Chapter 15: “Your Little Lover is in My Hands!”

Shen Tuo recounted everything that had happened after he descended the mountain.

He had secretly followed Luo Qi and Lin Chao down the mountain to see if they were once again heading to Zhuangan Village and whom they intended to meet.

Unexpectedly, the two began arguing while still on the mountainside.

Luo Qi complained as he walked, cursing Feng Jin one moment, Yan Zhao the next, and blaming Lin Chao for holding him back. He even cursed the eighteen generations of ancestors of the person who sold him false information.

Lin Chao couldn’t bear to listen any longer and snapped back, “You were the one who insisted on coming up the mountain to seek treasure, and you abandoned me and ran the moment things went south!”

Luo Qi exploded upon hearing this, “Nice guys finish last! If I hadn’t gone back to save you, would I have been caught by that female bandit leader?!”

Usually within the sect, Lin Chao was wary of the Grand Elder supporting Luo Qi and dared not act out. But today he was in a foul mood himself and refused to indulge Luo Qi’s temper.

The two shifted blame back and forth, quarreling fiercely.

It was at this moment that Yan Zhao came down from the mountain and stumbled upon them.

Luo Qi, desperate for an outlet for his anger, found Yan Zhao walking right into his path. He decided to settle old scores along with new grudges.

Lin Chao was still angry with him and did not join in the provocation, but neither did he leave, merely watching coldly from the sidelines.

At this point in the story, Shen Tuo paused, his expression turning somewhat strange.

The little fox, anxious about Yan Zhao’s safety, swished its tail impatiently.

Feng Jin pressed, “What exactly happened?”

Only then did Shen Tuo continue, “That brat provoked Miss Yan, and was thoroughly beaten up by her. Miss Yan might look slender and delicate, but she’s ruthless. She beat that boy half to death. The other boy tried to stop her but couldn’t, and ended up getting himself involved as well.”

The rhythm of the little fox’s tail slowed, and Feng Jin raised an eyebrow. “And then?”

“And then…” Shen Tuo thought carefully, but his memory grew hazy. It took him a while to recall. “I was afraid Miss Yan would beat those two boys to death, and with the clue broken, I wouldn’t be able to report back to the Boss. So I decided to step in and save them.”

Shen Tuo suddenly felt a headache and raised a hand to his temple. “Then a black light flashed before my eyes. I didn’t get a clear look at what it was, and I don’t know what happened after that.”

Feng Jin’s expression shifted slightly as she carefully observed Shen Tuo.

Seeing his dispirited state, her right hand formed a hand seal and she clawed toward his Spirit Platform.

A moment later, a wisp of murky gray foul qi was drawn out from between Shen Tuo’s brows.

The little fox’s eyes narrowed.

It was Devil Filth.

“As I suspected, it’s the work of a fiendish devil,” Feng Jin made her judgment. “That Devil Boss must be coming for me. Miss Yan was implicated because of me.”

She patted Shen Tuo on the shoulder, then looked down at the fox crouching by her feet. “I will find Miss Yan and bring her back. You should head back to the stronghold first, alright?”

Shen Tuo thought Feng Jin was talking to him and mused to himself: Wasn’t the Boss investigating those two boys? Why is she mentioning Miss Yan now?

And that tone… it was so gentle it was a bit frightening.

He shook off the goosebumps on his arm and stood up. “That devil is really formidable, Boss. You need to be careful yourself too.”

With that, he turned and left.

Leaving behind one person and one fox: “…”

Once Shen Tuo was far away, the little fox shook its head.

Its attitude was resolute; it wanted to go find Yan Zhao.

“Fine.” Feng Jin let it have its way.

She pulled six copper coins from her pocket and cast a divination using the wisp of foul qi in her hand.

The divination showed a place southeast, inhabited by people, with water in the surrounding environment.

Southeast.

Feng Jin repeated it inwardly. As expected, it was Zhuangan Village.

She put away the copper coins, skillfully scooped the little fox up and held it in her palm, then rode her sword heading southeast.

