Young Master Bai — Chapter 59

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Chapter 59: Having Sword Immortal Bai as a Master is a High-Risk Profession…

Li Wuming knew the migration of the Heavenly Wolf clan would inevitably alarm Sword Immortal Bai. The news of Bai Chen crowning himself king could not escape his master’s notice either. Yet, since his master had shown no reaction in the past few days, he assumed it was simply disinterest in meddling with such disputes, and so he had relaxed his guard a little. Who would have thought that today, the very moment he descended the mountain, Sword Immortal Bai would arrive silently at Wusheng Tower? If not for the Supreme Emperor Sword’s timely warning, he might not have made it back in time.

Li Wuming knew full well his master struck mercilessly. In a panic, he already held the Supreme Emperor Sword in his hand, needing only a sword formula for it to leave its sheath. It was rare for Bai Weiyue to see his disciple so agitated, but his expression did not shift in the slightest. He merely raised an eyebrow. “You mean to raise your sword against your master for his sake?”

Bai Chen hadn’t expected Li Wuming to return. The last thing he wanted was for his Dao companion to betray master and sect on his account. Unfortunately, Sword Immortal Bai had so thoroughly beaten him back into his original form that all he could manage was the pitiful yips of a fox, unable even to speak. In desperation, he clawed at Li Wuming’s robes and brushed his face with his tail, urging him to look at the steaming tea on the table.

Thankfully, Li Wuming was no hot-headed fool. One glance at the tea, still giving off warmth, told him that Bai Chen had not been harmed. Though he did not yet understand the situation, he immediately threw his sword aside and, as always, smiled lightly. “I wouldn’t dare. But if Master truly means to take Bai Chen’s life, then grant me a strike as well, so that we may be a pair of fugitive mandarin ducks in the underworld.”

Li Wuming could bend as well as stretch. Realizing the situation was not as dire as he first thought, he quickly sought to ease the atmosphere. Yet Bai Weiyue’s brows shot up instead, and he barked in rebuke. “Fool! Pick up your sword! Whatever the Sword Immortal wishes to do, no one can stop. Even your master — if it defies your Dao heart, then you should fight with all your strength!”

Bai Chen had long heard the rumors that Sword Immortal Bai could not be judged by common logic. Now he saw the truth: even when his disciple did not defy him, the man was displeased — almost as if he were waiting for Li Wuming to draw his sword and fight. What kind of master was this?

“I was reckless. If Master truly wanted Bai Chen’s life, it would be gone in an instant. Why sit here drinking tea with him?”

The little fox was stunned by the scene, but Li Wuming had long grown used to his master’s habit of acting against all reason. He knew if he really picked up the sword, his master would certainly beat him into three months of bedrest. And he had no wish to lose face before his Dao companion. So he held the little fox and sat down at the table instead, poured a fresh cup of tea to calm Bai Chen’s nerves, and then asked with curiosity, “Master has not shown himself in public for so long. Did you come today just to touch my little fox?”

Now in his true form, Bai Chen’s tiny paws could not hold the cup. He leaned against Li Wuming’s hand to lap at the tea with his tongue, all while watching the Sword Immortal with wary eyes, wondering what this great figure truly intended.

Sword Immortal Bai never hid from anyone. He simply cultivated in peace beneath that ancient pine, unnoticed because no man or yao had the ability to perceive him. He had not stayed away from the world because of fear, but only because there was nothing worth his time. Now, at last, he encountered a Nine-tailed White Fox that stirred his interest — so naturally, he came to see it for himself.

Master and disciple were alike in their casual ways. Ignoring the juniors’ speculations, Bai Weiyue merely pointed at Bai Chen and said coolly, “I already slew Bai Wei, along with every one of his descendants who bore the Mind-stealing Curse seal. The world should no longer hold such Nine-tailed White Foxes. Yet this one’s original form is identical to Bai Wei’s. Bai Wei himself did not possess the power of nine tails. Such a yao bloodline should only grow weaker with each generation. It makes no sense for the Bai family to produce another Nine-tailed Fox.”

Bai Chen needed the prestige of the Nine-tailed Fox lineage to support his throne. Li Wuming had deliberately concealed from him that the yao king had originally been just an ordinary snow fox. Now that his master had brought it up, he quickly offered a diversion. “The Unknown Truth Sect has published research showing that beasts sometimes display atavism across generations. Perhaps it is only coincidence.”

He might have had a point, but the only thing it earned him was his master’s displeased glare. “If you don’t understand, then don’t interrupt your master.”

This master could not be trifled with. Li Wuming met Bai Chen’s eyes helplessly and shook his head. Fine. Let him pet the fox. He would keep his mouth shut.

“He looks so much like Bai Wei, and appears at your side at just the right time. However you look at it, it stinks of a plot. So I am told you to kill him, and end the threat forever.”

That left Li Wuming confused. The first time he had met Bai Chen was on the day his master sent him to assassinate the Nine-tailed White Fox. Why, then, had Bai Chen appeared at his side? Could there have been earlier entanglements he knew nothing of… [Silly man. Use your eyes a bit.]

