Chapter 44:
White Fox
SHIDI WAS SPEAKING when he paused, his raised wine cup going still in midair. Then he formed a defensive barrier around himself and continued drinking as if nothing had happened. Nightmare turned to look at the window.
A man in white covered in wounds crashed through and fell to the floor just beside Mo Tianliao’s feet.
Mo Tianliao moved his feet aside as Shidi grabbed the man by the back of his collar and hauled him up, revealing a striking face—by mortal standards, he appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen.
“Urgh…” The man had briefly lost consciousness, but now he opened his eyes. Met with the sight of Shidi’s face, he looked around frantically—and when he saw the curious lion in human clothing behind Shidi and the little furry head poking out of Mo Tianliao’s collar, the young man clutched at Shidi’s muscular forearm and pleaded, “Please, sir, I’m about to be auctioned off. I was trying to escape. Please…”
Pawpaw pushed himself up against Mo Tianliao’s collar and quietly watched the young man in the bloodstained white robe, his glass-colored eyes narrowing ever so slightly. He could tell this was a spirit beast who had only just evolved into a human form—he was still pretty weak.
Nightmare said nothing, but he nudged his master from behind to remind him not to strangle the life out of the guy.
“He barged into the Carefree Pavilion. Check it out.” A clamor of voices rose from downstairs. Shidi could hear them clearly with his divine senses.
The various powers in Bahuang City generally extended some degree of courtesy to each other. If they wanted to apprehend someone, they would go through the proper channels—which, in this situation, meant entering through the front door to negotiate with the madam, a process that would take time. Even so, it was too late to escape.
The young man gritted his teeth and kneeled on the floor. “Sir, I’m an evolved spirit beast. Since you’ve picked me up, I’m yours now. Please take me in.” This burly and intimidating man radiated strength and power, so he should be capable of protecting him. Besides, he already had a demonic companion with whom he’d signed a blood pact, so he wouldn’t do anything to him for the time being. He just had to find an opportunity to make a run for it later. More importantly, he had sensed the aura of a great, ancient spirit from outside earlier, which was why he had burst in so recklessly. Since it wasn’t this man’s demonic companion, perhaps—
“Spirit beast?” Shidi’s interest was piqued. He touched the young man’s delicate face and pinched his chin for a better look. “This is a spirit beast?” he asked his lion, turning to look at him.
“Yeah,” Nightmare answered, twitching his ears. “The people from the auction house will be here soon. Do you want him?”
“The law in Taixuan is that whoever catches it owns it,” Mo Tianliao chimed in calmly as he stroked the little head in his arms. His meaning was all too clear: Only an idiot would pass up such an opportunity.
“My lord, pardon the intrusion,” the madam said as she pushed the door open. There were several burly demonic cultivators behind her holding Spirit-Restraining Chains. When they saw Shidi, though, they didn’t dare to act rashly. They stood at attention to pay their respects.
“This gentleman here is Lord Shidi,” the madam said with a smile. “My lord, these people are from the Carefree Auction House.”
“Greetings, my lord.” The man in front lowered himself to one knee and bowed, glancing at the young man who was still clutching Shidi’s arm. “This is merchandise from the auction house. We apologize for disturbing you—we will take him away now.” He moved toward the young man.
The spirit beast trembled in fear and refused to let go of Shidi’s arm. His upturned eyes brimmed with tears as he looked pleadingly at Shidi.
Lord Shidi reveled in the gaze of someone so dependent on him. “I found him, so he’s mine now,” he grunted.
“Uh… Please pardon us, my lord, but the auction house bought him for a princely sum. If we can’t take him back…” The man looked put on the spot. This evolved spirit beast was incredibly valuable, and he was the highlight of the auction tonight. They couldn’t afford to take responsibility for losing him.
“A masterless spirit beast belongs to whoever finds it.” Mo Tianliao spoke up coolly. “No matter how powerful your auction house is, it cannot violate the law of Taixuan.”
The group of men began to sweat nervously. When Mo Tianliao put it like that, it made it sound like they were bullying Lord Shidi—an unthinkable offense. This demon lord was a great master at the soul transformation stage. He could easily crush them with a finger, and it wouldn’t even be worth his effort. Even if they had powerful backing, they wouldn’t have the audacity to offend him!
The unorthodox path wasn’t the same as the orthodox path, where you could just announce your sect and elders in times of danger and hope the other would respect them and spare you on their account. On the demonic path, strength and power were king. If you were weak and offended the wrong person, you would be killed without recourse.
