Chapter 91: The Elders at Home (Fourth Update)

Xu Yuan also wanted to do something refined, like reading by lamplight at night. But this shop, from owner to clerks, was all coarse and uncouth; upstairs and downstairs, apart from ledgers, not a single sheet of paper could be found.

So Xu Yuan could only activate the "Five Cauldrons Boiling" and begin his cultivation.

The little fox had always been cautious, with a supple rope wrapped around its hind leg—seemingly tied loosely, yet after several secret attempts, it could not untie or break free no matter how hard it tried.

Suddenly, it felt a faint warmth emanating from Xu Yuan.

The little fox instinctively shifted its body closer to Xu Yuan.

The warmth grew stronger and more comfortable, so the little fox moved closer again, and again, and again…

Without realizing it, it had pressed up against Xu Yuan's foot.

Its tiny body felt warm and cozy.

The little fox sighed inwardly: No wonder aunts always liked sleeping curled up with living humans—it really is comfortable.

But before it could enjoy it long, it suddenly felt its neck clamped by a hard, flat clamp.

The little fox panicked, squeaking frantically; Da Fu flicked its head and tossed the fox back to the wall corner.

The little fox was angry, ready to scratch!

But seeing it was this goose, it shrank its neck, teared up pitifully, and dared not challenge Da Fu—even though it hadn't yet taken human form, it already carried that aura of heartbreaking vulnerability.

Xu Yuan had fully refined the hide he obtained from Lao Ba.

The Hide Core could now cover his entire body.

Xu Yuan opened his eyes, trimmed the wick longer, and the oil lamp's glow brightened slightly.

Outside the door, a heavy breathing sound arose—something massive had passed by.

Immediately after, a muffled whisper echoed, as if something was conspiring beneath the wall!

After that, the night fell silent for a while, then the ground trembled all at once.

Again, something strange had slithered through beneath the earth…

Xu Yuan sat by the window, and from outside, his lamplight shadow was clearly visible on the paper window.

Xu Yuan suddenly felt with certainty that something was watching him.

This sensation came from his "Nothing Is Forbidden" destiny, his resistance to occult arts.

Xu Yuan turned his head and peered out through the window slit—his eyelids twitched violently!

On the road outside, dozens of zhang away, dark water rolled silently into a wave over a zhang tall, atop which stood the ghost infant!

The ghost infant was coldly staring at his lamplight shadow on the window paper!

Xu Yuan muttered inwardly: This malevolent spirit really holds a grudge—after I left, hasn't it been coming back every night to check on Zhao's Hide Shop?

Xu Yuan was right.

Not every night, but once every two or three days, it came.

Xu Yuan calmly pulled out his matchlock, loaded gunpowder, then inserted a "Golden Pill."

If this malevolence draws closer, I'll blast it first.

Suddenly, the ghost infant seemed startled by something, standing atop the wave, suddenly turning toward the mountains.

The dark water wave dissolved soundlessly, and the ghost infant vanished with it.

Two yellow-furred foxes bounded out of the mountains, laughing and playing as they tossed a bleached, bare thigh bone like a club back and forth.

Their lithe, supple bodies twisted into impossible poses among rocks and trees.

"Gek gek gek…"

The foxes' laughter in the night sent chills up the spine and made hair stand on end.

The two foxes entered town, avoiding the "gazes" of the door gods painted on gates.

Thus they took an "S"-shaped path, strolling slowly from the main road to the front of Zhao's Hide Shop; one fox stood upright and said to the shadow on the window paper: "Boy, we've come—open the door quickly and let us in."

Xu Yuan's shadow on the window shifted, and his voice came out: "I don't recognize foxes' forms. What if some malevolent spirit is impersonating you in the middle of the night?"

The fox stood on its hind legs, curled its front paws beneath its chin, and adopted a bashful posture: "Oh, it's so late—how could I let you see me naked?"

Xu Yuan paused inside: "Oh, right—you sisters are always naked during the day…"

"Oh hush! My niece is right here…"

Xu Yuan fell silent, but the two foxes bounced twice, sighed wistfully, and said: "Fine—if you want to see, we'll transform for you."

Their tone brimmed with the resentful affection of a wronged lover.

Xu Yuan heard faint movement upstairs—he didn't know which Captain was still awake and, hearing the conversation, wanted to join Xu Young Master for a good look.

But the two foxes noticed too, and began to show off; amid their giggles, red candlelight suddenly flared along the street, like a wedding night's glow.

A mist swirled around the light, thinning and thickening intermittently.

Two girls' figures flickered in and out of the candlelight and mist.

Suddenly a porcelain arm emerged, slipping into a sleeve; then a jade leg flashed by, covered by a skirt; then a glance full of tenderness, then vanished again into the thin mist…

Xu Yuan glanced a few times and recognized them as those two flirtatious foxes.

But the ones upstairs had never seen such a spectacle—their breathing grew noticeably heavier.

Xu Yuan coughed: "Enough, stop this nonsense."

The two girls lost interest, waved their hands, and the candles and mist vanished.

Two pretty girls stood outside the door, fully dressed in robes.

"See clearly now? Open the door!"

But Xu Yuan still refused: "I dare not."

The elder sister grew angry: "You dragged us here by capturing our niece, and now that we've come, you dare not even meet us?"

Xu Yuan said: "I'm not afraid of meeting you—I'm afraid of the one behind you!"

The two girls' faces changed; they clenched their silver teeth and whispered: "This little brat is truly cunning!"

Xu Yuan added, "I opened the door, and the one behind you followed in to kill; I fear not a single soul would be left alive on these floors!"

The two women dared not decide on their own, so they cautiously glanced backward, not daring to look for long.

On the dark street, shadows swayed, and gradually a massive figure emerged.

This street was originally the official road passing through the town, so the road was very wide, about three zhang.

The road surface was paved with bluestone slabs.

This figure almost filled the entire street; with just a slight movement, it would scrape the houses on both sides.

"Grandfather," the two foxes called out cautiously.

This was a huge black fox, its eyes emerald green, like two massive ghost fires in the night, staring down at Xu Yuan from above.

The black fox was currently sitting cross-legged on the street, over five zhang tall!

A huge tail was cushioned beneath its buttocks; its claws moved lightly a few times, easily capable of crushing an ox.

Xu Yuan had never seen a fox this big.

Clearly, the Captain on the upper floor who hadn't slept was not the only one; the moment the huge black fox appeared, it caused a murmur of commotion.

Xu Yuan still remembered that the two foxes, even when cooperating with him, could only fight the group of the Holy Maiden.

That meant the two foxes certainly had not reached the Seventh Grade standard.

With such a standard, they had no qualification to claim a territory in Ghost Wushan, nor the ability to make the Ghost Infant flee at the first sign of danger.

So Xu Yuan kept an extra watchful eye; when the two foxes came running happily, he used "Gaze at Fate" to check.

Sure enough, another one was hidden behind.

After the huge black fox appeared, Xu Yuan dared not open the door any further; he stood up behind the window to show solemnity: "Mr., what is the purpose of your coming?"

(End of this chapter)