"Huang San, do you know if there's a gray-furred fox around here?" Bai Ling'er's question startled the old yellow weasel, causing a conflicted expression to appear on its face, as if it had an unspeakable secret.
Squeak squeak— (Skipping translation for readability.)
"You mean her name is Hu Niang?"
Hearing Huang San's words, I was so shocked I almost jumped out of my skin. There was only one family of Northeast wild immortals surnamed Hu, and that was the lineage of Master Hu San.
Master Hu San's lineage was truly formidable. Rumor had it that Master Hu San's cultivation was unfathomable, making him the progenitor of all exorcists in the Northeast. Some legends even claimed he was a descendant of the Qingqiu lineage from the ancient Investiture of the Gods era.
This made my head spin. I felt that even if my master were here, he would likely retreat. Because no matter how powerful a feng shui master was, in this corner of the Northeast, they all had to show respect to Master Hu San.
The reason was simple: if you offended anyone from the Hu family, you would face endless attacks from wild immortals. Whether you lived or died would entirely depend on Master Hu San's mood. However, according to the rumors, no one who offended the Hu family ever survived or left unscathed. Even those who left under special circumstances either went mad or became imbeciles.
This was also why most people in the Northeast who studied Yin arts learned the methods of "Chuma" (exorcism), because the environment here did not welcome other Yin practitioners.
I swallowed a mouthful of saliva and, with a troubled heart, asked Huang San, "This Hu Niang you're talking about, she isn't by any chance from Master Hu San's family, is she?"
Huang San was respectful to Bai Ling'er, but his attitude towards me was entirely different. He glared at me with his small, soybean-sized eyes and scornfully said, "Tsk! In this part of the Northeast, do any other wild immortals dare to be surnamed Hu?"
Hearing this, I just wanted to roll my eyes and faint, pretending it was all a dream. This was truly a case of dying before even achieving anything. I had just taken over my master's Yin Gua stall and was about to earn my first coin, and I had already run into trouble with the Hu family, the royalty of wild immortals. Wasn't this going to ruin the reputation of Yin Gua?
*Slap—*
Bai Ling'er's tail whipped Huang San, knocking him from his standing position to the ground.
"How dare you speak to my pet like that? She's just a fox with a thousand years of cultivation. Do you think this young lady is afraid of her? Tell me, what is the connection between that Hu Niang and the Hu family?"
Despite Bai Ling'er being only as long as a chopstick and as thick as a thumb, her strength was considerable. She hit Huang San so hard that he lay on the ground for a long time without getting up. Just as I thought he wouldn't get up even if Bai Ling'er beat him to death, he slowly and deliberately crawled back up.
"I say, Bai Nai—"
Seeing Bai Ling'er's displeased expression, Huang San quickly corrected himself, "I mean, Miss Bai, can you be a little gentler? My body can't withstand your beatings. Besides, it was your pet who asked the question. What else would a fox be surnamed if not Hu? If they dared to have another surname, would they still be allowed to cultivate here?"
"If you insist on a connection between Hu Niang and the Hu family, there's only one: they both share the surname Hu..."
Faced with Huang San's explanation, I felt an urge to strangle him. His way of speaking, with such pauses, could easily scare people to death.
Bai Ling'er's angry expression subsided, and she thought seriously for a moment before saying, "You're right. This is a warning. You are not allowed to be disrespectful to my pet, or you know what will happen..." With that, she flicked her small tail twice in the air, making crackling sounds as if hitting steel plates. This startled Huang San into looking at me with a resentful gaze, as if blaming me for everything.
Compared to Huang San's resentment, I was even more infuriated, wanting to spit blood. I had no idea what Bai Ling'er was thinking, always referring to me as her pet when speaking to others. Where did she learn this ability to twist facts? If this got out, how would I have the face to continue practicing Yin Gua?
