Chapter 30

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Chapter 30

In the frost wind at the top of the snowy mountain, Yun Chuyou heard her own reply, "Okay."

In fact, she had always cherished her life and was not selfless enough to sacrifice for her junior brothers and sisters. Yun Chuyou wanted to say she was not the kind of good person with a halo of virtue that her teacher thought she was.

However, in today’s strange atmosphere, many things Yun Chuyou wanted to say stuck in her throat and wouldn’t come out. She had many questions to ask, but she didn’t know how to organize her words properly.

After a long standoff, she finally managed to say with difficulty under those hopeful eyes, "The disciple listens to the master."

Her answer clearly pleased Xie Fuzhi, and a bright smile bloomed on his face, like flowers opening in spring. He reached out and rubbed Yun Chuyou’s soft hair, "The master knows you will keep your promise."

Her treasured disciple is actually a bit stubborn at heart. She always keeps her promises, and as long as she is obedient, he won’t force her to do anything.

"Chuyou, where is Zhong Wei? Didn’t you say she wanted revenge?"

"Danchenzi is a Formation Master, and he has the large sect behind him. The Qingxu Sect is weak, so I sent my younger martial sister to gather information."

In the end, they did not know if Danchenzi was hiding these cruel deeds from his sect. If these actions were only done by him, they couldn’t just attack an entire sect.

Revenge needs to be precise; if it expands the situation under the banner of revenge and harms countless innocents, then what is the difference between them and a villain like Danchenzi?

In short, Yun Chuyou’s current advice to Zhong Wei is to first gather clear information and then plan the revenge accordingly.

However, at that moment, she didn’t really want to talk to Xie Fuzhi about matters related to Zhong Wei. Avoiding the issue is shameful, but sometimes it is truly useful.

Yun Chuyou awkwardly changed the subject, "It’s getting late. Master, please rest well. I will take my leave now."

When she left, she didn’t even spare a glance at the merperson in the Cold Pool. After saying this, she hurriedly flew away, not waiting for Xie Fuzhi’s response. Her emotions were in a bit of a mess, and she needed some time alone to think.

When they reached the foot of the mountain, smoke was already swirling around the small kitchen of the sect. They hadn’t expected to return so early. The Food Cultivator they had hired had gone on leave, and they sent a message with the crane to ask someone to come back, which would take at least a few days. If they didn’t want to eat from the Li family’s restaurant, they would have to cook for themselves.

Luckily, Meng He was quite skilled at basic tasks. He perfectly cut the Grunt Beast with his knife, while the new three-tailed white fox, or rather, the four-tailed white fox named Hu Xiao Bai, took on the job of starting the fire. Right now, he was using his fox fire to burn the fur off the Grunt Beast.

As soon as the little fox spirit saw Yun Chuyou, it jumped out joyfully to greet her, "Benefactor!"

Meng He wiped the sweat from his forehead, "Elder Martial Sister, the ingredients for the medicine are all prepared."

Yun Chuyou nodded, "Thank you for your hard work. Junior Brother, go take a rest. I can handle the rest."

Hu Xiao Bai quickly said, "I’m very good at starting fires. Let me help you cook!"

Although his cooking skills were average, he was very precise in controlling the heat, and he would surely be able to follow instructions well.

After arriving at Qingxu Sect, Hu Xiao Bai quickly looked into the surroundings. The house was large, the scenery was beautiful, and it was much better than his home in the Mortal World. The key point was that the Spirit Qi was exceptionally rich.

The Spirit Qi in the spiritual world was already much higher than in the Mortal World. Once inside Qingxu Sect, which had a Spirit Gathering Formation, the concentration of Spirit Qi increased many times.

The few ordinary people brought back by Yu Jiu didn’t recognize the value, but Hu Xiao Bai was quite knowledgeable. This kind of lucky spot is only slightly worse than Blue Mountain.

After all, for the Fox tribe, Blue Mountain is a sacred place, and nothing outside can compare to Blue Mountain.

Hu Xiao Bai’s parents passed away when he was young, and the Blue Mountain Fox tribe probably wouldn’t want to pay a high "ransom" for him, so he must work hard to show his worth and make sure his kind benefactor keeps him!

Upon hearing this, Meng He immediately said, "We are using the Burning Talisman made by Elder Martial Sister, so we don’t need you."

