CH 28

Feng Ci naturally noticed the trembling from the little ball of fur and turned to glance at Pei QianYue. He just happened to see Pei QianYue pressing his lips together tightly, expression ice cold.

Feng Ci hastily pulled the little fox into his arms: “I wanted you to try how it feels, not how it tastes. Don’t even think about eating it!” 

Pei QianYue’s face instantly became even more unsightly.

As if knowing that Feng Ci will protect it, the little fox dove into Feng Ci’s arms, whining and whimpering. Even its dark eyes were shining with water.

“……” Pei QianYue finally couldn’t take it anymore. Dragging Feng Ci up with one hand, he grabbed the little fox by its scruff with his other hand.

“Hanshan Temple is a holy ground of Buddhism. How can there be a fox demon(妖) here?” Pei QianYue said coldly: “Where did you come from and why are you following us?” 

In his hand, the little fox kicked its legs in panic, looking like its about to faint in terror.

With a ‘puchi’, Feng Ci laughed out loud, unable to keep watching this: “Alright alright. I’ll stop teasing you. Stop scaring it.”

He already knew that his family’s little black snake loved drinking vinegar, but who would have imagined, so old and still getting jealous of a little fox.

Feng Ci rescued the little fox from Pei QianYue’s hands and put it on the ground, saying: “As long as you speak the truth, we won’t hurt you. Speak, little fox demon(妖), why are you here?”

The little fox shook its head, not saying anything.

Feng Ci, incredulous: “You have at least a few hundred years of cultivation, yet you still don’t know how to speak?”

He was just about to probe it with his spirit energy, when Pei QianYue pulled him aside: “Allow me.”

Feng Ci: “……” 

This is really bothering you huh, Xiao Hei.

Feng Ci didn’t stop him and moved to the side for Pei QianYue. The aura of intimidation from this powerful demon(妖) made the little fox freeze, not daring to move the slightest. It obediently allowed Pei QianYue to place his hand on it.

A moment later, Pei QianYue said: “It used up all of its spirit energy.”

“Used up all of it?” Feng Ci frowned. 

Under what kind of situation would a demon(妖) use up all of its spirit energy?

Did something really occur in this Hanshan Temple?

A spiritual glow appeared in Pei QianYue’s palm. The dark blue light slowly engulfed the little fox’s body. The small fox waved its tail in panic and then with a ‘poof’.

A 7-8 year old boy appeared on the ground. 

The boy was completely enveloped in the light. Laying on the ground, he blinked his bright black eyes in bewilderment. Pei QianYue had injected him with spiritual energy and forced him to transform , but the transformation wasn’t complete. There was still a long fox tail behind him and a pair of pointy ears on top of his head, which flickered restlessly.

Pei QianYue said coldly: “What exactly happened here? How did you deplete your spirit energy? Talk.”

“I…… I don’t know……” The boy finally spoke up, voice trembling and juvenile.

Pei QianYue: “Is it you don’t know, or you’re not willing to talk?” 

“I, I don’t know……” The little fox demon(妖) shook violently, his bright eyes filled with shiny tears: “I really don’t know…… I don’t remember……”

Feng Ci narrowed his eyes.

Pei QianYue still wanted to keep asking, but Feng Ci gave him a tug.

“It’s better to allow me.” Feng Ci said: “You’re so mean, who’d dare to speak honestly with you.” 

Pei QianYue: “…..”

Pei QianYue didn’t seem very willing, but he still backed off to the side and allowed Feng Ci to walk over.

Feng Ci crouched down in front of the little fox demon(妖) and touched the other’s head, asking quietly: “You came in search of me, is it because you wanted to say something to me?”

The little fox demon(妖)’s body finally stopped trembling. 

He raised his head and looked at Feng Ci with shiny, moist eyes. With an extremely soft voice, he spat out one word: “Leave.”

Feng Ci: “En?”

“Hurry.” The little fox demon(妖) suddenly climbed up from the ground and grabbed Feng Ci’s wrist: “Leave this place, don’t come back again. Hurry up and leave!”

Feng Ci looked at him calmly: “Why do we need to leave?” 

The little fox demon(妖) stiffened.

Feng Ci lowered his head. With the same gentle expression, he persuaded patiently: “Tell gege, why leave?”

Ktf ilaaif obz vfwbc(妖) rajgfv ja tlw lc j vjhf jcv wewyifv: “Tbe uesr vbc’a kjca ab ub?”