But his master gave him no time to ponder. With two fingers he plucked up one of Bai Chen’s tails, rubbing the hard bone within, his expression complex. “But then I remembered — he was a fox stolen away by the Bai family. If he is the offspring of a Nine-tailed Fox and an ordinary snow fox, then he could indeed take this form.” [So, the mystery of the male White Fox father is finally solved!]

That statement carried weight, and Li Wuming’s expression shifted. “Master, have you discovered something?”

The thousand-year-old Sword Immortal, privy to countless secrets of the world, smoothed the fox’s snowy fur to reveal the faint outline of the tailbone. “A fox that gains tails by borrowing the yao core of a Nine-tailed Fox can only manifest tails of energy — shapes without bone. If such a tail is severed, it vanishes. But a true Nine-tailed Fox is born with nine bones in its tails. Even if severed, the tail can regenerate once enough yao power is gathered.”

His words were calm, but in Bai Chen’s heart a storm raged. The Bai clan held an absolute secret: no matter how many tails their foxes bore in life, when they died and turned to bone, they left behind only one tailbone.

When the Unknown Truth Sect demanded fox tailbones in trade, he had already suspected it had something to do with their dwindling bloodline. But to think this was the truth… [This makes no sense; why would then the other, nonwhite foxes have more than one tailbone?]

If Bai Weiyue spoke true, then Bai Wei had been nothing more than a false Nine-tailed Fox, his tails conjured by a yao core. Could it be that the so-called highest bloodline of the yao was a lie?

“The other day, you came to me saying he looked exactly like Bai Wei. Too much resemblance is suspicious. So I came to see for myself. And indeed — his tails are real.”

Bai Chen still reeled from the revelation about the yao king, but Bai Weiyue pressed on, casting a glance at Li Wuming. “So now you must consider carefully: why would a true Nine-tailed Fox be placed under the Bai family name, right beneath my nose?”

Why? Obviously, to draw Sword Immortal Bai’s attention, to keep him from discovering the true descendant of the yao king. If so, then the mysterious forces that had hunted Bai Chen at birth must be connected to that very descendant…

Bai Wei had been Bai Weiyue’s first disciple. No one knew that much-maligned yao king better than he did. Though Li Wuming had yet to piece together the full puzzle, one thing he knew for certain. “Master would never spare Bai Wei’s descendants, correct?”

“Correct.”

Indeed, Sword Immortal Bai had come not only to confirm Bai Chen’s identity, but to eradicate the surviving offspring of the yao king. With that, he tossed a bundle of white fur at Li Wuming. Seeing his disciple’s puzzled look, he explained with chilling simplicity, “This is Bai Wei’s pelt. Use it with bloodline-tracing arts to find the true heir of the yao king — and kill him.”

Bai Weiyue was truly the most ruthless man under Heaven. Betrayed by Bai Wei, he had flayed the fox and kept its skin as a cushion by his side for a thousand years — his own way of honoring their vow to remain together till white-haired. Of course, a vow kept alone was worthless. Now, tossing the fur to his disciple, he showed no hint of sentiment. “This time, you must not fail.”

["To remain together till white-haired" — a good joke. Bai Wei is a white fox, while Bai Weiyue is white-haired from the get-go.]

“Rest assured, Master. This little fox has already stolen my soul. Toward any other fox spirit, I will be merciless.”

Li Wuming had been seeking the yao king’s heir already, so he gladly accepted the mission. Still, he could not quench his curiosity about his master’s past with the yao king. His eyes flickered slyly. “Master, may I ask you about Bai Wei?”

“No.”

Those cold words cut off his disciple’s gossiping heart. Though he had given the task, the sight of Bai Chen — so much like Bai Wei — still rankled him. “Bai Wei was riddled with flaws. Only his fur was fine. In this icy land, I am accustomed to that pelt as my cushion. Now that I’ve given it to you, I should get another.”

This man was not one to joke. Bai Chen, the only fox present, shivered in terror. Li Wuming quickly wrapped him tightly in his robes. “Master, if you strip this fox’s fur, then your only disciple will die with him!”

Sword Immortal Bai did not even twitch a brow. He merely sent a divine sense strike into his disciple’s body. “I am prepared to seize your body. Go ahead and die.”

Excellent. That was exactly like him.

Li Wuming was deeply impressed by his master’s mercilessness. But to prevent him from truly making them a pair of tragic lovers, the desperate disciple spoke earnestly. “Master, you once taught me that all things must be considered in the long term. Think: if you kill him now, you gain only a single Nine-tailed Fox pelt. However fine it may be, it still won’t be the one you favored. But if you let him live, and the Nine-tailed Fox line thrives again, then you could have fox pelts of every color, endless generations to come. Wouldn’t that give you a different warm cushion every day of the year?”

This disciple had endured centuries of freezing wind at his master’s side, and his wit was still sharp. Bai Weiyue, eccentric as ever, enjoyed sparring with his wayward disciple, and remained obstinate. “Dead foxes are the cutest foxes.”

