Chapter 1007: Lingering Doubts

Niu Youdao finally understood. So this was another kindness Shang Song had left behind. No wonder the silver fox had immediately stayed her hand after realizing he had some connection to Shang Song.

It also resolved another question that had been bothering him. He had wondered how the silver fox, perfectly fine one moment, could suddenly fall asleep at such a critical instant. So there had been another story behind it.

The black Demon Fox man suddenly sighed again. "Perhaps our Demon Fox race really was indulging in wishful thinking. The former Clan Chief later said she didn't resent Luo Qiu! A man who can use his own daughter as a hostage—if that isn't heartless, what is?" From his tone, even he seemed unable to understand how Yin Ji could think that way.

Leaning on his sword, Niu Youdao offered no judgment. He had never cared much for drawing absolute lines of right and wrong. Whose view was right, whose was wrong, who hated whom, who resented whom—many things simply could not be untangled so neatly. Everyone had their own position and their own angle from which they viewed the matter. Obsessing over who was right and who was wrong served little purpose. Niu Youdao preferred to deal with the matter at hand.

There was, however, one thing he felt fairly certain of: in those early years, Luo Qiu had probably loved Yin Ji sincerely.

Still, once a matter was understood, that was enough. He had no interest in dwelling on it. One thing did make him curious, though. He asked, "If the former Clan Chief's essence-blood could let you take human form, then after her life was saved, couldn't you have returned the essence-blood to her?"

"If that would have worked, would we need you to remind us?" the black Demon Fox man replied. "Transformation essence-blood owes its power to the Fox Immortal Fruit. It can grant transformation, but it no longer possesses the power to regenerate and reconstruct the body. The former Clan Chief's very foundation was damaged and her body left incomplete. Giving the transformation essence-blood back would be useless. Unless she can take another Fox Immortal Fruit and reconstruct her physical body, she cannot return to normal."

Perhaps afraid an outsider might mistake their Clan Chief for selfish, the sickle-wielding old man added an explanation. "In the old days, our race never had to worry about the supply of Fox Immortal Fruits. Almost everyone could take human form. But ever since that supply was cut off, most of our people have become little different from wild beasts. The reason the twelve Elders among us can still transform is because we inherited transformation essence-blood from the previous generation. But each time it is passed down, its effect weakens somewhat. After three generations, it loses all effect. That was also one reason the former Clan Chief was willing to pay any price to enter the human world and search for clues about your master."

Niu Youdao was adept at seizing on key points. His gaze swept rapidly over those present. "Twelve Elders?"

Knowing what he meant, the sickle-wielding old man said, "The nine dogs arranged this so-called tempering. We could hardly all hide at home. Several Elders are stationed outside, overseeing matters in different directions."

"Oh." Niu Youdao nodded, then asked, "How many members of the Demon Fox race can still take human form?"

The old man sighed. "Only the thirteen of us now."

Niu Youdao frowned at once. "That doesn't sound right. If almost every Demon Fox could transform back then, and your race possesses the innate ability to pass on transformation essence-blood, how can only thirteen of you remain?"

"You think the nine dogs nearly exterminating our race was some kind of joke?" the old man shot back. "Our people came close to extinction several times before we finally hid ourselves here. Most of the Demon Foxes you see now were born afterward. The younger generation is still weak and cannot bear great responsibility. Could the older generation casually pass on their transformation essence-blood? When we sent the former Clan Chief to the human world, our experts suffered terrible losses. We are what remains. If our very inheritance had not been in danger, why would the former Clan Chief have so readily married Luo Qiu in the hope of obtaining his help?"

Someone nearby said bitterly, "Worst of all, the nine dogs actually destroyed vast numbers of Fox Immortal Fruit trees! Those trees require a full thousand years before they mature and bear fruit!"

Niu Youdao said, "That sort of thing is hardly surprising from them, and they don't behave that way only toward your race. By the way, I've heard a rumor, though I don't know whether it's true. They say the lifespan of your Demon Fox race is only five hundred years. But the former Clan Chief was already Clan Chief before she ever met Shang Song, wasn't she?"

