“Whew… good, she wasn’t looking for me…”
Watching Yun Yao leave and sensing the three auras disappear along with her, Jiu Baiyun couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.
Whether they were coming for him or, as the Yao Fox Demon Venerable said, to shift the trouble onto him, neither scenario was good news.
It was also fortunate that nothing happened while Yun Yao was here.
However, one thing puzzled Jiu Baiyun.
Yun Yao never liked worship rituals, and as one of the Immortals, it was even more unlikely for her to engage in such practices…
So why, while clearly injured, would she specifically come here to worship the fox deity?
The branches and leaves of the shrubs rustled gently, and Jiu Baiyun’s figure appeared as if he had been standing there all along, just previously hidden by the glare of the sun.
A Ran was standing on tiptoe, looking around.
Seeing Jiu Baiyun suddenly appear, she was startled and patted her chest.
“Brother Jiu! Where did you go just now? That noble lady just left, and she looked so weak…”
“Oh, I went behind the bushes to relieve myself,” Jiu Baiyun brushed it off casually, but his gaze followed the mountain path where Yun Yao had disappeared, his brow slightly furrowed.
“Tsk, stop looking. Those three… auras reek of evil. Although they’ve followed that muggle away now, they’re still not far from the village. I have a feeling… something’s not right.”
The Yao Fox Demon Venerable’s voice carried a rare hint of worry.
These three auras were unfamiliar and exuded a sinister air, clearly targeting Yun Yao.
One of them, at the Three Mysteries stage, faintly made her feel threatened.
If they suddenly turned back, or if a conflict spilled over into this small shrine, given their current state, it would be a major problem.
Jiu Baiyun naturally sensed the unease transmitted by the Yao Fox Demon Venerable.
He withdrew his gaze, his expression unconsciously darkening.
A Ran had been paying attention to the changes in Jiu Baiyun’s expression.
Seeing his furrowed brow and seemingly worse complexion, she couldn’t help but ask with concern.
“Brother Jiu, what’s wrong? Your face… doesn’t look so good. Are you feeling unwell?”
Jiu Baiyun snapped back to reality, looking at A Ran’s worried eyes.
He quickly collected himself, his face swiftly switching back to his usual lazy, slightly helpless expression.
“Huh? Oh… it’s nothing, nothing.”
“It’s just… I seem to be a bit hungry again.”
As he spoke, his gaze “inadvertently” drifted toward the incense table inside the shrine, which held fresh fruits and smoked meat as offerings.
His Adam’s apple bobbed.
A Ran followed his gaze and her heart skipped a beat.
The words “a bit hungry” immediately triggered a conditioned reflex of tension in her.
She almost instinctively took a step, turning sideways to block Jiu Baiyun’s path, her eyes filled with vigilance.
“B-Brother Jiu!”
“Don’t you dare think about the offerings again! Those are for Lord Fox Deity! You promised me!”
Seeing A Ran’s look of being on high alert, all nervous and tense, Jiu Baiyun couldn’t hold back anymore and let out a snort of laughter.
He raised a hand to rub the corner of his eye, looking at A Ran’s puffed-up, somewhat aggrieved expression.
His eyes held amusement as he said slowly.
“Look how nervous you are… I was just teasing you.”
“Huh?”
A Ran was stunned, the wariness on her face instantly turning to bewilderment.
She blinked her big eyes, seeming not to have processed it.
“I said, I was teasing you,” Jiu Baiyun repeated, his tone relaxed. “I just saw you were being too serious and wanted to mess with you a little. I promised you I wouldn’t touch the offerings. I do have a bit of credibility.”
“Hmph!”
Only then did A Ran realize she’d been tricked.
Her face flushed red, and she stomped her foot in annoyance.
Jiu Baiyun watched her fuming but having nowhere to vent, his smile deepening.
However, his concern for Yun Yao’s situation still lingered in his heart.
—
Time passed quickly.
He had a meal with A Ran at noon, and Jiu Baiyun felt a bit embarrassed about dinner.
Looking at the already deserted shrine and the darkening sky, Jiu Baiyun also bid farewell to A Ran.
Jiu Baiyun’s figure melted into the deepening twilight as he headed toward the village downhill.
The day’s warmth dissipated rapidly with the setting sun, and the wind in the mountain forest carried a biting chill.
“Tsk, this damn weather…”
Jiu Baiyun grumbled while tightening his thin clothing.
Perhaps because it really was a bit cold, Jiu Baiyun unconsciously quickened his pace and soon returned to the village.
The sky wasn’t completely dark yet, but every household in the village already had their windows and doors tightly shut, as if something would happen if they closed them too late.
Feeling the cold wind blowing on his face, Jiu Baiyun still wanted to curse this damnable world.
Just as Jiu Baiyun was about to return to his house, the Yao Fox Demon Venerable stopped him.
“Wait… I suggest you go take a look at the shrine…”
“Huh? What now?”
Jiu Baiyun was already used to the Yao Fox Demon Venerable suddenly popping up.
Every time she did, it was either to mock him or because there was more trouble.
“Just now, someone headed toward the shrine. They can conceal their aura, but not skillfully… I’m just giving a heads-up. Whether you go or not is up to you.”
The Yao Fox Demon Venerable’s words caused Jiu Baiyun’s hand, which was about to push open his own courtyard gate, to freeze mid-air.
“The shrine? Now?”
Jiu Baiyun asked in his mind, his brow instinctively furrowing.
The sky was already dark.
That icy feeling of being watched by something invisible in the darkness began creeping up his spine.
He knew better than anyone the dangers of moving at night.
“Hmph, of course now! I have no interest in wandering around with you in the middle of the night!”
If it weren’t for the fact that Jiu Baiyun had promised A Ran to guard the shrine, the Yao Fox Demon Venerable couldn’t be bothered with such trivial matters.
Hearing the Yao Fox Demon Venerable’s response, Jiu Baiyun’s heart sank.
Who in their right mind would wander up the mountain in the dead of night…
Could they really be targeting the shrine?
After wrestling with the thought for a moment, Jiu Baiyun decided it was better to be safe than sorry.
He turned and ran toward the back mountain.
Jiu Baiyun’s figure moved swiftly and lightly.
In complete silence, he made his way back to the fence outside the back mountain shrine.
The Yao Fox Demon Venerable’s perception was correct.
A blurry human figure was crouched beside the shrine, pressed close to the wooden wall.
Their movements were furtive, almost blending into the thick darkness.
The moment Jiu Baiyun stopped, a soft scrape sound abruptly broke the darkness.
A small, orange-red flame suddenly leaped from the figure’s hand, illuminating the fire striker and a small bundle of oil-soaked dried grass they held tightly.
Jiu Baiyun’s heart jolted, immediately understanding the person’s intent.
In the instant that small flame first touched the fence, before it could truly spread, Jiu Baiyun had already rushed forward.
His movements were fast.
Without the slightest hesitation, the moment he reached the figure, he grabbed their wrist hard and then swung it forcefully, extinguishing the flame that had started on the fence.
“Who is it?!”
A clear, pleasant voice rang out, but it was clearly trembling slightly from fright.
Only after seeing the last flicker of flame he had pinched out with his fingers completely turn into a strand of choking smoke did Jiu Baiyun release his grip on the other’s wrist, letting out a long sigh of relief.
His tense nerves relaxed slightly.
He sharply turned his head toward the source of the voice and was slightly taken aback.
It was a very beautiful young woman.