Sword Immortal Bai’s temper was too strange to predict. Li Wuming had no intention of clashing with him, so he pinched Bai Chen’s paw and said seriously, “Quick, show this old man how cute you can be while alive.”

Bai Chen had no idea how the conversation had reached this point. Unsure if Li Wuming was teasing him or serious, he simply played dead, lying limp in his lover’s arms with eyes closed. His message was clear: forgive him, he chose death.

Long ago, when the aloof immortal of the snowy mountains had refused to touch a little fox, that fox had lain at the mouth of his cave pretending to be frozen stiff — paws curled, belly to the sky, surprisingly convincing. When Bai Weiyue went to check whether he needed to bury his first disciple, the fox had latched onto his hand, refusing to let him leave. Ruthless as ever, the Sword Immortal let the fox dangle from his wrist, still going about his chess and sword practice as usual.

At last, when the little fox slipped and tumbled into the snow, looking up with pitiful eyes, Bai Weiyue spared him a glance and said flatly, “Slack off again, and you won’t be fed tonight.”

That little snow fox feared nothing but hunger. At the threat, he obediently took human form. Perhaps because of a beast’s instinct to display strength, his form stood taller than his master, clutching a stick for sword practice and protesting, “Just wait, Master! Someday I’ll marry you and make you cook for me forever!”

At the time, the little fox had known nothing. His master had told him that in the human world, becoming husband and wife meant never parting till old age. So he thought he and his master could do the same. But he did not know that only those of the same race could be wed — and that he would die without ever growing a human heart.

Bai Weiyue regretted only one thing in his life. Not taking his first disciple — that he never regretted. But that he let his heart be moved despite knowing Bai Wei understood nothing — that he did regret. Had either of them withdrawn with reason, it would not have come to this.

To never taste love is ignorance. But true emotionlessness is to experience the best and worst of the world, see through it all, and never again let affection stir one’s heart. Bai Wei had been Bai Weiyue’s calamity. He had crossed that tribulation, and now would clean up the mess his disciple left behind. But he did not know whether Bai Chen might become Li Jiuzhou’s calamity.

Li Jiuzhou — his only true heir, who inherited only his love but forgot his hatred, who should have lived as another carefree Sword Immortal.

Whenever he saw Li Wuming teasing his little fox with a smile, Bai Weiyue thought of his own past self. Though he knew his disciple would not turn back, he still spoke coldly. “Human and yao cannot share the same morality. You are now in the heat of passion, indulging his every whim. One day, you will face something you cannot bend to. Then you will see that human and yao should never be joined.”

Li Wuming did not believe himself more insightful than his master, but he still wanted to challenge that barrier with his own power. He did not argue, only asked, “Master, did you ever bend for anyone?”

Bai Weiyue did not answer. He only gazed coolly at his foolish disciple. “You do not learn your lessons. Even your elder brother, who grew up with you, could betray you for a throne. What then of a fox spirit? If your little yao king casts you aside, your master will not pick up such a fool again.”

Li Wuming had always known his master cared for him deeply. He would not wound his elder’s heart with sharp words. He only squeezed Bai Chen’s paw and smiled, declaring his stance. “Worthy ministers and generals rarely die well. But this time, I am a traitorous consort, and my little yao king could not do without me for even a day. Isn’t that right?”

Bai Chen did not fully understand, but he knew that in matters most important, pride had no place. Ignoring his new title as yao king, he leaned meekly on Li Wuming’s shoulder and nodded honestly.

At that, Bai Weiyue finally acknowledged that Bai Chen was different from Bai Wei. His fox had never been so genuinely obedient. Could it be that domesticated and wild truly made such a difference?

Perhaps his disciple’s attitude was contagious, but even the Sword Immortal found himself entertaining such ridiculous notions. With a cold snort he banished the thought, formed a sword seal, and prepared to leave this infectious fool behind.

“The sword exists to guard — to guard the people, the realm, and those I love. That was the first lesson you taught me, Master.”

Just as his master shattered the window and departed, Li Wuming at last showed a rare solemnity. Stroking his little fox, he spoke softly, knowing his master would hear. “My broken sword has been mended. Master, does that not please you?”

[Damn it, people, what did the windows ever do to you?! Use the doors!]

The day he lost the name Li Jiuzhou, he lost his kingdom. Then, he had loved no one, and was nothing but a nameless man. Only when Bai Chen appeared did his useless sword find a new purpose. He was born to protect, yet had lost all he was meant to protect. At this point, even a little fox picked up in the snow — if truly in need of him — was enough.

This newfound sense of rebirth, Li Wuming believed his master would understand. And indeed, Sword Immortal Bai understood. Though he melted into the wind and snow, vanishing in an instant, he left behind a single crucial reminder.

“When a fox dies, it returns to its first hill. When a Nine-tailed Fox dies, it looks upon the place of its birth.”

~ Chapter End ~

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