So he wasn’t asleep? Xiao Bang Chui sat beside him, while Ji Tongzhou was snoring sweetly nearby. She whispered, “What do you want to ask?”
“Um… where are you from?” Lei Xiuyuan asked timidly.
Xiao Bang Chui shook her head. “I don’t know. I’ve always been with my master. We lived on a mountain called Qingqiu.”
Come to think of it, she had only heard the name Qingqiu from Daoist Dongyang.
“…Qingqiu?” Lei Xiuyuan was visibly stunned for a moment. If he remembered correctly, wasn’t that a forbidden land overrun by demons and monsters?
“Yes, and don’t ask me my surname. I don’t know that either.”
“What about your father and mother? Did they abandon you?”
“…I don’t know.”
Seeing her downcast expression, Lei Xiuyuan immediately regretted his words and hurriedly said, “I was just asking… Big Sis, how old are you?”
“Ten years old.”
“Ah…” Lei Xiuyuan seemed very surprised. “So you’re younger than me. I shouldn’t call you Big Sis then.”
How could she possibly be younger than him? Xiao Bang Chui glared at him. This child was thin and short, looking no more than seven or eight years old. Younger than him?!
Lei Xiuyuan, for once, seemed a bit proud: “I’m eleven, older than you.”
How had he been living all these years to look only seven or eight at eleven? Xiao Bang Chui continued to stare at him suspiciously.
He pulled out the initial selection letter from his pocket and unfolded it. Sure enough, it read “Lei Xiuyuan, age eleven.”
“I’m only a bit better off than you. I used to have a father, mother, brothers, and sisters. Later, they were all killed, leaving only me.” Lei Xiuyuan’s eyes reddened slightly. He suddenly asked, “Have you heard of the Kingdom of Gaul?”
The Kingdom of Gaul sounded familiar. When she was five or six, her master had taken her there once. She only had some vague impressions, but the scenes there seemed extremely brutal and cruel.
“I’m from the Kingdom of Gaul. And if I’m not mistaken, Ye Ye and the Baili sisters should also be from Gaul. Although their accents have become almost indistinguishable, I know the surname Baili was once nobility in Gaul.”
Xiao Bang Chui nodded slightly. No wonder the surname “Baili” sounded familiar. The Gelin sisters carried themselves differently from ordinary girls, so they were indeed former nobility.
“The Kingdom of Gaul no longer exists. It was annexed by the neighboring country of Wugou four years ago. Although the people of Gaul resisted to the death, the other side had Immortals overseeing them… As Ye Ye said before, the more royal the family, the more they need to cultivate. The Kingdom of Gaul fell precisely because there were no Immortals in the royal family. Mortals, even if they resist death, are as helpless as leaves in a gale before Immortals. The entire royal family of Gaul died on the battlefield. Wugou tried to subdue the officials and commoners with tyranny and heavy taxes. Anyone who disobeyed was killed without mercy. My father was once a Vice Minister of Rites in the court. Because he wrote a poem mocking the government while drunk, our entire family was executed. Everyone in the family over seven years old, regardless of gender, was beheaded in public… I was already eight at the time, but the official in charge of the execution took pity on me as the youngest child in the family. He reduced my age by a year to spare my life… On the day of the execution, I hid in the crowd and watched as my parents, my sisters, my brothers… they all died… Since then, I’ve been wandering alone until I met Big Brother Lu… But Big Brother Lu was also killed, I…”
Lei Xiuyuan’s tears fell into the campfire. He was trembling all over, quickly rubbing his eyes as if trying to push the tears back in.
“It’s good that I met you all,” he forced a smile. “Big Sis, you’re always taking care of me. I’m useless. If I were alone, I don’t know if I could pass the second selection successfully.”
“We still don’t know if we can pass the second selection successfully,” Xiao Bang Chui poked at the fire with a tree branch. “I haven’t taken care of you. Don’t say that.”