Feng Ci still wanted to make some more inquiries, but a voice suddenly came from the side: “Xiao Hu, why are you here?” 

Pa kjr atf wbcx cjwfv Alcu Jtfc.

Ktf ilaaif obz vfwbc(妖) pewqfv eq jygeqais. Ktf ilaaif yla bo rqlgla fcfgus atja Ufl HljcTef agjcrwlaafv ab tlw kjr erfv eq jcv, klat jcbatfg ‘qbbo’ lc atf mbegasjgv, atf ybs aegcfv yjmx lcab j ilaaif obz.

The little fox fell to the ground and shook its head vigorously. During this time, Jing Chen has already walked over.

He bent down, picked up the little fox in his arms, and bowed with a Buddhist style courtesy towards Feng Ci: “Very sorry. This is the little fox raised in the monastery by my Shifu. Shifu hasn’t been around the last few days so there’s no one to watch Xiao Hu and keep him from running around everywhere. Did he alarm the two of you?” 

The little fox laid in Jing Chen’s arms, ears drooping listlessly.

Feng Ci’s eyes darkened slightly.

But he didn’t say anything and only smiled: “Not at all. Xiao Hu is very cute. We were just playing.”

“That’s good.” Jing Chen said: “This little fox is still feral and hard to tame. I will bring him back and train him well. Farewell.” 

After saying this and not even waiting for Feng Ci’s reply, he turned around and left, carrying the little fox with him.

The smile on Feng Ci’s face faded: “This Hanshan Temple…… doesn’t seem quite so simple.”

Pei QianYue asked: “Does Master wish for me to follow them?”

“No need.” Feng Ci said: “Immediately exposing all of their trump cards makes the game pretty boring. I want to see what kind of hand they still plan to play.” 

After saying this, he turned and walked towards his room, stretching lazily: “I’m going to take a nap first. Might not have time to sleep at night.”

After so many years of experience, the biggest reward Feng Ci reaped was the ability to fall asleep no matter where he was and what the circumstances were.

Soon after Feng Ci returned to his room and laid down for a bit, sure enough, he fell asleep.

He slept so soundly, he didn’t even notice when the door of the room opened a crack. 

A black snake slowly crawled inside.

The black snake slithered very slowly, making practically no sound as its body moved across the floor. The guest room of the temple was cramped. Immediately after entering the door was the foot of the bed. The black snake slowly lifted its head and climbed up the foot of the bed, little by little.

Feng Ci suddenly turned over.

The black snake abruptly stopped moving. 

The room was dead silent with only the moonlight flowing inside quietly through the window of the room.

Feng Ci didn’t have a good sleeping posture. When he turned just now, he lifted a corner of the thin blanket covering him. A leg stretched out of the dark covers, socks and shoes removed, revealing a fair-white ankle that glowed under the moonlight.

Very quickly, the black snake wrapped around it.

Despite being touched by the ice-cold body of the snake, Feng Ci only flinched away slightly. He didn’t seem to have woken up. 

The black snake lifted its head and looked towards Feng Ci with its pale light eyes, as if gauging his reaction closely. A moment later, the serpent tilted its head and lowered itself again.

Crawling straight into the blankets, it moved upwards, sticking closely to the side of Feng Ci’s leg.

The snake silently slithered into the blankets, leaving only a slender tail to hang over the side of the bed. It occasionally swung left and right slightly, revealing its owner’s excitement and nervousness.

After a long time, the snake finally poked its head out from the side of Feng Ci’s neck. 

The next second, it was grasped tightly by a pair of hands.

Feng Ci turned around, accurately seized the serpent by the 7th inch, and pressed the black snake completely into the soft blankets.

Trembling all over, the black snake transformed back into human form.

Feng Ci’s hand was closed around Pei QianYue’s fragile neck. 

There was no hint of drowsiness in Feng Ci’s eyes. He propped one hand up by Pei QianYue’s side to hold himself up. However, instead of releasing his other hand, he even increased his grip a bit. Feng Ci tilted his head slightly and gave a somewhat devious smile: “Where did this little snake demon(妖) come from— to be so bold as to climb this Venerable One’s bed?”

Pei QianYue’s brow wrinkled slightly from the grip; however, the corners of his lips curved upward.

From the waist up, he was dressed neatly like the dignified leader of LangFeng City, but his lower body was still that of a snake’s tail. The ice-cold smooth tail lifted and hooked around Feng Ci’s ankle.