He skillfully took out the Burning Talisman from his storage space, and the cold stove suddenly ignited with a flicker of orange-red flame.

Meng He said to Yun Chuyou, "This little task is not tiring at all. I will stay here to help Elder Martial Sister, so when Junior Martial Brother Yu Jiu and younger martial sister return, they can eat Senior Martial Sister’s cooking right away."

Hu Xiao Bai looked at the Burning Talisman in the stove, his face turning red with anger. Why didn’t Meng He take this good thing out earlier? Instead, he insisted on using his fox fire to burn beast fur, clearly just trying to mess with him.

In his own territory, Meng He felt especially justified, so he approached Hu Xiao Bai and forcefully threw the sly fox out; the white bundle drew a perfect arc in the air and bounced up twice when it hit the ground because of the reaction force.

Meng He declared confidently, "You shouldn’t be in the kitchen. Elder Martial Sister said the kitchen must be clean, and we don’t want to eat fox fur meatballs with all your fur flying around."

When he said this, he also closed the kitchen door, not letting the other person in at all.

The hired helper was not there; only two people were in the kitchen. To protect Elder Martial Sister’s innocence, he would not foolishly leave to rest, allowing that male fox spirit and Elder Martial Sister to be alone together in the same space.

The fox demon stuck outside the door watched the kitchen door close in frustration. It angrily pawed at the door in mid-air, but when Yun Chuyou did not let him in, he did not dare to intrude and had to droop his ears and obediently wait outside.

He wasn’t foolish either; Meng He was a proper disciple of the Qingxu Sect and the real successor next to Yun Chuyou, so the senior disciple naturally held a much higher position than this fox.

A contract! He needed to find a way to make a contract with his benefactor. As the saying goes, even when hitting a dog, one must pay attention to its owner. If he became the fox of his benefactor, wouldn’t the benefactor’s younger martial brothers and sisters treat him like a treasure?

Thinking about the hidden tensions among the senior brothers, Hu Xiao Bai slapped his own face to avoid getting lost in false fantasies. In short, even if they didn’t treat him like a treasure, they wouldn’t openly bully him like now, and recognizing a master was surely the best outcome.

Luckily, Hu Xiao Bai didn’t have to wait long; Yun Chuyou opened the kitchen door and said, "Little Bai, do you remember the Li family restaurant we visited? Can you find its exact location?"

Hu Xiao Bai nodded, "I can."

The fox tribe is also part of the canine family and has a very keen sense of smell.

Yun Chuyou could actually choose to let Zhong Wei bring back a pot, but she needed to keep Hu Xiao Bai away. On one hand, she wanted to see if Hu Xiao Bai would try to sneak away, and on the other hand, she wanted to test Hu Xiao Bai’s skills, "Go to their house and get three jugs of Pear Blossom Wine. Just say it’s on Yun Chuyou’s tab from Qingxu Sect."

She didn’t really like drinking much, but tonight, she wanted to sip a little.

"Got it!" Hu Xiao Bai wagged his tail, "Don’t worry, I promise I’ll be back soon!"

"Remember to cover your face when you get to the foot of the mountain, and don’t show your fox ears and tail in front of strangers."

Yun Chuyou handed Hu Xiao Bai a mask. The nearby town was quite simple, but there were cultivators passing through, and Hu Xiao Bai was an unbound demon cultivator. If he was unlucky and caught someone’s eye, it could lead to trouble.

"Thank you so much!" Hu Xiao Bai, who had a lot of experience walking among humans, had his peach blossom-shaped fox eyes curve into crescents, and his tail wagged even more joyfully.

He knew the kind-hearted person was caring for him; he understood she had him in her heart!

Meng He, standing behind Yun Chuyou, frowned, "Elder Martial Sister, are you really going to contract this silly fox? I’m worried you’ll catch his foolishness."

He thought his Elder Martial Sister could contract a spirit pet, but it should at least be something impressive, like a snow wolf king or a dragon; it should be majestic and strong, not just a pretty little useless fox spirit.

"Little Bai is quite nice, and you are quite similar to her." Yun Chuyou turned and went into the kitchen, putting the cut meat into the pot. Her delicate face appeared a bit blurry in the rising smoke.

