The next day, the Mid-Autumn Festival kidnapping case in Luoyang City had already spread across all realms.
Heretical cultivators had openly abducted a large number of cubs in Luoyang City, the most powerful city in the demon realm, and even attempted to prey on a newly adult demon certified by YCG!
This was an extremely heinous crime!
In recent decades—more precisely, ever since Fu Ye, the bane of heretical cultivators, burst onto the scene and beheaded eighty-eight of them in a single month—heretics had never again dared to carry out such a large-scale operation in the demon realm.
Heretical cultivators were still human. Though their pursuit of power had become pathological, they were just driven by intense desires—not truly insane, and certainly not suicidal.
In recent years, there had been few disappearance cases in the demon realm. Occasional heretic sightings occurred, but they didn’t dare target cubs. Most of them preyed on lone, average-strength demons.
More and more heretical cultivators had shifted their operations to the human world. Being hunted by YCG was still preferable to getting caught by Fu Ye!
“It hasn’t even been that long since the great Fu Ye left the demon realm, and already these heretics are this bold!”
“This time it was the fox clan. Next time, who knows who it’ll be. All of us demons must stand united.”
“How terrifying. I was actually planning to go to Luoyang City too. Thank goodness I ended up following my dad to the banquet instead.”
“I can’t bear to think about what would have happened if those heretics had succeeded…”
Ye Yang glanced through the window and saw that Little Thirteen and the others hadn’t arrived yet. Only Kong Jiamu, Yu Siyuan, and Ke Ranzhou were in the classroom. The peacock was holding forth with great pride, Little Mountain Gao was nodding along frequently, while the green phoenix, as usual, perched on a high branch, occasionally giving a small nod.
Ye Yang quietly marveled at how fast the news traveled as he walked toward the classroom. But just as he opened the door, he suddenly heard his own name.
For some reason, he felt a twinge of guilt. He paused mid-step, but it was too late to leave—the three classmates inside were already looking at him.
All three were staring at him without blinking. Ye Yang had no idea what to do with his hands and feet, frozen at the doorway. “Wh-What’s wrong?”
Before he finished speaking, Kong Jiamu flapped his wings and glided straight in front of Ye Yang, lowering his head to look at him. “Who would’ve thought? You’re this tiny, but you’re pretty strong! You were so awesome in that big battle against the heretical cultivators yesterday!”
Ye Yang opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Kong Jiamu continued, “Thank goodness it was discovered early. If Ye Ye hadn’t accidentally wandered into that barrier, it would’ve been a huge disaster!” There was a strange pride in his words—anyone listening might have thought he was the one who had turned the tide yesterday.
“Right, right,” Yu Siyuan said, trotting over with a snorting sound like a little pig. “That was over a hundred and fifty cubs! They were trying to wipe out this entire generation of newly transformed cubs, weren’t they? Ye Yang, you’re really amazing. How exactly did you do it?”
Ye Yang didn’t even hear the second half of the sentence. He was too shocked. “Over a hundred and fifty?!” he exclaimed.
Kong Jiamu furrowed his brow with a puzzled look. “What’s there to be confused about? Weren’t you the one who saved all the cubs?”
Ye Yang was full of question marks. “I only saw seven or eight last night…” Could it be that the heretical cultivators had hidden over a hundred more somewhere else?
Ke Ranzhou’s cool, clear voice suddenly came from above. “What I heard yesterday was ten.”
Yu Siyuan scratched his neck with his short little leg. “…Actually, what I first heard was fifty.” He couldn’t help glancing at Kong Jiamu as he spoke.
Kong Jiamu paused for a moment, then the feathers on his head and neck flared up. He exploded in anger. “Those good-for-nothing wind messengers!” This was ridiculous—how many times had this story been passed around, and how many times had the numbers multiplied?
The three were very curious about Ye Yang’s experience the night before and wouldn’t let him leave. Even Ke Ranzhou, unusually, asked several questions. But unlike the other two, she only cared about how Ye Yang had accidentally wandered into the barrier.