There was still a blanket on top of Feng Ci. With this movement, it slid down to his shoulders, concealing the two people’s currently suggestive position, but also making it look much worse at the same time. 

“Speak~ Little snake demon(妖).” Feng Ci gazed at Pei QianYue from beneath his eyelashes and grinned: “So late at night, could it be that you’ve taken a fancy to this Venerable One’s spirit energy and want to secretly absorb a little to increase your cultivation?”

Pei QianYue opened his mouth, his voice slightly muffled from being gripped around the neck: “If it’s true, what will you do?”

“I’m going to……” Feng Ci tilted his head and thought briefly: “Beat you back into your original form and make you live the rest of your life as a snake. Scared?”

“Scared.” Pei QianYue’s voice didn’t sound afraid however. On the contrary, he sounded somewhat delighted: “But what if it’s not your spirit energy that I’ve taken a fancy to, but you instead?” 

The smile on Feng Ci’s face froze.

“No more teasing, it’s not fun anymore.” He abruptly released his hand and turned around to sit up. Unexpectedly, the snake tail rubbing against his ankle suddenly lunged.

The serpent tail curled around him tighter and surged upwards. In an instant, it wrapped around Feng Ci’s waist and gave him a tug.

Feng Ci fell back into Pei QianYue’s arms. 

“Let go.” Feng Ci said.

“How long are you going to pretend to be dumb?” Pei QianYue’s heavy and low voice spoke up next to his ear: “Is Master truly unaware of my intentions?”

“Stop playing around.” Feng Ci shifted his gaze and looked away: “I know you’re angry because I touched that fox today. In the future, I’ll only touch you, alright?”

Pei QianYue didn’t answer. 

The tail wrapped around Feng Ci’s waist increased in strength little by little, strangling so hard, Feng Ci even felt a bit of pain.

Suddenly, there was a prolonged knell outside the room.

Feng Ci abruptly lifted his head.

“It’s the sound of a bell.” Feng Ci turned his head and looked outside the window: “Why at this time?” 

When they arrived at Hanshan Temple, it was already night. After dallying for such a long time, Feng Ci even took a nap. The time has long past midnight.

How could there be a bell toll at this time?

The sound of the bell slowly faded. Immediately afterwards, there was a second toll.

Feng Ci wanted to get up, but Pei QianYue continued to hold him tightly, not budging at all. 

Helpless, Feng Ci coaxed him, saying: “Okay, after this is settled, we can chat about it slowly, alright?”

The expression on Pei QianYue’s face finally alleviated slightly. The snake tail wrapped around Feng Ci’s waist also loosened.

“Okay.” Pei QianYue said softly.

Inside Hanshan Temple, it was terrifyingly quiet. 

Feng Ci and Pei QianYue walked from the guest house to the Great Hall in the front yard. However, they didn’t see a single person. Feng Ci stood in front of the Main Hall. In the air, there was only the reverberating echo of the bell, which gave the entire temple a sense of destitute.

Feng Ci closed his eyes amidst the sound of this bell and asked quietly: “Can you feel it?”

Pei QianYue said: “What?”

“There’s no presence of life.” Feng Ci opened his eyes and said quietly: “Not one bit.” 

When they entered the monastery, the monks within this temple were clearly still normal. Yet right now, within the entire Hanshan Temple, it was already impossible to detect the presence of a living being.

“Not to mention—”

Before Feng Ci finished speaking, he suddenly walked forward swiftly and pulled open the big gates of the temple. He stepped outside. However, the next second, he walked back inside again from the big gates of the temple.

The ancient plain doors of the temple slowly closed behind him, releasing a heavy, dull thud. 

Feng Ci stood in front of the door and shrugged towards Pei QianYue: “Not to mention, we can’t leave.”

Pei QianYue already walked next to Feng Ci. He raised his hand, pressed it on the big gates of the temple, and examined it for a moment: “Some kind of prohibition seal seemed to have been placed here.”

Pei QianYue asked: “Even Master can’t open it?”

“I should be able to.” Feng Ci contemplated: “Just need to blow this entire place up.” 

All prohibition seals within the cultivation world, be it magic arrays, secret realms, or illusions, cannot bypass two essential requirements: the area covered within the seal, as well as, the person who created the seal.

When it’s impossible to find the proper method to dispel the seal, eliminating one of these two essential requirements was enough to destroy the restriction.

Right now, Hanshan Temple has been sealed within the restriction and it’s temporarily unknown who had set up this seal. To leave, they just have to flatten Hanshan Temple to the ground.

