Chapter 55: It Must Be the Doing of the Demon Race
Chapter 55: It Must Be the Doing of the Demon Race
“Late at night, coming to kneel before the manor, you’re really sincere, but I wonder what brings you to our Fang Manor?”
Looking at the woman outside the door, who clearly had demonic Qi all over her but was beaten up miserably and pitifully, Fang Cun couldn’t help but laugh.
To the woman’s ears, this voice sounded like a heavenly sound, and she quickly looked up, spotting that young master in white robes inside the threshold, holding a lantern; she was startled inside and wanted to struggle to get up, but with the effort, she couldn’t help herself and banged her head down hard, making a loud thud that made anyone who heard it feel sorry for her.
Truly panicked to the extreme now, she fully saw her current situation and hurriedly pleaded, “Young Master, spare my life! I am Hu Ying, a minor demon from Green Fox Mountain. Today, I’ve come presumptuously with important business to beg of you. Please spare this little demon’s life…”
“Green Fox Mountain?”
Fang Cun laughed without surprise, opened the gate a crack, and said, “Then come in and speak!”
As his words ended, the woman felt a sudden ease and looked up.
She looked around frightened—and saw nothing at either side of the Fang Residence except those two lions that didn’t seem serious, no talismans or magical items at all. In her mind, even more terror welled up.
Not daring to resist, she bowed her head and pulled her sleeves together, following the young master in white robes with small steps, slowly entering the Fang Residence.
“Please sit…”
Fang Cun led her to a tiny garden, sat at a stone table, looked her over up and down, and chuckled softly, “I just came back from Barbarian Mountain the other day and killed a few demons who attacked people openly and did evil. I heard they were from the Green Fox Mountain line. So now this fox fairy suddenly shows up—surely not to take revenge on me?”
The woman jumped scared, didn’t dare to sit, and stood to reply, “Young Master, don’t misunderstand. How could this little demon dare talk of revenge?”
After a slight pause, she murmured, “That little fox girl you brought back to the manor the other day is this little demon’s…niece…”
“Oh?”
Fang Cun smiled, called softly, “Come out!”
Behind the flowers, a small head popped up, timidly looking over this way—it was the Little Fox Girl.
By now, she had changed into a dark red robe and coat, made from the old clothes of the manor’s youngest maid. Her hair was pinned with a few hairpins, which Madam Fang put on her for looking cute. She looked like a little human girl. Over the past few days, she’d been staying in the guest room to rest, but without anyone knowing when, she’d run over and hidden behind the flowers to listen in secretly.
“Xiao Ling, you’re okay—thank goodness…”
The woman saw the Little Fox Girl and was a bit joyful, hurriedly calling her, “Hurry up, come and pay respects to the Little Martial Uncle Grandfather…”
Fang Cun heard this with a puzzled look, “Little Martial Uncle Grandfather?”
The woman quickly bowed down, explaining in a low voice, “You may not know, over ten years ago, Immortal Master Fang Chi once entered the mountains and taught us mountain demons and monsters manners and shame. So counting from that, he was our teacher, which makes you naturally our Little Martial Uncle. Xiao Ling, by seniority, should call you Little Martial Uncle Grandfather… Silly child, why aren’t you bowing?”
The Little Fox Girl looked dazed but bowed her head to Fang Cun as her tail quivered behind her.
Hearing this woman’s words, Fang Cun found it novel and chuckled, “I didn’t think of that connection at all!”
The woman quickly replied, “Immortal Master Fang Chi taught us the mountain foxes great lessons. But while he was alive, we didn’t dare to use his name for show and had strict orders from him never to enter Willow Lake City or contact the Fang Family. And after he…died, the Green Fox line, being mountain wild demons, felt too scared to visit and mourn him properly. They just set up an altar in our clan to mourn him in the mountains. When my brother was alive, he once thought about visiting Second Young Master Fang once, but he soon…he soon died.”
“It doesn’t matter about that part. I’m just curious—he actually taught demons human manners?”
Fang Cun waved it off casually, laughing, “Don’t people say he hated evil and would slaughter any demon he saw?”
“Immortal Master Fang Chi was definitely not that kind of man…”
The woman looked a bit reverent, bowed lightly towards the sky, and explained, “Back then, the immortal master was young when he taught us. He always said that nature creates and all things live their own paths. Judging good and evil by race is never right. He killed demons and he punished bad humans. He wiped out sins in the world, not so-called demons. We were born demons—that’s not wrong. Only if we do no evil, we stand clean before heaven and earth.”
“Wiping out sin…”
Fang Cun’s thoughts sunk heavily, a bit darker now.
These words, reaching him through the fox girl’s mouth, faintly matched his earlier guesses.
