"I wish you didn"t have to spend money at an inn when we could easily have given you a room at the house."
"That wouldn"t be necessary, I would only inconvenience the Mou family."
"I"m sorry you had to be treated so poorly by my Aunt."
"You don"t need to apologize, I"m really okay."
Lin Cheng was about to reach for the sword inside of his cloak when he felt something silently move towards the men.
"Brother Lin Cheng, please do not let it reach the ears of Sect leader Xu, I promise not to go out at night again."
Lin Cheng watched as the delicate beauty bowed to her waist, pleading with her fellow disciple not to inform their sect leader of her impropriety, knowing the punishment for break a sect rule was to knee in the ancestral hall for five days straight with no food or water served during those time.
"You promise not to walk alone from now on?"
"Yes Brother Lin Cheng, I give you my solemn word that I would not go out at night anymore, as long as you don"t tell sect leader of my indiscretion."
"Alright! Junior sister Xu Hui you can raise your head up, let me walk you back."
"Okay Brother Lin Cheng."
The two cultivators from the BaoXu sect begun heading back in the direction of the lodging reserved for female cultivators, when Lin Cheng saw they had gotten close to the place, he stopped to bid his fellow disciple farewell.
"This is where I leave you, since I can"t go any further. I"ll watch from here to see that you have safely gone inside."
"Thank you Brother Lin Cheng, I bid you farewell!"
"I bid you the same Junior sister disciple."
Lin Cheng and Xu Hui gave each other a salute, before parting ways, while the senior disciple watched as his junior sister disciple waved for one last time, before heading to the purple wooden lodging. The male cultivators were strictly prohibited from venturing towards where the female cultivators resided, this was to maintain the dignity and morality of the sect.
The image from the last time he saw her alive sent the cultivator into a sea of sorrow. He had only gone out for several days on a mission at dawn to a neighboring sect the ZaoQiang sect and returned late at night on the day she died. All the senior disciples including him were called as witness to her death, as everyone stood in a circle with their sect leader standing at the center where the body of his junior sister disciple was found.
"Sect leader! We need to find out how junior sister disciple Xu died! If not her spirit would know no peace!"
"Yes! We need to find her killer!"
"What are you saying?! That one of the disciples from BaoXu sect killed my second cousin! If word got out that there disciples from the BaoXu sect are now killing one another! How would I ever raise my head up high among other sect leaders! BaoXu sect has fallen in pugilistic rank! Rather than exposing what happened this night! We need to get back to in rank as number 2 even if we can"t be number 1!"
The sect leader of the BaoXu sect never alluded to his relations.h.i.+p with junior disciple Xu Hui, everyone knew they were related since they bore the same family name, because no one in the sect shared the "Xu" family name except those two, it was forbidden to speak about it since, the sect leader never had a child of his own.
"Forgive us Sect leader Xu! We only want retribution for our junior sister disciple, if she died unjustly."
Sect leader Xu gave a cold look at each of the senior disciples gathered, he specially asked that none of the female senior disciples be called to witness the death of their fellow disciple.
"Sect leader Xu, I know moving up in ranks is very important in order to remain command the respect of other sects, isn"t it wrong to leave her death unresolved. How can any of us find peace in our heart knowing that we turned a blind eye in uncovering junior sister disciple Xu Hui"s death?! Wouldn"t the heavens rain down punishment for allowing such an evil act to be swept away?"
Lin Cheng had been quiet all this time, when other disciples spoke in discontent of what the sect leader was doing regarding the death of one of his disciples. Deep within him, Lin Cheng wondered what could have led to her death, he remembered that she promised not to step out at night after he caught her walking very late at night alone.
"Did she break her word?! Or did someone from the sect lure her out to her death?!" That"s right! Feng Yueming! He must know something about junior sister disciple!"
The moment Lin Cheng thought about the other disciple, he turned to face him, "Feng Yueming, you and junior sister disciple Xu have a good relations.h.i.+p with each other, do you know of her tendencies to go out at night?"
Feng Yueming looked at Lin Cheng as he tried not to let his eyes waver from those of the other disciple, it was true he knew of Xu Hui"s nightly walks, but if he said anything regarding that, not only would the others look at him with suspicion, but he would also be punished for breaking the sect rule and possibly ostracized by his fellow disciples until his name was clear of any suspicion.
"Brother Lin Cheng, I do not know what you speak of, Sister Xu was a maiden that conducted herself in a manner befitting a disciple from the BaoXu sect. Please do not stain her honor by saying she steals out of her room at night!"
Feng Yueming spoke with so much vigor while standing up to the disciple that he was being questioned about. When the other disciples heard Lin Cheng question him, their eyes suddenly narrowed in wariness, but after they heard the way Feng Yueming spoke about Xu Hui that was when the wariness in their eyes was replaced with one of a.s.surance.
Lin Cheng for some reason could not bring himself to trust what the other disciple said, probably because his cultivation base and knowledge was higher than those of Feng Yueming, but regardless of the reason, his eyes faltered with deceit. He knew when the other disciples were taken in by his words, but Lin Cheng refused to believe a word that came out of Feng Yueming"s mouth.
The thought kept going through the mind of the senior disciple as to whether he should pursue with uncovering the matter in secret or not, he felt pity for the way she laid on the ground pale and lifeless face down, her hair pin lay precariously atop her head. When Lin Cheng saw this, he left the circle of cultivators and went to where she was, walking by his sect leader as he bent on his knee to straighten the silver hairpin with purple stones on them on the head of Xu Hui.
"Brother Lin Cheng!"
"Stupid! I am so stupid! Why didn"t I turn a blind eye! He could clearly have fended them off, but how was I to know since he never showed his sword?! I don"t want to delay any more! But what if he captures me and takes me back to his people! Oh no! Grandfather would be so angry if he finds out that I met someone from a cultivation sect! Xuequi! Let"s appologize to him and beg him to look the other way! Oh else I would be skinned alive when I return back to Qitou mountain!"
Mount Qitou was the kingdom of the fox clan, where the Fox king Yan Shuchang ruled with an iron hand.
"Fox Princess Yan Xuequi, I am Lin Cheng from the BaoXu sect."
