After arriving at the capital, Xin Hexue stayed at this inn for nearly half a month. He did not open a single book, nor had he composed any poetry or song, and had certainly not presented his essays to a single high ranking official for patronage.
All his precious time was wasted on the bed with the lecherous demon, locked in passionate activities.
Hen Zhen had somehow obtained a book of erotic illustrations that had been banned in the previous dynasty. The illustrations sometimes showed two people, sometimes three. He picked out the entangled positions for two and showed them to Xin Hexue, claiming it would aid in cultivation.
Xin Hexue believed his nonsense. In one night, they worked through three or four pages, sometimes prone, sometimes kneeling, sometimes lying down, sometimes standing, sometimes reclining, sometimes bent over. But no matter how much they contorted themselves, that ninth tail simply refused to emerge.
Perhaps the timing wasn’t right yet?
Perhaps this great demon’s yang essence was ultimately ineffective.
Or perhaps…
Or perhaps…
Xin Hexue initially held onto hope, but day after day, good opportunities were wasted without any progress. Even the base of his tail no longer had that familiar burning sensation from refining primal yang.
Eight tails weren’t bad either.
The number eight had an auspicious meaning too.
Even among fox spirits, he could dominate any mountain with his eight tails. Which wild fox would dare disobey?
But as he combed through his tails, he couldn’t help counting them repeatedly. When thoughts of his unfulfilled ambitions arose, he inevitably felt disheartened and despondent.
From the way things looked now, even if he embedded his butt in the wall, he wouldn’t make any progress.
If that were the case, why not abandon Hen Zhen and find another?
But those he encountered were all young scholars, and even the high ranking officials were merely mortals.
As for the ghosts and demons he had occasionally met during his travels through mountains and rivers, there was no need to mention themā¦they were so intimidated by Hen Zhen’s intimidating presence that they dared not even approach him.
Looking at it from all angles, this great demon had become the best option.
Xin Hexue was sullen and unhappy, and consequently lost his enthusiasm for that particular activity. Hen Zhen had been sleeping under the bed for five consecutive nights now, and his ‘brothers’ had been forced to fast.
He finally managed to endure until the New Year.
Not to mention the main streets and alleys, even the inn itself was filled with New Year’s atmosphere.
In the main hall, portraits of gods were hung, paper horses were offered, and wine, meat, pastries, and fruit plates were arranged to honor the spirits of the four directions. The round charcoal brazier before the portraits burned brightly. The inn waiter was busy with the pre-New Year cleaning, stirring up dust that floated and settled, taking on ethereal forms in the sunlight.
At dawn, the innkeeper delivered New Year cakes door to door to the guests staying there, some yellow and some white, each about a foot square. also included as congratulatory gifts were New Year platters containing pig trotters, black carp, and fruitsā¦all given free to these guests. The innkeeper was earnest and attentive, even reciting auspicious phrases to these candidates who might one day become officials.
Xin Hexue thanked him and accepted the gifts.
However, he only tasted the jujubes and walnuts from the fruit platter. He found the pig trotters and fish too greasy, so he had Hen Zhen eat them.
The lively sounds of gongs and drums came from the streets and could be heard in the alleys. For a moment, the entire capital was immersed in this red of bidding farewell to the old and welcoming the new. Hundreds and thousands of small firecrackers exploded in continuous succession, their shredded red paper strips nearly flying into faces.
Hen Zhen withdrew his gaze, his interest piqued. “I heard today’s performances are even more splendid than the Lantern Festival rehearsals. Wife, why don’t we go take a look?”
He knew Xin Hexue had been feeling down lately. He had tried every tactic he could think of to amuse him but didn’t elicit even half a smile. With the festive atmosphere so strong, joining the people’s celebration might spark Xin Hexue’s interest.
“Not going.”
Xin Hexue was already sitting on the bed, and he twisted further toward the inner side.
Seeing him seemingly holding in his frustration, Hen Zhen went over and helped rub Xin Hexue’s chest to soothe him. “Your husband hasn’t experienced your New Year yet. How about you accompany me out to have a look?”
He had absolutely no interest in mortal festivals, it was merely an excuse to cheer Xin Hexue up.
How could Xin Hexue not understand his intentions?
But facing this useless husband, he still couldn’t muster a smile. “If you want to go, go yourself. Don’t you have feet?”
