Side Story 2: The Demon-Catching Adventure of the Deer Fairy (Part 2)
Shall we go in?
Lu Yixin pointed to the cave and mouthed a question to Shen Qiexing.
“Let’s talk about it at dawn,” Shen Qiexing shook his head. “It’s dark and windy now, and we might encounter some danger that we can’t avoid.”
That's fine too. Lu Yixin lit up a ball of dark green light at her fingertips, marked the entrance to the cave, and returned home temporarily with Shen Qiexing.
Hoping the little black dog would be alright, she looked down at her palm, where faint, flickering lights were hidden.
As long as the light is still there, it means the puppy is alright for now. We'll find out tomorrow what that weasel spirit's purpose was in abducting so many black dogs.
“Don’t worry,” Shen Qiexing put his arm around her waist, gently kissed her cheek, and intertwined his fingers with hers. “Wherever you go, I will always be with you, Little Deer Fairy.”
This address made Lu Yixin blush deeply. She broke free from Shen Qiexing's embrace and used a finger to seal his restless lips. "Brother Qiexing, have you been very free these past few days?"
"As far as I know, several more notorious bandit groups have appeared in the city last week, and the imperial court is worried about this. Jiang Jinwei has also told you about this, right? Now it's your turn to make a move."
Since Shen Qiexing settled in the capital, he has captured at least eight hundred or a thousand bandits. Besides the capital, he also frequently travels to other places to destroy criminal dens. Over time, he has made a name for himself, and it is inevitable that he will attract the attention of others.
The Jiang Imperial Guard that Lu Yixin mentioned was one of the captains of the Imperial City Patrol Division. He had noticed Shen Qiexing long ago and had invited him to join the Patrol Division several times, but Shen Qiexing refused each time.
But aside from official business, Shen Qiexing, who always looked down on everyone, surprisingly became very close to him in private. Every few days, the two would meet up for drinks and laughter.
Recently, the bandits in the city have become increasingly rampant. Jiang Jinwei was ordered to go and suppress them. Shen Qiexing could not ignore this matter either, so the two worked together again.
“Well, he’ll be over tomorrow afternoon, and we’ll discuss the operation together,” Shen Qiexing raised an eyebrow in dissatisfaction, then reached out and pulled Lu Yixin over. “So we’d better get rid of that weasel spirit by tomorrow morning.”
“I don’t think it’s that simple,” Lu Yixin said, having no other choice but to go along with him. “If we fail to rescue Xuesong alive, won’t the current emperor punish us?”
That can't be... This king doesn't seem like an unreasonable person.
But it's hard to say.
"You're afraid of mere mortals?"
Shen Qiexing chuckled and said, "Let him treat me if he wants. At worst, we'll just move to another place to live."
That makes sense. Lu Yixin was relieved that the current God Qiexing didn't resort to violence so easily. If it were in the past, he would have said, "Just a mere mortal, killing him is enough."
After all that commotion, it gradually got light. The two of them, who hadn't slept all night, were still full of energy. After a short rest, they set off again after the sun rose over the river.
The weasel spirit seemed to be nocturnal, as its cave was partially covered by withered grass during the day, and Lu Yixin almost missed it.
"This is it, it's been so long since I've found it."
This was the first time she had used her magic to find things, and she was still not very skilled at it. Shen Qiexing patted her shoulder reassuringly, parted the withered grass, and took the lead in crawling inside.
The cave was only half a person's height, making it really inconvenient to move around inside. Lu Yixin formed a hand seal, and a ball of eerie green flame instantly appeared in her palm.
With the light illuminating the cave, she was astonished to discover that it stretched as far as the eye could see.
Fortunately, the space became more spacious as they went further in. After walking for an unknown amount of time, when the view suddenly opened up before them, the two of them were able to stand up straight with ease.
"This is......"
Lu Yixin's pupils dilated in shock; the scene inside the cave took her by surprise.
The open space in front of her was about the size of their small yard, but it was crowded with dozens of dogs lying unconscious on the ground. She wanted to go forward and examine them carefully, but she couldn't take a step.
Every step forward would mean stepping on dog hair. Lu Yixin crouched down and used her middle and index fingers to check the pulse of the nearest yellow dog. She only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that it was indeed still alive.
Shen Qiexing narrowed his eyes, focusing his gaze in one direction, and whispered to Lu Yixin, "The little black dog is there, but I don't see Xuesong."
The little black dog also fainted and collapsed among the dogs.
"All the dogs it stole should be here."
"But why is there no weasel?"
Lu Yixin looked around with a strange expression. "It brought so many dogs, and then it disappeared."
“The dog is here, it will come back sooner or later,” Shen Qiexing pondered for a moment, then took her arm. “We’ll wait here, and as soon as it comes back, we’ll catch it immediately.”
There was no other way at the moment, so Lu Yixin could only say, "Alright then."