Lin Chang gave a formal bow to the fox princess, whose face showed an array of emotions that ranged from confusion to fear. She didn"t know the intentions of the cultivators whom she had thought was human at first. To her, all humans were weak creatures that needed protection, since their live was very short compared to those from the fox clan. Yan Xuequi had watched people from her clan live as humans and marry a human, but their children only gained half the immortal powers of their fox parent, which meant they had half the life span of those from the fox clan. The sad part was that they had to watch their human parent die before them, an unending cycle of pain and loss that many who walked the path.
"Lin Cheng of the BaoXu sect, since I saved your life from those bandits. I deserve to walk freely back to my people who are waiting for me return."
The fox princess wanting to see the face that lay beneath the straw hat, sent a gust of wind, so sharp that they torn the hat to shreds. Yan Xuequi was not expecting to see a fair jade beauty of a man, this made her face burning in a shade of pink, as fleshly thoughts took over her mind.
Lin Cheng saw the sudden change in the color of the fair skin of the fox princess, not knowing what had caused such a change.
"Fox Princess Yan Xuequi, are you okay?"
He saw her take to the air, as though she was fleeing from some unseen army.
"I bid you farewell! Lin Cheng of the BaoXu sect!"
It was only when her back became like that was a tiny speck in the distance, that was when Lin Cheng whispered the words, "I hope we meet again someday."
Fourteen years ago when his junior sister disciple died on the grounds of BaoXu sect, Lin Cheng a senior disciple of the sect was filled with so much rage and regret, as he watched her death being swept under the carpet. He pleaded for the sect leader Xu Zijun to investigate the cause of her untimely death, but he adamantly refused to look into the death of his cousin"s daughter"s death, fearing the unwanted scrutiny and loss of face among other cultivator sects, since their sect had lost its rank in the pugilistic world of martial arts.
To him she was a dear junior disciple that was supposedly loved by everyone, no matter how much he played the scene at which he found her, he couldn"t find traces of what led to her death. She was found lying on the ground cold and lifeless by one of the male disciples who was paroling the grounds. He recalled a time when he once came out one night out of his room to take a stroll and there, he found her walking without a care in the world.
"Junior sister Xu Hui!"
Lin Cheng saw the female disciple in purple robes whirl around lightly on her toes, her eyes widened in surprise when she saw who it was that was also walking on the sect"s ground at night.
"Brother Lin Cheng! What are you doing here at night?!"
Lin Cheng smiled kindly at his junior sister disciple, whom he knew was sneaking out to play at night, despite being caught by another disciple.
"I should be asking you too, what is an unmarried maiden walking almost in the dead of the night? Have you considered you could ruin your reputation if it goes out to other sects that one of the female disciples at BaoXu sect goes out at night unaccompanied?"
The pretty youthful female disciple looked ashamed, as her face took on a pink tinge from being exposed by a fellow disciple from her sect. It was one of this times she really wished she was born a male and not the female she was, although Xu Hui knew the BaoXu sect was very strict about male and female being in the company of each other for a long time, yet she felt at ease in the presence of Lin Cheng, he had an air of benevolence and warmth not just when he was with her, but also with other disciples. His sword kills was second to those of their sect leader, which made him very respected by the disciples of BaoXu Sect.
"ARGHHH!!!"
He saw them scream in pain, as blood splattered on the dead leaves that covered the ground.
"Wh..Who is there?!"
"Show yourself!!!!!"
The robbers screamed in agony while their eyes roamed around searching for the cause of their injuries. A melodious laughter was the response that came back, as whoever that inflicted the wound to them was yet to reveal themselves to the robbers.
"Brother I"m scared! This place is cursed! Let"s leave!"
One of the robbers pleaded for them to leave the forest, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.
"Shut up you coward! Wait till I catch the person behind it!"
They saw that the man that they pursued into the forest had no left where he was, they thought he was afraid to leave just like one of them was, slowly they kept approaching the man in straw hat. They were only five feet from him when series of silver robe darts came sailing towards them. Lin Cheng saw the weapon making its way towards the defenseless men, this forced him to bring out Nancanjin from its sheath, the light from the purple sword severed the robes to pieces.
When they saw the sword skill of the man that they were trying to steal from, this struck terror into their heart.
"Demon! Demon! Run!!!!!!!"
Lin Cheng found it strange that the men didn"t run when they were first attack, but only thought to do so while he was trying to save their lives. Just as he pulled the sword from its sheath, Lin Cheng returned it back to its former position, while allowing his spiritual sense to pick out where the intruder was hiding.
"Come out! I know where you are!"
"Oh! oh?"
A young girl in red silk robe with her dark hair held at the top by a gold bejeweled hair pin that snaked around her hair with red stones on them. On each ear was an heirloom of gold earrings that had crimson orbs suspended at the center, glimmering with the light that came from within.
"Who are you?!"
Lin Cheng asked the strange girl that suddenly appeared in front of him in a whip of red smoke. As though no one was talking, the girl kept hopping from one foot to the other, twirling around with her robes carried by the wind. Lin Cheng did not know what to make of the imprudence of the girl, he sensed a strange aura that was not found among cultivators. Her movement was very fast, during the time that she fought with the robbers, such that he had a hard time following her.
When he saw she was not answering him, Lin Cheng took matters into his hand and flew towards her with killing intent in his aura. The girl immediately noticed the change in the man and drew out a fresh set of rope darts that appeared out of a red smoke that she conjured.
At the last moment, Lin Cheng modulated his aura causing his killing intent to disappear, by then her robe dart had already made its way around his neck. The pointed ends digging into his flesh.
Lin Cheng purposely left himself open, so that he could find out the ident.i.ty of the girl, since she wasn"t revealing who she was to him. The moment the darts penetrated the flesh of Lin Cheng, the source of spiritual energy from the weapon was uncovered, for it those from the fox clan, an ent.i.ty that existed separately from the realm of cultivators and immortals, one that chose not to side with any of the realms. Although Lin Cheng had read of them, this was his first time seeing on in person. He recalled that they were devious beings that enslaved the heart of many that encountered them. Some chose to live in the human realm among humans taking up their form, others chose to live freely in the heavenly realm deep in the mountains far from other cultivators, surrounded by treacherous paths where many have been said to have died from wanting to enter their fortress of eternal flames, blue flames that burns with end.