Meng He was so angry when he heard this that he jumped up and down, "Elder Martial Sister, you’re talking nonsense. How am I similar to that flirty fox spirit?!"

"Your personalities are quite alike," Yun Chuyou casually said. "Little Bai is not bad at all. She is simple and obedient, and she is not flirty."

Of course, the fact that the other person looked very cute did add a lot of points. Who wouldn’t like a big, fluffy, white tail? Hu Xiao Bai liked to stay clean. As a demon, he didn’t have any strange smell.

"The Qingxu Sect is actually quite quiet. Adding Little Bai makes it livelier."

Meng He said, "Elder Martial Sister, have you asked Master about Hu Xiao Bai? Does Master agree?"

He could feel the difference in how Master Xie Fuzhi treated Elder Martial Sister. A master who thinks highly of Elder Martial Sister would probably not agree to have a weak Foundation Establishment white fox as a contracted spirit.

Generally speaking, unless it’s a very strong bloodline demon beast, the cultivation level of a contracted spirit pet should at least match that of the cultivator, otherwise the spirit pet’s cultivation feedback to the cultivator would be very little.

Hu Xiao Bai can’t even defeat himself; now that Elder Martial Sister is at the Golden Core Stage, it would be a waste to use a precious contract spot on a little fox with only three and a half tails.

Although a cultivator can make a Master-servant Contract with multiple demon beasts, it does not mean that the cultivator does not need to pay any price. The cultivator should provide food, shelter, and resources for the demon beasts to grow stronger.

If a demon beast is mistreated, it might fight back against the contract, which would slightly affect the cultivator, though the impact is not too serious.

He certainly does not worry that Yun Chuyou will mistreat her contracted demon beast; he simply does not want to see Hu Xiao Bai take advantage of her.

A Golden Core Stage cultivator can normally have a contract with at most three demon beasts at the same time, and the benefits Hu Xiao Bai can bring to his senior martial sister are really too little.

Meng He had a bright idea, "Elder Martial Sister, didn’t you say that Hu Xiao Bai is an old friend of the younger martial sister? Why not let him contract with the younger martial sister?"

When Zhong Wei was mentioned, Yun Chuyou’s hand shook, "Let’s not talk about that. Did you practice your calligraphy today?"

Meng He immediately cried out, "We just got back, and I have to practice calligraphy? Yu Jiu doesn’t even have time to teach me!"

"He doesn’t teach, but that doesn’t stop you from practicing," Yun Chuyou replied calmly as she pulled the food from the pot.

When the large table of dishes was ready, Hu Xiao Bai returned with three bottles of Pear Blossom Wine, "Benefactor, here are some appetizers sent by the shopkeeper, they are marinated chicken feet!"

He swallowed hard and said, "It smells delicious, but I didn’t steal a single chicken claw on my way here."

The fox loved eating chicken, and the chickens in the spiritual world were filled with Spirit Qi, making them incredibly tasty. He swallowed many times on the way, but he managed to resist.

Yun Chuyou felt a little happier looking at Hu Xiao Bai’s appearance. "You did very well."

Meng He couldn’t help but roll his eyes. "Isn’t it just right not to steal? How can you seek praise for such a thing? What a flattering fox."

"Elder Martial Sister, I’m back."

Zhong Wei, who received a message from the Spirit Connecting Jade, had been outside for too long. She returned to Qingxu Sect just in time for dinner, washed her hands, and took out her own bowl and chopsticks.

Yun Chuyou looked at the table full of dishes. Master was still on the mountain and hadn’t come down for dinner. Due to some subtle and complex emotions, she didn’t want to call him down at that moment.

She sighed and took out a food box to prepare Xie Fuzhi’s portion. Normally, she would be the one to deliver it, but this time Yun Chuyou glanced between her junior brother and younger martial sister before handing the food box and a jar of Pear Blossom Wine to Zhong Wei.

"Younger martial sister, take this food to Master. What do you think? Do you want revenge for yourself, or let Master handle it, or do you want to talk to him yourself?"

Perhaps it is because the master does not communicate much with the younger martial brothers and sisters, so their feelings are not strong. After all, building feelings requires mutual effort. The ten years she spent relying on the master were not in vain; naturally, their bond is deeper than with the younger martial brothers and sisters.