When they came in, Lu Yixin had already restored the withered grass outside to its original state and concealed their presence, so the weasel spirit shouldn't notice anything amiss.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a faint rustling sound came from the cave passage.
Lu Yixin and Shen Qiexing exchanged a glance and immediately perked up.
"Got you!"
Just as the weasel spirit darted in, Lu Yixin descended from the sky, carrying a huge sack. With a powerful downward slam, she trapped the weasel inside the sack.
"Squeak squeak squeak!"
The weasel spirit screamed in terror inside the sack, twisting its body and trying to break free. Its strength was so great that Lu Yixin almost couldn't hold it down.
“This weasel must have been cultivating for over three hundred years,” Shen Qiexing said to Lu Yixin as he grabbed its head. “Actually, if you think about it carefully, it’s older than you. Little Lu, you should call it an elder.”
Lu Yixin got goosebumps. Holding a bamboo pole, she pointed it at the weasel spirit's nose and said sternly, "Judging from your level of cultivation, you should already be able to speak human language. Tell me, why did you steal so many dogs!"
"Let me go!"
As expected, the weasel spirit, realizing it couldn't be fooled and with Shen Qiexing tightening his grip on it, was forced to speak.
Its voice was high-pitched and thin, sounding like a needle pricking your heart, making you feel uncomfortable no matter what.
It was impossible to let go, but Shen Qiexing loosened his grip, which instantly lessened the weasel spirit's sense of crisis.
It seemed convinced that it couldn't escape the two men's grasp, so it stopped struggling, puffed out its breath, and said, "Since you were able to find my dwelling, you two must not be ordinary mortals."
“Of course,” Lu Yixin snorted coldly, “Don’t change the subject.”
The weasel's eyes darted around for a moment, then it asked her, "Are you a member of the Forest Clan?"
It actually knew about the Forest Clan.
This time it was Lu Yixin's turn to be surprised. "Why do you say that?"
“Your aura is very similar to that of an old friend of mine,” it said, then became quite pleased with itself. “Young lady, do you know who my old friend is?”
"have no idea."
“I’ll scare you to death if I tell you,” it stroked its antennae and squeaked smugly. “Since you’re a member of the Forest Clan, you should know Huang Ya, the leader of the Weasel Clan.”
"My old friend is Huang Hui, the husband of Huang Ya's cousin's second aunt's niece."
What is all this about? Lu Yi thought about her interpersonal relationships. She did know Huang Ya, a woman who didn't talk much and had a very low presence in Mi Tianze. But she had never heard of the name Huang Hui before.
"Then do you know who I am?" Lu Yixin smiled sinisterly, approaching the weasel inch by inch.
"I...I don't know." The weasel shrank its neck.
"Your great-aunt is none other than Lu Yixin, the current Forest King of the Forest Clan!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the surrounding air was deathly silent for a moment, and then suddenly burst into the shrill laughter of a weasel.
"Hahahaha! You little blonde girl, you don't even think before you start lying, hahahaha!"
Seeing that it didn't believe her, Lu Yixin didn't waste any more words. She simply lifted her bangs, revealing that the ancient lily of the valley was not the green of her companions, but the gold unique to the king of the forest tribe.
The weasel's laughter gradually subsided. It looked left and right in disbelief, its body went limp, and it crawled back into the sack. It took Shen Qiexing's hand and placed it on its neck, saying in a muffled voice, "...Greetings, King Sen."
Shen Qiexing, who was standing to the side, was trying so hard not to laugh that he almost passed out.
"Tell me quickly, what exactly do you want to do with all these dogs!" Lu Yixin said sternly.
"I'm innocent!" the weasel squeaked, "Please have some understanding of me, I have my reasons!"
"No matter what your reasons are, stealing is wrong!"
"I'm asking you, where's the cedar tree?"
"Snow..." The weasel felt its brain couldn't process it. "What's a cedar tree?"
“It’s a pure black dog, and it must be the oldest one, about fourteen years old this year. Tell me quickly, where did you take that dog? Why isn’t it here?” Lu Yixin asked anxiously.
Upon hearing this, the weasel remembered, "Is it the dog from the palace?"
It then thought of the dog's current whereabouts and began to squeak and bark in fear.
God slapped it on the head and said, "Answer the question and shut up."
“Reporting to King Sen, that dog…that dog,” it stammered, but when Lu Yixin raised her hand, it closed its eyes and steeled itself, saying, “I skinned it and took the rest, cooking and eating the cubs!”
I should have known better than to eat it. The old dog's meat was fishy and astringent, and it didn't taste good at all.
Hearing the weasel say that, Lu Yixin's eyes suddenly reddened, and she punched the ground in self-reproach.
It's all her fault for investigating too late. If she had followed the old woman's instructions from the beginning, she might have been able to save Xuesong.
Since things have come to this point, we can only report the truth to the old nanny.
"Where's the skin? Where did you put it?" she sniffed and asked again.
When this matter was mentioned, the weasel lay motionless in the sack, looking dejected.
"I gave it to its owner."
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