—

After descending the mountain, Ah Ling got lost in the woods.

The forest at night was a world completely different from the daytime.

Since arriving at the stronghold, she had rarely ventured down the mountain and was unfamiliar with the forest paths. Soon after descending, she began to regret it.

But a voice in the dark kept nagging in her mind, urging her to quickly find Feng Jin.

A bandit who had followed Ah Ling down the mountain held up a torch in the night, scouting the way, feeling helpless at Ah Ling’s willfulness. “Ah Ling, shouldn’t we just head back?”

Another chimed in, “Yeah, the Boss left the mountain in a hurry. She definitely had urgent business. We shouldn’t cause more trouble.”

Ah Ling was very angry. “So you also think I’m being unreasonable? That I’m jealous and throwing a fit because the Boss likes Miss Yan?!”

The two men exchanged glances, not daring to utter a word, but their expressions said everything.

“Go back if you want!” Ah Ling snatched the torch. “I’ll find her myself. I don’t need you following me!”

“Hey, Ah Ling!”

Knowing they had messed up, the men hurriedly followed.

But Ah Ling hadn’t taken more than a few steps before retreating. Not far ahead of her in the darkness, two eerie green will-o’-the-wisps lit up. A closer look revealed a hungry wolf.

Behind it in the darkness, more glints of green light kept appearing. A rough estimate suggested at least six or seven wild wolves.

The men’s faces also changed color. They were surrounded by beasts.

“A-Ah Ling!” The man’s voice trembled, his legs quivering. “Shoot your arrows, quick!”

Ah Ling then remembered she had brought her bow and arrows. Forcing herself to calm down, she drew a bamboo arrow from her quiver and nocked it onto the bow.

Swoosh—

The arrow flew wide, grazing the top of the lead wolf’s head.

Roar!

Enraged, the wolf pack swarmed forward.

The three turned and ran for their lives. “Aaaaaah!!!”

The two men positioned themselves one in front and one behind, protecting Ah Ling in the middle. The one running behind was quickly overtaken by the wolves, which sank their teeth into his leg and dragged him down.

The man’s life hung by a thread; he was about to die within the wolf’s jaws.

Suddenly, an arrow shot through the air and pierced the skull of the wolf pinning him down.

Panting, Ah Ling couldn’t stop her hands from shaking and shouted loudly at him, “Don’t stop, run!”

The man scrambled up from the ground, but his leg was injured, so he couldn’t run fast and left a trail of blood behind.

Ah Ling had used the last arrow in her quiver, yet two hungry wolves still pursued them.

Were they going to die here? Ah Ling felt regret in her heart.

The two wolves leaped one after the other, pouncing towards Ah Ling.

At that critical moment, two green vines suddenly shot up from the ground, lashing around the two wolves like lightning. The sharp thorns on the vines stabbed viciously into flesh.

The ferocious wolves howled in pain, struggling fiercely, but the more they struggled, the tighter the vines became. Before long, they stopped breathing.

Ah Ling and the two men watched in shock.

Soft footsteps sounded behind them, and they all turned to look simultaneously.

A woman appeared before them. In her left hand, she held a bronze-colored compass, while her right hand formed a seal. The two green vines that had just saved Ah Ling were summoned by her.

In the night, Ah Ling saw the woman’s clothing clearly by the moonlight and exclaimed in surprise, “Fuyun Sect?”

This woman’s attire was very similar to those little thieves who had come up the mountain earlier.

It was precisely Bi Lan, who had descended the mountain with Yan Zhao and, unable to form a team, had split off on her own.

Bi Lan dismissed the Poison Vine Art. The two wolves tumbled to the ground, landing with two dull thuds.

She glanced at the black qi swirling on her compass and said to Ah Ling and the others, “The beasts in these mountains are active. If you don’t have urgent business, you should return home as soon as possible.”

Ah Ling stood up, grabbing Bi Lan’s sleeve. “You’re a cultivator? Can you fly?”

Bi Lan considered for a moment, then answered, “I can.”

