章 21: The Shameless Master And Shy Apprentice
編集者: Dragon Boat Translation
Night falls, and Fang Zhou and Ling Xiaoyue get into a carriage arranged by the Wang family, heading to the Hu Residence to slay demons and exorcise the fox demon.
Sitting in the carriage, Fang Zhou recalls the little knowledge Ling Xiaoyue shared with him before leaving the Wang family.
Fox demons usually operate as a family unit. With only one den in a given area, each den usually contains no more than ten fox demons. If their numbers exceed this, the older fox spirits will drive the younger ones out, forcing them to venture out on their own and establish new families.
Ling Xiaoyue and Fang Zhou have killed five fox demons. It was highly likely that there are still five left in the Hu Residence, two adults and three younger ones.
Ling Xiaoyue has made it clear that she will only deal with the two adult fox demons, leaving the three younger ones to Fang Zhou. This was intended to be a form of training for him, as well as an opportunity to accumulate experience.
Fang Zhou now understands why Ling Xiaoyue had taught him the Qi gathering technique and sword techniques. It was all for this purpose.
He didn't refuse. If this had been shortly after his arrival in Qingde City, he would definitely have rejected the task. But now he feels more confident, and even if he can't win, he can run away.
With a bit of luck, there might not be as many as three young fox demons in the Hu Residence.
Opening his system panel, Fang Zhou added all four unused masculinity points to his spirit attribute for mental resistance. This way, even if he fell under the fox spirit's illusion, he could break free quickly.
Name: Fang Zhou
Realms of cultivators : Qi Refining Realm (Entry)
Cultivation Technique : New Moon Qi, Qi Gathering
Skills: Illusion, Random Left Hand, Fireball, Simple Sword Technique
Strength: 4
Speed: 5
Stamina: 4
Spirit: 6
Masculinity: 0
Unknowingly, Fang Zhou now has four skills. The "Simple Sword Technique" is what Ling Xiaoyue taught him. He wanted to name it something cool, but temporarily set it aside as he couldn't think of a suitable one. Surprisingly, the system gave it this plain name.
However, this sword technique was indeed simple and easy to learn, with just a few movements and tricks to remember, following the Qi gathering technique's route.
After two days of training, Fang Zhou can already perform it well.
The carriage quickly arrives at the entrance of the Hu Residence, and Hu Zhaici personally greets them at the door.
"Welcome esteemed masters, your presence truly graces the Hu family," he says.
Hu Zhaici bends over deeply in a respectful bow, almost bowing to the ground.
Ling Xiaoyue calmly receives the greeting and waves her hand, saying, "Mr. Hu, there is no need for such formalities. As cultivators wandering the mortal world, besides—Ah!! Why are you pinching me?"
She glares at Fang Zhou, throwing a wine jug at him.
Fang Zhou, with a calm face, deflects the wine jug effortlessly.
"I pinched you to stop you from saying that phrase! I'm almost brainwashed by it, damn it!" Fang Zhou thinks.
Hu Zhaici looks at them strangely. Had he not verified their identities beforehand, he would have doubted whether they were frauds pretending to be cultivators, as they lacked the demeanor of genuine cultivators.
However, he remains composed and welcomes them, saying, "Honored masters, please come in."
Ling Xiaoyue shoots Fang Zhou a look that says 'we'll settle this later,' and then takes the lead in walking into the Hu Residence.
Fang Zhou follows, his heart filled with both nervousness and anticipation as he glances at the plaque above the door.
Excluding the events two nights ago, this is his first proactive excursion to slay demons and subdue monsters. This is the kind of cultivator he had imagined: noble and heroic, wielding a sword to vanquish evil spirits.
Not something like taking advantage of others for food and drinks, seizing opportunities to raise prices, or selling health supplements.
As they enter the Hu Residence and pass through the courtyard garden, they arrive at the main hall.
In the hall, there are two beautiful young girls with big black eyes, curiously observing Ling Xiaoyue and Fang Zhou, mostly at Fang Zhou.
"These two are my daughters, Hu Yiling and Hu Yirui. They are quite mischievous; please excuse them," Hu Zhaici introduces to Ling Xiaoyue and Fang Zhou, then says to his daughters, "Quickly greet the masters."
The two girls glance at each other and say in unison, "Greetings to the masters."
After saying that, their four big eyes continue to stare at Fang Zhou.
Fang Zhou pretends not to care, but he is secretly on guard. The way these two women look at him is the same way as Li Ruyu had looked at him before.
He knows what they are thinking without guessing.
Stop daydreaming, he thinks.
Dissatisfied, Hu Zhaici gives a low hum, prompting his daughters to somewhat retract their blatant stares.
