"Hu family? The Hu family where Old Master Hu resides?"
Huang San didn't answer, lowering his head in tacit acknowledgment.
My backside felt like it was on fire as I leaped up, roaring, "Big Brother, are you kidding me! Why would you offend the Hu family for no reason! So what if you offended them, why run to my house? Aren't you just dragging me into trouble!"
I felt like Huang San was driving me insane. Who else could he have offended but the Hu family! Wasn't that like an old man with a birthday wish hanging himself, showing he had too much life?
Was the Hu family someone you could offend lightly? Legend had it that Old Master Hu had cultivated for a thousand years and could already transform into human form. Some even claimed Old Master Hu had lived since the Yin and Shang dynasties, surviving multiple heavenly tribulations without dying… In short, there were countless rumors, and no matter which one you believed, they all pointed to Old Master Hu's immense power.
However, due to his large family and numerous descendants, Old Master Hu rarely managed family affairs unless the family faced a life-or-death crisis or a direct descendant was harmed. He would only occasionally make an appearance, the most recent being during the War of Resistance.
At that time, the world was in chaos, and the little sun country invaded. Countless powerful figures in the Yin-Yang world joined the anti-Japanese forces, pushing back the invading little sun country forces in the Northeast. The appearance of Yin-Yang practitioners also led to the little sun country's Onmyoji, shrine maidens, and Shikigami warriors crossing borders, intending to sweep through the three northeastern provinces to establish their base.
As time went on, both sides became increasingly agitated. China's army was, after all, weak, and defeating the formidable little sun country army was a pipe dream. Moreover, the little sun country's objective was occupation, not annihilation.
This led to the Onmyoji, shrine maidens, and Shikigami warriors of the little sun country stepping forward, proposing a Yin-Yang exchange meeting with the goal of suppressing China's Yin-Yang practitioners so their army could advance unimpeded and occupy the base.
Among them, Jieda Meihui, a Shikigami warrior, was the most vociferous. Her Shikigami was exceptionally special, being one of the three great Shikigami of the little sun country, the Nine-Tailed Fox. She was arguably the pinnacle of combat power for the little sun country at the time, even boasting that no one in China was her match.
However, it was precisely this boast that plunged her into the abyss. While Shikigami sounded impressive, they were essentially a form of ghost control passed down from China during the Tang and Song dynasties. After being modified by the little sun country, they could not only control Yin souls but also control the spirits of demons and beasts.
If she had controlled other Shikigami, it would have been fine, and her boasting would have been irrelevant. But she had to control a fox. In the Yin-Yang world, controlling Shikigami was euphemistically called "nurturing," but crudely speaking, it was manipulation and enslavement.
Although the Hu family rarely appeared in public, it didn't mean they were willing to watch their own kind suffer. Therefore, they sent a direct descendant, a Six-Tailed Fox, to tell Jieda Meihui to return to the little sun country and release the Nine-Tailed Fox spirit.
Facing the sudden appearance of the Six-Tailed Fox, how could Jieda Meihui be afraid? The Jieda family had been worshipping Shikigami for generations, for hundreds of years. Their family had numerous descendants, but powerful Shikigami were scarce.
Her purpose in coming to China this time was twofold: to assist the little sun country's military in occupying China, and to acquire a large number of Yin souls through warfare to nurture powerful Shikigami. It was akin to raising a Gu, cultivating the strongest Yin soul.
The sudden appearance of a Six-Tailed Fox before her naturally piqued her interest, even causing her body to tremble slightly. In her eyes, even killing millions might not be enough to cultivate a Shikigami that could contend with a Six-Tailed Fox. This was simply a gift delivered to her doorstep.
Jieda Meihui initially feigned agreement, using the excuse of needing to prepare a formation to ask the Six-Tailed Fox to wait. The Six-Tailed Fox, overconfident in her family's reputation and believing she was strong enough to escape if outmatched, even began to feast and drink heartily on her territory…
When the Six-Tailed Fox reappeared before everyone, she had become one of Jieda Meihui's Shikigami. One Nine-Tailed Fox was already enough for China's many Yin-Yang practitioners to contend with. Now, with the addition of a Six-Tailed Fox, wasn't this a death sentence for all the powerful Yin-Yang practitioners?
