Young Master Bai — Chapter 10
Chapter 10: Being the Fox King Will Give You Bald Patches
Li Wuming packed his belongings quickly, performed a spell to inform the Fox King, then carried Bai Chen to the mountain pass. The urgency of his actions seemed more like an elopement than a journey.
Though Bai Chen was happy to elope with him, unfortunately, a burden was already waiting ahead. In the snowy field stood Chenzui, using a Red Fox ability to hold up a patch of clear sky. The red robe and white snow made his face look even more charming. As soon as Bai Chen arrived, Chenzui stepped forward, curiously examining the legendary Ancestor said to charm heroes across the world.
Chenzui was respectful toward the Ancestor, but they weren’t familiar with each other, so their interaction remained formal and reserved. Seeing the awkwardness, Li Wuming glanced at the rare patch of clear sky and spoke up to ease Bai Chen’s discomfort. "A Red Fox’s power to control snow is quite handy. I wish I could learn it. It’s hard to ride the sword when it’s snowing all year round here."
He was merely making small talk, but Bai Chen found it odd. "It hasn’t cleared up at all in recent years?"
"No. Ever since you died, there’s been no sunlight. Maybe Heaven is mourning you."
How strange that was. When Bai Chen was young, although the Great Snow Mountain saw frequent snowfall, there were still a few sunny days each month. But since he lost his yao core, the clear days became rarer. After his death, there was no sunlight at all. It truly seemed as if Heaven had dimmed for him.
Bai Chen didn’t believe he could influence the weather. Seeing that Li Wuming had only spoken casually, he replied, "I’m not that important. Maybe the spiritual veins have changed. Let Yunce send a few great yaos to inspect it."
And speak of the devil — Yunce arrived. They had planned to return quietly without alerting the yao tribe, but once Bai Yunce heard the news, he flew in immediately, transforming into his original form and leaping into his little martial uncle’s arms. He grumbled discontentedly, "Little Martial Uncle, I’m so stressed from these brats and elders I’m going bald, and you went down the mountain without me!"
Bai Yunce’s original form was an eight-tailed Black Fox. He’d been eating well in recent years, and his fur shone with a glossy sheen. Bai Chen stroked it and found the texture truly pleasant. No wonder Li Wuming liked using his tail as a blanket.
With the Nine-tailed White Fox hugging another fox, Li Wuming could only shake his head in resignation. Sigh — having a fox as a Dao companion had its downsides. Foxes from the same litter cuddled and rubbed each other all the time; he couldn’t very well grab this eyesore of a junior by the neck and toss him out.
Still, though the Black Fox’s fur was beautiful, he really did have a bald patch the size of a coin on his head. Evidently, even a carefree and well-fed Fox King couldn’t avoid stress under all the responsibilities of the yao tribe.
Bai Chen recalled his junior’s once-carefree demeanor and patted his head with some sympathy. But since he no longer had cultivation and couldn’t take the Fox King’s position, he feigned indifference and flicked the Black Fox’s forehead. "You don’t even have a Dao companion, so who cares if you go bald?"
Bai Yunce had indeed been having a hard time these years. The Heavenly Wolf clan stirred up trouble, the Red Fox clan bullied him for being young and having lost his elders, and even Bai Chenzui, whom the Fox King should have raised, was taken away. Without mentors or cubs to play with, he no longer wanted this life. So he clung to Bai Chen’s arms and cried, "Little Martial Uncle, I don’t want to be Fox King anymore!"
Bai Chen had already seen the arrogance of the Heavenly Wolf clan and understood his junior’s hardships. Half-joking, he said, "Then go find someone to take your place."
Those words meant permission to abdicate. The Black Fox’s eyes lit up, and he immediately returned to human form and patted Chenzui’s shoulder with great seriousness. "Little Chenzui, listen to me — it’s time to seize the throne."
Chenzui was prideful yet diligent. He disdained his reckless elder’s antics, and now that Bai Yunce was being so flippant, he sternly replied, "I am still young and not suited to such responsibility. Please don’t speak nonsense."