Spiritual energy reveals many things about their owner such as where they originated from, their level of fighting prowess and countless other things. He saw "true" face of the fair young girl that faced, although she looked somewhat human, but her hair was the color of silver, sprouting pointed ears by each side of her head. To him, she looked like a girl at first, but after his spiritual energy connected with that of hers he saw the woman that lay underneath the mask of the human skin she was wearing.
"You are from the fox clan?!"
The question threw the girl"s face into that of confusion, this caused her to loosen her grip on him and pulling back to a safe distance.
"I bear no ill will towards you, are you really from the fox clan?"
After looking at him for a while, the young girl decided to speak to him.
"I"m Yan Xuequi, granddaughter of Fox king Yan Shuchang."
The fox princess looked at Lin Cheng with wariness in her eyes, she was pa.s.sing through the mortal realm to see some of her people that lived in Yiting town when she saw some men follow Lin Cheng. One thing about the fox clan which her grandfather always warned her to be careful of, was being too inquisitive. Which was what she ended of doing, by following them into the forest, rather than going her way, led to her fated meeting with a cultivator from the way he wielded his sword, the fox princess could tell that she was the kind that her grandfather didn"t want her a.s.sociating with.
Although she heard him say that he wasn"t offended by the way her Aunt behaved towards him, but Yan Xuequi didn"t feel at peace at all.
"I"ll be returning to the fox clan the next day. To return to my duties."
Lin Cheng heard several traders call out from different parts of the market, he kept moving through the town in a hurry, not wanting daylight to disappear before he was done with getting what he came in to buy.
He suddenly sensed that he was being watched, but whoever it was did not give an aura that was threatening. Moving from different stall, as coins and merchandise exchanged hands. Not long after Lin Cheng had both hands full of the things he had gotten from the market, his pouch felt a lot lighter after spending money to get the things he needed for the villagers of Yiting town.
He hadn"t eaten since he left the restaurant few hours ago, but since he had practiced inertia, he didn"t get as hungry as someone that hadn"t mastered the act of controlling their hunger.
Lin Cheng kept walking out of the town of Yiting towards its outskirt bypa.s.sing several people from the town on his way to the abandoned village. The presence that was with him at the market kept on following him, as he drew closer to the village.
"Who is there? Show yourself!"
All of a sudden, a red smoke appeared and out of it came the girl he had seen when he was attacked by bandits.
"Princess Yan Xuequi?!"
"You remembered my name!"
The fox princess could not hide the surprise in her voice when she saw that the cultivator from the other time, still knew who she was, they both stared at each other as neither knew what to make of their encounter.
"I hope you still remember mine?"
Lin Cheng smiled faintly while looking to see if the fox princess had not forgotten him.
"Lin Cheng of the BaoXu sect!"
He saw her pout in disappointment, as though she was hurt that he thought her to be forgetful.
"What brings you here? I thought you were meeting with some people from the mortal realm?"
Yan Xuequi was fl.u.s.tered by the question, not knowing what to give as her reason for appearing in front of him. Instead she said whatever came to her mind right there.
"I was only following to see if you were going to come across those bandits again!"
"Why?!"
"You are asking me why?!"
"Yes, why do you have to be on the lookout for bandits for me? You and I have nothing to do with each other."
"Look here! Lin Cheng of the BaoXu sect! I am not doing it for you! I"m only looking out for those in the mortal realm!"
"And why is that?!"
"Because you cultivators are full of deception!"
"Has any cultivator deceived you?!"
"They haven"t, but that"s what my grandfather and Aunt said! That I should be weary of everyone of you!"
"Hahhaaaa!!!!"
Lin Cheng roared in laughter, he hadn"t laughed in so long and the sound of it felt so good. He couldn"t believe that the fox princess judged him and every other cultivator from what she heard from her grandfather and Aunt. Although he also thought he wasn"t all that different, because he also looked at her with caution when they first met.
"Stop laughing at me!"
Lin Cheng tried to stifle his laughter, he saw how adorable she looked while showing her anger towards him.
"Wait! Did I actually think that Princess Yan Xuequi is adorable?! I"ve been too long in the mortal realm if I start thinking that someone from the fox clan appeals to me!"
"Do as you wish, I"m only going to that village over there to take care of them and afterwards I would be on my way."
"Hmm!"
The fox princess gave a sound, as though she didn"t believe a word of what he said to her, while watching him resume his walk back to the villagers.
"The mister came back!"
Those that had strength left in their voice, called out to the rest that were still alive, telling them that the man that they thought would abandon them was actually back to help them.
Lin Cheng began clearing out the dead bodies and burning them to prevent the spread of the plague. Soon after he began dividing the food he bought, sharing it among the villagers, before opening the folded paper containing herbs to concoct medicine for them.
The villagers still had a long way to go in getting constant food supply and water which was one of the things that the plague fed on to spread rapidly to the villagers.
"Would you mind helping me dig a new well for the villagers so that at least they can have a bath?"
Although the fox princess wasn"t visible to the villagers, Lin Cheng knew that she was close by, which proved to be true, as she saddened appeared in front of the villagers.
"Demon!!!!!!"
"There is a demon with him!"
Although the villagers were still recovering their strength, many of them both young and old grabbed onto whatever they could use as a weapon to attack the girl they thought was a demon.
"It"s alright! She is not a demon! Put your stick down!"
"You"re lying! She is a demon! You brought a demon with you to our village! Leave right now!"
"You would rather die than be saved by a demon?!"
Lin Cheng looked at the dirty faces of the villagers as they hatred for the girl in front of him s.h.i.+ned brightly in their eyes.
"Leave us alone! We would rather die than be touched by a demon!"
"Are you serious?! You don"t have water! Or food! Or even medicine! Once it all runs out what are you going to do?!"
Lin Cheng never meant to force them to receive help from the fox princess, but he felt the villagers were being unreasonable when it was their lives that was at stake.
"Leave! And take that demon girl with you!"
"Don"t speak to her that way!"
"If you don"t go! Don"t blame us for what we do to you!"