Looking at the smug Bai Ling'er, I felt an urge to skin her, draw out her tendons, and make snake soup. What future Ghost Emperor? I didn't care for it.
As soon as this thought arose, Bai Ling'er suddenly turned to look at me and asked, "What are you thinking in your heart?"
This startled me, and I quickly denied it, "I'm not thinking anything. I'm just relieved that Hu Niang isn't related to Master Hu San. I'm really not thinking anything."
If I can't beat her, I have to back down. Otherwise, I'll be the one who suffers in the end.
At the same time, I secretly chided myself for forgetting this. Bai Ling'er and I had signed a spiritual contract, and sometimes we could sense each other's thoughts. My thought of making snake soup must have been detected by her, otherwise, she wouldn't be looking at me with such a fierce gaze.
I coughed awkwardly and quickly shifted the topic back to Hu Niang, saying, "Huang San, can you find Hu Niang? I want to mediate. She lost her cultivation because she didn't get her 'taokou feng' (a ritualistic request for blessings), but she also killed Wang Mazi's entire family and caused Xiao Nuan's death. If you talk about revenge, it has already been served..."
Before I could finish speaking, Huang San interrupted me.
"You say it so lightly. Is it just a matter of 'taokou feng'? Our cultivation as wild immortals is already difficult enough. Moreover, that was three hundred years of cultivation. If that guy had just said something like 'may it be so,' at least half of her cultivation would have remained. Because he refused to speak, Hu Niang lost all her cultivation. Killing his entire family is the least of it." Huang San glared fiercely at Wang Mazi with his soybean-sized eyes. I guessed that if Bai Ling'er weren't here, Huang San would have beaten Wang Mazi until his soul was scattered.
"I understand your feelings, but under the Heavenly Dao, there are laws. Success or failure is all karma. From your perspective, Wang Mazi is naturally wrong, but from Wang Mazi's perspective, what is he wrong about?" Seeing that Huang San was about to say more, I quickly continued, "I just want to ask if you can find Hu Niang."
Huang San first glanced at Bai Ling'er. Seeing that she was meditating with her eyes closed, seemingly unwilling to intervene, he then turned his gaze to me.
"I can find her, but I can't invite her."
I knew this was Huang San's excuse. If Hu Niang had three hundred years of cultivation before, Huang San definitely couldn't invite her. But the current Hu Niang was just a gray-furred fox. For Huang San, who had decades of cultivation, dealing with her was like playing.
Clearly, Huang San was a shrewd character who wouldn't act without a reward. He was preparing to ask for a favor from me.
"What are the conditions?"
"One stick of incense."
"No, absolutely not." I immediately refused Huang San's condition.
What a joke! In my Yin Gua lineage, incense could only be offered to the ancestors. Offering incense to wild immortals, what would that make us? We weren't opening a temple and practicing Chuma. My ancestor was already dissatisfied with my performance today. If I agreed to offer you incense, my cultivation would surely be abolished by my ancestor.
"Oh, don't be so quick to refuse! I'm not asking you to specifically offer incense to me. I know I don't have that much influence. I just want you to let me smell the incense from your yard entrance when you offer it. What do you think? If you agree, I'll find Hu Niang right now."
"This..."
After hesitating for a moment, I said in a deep voice, "I agree to your condition, but this is only for this once. If my ancestor is displeased and strikes you down, don't blame me."
"How could that happen? With Bai Nai... Miss Bai here, I won't be in trouble. You wait here, and I'll find Hu Niang right away..."
Watching Huang San disappear like a yellow streak, I felt a sense of disdain. You want to smell incense from outside the door? Dream on!
"I think you're the one dreaming."
Bai Ling'er, who had been meditating with her eyes closed, suddenly opened her eyes and looked at me with some displeasure.
"What do you mean?"
"He's not asking you to offer incense. He wants to hear you recite the Yin Gua scriptures. Hearing it once can increase his cultivation by several years."
"I... @#￥%..."