Young Master Bai — Chapter 14
Chapter 14: The Juniors Are All Tools
With the Demon Sect's methods, they would surely detect the yao aura on the corpse. If they determined the killer came from the Great Snow Mountain, it would be disastrous. Although Bai Chen still couldn't access the body or the witnesses, he could investigate the deceased's family. Using a shopping trip as a pretense, he took Chenzui out.
A death in the town's outskirts hadn't dampened the lively streets. People still enjoyed the scenery or ran their businesses. Only the idle chatter had shifted topics — from the righteous-versus-demonic sect war to the recent yao attack. Local vendors looked visibly worried, and the tea houses and taverns were filled with unfriendly talk about the yao.
The Chen family inn, where the Lu brothers caused trouble while drunk, wasn't far from the Heaven-Earth tavern. The inn's first and second floors had been converted into a restaurant for dining and drinking, with only the upper floors used for lodging. Bai Chen inquired and learned that Lu Ren Yi had gone out to make funeral arrangements for his older brother. Just as he was about to leave, he noticed Chenzui's dark expression. Following his gaze, Bai Chen understood why.
Disciples of righteous sects all wore uniform robes, while the group Chenzui was staring at wore mismatched outfits — clearly wandering cultivators passing through. They were drinking and discussing the latest news.
"Brother, did you hear? A demonic cultivator got killed by a yao."
"Old news. We were just saying — now Heaven's Way Alliance can't stop us from going up the mountain. They say fox yao are beautiful. I'd love to catch a few to try."
"My wife came from a wealthy family and refuses to try anything new. If I had a little yao pet, things would be much better."
"Aren't you afraid your wife will throw you out?"
"You don’t get it. Let them take animal form during the day and act like a pet dog to win her favor. At night, hehe..."
This cheap inn attracted a mixed crowd. A table of rough men all grinned lewdly. It wasn’t just Chenzui who was angered — even a female cultivator at the next table couldn’t take it. She sneered, "Yao are known for draining essence. I doubt you'd survive."
But the big man didn’t care. "As long as it feels good. Yao cores, fur, bones — they’re all useful. Worst case, kill it and eat it. Keeping one is never a loss."
The female cultivator clearly came from a prestigious background and couldn’t bear such vulgar talk. She immediately warned, "Sir, I advise you to be kind!"
The man was used to teasing young women. Seeing that she looked pretty, he started flirting. "What, it's okay for yao to eat humans, but not the other way around? Women are all so fake. If we grilled a fox until it smelled delicious, I don’t believe you wouldn’t be tempted."
A young lady couldn't win an argument against these rogue types. Gritting her teeth, she could only say, "Hmph! Those from lowly origins really have no manners. You're tarnishing this beautiful scenery."
That comment hit a sore spot. The table of men stood up. "You bitch! You looking down on us?"
"So what if I am? I can't stand men like you — married and still chasing skirts!"
The female cultivator's companions weren't afraid. They all drew their swords, and a fight broke out. The inn’s newly purchased tables and chairs were once again smashed amid flashing blades.
Bai Chen watched coldly as the brawl broke out and pulled Chenzui back, stopping him from joining in. He gave a glance at a nearby servant. "She looks like someone from Illusory Moon Villa. Aren’t you going to help?"
Myriad Treasures Hall and Illusory Moon Villa had been intermarrying for generations. The disciples sent to monitor the Nine-tailed White Fox couldn’t stay hidden once they saw the female cultivator being overpowered. They immediately revealed their magical treasures and joined the fray.
"Those thugs always use dirty tricks. Follow me to protect our junior sister!"
"Who asked Myriad Treasures Hall to interfere!"
"Outnumbering someone? Brothers, get them!"
A three-way fight broke out, plunging the inn’s main hall into chaos. Bai Chen used the opportunity to pull Chenzui out the back door, finally shaking off their tails [and shaking their actual fox tails].
Once they had gotten far away, Bai Chen saw that Chenzui’s expression was still gloomy. He calmly asked, "Still angry?"
That one question made Chenzui's spoiled temper erupt. Gritting his teeth, he said, "If Ancestor hadn’t stopped me, I’d have killed them all!"
The six-tailed Red Fox, raised with constant praise from young yao, had never been so humiliated. Bai Chen gently stroked his hair but spoke coldly:
"Remember this anger. Hide it in your heart — but don't let it cloud your mind. People worship the strong and trample the weak. There are far more villains like that than people who stay righteous. Fairness and justice only apply between equals. If we yao remain far behind humans, this will be our future."
Chenzui had never realized how dire things were for the yao. Now he truly grasped what would happen if the Great Snow Mountain was breached. Terrified, he trembled and leaned into Bai Chen’s arms. "But pure-blood yao are dwindling. Do we still have hope?"
Bai Chen had already experienced this fear and helpless guilt before he died. Though he didn’t know where hope lay, he looked into the younger one's trusting eyes and smiled gently. "Humans rose from being the weakest of all races to dominate the world. Why can't we?"
"Ancestor, I'm so glad you're back."
Hearing that from the Nine-tailed White Fox calmed Chenzui. Yet he still felt gross thinking about those men’s words and muttered angrily, "If I had known humans were so awful, I never would have taken human form!"
