Chapter 34: The Origin of Su Ling’er and a New Bounty

“Ling’er, this happened three thousand years ago,” Bai Jiujiu began, a wistful note in her voice. “When I first awoke, I stumbled upon a fox demon who had just died.”

“Was that Su Ling’er?”

“No, that fox demon was Su Ling’er’s mother,” Bai Jiujiu clarified. “She died pregnant right before me.”

“In her final moments, she could have used her demonic energy to save herself. Yet, she chose to protect the child in her womb instead.”

“Seeing that the little fox demon still had life, I performed a caesarean to bring her out. I then took her to the mountain peak to treat and care for her.”

“Later, I accepted her as my disciple, teaching her cultivation and knowledge. That little fox demon is Su Ling’er.”

Bai Jiujiu reminisced, a fond expression on her face.

Initially, Bai Jiujiu had intended to cultivate Su Ling’er as her successor.

From the very embryo stage, Bai Jiujiu meticulously nurtured her, molding her into a well-read, elegant, lively, and adorable high-achieving little fox loli.

Her only flaw was her boundless energy, which often led her to dismantle things around the house.

“Master! Ling’er will surely study hard from now on!”

“I will work with you to make Cloudfall Mountain even better in the future!” the newly transformed Su Ling’er had declared, clinging to Bai Jiujiu’s leg with solemn conviction.

To prevent this little fox from being led astray by her other four mischievous disciples, Bai Jiujiu even told her bedtime stories every night, emphasizing the importance of diligence when encountering opportunities.

One such tale recounted how Cinderella, exploited by her stepmother and stepsisters, still wished to attend the prince’s ball. A fairy then presented her with an AK and a book on red ideology.

Using the knowledge gained from diligent study, Cinderella eliminated all other contestants, leaving only the AK on display—a truly moving story.

She also specifically warned her other four problematic disciples not to corrupt Su Ling’er.

This idyllic life continued for two thousand six hundred years. During this time, her eldest disciple, Jiu Chongtian, and her third disciple, Qingqing, ventured down the mountain for training and were never heard from again.

Then, when Bai Jiujiu awoke from her slumber, her fourth disciple, Xia Qiuqian, who was lying on top of her, explained that the little fox had somehow found and snuck into her basement.

Su Ling’er hadn’t emerged since. That basement was filled with contraband Bai Jiujiu had confiscated from her other four problematic disciples, items they used to ‘play’ with her.

By the time Bai Jiujiu arrived, she found Su Ling’er disguised as her eldest disciple, Jiu Chongtian. Upon being exposed, Su Ling’er tackled Bai Jiujiu.

She then shoved her small feet, clad in white stockings, into Bai Jiujiu’s mouth, speaking in an utterly seductive voice.

“Trashy Master, have you finally woken up? To hide these disgusting things here from Ling’er, you truly are a pervert, aren’t you?”

From that day forward, Bai Jiujiu bid farewell to the demure Su Ling’er of the past.

Bai Jiujiu did not recount these embarrassing past events to Tong Qiu, choosing instead to offer a selective summary.

“You adopted her three thousand years ago, yet Su Ling’er’s cultivation is only at the Soul Imprint Realm?”

“According to the Demon Suppressing Division’s estimations, her cultivation has only progressed for a little over six hundred years.”

Tong Qiu immediately seized upon this crucial information.

“Ling’er was born via caesarean section, making her inherently frail. She simply couldn’t withstand the heavenly tribulations. Coupled with her ordinary bloodline, I didn’t allow her to embark on serious cultivation at the time, only guiding her with some basics.”

“Ordinary bloodline? So Su Ling’er wasn’t an ancient Nine-Tailed Spirit Fox from the very beginning?”

“Why are you asking that?”

Bai Jiujiu’s brow furrowed slightly, her guard rising as she wondered why Tong Qiu was inquiring about Su Ling’er.

Seeing the snake demon’s perplexity, Tong Qiu activated her spiritual energy to retrieve her constable’s token from the ground.

“I just remembered something. The Demon Suppressing Division issued a new bounty today, and it concerns Su Ling’er.”

Tong Qiu turned the token face down, covering its surface with spiritual energy.

