Chapter 115: Climbing the Clan Register (Fifth Geng—Requesting Monthly Votes!)

The fox sisters chased after him and, seeing the old fox, bowed deeply: “Grandfather.”

The old fox gave a slight nod: “You may go. I’ll handle this.”

The fox sisters dared not speak further and returned obediently to Plum Pool below.

Xu Yuan continued: “That night, you put on a fine performance with the two sisters in town.”

The old fox’s eyes glowed green as he stared intently at Xu Yuan.

“You must have guessed then why I sought out the sisters. You and they put on a show of deep familial affection—but in truth, you had already decided to intervene.”

That night, the fox sisters’ behavior had been utterly inconsistent.

They had clearly been terrified of the old fox, yet later pretended to be affectionate in front of him.

Xu Yuan had suspected something even then.

The old fox nodded: “You’re a clever lad. Then guess again—why did I intervene in this matter?”

“Because you don’t want the evil spirits in the mountains to collude with people outside!”

From a human perspective, colluding with evil spirits is a grave sin.

Yet from the perspective of the evil spirits, colluding with the living is no different.

The old fox let out a dry chuckle and tossed his wine gourd toward Xu Yuan: “Return the Mountain Lord Stele. You’ve no real use for it anyway.”

Xu Yuan caught the wine gourd, pulled the stopper, and sniffed—a sharp, pungent alcohol scent mixed with sweet, metallic blood surged into his nostrils.

Xu Yuan frowned. The old fox’s expression had turned hostile: “You accuse me of unfair conduct, tricking you into helping kill the Sea Mouth Toad, and claim my aid doesn’t match your efforts.

Now I’ve given you extra compensation—still dare to be greedy?”

Xu Yuan smirked. This old devil changed moods fast.

Since the Mountain Lord Stele truly held no use for him, Xu Yuan returned it.

The old fox rose, like an ancient Daoist hermit drifting through the mountains, and vanished in a few graceful steps.

Only his voice lingered in Xu Yuan’s ears: “Boy, guess again—who ordered me to prevent the mountain’s evil spirits from colluding with the living?”

Xu Yuan was stunned. The old fox had someone behind him… or was it an evil spirit?

His first thought was “Ruan Tianye,” but he dismissed it immediately—this one had no need to act so covertly.

When Qin Gaoming reached Guanghuo Street, he could simply kill him to make his stance clear.

Even when She Ganzi came to negotiate, he could have simply refused to meet Qin Gaoming.

“Then… is it one of the others on Guanghuo Street?”

Xu Yuan couldn’t be sure.

This Ghost Wushan was tangled and deep—deeper than he’d imagined.

Fu Jingyu and the other three, seeing Xu Yuan speak with the old fox, dared not approach and waited at a distance.

Only after the old fox left did they come forward, finding Xu Yuan standing there in thought, and called out: “Xu?”

Xu Yuan snapped back to himself and smiled at the three: “Let’s head back.”

…

The fox sisters waited obediently inside the hollow of the old plum tree.

The two little foxes were lively and restless.

But the moment one’s tail twitched, her sister kicked her and scolded: “Behave!”

The little tail drooped dejectedly. Then the old plum tree creaked open, and the old fox walked in, hands behind his back.

“Grandfather!”

“Great-Grandfather!”

All four foxes pressed their front paws to their foreheads and knelt in greeting.

The old fox raised a paw as if human, saying: “Rise. You’ve done well. Train hard. In three years, I’ll take you back to our ancestral land and enroll your names in the clan register.”

“Thank you, Grandfather’s grace!” The fox sisters rejoiced and bowed again.

The old fox grunted: “Among the descendants from our ancestral land, you two are the least worthy—always playing around. Yet somehow, you’ve benefited from that little brat and will be the first to return and be enrolled…”

The tails that had just been proudly raised now drooped listlessly.

…

Xu Yuan and the others moved quickly. An hour remained before dusk when they returned to town.

The Captains waiting at the Zhao Family Leather Shop, seeing them all return unharmed, sighed with relief.

“Your Excellencies have worked hard!”

“Any progress on the case?”

Yan Lao’s single sentence thrilled them all: “The case is solved!”

Everyone cheered: “This is all thanks to your Excellencies!”

Yan Lao waved his hand: “Mainly thanks to Xiao Xu.”

The Captains bowed in gratitude: “Thank you, Master Xu. When we return to the city, we’ll treat you—please don’t refuse.”

Xu Yuan waved off: “No need—”

The Captains chose one to speak: “Master Xu, don’t misunderstand. Before you returned, we’d already decided this. Alas… we were foolish and shallow before. We’re truly ashamed. We only ask for a chance to show our gratitude.”

Xu Yuan could no longer refuse: “Very well.”

Xu Yuan grabbed the Captain: “There’s another urgent matter—move at once and arrest everyone from the Lin Family Sugar House!”

“Yes, sir!”

A group of Captains stormed out like wolves—this time, Xu Yuan and the others didn’t follow.

The Lin Family Sugar House held only a few people; the Captains could handle it without them.

In just twenty minutes, the Captains returned with their prisoners.

Fu Jingyu and Yan Lao handled the interrogation, but Lin Qi knew little—no key testimony emerged. They were locked up for now, to be transported back to the city tomorrow.

After bringing the prisoners in, the Captains hurried to prepare dinner.

These rough men, always on duty away from home, had what kind of cooking skills?

Just enough to fill their bellies.

Xu Yuan’s appetite stirred: “Let’s go eat at Xi Yazi’s Restaurant. Hurry—we’ll be back before dark.”

He added: “Fu Daxiong pays—obviously he’s the richest.”

These people had no idea how fortunate they were to have a wealthy young master as a friend.

Fu Jingyu was still interrogating Lin Qi, so the others laughed: “Master Xu decides.”

When Fu Jingyu emerged after the interrogation and heard, he didn’t understand why he was being treated—but nodded: “Fine.”

They all stepped out. Xu Yuan went across the street and bought another jar of the best wine, then told Ah Guang about the possible establishment of a public office and asked him to help deliver goods to Wangxiang Village.

Of course, not for free—the Purification Office would pay.

Ah Guang readily agreed.

At the restaurant on the town’s western edge, Xi Yazi saw the crowd and beamed: “Ah Yuan! I’ll ask the Proprietor to send you two extra dishes.”

Xu Yuan murmured: “You really know how to run a business.”

Xu Yuan ordered the dishes. Fu Jingyu paid upfront—they’d leave right after eating to save time, since dusk was near.

While waiting for the food, Xu Yuan suddenly remembered: “There’s one more person in town who needs questioning—Yang the Widow, at the southern end of the street. She had the most contact with Zheng Rongkui—he stayed at her place this time.”

Xu Yuan looked at Fu Daxiong: “If anyone knows the Soul-Seeking Method, it’s you.”

Fu Jingyu, hearing it was official business, stood immediately: “I’ll go now.”

Just as the food arrived, he left with two Captains.

Another five-geng explosion!

This time, asking for monthly votes feels more confident.

The Ghost Wushan arc is temporarily over, but its secrets are only the tip of the iceberg—more revelations lie ahead.

Many settings remain unexplained: why Lin Wanmo changed from disciple to second wife, the standards for each level of the Seven Gates, the inner workings of Shanhe Office, the truth behind the Imperial Ming’s extended life—none of this is rushed. We’ll unfold it calmly.



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(End of Chapter)