“Hah!” Shidi slammed his palm down on the crystal wine table, shattering it into pieces. (Mo Tianliao covered the cat with his sleeve to protect it from stray fragments.) The intimidating presence of the demon lord instantly filled the room, forcing everyone to their knees on the ground. The spirit beast, who was already injured to begin with, coughed out a mouthful of blood. But Mo Tianliao’s divine soul was stronger than Shidi’s; he continued to watch the show, unaffected.
“It hasn’t been easy for you to chase him this far. Here’s a reward for your trouble.” Shidi grinned sharply and threw a handful of spiritual stones at the group. “Now, scram!”
Pelted by the shower of spiritual stones, the group silently picked them up. They had no ground to stand on. Finders keepers—that was indeed the rule when it came to spirit beasts. And besides, the auction house really didn’t want to offend a demon lord. Taking the money, the men slunk away dejectedly.
Seeing them leave, the injured young man finally passed out and collapsed, turning into a snow-white fox in a flash of light.
Where had he seen this fox before? Mo Tianliao frowned, suddenly remembering the girl auctioned at Six Harmonies Bazaar. She had also been a snow fox. Mo Tianliao wondered if they were related.
Shidi held up the fox, but he didn’t know where to put him. In the end he tossed him to Nightmare behind him. Nightmare caught him, but he didn’t know where to put him either. They were both spirit beasts, so carrying him in his arms felt weird. In the end, he transformed back into a lion and tucked the fox into his thick mane. The white fox was only about a foot long, so he wouldn’t fall off the lion’s broad back.
Not long after, the madam returned, smiling as if nothing had happened, and introduced a group of attractive girls to Shidi.
Most of the female cultivators at the Carefree Pavilion had the physical constitution and body of a vessel, which meant they had dual or multiple spiritual attributes that clashed with each other and made cultivation difficult. Major sects would balk at taking them in as disciples, but they worked perfectly as dual cultivation partners for other cultivators.
Some people specifically bred and raised these vessels to give away as gifts to others, so it wasn’t a surprise that the Carefree Pavilion groomed them to sell. Of course, some female cultivators with vessel bodies voluntarily came here to earn spiritual stones so they could continue their own cultivation. After all, being privately kept as a vessel meant they were still at their masters’ mercy and subjected to their masters’ whims and fancies. If they came out here to do business instead, they would at least get tangible spiritual stones to show for it.
“Achoo—” The cat in Mo Tianliao’s arms sneezed at the scent of powder and rouge. Immediately throwing a fit, he swiped at Mo Tianliao again and started struggling in his arms.
Mo Tianliao rose. “Pawpaw can’t stand this place. I’ll take him back first. Please enjoy yourself.” Seeing Shidi’s knowing and sympathetic expression grated on his nerves. He left with the cat in his arms.
Mo Tianliao naturally remembered the way back to Shidi’s manor in Bahuang City—it was just around the corner.
The maidservant led Mo Tianliao to the guest room and left. Once Mo Tianliao had set up the protective barrier, the cat in his arms jumped out and transformed into his cold, beautiful shizun. He shoved Mo Tianliao, who was standing near him, away.
“Go bathe.” He covered his nose with a fair, slender hand and frowned at Mo Tianliao with disgust in his eyes.
Mo Tianliao had no choice but to comply. A couple of steps later, he remembered his cat hadn’t bathed either. He turned back to him. “Shall I bathe you too?” As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized how inappropriate they were—he quickly fled at the sight of his master’s stunned expression.
“Insolent disciple!” Snapping to his senses, Qingtong flung a phantom palm out at him.
Mo Tianliao crossed his arms, forming a defensive barrier. As the barrier shattered from the impact, he ducked into the bathroom.
D-damn it! Pressing his thin lips together, Qingtong transformed back into a cat and jumped onto the bed, where he began to massacre the bedsheet. Mo Tianliao returned fresh and clean from the bath to the sight of His Feline Lordship dominating the shredded bed.
He combed his fingers through his hair with fire energy, instantly drying it. Then he shamelessly jumped onto the bed and squeezed in with His Feline Lordship. “Shidi won’t be back tonight, so why don’t you chat with me?” Mo Tianliao nudged the little cat, who had his back to him again. “I’m all clean now. Here, smell me.”
Whack! A snowy paw swatted away Mo Tianliao’s grabby hand. There was a flash of white light, and the cat transformed again into a gorgeous man lying on his side on the bed.
Seeing his silly disciple grinning ingratiatingly at him, he slowly moved in and sniffed at his temple. The stench of powder and rouge was gone; in its place was the faint fragrance of plants and trees.