As long as the temple was gone, then naturally, the restricted area would no longer exist. 

With Feng Ci’s powers, it’s easy to accomplish this.

But he obviously couldn’t do it.

They didn’t come here for action and adventure. They came to investigate the mysterious murderer massacring the cultivation sects.

Right now, the truth remains unknown. If this place really got destroyed, then they’d also lose the clue to the murderer. 

The reverberating echoes of the bell continued . Feng Ci looked up. Hanshan Temple was built on the side of a mountain. Behind the Main Halls, at the highest place in the temple, there was a pagoda.

Feng Ci narrowed his eyes: “Is the sound of the bell…… coming from there?”

Bodhi trees were planted in a circle around that pagoda. Accompanied by the lingering echoes of the bell, the pagoda stood at the highest area of the temple, quiet and austere. The pagoda was seven stories high. Small bells hung under the eaves of the four corners on each floor.

Meanwhile, the toll that echoed inside this monastery originated from the highest floor of this pagoda. 

Feng Ci and Pei QianYue stood under the Bodhi trees and looked upwards. A half-transparent barrier that was visible to the human eye wrapped around the entire pagoda. It should originate from the same source that created the prohibition seal locking the gates of the temple, difficult to break through from the outside.

Feng Ci said: “Looks like the center of the magic array is here. But how do we get in—”

As soon as he finished speaking, a small opening suddenly appeared in the barrier in front of the two people.

Ahead, the front doors of the pagoda abruptly opened. 

“Ohh.” Feng Ci blinked: “So this has been prepared well ahead of time huh.”

Inside the door was fog-like darkness, making it impossible to see anything clearly.

Feng Ci picked up his foot and started walking forward. However, he was stopped by Pei QianYue: “Master, why don’t I go……”

Feng Ci has lived 3000 years in this world. Even if he hadn’t ventured into thousands of dangerous realms, it’s at least hundreds. He has always taken the lead as well. This was actually the first time someone was blocking his way. 

He raised an eyebrow, feeling a slight novelty at this: “Are you really treating me like your helpless and weak little apprentice?”

Pei QianYue withdrew his hand and bowed his head slightly: “I dare not.”

“When you had your tail wrapped around me, it didn’t seem like there was anything you didn’t dare to do.” Feng Ci grumbled. He raised his hand, wanting to pat Pei QianYue on the head.

But he couldn’t reach. 

Movement stiffening, he inconspicuously switched directions with his hand and patted Pei QianYue on the shoulder: “Your master, I, have not tackled a real secret realm for a while. Let me play for a bit. Be good.”

Pei QianYue had no choice but to nod: “Okay.”

Feng Ci was just about to pull his hand back, but it was caught by Pei QianYue again.

“Master, wait a moment.” 

Grabbing Feng Ci’s wrist with one hand, Pei QianYue reached into his pocket with his other hand and pulled out a red string.

He wrapped that red string around Feng Ci’s ring finger several times.

Pei QianYue’s hand was very beautiful. The bones were well-proportioned, and his fingers slender and thin, but without a woman’s softness. He wrapped the one end of the red string around the base of Feng Ci’s finger, then he wrapped the other end of the string around his own finger. With the red string around his finger, it looked even more pale white.

“Who knows what will happen inside this pagoda. With this, I can find Master.” Pei QianYue said. 

Feng Ci raised his hand and used the moonlight to examine his finger. After being tied there, that red string swiftly vanished. Feng Ci gently touched the area. A faint red mark emerged from the depth of his skin, looking like an extremely pale-colored ring.

Beside him, the same marking appeared on Pei QianYue’s ring finger.

Suddenly a gust of wind blew through the courtyard. The little bells hanging on the pagoda swayed gently with the breeze, chiming melodiously. Under the Bodhi trees, the leaves danced and swirled in the wind.

“Then wouldn’t you know exactly where I am, wherever I go in the future?” Feng Ci chuckled softly: “Quite a well calculated scheme here, Xiao Hei.” 

Pei QianYue replied very calmly: “Does Master not wish for me to know?”

“Now that’s not the case, however……” Feng Ci paused briefly: “You probably don’t know, what engraving a spell on this finger represented in a previous world that I’ve visited.”

Pei QianYue: “What?”

“It’s nothing. Just a coincidence.” Feng Ci didn’t actually explain. He pulled his hand back and turned around to walk towards that pagoda: “Let’s go.” 

The author has something to say:

Xiao Hei: Got a ring on him, hehe