Young Master Bai — Chapter 66

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Chapter 66: The Fragrant Path Through Snow Leads to the City

Rumors were flying everywhere. That Bu Tiange avoided the yao to keep suspicion at bay was within Bai Chen’s expectations, but he hadn’t thought the Heaven's Way Alliance would actually send Illusory Moon Villa to welcome him.

Illusory Moon Villa’s unique cultivation method was called Ten Li of Red Makeup, created by the first-generation villa master to aid her beloved’s cultivation. It absorbed qi faster than any other technique in the world, but offered little in the way of offense. Instead, it specialized in healing, purification, and enhancing others’ arts. If practiced in dual cultivation with one’s husband, it could raise him step by step until he soared to Heaven. Such a blessing upon a man’s fortune was greater than any earthly bridal finery.

Throughout history, among ascended cultivators, apart from the Hidden Wisdom Sect with its deep ancestral roots and a few singular cut-sleeves, every other cultivator without exception had chosen a Dao companion from Illusory Moon Villa. By now, the wives of sect masters, elders, and virtually every influential mistress of the great sects all hailed from Illusory Moon Villa. Myriad Treasures Hall had intermarried with them for generations, their families as close as one.

With such formidable ties of marriage, even without martial strength Illusory Moon Villa retained its firm seat among the ten greats of the Heaven's Way Alliance. The sects squabbled endlessly, yet few dared covet their territory. Since yao aura and true qi shared no origin, no human cultivation technique worked upon yao. Illusory Moon Villa, founded upon aiding human cultivation, was thus the least likely sect to ever collude with yao. Using them to receive Bai Chen was the best way to silence rumors.

Truly, the Heaven's Way Alliance was full of talent. To face the Great Snow Mountain’s sudden visit and devise such a perfect response in mere moments proved that although humanity never ceased its inner strife, it still grasped measure with exquisite precision.

Bai Chen silently measured the situation. He saw that the Bear Guards had secured the captive cultivators, while Yunce and Chenzui arrived with the accompanying yao before the gates. He then quietly said to Yue Tingyun, “We are ready.”

“Disciples of Illusory Moon Villa, attend! Pay homage and escort the Yao King to Lin’an!”

Ordered to engage with the yao, Yue Tingyun naturally remained cautious. Her company was composed entirely of Illusory Moon Villa’s senior disciples, each at least in the Nascent Soul stage. Their weapons differed, but their defensive treasures were uniformly the sect’s Rainbow Gown Feathers. Each robe was woven from spirit-bird feathers, thin as cicada wings yet impervious to blade and spear. Dusted with the sect’s unique incense powder, they resisted all techniques below the Tribulation level.

Snow was falling lightly. At Yue Tingyun’s command, hundreds of beauties unfurled their robes and took to the air. With a lotus in hand, their steps brushed the void, and amid drifting clouds and scattered snow they seemed like heavenly maidens. The disciples of the Blossoms scattered seeds, carpeting the ground with a riot of flowers to form a welcoming fragrant path. The Incense Attendants bore fine warming incense to dispel the cold. The Music Disciples brought pipa, sheng, and flute to greet them with song. Though it was the heart of winter, the road to Lin’an was transformed into springtime Jiangnan, ethereal and otherworldly, like a scene from Northern Wastes murals of descending goddesses.

The Immortal Fragrant Path was Illusory Moon Villa’s highest ceremonial honor, reserved only for grand festivals. Now, used to receive Bai Chen, it shocked the hidden observers from every sect. Bai Chen, however, understood: this was both courtesy and intimidation.

Hundreds of Nascent Soul cultivators flying without the aid of treasures, techniques that could turn flowers into pathways and bend the seasons, and music arts that stirred the seven emotions with each pluck and note — Illusory Moon Villa was using this spectacle to display the Heaven's Way Alliance’s might before the yao.

If that was the case, then the Great Snow Mountain too must show something, lest they be looked down upon. The Nine-tailed White Fox smiled faintly and turned to Ying Xiong, patriarch of the Great Bear clan. “These are rare flowers and plants. If they’re trampled, you couldn’t pay the cost. Tell your bear cubs to tread lightly.”

Usually a simple creature, Ying Xiong was no fool at this moment. With a single growl from the head of the line to the tail, the entire Great Bear clan exhaled as one. Their bulky bodies shrank to lean frames in an instant. Their heavy paws, stepping upon the fragrant path, became lighter than butterflies, not even bending the flower stems.

This was the Great Bear clan’s unique hunting art, etched into their very bones since the primordial era. In snow, they could ambush any prey. But with full bellies in recent times, they no longer needed to hunt, and so this skill was unknown. Yue Tingyun was indeed surprised. “A body of ten thousand jin, yet leaving no trace upon snow — high yao clans truly are formidable.”

Humanity had advanced swiftly, but the yao, who had endured for a million years, were not idle wastrels. They possessed many abilities that human spellcraft could not reproduce. Bai Chen knew all eyes were upon them — neither hostile nor yielding — and so he mounted Ying Xiong’s back, saying to Yue Tingyun, “Miss Yue, please lead the way.”

Ying Xiong had long been Bai Chen’s mount. Now he dropped to all fours and transformed into a hundred-zhang white bear to carry him. Yet he trod without crushing even a blade of grass, ambling leisurely as he curiously asked, “My King, aren’t humans strange? We yao males strut in finery to woo the females, but among them, their women are the ones more dazzling one after another?”

