Chapter 198: He Hasn’t Bathed for Five Years

Zhu Yao couldn’t bother listening to his nonsense any longer. Taking the opportunity when Fu Lukang was submerged in his own sadness and self-pity, she hurriedly left the forest.

Realmspirit had said that the mission this time would be extremely difficult, and she had yet to make clear of the present situation earlier, so she must be even more so careful. Touching the pocket on her side, there were two round objects inside.

Zhu Yao carefully took them out, and they were two fruits – one white and one black, the exact two that had grown on her tree. After she took up a human form, they were transferred into her pockets.

“Master? Yue Ying?”

The two fruits still did not respond. Zhu Yao sighed, and decided to leave this place first.

As she walked out of the forest, a large manor suddenly appeared in her line of sight. The scarlet red gates were extremely imposing, and at the entrance, there were even two very domineering looking lions. Its surroundings were covered scarlet red walls, and a small pavilion could be seen inside. The land occupied by this manor was extremely vast, and it was impossible to see its edges at first glance. It could be seen how much power its owner held, and the only thing lacking was a large banner stating “I’m Very Rich” being hung on the entrance.

Before Zhu Yao even approached it, she heard unscrupulous voices coming from her surroundings.

“Hurry, look! Yet another one.”

“So pitiful. The clothes of that girl from a few days ago are still in the well. The tree next to the well has told me several times that the soil there is even beginning to smell.”

“Haah, yet another one is going to be tricked.”

“This young lady looks rather decent. If she’s going to be eaten by that d.a.m.n fox, it will really be a pity.”

“That’s right, that’s right, she looks so affable. I like her.”

“Why don’t we give her a hint, and prevent her from entering the manor.”

“Alright, alright! Hurry, give her a hint.”

Hua laaa…

In that instant, Zhu Yao was showered with leaves.

She turned to look at the two large trees by the roadside, and the corner of her lips twitched. She silently shoved away the leaves on her head, decided to ignore them, and continued forward.

“Eh, she was looking at me earlier. So happy~”

“But she’s still walking in that direction. What do we do?”

“We must stop her. That d.a.m.n fox will eat her.”

“Hurry, we can’t let her continue forward.”

Pachi…

A tree root suddenly popped out from the flat surfaced road. Zhu Yao’s feet stopped. She was this close to falling onto the ground because of it.

……

She sighed, pretended that she hadn’t seen anything, and circled around it.

However, those two trees seemed like they were having a contest with her. With every step she took, the number of roots popping out beneath her feet increased.

If you don’t allow me to enter the manor, at the very least, you should let me walk, right? After all, she had to go in this direction if she wanted to exit the forest.

Zhu Yao let out a deep sigh, and had no choice but to turn and walk towards the two meddlesome trees. Then, she patted her hand onto the tree.

“I say… The large tree on the left, can you let me walk properly?”

“Eh!” That tree was startled for a moment, as he said with slight disbelief. “She… Is she talking to me?”

“Yes. You. I’m talking to you.” Zhu Yao nodded.

“Aaahhh!” The large tree once again shook and showered her with leaves. “Large Tree on the Right, did you hear that? She… S-S-She can actually hear us talk. And she even knows my name!?”

“Uh…” So ‘Large Tree on the Left’ was actually its name. Were the naming style of all the trees in this world like this?

“Newcomer lady, I like you!” Large Tree on the Left happily shook.

“I like you too.” Large Tree on the Right did not want to be outdone either, as it madly shook and showered its leaves over her head.

Stok shaking. Shake anymore and you will become bare.

The corner of Zhu Yao’s lips twitched, asking. “Why are you two blocking me?”

The two large trees blanked, and only after a while did they explain the circ.u.mstances. “That manor over there is formed by a fox. We have seen many, many ladies entering it, and they no longer came out after that. They must have been eaten by the fox.”

“That’s right, that’s right. Newcomer lady, do not enter it. You will be eaten.”

So a fox was living inside, and it even took women as food. It seemed like it was a male fox.

“Do you know what’s the cultivation level of that fox?” She had only just gained her human form, so she was comparable to the standards of a Foundation-stage human pract.i.tioner. It was best if they did not come into conflict.

“What’s cultivation?” The two large trees shook their branches.

Great. It seemed like these two were trees that had never cultivated before.

“But we know of other things.” Seeing that she was disappointed, Large Tree on the Right hurriedly added.

“Mn, mn, mn.” Large Tree on the Left said as well. “I know it’s an ugly yellow fox.”

“That’s right. And it doesn’t like cleanliness, it often rolls about on the ground. Furthermore, it even likes to use its tongue to lick its own fur.”

“And it never bathes as well. It’s already been five years this manor has been here, but it’s never been washed.”

“It never brushes it teeth as well, and has bad breath.”

“Whenever a lady enters the place, it actually has the guts to bite on the lady’s lips.”

