A Yao of noble birth and a Fox spirit!

»That man is really stupid!« Zhen yan remarked as Ying yue ran back to the shore. Chen Qian fan had grabbed the small boat and was halfway back to the jetty when the wangle had capsized dangerously. A black head popped up out of the water and long white limbs slid onto the boat.

Ying yue took a deep breath. There was nothing he could do from here, so he looked at Zhen yan, but he just folded his arms. »We cremated the child's remains, but can you blame her for wanting to take revenge on this man?« he asked. Ying yue clenched her fists.

»He should be tried and found guilty. It should be the decision of a gathering how he is judged, not hers,« he replied. »We can't fulfill every vengeful soul's last wish.« Helplessly, he had to watch as Chen Qian fan was pulled from the boat into the depths. After a few minutes, the surface of the water was smooth and still again.

A gentle breeze blew over the lake and with it the dark tension fell. The corrupted energy dissolved and everything seemed a little brighter. Even the sunrise seemed a little more radiant than a few minutes ago.

»Mission accomplished,« Zhen yan whispered triumphantly and ordered the boat back.

Back at the jetties, Wei meng and Xueling came running towards them, out of breath.

»What... how... why?« Wei meng gasped.

»Why are you so late?« Ying yue asked angrily. »We were held up by the guard at the city gate. A demonic fog had covered the lake and a high-ranking cultivator who had arrived this morning had imposed a curfew. We couldn't get out even with our jade pendant,« Xueling explained calmly before the situation could escalate.

»Which clan?« Ying yue asked. His face had taken on its usual serious expression, with his eyebrows almost touching. A cultivator whose word an entire city obeys? »Wang Bing wen!« Xueling replied. Bai Ying yue took a deep breath. The Wang clan was one of the oldest and most renowned families of cultivators.

But why the head's eldest son was personally taking care of a single demon's matter was strange. Ying yue's gaze wandered up the path. »I'll go and report, you stay here. You don't want to meet Wang Bing wen,« he said to Zhen yan. Besides, the demon had apparently lost interest in suppressing his presence.

If he were to face someone like Bing wen, the cultivator would not give them time to explain, and if Ying yue now judged Zhen yan correctly, the whole city could be razed to the ground. Ying yue looked at Wei meng and Xueling.

»What are you doing?« he asked. Wei meng looked up. »Since we made it out of the city once, we're not going back. We're moving on, maybe we'll see each other again,« Wei meng said in a deep voice. Xueling bowed politely. Just before the city gates, Ying yue Zhen yan stopped to wait. »You're coming back?« the demon asked, looking glum.

Ying yue looked at him, and his eyes and lips caught on her. The tightness in his chest increased again and a rage flared up inside him. He was fighting contradictory feelings that he couldn't understand. He ran his tongue over his dry lips and nodded slightly. »I'll be back,« he promised him.

When Bai Ying yue entered the largest inn in the city, the ground floor of which had now been set up as a kind of base, his clothes were dry and in order.

He walked to the table in the middle of the room and politely greeted the man, who was only a few years older than he. »Wang Gongzi!« Wang Bing wen looked up. He dismissed the man with whom he had just discussed something and stood up.

»Bai Gongzi,« he greeted back. ‚What brings you to Shuisheng?' he asked politely. Bai Ying yue only raised his eyes briefly. Wang Bing wen was a tall man with a narrow waist and black hair, which he wore tied in a bun, with a silver, finely crafted hair crown. His clothing was all white and gold, signaling his status even among the cultivators.

»I am here to report,« Ying yue explained and began his account, in which he wisely left out Zhen yan.

»Chen Chen lu, the drowned woman, was abused by her husband until she couldn't take it anymore and drowned herself. However, her demonic spirit did not roam around until three decades later, which meant that her resentment was only kindled after her death. Her son was also killed by his father and his remains entered Yinhu about a month ago.

Thereupon, Chen lu pulled the fishermen from their boats, hoping that one of them could retrieve the remains of her boy. Her anger was only appeased when I cremated his remains and she could take revenge on the father!« He ended his report. Wang Bing wen nodded and listened to the end. »Then these events cannot be linked to the Daiyu Plains,« he said with relief.

Ying yue's head shot up. ‚The Daiyu Plains?' he asked. Bing wen's eyes widened when he saw Ying yue's questioning face. »Yes, haven't you heard? The seal that seals Black Jade Plain and keeps the demons below in check is beginning to crumble.

More and more demons are breaking out, and lately it's been getting harder and harder to get the upper hand. Where have you been for the last month? Letters and decrees have been sent to all clan leaders.«

Ying yue looked abashed and looked down. ‚I was injured during a hunt and spent some time isolated from the world to recover. I will return home immediately!' he announced, once again leaving out Zhen yan.

»Wait!« Wang Bing wen held him back. ‚Would you support a troop at the Fubei senlin on your journey home?' I'll give you an official decree. The demons in the Depraved Forest are multiplying like rats and constantly attacking the surrounding villages and towns. Trade routes and caravans must be accompanied by high-ranking cultists more and more often.« Ying yue hesitated briefly.

The Fubai Senlin would be a few days out of its way on its journey home, but he didn't know how much time he had already wasted. He had to return home before his father sent his brother out. Even though he was an excellent fighter, he was still too young to face the demons that came from the Daiyu Plains.

They were far more powerful than a drowned woman or some mutant Wanglian. Otherwise, he could not ignore such an open request from Wang Bing wen. He accepted the official light golden scroll, along with the bounty for the completed job, and took his leave. Outside the city gates, Ying yue didn't need to search for Ying yue Zhen yan for long.

He saw him leaning against a tree, watching Wei meng and Xueling as they packed up their few belongings. Ying yue distributed the bounty among them. The demon pushed himself away from the tree as Ying yue joined them, beaming at him. Ying yue met his warmth with his usual seriousness and furrowed eyebrows.

Xueling looked up and saw the delicate golden scroll in Ying yue's hand. »You've been given an official assignment?« she asked curiously. Ying yue lifted the scroll. ‚There are supposed to be more and more demon riots in the Fubai Senlin,' he explained briefly. Xueling nodded. »That's what they get. I thought it was right to throw demons in there and lock them up, it was clear that at some point it would get too crowded!« Wei meng added his opinion.

»Let me guess, only a dead demon is a good demon,« said Zhen yan, giving him a disapproving look. Wei meng acknowledged him with his own disapproval. Turning to Ying yue, Zhen yan asked, »What is the Fubai Senlin?« Ying yue looked up. Even if Zhen yan hadn't left his estate on Wushan for over four hundred years, he should still be familiar with the corrupted forest. He adjusted his arm guard and put the scroll away.

»The Fubai Senlin used to be a holy mountain called Fushan. Because of its purifying effect, demons were simply locked up there for a long time. It was assumed that the natural flow of Yang energy would purify the Yin energy of the demons.

However, exactly the opposite happened: the demons corrupted the mountain and gave the forest its name. Since then it has been used as a prison!« he explained briefly. Zhen yan nodded and had Xueling and Wei meng increase the distance between them while they followed the road out of Shuisheng.

»I know Fushan; normally it shouldn't be possible to corrupt its natural Yang flow,« he said lightly. »Have you really not come down from your mountain for four hundred years?« Ying yue asked doubtfully.

Zhen yan raised an eyebrow. »I have left the mountain from time to time, but who says I have to concern myself with worldly things? I visited the city, markets, and inns, and bought what I thought I might need. I wasn't interested in rumors,« the unsuspecting demon defended himself. Ying yue snorted. After only four days, they left Shuisheng.