“I have. Look at my long legs, this sturdy, strong back ..aren’t they just for carrying you on outings?” Hen Zhen patted his chest, pretended to turn his back to Xin Hexue, and crouched down before him. “Hop on.”
The moment the words fell, his back received a pinch.
“Ouch!”
Hen Zhen cried out as if he’d had a piece of flesh twisted off, startling Xin Hexue into withdrawing his hand in surprise and doubt. A trace of laughter flashed in his eyes as he slapped Hen Zhen’s back with a smack. “Stop pretending.”
“Really not going?”
“Not going.”
“Alright.” Hen Zhen smiled, but the smile was somewhat wicked, his eyes fixed intently on Xin Hexue. “Since you’re not going, we’ll have to find some other amusement. Otherwise, let me show you that these legs and this back of mine are also extremely useful on the bed. How about that?”
Xin Hexue, who was sitting demurely at the head of the bed, suddenly found a broad body covering him, and they both fell heavily onto the bed together. The bedding beneath his back sank softly, and the moon-white gauze bed curtain lifted briefly before settling back down.
“Daytime lewdness is not permitted.”
This was the Great Fox King’s rule.
“Even if it’s not permitted, who knows how many times we’ve done it.” Hen Zhen embraced him, unusually greedy for this kind of intimacy. “Don’t move, I’ll just hold you for a while.”
He clasped his hands behind Xin Hexue’s neck, buried his face in the crook of the neck and took a deep breath. The dense, faint, cool fragrance wove its way into his nostrils strand by strand. His emotions reached their peak, and Hen Zhen felt an animalistic desire to devour, wishing he could swallow Xin Hexue into his belly so the two could become one and never part.
Xin Hexue endured him for a long while, but soon grew impatient with his embrace. “Get up.”
Hen Zhen stubbornly refused to rise. “Let me hold you a while longer.”
“I’ll count to three.” Xin Hexue warned. “One… two…”
When the word “three” fell, Hen Zhen hastily propped himself up, holding Xin Hexue’s hand in his palm as he pulled him up.
Something light in weight dropped down, striking Xin Hexue’s chest. He looked down to see.
It was a crimson pearl, simply strung on a silk thread, round and delicate in shape, its color like a drop of thick red blood, swaying over Xin Hexue’s heart.
“It’s the New year, may my dear be safe year after year.” Hen Zhen crouched down, looking up at Xin Hexue. “I don’t have anything valuable or nice. I don’t know what you mortals like. I’m penniless, only possessing this one object filled with my heart. I hope you will treasure it.”
Demons have demon cores, and great demons also have Extinction Hearts.
He had heard Hen Zhen mention this Extinction Heart. Not to mention its protective function, in a life-or-death crisis, swallowing the Extinction Heart could also exchange one life for another. Hen Zhen was now tying his very life to Xin Hexue’s neck.
Xin Hexue’s fingers picked up the heart, his fingertips rubbing and stroking until the crimson pearl grew hot and scalding.
As if touching something too hot, he suddenly withdrew his hand and turned his face away. “Always giving me things others don’t want.”
Even though he said this, he didn’t return the Extinction Heart.
Xin Hexue was born with eyebrows and eyes that seemed both indifferent and affectionate. Even when he treated people coldly, within those eyes, one part coldness was accompanied by three parts tenderness, not to mention now, when he turned his head away, his downcast eyes had a hint of warmth?
His brows were dark and delicate, his hair like mist and clouds.
No wonder so many people were devoted to him even in death.
Without him, Xin Hexue could live very well, but for Hen Zhen without Xin Hexue, life would be meaninglessā¦living one more day in this world would be tiresome.
Hen Zhen chuckled, lifted Xin Hexue’s foot resting on the bedside, and put on his socks and shoes for him.
“Go out for a stroll. Consider it granting me face.”
Xin Hexue reached out his hand and patted Hen Zhen’s left cheek with lingering tenderness, laughing softly, “Haven’t I given you enough face already?”
“It is never too much.”
Having dressed his feet properly, Hen Zhen braced his knees and stood up, then placed a hooded hat on Xin Hexue’s head. He pulled the person’s hand to rest on his shoulder, swiftly turned around and rose in one motion, carrying Xin Hexue on his back.
“Hold on tight.”
Hen Zhen carried Xin Hexue and leaped down from the second floor, landing lightly.