That was when out of nowhere, someone threw a stone towards Yan Xuequi. As a fox immortal her knee senses already showed her who threw it and from which direction. Right in front of the villagers, the stone disintegrated in mid air.
The hostility in their eyes were like daggers to Lin Cheng, he didn"t know why he felt that way about how the villagers were acting towards Yan Xuequi. The urge to take her away far from them resonated strong within him.
"Princess Yan Xuequi, let"s go!"
Usually it was unheard of for a male cultivator to hold onto the hands of a female whether married or otherwise, but Lin Cheng was so angry at villagers and felt sorry towards the fox princess that he forgot propriety and latched onto the hands of Yan Xuequi as the two walked away from the village of Yiting, never once did they turn back to look at them.
"Let go of my hand!"
After walking several steps, the fox princess demanded that Lin Cheng stop holding on to her hand.
"Oh! I"m sorry! I forgot that I still had your hand in mind! Please forgive me, Princess Yan Xuequi!"
Lin Cheng released her hand and gave a deep bow to apologize for lacking discretion and acting in a manner not betting a disciple of a cultivation sect. He didn"t know what made him act rashly while speaking to the villagers, he could easily have asked that the fox princess stay away until he had concluded his business with the villagers. Instead he chose to walk out of them in their need, which is something that his sect would have frown heavily on and a possible punishment would have resulted from not practicing the teaching of good will as taught by the BaoXu sect. Not just their sect but every cultivator knew that good will was a part of walking the path to immortality and self abnegation.
The fox princess rubbed at her hand that previously held those of Lin Cheng as though wanting to erase the imprint of his hand.
"I"m truly sorry for how you were treated by the villagers."
"Its no concern of yours how they treated me! Humans are fickle creatures! I knew that before coming out to face them!"
Yan Xuequi"s eyes flashed in anger, she wasn"t happy with the villagers of Yiting town and she needed someone to pour the resentment she felt towards them. Lin Cheng eyes were filled with one of admiration, at first he saw the fox princess as bothersome, but the more time she spent with him, the way he saw her began to change little by little.
"I"m heading for another town, follow me if you want."
Although he spoke in an offhand manner, Lin Cheng secretly wished that the fox princess continue to accompany him on his journey in the mortal realm.
Mortal realm...
A young man in dark cloak sat in Puang establishment known to serve the best dumpling in the town of Yiting, his straw hat hid his face from other people that came into the store to eat and drink. Within the folds of his cloak was his sword, Nacanjin a weapon of unparalleled splendor.
"Mister! Here is the jar of water that you ordered!"
Lin Cheng watched as the store attendant in brown robes place a dark brown jar of water on his table, while bowing to the regular of the store.
"Thank you kind sir!"
Lin Cheng"s mouth curved up in a smile, as he thanked the attendant, before picking up a cup to pour himself a drink of water.
On his table was a plate of dumplings, green vegetables, white rice and a pair of chopsticks. After blessing the food that was laid out in front of him, Lin Cheng began eaten while keep an eye on the people that walked through the doors of the establishment. During his time at the mortal realm, he had seen all kinds of things, therefore he guard was always up wherever he went to, never staying in one place for too long. A while later, Lin Cheng was done eating and reached for the embroidery of purple pouch by the waist of his robe to pull out a few coins, placing them on the table, before standing up to leave the establishment.
"Have a good day Mister!"
The attendant called out to the man who had just paid for the food, watching as he made his way out of the store, whose building had two layers of room where customers could come in and seat where they want. The first layer was the entrance into the store, it had several chairs and tables of wood arranged, while the last layer had the same layout as the first, customers that sat there could have a clear view of what was going on below.
"He just left, follow him!"
The shop owner whispered to the group of men inside the store, whom he fed information to about the regular that just came out of his store. He had been watching the man for some time now and saw that he paid generously, which made the shopkeeper to think that he was from a wealthy household, probably a young master from one of the n.o.ble houses in Yiting town.
The men dressed in black robes ran after the man, following at a safe distance, they saw him heading out of town towards the forest that led to the outskirt of Yiting town. Lin Cheng knew that he was being followed, which was why instead of remaining in town, he took the path that led towards the thick forest out of the town. The men that tailed him did not that he already knew that they onto him from the moment he left the store.
"HAAAHAAAAAAA!!!!!!"
The men chose to announce their presence to the lone man walking the thick bamboo forest, despite it being daylight, the place was eerily quiet with no one pa.s.sing by.
Lin Cheng stopped on his track when he heard the raucous laughter from the men behind him.
"Don"t bother to call for help, no one walks these forest!"
Lin Cheng turned around to look at the men from underneath his straw hat, while counting the number of people he would have to fight with, it came down to six of them who had their knives pointed at him.
"Give us everything you have on you!"
Their blatant request for his personal possession made Lin Cheng know that they were robbers, even though he already had an inkling about who they were.
He could see greed reflected in their eyes, while their weapon was facing him, on closer look, he saw that they didn"t look as confident as they sounded. The hands that held the knives shook slightly while speaking to him.
Lin Cheng heard the tranquil voice of the fox princess whose face had returned to their usual serenity. They both flew to the entrance of the town, before landing to walk the rest of the way.
"You can head back now, I"ll be fine from here."
"Let me at least see that you are boarded at an inn."
"Princess Yan Xuequi, you are a maiden, you shouldn"t be walking into an inn with a man. Please return to your family who are waiting for you."
"I..I only want to know that you have a place to sleep for the night!"
Lin Cheng gave a stiff bow to the fox princess while remaining where he was, not wanting her to go any further than that.
Yan Xuequi weaved an hand sign, producing a bracelet made from her fox fire. Placing them on the wrist of Lin Cheng.
"This would keep you safe."
Lin Cheng looked at the glowing red bracelet whose presence could not be seen by anyone other than those that had spirit energy.
"Farewell Princess Yan Xuequi."
"Farewell Lin Cheng of the BaoXu sect."
With that said, the fox princess took off while leaving Lin Cheng to stare after her until he could no longer she a trace of her in the morning sky, which was filled with white spotless clouds.
"If fate permits, we would both see each other again."