Though Chenzui appeared laid-back, he took matters seriously. Bai Chen could only shake his head helplessly and pull the clinging Bai Yunce away. "Enough. I’ll polish him up for a few more years. You hang in there."
"Hmph! None of you want the throne? Then I’m going back to carve memorial tablets!"
Bai Yunce had waited eagerly to step down. Now that it wasn’t happening, he huffed and turned away, not even offering a parting word. Seeing his childish behavior, Chenzui sighed to Bai Chen, "The Fox King acts like a child at his age. Forgive him, Ancestor."
"You don’t understand. He’s the pillar of the Great Snow Mountain. No matter how hard it is, he must keep smiling."
The suffering beneath Bai Yunce’s mischievous behavior was clear to Bai Chen. He sighed inwardly, then said to Li Wuming, "Let’s go — to the human world."
---
The town nearest to the Great Snow Mountain was called Yinrong [lit. Silver-veiled realm]. Affected by the spiritual veins of the mountain, it turns into a snowy wonderland at the very start of winter. In the past, scholars and poets loved to visit here to appreciate the snow. Merchants capitalized on the opportunity, building inns and restaurants. Over time, it became a cultured little town.
Unfortunately, crops didn’t grow well here, and livestock often died from fear of yao aura. Apart from the winter tourism season, the town had little income and few permanent residents.
Now it was early winter, and Yinrong was bustling. Two yaos and one human blended into the crowd and entered the town. Though they drew amazed stares, nothing happened.
Five hundred years had passed, and the town had grown more prosperous. Defensive formations had been added, but aside from more luxurious buildings, not much seemed to have changed.
Bai Chen observed the streets and found that nearly everyone had cultivation. Even the vegetable vendor at the street corner practiced basic methods for strength and longevity — living to a hundred was no problem. Of course, there were changes: at street intersections now stood large wooden boards covered with various notices.
“High price for yao bones. Interested parties please come to Heaven-Earth tavern. — Myriad Treasures Hall”
“Demon Sect disciple Lu Ren Yi caused damage to tavern furniture while drunk. Fined 30 spirit stones and must sweep the streets for a day. — Official Notice”
“Azure Heaven Manor to duel Demon Sect guardian at Qishui. Three front-row seats available. Sky-class suite awaits the lucky. — Businessman”
“Illegal ticket-scalping demon cultivators have been caught. Thanks to the brave informants. — Heaven's Way Alliance”
Bai Chen’s eyes paused on Myriad Treasures Hall’s notice, then shifted to another wooden sign that read: "Irregular flight brings tears to your loved ones." Curious, he asked Li Wuming, "What’s this about?"
The little fox was always curious. Li Wuming answered readily, "A few years back, cultivators flying too fast on their swords often injured civilians. So the Heaven's Way Alliance passed a flying restriction. Within city limits, flight must go higher than 100 zhang [~300m] and must not disturb the populace."
Typical of the Heaven's Way Alliance to meddle in everything. But Bai Chen remembered that only cultivators in the Nascent Soul stage could fly for long periods. Even so, most preferred carriages to save energy. Could humans now fly en masse?
“Even in a remote town like this, they need flight restrictions? Are there that many Nascent Soul cultivators among humans now?”
Luckily, humans hadn’t completely outpaced the yao. Li Wuming pointed to a nearby Myriad Treasures Hall branch. "Not quite. They released a series of flight tools powered by spirit stones. Even newly Foundation-built cultivators can use them."
Flight tools have been nothing new, but ones with such a low barrier to use were unheard of. Bai Chen frowned. "But spirit stones aren’t cheap."
Chenzui, who had been wary in the human city, now couldn’t stay silent. He complained to the Ancestor, "The Unknown Truth Sect signed a treaty with the Three Gods of the Ghost Realm. Now countless ghosts mine spirit stones underwater for them. The sea is vast and undeveloped; who knows how many spirit veins are hidden? Ghosts don’t tire and work day and night. Since then, spirit stones have massively depreciated. It’s been hard for us to buy supplies."
