Acting

Li Xintian and Hu Qiuyan, upon hearing these events, immediately knew that Hu Xiaoqiu was responsible for what happened last night. Without lingering in the town, they continued to pursue the Red-Clad Maiden Ghost King.

As midnight descended, human and fox could only follow the traces, but luck was not on their side, and they found nothing.

In the darkness of the woods ahead, voices rose in quarrel.

“What are you all up to?” Li Xintian saw a few familiar faces embroiled in dispute. There was a short, thin young man whom he didn’t recognize; from his attire, he surmised he was Yu Yuanhai’s junior. Another, dressed as a scholar, lay unconscious on the ground.

Hu Xiaoqiu, Yu Yuanhai, Cao Shijie.

“So it’s you.” Hu Xiaoqiu nearly lashed out, thinking Li Xintian might be an accomplice from the True Transmission Daoist Temple.

“They’re bullying little ghosts—utterly heartless,” Hu Xiaoqiu continued.

“We’re just practicing the new spells we’ve been learning, testing our progress. After all our efforts, you ruined everything—let them all escape,” Yu Yuanhai quickly explained.

“Hmph!” Hu Xiaoqiu snorted coldly, unwilling to speak further. With a wave of her right hand, she slapped three talisman papers onto Yu Yuanhai, Cao Shijie, and Yu Yuanhai’s junior. Harnessing her power, she spun her hand in several circles.

The three brothers began striking each other’s faces. Yu Yuanhai, standing in the middle, suffered the most; as he turned to face his juniors, he was struck again and spun around helplessly.

“Miss Hu, I think a lesson suffices,” Li Xintian interjected.

“Release!” Hu Xiaoqiu held her fingers like a sword and pointed at the three, dispelling the spell.

The three tore the talismans from their foreheads. Yu Yuanhai, already plump, now had a face swollen like a pig’s head.

“We’re all swollen!” they exclaimed in unison.

Yu Yuanhai’s junior supported him on both sides.

“Let’s go!” Yu Yuanhai commanded, turning to leave.

“By the way, what are you doing in these wild hills? It’s dangerous here,” Hu Xiaoqiu turned to Li Xintian, questioning.

“We’re tracking the Ghost King. I fear the little ghosts you let escape have already been devoured by her,” Li Xintian said. Had Hu Xiaoqiu not intervened, they might have encountered the Ghost King; yet, unbeknownst to her, she had saved Yu Yuanhai and his brothers.

“What’s with the scholar?” Hu Qiuyan pointed to the figure on the ground.

“I thought he was Yu Yuanhai’s hired help, but it seems I was mistaken,” Hu Xiaoqiu took a drop of dew from a leaf, flicked it at the scholar with her sword fingers, which instantly became a basin of water splashing over his head.

The scholar, groggy, slowly awoke.

Yu Yuanhai, walking away, grew angrier. He turned to glare at Hu Xiaoqiu’s retreating figure, muttering fiercely, “Those old hags from the tomb dare to toy with me? I’ll catch them yet!”

He raised his fingers in a sword gesture, slapped his left hand against his right, sending his right hand flying toward Hu Xiaoqiu.

Li Xintian saw what was happening, but Hu Xiaoqiu moved closer to Hu Qiuyan; Yu Yuanhai’s hand veered toward Li Xintian’s abdomen.

“Damn! If that grabs me, it’ll be like a monkey stealing a peach!” Li Xintian quickly kicked Yu Yuanhai’s hand into the woods, where wild dog sounds immediately erupted.

“Damn it, my hand!” Yu Yuanhai shoved his juniors aside and rushed after it, with both following.

They engaged in a tug-of-war with the wild dog, with the juniors helping Yu Yuanhai pull.

“Fight the dog, not me!” Yu Yuanhai shouted.

After a struggle, they managed to retrieve his hand, but not without the wild dog biting each of them. Supporting one another, they limped back; Yu Yuanhai’s right hand bore two festering holes, dark and ugly.

“You brat, you’ve got guts,” Yu Yuanhai glared at Li Xintian, pointing with his left hand, not watching his path.

Walking too fast, Yu Yuanhai crashed straight into a tree, with Cao Shijie walking on obliviously.

“Ouch!” Yu Yuanhai cried, turning to Cao Shijie, “You’ve got guts too!”

“I didn’t mean to,” Cao Shijie protested, his face twisted in embarrassment, hand waving, unable to laugh.

Li Xintian, Hu Qiuyan, and Hu Xiaoqiu burst out laughing, joined by the confused scholar.

“What’s your name, scholar? Why are you here in the wilds?” Li Xintian asked, introducing himself, Hu Qiuyan, and Hu Xiaoqiu.

“My surname is Ye, given name Jiaheng. I’m heading up the mountain to seek a master and learn the arts. On the way, I met my teacher, who directed me to report at the True Transmission Daoist Temple,” Ye Jiaheng replied, cupping his fists.

“You’re going to the True Transmission Daoist Temple?” Hu Xiaoqiu asked in surprise.