The Hu family also received this news, not through any intermediary, but directly from the Six-Tailed Fox herself, who returned home to inform the entire family to prepare, as the Jieda family intended to enslave the Hu family and make them servants for generations to come.
This news stunned countless people, especially the powerful Yin-Yang practitioners fighting the Japanese. They all thought Jieda Meihui had gone mad, and not just a little. Some elder Yin-Yang practitioners who knew the details directly declared it was suicidal.
As a result, the day after the Six-Tailed Fox returned home, Jieda Meihui was found dead. The shrine maidens and Onmyoji who had accompanied her also met the same fate, none escaping death. Without exception, they were all hung from trees with red ropes, serving as wind chimes.
Furthermore, all Onmyoji, Shikigami warriors, and shrine maidens in China, regardless of their proximity, died bizarrely. This purge also made the world aware of the existence of Old Master Hu, as he had issued a statement welcoming the Yin-Yang practitioners of the little sun country for an exchange.
With just this ordinary, slightly polite statement, the little sun country's Yin-Yang practitioners were so terrified that none dared to come for exchanges. Even now, with eased bilateral relations and various forms of exchange, their Yin-Yang practitioners still did not come for exchanges, because as soon as they entered Chinese territory, they would all meet their end within three days, and it had been that way ever since.
Thinking of the secret history my master had told me, I felt like the sky was about to collapse. Although Zhang Dabiao and I had fought fiercely with the old fox, before we fought, I had asked it if it was from the Hu family, fearing that I might actually confront someone from the Hu family.
Now, Huang San had the audacity to reside in my house. Wasn't this a blatant slap in the face?
Let alone Old Master Hu appearing, even a Six-Tailed Fox appearing would be something I couldn't handle. Thinking this, I felt my face must not look good at all. If my face were any longer, it would be mistaken for a relative of a cucumber.
Huang San, of course, couldn't miss the change in my expression. He struggled to get up, coughing up blood, and said, "Perhaps I should leave! Otherwise, when the Hu family comes looking, they'll implicate you."
I really wanted to slap Huang San to death right there. Now he talks about leaving, but why didn't he consider implicating me when he first came to my house? Now, the Hu family might already know Huang San is with me, and even if I wanted to explain, they might not believe we aren't affiliated.
"You already have. Why did you come to my house if you didn't want to implicate me?" My words caused Huang San's rat-like face to change color several times before he finally lay down on the cushion in silence.
However, according to my master's deductions, the Hu family likely had very few true direct descendants. This was because the more someone cultivated, the less they focused on passing down their lineage. If they had offspring, it would likely be before their cultivation was complete. After so many generations of inheritance, their bloodline would have become extremely diluted. Their pure bloodline might not be non-existent, but it definitely wouldn't exceed the count of a single hand.
Perhaps this matter wasn't as dire as it seemed. "Huang San, tell me the truth, how exactly did you offend them? Don't tell me you fell for their daughter and eloped with her?"
Huang San's eyes snapped open, his small yellow eyes turning red at my words, his mustache twitching.
"Bah, do you think I'm like you humans, eloping with someone's daughter?" After roaring indignantly, Huang San finally explained, "I just disrupted their attempt to gain a 'Kou Feng'."
Disrupted a 'Kou Feng'? And that's it? That's even more serious than eloping with someone's daughter. Cutting off someone's wealth is like killing their parents, and you've cut off someone's path to immortality and cultivation. This is an irreconcilable situation.
"I didn't want to disrupt its cultivation, but this fellow used enchantment to control ordinary people, making them worship it as a god. Isn't this a violation of heavenly law? Even if it obtained the 'Kou Feng,' it would eventually go astray and become a demon. I was acting on behalf of heaven, good sir!" Huang San said with a wronged expression.
I breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps there was still a way to resolve this. Controlling ordinary people through sorcery was indeed a violation of heavenly law and regulations, so perhaps there was still a glimmer of hope…