“I… I don’t really know myself,” Ye Yang said, scratching his hair awkwardly. Under Ke Ranzhou’s intense, unblinking stare, he struggled to recall the details. “I was just walking along with the crowd. I looked down, then looked up again, and I was inside the barrier. The Migu wasn’t working anymore.”
Ke Ranzhou’s face was expressionless, impossible to read. After a long moment, she pulled out a cell phone from under her wing with her beak. “I’ll go ask what kind of spell this is.”
The green phoenix lineage dated back to ancient times, their heritage unbroken through the ages. Ke Ranzhou prided herself on her extensive knowledge, but she had never heard of such a spell.
A little while later, Little Thirteen and the other two arrived. But they were even more excited than Kong Jiamu and the others, flanking Ye Yang from front, back, left, and right.
Yesterday, they had been too worried about Ye Yang’s safety to think about anything else. But after going home, they realized that Ye Yang had done something incredibly amazing!
Little Thirteen was beside herself with excitement. “Ye Ye, you’re so amazing! I heard those heretical cultivators were really strong. The enforcement team almost let them escape while escorting them!”
“Ye Ye, you still haven’t told us how you actually defeated those bad guys,” Huan Huan said, swinging down from a branch using his tail and one arm, draping the other over Ye Yang’s shoulder.
Lan Bao also crowded in. “Yeah, tell us in detail! I was too busy thinking about that big eater yesterday.”
Little Thirteen: “Teach me, teach me! I want to learn too!”
Lan Bao: “Me too! If Ye Ye’s scrawny little arms and legs can do it, so can I!”
Even Yu Siyuan, the little pig, trotted over with an expectant look. “Could I learn too?”
Kong Jiamu didn’t say anything, but he couldn’t quite hide the longing on his face.
Ye Yang: What’s there to learn? Didn’t I already say? Just do this and then that, left punch then right punch, as long as you’re strong enough…
He turned his head and looked around for help. Scanning the room, he noticed Xiao Fan had appeared in the pool at some point. He quickly called out to her: “Xiao Fan? Xiao Fan!”
Under Ye Yang’s expectant gaze, Xiao Fan leaped up—and then Ye Yang watched helplessly as she jumped from his pool back into her own, pretending she hadn’t had breakfast yet and chasing after a jellyfish in the direction away from Ye Yang…
Well, then.
Just as he was contemplating whether to shift into his original form to make an escape, Teacher Yu Bei appeared. The classmates finally let Ye Yang go, reluctantly returning to their seats.
Ye Yang exhaled half a sigh of relief, only to hear Yu Bei say, “Ye Yang, come outside for a moment.”
Stepping out of the classroom, Ye Yang was surprised. “Director Tu? What are you doing here?” As soon as the words left his mouth, a possibility occurred to him.
Sure enough, Tu Manli vigorously ruffled Ye Yang’s hair. “You have the nerve to ask? Your first trip to the demon realm, and you cause such a huge stir!”
Ye Yang’s mouth curled into a pout of grievance. He was about to say it wasn’t really his fault, but Tu Manli patted him on the back. “Alright, as long as you’re safe. Come with me—there’s an important person who wants to see you.”
·
Following Tu Manli through a series of twists and turns, they arrived at a meeting room.
Seated in the room was… a super handsome man. He had short, brilliant golden hair. But when he smiled, even his shining golden hair couldn’t compare to the radiant warmth of his face.
Ye Yang couldn’t help staring, forgetting to stop walking—and with a “thud,” he bumped into Tu Manli’s back.
His face instantly flushed bright red. What’s wrong with me? Have I been around Little Thirteen, that looks-obsessed demon, for so long that I’ve been infected?!
“Pfft!” The handsome man’s eyes were full of laughter. “How adorable!”
No sooner had he spoken than someone knocked him on the head. “Mind your manners. This is an honored guest of our fox clan.”
Ye Yang looked up and noticed a slightly shorter, beautiful woman standing behind the handsome man. Her beauty was very gentle, not as striking or aggressive as the man’s, but she had a lasting, endearing quality that made it even harder to look away.
The beautiful woman smiled at Ye Yang and said in a soft voice, “Hello, you must be Ye Yang. Truly, a hero is known in youth. We old-timers can’t keep up with you.”