Lin Cheng began his walk to where he would lodge for the night and probably many days or months ahead.
"Goodbye Aunt Xuequi!"
The twins waved at their cousins, who was about to set out on a journey to the fox clan.
"Xuequi, make sure to visit us sometime soon!"
"Princess Xuequi take care of your health, we hope to see you at our home when next you come to Yiting town."
Mou Yaxin had a somber look on his face, he saw how much his wife was already missing his niece, he knew that were it not because his body could not cross over to their world, he and his family would be living in the fox clan. This was a burden that the man had to bear from his marriage to an immortal being. He didn"t want to think of the time when he would grow old and die, he could already see his face starting to show signs of aging, while those of his wife had not change a bit since the time he first met her. He dread the time when they would have to part because of death, but he refused to let that show on his face.
"Uncle Mou, I promise to visit often. Aunt Hairong, be good to Uncle Mou and the twins. Yidan, look after your brother well, you know he follows everything you say!"
"What do you mean by "be good" to my husband?! Am I not trying enough already?!"
"Aunt Hairong, Uncle Mou loves you unconditionally! Don"t let inconsequential things drive a wedge between the two of you."
"What now? Are you now pointing out that I"m petty and I don"t love him enough?!"
"Aunt Hairong! Please! Open your eyes! You and uncle don"t have much time with each other, treasure him and your children. I don"t want you to live the rest of your life in regret for not giving the best that you could in your marriage."
Mou Yaxin didn"t say anything, but his eyes misted over when he heard the words of his in-law, which was as though it came directly from his heart. Although he loved his wife so much and also still did, but there were times that she tried his love so much that he felt bereft, as though he was lacking too much and there was no way he could fill the s.p.a.ce between them.
Yan Xuequi due to her bloodline could take on the shape that he wanted, whether as a little girl or as a grown woman, since she knew that she was in the home of a married couple she maintained the form of a young girl, while outside the home she would take on her true form without her fox attributes. What Mou Yaxin saw was that of a little girl and not her true form, which made him wonder how someone as young as Yan Xueqi could speak and act so wisely. Although, she didn"t mean to shout at her aunt, it was the only way she could think of to get her to appreciate what she has in her life.
"I"m sorry Aunt Hairong, please just take what I say to mean that I care about you."
Yan Xuequi bowed to the Mou family, before flying off, unseen to the human eyes. The Mou family walked back inside, but no matter how much Mou Hairong had lived in the mortal realm, she was still at tune with the emotion of her husband, she knew the exact moment when he cried, the image of it sent a pang of pain straight to her heart. Everything her niece said was true, she could no longer hide from what was happening, her husband was aging just like every human and she was wasting her time fighting with him over something that wasn"t really any concern of hers since she was no longer living in the fox clan, but now in the mortal realm with her earthly family.
"Mou Yaxin, I"m sorry."
The twins had already ran inside to play with their toys, when Mou Hairong openly apologized to her husband.
"I know you are, I"m also sorry for not taking your side and causing you to lose face."
In a marriage, no matter how wrong an husband or wife was, it was the duty of their spouse to take their side in public no matter what, but privately chastise them if they were in the wrong. Mou Yaxin understood that part of what it means to be married and which was why he willing owned up and begged his wife for forgiveness. The act of humility often makes the party that was in the wrong to own up quickly than pa.s.sing judgement on them without giving them a chance to realize that they were wrong.
"I promise to cherish our time together. You know how hard it is for me to accept when I"m wrong, I never meant to put you down in front of my niece and the cultivator. I"m sorry Mou Yaxin."
They both gazed at each other with love in their eyes, before eventually giving in to a warm embrace, Mou Yaxin stroked the hair of his wife loving, while hers was resting squarely against his chest.
"I love you Mou Yaxin!"
"I love you, Hairong!"
They both declared the love they had for each other, while staring at the distance with contentment on their face.
"Aunt Xuequi! We are so sorry!"
Mou Yidan was the twin that began begging his cousin, before his younger twin Mou Zimu followed suit to ask for forgiveness. Yan Xuequi due to the wide gap age-wise between her Aunt"s children, she made them call her niece Aunt rather than the cousin she was to them. The twins were held in a tight hug by their cousins for quite some time before they were let go to remain by her side.
"Are you and Ma angry with us?! Does she still want us back?!"
Yan Xuequi looked at the teary eyes of her cousins and patted each one in the head to say, "Yidan, Zimu. Your mother is very sad because she thinks that she may not find you. When you both get home, I want you to prostrate and tell her that you would never do that again, is that clear?!"
"Yes Aunt Xuequi! We"ll beg Ma!"
"Zimu, you haven"t said a word."
The fox princess looked at the younger twin, whose eyes were downcast and very sad with tears in them.
"I don"t want Ma to abandon me. I didn"t mean to run away."
"If that is what you feel in your heart, then why don"t we all go home and beg your mother. Aunt Hairong may give you and Yidan a beating or two, but as you both know how she is, she"s so quick to forgive. Make sure you give her a hug when you get back, okay?!"
"Yes Aunt Xuequi!"
They both chorused their agreement with following the advise of their cousin to plead with their mother.
It was after this that the fox princess turned to the person that found them, Lin Cheng who watched from afar the emotional reunion.
Holding each twin in one hand, Yan Xuewui walked to where the disciple cultivator stood with a smile on his face.
"Thank you for finding them for me, Lin Cheng of the BaoXu sect. I will forever be grateful."
The fox princess gave a deep bow to Lin Cheng, who was taken aback by her show of grat.i.tude which looked to him to be beyond what a being of her standing who likely do to another that was of a lesser standing, since he was only a disciple from a cultivation sect, while she was a princess of a clan, because a mere simple bow would have sufficed.
"You don"t need to thank me Princess Yan Xuequi. It is within my duty as a disciple to do good and help those in need, I"m happy they were not in any harms way. It"s already getting late, I"ll see you off."
Lin Cheng gave a salute to the fox princess, as three pair of eyes stared back at him in response.
Together the three made it out of the forest, heading into the town and straight for the home of the Mou family. Mou Yaxin the husband of Mou Hairong was an orphan, which meant that the only family the twins had was their parents and those from the fox clan, since they hated visiting the fox clan, they were stuck with just their cousin and parents as their closest family.