The implication was obvious. Shang Song had vanished so many years ago that the former Clan Chief's lifespan should already have exceeded five hundred years. Clearly, Niu Youdao still suspected there might be problems in what they were telling him.

The black Demon Fox man explained, "The former Clan Chief's bloodline is different from the rest of our race. We live at most five hundred years, but her line can live as long as a thousand. That is one reason her bloodline has always produced the Clan Chiefs who protect the Demon Fox race. Yet that bloodline has another peculiarity. In every generation, each member can give birth only once. After that, no matter what methods are tried, whether the child born was male or female, there can never be a second."

Niu Youdao froze for a moment, then ventured, "The former Clan Chief has already given birth to Luo Fangfei. Doesn't that mean..." He left the sentence unfinished. Everyone understood him. Did that not mean the former Clan Chief's line had come to an end?

Judging from the faint grief that appeared on everyone's faces, he had evidently guessed correctly.

Niu Youdao sighed inwardly. He now understood a little better why Luo Qiu had once been reluctant to keep the child while Yin Ji had insisted on doing so. The trouble was that Luo Fangfei did not seem likely to be able to continue that bloodline.

The subject naturally returned to Luo Fangfei. The black Demon Fox man took a deep breath and sighed. "We've told you what should be told and what perhaps should not. You now know why we don't want you to touch Luo Fangfei. The former Clan Chief has only that one daughter. No matter what Luo Fangfei may have done, the Demon Fox race does not want the former Clan Chief to die without descendants."

No matter what she may have done? A thought flashed through Niu Youdao's mind. Surely these Demon Foxes were not still planning something involving Luo Fangfei? Did they actually want Luo Fangfei to bear cubs for the Demon Fox race and continue that bloodline?

Naturally, he kept the thought to himself. Outwardly, he nodded. "You've explained things this far. If I still insisted, I'd be refusing the Demon Fox race even this much consideration. Fine. In front of the Clan Chief and all the Elders here today, I give you my word: I won't touch Luo Fangfei."

Everyone relaxed slightly on hearing that.

Niu Youdao casually added, "Ao Feng. Help me find him."

The black Demon Fox man nodded. "That is easy enough. So long as he is still in the Desolate Marsh Deadlands, we can find him. I'll have it arranged."

With that, the main business was more or less settled. The Demon Foxes asked Niu Youdao several more questions about the tempering, focusing particularly on Yin'er.

They still had doubts. When Yin Ji had gone out to search for traces of Shang Song, she had heard nothing about Yin'er.

They could not understand it. If Yin'er had remained behind rather than departing with Shang Song and his wife, why had she never appeared for all these years? As far as they knew, Butterfly Dream Illusory Realm opened periodically.

With Yin'er's strength, if she had still been there, how could she have remained completely silent while the Nine Saints rose to power?

They were not doubting that Niu Youdao was Shang Song's successor. By now, the accumulated evidence had convinced them that the Qiankun Art he cultivated truly was Shang Song's.

But the matter of Yin'er did not match what they had imagined. They had no choice but to suspect there was something strange about it. Shang Song's successor was only his successor, after all, not Shang Song himself. Human hearts were difficult to fathom. Niu Youdao might not be the good man they hoped he was.

On this point, apart from certain details he had deliberately arranged, Niu Youdao did not lie. He described the circumstances under which he had first encountered Yin'er, explaining that she had been sealed within the mechanisms of a great formation.

When Yin'er existed in the form of the Holy Rakshasa, she recognized no one, kin or otherwise. Only after he learned the Qiankun Art within the formation and dissolved the demon power in her body, allowing Yin'er to return to normal, did he realize he had inherited Shang Song's legacy.

He told the Demon Foxes that he had once brought Yin'er out and that she had lived beside him for a time. Unfortunately, he had later been sent into the Tiandu Secret Realm. Knowing he would be gone too long to regularly dissolve the demon power within Yin'er, and fearing something might happen, he had sent her back.