He was in high spirits, perhaps due to the New Year. Xin Hexue, who was lying on his back, could even hear him humming a vague, hoarse tune. Xin Hexue concentrated to listen; he was singing “Spring Banquet”: “First I wish my wife a thousand years, second I wish myself constant health, third I wish to be like swallows on the beam, year after year always meeting…”
…
Hen Zhen’s good mood lasted until evening.
He and Xin Hexue had toured nearly half the capital, eating, drinking, and enjoying themselvesā¦there was nothing they didn’t do. They even followed along with those year-end exorcism teams dressed as ghosts and spirits, beating gongs and drums as they marched.
Xin Hexue found it amusing. these people performed rituals to drive out evil spirits along the way, yet little did they know a demon and a half-demon were following along.
Along the way, however, they saw within another exorcist performers’ team a red fox trapped in a wire cage.
The red fox cried mournfully, its fur disheveled, occasionally beaten with sticks through the cage bars. Its condition was miserable and pitiful, clearly serving as the evil spirit to be exorcised. who knew what treatment awaited it after the street performance ended, it would probably end up in a Reunion Hotpot.
Feeling sympathy for his kind, Xin Hexue waited until the team’s performance ended before throwing down money to buy the red fox.
He and Hen Zhen went to the foot of the mountains on the capital’s outskirts and opened the wire cage, intending to release the red fox back into the wild.
The red fox seemed to understand something as well. It leaned against Xin Hexue’s feet, rolled over to show its belly, whimpering and calling out. When Xin Hexue crouched down to pet it, it even licked his hand.
By this moment, Hen Zhen’s face had already darkened.
Without a word, he also crouched down, grabbed Xin Hexue’s hand, and stubbornly placed it on his own head.
“…Why are you fighting for favor with a beast?” Xin Hexue asked, perplexed.
Hen Zhen looked at him. “You often say I’m even worse than a beast.”
Xin Hexue pushed his forehead away. “Get lost.”
Afraid that red fox would fall into traps again, Xin Hexue used a wisp of demonic energy to awaken its spiritual intelligence, watching with satisfaction as the red fox went up the mountain.
If matters had only developed this far, Hen Zhen could have considered it the beautiful fox bodhisattva doing a daily good deed.
Who knew that around evening, a fox demon would come looking for them.
“Benefactor! I finally found you!”
The fox demon, with tears streaming from his eyes, appeared as a handsome young man.
Xin Hexue was quite surprised. He had merely awakened the fox’s spiritual intelligence, how could it have cultivated human form in less than an hour?
The fox demon changed back to its original form, a red-furred fox, but the distribution of red and white fur differed from the one Xin Hexue had released earlier. Still, it clamored, calling him benefactor, overflowing with gratitude.
Where had another fox that had received kindness come from?
Hen Zhen voiced the question, “And who is this? Which concubine of yours? An old flame? How come I’ve never seen them before?”
Hearing Hen Zhen’s words, the fox demon twisted shyly, blushing as he confessed, “I’m the fox from Xushou Village in Jiangzhou. That day, benefactor saved me from the hunter’s handsā¦how could you not remember?”
Xin Hexue had no impression at all. “When was that?”
The fox said, “Five hundred years ago.”
Xin Hexue: “…”
“Perhaps you’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
Xin Hexue said flatly.
The fox was shocked. “Impossible! How could I ever forget my benefactor’s name and appearance? But benefactor, how have you turned into a fox demon?”
The fox’s courtship desires stirred. “This, this, this…”
Hen Zhen watched menacingly.
The fox said, “What’s to be done?”
He had no choice but to extinguish his intentions and honestly explain that the red fox Xin Hexue had released earlier was from his mountain territory. He had specifically come to thank his benefactor, never expecting to encounter the benefactor he had thought perished.
Xin Hexue had little interest in dusty past events. His gaze circled around the fox. considering that he was of the same kind and had several centuries of cultivation, his mind grew active, and he turned to Hen Zhen. “You go back to the inn first. I have some things to discuss with this fox brother.”
Hen Zhen raised an eyebrow warily. “What things? Sweet talk? Can’t you say them in front of me?”
Xin Hexue crossed his arms. “I need to speak some fox talk with him. You’re a snake that only knows how to hissā¦what use would you have listening?”
Hen Zhen had no choice but to concede defeat.
…
It was unclear what Xin Hexue discussed with that fox, but after bathing that night, he pulled Hen Zhen onto the bed and was unusually passionate, actively riding atop Hen Zhen.
