Quinn Shepherd stepped closer and peered through the window lattice, spotting the white fox holding a bamboo tube, cheeks puffed as she blew air onto the firewood beneath the stove.
Quinn coughed lightly and said, "Anyone home?"
The white fox inside the hut jumped in fright, hurriedly hiding the bamboo tube. She put on an elderly voice and barked, "Who dares shout and disturb my cultivation? I am an ancient demon—I'll grind your bones to dust..."
Quinn couldn't help but laugh. Hearing his laughter, the white fox looked up, saw the boy outside the window, and relaxed. Her voice returned to normal, sweet and pleasant: "So it's the boy who borrowed the wind from me two days ago. I got drunk at a banquet the other day and was a bit rude. Don't stand outside—come in."
Quinn entered the thatched hut and glanced around, surprised to find it remarkably tidy and clean. There was a bed, a rice jar, furniture, a folding screen, and even a dressing table.
The white fox stood upright and bowed to Quinn. "My humble abode is poor—please don't laugh at me, sir."
Quinn returned the gesture and asked curiously, "Are you cooking?"
The fox replied, "Yesterday my sisters invited me to a banquet, and I drank a few too many cups. I woke up with a headache, so I'm making a hangover soup. Please, have a seat."
Quinn marveled inwardly; this white fox was even smarter than the demon ape, able to make soup for herself. But she was a bit of a lush—always getting drunk.
He noticed a bookshelf nearby and walked over. On it were several ancient books; he pulled one out. It described breathing and qi-guiding techniques, along with some spells, though all were incomplete.
"Can you read?"
The white fox finished brewing the hangover soup, glanced over and saw Quinn engrossed in the book, and exclaimed with delight, "I can't read the characters in these books—I only cultivate by looking at the diagrams. If you understand the text, would you read it to me?"
"Why not?"
Quinn sat down. The white fox flicked her tail, and a bowl of hangover soup floated over on a breeze, landing on the table. She sat across from him, eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Quinn opened to the first page and read aloud, "Guide qi to Fangcun Mountain, invigorate yuanqi with the Pill, the tiger walks below the lungs, shaking the qi sea's chill..."
The white fox sipped her soup, listening intently. Suddenly she asked, "Where is Fangcun Mountain?"
"Fangcun Mountain is at the center of your brow."
Quinn explained, "The brow is the Spirit Embryo Treasury. Guiding qi to Fangcun Mountain means directing your yuanqi to your brow. But when yuanqi reaches the brow, a god-sound comes from the nine heavens and blocks your qi."
The white fox tried it and shook her head. "I didn't hear any god-sound."
Quinn frowned. In the past, whenever he guided yuanqi to his brow, a god-sound would stop him from breaking the wall. He'd assumed the white fox would encounter the same, but apparently not.
"Could it be that the Spirit Embryo Treasury is structured differently in humans and foxes?"
He didn't dwell on it and continued explaining. Soon, he finished reading the ancient manual. Its cultivation method was indeed unique, but it didn't suit Quinn's Overlord Body, so he couldn't practice it himself.
Lina the Spirit Fox, clever and quick-witted, grasped the book's teachings and smiled. "I used to follow the diagrams and thought I'd mastered everything in this book, but it turns out I made plenty of mistakes. Thank you for clearing things up for me. My name is Lina. May I ask yours, sir?"
"I'm Quinn Shepherd. It just means I'm a cowherd named Quinn—I'm no nobleman."
Quinn laughed, "I live nearby, not far from here. Where did you get these ancient books?"
Lina took a sip of hangover soup, her muddled head clearing a bit. "Sixty li west from here, there's a ruin. Once, when I came home late, I hid from the darkness inside that ruin and accidentally opened a stone chamber. That's where I found these books and a bottle of pills. After I took a pill, my senses sharpened and I gained awareness. I thought books were precious, so I brought them back, but since I can't read, I've always relied on the diagrams. All my magic comes from these books."
"Sixty li to the west?"
Quinn was astonished, thinking aloud, "Could it be the Yong River Dragon King's Dragon Palace?"
Lina's eyes sparkled. "There are lots of dragon statues there, but the place is dangerous—deadly, even. I didn't dare go in, just grabbed a few books and left."
