Chapter 66: The Drunken Sword and the Silver Fox

Panting, panting—

Tong Qiu clutched her wounded arm, limping as she sprinted through the forest.

If her calculations were correct, she’d reach it after passing the thicket.

Only by obtaining the true artifact could she unleash the full power of her practiced techniques.

Otherwise, everything would be but a reflection in water, a flower in a mirror.

“Where do you think you’re running, cultivator?”

A black shadow leaped over Tong Qiu’s head. She spun around, raising her blade to block.

But with a sharp crack, fissures spread across the blade before it shattered under a claw strike.

Tong Qiu failed to defend. Her body flew backward, tumbling across the ground. She finally halted by driving the broken sword into the earth.

Pain pulsed from her chest. Her hand, pressed against the wound, felt hot blood seeping out. Gritting her teeth, Tong Qiu looked down.

On her already flat chest, five fresh gashes now oozed blood. Heisha’s demonic energy was slowly seeping into her body through the wounds.

The flow of her spiritual energy was blocked by his demonic power. Such precise control over demonic energy couldn’t be stopped even by a cultivator a realm higher. Was this the Moon Wolf Heisha, who had been on the run since the Taishi Era two thousand years ago?

Tong Qiu wiped the blood from her lips. A faint smile curved her mouth.

She looked at the half-devoured corpse at her feet and the sword clutched in its hand.

Since its master was dead, the emerald-green sword was now an ownerless artifact.

But thanks to Heisha’s attack, she had closed the distance and reached the corpse.

Tong Qiu picked up the artifact and in an instant forged a contract with it, becoming the new owner of the Fengxiao Sword. At the same time, the sword’s properties flooded into her mind.

The black wolf shadow lunged at Tong Qiu in an instant. Almost by reflex, she raised the Fengxiao Sword to block Heisha’s assault head-on.

With a true artifact empowering her, Tong Qiu could finally unleash her complete techniques. Even gravely wounded, she could forcibly withstand Heisha’s attacks.

Most techniques of the Taiching Celestial Meridian lineage centered around artifacts, so the Demon-Suppression Bureau gifted each constable an artifact, usually a sword.

Moonlight shone on both Heisha and Tong Qiu. Sensing the demon’s aura growing stronger, his black demonic energy visibly swelling, Tong Qiu realized the danger.

“What bad luck for you—facing me under the moon!”

Heisha howled at the sky. Unable to take the blow head-on, Tong Qiu redirected the force downward and leaped lightly to a treetop.

The corpse was torn to shreds by a massive black crescent-shaped attack. Blood droplets swirled into the air, spreading like a crimson mist through the forest.

Beneath the blood-red curtain, Tong Qiu stood with her back to the moon. In her right hand, she raised the Fengxiao Sword; in her left, she lifted a gourd of wine high. She turned sideways, flourished the sword a few times, then half-tilted her head to pour wine into her mouth.

From afar, it looked as if the moon had torn a hole to pour her wine and cheer her on.

The Fengxiao Sword was sharper and more spiritual than her previous blade.

More importantly, it had a property: it grew sharper with its owner’s drinking and intoxication.

As it happened, Tong Qiu was a drunkard.

And as it happened, the inner art Tong Qiu had chosen to cultivate was the rare Drunken Mind Art, which temporarily boosted power through alcohol. So she could wield this artifact.

So she could gain its enhancement.

A strikingly bold voice rang in Heisha’s ears.

“Drunken Mind Wine Gourd, fill up!”

Tong Qiu’s hair slowly grew to waist length. Her tattered clothes were mended by azure ribbons, forming a brand-new garment.

Five more years passed.

At a soul age of 8,015 and a body that had evolved from a loli to a young maiden, Bai Jiujiu was planting crops in her backyard with a grim expression.

Planting alongside her was the silver-patterned fox demon she had rescued three years ago, but Bai Jiujiu deliberately kept her distance.

“Jiu’er, I’m done planting over here. You…”

“Don’t come closer, Aunt Ji. This distance is fine.”

Bai Jiujiu immediately stopped her hoe and waved to stop the other from approaching.

Since learning five years ago that Bai Jiu’er’s story would begin with the silver-patterned Qingqiu fox clan, Bai Jiujiu had been very resistant to this fox demon. She had even thought of persuading Su Po and Bai Hegui to move away and ignore them.

But all efforts proved futile. In the end, she could only keep her distance from the demon named Ji Ming every day.

Since Bai Jiu’er’s story began with this fox demon, as long as she kept her distance until Su Po gave up on reviving the Qingqiu fox clan, then Bai Jiujiu could avoid Bai Jiu’er’s fate and live an ordinary life.

After all, this was a Dreamfall that satisfied people’s desires—it was meant for her to be a little selfish.

But… why did Mom want me to grow sweet potatoes with this demon?

“Jiu’er, we’ve finished all the sweet potatoes on the mountain. How about you and Aunt Ji Ming go clear a patch in the backyard?”

Su Po, who was taking Bai Hun’er to train on another mountain, said this to Bai Jiujiu, who was on break.

‘Bullcrap! Sweet potatoes from a whole mountain feeding two humans and two demons would last fifty years. She just wants me to get along with Ji Ming!’

“Jiu’er, why do you dislike me so much?”

Ji Ming, having suffered severe injuries, had lost her ability to take human form. She could only remain in her original animal state, tilling the ground with her fox claws.

She was puzzled as to why Bai Jiu’er was so obviously repulsed by her. If she disliked unfamiliar demons, then her own daughter Lanlan had also integrated well with the two sisters.

Only she was visibly hated by Bai Jiujiu.

Bai Jiujiu remained silent.

She didn’t know how to say it. Could she just say, “I’m afraid you’ll disturb our ordinary life”?

How was that different from directly driving her away? Not to mention whether she had the heart to do so, using that reason would surely disappoint Sister Jiu’er and Mama Su Po, and might even break the family apart.

“You don’t have to tell me. It’s nothing. I won’t survive the next heavenly tribulation. I’m truly relieved to see my daughter living harmoniously with you humans.”

Ji Ming’s daughter Lanlan had gray fur patterns, so Bai Jiujiu didn’t deliberately exclude her. Moreover, like her mother, Lanlan commanded soul power, which could be used to research countermeasures against the Red Souls.

“Aunt Ji, do you also long for peace between humans and demons?”

Bai Jiujiu asked curiously.

‘Even though she was reduced to this state by the Demon-Suppression Bureau’s pursuit, now she was hoping for harmony between humans and demons?’

‘Just like Mama.’

Compared to the original timeline, Bai Jiu’er’s ability to promote harmony between humans and demons was also due to having demons like Su Po and Ji Ming around her since childhood, who yearned for such peace.

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