"Have you been out long searching for them?"
Lin Cheng looked at the serene face of the fox princess, as he waited on her reply.
"I"ve been searching for them for about an hour, I almost thought they had drown by the river nearby."
The thought that her cousins may have drown, caused a chill to pa.s.s through her body, Lin Cheng noticed the way she shook and went ahead to take off his cloak and drape it across her shoulders.
It was then that they all finally got to see what he wore underneath the cloak he always had on his body. It was the purple robes of the BaoXu sect with an embroidery of the insignia of his sect on them. When he first left his sect on the journey to the mortal realm, Lin Cheng had taken off his forehead ribbon and worn a cloak to hide the ident.i.ty of his sect from others, not wanting to call attention to himself to whomever he might meet on the way, while on the journey for some soul searching and enlightenment.
"It"s really true that you are from a sect!"
"You thought I was lying when I told you that I was?"
The fox princess hadn"t really believed that Lin Cheng was from any of the cultivation sect that he claimed to be, because of all the past warning of how deceptive cultivators were and could not be trusted at all.
"What did you think I was?"
"I don"t know maybe a rogue cultivator because of your sword skill?"
"Huh?!"
Lin Cheng felt unsettled by the way the fox princess saw him, he wondered what the cultivation world could have done to the fox clan for them to despise them to that extent.
"Had some people been going about claiming that they were from a sect to curry favor from the fox clan? Or did the fox clan and the pugilistic world have a fall out?"
He kept thinking those things in his mind, with no answers on sight. One thing that Lin Cheng gained which he wasn"t aware of, was the deep respect that the older twin suddenly had for him, because it was his first time meeting someone that put him in his place without exercising the raw strength that the child could sense coming from him. Of course, Mou Yidan wasn"t going to let his eyes look with admiration at Lin Cheng, it was a secret he was going to guard with his life.
By the time they had walked to the heart of the town, the market was already closing for the day, the four of them walked through the several stall and not too long after they finally got to the humble home of the Mou family, but outside stood villagers bearing torches in their hands and sticks, some had hoes and cutla.s.ses and several farming tools.
"Catch them! Don"t let the demons escape! They also have a man with them!"
The twins hid behind the robes of their cousin, suddenly terrified of the angry crowd. One thing about them was that they could cause trouble and mischief, but they couldn"t handle the aftermath of their deeds.
"Aunt Xuequi?"
It was Mou Yidan calling his Aunt to save them from the furious mobs standing in front of their gate. They probably couldn"t get inside, which was why they stood outside, in a vigil until either someone comes in or goes out of the house.
"It"s alright, let me handle it."
Although it was forbidden to use their powers as cultivators in the mortal realm, this was to prevent disarray in the mortal realm and ensure that the universe would always remain in a state of balance. Lin Cheng knew that there was no way he could uphold the teachings of his sect when others were in trouble, which was why he was willing to break the rules to protect the ones with him.
"How can you them them on?! There are many of them and it"s only one of you!"
"Princess Yan Xuequi, let me protect you and the children, it is my duty to look at for those that are ill-treated by others."
"But...Wait!"
Lin Cheng was already walking towards the mobs, all of a sudden he had to switch to using the flash step technique by concentrating his spiritual energy on his feet and using his arms in a sweeping motion to erase the memories of the towns people.
The twins saw what he did, they could barely make out his figure from the way his body moved through the mobs, avoiding the weapons and fire from their torches. There was no hiding the look of wonder in the eyes of the twins, they were completely dazzled by Lin Cheng"s show of chivalry.
Soon after, the towns people began leaving in a daze, forgetting what they came to do at the home of the Mou family.
"Mister! What is your name?!"
"Yes! Can we know your name?!"
Both Mou Yidan and Mou Zimu asked that Lin Cheng tell them his name, they wanted to know who he really was, because of his fighting style.
"I"m Lin Cheng from the BaoXu sect."
Lin Cheng smiled warmly at the boys whose eyes was sparkling with admiration for him.
"Can you teach us what you did over there?"
"I"m sorry, but it is a secret technique that only those from a particular cultivation sect can practice, that is you have to be a disciple of that sect to be able to perform that technique and it all depends on the level of your spiritual energy."
"Mister, when you say spiritual energy, what is it?"
"Yidan, it means the power that you use to fight, just like how you were able to produce the flames that is covering your body. It is only possible due to spirit energy, it is something that you are born with or may get artificially by eating magical pills."
"Mister Lin Cheng."
"Yes Mou Zimu?"
Although the twins looked too identical, making it difficult to tell one from the other, but their facial expression and cadence of voice was a bit different from each other, only those that have been around them for a long time or are very attentive to details would be able to tell them apart, which was how Lin Cheng knew who was Yidan and who was Zimu from the way each spoke and acted.
"Could you explain what a sect is?"
"A sect is made up of a group of people, some of them could be family members while the rest can be people that don"t share the same blood, together they learn out to fight and are taught the teachings on how to gain immortality and walk the path of goodness, protecting the defenseless and developing various skills along the way."
"Can I join?"
"That would depend on your background Mou Zimu, because your situation is a little unique since you come from a clan that is not involved with the cultivation sect. It depends, some sect would take you in, while others wouldn"t because you may be seen as a threat due to your unique abilities that comes from being born into the fox clan."
"Okay, thanks Mister Lin Cheng."
"Are you thinking of joining a sect?! Don"t even think of it! Your mother and grandfather would lock you up at the fox fortress never to see daylight again! Please take that thought away from your mind!"
The fox princess spoke with pa.s.sion to the youngest of the twin, she knew that the mere mention of the cultivation world would send both her grandfather and Aunt to hysteria, if any of the twins brings up the idea of entering a sect to either of them, Yan Xuequi could already see the havoc that such a suggestion would cause to both the Mou family and the fox clan. Lin Cheng smiled faintly when he saw the way the fox princess reacted to her cousin"s question, if either of them ended up entering into a sect, then they would be the first in the history of the pugilistic world to be a disciple cultivator with the royal bloodline of fox clan.
"Alright! Let"s see if your parents are at home."
