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墨書 Inktalez
"Strong words can also be reason!"
A baseless accusation made Jin Se feel that everything was her fault. She bit her lip and cautiously returned to Xing Ruyi's side, remaining silent.
Mo Xu You smiled calmly and turned his gaze to Oni Beast: "As one of the Four Great Beasts, Brother Oni Beast has devoted his life to the pursuit of gourmet food. After countless years, what insights have you gained?"
"Are you asking me?" Oni Beast's eyes sparkled with curiosity, as if he wanted to see through this bold Taoist and discover his true identity. However, after observing for a while, he found no trace of demonic or celestial energy in him. Neither demon nor immortal, not even a god or ghost, he could only be a mortal. "You are quite interesting. I sense various flavors from you—greed, pain, despair, as well as joy, kindness, and compassion. I have never seen a mortal who could balance these emotions so evenly within themselves. You just asked me for insights? Fine, let me tell you! In this world, greed is the most delicious, pain is the hardest to swallow, despair excites your taste buds, while loneliness brings sadness. As for now, I am quite interested in tasting your flavor!"
Oni Beast licked his lips excitedly: "You are the most peculiar mortal I have ever encountered; thus, your flavor should be different from others."
"Oh? Is that so?" Mo Xu You showed no fear at all; instead, he met Oni Beast's gaze and smiled slightly: "It's just a pity that I am old now, tough-skinned and thick-fleshed; I fear it might hurt your teeth."
Oni Beast let out a cold laugh. "Don't worry; I've chewed on tougher meat."
"Is that so? Then please go ahead!" Mo Xu You said as he closed his eyes.
Oni Beast had already opened his mouth wide but hesitated upon seeing Mo Xu You's reaction. His eyes darted around before finally landing on the already sleeping Xie Xuan: "That sword in that mortal's hand is given by you, right?"
"That's right; I gave it to him!"
"Why did you give it to him?"
"Because we made a deal; I promised him a bright future in exchange for his help in accomplishing something."
"Is it related to me?" Although Oni Beast loved food, he was an extremely clever glutton. Once Mo Xu You admitted that the sword in Xie Xuan's hand was given by him, Oni Beast immediately thought of himself: "Do you want to kill me?"
"No! I just want to hunt you!" Mo Xu You replied lightly, as if he were merely discussing the weather with Oni Beast. "To be honest, today's events were purely coincidental. Young Master Yin's earlier words were indeed correct. The matter concerning Jin was indeed orchestrated by me; however, it cannot be considered intentional but rather a case of using each other for mutual benefit."
I once promised an Old Friend that I would help her find a place that is pure and serene to fulfill a wish of hers. The first place I discovered was the mountain range where Jin Se resides. Not only is it picturesque, but it also nurtures spirits like the Mountain Spirit, making it the ideal location.
When something happened at Jin Se's home, I happened to be exploring the earth veins in the mountains and sensed the Mountain Spirit's energy was restless. I went to check it out. Although I intended to intervene, I am still just a mortal and arrived too late. The Mountain Spirit and her husband perished in a fire, and although Jin Yu showed no signs of life, there was still a trace of vitality within her. Feeling compassion, I noticed that Jin Se's Mountain Spirit bloodline awakened and thought to use this pair of siblings to help guard the mountains. Thus, I tentatively expressed my ability to save Jin Yu.
Jin Se and Jin Yu shared a deep sibling bond and naturally would not refuse, so we reached a mutually beneficial agreement. If Young Master Yin and Ruyi doubt this, they can ask Jin Se directly; aside from the bone-melting pain that Jin Yu had to endure, what else could there be?
"Indeed, there is nothing else! If it weren't for Young Master Xie inadvertently stumbling into my home and mentioning the era name to Jin Yu, Jin Yu and I might have continued living peacefully."
"Look! This is all from Jin Se herself! Besides using Jin Yu, which can be seen as a roundabout way of saving him, I have not made this pair of siblings do anything else. As for guarding the mountains, that was merely an incidental task." Mo Xu You glanced at the Human Skin map in front of him and shook his head: "This map is quite intricately drawn. It's just a pity that what lies beneath is merely an abandoned construction site!"
"What do you mean?" Xing Ruyi pressed.
"It means exactly what Ruyi interprets from the words. This construction took me quite some time. Its overall structure was modeled after imperial tombs throughout history; it truly embodies the essence of royal mausoleums. Unfortunately, during its development, I discovered a significant flaw in this location that would be fatal for my Old Friend. So despite my reluctance, I had to abandon it.
Furthermore, regarding the matter of Blazing Grass, Young Master Yin was only half correct. The Blazing Grass can indeed absorb malevolent energy, but my long journey to Qingqiu to retrieve this Blazing Grass was not for this already abandoned construction site; it was purely for remedy."
"That's true! If it were just to guard the construction site, you wouldn't have used the Blazing Grass to absorb the malevolent energy from Jin Yu's body to protect his physical form!" The fox nodded and contemplated the implications.
"I sealed off the vitality within Jin Yu's chest so he could help guard the construction site and become a crucial point within it. Only by continuously transforming from living flesh into bones could his resentment grow stronger and his fear increase until ultimately, he became a vengeful spirit. This is why in previous years, Jin Yu had to complete a cycle every seven days. But later on, when I abandoned this place, I couldn't bear to make things difficult for Jin Yu anymore. So I sought out the Blazing Grass to absorb the malevolent energy from him and help preserve his clarity of mind. If it weren't for Xie Xuan's accidental intrusion, in another seventy or eighty years, Jin Yu might have truly been able to live like a normal person."