Turning to Ling Xiaoyue, he begins, "Master, my third daughter…"
Ling Xiaoyue casually sits down, interrupting him, "Mr. Hu, exorcising demons and subduing monsters is our duty as cultivators, so you need not worry. However, my disciple and I wander the world, constantly extending our aid to those plagued by evil, yet we lack means to sustain ourselves. Our funds are scant, forcing us to live in poverty. We often don't know where our next meal will come from. We hope that you can demonstrate some humanitarian spirit and sponsor our journey a bit. We would be eternally grateful."
Hu Zhaici's mouth twitches slightly, and he finally can't help but curse inwardly.
Damn it, if you want money, just say so, he thinks. Don't dress it up in such grand and lofty terms. Don't think I'm unaware that you've already earned tens of thousands of silver taels from the Wang family. Penniless? Nonsense!
At this moment, Hu Zhaici and his two daughters looked at Ling Xiaoyue and Fang Zhou with eyes that seemed to see a pair of shameless people who valued money over their lives.
Ling Xiaoyue had remarkably thick skin; the disdainful looks thrown at her were as meaningless as a breeze against her face, far less impactful than if she were slapped with a stack of money.
Fang Zhou's skin wasn't quite as thick, and he felt somewhat embarrassed under their scrutiny.
Ah, he thought, I should have made a mask to cover my face. Otherwise, my reputation will continue to plummet at this rate.
Fortunately, Hu Zhaici was prepared. With a light clap of his hands, several servants entered the main hall, carrying large trays of gold towards Ling Xiaoyue.
"This gold…"
Hu Zhaici was about to explain, but Ling Xiaoyue, her eyes shining brightly, couldn't wait. With a wave of her hand, she used a spell hidden in her sleeve to instantly take all the gold from the trays.
Hu Zhaici's expression stiffened; he was suddenly at a loss for words, and a vein popped on his forehead.
Damn it, I wasn't planning to give you all of it!
However, Ling Xiaoyue's mystical maneuver made Hu Zhaici's eyes narrow.
He coughed once and waved the stunned servants away. Turning to Ling Xiaoyue, he said, "Master, my third daughter, Hu Yilei, is seriously ill. I've heard that you have miraculous healing abilities; could you please save my daughter's life first?"
Having received the money, Ling Xiaoyue was in a great mood. She smiled warmly and said, "That won't be a problem. Let my apprentice handle it; he excels at treating patients with weakened constitutions."
Seeing that Hu Zhaici and his daughters were all looking at him, Fang Zhou nonchalantly nodded his head. It's just a matter of applying some horse penis and meatballs, he thought. Simple.
Although the horse penis was gone, Ling Xiaoyue had still given him some Yang reviving pills, which he jokingly referred to as meatballs.
Hu Zhaici gave Fang Zhou a deep look, then turned to his daughters, "Take this master to see your sister."
Hu Yiling and Hu Yirui immediately grinned at Fang Zhou and winked, "Master, please follow us."
Fang Zhou looked at Ling Xiaoyue, who nodded at him. This was what they had agreed upon earlier; Ling Xiaoyue would deal with the big demon fox, and Fang Zhou would handle the small demon fox.
But before leaving, Ling Xiaoyue stood up, reached out, and gently touched a point on Fang Zhou's face, then patted him on the shoulder, saying profoundly, "Go on, come back soon."
At Ling Xiaoyue's touch, something changed in Fang Zhou's nose, and a strong smell of fox stench hit him, making him sneeze involuntarily.
"My apologies!"
Fang Zhou hastily apologized to the surprised-looking Hu family members.
Hu Yiling and Hu Yirui didn't think much of it. Leading the way, they guided Fang Zhou closely, bombarding him with personal questions like "Where are you from?" and "How old are you this year?"
After leaving the main hall, the two girls immediately became lively, inching closer and closer to Fang Zhou, almost clinging to him.
Fang Zhou was incredibly uncomfortable, especially because these two girls were emanating a strong fox stench. After smelling it for a while, he found it intolerable.
But he had to pretend nothing was wrong, holding his breath for fear of being noticed, which put him in quite a dilemma.
Eventually, they arrived at a secluded courtyard. Hu Yiling and Hu Yirui led Fang Zhou into a room within the yard.
The room was simply furnished and the air slightly stuffy. A girl, who seemed to be emaciated to an extreme degree, was lying on the bed. It appeared as if all the flesh and blood from her body had vanished, leaving only skin stretched over bones.
Fang Zhou was taken aback. He hadn't expected the girl to be so severely ill.
What surprised him even more was that he didn't smell the fox stench from this girl.
-- 贈り物
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