Outside was the lively New Year’s Eve, with fireworks and firecrackers sounding together, and light snow falling continuously. No matter how noisy or cold it was, it had nothing to do with this warm haven within.
Red candles flickered, and a silver waist swayed.
Xin Hexue worked up a sweat, his lower abdomen glistening with moisture. His skin was smooth and white, like a peeled lychee. Suddenly he arched his neck and screamed out, “Ahhh!”
The soft abdomen spasmed and contracted, the expression on his face breathtakingly beautiful.
Hen Zhen turned like an earth-dragon, and their positions reversed. His hands braced on either side of Xin Hexue as he continued in this position.
Compared to riding, Hen Zhen actually preferred this posture, it allowed him to clearly see every smile, every breath, every cry, every response to his lewd words.
While waiting for Xin Hexue to recover, he lowered his head and ate with relish.
“What did you say to that fox?” Hen Zhen hadn’t forgotten the day’s matter.
Xin Hexue’s bangs were soaked with sweat, and he looked as if he’d just been pulled from water. His lips parted slightly, his red tongue teasing between white teeth as he smiled. “I asked him if he knew anything about dual cultivation methods for fox demons. Why won’t my ninth tail grow?”
While Hen Zhen talked with him, his wicked hands didn’t stopā¦pulling, pinching, kneading. In his disorientation, Xin Hexue confessed that he had obtained some pleasure-enhancing pills from the red fox, but he wouldn’t let Hen Zhen use them.
Hen Zhen’s expression changed. “Who do you want to use them for?”
Xin Hexue snorted. “I’m not telling you anyway.”
Hen Zhen exerted himself vigorously, drilling and working so hard that by the second half of the night, all eight of Xin Hexue’s tails emerged, spreading across the entire bed.
“Don’t, don’t…” Xin Hexue twisted his waist, avoiding Hen Zhen. “No more, it’s dirty, it’ll dirty my tails…”
Hen Zhen asked, “If you don’t want more, why are you still clenching me so tightly? Can’t bear to part?”
He was about to withdraw according to Xin Hexue’s wish when Xin Hexue, worried about his tails, pursed his lips and lowered his head to look at where they joined, his gaze both bold and innocent as he whispered tremblingly, “Maybe you should just block it. It’ll be more troublesime if it leaks out later.”
āDamn it!ā
Hearing this, Hen Zhen’s beastly root quivered once, and the turbid fluid showered entirely onto those fluffy tails, forcing Xin Hexue to cry out.
What should have been blocked wasn’t.
“My dear, don’t cry, don’t cry anymore.” Hen Zhen became flustered, kissing Xin Hexue’s cheek one moment, his nose the next. “I won’t sleep the rest of the night. I’ll lick you clean, wash you properly, and comb you out. Is that alright?”
Xin Hexue suddenly pouted his lips.
Hen Zhen became dizzy with happiness. Still asking for a kiss at a time like this, Xin Hexue loved him deeply, right?
He couldn’t help himself; he lowered his head and kissed deeply. Xin Hexue had already loosened his teeth early, and their tongues played together. During the deep kiss, a small pill slipped into Hen Zhen’s mouth.
Before Hen Zhen could feel happy, he fainted.
Xin Hexue wiped the corner of his mouth, pushed aside the man whose life or death was unknown, and sneered coldly, “A beast that can’t control its wicked root.”
He was so angry that he used his fox tails to whip him one by one, eight lashes in total. Midway through, he turned him over, so that each side of his face got exactly four lashes.
His felt better, and he then had the heart to clean and comb each tail properly.
The pill was exactly what Xin Hexue had requested from the fox that evening. The fox had five hundred years of cultivation; if nothing else, his treasury was full of bizarre items, including pills specifically targeting demons.
Unfortunately, it could only induce unconsciousness for half a day.
Hen Zhen was already useless; he needed to find another way out.
The trouble was that this great demon was possessive and always followed him everywhere. Only after meeting the fox demon did Xin Hexue finally find a solution.
He would simply go out and report to the authorities; naturally, monks would come to capture the great demon. They probably won’t be able to harm him, but tying him up so that Hen Zhen couldn’t spare the effort to pursue him would be sufficient.
Just before leaving the room, the Extinction Heart on Xin Hexue’s chest seemed to sense something, growing hot and burning.
He lowered his eyes, raised his hand to grasp the silk thread, and tugged lightly.
