Yinshan Record

Chapter 423 Torture and Gift-Giving: The Kind-hearted Fox (Part 2)

This time they were caught red-handed.

However, Young Master Su is not bothered by having too many lice or too many debts. So what if a beautiful woman is captured? Even if Madam Xue comes, we can still get away with it.

"Her? I captured her. She was a spy left by the Great River Alliance outside Cizhou City. I was busy with the Ancient Underworld at the time and just happened to dig her out."

The fact that the rebels were backed by the Great River Alliance was no longer a secret. Even the old ladies washing clothes by the well in Cizhou City knew that the rebels outside were caused by the Great River Alliance.

It was perfectly reasonable for him to capture a spy from the Great River Alliance, except that this spy just happened to be somewhat attractive.

"Then why not execute him publicly and have him beheaded?"

The little fox looked at me with an expression that said, "I don't understand anything, don't try to fool me."

This girl.

Su Che immediately added, "Of course, it's because they're still useful. She's been in the Great River Alliance for many years. She's either seen the spies and secret agents they've sent out, or she knows their methods of operation. Because of her, she's arrested several groups of Great River Alliance spies, and now their heads are hanging on the city wall."

This is absolutely true, because Lady Miao really did thoroughly investigate and eliminate all of the Great River Alliance's spies in Cizhou City. Many of them held important positions—not high ranks, but very important ones.

For example, the gatekeeper in charge of the south gate of Cizhou City was actually a spy planted by Yu Chen a few years ago. He was the one who had been in charge of coordinating the entry and exit of various spies from the Great River Alliance.

It's fine as long as Su Che is stationed in Cizhou. If Yu Chen uses a diversionary tactic to lure Su Che and Xiong Shou out of Cizhou, with the help of the gatekeeper, they could probably take Cizhou immediately.

Anyway, these things are all set in stone, and Su Che is now attributing the credit to Miao Niangzi, so he's not afraid of what the little fox might say.

"Why keep such an important person in the Imperial Guard instead of in the mansion?"

How could I let you stump me?

"It's precisely to avoid leaks. The Imperial Guards are supposed to be an impenetrable wall, but they're actually leaky. If we put her in the Imperial Guards, it will naturally alert the Great River Alliance, and they'll remove everyone who's seen her or had contact with her, which would be counterproductive. In this Cizhou City, only my place is truly isolated from the outside world. If we don't put her here, where else can we put her?"

Su Che gave the little fox a look that said, "If you don't understand our profession, don't talk nonsense," leaving the little fox speechless.

After all, she was a fox spirit from the Cloud Recesses of the East Sea, not a seasoned official who had been tempered and refined in the bureaucracy. How could she possibly hear the oversights in Su Che's intricacies in such a short time?

Moreover, she was also thinking of Su Che and didn't want to get entangled in these trivial matters any longer.

When she came out this time, the elders of her family gave her special instructions, saying that everyone was saying that this Third Young Master Su was the reincarnation of the ancient Azure Emperor. Regardless of whether he was Ling Weiyang reincarnated, the family had already given their approval. They just hoped that the little fox would go over quickly and continue to cultivate their relationship.

After all, being the reincarnation of the ancient Azure Emperor might not be a good thing, but if it could help establish some connections with the Yellow Heaven Path and the Central Plains court, Cloud Recesses would be happy to see it happen.

According to our ancestors, since all the things in the house are money-losing items anyway, any deal that isn't too bad is considered a profit.

So the little fox got the support of her family. Before she left, they even gave her some clothes, saying that she couldn't go to her husband's house empty-handed, lest she be unable to gain a foothold in her husband's family in the future.

This made the little fox deeply suspect that the reason why her family produced so many money-losing products was because these ancestors themselves were not upright. They themselves said they were money-losing products, no wonder they raised a bunch of money-losing products.

"Then it really needs to be protected properly."

The little fox said with a smile, "You go first, I'll call you over for questioning another day."

"Go ahead, this is none of your business."

Young Master Su waved his hand with great righteousness.

Our own integrity is comparable to that of the most extraordinary men in the world. With this wonderful woman in our hands, we can only use her to deduce the Dao. We are not afraid of your questions at all.

Miao Niangzi was quite confused, but she roughly knew that this meant a new mistress had arrived, so she quietly bowed and then turned and left.

Su Che settled down in the study, while the little fox turned around and looked at the various furnishings and arrangements in the study.

The Yin-Yang Dharma King, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy watching the drama unfold. He sat casually opposite Su Che and nudged the Third Young Master Su, telling him to hurry up and brew some tea.

So that the older generation won't be without hot tea while watching the play.

Although Su Che was speechless, he set up a small red clay stove and brewed tea, filling the room with its aroma.

The Yin-Yang Dharma King was all smiles, and the little fox didn't say anything, but simply took something out of her sleeve.

She had clearly brought something for storage, because the thing she pulled out was over six feet long and exuded a heavy chill, yet she pulled it out of her sleeve with ease.