However, Xie Fuzhi’s reaction to the younger martial sister seems a bit too distant and cold. She couldn’t help but remember that five years ago, on the day of the Golden Core tribulation, Xie Fuzhi repeatedly said he wanted to send Zhong Wei back.

At that time, Xie Fuzhi had just met the younger martial sister, and it was normal to feel angry towards her. But now that five years have passed, could the master still hold a grudge about that?

Although she is happy about the master’s affection, she doesn’t want the master to treat the other disciples poorly. After all, the master is not the same as the senior martial sister.

Yun Chuyou asked the younger martial sister to deliver food, perhaps because a kind gesture can make someone more friendly, especially if the master has eaten and enjoyed himself.

"Senior martial sister, you’ve worked hard. Thank you for caring about me."

Traveling back and forth and searching for news can be exhausting for Zhong Wei, but she is very touched by Yun Chuyou’s efforts. It is natural for her to work hard for her own matters, but the elder martial sister has done so much extra for her.

Her own flesh and blood can be harsh and ruthless, wishing her dead, but the elder martial sister, who is not related by blood, works hard for her, caring for her in every detail. She is not ungrateful and will cherish this kindness.

Yun Chuyou smiled slightly and waved her hand, urging her, "Hurry up, after you’re done, come back and eat together."

A confused Meng He asked, "Elder Martial Sister, are you keeping something from me? What happened to the younger martial sister?"

"If you want to know, wait for her to come back and ask the younger martial sister yourself." She preferred not to speak about it; it was exhausting.

Yu Jiu soon took a seat as well, but he came alone.

Yun Chuyou asked with concern, "What about those four people? Since they are your disciples, they should eat with us."

After all, when they welcomed the younger martial sister, everyone ate together, and the table was big enough, plus there were plenty of chairs at Qingxu Sect.

"No need; I have other plans for them." They were just ghost servants, not worthy of dining with their master.

Yu Jiu turned his gaze to Hu Xiao Bai. "Senior Martial Sister, he is not fit to be with us. Since you want to contract him, he should know what it means to be a master and what it means to be a servant. Demon beasts can be pushy; it’s best to set rules from the start."

Meng He, who usually did not get along with Yu Jiu, nodded in agreement. "Yes, yes, yes, rules should be set. Senior Martial Sister, you said before that without rules, nothing can be accomplished. You are the leader of our sect, the soul of Qingxu Sect, and you must lead by example."

Hu Xiao Bai couldn’t help but show his teeth at these two annoying guys when Yun Chuyou wasn’t looking.

Men really are not good people; the two junior apprentices beside my benefactor have cruel hearts and truly mean harm!

Yun Chuyou felt a little unhappy, "Little Bai is not my spirit pet yet; he is a guest of the Qingxu Sect."

Hu Xiao Bai’s bad mood suddenly turned good; as long as his benefactor was on his side, he felt unbeatable.

Yu Jiu said, "He is a debtor, not a guest."

It’s just a small spirit stone; Yun Chuyou could easily pay off Hu Xiao Bai’s debt, but when the words came to her lips, she swallowed them back.

Something feels off; her current emotions are not right; she shouldn’t be angry at others.

Although Yu Jiu and Meng He were not friendly, from their perspective, there wasn’t really a problem; both junior apprentices were thinking of themselves; after all, Hu Xiao Bai is a monster and an outsider.

No matter what, she shouldn’t hurt her own people for the sake of an outsider, but she thought of doing that because she had built up negative feelings with Xie Fuzhi and wanted to release her anger.

"Then let Little Bai and those few disciples have a small table together; he has put in a lot of effort today."

Yun Chuyou took a new set of tableware and used clean public chopsticks to pick out Hu Xiao Bai’s portion. Knowing that foxes are carnivores, she specially gave him extra meat and even added two more chicken feet.

When she handed over the bowls and plates, she used both hands, showing polite respect.

It is impossible for anyone to please everyone completely. Anyway, Yun Chuyou didn’t want to think about that now; she was just acting based on her upbringing.

Hu Xiao Bai accepted it with a surprised but happy look. He didn’t cause any trouble and politely thanked Yun Chuyou, "Thank you very much, it’s okay, I don’t really need a table."