“Yes, seems you know it, Miss Hu?” Ye Jiaheng caught her tone, realizing she knew the place.

“Come, since we’ve nothing pressing, I’ll take you there,” Hu Xiaoqiu nodded.

She led Li Xintian onward, not arriving until dawn.

“Take that path, Young Master Ye, and you’ll reach the True Transmission Daoist Temple,” Hu Xiaoqiu pointed to a mountain with a long stairway leading up to a solitary temple.

“Thank you, Miss Hu. Farewell!” Ye Jiaheng looked up at the temple, joy lighting his face. He cupped his fists and ascended the steps.

“Let’s go,” Hu Xiaoqiu said, heading in the opposite direction.

Inside the True Transmission Daoist Temple.

Yu Yuanhai sat at the dining table, with Cao Shijie and his junior massaging his shoulders.

“Ouch!” Yu Yuanhai cried out, his hand throbbing, vowing, “Next time I see that kid, I’ll kill him!” He still believed Hu Qiuyan had saved him and Cao Shijie that night.

“That’s right,” Cao Shijie and his junior echoed, rubbing their shoulders.

Cao Shijie fetched a basin of water, set it on the table, steam rising thickly.

Yu Yuanhai’s junior pinned his hand down, causing Yu Yuanhai to panic, “What are you doing?”

He stared at the steaming basin in horror, “What drug is that?”

Meanwhile, outside, Ye Jiaheng had reached the entrance, wiping sweat from his brow, delighted to have arrived. He bounded up the steps, “Finally made it!”

Two bronze plaques hung by the gate. He approached the right one, which read “Old Student,” and said, “I’m not that.” He moved to the left, which read “New Student,” and said, “That’s me.”

He picked up the new student plaque. Inside, Yu Yuanhai’s hand was forcibly plunged into the basin by Cao Shijie and his junior.

“Ah!!!”

A scream echoed, startling Ye Jiaheng, who stepped back, looking around in alarm.

It turned out Cao Shijie’s right arm was bitten by Yu Yuanhai.

Yu Yuanhai’s junior lifted his hand out, applied medicine, and wrapped it up.

“Stop whining. The bell for new students is about to ring—go get ready,” Yu Yuanhai said gruffly.

“Yes, yes,” Cao Shijie and his junior replied, clearing away all the medicines and ointments.

“Welcome, honored guest!” Ye Jiaheng saw the doors open automatically and stepped inside.

As he entered, the doors closed behind him, startling him. He glanced back. Inside, white mist drifted across the floor, swirling like a fairyland.

He climbed a few steps toward the main hall, where he saw a long-bearded, white-haired figure in Daoist robes, floating cross-legged.

“A celestial?” Ye Jiaheng wondered aloud.

“Wu Li!” Yu Yuanhai, playing a role, called to his youngest junior.

“Senior brother, could you be gentler?” Wu Li tied a rope around his waist and floated before Yu Yuanhai.

“Hmm, seventy percent power,” Yu Yuanhai said with closed eyes.

He struck Wu Li lightly on the chest, sending him flying back, crashing into a pillar, and landing on the floor, moaning.

Ye Jiaheng watched as Wu Li scattered the mist, forming a human shape, and remarked, “Impressive!”

“Shijie!” Yu Yuanhai called, eyes still closed.

“This’ll be rough,” Cao Shijie tied the rope around his waist.

“Senior brother, how about ten percent power?” Cao Shijie floated before Yu Yuanhai.

“No,” Yu Yuanhai shook his head, “Full power!”

“No, please!” Cao Shijie pleaded.

Yu Yuanhai ignored him, striking both hands hard upon Cao Shijie’s chest, as if wielding real power.

Cao Shijie cried out, flipped in the air, and crashed heavily to the ground, groaning.

“Wow, looks like I didn’t come to the wrong place,” Ye Jiaheng was delighted, certain he’d made the right choice.

Yu Yuanhai opened his eyes, recognizing the scholar as Li Xintian’s companion, and shouted angrily, “Let me down!”

Cao Shijie, not bothering with formality, simply cut the rope suspending Yu Yuanhai, dropping him straight onto the meditation mat, his face contorted in pain.

“Seize him and bring him to that rascal Li Xintian,” Yu Yuanhai, recovering, said in a fury.

“You mean Brother Zhixian? I’ve just met him. I was recommended by Master Qiu Shuguang,” Ye Jiaheng explained, seeing Yu Yuanhai’s anger.

“Senior brother, he’s right. Don’t let silver slip away,” Cao Shijie whispered in Yu Yuanhai’s ear.

“Yes,” Yu Yuanhai’s mood improved at the mention of silver.

He stood up, embraced Ye Jiaheng, saying, “Welcome, we’re all family here.”

While speaking, he patted Ye Jiaheng’s shoulder, reached into his book pouch, took out a small bag, and opened it to find silver and gold. Secretly, he thought, “Gold!” His face broke into a broad smile.