The two large trees began to throw retorts back and forth for half an hour, and Zhu Yao could only stay dumbfounded while hearing them talk. In the first place, when a fox were to take up a human form, it’s beauty would always be something to be admired of. However, from their words, they made it sound as though it was the great king of dirt.

Zhu Yao silently lit a candle for that fox.

After thanking the two large trees, promised them that she was merely pa.s.sing through and no thoughts to enter the manor in the first place, she was finally allowed pa.s.sage by them. As she walked off, the two trees said their goodbyes while madly shaking their branches in her direction.

Zhu Yao’s face darkened, as she hurriedly walked to the path next to the manor. Just as she was planning on detouring around that manor and walking towards the south…

The scarlet red gates which had been tightly shut the entire time, suddenly creaked open.

“Young lady, please halt. The sky is already turning dark, I believe you won’t be able to make it to the city by today. Why don’t you stay here for a night?”

A man stood at the side of the gates. His brows looked as though they had come out of a painting and his skin was as smooth as a child’s. Dressed in a white long robe, he held onto a fan in his hand, displaying a distinguished and proud look that could not be put into words. His eyes lightly narrowed, setting off a boundless bewitching intent which could hook onto people’s souls.

Looking at this man whose entire body could be described with the four words “I am very handsome”, the voices of those two trees earlier suddenly surfaced in Zhu Yao’s mind: “He hasn’t bathed for five years.”

In an instant, whatever warmth or charm had shattered completely.

“This lowly one is named Bai Yi, I wonder how I should address you, young lady?” In just a few steps, the man arrived in front of her and gave her a polite greeting, looking like a proper gentleman.

Zhu Yao instinctively took a step back, and that sentence madly shuffled through her mind. “He hasn’t bathed for five years. He hasn’t bathed for five years. He hasn’t bathed for five years…”

Bai Yi was startled for a moment, but after a while, a smile bloomed on his face. A flowing light seemed to have flashed past his eyes, revealing a charm that could not be put into words. “Young lady, there’s no need to be afraid. This is a side manor belonging to my family. Because I left in a haste, and am too unable to head back in time, I decided to stay here seeing that the sky is turning darker. Coincidentally, I saw young lady walking by. Seeing that our fates are connected, I decided to speak up and invite you in.”

He sounded so very sincere, just like a good person who was extending his helping hand to someone in need. However, she silently cast an art with her right hand.

“No need.” Zhu Yao shook her head. If her decision earlier was just to hurry and leave this place, not wanting to come into conflict with him, then after seeing the actual person herself, that decision of hers was firmly swallowed back into her stomach.

Fox demon, ninth level of the Essence stage.

Hoho!

“Young lady, the sky is quickly about to turn dark. It’s very dangerous for you to hit the roads alone.” Bai Yi continued to persuade her.

Zhu Yao simply did not want to continue wasting her time here, and immediately rolled her eyes at him.

“I like it this way.” It’s not something you should be concerned with?

After that, she continued forward.

Bai Yi’s face, which was filled with smiles, stiffened for a moment, as though he had never expected she would reply this way. After a while, he regained his senses. He immediately chased after her, and blocked her path. “Young lady, the city is about twenty kilometers away from here. Furthermore, it’s a wasteland up ahead, home to many vile wolves. You must not be make such a rash decision.”

“Oh.” Circling around him, she continued forward.

Bai Yi once again stiffened for a moment, before grabbing onto Zhu Yao’s hand. “Young lady…”

“What is it?”

“…” For a moment, he couldn’t think of a reason, and several emotions flashed past his face. After a while, he released her hand, and took a deep breath. Opening up his fan, he slightly swayed it a few times, revealing an elegant look, and the light in his eyes swirled. “Young lady, encounters are bound by fate…”

As he said that, he approached her. In an instant, a strange scent suddenly suffused in the air, sweet to the point where it could cause one to turn drowsy. His two eyes stared straight at hers, as he gently reached out his hand to touch the side of her face. “Are you certain that you won’t stay behind… and have a nice chat with me?”

Zhu Yao casually raised her hand and pinched onto… a layer of skin on his paw, forcefully twisting it. The corner of her lips split open, as she gave him an especially brilliant smile. “You want to hit on me?”

What did she mean by ‘hit on her’? Bai Yi blanked, as he did not really understand her words. However, seeing that she was smiling so happily, he felt much more at ease in the depths of his heart, believing that his bewitching art had taken effect. He subconsciously ignored the bluish purple that was surfacing on his hand due to her pinching.

He smiled even deeper, and retracted his hand. Not knowing if it was on purpose or not, the clothes covering his shoulders suddenly slid down, revealing a half-covered white chest, filled with indescribable allure. His eyes slightly narrowed, and said with warm tone. “I wonder if young lady will grant me some face?”

Zhu Yao’s eyes instantly focused on his half-revealed chest.

He smiled even more gleefully. As expected, all women were like this.