For the yao, reproduction was paramount. Female yao, to evade predators, often appeared unremarkable. It was the males who vied for mates, unfurling tails or displaying manes. Humanity was the opposite. It was curious indeed. Li Wuming laughed: “Who says so? Am I not handsome myself?”

Deprived of his steed, he rode upon his sword instead, floating with ease. Ordinary cultivators, sword-riding, stood stiffly for fear of losing balance. He, however, sat and reclined, one leg crossed, even whittling a melon rind with a small knife.

Such ease too was a mark of profound cultivation. Yet Li Wuming carried it with impish flair, leaving Bai Chen only able to cast him a helpless sidelong glance. “Put down that melon and you’d be the handsomest youth on the street.”

Having caught the little fox’s eye, Li Wuming was satisfied. He fetched a jade plate from his storage ring, set the sliced melon upon it, and offered it to Bai Chen. “I’ve cut and seeded it. You may eat it with all the dignity of a Yao King.”

Bai Chen had intended to keep a proper bearing upon entering the city. But the melon looked so sweet he could not resist. One bite proved it tasted just like those of midsummer. He thought: if humanity could cultivate summer fruits in winter, perhaps the Great Snow Mountain could too. That idea piqued his interest. “Where did you buy such a melon in the dead of winter?”

Li Wuming knew the Great Snow Mountain needed this knowledge. Seeing the little fox finally intrigued, he revealed its origin. “Unknown Truth Sect.”

So the Unknown Truth Sect was indeed the source of the world’s strange arts. The yao truly had much to learn. Bai Chen silently weighed the price of exchanging for this skill, then realized what Li Wuming had implied. “You infiltrated them?”

“And overheard plenty of useful things. If you beg me sweetly, I’ll tell you.” Li Wuming admitted openly, even taking the chance to tease his fox.

He knew Bai Chen, proud as a Yao King, would never show too much intimacy in public. The words were only in jest, hoping for a playful swipe of claws. Who could have guessed a fox’s longing far outstripped a man’s? Each time they were apart, reunion felt like ages. Seeing him return, Bai Chen was aflame with warmth. He hesitated briefly, then yielded as much as he could. “Ying Xiong’s back is uncomfortable. Hold me instead.”

At that, Li Wuming froze, stunned. Bai Chen’s face darkened at his inaction. “What, do you only like holding me in a fox form?”

Such a misunderstanding could not be allowed! Li Wuming scooped the little fox into his arms, hugging him tightly. “How could that be? I was merely awed by your sacrifice for the greater good.”

Bai Chen knew it was improper, but he was a fox. No matter how proper, no one would mistake him for human. Better to live freely. Influenced by Li Wuming’s carefree ways, the little fox had already gone astray without noticing. Hearing such wooden words, he could only sulkily nip at the man’s collar. No wonder this man sought a ghost marriage — without embracing a tablet, how else could he marry?

Bai Chen wasn’t the only one resentful. Ying Xiong had been his mount since youth. To be displaced by Li Wuming now left him indignant. “My King, you can call me slow-witted, but you can’t say my fur isn’t soft! Nowhere in the Great Snow Mountain is softer than me!”

Truly the number-one braggart of the Great Snow Mountain. Chenzui, who had been watching Bai Chen closely to learn from him, finally rolled his eyes. “Fool, does the Ancestor lack fur? What he lacks is a man!”

The patriarch of the Great Bear clan had never once lacked for men. His bear face froze in utter shock, displaying his thoughts in full — there’s such a thing?

At times like this, a brother must step in. Seeing Bai Chen abandon his mount, Yunce immediately spoke up. “Leaving your back empty looks awkward. Why not let me stand in?”

At once Ying Xiong beamed. He wanted nothing more. Today he’d vowed to carry a fox, and so it must be. “Good brother, climb on!”

So it was that the dignified Yao King was carried in a man’s arms upon a sword, while the former fox king rode upon the Great Bear patriarch’s back. In this strange formation the yao entered Lin’an City.

This was the yao’s first formal diplomatic entry into human lands. Onlookers crowded the roads, some marveling at the Great Bear clan’s might, others curious about the three foxes’ appearance. Even the low-key Dugu Hou drew glances.

Endless Longevity Academy, as a major sect, of course did not mingle in the rabble. Bai Hangshou had already secured the best view from a high-level tavern. Watching the yao procession from afar, he sighed to Lin Xuan, “That is the Nine-tailed White Fox? Riding a centennial bear, laughing amid a thousand gazes, truly extraordinary.”

Endless Longevity Academy was a rising sect, with no prior dealings with the Great Snow Mountain. But Lin Xuan knew Bai Chen’s face. He corrected him. “That is the former fox king. Bai Chen is the one being held by that man.”

“This… truly unusual.”

Bai Hangshou had not expected a Yao King to act so contrary to convention. He looked again at the delicate youth in Li Wuming’s arms, yet saw no trace of imperial bearing.

Though Bai Hangshou had rented the tavern, Lin Xuan was its owner, and so also stood at the railing, watching the procession clearly. But when his gaze fell upon the cultivators bound by the Bear Guards, a trace of glee flashed in his eyes. “Those bears are holding… aren’t those your Endless Longevity Academy’s guards left behind in Dongling?”

Bai Hangshou’s cultivation was no weaker, and he too saw the unconscious disciples. He knew chaos would follow the yao’s appearance, but had not thought the first trouble would strike his Endless Longevity Academy. Still, he was a man of deep cunning. Even faced with surprise, he did not flinch. He simply summoned a disciple and whispered, “Go ask Elder Qin what this means.”

~ Chapter End ~

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