“Boom!”
A colossal wall collapsed, and Qiu Zimei walked out from within, brushing dust off his shoulder as he went.
The earlier commotion had truly given him a fright.
The Haoren Townsfolk had suddenly gone mad for some reason, brandishing farm tools as they rushed at him—not only hacking at him, but cursing him too, calling all Immortals like him monsters who ate people and the like.
Qiu Zimei really had nothing to say to that.
He had originally planned to team up with the now-sober Qiu Ziling to find a way to solve the madness overtaking the townsfolk, but then yet another massive Ji Dizhen struck, nearly crushing him to death.
Looking around, Qiu Zimei couldn’t help but feel amazed.
Such a violent earthquake, and yet the Haoren Townsfolk were all unharmed.
Each and every one of them just lay on the ground as if asleep—so peaceful, their Huxi still steady.
“Tsk tsk tsk… This truly is a Ji Xiji!”
Letting out such a sigh, he noticed that Qiu Ziling, who had also been pinned down, was scrambling out in a sorry state.
The moment Qiu Zimei laid eyes on her, a fist the size of a sandbag swung his way.
“Sandbag, are you? An earthquake hit and you don’t think to save your big sister first? Trying to see me get crushed to death?!”
With a resounding “thump!”, a big bump instantly swelled on Qiu Zimei’s head.
Wincing in pain, Qiu Zimei clutched his head and hopped about, shouting, “Aren’t you just fine? As a Zhuji Cultivator, so long as you protect yourself with Lingli, something like this earthquake shouldn’t pose any real threat, right?”
“Still talking back!”
“Thump!”
Another bump appeared on Qiu Zimei’s head.
Despite their bickering, once Qiu Ziling had calmed down, she glanced around uneasily.
“The townsfolk going mad on such a massive scale, and now this earthquake sweeping through the whole Town—this is definitely the work of the Demonic Path!”
“Without a doubt!”
Qiu Zimei chimed in.
“Now that the quake’s stopped, and the townsfolk are all unconscious… plus that earlier Juyin, it must have been some Predecessor who saved this Town!”
At those words, Qiu Zimei immediately recalled the figure of the Predecessor who’d rescued Qiu Ziling back at the Inn, and nodded in firm agreement.
Qiu Ziling:
“…”
“Quick, what do we do now? Aren’t you always supposed to be the clever one?”
Qiu Ziling jabbed Qiu Zimei in the ribs with her sword hilt.
Qiu Zimei shrugged.
“What else? First, let’s find Shen Immortal Doctor and wake the townsfolk—then figure the rest out!”
With that, he stepped onto his Ling Sword, intent on flying over at once.
After all, nothing’s faster than a Feijian.
Qiu Ziling, roused by his words, also realized this, though she couldn’t help but worry whether Shen Qingyi might have been harmed in the Ji Dizhen.
Yet judging by the townsfolk all sleeping soundly, things probably weren’t so dire!
With that in mind, Qiu Ziling hopped onto her own Feijian and followed behind Qiu Zimei toward Shen Qingyi’s residence.
At the same time, a spark of anticipation flickered within her—eager to meet Shen Qingyi again, even in such peril.
She couldn’t help but admit that Shen Qingyi’s beautiful face had left an indelible mark on her heart—one glimpse made her wish to remain by her side forever, especially since she was a blind maiden, which only awakened a stronger urge to protect her.
Driven by this protective feeling, her Feijian surged ahead, quickly leaving Qiu Zimei far behind as she sped straight for Shen Qingyi’s home.
From above, Shen Immortal Doctor’s house looked to be the most intact; it had barely been affected by the earthquake at all, with only the bamboo rack in the yard—used for drying clothes—knocked over.
Touching down, Qiu Ziling hurried over the fallen bamboo rack to Shen Qingyi’s door, her eyes full of both worry and expectation as she knocked, then pushed hard.
“Creak—”
The wooden door swung open under her hands, revealing the lingering night.
In the faint moonlight, the interior of the house was dimly visible.
But as a cultivator, even this faint light was enough for her to clearly see what was inside at a glance.
And with that glance, she saw something she would never forget for the rest of her life.
Qiu Ziling froze in place, her face stunned and her brown eyes unblinking as the scene before her imprinted itself in her gaze.
A beauty.
Two beauties sat together on the floor in each other’s arms—one, naturally, was the Shen Immortal Doctor she had longed for, while the other was a great fox demon, with nine Jiutiao Hutail swaying behind her and a pair of Xuebai Huer atop her head.
This fox demon was extremely alluring.
If Shen Qingyi was a peerless mortal beauty, then this fox demon was surely the calamity among monsters.
Those fox eyes held an innate charm, laced with a cold pride and loneliness, her long lashes casting shadows below.
The snowy cheeks gave way to a snow-white neck, dotted with crimson—a wound seemingly left by a bite, from which a droplet of blood slid down along her equally white collarbone and disappeared under her robe.
At the same time, another droplet of blood dripped from the fox demon’s chin.
This drop came from the Humeiren’s lips—specifically, from where the Humeiren and Shen Immortal Doctor’s lips met.
It fell along the white skin from between those two crimson mouths.
They appeared to be embracing, but in truth Shen Immortal Doctor’s arms were spread wide, as if in supplication, while the Humeiren responded by holding Shen Immortal Doctor in her arms.
One pair of arms supported Shen Immortal Doctor’s back, so that she lay resting in her embrace, both accepting and surrendering to the kiss.
No!
It was Shen Immortal Doctor seeking the kiss!
Qiu Ziling had no words to describe her feelings at seeing this scene.
She simply couldn’t find them.
She just stared dumbly at the two locked in their embrace and kiss, not taking another step, her heartbeat gradually calming.
It wasn’t until the Humeiren finally seemed to feel uneasy under her direct gaze, lifting her fox eyes in confusion to meet Qiu Ziling’s own, that Qiu Ziling finally snapped out of her daze.
Even though the other was a fox demon, in that moment she actually didn’t want to disturb them.
She hurriedly bowed her head and backed out, closing the wooden doors behind her, then turned to lean against them.
Only then did it feel as if she’d awoken from a dream, her heartbeat accelerating, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath.
Clutching her chest, she recalled the previous scene with lingering trepidation.
Moonlit night, beauties, embracing, kissing, dripping blood, mortal and fox demon, desire and acceptance.
Such a beautiful picture, and yet for Qiu Ziling, it was both real—and utterly unreal.
Why was it that the scene she saw upon opening the door was this?
Why would Shen Immortal Doctor be locked in an embrace and kiss with a fox demon?
No one could answer her, and when she’d had the chance to ask, she had instead chosen to step outside.
Now, it would be rude to barge in and ask outright.
After calming down, she still felt dazed until Qiu Zimei finally landed his Feijian nearby and came over to ask her, snapping her back to awareness.
“How is it? Shen Immortal Doctor’s alright, isn’t she?”
Seeing her so absent-minded, Qiu Zimei couldn’t help but worry.
How could they do without a doctor at a time like this?
But he got no response from Qiu Ziling; she only tilted her head slightly, gesturing for him to look inside himself.
Qiu Zimei didn’t understand her meaning and, unwilling to play riddles, walked to the door and pressed both hands against it, about to push it open.
But just then, the familiar voice rang out behind him—the same Predecessor’s voice he’d heard earlier at the Inn, as curt as ever, uttering just two words.
“Don’t move.”