The patterns on the back of the token gradually vanished under the spiritual energy. A beam of light shot from the token, landing on the white wall opposite the bed.

Dense golden characters appeared on the wall, then rearranged themselves, finally leaving only five large golden words:

《Demon Suppressing Bounty List》

“This identity token has such a use?”

“Don’t underestimate this token. Besides being able to strike people as a weapon, its greatest use is to receive bounty lists from the central headquarters regardless of distance, just like this. It’s also considered a magic treasure.”

Upon hearing ‘magic treasure,’ Bai Jiujiu’s eyes lit up.

If this was also a magic treasure, could she perhaps master or even replicate it?

Bai Jiujiu subtly and stealthily approached Tong Qiu, extending her small paw from behind.

Unexpectedly, Tong Qiu raised the token high, giving Bai Jiujiu no chance to touch it.

Her Demon-Binding Rope and Zhang Feng’s Flowing Shadow Sword had both been taken by Bai Jiujiu. Tong Qiu had learned her lesson.

She would never allow Bai Jiujiu to touch her magic treasure, not even once. She clamped the identity token between her thighs, even pushing it further in, completely preventing Bai Jiujiu’s sneaky attempts to make contact.

Pout.

Bai Jiujiu pouted, desperately wanting to pry open Tong Qiu’s legs. But that would be hooliganism, a tactic only those problematic disciples would use against her.

Snakes are civilized. Snakes would not play hooligan with a human eight thousand years their junior.

Bai Jiujiu recalled confiscating some items in the past, only to have them clamped between her chest and legs to prevent her disciples from getting them. However, every single one of those problematic disciples became even more excited.

This was the first time Tong Qiu had such intimate contact with the token in that area. It felt cold and uncomfortable.

Moreover, both of them were still naked, and Bai Jiujiu’s scent was far too alluring, constantly distracting her.

“I’ll send a message to Xia Ya to bring us some clothes. Staying naked like this isn’t practical.”

Tong Qiu took out a piece of paper, lay on the bed, and used her spiritual energy to write down the items she needed to buy. Just as she was about to chant the incantation to cast the Homing Pigeon spell…

“Pi… pigeon…”

Tong Qiu seemed to stutter, as if her voice was stuck. She had memorized the incantation perfectly, yet she couldn’t utter it, feeling as if she had returned to the days when she first learned cultivation techniques.

What was happening? It had worked perfectly fine last night.

Bai Jiujiu, waiting for Tong Qiu’s explanation, couldn’t help but urge her on. Seeing her companion’s distressed, sweaty face, she placed her hand on the paper and channeled her demonic energy to cast the Homing Pigeon spell herself.

The white paper instantly folded into a slender white snake, which landed on the ground and slithered out of the room with soft hisses.

“How do you know the Homing Pigeon spell? No, why does a demon like you know a human cultivation technique?”

“Don’t overthink it. Tell me more about this bounty list first.”

Bai Jiujiu immediately diverted the topic. It wasn’t that she feared Tong Qiu’s anger if she learned her cultivation techniques had been devoured. After all, Tong Qiu couldn’t defeat her; anger wouldn’t change anything.

The bounty list was the crucial point. It held the key to her returning to a peaceful life on Cloudfall Mountain, and it was also vital for finding Su Ling’er.

The reason she followed Tong Qiu was precisely because the latter was a former third-rank constable, possessing more internal leads regarding Su Ling’er than other demons, cultivators, or people.

Finding her disciple and ensuring her safety—that was why Bai Jiujiu was willing to cooperate deeply with Tong Qiu.

“A new fox demon appeared on the bounty list today, named Scarlet Soul. They just escaped from the Heavenly Guard Tower Prison today.”

Tong Qiu said, scrolling through the bounty list until she quickly found Scarlet Soul’s entry.

[The Demon Suppressing Bounty List has been updated in the directory.]

Bai Jiujiu blinked, curiously examining the bounty list. The demon was also at the Demon Mansion Realm, like herself, but their cultivation was significantly lower.

Wait, this is…

After reading the bounty list, just as Bai Jiujiu felt there was nothing particularly special, she suddenly saw a highly familiar name in the ‘Former Catcher’ column.

Former Catcher: Bai Jiu’er.