Lin Cheng lifted both boys in his arms and took to the air, landing inside the compound of the Mou family house, followed shortly after by Yan Xuequi. They saw the couple holding each other in fear, which soon dissipated to one of open relief on seeing who came into their home.
"Yidan! Zimu!"
"Ma! Pa!"
The twins ran straight into the arms of their parents, who wept with joy on their safe return home. Meanwhile, Lin Cheng and Yan Xuequi silently gazed at each as they entered into a world of their own.
Yan Xuequi held the hand of one of her Aunt"s son Mou Zimu, while Mou Yidan was held by his mother Mou Hairong. The four of them walked through the market stall looking at the merchandise on display, as each boy pointed at what they wanted their mother to buy for them.
"Ma! I want to eat the dragon sugar candy!"
"I want one too! Ma!"
The twin boys pointed with eyes full of antic.i.p.ation at the stall selling candy made from melted sugar of golden brown hanging from a stick, they could barely keep from running there, as many of the town people gathered in front of the stall to buy the sugar candy.
"What would you like Xuequi?"
"Hmm...I"ll want one of those tanghulu"s."
Mou Hairong tightly held onto the hand of her son, because he looked as though he would breakout from the hold she her on him to fly to the candy stall. The other twin with Yan Xuequi was no different either, he too was about ready to jump on those tempting melted gla.s.s candies.
"Yidan! Stop jumping or else no candy for you!"
The little boy pouted after receiving a reprimand from his mother. All four made their way to the line of people waiting to get the dragon sugar candy. When it finally got to their turn, Mou Hairong pulled out her yellow pouch to give the stall owner some silver coins. As the man handed each her two sticks of candy.
"Here Yidan, you can have one of the dragon sugar candy."
"Thank you Ma!"
"Zimu, here"s yours too."
"Thank you Ma!"
The boys squealed in excitement at their new found source of joy, the dragon sugar candy!
After they left the store, the next stop was to get Yan Xuequi her tanghulu, which was a pinkish-red rounded berry fruit that looked like red cherries on stick. Soon after they stopped at a stall that sold street food to get themselves something to eat.
"We"ll like four bowls of noodles with vegetables and chicken, along with some moon cake."
"I don"t want noodles!"
"I want rice Ma!"
"Yes! Me too!"
The boys looked at their mother with eyes filled with defiance, they didn"t want to eat the bowl of noodles that she had ordered for them.
"You want rice?"
"Yes Ma! We want rice!"
"When you grow up and start making money, then you can decide what you want, but until then! You too better eat what I give you!"
"We don"t want to Ma! We want rice!"
This time, the two boys threw themselves on the floor rolling from side to side, they knew that their mother did not like them misbehaving especially when they were outside their home, but they just wanted to have their way.
"Yidan! Stop inciting your brother to do outrageous things! The two of you need to stop right now!"
By then, a growing crowd of people had gathered to see the twins behave in a disgraceful way.
"Isn"t that their mother?! What is she doing watching her children roll on the ground in dirt!"
"I tell you the standard of training one"s child has truly fallen!"
"Which of them is the mother?!"
"Missus! Don"t you think you need to call your children to order?!"
"Aunt Hairong, people are starting to talk."
"And so what?! What if they start to talk! Do they know how much they try my patience! At times I wish I never had them!"
"Aunt Hairong! Please don"t say that! They would be so unhappy to hear that from you!"
Unfortunately for the mother of the twins, they already heard what their mother said and took to the air in the mist of all the town people gathered at the market.
"Demons! They are demons!"
"Did you see them fly?!"
"We have demons living among us!"
The town people went into a frenzy, after witnessing the children take to the air. The good thing was that they didn"t see the flames that surrounded their body.
Within a blink of an eye, the small crowd had become a mob, as they began chanting for them to be stoned.
"Don"t let them escape! Kill the demons!"
It was sundown when the unexpected occurrence took place, many had taken up sticks, stones and were ready to beat the women to death.
"Aunt Hairong, we need to go after Yidan and Zimu. It"s going to be dark soon, what if something happens to them!"
Mou Hairong looked at her niece, it wasn"t that she didn"t want to go after her sons, but she wanted them to know that they can"t always have their way.
"Aunt Hairong?"
The crowds had already closed in on them and were about to beat them with the sticks in their hand, when Mou Hairong finally gave the command to go after her children.
"Xuequi! Let"s go!"
"Yes Aunt Hairong!"
The two took to the air, as the crowd shouted at them in rage, some of them tried to hit them with the weapons in their hands, but they were so far up that none of it could reach the women.
"Aunt Hairong, I fear something may happen to Uncle Mou. Those mobs may go to the house and wait to attack him when he gets home for marrying a demon. Do you want me to look for them, while you go and search for Uncle?"
Mou Hairong was torn between looking for her children and safeguarding her husband, after pondering for some time as to whether or not she should leave her niece to look for her children, she finally gave in and asked her to go after them, while she search for her husband.
"Xuequi, help me find Zimu and Yidan. Please bring them home for me!"
Yan Xuequi knew that although her Aunt presented herself as being a tough parent, she still cared a lot about her children, it was merely some words spoken in a moment of weakness that led to the situation they were in and not because she hated her children.
"I promise to bring them home, Aunt Hairong! Be safe!"
"And you too Xuequi!"
The two parted ways, as one left to look for her husband while the other left to look for her cousins. The fox princess kept searching the area that she thought the children could possibly be hiding, but nothing turned up.
"Yidan! Zimu! Where are you?"
Yan Xuequi kept shouted the names of the twins and still there was no answer. The reason why she feared for her cousins was because with darkness came evil creatures that were drawn to anything that contained spiritual energy.
Meanwhile, the twins had flown to the neighboring town of Xuekejiu whose stalls already had the night lamp outside, the two walked hand in hand savoring the candy they bought at one of the stalls from the money stolen from one of the town"s people. Taking things without the other person being aware was nothing to an half fox child, their fox fire did the task while the reap the fruit from using their powers.
Neither of them was missing home, as they bought the things they wanted. The second stop was at the food stall that sold street food. They sat at the bench by each other to each the white rice, vegetables and chicken that they ordered. The stall owner was puzzled that two little boys that looked so much alike were alone buying food at night.