He was just a fox spirit living in the wild, not a spoiled noble, and he didn’t care whether he could sit at the table to eat together.

Besides, accepting a little loss helps increase the favorability rating of the benefactor, and he didn’t care what the other people thought of him.

They made it hard for themselves in front of the benefactor, and the more obedient and understanding he acted, the more guilt the benefactor would feel towards him. Hu Xiao Bai was smart; he happily ate his food, thinking: not enough, it would be better if those two acted worse, then maybe the benefactor would get so excited that he would agree to make a contract with him.

Actually, a fox spirit like him could forcefully claim a master, but Hu Xiao Bai still wanted to wait for Yun Chuyou to agree. After all, a relationship built by force wouldn’t be as good as one formed willingly.

On the other side, Zhong Wei carried a food box to the top of the mountain. She had been on this mountain for five years, but she had rarely come to the top during that time.

On one hand, it was because at the beginning, she was weak in health and had low skills, so she could not bear the cold in the mountains at all.

On the other hand, it was also because Xie Fuzhi would go down the mountain when he was teaching them, and she would not disturb her master when there was nothing important.

Anyway, if she had questions, she could ask Elder Martial Sister and her two senior brothers; there was no need to waste her master’s time.

This was the reason on the surface, but another very important reason that Zhong Wei had never mentioned to Elder Martial Sister was that she was afraid of Xie Fuzhi.

In Elder Martial Sister’s words, her master was a kind and approachable person. It seemed so, as Elder Martial Sister would even call her master by name when she was angry, and at that time, her master would not get angry at all.

Unlike her father, who had a bad temper and loved to act superior, constantly defending patriarchy.

Zhong Wei had not met many adult men, and her biological father was undoubtedly the one who had the most influence on her.

A master is like a father; once a student, always a child. If one betrays their master, they would be shamed and punished. Moreover, in the spiritual world, a master is not only a master but also a revered figure. One must treat their master with the same admiration as a father, and even more respect than a father.

In terms of status, Xie Fuzhi’s role for Zhong Wei was almost the same as that of her father. Not to mention five years, even in ten years, fifty years, or even five hundred years, she could never interact with her master like Elder Martial Sister did.

After a long climb to the top of the mountain, Zhong Wei saw the tall and graceful figure.

The beautiful girl struggled to open her mouth and said, "Master, Elder Martial Sister asked me to bring you food."

Alone with Xie Fuzhi, she was too afraid to speak for herself and had to mention Yun Chuyou, the Elder Martial Sister. She wasn’t foolish; she sensed that Master didn’t care for her that much.

If he truly liked her, he wouldn’t have said those words five years ago about sending her back. If it weren’t for Elder Martial Sister’s insistence, there wouldn’t be a younger martial sister Zhong Wei today.

Yun Chuyou was mistaken; Xie Fuzhi had already forgotten this small matter. Those words from long ago left no mark on his heart, but they became an unbreakable knot in Zhong Wei’s heart.

She was sure that when Xie Fuzhi saw it was her, his mood turned very sour, as the wind and snow on the mountain grew fiercer than before.

Xie Fuzhi said with a blank expression, "Just leave it there."

Indeed, with Elder Martial Sister gone, Master’s tone was icy, colder than the wind and snow at the mountain top.

"What are you still doing here?"

"Yes." Zhong Wei instinctively wanted to escape, but after running only a few steps, she remembered that she couldn’t let Elder Martial Sister down.

"I, I…"

Elder Martial Sister asked her to talk about revenge, but Zhong Wei felt like she had become mute. She opened her mouth for a long time, only to fill it with cold air, not knowing where to start.

It was so painful; she hated being alone with such a cold man like her master! She missed Elder Martial Sister so much; when Elder Martial Sister was there, her master never wore such a cold face.

In the end, it was Xie Fuzhi who broke the awkward silence again, "Your Elder Martial Sister mentioned to me that you want me to help you kill Danchenzi and your real sister? To seize back your Spiritual Root and demonic pill?"

Xie Fuzhi’s voice was very imposing, and Zhong Wei felt as though she was standing on the edge of a great cliff, with an avalanche falling above her, leaving death both above and below.

That cold voice asked, "I can help you get back what you lost, but then, Zhong Wei, tell me, do you want to become a demon?"