He was still childish. Bai Chen, walking with him, soothed him calmly. "Our ancestors tried many things. If we stayed in beast form, we could only breed with similar species. But once we shed our forms and took human shape, any yao could bear offspring with any race. However, children born this way appear human at birth and resemble human children in their youth, only gradually awakening their yao blood and returning to their true form later."
These were secrets known only to the older yao. Chenzui was intrigued, while Bai Chen sighed silently. He himself had been born in human form, which was why he had met someone he never should have...
Chenzui had assumed they took human form just to seduce humans. He was curious now. "What about yao-human offspring?"
"Humans are a newly mutated race that emerged after the fall of the celestial star. Starting from their generation, all living beings have since lost the ability to pass on power through bloodlines. Therefore children of yao-human unions rarely awaken special powers [but yao-yao unions still transfer power to the offsprings]. On the other hand, because yao qi clashes with human qi, we pure-blood yao can’t practice human cultivation techniques — but those half-yao can. It's truly hard to judge the gains and losses."
The Bai family's memories of the ancient times had been lost since Bai Chen's death. Chenzui was hearing all this for the first time and admired him deeply. "Ancestor, you know so much."
"Those were just bedtime stories Fox Immortal Grandfather used to tell me. Now that he’s gone, I’m the one telling them to you."
Regret comes too late. At the mention of the Fox Immortal, Bai Chen grew wistful. Chenzui noticed and avoided the sad topic, asking instead, "Did he ever talk about the Yao King?"
"Not much. The Yao King had many sons. Fox Immortal Grandfather was the least favored. That’s why he got sent to this icy place during the height of the Yao King’s power."
The Yao King represented the peak of yao strength. The younger generation was naturally curious. But Bai Chen knew that the Great Snow Mountain and the Yao King weren’t as close as rumors claimed. He only said calmly, "That might have been a good thing. Back then, Sword Immortal Bai [same Bai as in Bai Chen] killed all of Yao King’s sons who served in his army. Only Fox Immortal Grandfather, who had secluded himself on the mountain, survived."
"Sword Immortal?"
Those familiar words made Chenzui look up in surprise. Bai Chen remained unmoved. "Li Wuming’s master. He hasn’t shown himself for a thousand years. Supposedly still lives on the Great Snow Mountain — but who knows."
[As of chapter 42 is is still unclear whether there is any connection between Sword Immortal Bai and the White Fox clan, beyond the identical names. It could simply be a title, White Sword Immortal, due to his hair or clothes, for example; but I suspect a connection.]
No one knew that Li Wuming once tried to assassinate the Nine-tailed White Fox. The yao of the Great Snow Mountain believed he had fallen for Bai Chen during a chance encounter. Upon hearing that their future son-in-law came from the Bai family’s greatest enemy, Chenzui looked at Bai Chen with even more admiration. "Ancestor actually roped in that kind of person as your Dao companion. Truly worthy of being the world’s top fox yao!"
Heh. You won’t believe it if I say I was the one who got roped in.
Mentioning Li Wuming made Bai Chen’s stomach ache. He dropped the topic and pointed to a shop ahead. "Enough about that freak. That’s the only coffin shop in town. If Lu Ren Yi is arranging a funeral, he’ll have to come here. Keep a close eye on it."
The more time Chenzui spent with Bai Chen, the more respect he had for him. He immediately accepted the order and began observing the passersby, murmuring, "I was wondering why Ancestor chose to walk like a normal person when we could’ve arrived in one step using Shrinking Earth. Turns out it was to help me gain more experience. Such careful thought."
This kid sure was good at convincing himself. Bai Chen didn’t have the heart to admit he had no yao core and couldn’t use techniques. He just gave Chenzui a mysterious look. "Go. Let me see how your Mind-stealing Technique is coming along."
As Bai Chen had predicted, Lu Ren Yi was indeed inside buying funeral items. In less than a quarter hour, they ran into each other. Chenzui didn’t want to let his Ancestor down. He formed a hand seal and stepped forward with a bright smile. "Young master — "
Fox yao were extremely confident in their looks. Though Chenzui had never interacted with human cultivators, he believed seducing a young man would be easy. But the demonic cultivator took one look at him and reacted as if he’d seen a ghost, dropping his candles and incense and fleeing in panic.
"Ancestor, he ran away!"
The reaction left Chenzui embarrassed. He almost wanted to check in a mirror if he’d messed up his face during his transformation. But Bai Chen had already narrowed his eyes when the man activated his qi. He yelled, "Don’t just stand there. Catch him!"
~ Chapter End ~
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Translator's note:
As the story progresses, it will become more obvious that Bai Chen is indeed very intelligent, well-read, likable, and good at diplomacy. With their shared interests and complimentary characters, Li Wuming had every reason to fall for him. But keep in mind that Bai Chen is actually a very mature *child* — he was only awake for 100 years out of his current 600, while yao become adults at 300. This is very obvious in his behavior sometimes, especially in his interactions with Li Wuming — in front of whom Bai Chen sees no need to play a role as he has repeatedly demonstrated his temper and childishness during their husband-seeking travels.
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