Chapter 12
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Flower Brocade Sect’s demonic cultivators were shameless by nature. Most of those they kidnapped back to their sect ended up as toys on their beds.
The derogatory implication behind the phrase “forcefully seize” alone made Third Senior Brother’s rage surge to its peak. His left hand slid over the folding fan, transforming it into a gleaming silver sword.
However, the subordinates of the demonic cultivators surrounded him, blocking his path to support Pei Yunshu.
The Hall Master of Flower Brocade Sect appeared completely unconcerned. With the Celestial Binding Rope still holding Qingyue Sword captive, Pei Yunshu pulled out several magical treasures, his face cold as he attacked the demonic cultivators.
His attacks were all deflected. The opponents, relying on their higher cultivation and multiple magical treasures, toyed with Pei Yunshu, akin to a cat playing with a mouse. In the end, one of them even reached out and picked up the veil from the table, capitalizing on the moment when Pei Yunshu was launching a paper talisman. The veil was tossed right onto Pei Yunshu’s head.
Evading the charm on the talisman with laughter, the demonic cultivator stepped back, his hands clasped behind his back as he observed Pei Yunshu across the room.
As the veil flew out, its appearance was ethereal and alluring. When it landed on Pei Yunshu, it hung halfway on the corner of the table, partially concealing his face. This tantalizing sight made it even more tempting to remove the obstructive white gauze.
“After knowing your Distinguished Self for so long, your distinguished self still doesn’t know my name,” the handsome Hall Master of Flower Brocade Sect smirked, his lips curling upwards. His deep brows and eyes bore a hint of melancholy, yet he quickly reverted to his casual demeanor. “Beautiful one, my name is Zouyu.”
Pei Yunshu’s face was expressionless, his connection with Qingyue Sword growing stronger. He exerted more force to free it from the Celestial Binding Rope’s grip. The sword clashed against the golden rope, producing a jarring sound akin to iron grinding against iron.
The demonic cultivator’s words grew increasingly flirtatious, and Pei Yunshu’s attacks became fiercer. However, his lack of battle experience and the influence of his anger led to vulnerabilities, which Zouyu exploited with a mocking smile.
As Zouyu’s fingers lightly brushed Pei Yunshu’s waistband, a searing sensation suddenly shot through Pei Yunshu’s thigh. A white hairband abruptly emerged from his pants leg, entwining around Zouyu’s hand and forcefully pulling him away from Pei Yunshu’s side.
The hairband flung Zouyu into his subordinates’ midst. They caught their Hall Master, and Zouyu scowled as he attempted to cast a spell on the hairband. However, the attack seemed to dissipate into nothingness, angering the unexpected hairband that had appeared. In the blink of an eye, it stretched and expanded, transforming into a pitch-black snake!
The snake’s head was enormous, its gaping maw revealing a crimson forked tongue that flickered in and out. Its eyes were blood-red, like two deep pools of scarlet, fixated on the group before it.
Coiled in mid-air, the snake’s sinuous form possessed a peculiar beauty. Pei Yunshu, who had been shielded behind it, gazed at the snake in astonishment and muttered, “Zhuyou…”
The jet-black scales adorned its body, and the two small, undeveloped horn-like bumps on its head indicated its extraordinary nature. Who else could it be but Zhuyou?
The cloth strip had truly been hidden on him, and it could actually transform into Zhuyou.
Pei Yunshu’s mind was in chaos. Unconsciously, he took a step forward. Yet, just as he was about to approach, a flash of red cloth appeared. The woman who had offered him wine earlier grabbed him and rolled into an open secret chamber.
The door to the secret chamber closed with a click, enveloping them in darkness. Pei Yunshu retrieved a dagger from his storage pouch and held it against the woman’s neck as she pulled him deeper into the chamber. “Who are you?”
His voice was icy, and an odd undertone slipped through.
The woman’s grip on his wrist was unexpectedly strong, as if her hand were larger than his own.
She sighed softly and, unfazed, pushed the dagger away from her neck. When she spoke again, her voice was unexpectedly masculine. “My beauty, you must be more careful! I only have three tails left that haven’t been tampered with. I don’t even know if these three tails can make it safely out of this secret realm. Oh, dear, it’s so troublesome. Why won’t that group of demonic cultivators stop chasing me? They know I adore beautiful women, yet they specifically came to Spring Breeze Pavilion to capture me. Luckily, I’m clever; how could those ordinary fools expose me?….”
This person rambled on and on, regardless of whether Pei Yunshu could follow. After listening for a while, Pei Yunshu’s grip on the dagger almost trembled. “Are you the beast Flower Brocade Sect mentioned?”
“Yes, yes, that’s me!” The person nodded energetically, conjuring a refreshing breeze within the darkness. “Oh, my beauty, if it weren’t for you, I could’ve easily deceived those demonic cultivators and gone completely unnoticed. Mortals truly speak wisely. There’s a saying, how does it go? Dying beneath the peonies, the red apricots also come out of the wall*. It’s indeed a wise saying!”