Both children fell silent. The forest was quiet, with only the faint “crackling” of the fire.
After what seemed like a long time, long enough for Xiao Bang Chui to almost fall asleep, suddenly, a series of mournful, wailing howls came from the distance. It sounded like birds, yet also like a group of women wailing. The birds in the forest suddenly took flight in a great flurry, covering the sky. The pervasive miasma began to ripple like water, wave after wave.
Xiao Bang Chui immediately dropped the branch. Ji Tongzhou, who had been sound asleep beside her, was also awakened and mumbled, “What’s that sound?”
Xiao Bang Chui put her finger to her lips, signaling for silence. She tilted her head, concentrating on listening carefully. The sound was coming from due east, the wailing howls intermittent, seemingly mixed with other human voices. The wind blowing from the east gradually grew stronger, causing the hair and clothes of the three to flutter.
“Let’s go check it out.” She quickly extinguished the fire, and the three moved in unison, sprinting towards the source of the sound.
As they ran forward, the trees gradually became sparser, and finally, there were clear paths in the forest. Xiao Bang Chui’s heart leaped with joy: a path meant they were close to leaving the forest!
There was a steep turn ahead on the small path. As soon as the three rounded the corner, they were stunned by the scene before them. In the dim forest stood a huge, snow-white fox demon, its nine long tails swaying and changing in the air, beautiful to the extreme, yet also terrifying to the extreme. It was howling to the sky, its cries sorrowful and plaintive. Around it, in three or four groups, were about a hundred children. Some were shouting chaotically, while others were methodically attacking with talismans.
“It’s so big! And it’s a nine-tailed fox demon!” Ji Tongzhou’s tone changed. “The legendary nine-tailed fox demon!”
Xiao Bang Chui, however, felt a different kind of shock. This fox demon looked similar to the one she had seen that night! Only its size was somewhat smaller. Was it the same one?
Suddenly, a cold laugh sounded in her ear, a hoarse voice, filled with disdain and annoyance.
“…Old Sir?” she called out softly.
This mysterious old man finally responded to her: “This is merely a counterfeit, not a real demon. Hmph…”
“How do you know it’s a counterfeit?” she quickly asked.
No one answered her. He had once again fallen into endless silence.
“Hey, you over there! Still just standing and watching?!” Several children busy using talismans to fight the fox demon shouted angrily at them, “Come and help quickly!”
Ji Tongzhou was the first to rush over. He already had a fire talisman pinched between his fingers. A fierce flame rose, drawing a bright line in the air, fast as a shooting star, and stuck to the belly of the nine-tailed fox demon. The flame expanded, burning a large patch of its snow-white fur.
“That’s amazing!” Various exclamations of surprise and admiration rose around them. Ji Tongzhou stood proudly, looking invincible. He had finally regained some of his dignity.
“Big Sis? Aren’t you going over?” Lei Xiuyuan saw Xiao Bang Chui standing in a daze, causing several people to glare at her angrily. He quickly tugged at her.
Xiao Bang Chui smiled bitterly. To be honest, she didn’t know how to use talismans at all. Although she had learned that strange breathing technique, she still didn’t know what it felt like for spiritual energy to enter the body. Talismans needed to be activated with internal spiritual energy; simply throwing them out wouldn’t have any effect.
She slowly pulled out a talisman from her bundle and tentatively threw one. The paper floated softly to the ground, without any force at all. The other children immediately gave her looks of disdain.
“Big Sis, that’s not how you throw it,” Lei Xiuyuan, seeing her being looked down upon, was more anxious than anyone. “First, hold the talisman in your hand and imagine it’s part of you. Only when the spiritual energy has filled the talisman can you throw it out.”
If it were as simple as he said, she would have mastered it long ago.
“Don’t rush, take it slow. I’ll go help first.” Lei Xiuyuan, guessing she didn’t want others to see her useless side, considerately walked away.