“Please take me to find someone!” Ah Ling pleaded. “I’m afraid she might be in danger!”

From the moment she heard the name ‘Black Sky Tyrant’ this morning until now, a persistent unease had haunted her, an indescribable premonition driving her to madness.

Bi Lan seemed to hesitate, then glanced at the two men behind Ah Ling a moment later. “I can only bring you alone.”

Ah Ling immediately told the men, “You head back first!”

Without waiting for the men to protest, she boarded Bi Lan’s flying sword, and whoosh, they vanished into the forest in an instant.

—

Yan Zhao woke up and opened her eyes.

An old, withered, and wrinkled face appeared before her.

This face had puffy eyelids swollen high, embedded with two different-colored eyeballs. One of them was black with a white pupil—an extremely rare Yin-Yang Eye.

Not far away, Luo Qi and Lin Chao lay still on the ground like dead dogs, their faces bruised and swollen.

Yan Zhao’s arms could move freely; the person who had captured her had not bound her hands or feet.

“You’re awake?”

The old man with the Yin-Yang Eye fixed his gaze on Yan Zhao. His eyeballs shifted uncannily as he scrutinized her carefully.

A moment later, the old man asked her, “Do you know who I am?”

Yan Zhao didn’t answer, and even rolled her eyes.

‘Like I care who you are.’

Captives so calm and arrogant were rare. The old man wasn’t angry, just let out a sinister, raspy laugh, answering his own question. “I am Black Sky Tyrant.”

Finally, Yan Zhao gave him a second glance.

His appearance was quite unexpected.

“Are you puzzled as to why I look like this?” The old man seemed to read her mind. “That woman, Feng Jin, is the one who made me this way! She destroyed my physical body, weakened my soul so severely that I had to possess a mortal on the verge of death!”

Yan Zhao actually wasn’t curious at all. Black Sky Tyrant rambled on for a long while, but she showed not the slightest interest.

At this very moment, the only thought in her mind was: ‘I left in a bit of a hurry today. I should have eaten lunch before leaving.’

Since she had left the stronghold and wouldn’t be going back, she was hungry now and would have to find food for herself again.

She, herself, was actually easy to feed, unlike that picky fox.

Thinking of the little fox, Yan Zhao’s eyes dimmed slightly.

She had thought only human hearts were fickle, but it seemed a fox’s mind could also be inconstant.

Just then, the door creaked open.

The man who was skilled at grilling fish, whom she had seen once before on the mountainside, walked in and said to the old man with the Yin-Yang Eye, “Village Chief, the task you assigned has been completed.”

Yan Zhao glanced at this person.

Pang Da also recognized her, shocked. “It’s you!”

The wretched old man claiming to be Black Sky Tyrant frowned. “You two know each other?”

Pang Da came to his senses and hurriedly reported to Black Sky Tyrant, “This subordinate told you before about a woman playing tricks in the mountains, nearly ruining our plan. It was her!”

“So it’s you.” Black Sky Tyrant gave a light, disdainful scoff, then looked at Pang Da with a strange, sinister smile, saying meaningfully, “By a stroke of fate, this counts as a major merit for you.”

Pang Da was overjoyed.

Yan Zhao thought these two were utterly baffling.

Suddenly, several streaks of Sword Qi shot through the window. Pang Da threw himself into a donkey roll to dodge and save himself.

Black Sky Tyrant stepped back, grabbing Yan Zhao’s shoulder. In the blink of an eye, they were out in the courtyard.

Yan Zhao raised her eyelids and looked at the figure suspended in the air.

Feng Jin stood atop a blade of Sword Qi, her braid swaying in the wind, a silver fox cradled in the crook of her left arm.

Yan Zhao curled her lip. “Tch.”

In the next instant, Black Sky Tyrant seized her throat and shouted at the person in the sky, “Feng Jin! If you dare make a move, I’ll kill your little lover!”

“…”

Feng Jin and the fox fell silent simultaneously.

Yan Zhao was stunned for a moment, then caught on belatedly. “Huh?”

Since when was ‘little lover’ used that way?