"Where are your parents?"
"Over there!"
The boys pointed in the general direction of towns people that were buying merchandise from the other stalls.
"Alright, I"ll wait until they get here. It"s late, don"t go anywhere until they come and get you!"
The boys looked at the elderly man in dark green robes and long grey beards, while nodding at him innocently. Meanwhile, the stall owner did not know that he had trouble in his stall in the form of two innocent boys.
"Zimu, after we finish eating, let"s buy some paper dragonflies."
"Okay Yidan."
Yidan was the more mischievous one of the two, while Zimu always went along with whatever he devises.
After a while, the boys were done eating and were about to stand up and leave, when they heard the stall keepers voice.
"Boys! It"s late at night, don"t walk around on your own! Wait her for your parents!"
Yidan"s eyes changed color to that of green, he had a petulant look on his face that showed that he didn"t want any adult telling him what to do.
"Yidan?"
Zimu"s voice was fearful, as he saw the change in his brother"s eyes that, meant he was very angry. The stall keeper on the other hand saw the change in the boy"s eyes and was about to scream out in terror, but Yidan was not going to allow the man to call the attention of the town"s people. As he was about to raise his hand and blast the man with the flames surrounding his body, that was when someone held him by the arm. It was none other than Lin Cheng!
"I"m sorry for the disturbance shopkeeper, these are my children. Please forgive them for being so ill-mannered."
While Lin Cheng spoke he waved a hand over the face of the man to remove the memory of what he had seen of the half fox child.
"Tell the stall keeper that you are sorry!"
Mou Yidan felt the tight hold on his arm, it was beginning to hurt and no matter how much he tried to break free, he couldn"t get out from the man"s grip. Lin Cheng left some gold coins on the table of the food stall.
"I"m..sorry."
The stall owner nodded morosely at the boys and the strange man that claimed to be the father of the boys. Although he apologized, it wasn"t one of sincerity, while his brother silently looked on from the side.
"Let"s go!"
"Farewell shopkeeper."
Lin Cheng held each boy in one hand, as the two left the town of Xuekejiu for Yiting town.
"Can the both of you tell me your names?"
"Mou Zimu."
Lin Cheng waited on the other twin to give out his name, he had his grip on the twin especially tight because he could sense that he was a handful.
"You haven"t told me your name."
"Mou..Yidan."
The twin slowly replied with an unhappy look on his face. Looking at them, Lin Cheng saw they were well taken care of from the robes they had on them, it seemed their family wasn"t doing to bad. Which made him wonder why they ran away from home in the first place.
"Can you tell me where you live? I can tell you are from Yiting town."
Lin Cheng guessed they were from the town he mentioned, because the aura he felt from them felt strangely familiar to the one he encountered from the fox princess, he recalled her saying that there were people from the fox clan living in Yiting town.
"We don"t want to go back home!"
"Why don"t you and your brother want to go back to your parents?"
Lin Cheng asked Mou Zimu, who was visibly upset at the thought of going to meet his parents.
"Ma hates us!"
"There is no mother that would hate her child, I"m sure you must have heard her wrong."
"No! She hates us!"
"Did you do something for you to think that she hates you?"
It was then that Mou Yidan couldn"t answer Lin Cheng, because he knew that he egged his brother on to make their mother say the things she said at the market.
At the time they had reached the forest that led into Yiting town when they heard a voice that called out to them.
"Yidan! Zimu!"
"Aunt Xuequi!"
The boys broke away from Lin Cheng and ran happily to meet their cousin, whose eyes were filled with tears when she saw them walk into the forest. Lin Cheng didn"t need to be told who the parents of the half fox children were, an indescribable feeling that resembled one of delight, came over him as he saw the fox princess.
"Mister! Can you spare us some money?!"
Lin Cheng walked through an abandoned village on the outskirt of Yiting town, he saw it was ravaged by the plague. The huts looked rundown with flies swarming everywhere, perching on the bodies both the living and dead. Dirt caked the faces of the people of Yiting village, who wore robes that looked more like rags. Hands with fingernails resembling that of rabid claws stretched out to the man that was dressed like someone from one of the n.o.ble families in the town. Their skin was very much darkened by dirt such that it made it difficult to separate one from the other.
The lone cultivator kept looking around the village, walking past them to see if there was anything he could salvage from the dilapidated place. There was no water from the few wells that was in the village, plants and trees had withered from lack of water, the whole place was consumed by filth.
"I have to see if I can bring back some food from Yiting town and get some herbs and a few jars of water."
As he spoke aloud, Lin Cheng knew in his heart that it may not be enough to go round, but he still resolved to got ahead and buy what he needed to help the villagers of Yiting town.
He turned around to head out of the village, but the cries of the villagers grew louder even though it was weak at first from starvation and neglect.
"Mister, please! Do not leave us to all die!"
"I"m coming back, I just need to get everyone something to eat and medicine for your illnesses."
Lin Cheng looked back and told them of his plan, he watched as they continued to plead with him not to abandon them, but he knew that if he continued to stand there trying to convince them that he wasn"t going to run away, then it will be nightfall and the market would have closed. Therefore, he decided to ignore their pitiful pleas and head out of the village straight for the market at Yiting town.
"Come and buy fresh melons!"
"Dumplings! Fresh dumplings at half the price!"
Several traders called out their wares to the people that pa.s.sed through the market stalls.
"Bedding for newly weds! With talismans to ward off evil spirits!"
"Get your children the latest toys from Qin town! They just came off the boat!"
"Mister! Get some hair pins for your little girl at home! Or your wife! Or lover!"
"Noodles! Freshly made! They are half the price! Come and buy them before it runs out!"
"Quilted shoes! Just made today! Get yourself a new shoe!"
"Candy sticks! Come buy some dragon candy sticks! They are freshly made!"
"Come and read your fortune from the best fortuneteller in Yiting town! Know what the future holds for you and your family!"
"Herbs! Medicinal Herbs! Buy some for you and your family! They don"t cost much! Get some Herbs today!"
"Paper Lanterns! Get yourself one for the coming mid-autumn festival!"