"And what about Xie Xuan? How does his intrusion into the mountains relate to all of this?" Xing Ruyi asked anxiously.
"This story is somewhat lengthy!" Mo Xu You stretched lazily and glanced at the shopkeeper with his peripheral vision before addressing Oni Beast: "Could you have your Wife take Young Master Xie away from here? Just now I only asked Young Master Yin for one piece of Blazing Grass. If Young Master Xie wakes up and hears something he shouldn't..."
"If the Daoist is afraid, why not let my Wife eat him? Wouldn't that solve everything?" Oni Beast remarked while glancing at the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper nodded her head, and suddenly green smoke enveloped her entire being. When the smoke dissipated, Xing Ruyi finally saw her true form—a snake, a plump dark green serpent.
Xing Ruyi felt a shiver run through her body and instinctively jumped into the fox's embrace. "Oh my, it's a Python!"
The fox held Xing Ruyi tightly with one arm while using the other to gently stroke her back, reassuring her, "Don't be afraid, I'm here!"
Hiding her head in the fox's embrace, Xing Ruyi mumbled, "I'm not really scared; it's just that my heart feels uneasy. You know I fear neither ghosts nor Evil Spirits, but I can't stand those soft, slithering creatures. Just between us, I'm even afraid of snakes drawn on paper. And now there's this huge one right in front of me; the fact that I haven't fainted is already a big favor to you! Come on! Hurry up and praise your Wife; look how much face I'm giving you!"
"Jumping into my arms out of fright counts as giving me face?" The fox chuckled helplessly and looked down at Xing Ruyi, who had the audacity to hum in agreement.
"Of course it does! At least I didn't faint into someone else's arms like other girls."
"Alright! Then I'll praise you!" The fox gave Xing Ruyi an approving glance and said, "My Fox Demon is excellent!"
"Is that all?"
"That's all!" The fox smiled with narrowed eyes, as if saying, "With so many people around, what else do you expect from your husband?"
Xing Ruyi pouted and shifted her gaze to the Oni Beast. "Um, could you ask your Wife to be a bit quicker? If this person wants to eat, let them eat quickly; if they want to drag it out, then do it fast. They can't just lie there in the middle of the room like that. You may be used to it, but we find it quite suffocating."
As soon as Xing Ruyi finished speaking, the Python lifted its head and glared at her with its enormous eyes.
Instantly turning into an ostrich, Xing Ruyi buried her head deeper into the fox's embrace and pointed helplessly at the snake monster. "Fox, it wants to eat me!"
The fox's gaze turned icy. With a swift flick of its sleeve, a flash of white light struck the Python on its forehead. The Python recoiled in pain, its massive head crashing to the ground as its body began to writhe uncontrollably. The house was already fragile; it couldn't withstand the thrashing of a revealed Python. There was a creaking sound from the surrounding wood, and in the next moment, the Oni Beast kicked out in displeasure, sending the Python flying out.
Xing Ruyi half-covered her eyes, feeling both guilty and gleeful. She secretly asked the fox, "Will that snake still be alive?"
The fox lowered its head and replied, "Even if I survive, it won't be of much use. That kick from the Oni Beast has at least taken away over five hundred years of my cultivation."
"Over five hundred years?" Xing Ruyi quietly counted on her fingers. "That's about the same as Qing's cultivation. It's a pity that people are different from each other; I didn't expect that snakes would be different too. Just look at Qing's looks, and then think about that one just now. Whether transformed into a snake or a human, there's no comparison."
The fox frowned and asked, "Who is Qing?"
"She's in the White Lady. You haven't seen her, so you wouldn't know! Qing is a green snake that has cultivated for over five hundred years, cute and charming. The White Lady is a white snake that has cultivated for over one thousand seven hundred years, gentle and generous. She came down the mountain to repay a kindness and met Xu Xian, creating an extraordinary romance in the human world. Unfortunately, it was later ruined by an old monk. I remember back then, I was still young and hated that monk the most; I even fantasized about marrying a White Snake in the future."
The fox shot her an unhappy glance and asked, "Aren't you afraid of snakes?"
"Yes, yes! But back then, I was enchanted by the White Lady and completely forgot she was a snake. Later on, as I grew up, I remembered it. So you see, now I've found a fox as my husband. Although we both belong to the spirit beast category, at least you have four legs, which is much better than a snake."
"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" The corners of the fox's mouth twitched. "I remember when you first saw me, you mistook me for something else."
"Hmph! How could you still remember that?" Xing Ruyi rolled her eyes secretly. "It's true I'm just a country girl, but you know that the countryside now is different from the Golden Tang Dynasty. I've never seen a weasel or even a fox before. It's not my fault I mistook you for a dog! Besides, if I hadn't thought of you as a dog, how would I have dared to bring you home? If I hadn't brought you home, how would I have this handsome and considerate fox husband today?"
Seeing there was no Python left in the room, Xing Ruyi jumped off the fox and clasped her hands together, playfully making faces at it. "Please don't be angry; I'll make you something delicious when we get home!"
The fox's mouth twitched again as it said, "Are you treating me like Yin Yuan?"
Xing Ruyi chuckled and quickly shifted her focus, directly running over to Mo Xu You. "Daoist Mo, please continue! What exactly is your relationship with Xie Xuan? And what connection does Xie Xuan have with that mountain forest?"
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