As for Yin'er's present condition, even he did not know.

That explanation raised another doubt among the Demon Foxes. How could Butterfly Dream Illusory Realm simply allow people to enter and leave at will?

Niu Youdao explained how he had made use of Myriad Beasts Sect. He told them that Chao Jing of Myriad Beasts Sect was also here in Sacred Realm and that quite a few people knew Yin'er had once stayed by his side. If the Demon Foxes ever had the opportunity, they could verify the matter for themselves. For the time being, however, he told them not to touch Chao Jing. No one yet knew what form the next stage of the tempering would take, and having a few more usable hands around him was no bad thing.

After this exchange, the Demon Foxes still retained some suspicions, but many of their doubts were eased. The former Clan Chief had once told them that Yin Die'er at Shang Song's side truly had been a glutton, the sort who ate from morning to night without ever seeming to stop.

And it was precisely through this conversation that both sides learned another important detail. Shang Song's wife, Li Ge, Empress of the State of Wu, did not know the Qiankun Art. Once that became clear, they all seemed to understand why Yin'er had been sealed away.

According to the Demon Foxes, Shang Song had disappeared first. Li Ge vanished later. After Shang Song disappeared, Li Ge had come to Fox Immortal Realm and spoken with Yin Ji in person.

Without the Qiankun Art to dissolve the demon power inside Yin'er, Yin'er was extremely difficult to control once she lost herself. She could no longer be kept normally at one's side. What else was there to do—keep her bound forever, or kill her? That was probably the true reason Yin'er had been sealed away. No one would subject a trusted confidante to such torment unless there were truly no other choice.

In other words, the person who had set up that sealing formation had not been Shang Song. Shang Song had not sealed Yin'er away.

It had been Empress Li Ge.

And that meant the many arrangements made afterward had most likely been Li Ge's doing as well.

Niu Youdao could not help thinking of the Shang Mirror, and of the ancient bronze mirror that had somehow brought him into this world. He frowned in thought, yet could not make sense of the truth behind any of it.

The Demon Foxes, meanwhile, could only sigh. None of them had imagined that Yin Die'er had been shut inside an iron box for several hundred years.

When it was finally time to leave, they escorted Niu Youdao out. As they reached the entrance to the underground palace, the black Demon Fox man suddenly asked, "From beginning to end, you never once asked my name. Don't you want to know it?"

Niu Youdao smiled faintly. "When you're willing to truly trust me, when you feel safe enough to tell me, you'll naturally do so yourself." He lifted his head and looked at the three strange characters carved above the cave residence. "Is that writing from your Demon Fox race?"

"It is," the black Demon Fox man said. "Shang Song personally carved that stone plaque. No matter how many times we've moved our lair, we've always taken it with us."

Niu Youdao smiled. "My master even understood your written language?"

"Not only your master. Your master's wife did too. When Shang Song first opened a passage into this realm, neither side understood the other's language, communication was difficult, and there were some misunderstandings. To make communication easier, Shang Song and his wife learned the language of our Demon Fox race. It was also then that the former Clan Chief learned the human tongue from the two of them, and afterward spread it widely among our people."

Niu Youdao had only asked in passing. "All right. You can stop here. If anyone sees me together with you after we go outside, that could be troublesome."

"Then we won't see you any farther."

Niu Youdao cupped his hands, took his leave, and once again slipped into the foul mud at the entrance.

Standing at the cave entrance, the black Demon Fox man turned to the others. "This place has been exposed. It's no longer suitable for us to stay. Gather the clansmen. We're moving."

Clearly, he still did not trust Niu Youdao completely. He was unwilling to gamble the safety of the entire Demon Fox race on that trust.

When Niu Youdao emerged from the mud, he found himself on an inconspicuous mountain. The Demon Fox lair lay directly beneath his feet, hidden deep underground.

He took out the handbook map, fixed the location on it, then used the map to determine his bearings. A moment later, he flashed away.

[End of Chapter 1007]