No matter how slow she went, it wouldn’t help… Standing on the sidelines watching wasn’t her style. Xiao Bang Chui picked up many stones and threw them one after another at the fox demon’s eyes. But each stone was deflected three feet from its body, not a single one hitting the target.
“What are you doing?!” A girl nearby finally couldn’t bear it anymore. “How can someone think of hurting a demon with stones? Are you deliberately slacking off?!”
“Shut up,” Xiao Bang Chui glared at her. “You’re just standing here doing nothing too.”
The girl angrily retorted, “That’s because I’ve used up all my talismans!”
“Then be quiet.”
Xiao Bang Chui couldn’t be bothered to say more to her. From earlier, she had felt something strange. No matter how the others attacked the fox demon with talismans, it remained standing in place, neither moving nor attacking people, only making various terrifying shrieks and swaying its tails—could it be that it couldn’t move? The old man said it was a counterfeit, not a real demon. It must have been specially prepared by the Fledgling Phoenix Academy for everyone to practice on, to test the children’s ability to respond to unexpected situations.
If she hadn’t guessed wrong, only by defeating this fox demon could they truly pass the second selection.
Lei Xiuyuan had somehow run to the back of the fox demon. These children seemed to have discussed some tactics. Suddenly, forty or fifty people simultaneously threw water talismans. The water waves turned into layers of ice, quickly freezing the fox demon’s four paws to the ground.
Clever! Xiao Bang Chui inwardly praised. But this ice couldn’t trap the fox demon for long. As it struggled, large patches of ice began to crack within a few moments. At the same time, countless talismans were thrown together. Some turned into flames, some into lightning, some into sharp golden light, and some into dazzling cold light. The talismans were all hurled at the fox demon’s body. For a moment, thunder roared and lightning flashed, even the ground trembled. Thick water mist, fire, and black smoke burst open instantly. Xiao Bang Chui quickly covered her nose and mouth and crouched to the ground.
After a moment, the mist and smoke gradually dispersed. The fox demon’s snow-white fur had been so badly damaged that its original color was no longer visible. Its huge body lay on the ground, its state unknown.
“We did it!” Someone shouted, and the children immediately burst into cheers. That crybaby Lei Xiuyuan was so excited that he cried again. Ji Tongzhou stood with his arms folded, smiling smugly. He turned back to see Xiao Bang Chui standing in a daze and felt he could finally hold his head high.
“Do you know what real strength is?” He had completely forgotten about Xiao Bang Chui beating him black and blue. Her fierce and vicious impression had also changed to that of a useless fool. “Haha! I saw it all. Trying to hit a demon with stones? If you don’t have the ability, you should go home early!”
Xiao Bang Chui cracked her fingers with a series of pops, and Ji Tongzhou immediately turned and walked away.
“Look! There’s a door over there!” Someone shouted again. Indeed, at the end of the small path, a shimmering golden door had appeared out of thin air. Xiao Bang Chui couldn’t help but feel excited—passing through the forest before noon would count as passing the second selection. As long as she went through that door, she could enter the Fledgling Phoenix Academy!
Many children had already rushed impatiently towards the door. However, those at the very front were unexpectedly bounced back and fell to the ground one by one, as if they had suddenly fainted. The people following immediately stopped in their tracks and looked at each other in bewilderment—why couldn’t they go out?
Suddenly, the fox demon on the ground, which should have been dead, stood up silently. Under the terrified gaze of the children, it howled to the sky. Xiao Bang Chui felt as if its voice had a tangible presence, like a giant hand squeezing her heart, making it hard to breathe.
A wild wind swept up, carrying sand and stones, blinding everyone’s eyes. She quickly closed her eyes, hearing cries of pain and shouts of surprise unceasing around her. Lei Xiuyuan seemed to be calling her, but his voice was as if from thousands of miles away, vague and indistinct.