Was the merit on the Celestial Merit Record measured by the number of sins?
Just thinking this, he sighed lightly inside—this big brother sure knew how to cause trouble.
He had only just gotten a mission to battle the demon threat, and here a relative was shoved upon him?
Seeing Fang Cun lost in thought, that fox demon woman didn’t answer promptly—she just waited humbly.
After a while, she carefully asked, “Fang…Little Martial Uncle, this little demon came actually to ask one thing more. Earlier…some kin from our Green Fox line were tricked and attacked a village of common people. So now…what about this whole incident?”
“Those people?”
Fang Cun smiled and said, “They just happened to be caught by Academy Disciples and were all killed. You’re not thinking of vengeance, are you?”
“This little demon wouldn’t dare…”
The fox woman started scared, hurriedly replying, “This…this happened because sudden ruffians and demonic cultivators barged into our clan lands, stealing herbs and hurting lives. My brother was killed by them, then the clanspeople got mad. I tried to stop it, but Mr Leopard Cat said that vengeance demanded vengeance—if the head died, whoever avenged him would be the new head. I couldn’t beat him, so he threw me out. Then he kidnapped Xiao Ling and led some young clansmen to harm the villagers. All were killed by Academy Disciples—deserved, I guess…”
Hearing her sincere words, matching what the Little Fox Girl had shared earlier, Fang Cun nodded lightly, “If you want revenge, that’s understandable. But to seek revenge not on those who wronged you but on helpless people? That was unreasonable. Whether it’s Mr Leopard Cat or the duped clansmen, their deaths weren’t unfair.”
The fox demon nodded over and over, saying yes.
Fang Cun said, “Since you don’t want vengeance, what did you come to beg for?”
The fox woman urgently replied, “In our clan now, only the old and weak remain. We aren’t set on vengeance, but currently the Demon Capture Bureau officials from this city keep searching the mountains again and again, scaring everyone stiff and making peace impossible. So this time, I beg you…”
“That thing?”
Fang Cun chuckled, “It shouldn’t involve you—they’re investigating another matter!”
The fox woman sighed slightly relieved, whispering to Fang Cun, “Could it be…that Human Elixir Refinement business?”
Fang Cun glanced at her lightly, “Word travels fast with you!”
The girl looked a little tense, murmuring, “Our Green Fox clan lived close to Demon Valley. Before my clan brother stormed that valley, he got badly hurt. Guessing something when he came back, he didn’t dare appear but wrote a letter and sent it into the city…”
“You even sent a letter?”
Fang Cun suddenly tilted his head, his expression turning strangely complex.
The fox woman hurriedly explained, “In recent years, our Green Fox line had bitter feuds with Qi Refiners from Willow Lake City and got squeezed out by demons near Bear Ridge and Red Sand Ridge. We barely held on. But the clan always remembers Immortal Master Fang Chi’s lessons and knew Human Elixir Refinement was a big crime. So upon learning it, they sent a letter at once to the City Guard Office and the Academy. Only…he didn’t dare leave a name…”
Fang Cun suddenly frowned, like realizing something.
The fox woman saw his silence and felt strangely nervous.
Inside Fang Cun’s mind, it felt like a battle with indecision before he suddenly told the fox woman, “Your Green Fox line faces huge disaster!”
The fox woman was terribly shocked, “From those clansmen who raided the villages…”
“No—not them!”
Fang Cun shook his head slightly, looking her squarely in the eyes, “Human Elixir Refinement is Qi Refiners’ gravest crime. Do you know who this demonic person is?”
The fox woman was entirely frozen, only after a long pause shaking her head slowly.
Fang Cun stayed quiet a moment, staring into her eyes, and said, “It’s your Green Fox line!”
“No…”
The girl heard this and was utterly shocked, crying out anxiously, “Little Martial Uncle, please judge fairly! After Immortal Master Fang Chi taught us, our Green Fox Mountain line has always been kind to people. We preferred doing good deeds, gaining prayers from folks, never directly stealing life force—let alone Human Elixir Refinement. Even if some foxes broke that rule, we banished them to avoid the blame…”
“This evil stuff? How could we ever touch it?”
Seeing the girl’s anxious, panicked expression—honestly not faking it—Fang Cun listened calmly.
After a very long pause, he sighed lightly and stated, “It’s you doing it!”
The girl’s expression was stunned.
After a slight pause, he added, “No matter what, the final discovered result must be it was the Demon Race who did it!”
She had bared her soul, explained it all, yet faced this senseless, unfair insistence?
Her mind shocked beyond disbelief, then she suddenly understood and looked at Fang Cun with a miserable expression.
“You’re right…”
Later, she sighed sadly, “Through all these years, didn’t every awful, evil deed end up tagged to the Demon Race?”