He purposefully tugged his own clothes, revealing his chest even more. He even purposefully got close to her ears, and said enticingly. “Do you like it?”

Zhu Yao calmly raised her head to glance at him. She then calmly reached out her hand, calmly grabbing onto his half-covered collar, and then, calmly exerted force, fully revealing his chest with a swoosh.

With just those few abs, you dare present them before this old lady?

Zhu Yao incomparably swept her eyes at him, and purposefully stopped at a certain important part at the lower half of his body. She calmly raised her head, raised the corner of her lips, and unknowingly let out a sound. “Heh!”

Bai Yi faintly heard a crackling noise in the depths of her heart. Something that was named as “a man’s pride”, shattered into pieces at that moment.

His face instantly turned as pale as snow, and suddenly leapt a step away. He subconsciously pressed on his important part, like a quail holding on its lower half.

“Ah! Y-Y-Y-Y-You…” His face instantly turned flush red, as he looked at her with a tensed expression.

“What about me?” Hmph. You dare to compete with me when it comes to morals? You’re still too young.

“I didn’t want to have anything to do with you in the first place, yet you just have to come out and seek a beating.” Zhu Yao slapped her hands together and cast an art, summoning two vines which slid straight towards him and gave him a harsh whipping. “With just those looks of yours, you actually dare to come out and sell your body.”

Zhu Yao whipped even faster. “This is what you get for blocking my path! This is what you get for competing morals with me! This is what you get for not bathing…”

Uh… She seemed to have mixed in something strange?

“Great deity, great deity, forgive me.” Only then did Fox Bai Yi regain his wits, and realized he had encountered a pract.i.tioner. “This little demon won’t dare to do so anymore.”

Due to the suppression in levels, the fox demon did not have the least bit of power to retaliate, and had no other choice but to beg for forgiveness.

“Speak, just how many innocent girls have you harmed?”

“I… I did not!” The fox demon no longer had the elegant look he had before, as he cried out with snot coming from from its nose.

“Still dare to say you didn’t?” With a twist of her palm, Zhu Yao gave his b.u.t.tocks another whip. “What’s going on with the clothes in your manor’s well?”

“How do you know about that?” The fox demon blanked, fiercely widening his eyes.

Zhu Yao prompted the vines to wrap him up. “Did you trick her into your manor to eat her, and then throw her clothes into the well?”

“Eat?” Bai Yi was startled for a moment, before he began to fiercely shake his head. “I did not, I did not… I’m innoncent, great deity! Human meat isn’t tasty in the first place, I only like to eat chicken meat. I have never eaten a single human before.”

“Still denying.” Zhu Yao stepped forward and kicked him. “Not a single one of those young ladies that entered the manor had ever come out.”

Bai Yi cried even sadder than before. “That’s because they had all walked out from the back door! This manor of mine is too big, and leaving from the back door is much closer to the nearest city.”

“Uh…” Zhu Yao stiffened for a moment. This progression didn’t feel right. “Then why did you have to fool young ladies into your manor? Don’t tell me you’re just giving them shelter out of kindness, you even used a bewitching art on me earlier!”

“This…” Bai Yi’s face flushed, his entire face instantly turned as red as tomatoes. After a while, he muttered out. “That… That… Their clothes all look so beautiful. I have only just learnt how to transform… and the colour of my fur doesn’t look good either, so… so I wanted to change into more clothes, that’s why…”

“… You trick people into your manor, in order to steal their clothes!?” Zhu Yao was dumbfounded. Just what kind of strange thought process did he have?

“I don’t have any choice either.” Bai Yi was this close to burying his head into the vines. “It’s… It’s their fault for being dressed so beautifully.” He weakly glanced at Zhu Yao. “You look really beautiful too!”

Zhu Yao felt a chill running down her spine. “These are clothes for women!” As a man, your tastes are a little perverse, don’t you think!?

“I know how to alter them!” His eyes s.h.i.+fted downwards. “Look at this set I’m wearing, I altered it myself.”

“Uh…” Alright then, his skills were pretty good.

“I accidentally tore the clothes of that young lady back then, and it was simply impossible to fix it, that’s why I threw it into the well.” He said regretfully.

“…” Zhu Yao was already completely speechless at this fox for having such unique tastes.

In the end, Zhu Yao still let go of that stupid fox, and while she was at it, she had him tear down that manor as well. He was not allowed to do stupid things such as stealing people’s clothes ever again. If he wanted beautiful looking clothes, he could have gone to the city to buy them himself. He was just lucky that he hadn’t encounter a single pract.i.tioner all these years, otherwise, with that little bit of cultivation he had, he would have died as the cannon fodder he was.

After dealing with this matter, Zhu Yao followed her initial plan of first heading to the city to understand the basic situation of this world. Then, she would think of a way to have her master and Yue Ying gain their human forms. However, she had only walked a few distances away, and she spotted an additional foxtail behind her.