Young Master Bai — Chapter 17
Chapter 17: Humans Are the Race Most Adept at Using Tools…
The ways of the demonic cultivators were clear-cut in love and hate, with no shortage of enemies, and very few ended well. Naturally, the Demon Sect’s skill in examining corpses was not lacking either. However, some subtle differences could only be noticed by close kin. At that time, Lu Ren Yi really did notice something unusual, and he hesitated before saying, “Once we transform into our yao form, we run extremely fast, but when I felt my brother’s feet, they were still human-shaped.”
Now that the yao were nearly extinct in the human realm and yao bones were worth a fortune, Lu Ren Yi was afraid his brother’s body would be dismembered and unable to be buried. So, even after noticing the anomaly, he didn’t mention it to outsiders and only revealed it to Bai Chen, this Nine-tailed White Fox.
Hearing this, Bai Chen also felt something was wrong. “It’s said that when the Nine-colored Deer runs, it merges with wind and clouds, leaving no trace on the snow. In ancient times, even when emperors sent armies to hunt them down, they couldn’t hurt them in the slightest. Logically, at the brink of death Lu Ren Wang should have gone all out to escape and shouldn’t have continued hiding his identity.”
Of course, staying alive was more important than hiding secrets — especially since Lu Ren Wang had a younger brother waiting for him to return. He wouldn’t have refused to use his yao power just to conceal his identity, so there was only one possibility left.
Bai Chen and Li Wuming exchanged a glance and reached the answer at the same time: “Unless he was unable to transform into his yao form.”
“Yao core.”
This situation was all too familiar to Bai Chen. His fingers instinctively pressed against his own abdomen, though his expression remained calm as he said, “The killer didn’t want the cultivator’s golden core but his yao core as a half-yao. Before Lu Ren Wang received his fatal wound, he must have already lost his yao core. Unable to use the Nine-colored Deer’s abilities, he died in the snow.”
Even a Nine-tailed White Fox who lost his yao core would become no different from an ordinary person, let alone Lu Ren Wang, who was only a half-yao. The cause of his death gradually became clear. Li Wuming said at the right moment, “I’ve already convinced the Demon Sect to let you examine the body. Do you want to go?”
This man was always so considerate. Bai Chen naturally got up immediately. Seeing Lu Ren Yi hiding in a corner’s shadow, unwilling to move, Bai Chen’s heart softened, and he said faintly, “You want to know who the killer is and avenge your brother, don’t you? Come along.”
Hearing this, light finally returned to Lu Ren Yi’s eyes. He immediately scrambled up and followed behind them. Li Wuming took it all in, turning slightly to look at this little fox, who always wore a cold and proud demeanor, and simply asked, “Is this really okay? He detests yao the most, after all.”
Bai Chen involved himself in this matter only because it concerned diplomatic relations between the human and yao races. Now that it had been proven Lu Ren Wang’s death was due to his own ascent of the mountain, it was already a done conclusion for the Great Snow Mountain. As for who the killer was — that didn’t really matter.
Yet, though it was none of his concern, Bai Chen still intervened. Faced with Li Wuming’s doubt, he only replied lightly, “He is just a youngster. This young master won’t bother to argue with him.”
The heart of a Nine-tailed White Fox was actually softer than that of a human. Even when facing a race other than his own, he could still feel empathy. That’s why he could never live freely and unburdened. Li Wuming remembered that long ago he was the same — clearly just a little fox who had lost his yao core and was dying, yet when Li Wuming drank alone under the moon, he would quietly transform back into his true form and curl into Li Wuming's arms, keeping the other company all night. Back then Lu Wuming thought, so the fox fur was actually this warm…
Five hundred years had passed, and the memories had grown hazy. Li Wuming smiled faintly and, unusually, took the initiative to hold Bai Chen’s human hand. “Sword flight is prohibited in the city. I’ll lead you.”