Quinn quickly asked, "Can you take me there?"
The little white fox said, "It's really dangerous in there. I barely reached the entrance before I got so scared..."
She looked embarrassed and didn't finish, but it was clear she'd been scared out of her wits.
Quinn grew excited. "Don't you want to see the Dragon Palace? There might even be a Dragon King inside!"
"Not at all."
Lina considered, her eyes glinting slyly. "If you come often and read these ancient books to me, I'll take you there—but I'm not going in myself."
"Deal!"
Quinn laughed and raised his palm. Lina hesitated a moment, then lifted her furry paw and gave him a high-five, before finishing off her hangover soup.
Boy and fox left the hut and headed west together.
"That banquet you went to the other day—whose was it?" Quinn recalled the previous day's events and asked.
"It was Lord Spiritfiend who hosted the feast, inviting all the great demons from the region. Ever since I got the ancient books from the Yong River Dragon Palace, my intelligence has soared, and I'm now a minor celebrity among the local great demons. But since I can't beat those brutes with raw strength, I rank dead last among them."
Lina hopped onto a banana leaf, cast a spell, and summoned a gust of demon wind. The wind lifted the leaf into the air, carrying her as she laughed, "Lord Spiritfiend has already taken human form—he's incredibly powerful. All the great demons within hundreds of li, whether they're beast-lords or not, must obey his commands."
The demon wind swept the banana leaf and the white fox into the sky. Quinn leapt up, running on the wind itself as he hurried west.
Meanwhile, two or three li from the hut, a gigantic taotie beast was prowling around, looking puzzled. "By my count, the boy should've arrived long ago. This time, I've disguised myself as a strange beast—he'll never recognize me... Strange, where has that brat gone? Hm? Demon wind from a fox! The brat's first time out hunting, and he's already been lured away by that foxy vixen!"
[Irrelevant system message omitted.]
A hundred li downriver from Oldridge Village, a gust of wind carried a banana leaf nearly ten feet long. On it sat a white fox, while beside her a youth ran atop the wind—Quinn and Lina, on their way.
"With my current magic, I can't fly by myself. I can only use spells to stir up demon wind—then the wind pushes the banana leaf and lets me fly. If I tried running on the wind like you, I'd definitely fall... The Dragon Palace is just up ahead!"
Lina dispelled the demon wind, and soon Quinn and the white fox on her banana leaf drifted down to the ground. After a moment, both landed safely.
Quinn looked around. Here, the Yong River curved around a great mountain; green water encircled blue hills, birdsong echoed through the valley, monkeys leapt through the forest, and the river teemed with giant fish and river beasts. It was peaceful and serene.
The white fox bounded ahead, leading the way. Quinn hurried after her. Lina was heading straight for the mountain ringed by the river. Quinn wondered: Was the Dragon Palace not underwater, but built atop the mountain?
After a while, they reached the mountain peak. Quinn saw a ruin—a Dragon King temple. In front of the temple stood a massive flood-quelling stele, over eight zhang tall, shaped like a stone tablet. Beneath it crouched a huge stone turtle, bearing the stele on its back, mouth agape as if panting from exhaustion.
The Dragon King temple was already in ruins—crumbling walls, collapsed main hall. Quinn looked around: not even a stone statue remained. It surely couldn't withstand the darkness at night.
He was still puzzled when suddenly Lina vanished. Just then, her voice called out: "Quick, come in!"
Quinn followed the sound and saw the white fox inside the stone turtle's mouth, waving her paw to beckon him. Quinn hurried over—the turtle was so big he could stand upright inside. He followed the bouncing white fox, and at the throat, a deep stairway appeared before them.
There had once been a stone door before the stairs, but it had fallen for some reason, revealing the passage down into the depths.
Quinn followed the white fox onward. The tunnel grew wider, burrowing deep into the mountain. Glowing moss covered the damp stone walls, and strange creatures drifted through the air like dandelions, each with slender tendrils waving beneath them—tendrils that let them fly.
The white fox leapt up, snatched one in her mouth, and ate it. Then she bounced along, gobbling more as she went—they must have been delicious.