Before long, the attendant returned and respectfully said, "Master, Miss Miaoyan invites you. Please follow me to the pavilion."
Xu Qing followed the attendant to the secluded pavilion. Before Miss Miaoyan appeared, the Corpse-Seeking Compass in his hand began to react strongly.
Clearly, there were far more than one corpse buried in this pavilion’s courtyard.
"What brings you to me, sir?"
Just as Xu Qing resisted the urge to dig up the corpse, a thick scent of makeup wafted out from within the pavilion.
Xu Qing frowned slightly. He detected a faint, unpleasant smell mixed in with the fragrance.
This Miss Miaoyan, like he once was, seemed to need cosmetics to mask the ’stench’ of her body.
However, ever since Xu Qing took the Celestial Fragrance Pill, he no longer needed makeup to cover the scent of corpse on him.
Xu Qing glanced sideways at the veiled partition, where a silhouette of a graceful woman seemed to be inside.
But when he activated his Qi Observation Skill, what he saw was a mangy fox draped in human attire, wearing a skull cap.
"I really have an urgent matter with you, Miss. Now there’s only half a cup of tea’s worth of time left, so why not skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point?"
"Half a cup of tea? What can be done in such a short time," a coquettish voice came from behind the partition, "Since you’ve come from Yunmeng Mountain, you must have important matters. Why not discuss those first, and then I will properly serve you..."
"I’m talking about the important matters," Xu Qing said as he walked towards the partition, extending his right hand forward, where a corpse claw about a foot long gleamed what a chilling light.
"I’ve come from Yunmeng Mountain, and along the way, I’ve dismantled Ruyi Temple, taken down Cizhao Temple, and now I’m here to tear down this pavilion and the fox skin on your body!"
Inside the pavilion, the mangy fox paled in alarm at Xu Qing’s words. As he pulled apart the partition in an instant, Miss Miaoyan lifted her skirt and turned, that iconic swaying motion was all too familiar.
With swift reflexes, Xu Qing slashed through the false skin with his claws before the fox could spray its urine.
The skull cap crashed to the ground and shattered, revealing the original form of the mangy fox.
Xu Qing stepped on the fox’s tail, raising his corpse claw high.
"Spare me, master! I struggled hard in my cultivation; I hope master shows mercy!"
Hearing the fox’s voice, sharp like a baby’s cry before him, Xu Qing suddenly tilted his head, "You are a male fox?"
"Yes, this little demon is indeed a male fox..."
"Did you drain Ning Erlang’s essence?"
"Erlang?" The Fox Demon tested, "Could it be that you have a grudge with Erlang?"
Xu Qing’s eyes twitched, and he withdrew his raised corpse claw.
Seeing Xu Qing restraint, the Fox Demon felt a rush of joy and said, "Ning Erlang is a lovesick fool. I disguised myself as the woman he favored, and he became infatuated. So, master, it seems you bear a grudge against Ning Erlang..."
"What are you looking for, master?"
Xu Qing found an ordinary long blade within the Mountain and River Map and forcefully swung it down!
"I’m looking for a one-time handy weapon, to avoid soiling my hands!"
Having dealt with the mangy fox, Xu Qing turned and went to the small courtyard at the back of the pavilion and dug out six corpses. Newest update provided by novel·fiɾe·net
Without exception, these six corpses were all women missing their skulls.
Xu Qing moved all the corpses into the Box Garden, then took out the Corpse-Seeking Compass again, its needle still spun, this time pointing toward the pavilion.
Returning to the pavilion, Xu Qing followed the compass’s guidance and finally found five skull caps neatly arranged in the dressing case at Miss Miaoyan’s vanity.
The Fox Demon, having not yet survived the thunder tribulation and condensed a Demon Core, could not take on human form. Hence, the Fox Demon had specially devised two methods for transformation.
One was to do good deeds and form good bonds with people, using the spiritual blessings of incense to transform into a human.
The other was to use the skull cap of the dead, wear it on their head, and bow to the moon, thereby transforming between male and female.
If transformation was not meant to happen, during the bow, the skull cap would tumble down; but if during the bow, the skull cap remained firmly attached, and after forty-nine bows, then transformation into the deceased’s form during life was possible.
As for the fox before him, the human forms it desired to transform into, without exception, were all beautiful women!
Leaving the Miaoyan Pavilion, the young girl silently waiting at the rouge and powder shop opposite immediately ran forward.
"Xu Immortal Family is so quick!"
"Quick?" Xu Qing glanced at the sky. His trip back and forth had clearly exceeded half a cup of tea’s time.
"Very quick!" Xuan Yu looked up at Xu Qing, "I thought it would take at least half a month."
Xuan Yu explained, "I overheard those customers at the entrance talking. One said when he entered such a place, he wouldn’t come out in less than an hour; another said he wouldn’t come out for at least a day and a night; yet another said he wouldn’t come out in less than half a month, and if he did come out, it’s because he ran out of silver."
"Then, others said they too lacked enough silver; if silver was sufficient, they’d also not come out for half a month."
"The Xu Immortal Family has much silver, so I thought it would take at least half a month, but unexpectedly, you returned in just an instant!"
Xu Qing was silent for a long time, unable to utter a single word.
Seeing Xu Qing say nothing, Xuan Yu then asked, "What are you going to do next, Xu Immortal Family?"
Xu Qing finally let out a breath.
"To kill the Emperor and the National Teacher!"