This sudden action left Bai Chen confused. When he was offering himself, the man didn’t want him; but when ignored, Li Wuming suddenly got handsy. In the end, Bai Chen could only mutter softly, “Men really are troublesome…”
Lu Ren Wang’s corpse was kept at the town’s government office, where the righteous and demonic sects were both busy. When they arrived, Lin Kaitian happened to be there. Seeing Li Wuming arrive, he smiled and extended his hand. “Senior Li, you’re just in time. You violated the no-flight rule and flew over two streets — pay the fine.”
The town’s flight restrictions were indeed strict. Li Wuming naturally wouldn’t deny it. He casually fished out a medicinal herb from his storage ring and tossed it over. “Take it. And settle my little fox’s fine as well.”
His manner was exceedingly casual. When Lin Kaitian took a look, he was a bit surprised. “The Ghost Mother Ganoderma that can revive the flesh and bone! Senior really is generous.”
The Ghost Mother Ganoderma [a type of magical mushroom] grew on islands once inhabited by the Ghost Mother Deity [unclear whether another ghost god or someone random]. It was said that no matter how severe the injury, placing a piece in the mouth would restore one completely. Ordinary cultivators couldn’t find such a treasure. Only Li Wuming could throw it away without blinking to pay a fine. He himself didn’t care, glancing at Bai Chen and chuckling, “Go ahead and play. We don’t need it for now anyway.”
Li Wuming had no interest in such treasures. The reason he collected them was only to save his little fox. Now that the fox was alive, they were useless. Seeing this, Bai Chen felt a warmth in his heart but only asked seriously in front of everyone, “How’s the examination of the body?”
Lin Kaitian was obviously not here just to collect fines. He led them into the morgue, greeted the Ghost Tactician who was casting a spell to search the dead man’s soul, and took out a small bronze mirror. He examined the corpse’s wounds while explaining, “We’ve already checked with a yao-revealing mirror. The scratches on the arms were caused by spells, the yao aura is brown, likely from the Great Bear clan. But the fatal injury that shattered his internal organs on the back had no trace of yao aura. The wound tearing the abdomen is even stranger — the white yao aura is something we’ve never seen before, with an unknown origin.”
That the Myriad Treasures Hall could rank second in the Heaven’s Way Alliance by relying on magical artifacts indeed showed they had some skill. Humans normally couldn’t detect yao aura, but the bronze mirror in his hand revealed traces clearly, even distinguishing species by color — more intuitive and accurate than the yao’s own sense of smell.
It was the first time Bai Chen had seen such a technique, and he couldn’t help but be surprised. “Humans already have magical tools to detect yao aura?”
“Not just mirrors. Our border disciples are also equipped with yao-detecting bells. If yao aura appears within a radius of ten li, the bell will sound. The higher the cultivation, the louder the sound. If it were in front of Young Master Bai — ”
The Myriad Treasures Hall was quite confident in this regard. Lin Kaitian untied a string of bronze bells from his waist and, taking the opportunity of conversation, tried placing them in front of Bai Chen.
He originally wanted to test just how powerful this legendary Nine-tailed White Fox really was. Unexpectedly, when the bell passed in front of Chenzui, it shook violently, but when it reached Bai Chen, it barely stirred, as if the yao aura was too weak to even bother moving.
Even the weakest little yao could make the bell sound. How could it react like this in front of the Nine-tailed White Fox? Lin Kaitian was puzzled and could only scratch his head. “What’s going on? Could it be broken?”
Indeed, the yao-detecting bell was accurate. Even the weakness of the Nine-tailed White Fox couldn’t fool it. Beneath his sleeve, Bai Chen had already clenched his fingers nervously. Fortunately, Chenzui, ever blindly devoted to the Ancestor, spoke up proudly, “Seems your human tools are nothing special after all. Against the Ancestor’s concealment technique, they’re useless.”
This explanation spared Bai Chen. Lin Kaitian simply assumed the Nine-tailed White Fox’s illusion could even deceive instruments and sighed in admiration. “Seeing truly is believing. The Nine-tailed White Fox is indeed formidable.”
