… too huge… not a wild beast.
It stood several zhang tall, covered in long white fur, with four paws on the ground, each claw like a blade as thick as a human leg. Behind it, nine long tails swayed impressively. It lowered its head to look at her, its pupils a sickly green, ears erect—a fox? A giant fox spirit?
Its ghastly green eyes stared at her silently. After a moment, Xiao Bang Chui watched in shock as its massive head moved closer to her—was it going to eat her? She tried to shrink back, but her back was already pressed against the rock, with nowhere to retreat. It lowered its head and sniffed her, its intelligent eyes fixed on her.
Xiao Bang Chui thought she heard it whimper softly. Only then did she notice its snow-white fur was covered in fresh blood, with a particularly large wound on its front leg, blood flowing down in large clots. Was it being hunted?
She opened her mouth to say something, when suddenly a sharp whistling sound arose from across the cliff, like thousands of bamboo flutes blowing at once. A look of urgency flashed in the fox spirit’s eyes. It whimpered again, looking at Xiao Bang Chui pleadingly.
“I—” She only managed one word before the sharp, flute-like sound was upon them. Everything happened in a flash. Several black shadows darted onto the cliff top like lightning, followed by a flash of swordlight. Someone shouted, “Stop!”
The sharp swordlight stopped two inches from Xiao Bang Chui’s forehead. The piercing bamboo flute-like sound was coming from the dazzling sword blade. Her breath stopped, her nose itching as several strands of hair, cut by the sword wind, fell silently.
“A human?!” someone shouted.
“A little boy! An ordinary person?!”
“Absurd! How could there be a mortal in Qingqiu at such a late hour!”
A hand reached out and effortlessly lifted her. In the dim moonlight, Xiao Bang Chui saw that the person holding her was a middle-aged woman. She wore a long robe of dark and light colors, with a beautiful face but a piercing gaze, now looking at her with surprise and suspicion.
Behind the middle-aged woman, two long swords hovered in the air, their blades gleaming like cold stars—the very weapons that had nearly taken her head off moments ago.
“…Whose child are you? Why are you on the mountain so late at night?” the middle-aged woman asked, softening her voice.
Xiao Bang Chui remained silent, quietly observing the people before her. One woman and three men, all in flowing robes with an otherworldly air, surrounded by magical weapons. The white-bearded old man at the back was even standing on a large gourd, several feet off the ground, looking quite stable.
Who were these people? They could fly? Immortals? She and Master had lived on the mountain and never seen outsiders. The only way up and down was through Tiger’s Mouth Cliff, a natural barrier that only she and Master could navigate. But these people could fly—they had flown up?
She looked at the large pool of blood on the ground, surely left by the fox spirit. But where had it gone? Vanished in the blink of an eye?
“Is this child stunned? Why won’t he speak?” The middle-aged woman waved her hand in front of Xiao Bang Chui’s face. “Did you see a monster? Can you tell us which way it went?”
Xiao Bang Chui hesitated. Should she tell them? She remembered the pleading look in the fox spirit’s eyes. Did monsters have hearts too? Was it begging her? Looking at these people, were they hunting the fox spirit?
“Let me ask.”
A young man in white robes slowly stepped forward, bending down to look into her eyes. She felt his eyes were as cold as ice, making her shiver. He spoke softly, “Little brother, did you see a huge white fox spirit just now?”
His voice was even colder than his gaze, like the icy springs of the nineteenth level underground. Upon hearing it, one couldn’t help but shudder, feeling an involuntary urge to obey him and tell everything. Xiao Bang Chui was startled, looking at him warily and taking a small step back, still refusing to speak.
“Master Zhen Yun, he’s just an ordinary mortal boy. Why use the ‘Celestial Sound Spirit Technique’ on him?” The middle-aged woman frowned, looking quite displeased.
Zhen Yun smiled faintly, “Immortal Long Jing, you exaggerate. I merely thought that we few had been chasing this vicious fox spirit for months, nearly subduing it in Qingqiu, when suddenly this strange child appeared and the fox spirit vanished. I can’t help but be cautious.”
Immortal Long Jing was momentarily speechless. She turned back and sighed, “Master Zhou, True Person Dongyang, the fox spirit is extremely cunning and has likely fled far away. What should we do?”
The two men behind her also sighed. Zhen Yun said calmly, “Let’s ask this child first.”
He crouched down, staring at Xiao Bang Chui, and said softly, “Why are you here?”
Again, that feeling of wanting to obey him grew stronger, beyond her control. Xiao Bang Chui pressed her lips tightly together. She wanted to run… but they could fly and were surely very powerful. Even if Master were here, they probably couldn’t escape.
“Such a young child, he must be frightened and speechless. Master Zhen Yun, let him calm down a bit.”
Immortal Long Jing remembered that her flying sword had nearly taken the child’s head off earlier, no wonder he couldn’t speak now. Feeling somewhat guilty, she crouched in front of Xiao Bang Chui and softened her voice, “Little brother, don’t be afraid. Did you see a monster?”
Xiao Bang Chui stared at her, then suddenly burst into loud wails. Immortal Long Jing was startled as the child hugged her arm and began crying loudly, repeatedly saying “There’s a monster!” She frowned as she saw her sleeve becoming soaked with tears and mucus, but since it was a child, she couldn’t do much and could only silently endure until the crying stopped.
Xiao Bang Chui planned to cry for half an hour. She had no fondness for these people. The woman had nearly killed her with her first move, and they didn’t even apologize, just questioning her condescendingly while the others just watched. She would rather help the fox spirit; at least it had looked at her pleadingly.
However, she had barely started wailing when the cold-eyed Zhen Yun came over and lightly touched her head. His palm was ice-cold, and she felt as if a cold energy was seeping into her head. Then she heard his voice, like an icy spring: “Stop crying.”
The cold sensation gradually moved down, as if enveloping her entire body. Xiao Bang Chui shuddered, and her fake crying stopped immediately.
“Master Zhen Yun,” the old man standing on the gourd suddenly spoke, his voice gentle, “He’s just a mortal child. Please don’t be angry.”
Before he finished speaking, a hand gently pulled Xiao Bang Chui away, and the bone-chilling sensation instantly disappeared.