* It suggests that passionate and clandestine relationships can develop even in seemingly innocent or unexpected places
“…Pei Yunshu then turned and asked, ‘What kind of demon are you?’
The person replied, ‘Beauty, why don’t you guess? Let’s see if you can guess that I’m a fox.’
Pei Yunshu sighed inwardly and said, ‘Indeed, you’re a fox.’
With such an affinity for beauty and possessing three tails, this couldn’t be an ordinary fox.
The extraordinary fox nodded even more vigorously and praised, ‘Truly, you’re quite amazing, my beauty. You guessed what I am so quickly.’
Pei Yunshu fell silent. After a while, when they had been pulled deeper into the chamber by the fox, he finally asked, ‘Where are you taking me?’
The fox let out a deep sigh and said, ‘When that big snake appeared, I was so frightened that my mind went blank. I just wanted to take you, my beauty, away as quickly as possible. After all, who would’ve thought you’d be so deeply ingrained in my heart due to your appearance? Once I started running, I realized I had been exposed. Well, since I’m already exposed, so be it. The Fox Demon’s Secret Realm is about to open, and we can’t allow those demonic cultivators to enter first. After much thought, beauty, how about you join me in exploring the Fox Demon’s Secret Realm?’
The anticipation in this sentence was almost overflowing. However, Pei Yunshu’s heart was growing heavier. ‘The Fox Demon’s Secret Realm?’
A new, as-yet-unopened secret realm – how could a young cultivator like him, who hadn’t even reached the golden core stage, and a fox demon venture into it alone?
Faced with such a grand opportunity, Pei Yunshu remained composed. ‘I am well aware that my strength is insufficient. It would be better for you to team up with someone more powerful. As for me, I haven’t even reached the golden core stage.’
The fox disagreed, saying, ‘My beauty, why do you underestimate yourself so much? In my opinion, no one is more powerful than you. The Fox Demon’s Secret Realm is our ancestral territory. Our fox demon clan has always been fond of beauty. Those demonic cultivators can’t hold a candle to you. Even if you were to enter with your eyes closed, you would still emerge unscathed.’
Pei Yunshu smiled, finding the fox’s words a bit whimsical.
After who knew how long they had been walking, a faint glimmer finally appeared at the end of the tunnel. The fox quickened its pace, but before they could emerge from the tunnel, the entire passage suddenly trembled violently, and dust and debris filled the air. It seemed as though the passage might collapse any moment.
The fox screamed in shock, and Pei Yunshu quickly grabbed hold of it. Channeling his spiritual energy into his feet, he managed to pull himself and the fox out of the collapsing tunnel just in time.
After using Cleansing Arts to clean himself, Pei Yunshu looked up and noticed that the fox had transformed back to its original form. Its red clothing laid empty on the ground, and the trembling fox, not even knee-high, shivered as though it had been greatly frightened. It quivered and stammered, ‘Bea-beauty, what exactly was that snake that came out of you?’
“That roar it let out was so terrifying,” the fox repeated, “so terrifying.”
Pei Yunshu paused for a moment. “I didn’t hear any roar.”
The fox was astonished. “How can this big snake be so unfair? Why did only I hear it? It must be because it’s even more lascivious than me, and when it saw you, my beauty, it found you more attractive than me. That’s why it treated us differently.”
Pei Yunshu couldn’t help but turn his head and glance at the now-collapsed tunnel.
“Is the snake lustful?” he muttered to himself.”
The fox overheard this and exclaimed loudly, “Snakes are the most lustful creatures! They have no shame at all. While we foxes might be fond of beauty, we still know our limits. But the snake clan is insatiable. When they’re in bed, they even—”
A silk handkerchief was used to cover its mouth, and Pei Yunshu glared at it. Unbeknownst to him, the tips of his fair ears had taken on a pretty shade of pink, like the blush of a newly bloomed flower.
The fox stared at his ears, entranced, and only after a while did it spit out the handkerchief. The fear it felt just moments ago was completely overshadowed by its fascination with beauty. It surreptitiously approached the beauty.
Pei Yunshu hadn’t noticed its intentions and maintained an indifferent appearance, casually asking, “What about the flood dragon?”
The fox froze in place like a statue. “What?”
The charming shade of red on Pei Yunshu’s earlobes deepened slightly. He cleared his throat and asked again, “Is a flood dragon… lustful?”
After all, a book is just a book. Did the person who wrote the book really see flood dragons, see snakes?
Are they inherently lustful, and is there any evidence to support this claim?
The image of Zhuyou looking at him with confusion, the words “Why can’t I lick?” kept replaying in his mind.
Pei Yunshu started feeling anxious.
He hoped the fox would give him a negative answer and that Zhuyou’s behavior was just a momentary whim.
As long as he knew that Zhuyou wasn’t acting out of lust, it would mean those intimate actions were merely a result of his lack of understanding about the world.
The fox had turned into a statue, frozen in place, its fur standing on end. Its voice was very soft, as if it feared disturbing something, “Flood Dragon!”
So, that terrifying roar from earlier, was it the roar of a flood dragon?
Oh my heavens.
The fox was about to faint.
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