In the end, they did not doubt the Nine-tailed White Fox’s reputation. Bai Chen quietly let out a breath, though his expression only showed interest in the yao-revealing mirror. “Your mirror is quite handy. The Great Bear clan’s thick yao aura suppressed other scents, and I didn’t catch anything unusual. Does the Myriad Treasures Hall sell these mirrors?”
“This mirror currently circulates only within the Heaven’s Way Alliance. But if Young Master Bai likes it, I can give you this one.”
The Myriad Treasures Hall truly lived up to its name — such a useful artifact for detecting yao was given away without hesitation. Since this kind of tool targeted his own race, Bai Chen of course wanted to bring it back to study. He nodded his thanks and said thoughtfully, “Your Heaven’s Way Alliance is wise indeed, knowing that someday this mirror would come in handy.”
His words carried an additional meaning, but Lin Kaitian only feigned ignorance and remained affable. “One must not intend to harm others, but one must guard against them.”
Bai Chen used the mirror to examine the body and found the yao aura distribution exactly as Lin Kaitian had said. Even more alarming was that it worked even in his hands, meaning it required no special cultivation level. If it became widespread, the yao would have nowhere to hide in the human world.
He felt a chill inside but masked it in front of everyone, saying faintly, “When a yao strikes, there’s always yao aura. Looks like this fatal wound wasn’t inflicted by a yao.”
Lin Kaitian had also suspected this and asked, “What does Young Master Bai think?”
Bai Chen didn’t retreat at all under the question. Instead, he met his gaze sternly. “Don’t you already have the result? The fatal wound bore no yao aura, and the mysterious abdominal yao aura didn’t come from the resident yao of the Great Snow Mountain. His death naturally had nothing to do with us. Besides, every winter we only station Great Bear clan guards at strategic locations on the mountain. Since this person was wounded by the Great Bear clan, he must have violated the treaty and trespassed into our forbidden grounds. If anyone should inquire, it should be me asking what the Demon Sect intended to do.”
The Ghost Tactician, who had been trying to retrieve Lu Ren Wang’s soul, could no longer remain silent upon hearing this and immediately distanced the Demon Sect from the matter. “This was all his personal action. I assure you the Demon Sect never gave any orders.”
Seeing they had no intention of causing trouble, Bai Chen also stepped back. “There’s much gossip in town. You’d best clarify things soon.”
His reasonableness surprised the Ghost Tactician, who hurriedly agreed. “Of course. I’ll have a notice written immediately, stating someone fabricated the wounds out of vengeance and that it had nothing to do with the yao.”
Demonic cultivators had many enemies. Being killed in the street wasn’t strange. For public purposes, this level of explanation sufficed. As for the real killer, the various factions would investigate privately.
Bai Chen was naturally willing to resolve the matter peacefully. Seeing this, he said, “Since things have come to this, it has nothing to do with my yao race anymore. I’ll wait in town for you to find the real killer.”
The three factions thus reached an agreement. Once outside the morgue, Bai Chen finally darkened his expression and said to Lu Ren Yi, who had been clenching his fists, “Release your yao aura.”
It was only a guess, but when he placed the yao-revealing mirror over Lu Ren Yi’s yao aura, the snow-like white perfectly matched the unknown yao aura earlier. Only then did he confirm, “The wound on his abdomen did indeed carry Nine-colored Deer yao aura.”
The Nine-colored Deer had been extinct for a thousand years, and humans naturally couldn’t recognize its yao aura. Bai Chen only dared confirm after seeing it with his own eyes. There couldn’t be a second Nine-colored Deer in the world. Seeing this, Lu Ren Yi became enraged. “It’s him — you lied to me! He’s in the Great Snow Mountain! And he took my brother’s yao core!”
“Keep your voice down. Do you want the Demon Sect to discover your half-yao identity?”
One look from Bai Chen silenced him. Bai Chen himself, however, still looked puzzled as he stroked the demon-revealing mirror and said in a low voice, “That there should be a yao in the Great Snow Mountain unknown to my Bai family… Even if you don’t say it, this young master will get to the bottom of it.”
~ Chapter End ~
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