In yao society, bartering was the norm. Spirit stones were the only currency. Their devaluation had hurt the Great Snow Mountain deeply — no wonder Chenzui bore such resentment toward the Unknown Truth Sect.
Li Wuming gently reminded them, "Yunce once tried to establish trade with humans, but internal opposition stopped him."
Bai Chen caught the hint. "Opposition from the Bai family, or others?"
"The Heavenly Wolf clan and Red Fox clan disagreed. The Great Bear clan, as usual, just said, ‘We’ll follow your lead.’"
Indeed, Bai Yunce had ventured out and surely understood the shifting tides. But internal resistance was too strong. It wasn’t ignorance that was dangerous — it was clarity shackled by helplessness.
Bai Chen recalled how his junior clung to him before he left the mountain. He sighed. "Poor thing — blocked at every turn, his orders ignored. What else can he do but feign madness?"
Chenzui dared not interrupt while the Ancestor spoke. But hearing possible criticism of the Red Fox clan, he couldn’t stay silent. "Ancestor, the Red Fox clan only has the mountain’s safety in mind. Humans now lack spiritual materials, and our fur, bones, and blood can all be made into tools. If we let them into the mountain, the consequences would be dire."
Among the Great Snow Mountain tribes, the Heavenly Wolves were too bold, the Red Foxes too timid. The stronger the humans grew, the farther they wanted to hide — never to make contact.
Bai Chen knew their nature and didn’t bother to argue. He simply asked, "You haven’t contacted the Hidden Wisdom Sect in all these years, have you? Before I died, I traded everything to earn a favor from their three lords — for a stable ally. Seems it was all for nothing."
Chenzui didn’t quite grasp the implication but answered respectfully. "The Hidden Wisdom Sect has long declined. They remain in the Heaven's Way Alliance only by former prestige. We see no need to engage with them."
Just as he suspected. The Great Snow Mountain really has been hiding for five hundred years. Past ties and friendships have been severed and forgotten. An ally in prosperity, but gone once the harsh wind blows — who would ever want such friends? No wonder not even one Hidden Wisdom Sect disciple attended the Jade Spring banquet. This matter would be difficult to handle…
Bai Chen mulled it over silently. His gaze toward Chenzui grew deeper. "I hear you were raised in the Red Fox clan?"
Chenzui wasn’t sure why the Ancestor asked, but replied cautiously, "I was born after you passed away [200 years ago]. The Fox King wasn’t suited to raise children, so my father kept me by his side."
Children of the Bai family are always raised by their mother’s clan [in the White Fox clan]. The Red Foxes took the opportunity, with Bai Yunce on shaky ground, to seize the future Fox King. They taught him little good but passed down their pettiness thoroughly. Fortunately, Bai Chen was back now. Given time, he could correct this issue.
If Bai Chen didn’t manage to recover his yao core, Chenzui would become the future of the Great Snow Mountain. Bai Chen would never allow the heir to be short-sighted and timid. Sternly, he said, "You’re the next Fox King. You must have a vision. From now on, follow me. Forget everything the Red Fox clan taught you. Don’t learn petty tricks that unfit for the light of day."
The Nine-tailed White Fox carried great authority. Though Chenzui didn’t understand, he dared not object and respectfully responded, "Yes."
Raising a competent heir was never easy. Bai Chen’s brow remained furrowed from the moment they entered the city. Li Wuming, fearing the little fox would overthink and harm his health, gently turned him to face himself, smoothing out Bai Chen's brow with a smile. "Stop scolding the kid. Today, the righteous and demonic sects are fighting at Qishui. Let’s go watch the live broadcast."
~ Chapter End ~
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Translator's note:
The author stated in chapter 2 that "Yao didn’t understand human aesthetics. Their transformations merely drew from the subconscious ideals of human hearts, wrapping themselves in beautiful appearances." Yet time and again various yao — even foxes themselves — comment about the superior appearance of Bai Chen and other foxes.
Also, Yinrong has flight control, live broadcasts of duels and ticket scalpers!
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