As the beautiful woman drew closer, Ye Yang immediately caught a particularly relaxing fragrance. His antennae twitched eagerly, nearly popping out uncontrollably.
“I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Su Huaiyu, the current grand elder of the fox clan. This is the third elder, Bai Jun. We came here today to formally thank you.”
Ye Yang quickly waved his hands. “No, no, I was just trying to save myself—”
“Ye Ye—you don’t mind if I call you that? There’s no need to refuse, and no need to be modest,” Su Huaiyu gently interrupted him. “Regardless of the reason, regardless of your initial intent, you saved seven of our clan’s most talented cubs. That is a fact.”
With that, she produced a small chest out of thin air and added, “These are some treasures from our clan. Please accept them.”
When the chest opened, radiant light instantly filled the entire meeting room. Even though Ye Yang had no eye for valuables, he could tell these were extraordinary items. Startled, he said, “Oh no, no, no—these are far too precious.”
Su Huaiyu shook her head, snapped the small chest shut, and pressed it into Ye Yang’s arms. “Just two magical artifacts suitable for aquatic races. They’re not enough to repay your kindness. We came in a bit of a rush this time. In the future, we’ll surely find you better ones. Or if there’s anything you want, just name it.”
Bai Jun wrapped an arm around Ye Yang. “Exactly, exactly! The grand elder is right. Ye Ye, our little treasure, from now on, the fox clan has your back. If you run into any trouble, just come to your big brother Bai!”
“Ahem!” Tu Manli suddenly cleared her throat twice. “Well, Xiao Ye, you should accept the gifts. You’ve earned them. As for the ‘having your back’ part… that’s really not necessary.”
“No offense intended to you two elders. It’s not that I have anything against the fox clan. It’s just that Xiao Ye is internal staff at YCG, so it’s not necessary.”
After saying that, Tu Manli privately transmitted a message to Grand Elder Su. No one knew what she said, but Su Huaiyu’s expression didn’t change as she smoothly replied, “Director Tu is right. We’ll follow Director Tu’s advice.”
Bai Jun looked like he wanted to say something, hesitated, then hesitated again, and finally didn’t dare to speak.
Before they left, the two elders exchanged contact information with Ye Yang. Su Huaiyu added, “Ye Ye, while our fox clan may be average in terms of martial power, we are very professional at intelligence gathering. You will always be our fox clan’s most honored guest. If you ever need anything, you can come directly to me.”
Ye Yang nodded, still in a daze.
After the two fox elders left, Tu Manli immediately dropped her formal demeanor. Looking gossipy, she rubbed her hands together and leaned in. “Quick, let me see what treasures they gave you.”
Ye Yang opened the small chest and was once again blinded by the dazzling radiance. It took him a moment to adjust.
Director Tu had already reached in without hesitation. “Wow! They really spared no expense!” She picked up one of the artifacts—a thin golden chain. Its material was hard to identify, but it shone brightly and gave off a warm, comforting heat when touched.
“Oh my, isn’t this the Bright Light Lock? This thing is incredible! Legend has it that it fell from the upper realm. It can block a fatal attack—no matter what level of attack!”
“I thought this artifact had been destroyed long ago. So it was in the fox clan’s hands all along. Those old foxes—who knows how many good things they’re still hiding.”
“This is amazing!” Ye Yang was almost panicking. “And I’m just accepting this? Isn’t this too—”
Tu Manli gave him a firm slap on the forehead and hung the chain directly around his neck. “Just take it! Stop overthinking. Turning down a good deal makes you a fool anyway! And besides, you’re not taking advantage of anyone.”
Ye Yang looked down. Without even thinking, he knew he must now look like a walking light bulb. But before he could even see what happened, Tu Manli had already taken a drop of his blood and made the Bright Light Lock recognize him as its master. The moment the blood droplet merged, the chain and its entire glow disappeared.
Only Ye Yang himself knew the Bright Light Lock was still around his neck.
“Alright, alright—next one!” Tu Manli eagerly pulled out the other artifact.
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