After a long while, the wind suddenly stopped. Xiao Bang Chui slowly opened her eyes. Almost no children around could still stand. The vast majority had fainted on the ground, with only a few kneeling, seemingly still conscious.
“…Big Sis…” Lei Xiuyuan’s weak voice sounded nearby. He was crouching on the ground, his face pale, looking very pained. “Demon… such strong demon energy!”
Demon energy? Xiao Bang Chui was confused. What demon energy? Why couldn’t she feel anything?
Turning her gaze, she saw that Ji Tongzhou was also pale-faced, seemingly enduring some extremely painful pressure. However, his condition was slightly better than the others; he was managing to stand.
Those who were awake all had desperate expressions. The huge fox demon they thought they had subdued was standing in its original place again, its nine long tails changing and swaying, motionless like before. The difference was that this time it seemed to have released very powerful demon energy, causing children who couldn’t resist to faint.
And it seemed… the only person who could move freely and feel nothing was herself. Xiao Bang Chui couldn’t understand the reason for this at the moment.
What should she do next? If they didn’t truly defeat it, they couldn’t go through the door. But what could she do? Ordinary stones couldn’t hit the demon, and she didn’t know how to use talismans. Should she just stand here staring at it?
Suddenly, that hoarse voice sounded in her ear: “Hmph, stealing my things and daring to use them here… Well, even if it’s less than a thousandth, it can still be of some use. Little girl, walk forward, go to its front!”
There it was again, that mysterious old man. Xiao Bang Chui began to wonder if she had been possessed by some powerful old ghost. Why could only she hear his voice?
“What are you dazed about? You fool! Why do I have to say everything twice when talking to you!” The old man was angry.
“I can’t see you. Who are you?” Xiao Bang Chui asked softly.
“That’s not for you to know. Want to pass the second selection? Then hurry over there! Otherwise, I’m going back to sleep!”
Right, she needed to pass the second selection.
Xiao Bang Chui immediately stepped towards the fierce fox demon. Lei Xiuyuan cried out in alarm: “Big Sis! Don’t go over there! It’s dangerous!”
She seemed not to hear him. Standing under the fox demon, she looked up at it. Her lips moved, either speaking or chanting something. Soon, she raised her right hand and gently pressed it against the fox demon’s fur—”Pop,” as if something had lightly shattered. The fox demon’s body instantly turned into countless points of light, scattering into pieces. A white paper floated down from mid-air, with symbols drawn on it. It was indeed an artificially created demon form.
The immense demon power pressing on everyone’s bodies vanished in an instant. Lei Xiuyuan scrambled over, his eyes reddening, about to cry.
The next moment, his mouth was covered. Xiao Bang Chui held his chin and said calmly, “Can you not cry?”
Ji Tongzhou had also approached, staring at her as if she were a ghost, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. The few other children who were still awake gathered around, each wanting to say something but unsure how to start. What kind of power was this? Just a touch and the fox demon was subdued? And it had revealed its true form—a white sheet, enchanted to look like a demon. The real danger wasn’t the miasma-filled forest but this fox demon. Reflecting on their hard-fought strategies and the exhaustion of their talismans and spiritual power, all their previous pride and fervor were wiped away with a simple touch from her. They had all come to understand the meaning of the phrase “There’s always someone better, and beyond the heavens, there are even higher heavens.”
After a while, a child finally moved, but no one spoke. They all passed through the shimmering golden door, and this time, no one was bounced back. Ji Tongzhou opened his mouth and after a long pause, finally managed to say, “…I’ll go first.”
Lei Xiuyuan was still rubbing his eyes, but his expression had shifted from shock and concern to fervent admiration.
“Sister, you’re truly the best!” His eyes were shining brightly. “You are a master of disguise! I want to be as amazing as you in the future!”
Amazing? Xiao Bang Chui remained silent. It wasn’t her who was amazing; it was the mysterious person hiding within her—he was the real master of disguise.
“Let’s go too.” She didn’t want to discuss it further. Together, they walked through the door.