Upon seeing this item, even though Su Che had already reached the pinnacle of cultivation and was immune to both heat and cold, he immediately felt a strong chill.

An icicle-like object, its entire body radiating a deep blue hue and carrying an unyielding chill, appeared in Su Che's small study.

Su Che looked at it for a long time but couldn't figure it out. Yin Yang Dharma King, on the other hand, had lost all interest in drinking tea. He took a few steps forward, patted and touched it, looked it over several times, and finally let go.

"The Cloud Recesses of the East Sea must be quite wealthy and powerful. Why would they give something like this as a gift instead of selling it to those savages in the Sword Palace?"

The Yin-Yang Dharma King sighed, but the little fox remained noncommittal.

This made Su Che realize how shallow his knowledge was. This thing seemed to be something extraordinary, but he had never seen it before.

"This thing is called the Nine Heavens Ice Meteorite, and it's very rare."

The Yin-Yang Dharma King once again acted as the commentator.

According to this elder, the Nine Heavens Ice Meteorite is extremely rare. Looking across the world, there are probably only a few dozen that can be counted, and each one is a famous sword.

This thing is not native to this land, but comes from beyond the Nine Heavens.

The stars beyond the Nine Heavens can be roughly divided into three categories. One type is like a great sun, with intense heat all around. Even a True Immortal would be instantly reduced to ashes if they went up to it. The other type is self-contained, either uninhabited or teeming with life.

There is another type, which is not large in size and just floats in the void, wandering around. Some of these tiny stars are solid ice that has been formed for countless years, and the Nine Heavens Ice Meteor is the core of this type of star.

Because of their extremely small size, these stars, according to the mysterious laws of the universe, often do not have a long lifespan like other stars. Most of them collapse in the tension between stars. However, in the collapse of these countless tiny stars, certain rare and precious materials also emerge.

For example, the Nine Heavens Ice Meteorite, among the collapse of countless tiny stars, some of the ice was uniquely endowed, thus creating the Nine Heavens Ice Meteorite before us. Its nature is extremely hard and tough, and it has many shortcomings when used to make magical artifacts, but it is a first-class sword material.

Its innate refinement through countless trials, coupled with the chilling aura accumulated over countless ages, means that once crafted into a sword, no cultivator, let alone a swordsman from the East Sea, would refuse it.

Although the Sword Palace stands between heaven and earth in the East Sea, it is not that they alone have monopolized the sword. Mystic, Buddhist, demon, monster, and scholar, which family does not have the method of using the sword?

Therefore, once such a thing appears in the world, it is immediately sought after, especially by the wealthy and powerful East Sea Sword Palace. The elderly members there, who are obsessed with swords, use every means at their disposal, either crossing the void to fight against thousands of heavenly demons or offering a high reward, specifically requesting this kind of sword material.

I never expected that Donghai Yun Shen Bu Zhi Chu would produce something like this when it does.

Just look at this six-foot-long piece; if you're careful, you could probably make two or three swords out of it. If that's not a grand gesture, what is?
The Yin-Yang Dharma King was somewhat tempted by his own appearance. He wondered how many foxes were still in the Cloud Recesses, otherwise his reincarnated self could have gone there to become a live-in son-in-law.

"Your Cloud Recesses is considered a renowned family for weapon crafting, why don't you just send over a few swords?"

The Yin-Yang Dharma King reached out to touch the Nine Heavens Ice Meteorite, but the little fox slapped his hand away.

"Does it have anything to do with you?"

"No, no, I was just asking."

The Yin-Yang Dharma King didn't say much, just marveled at the Nine Heavens Ice Meteorite.

The little fox placed the Nine Heavens Ice Meteorite on the bookshelf, then took out a small jade pendant from its sleeve. The pendant was entirely purple and carved with a dragon devouring its own tail.

"It's made of warm jade. Wearing it can dispel inner demons and prevent many heretical demons from spying on you when you travel through the outer void." She carefully fastened the jade pendant for Su Che.

"Refining this doesn't require much effort, but the Wen Yang Jade is nowhere to be found now..."

"It's almost completely destroyed by those demonic brats."

The Yin-Yang Dharma King stood beside Su Che, marveling at the jade pendant.

Wen Yang Jade was not once considered a rare item, but because it could dispel inner demons, it met with misfortune not long after the Demonic Sect was founded.

On one hand, cultivators were scrambling to find and wear the Wen Yang Jade; on the other hand, demonic cultivators were wreaking havoc.

After all, this kind of thing is the biggest obstacle to the progress of the demonic cultivators. Although the warm Yang jade cannot completely prevent people from being corrupted by demons, it greatly increases the difficulty for them to corrupt others.

The result of these two factors combined is that Wenyang jade has become extremely rare.

"The jade pendant has a spell written by a master of the Shenxiao Dao sect, which can ward off lightning and fire disasters."

The little fox looked at Su Che's waist with satisfaction. The purple jade pendant looked very pleasing to the eye and had an air of nobility.

"Here, there's also this."

The little fox produced a dark robe from who-knows-where, seemingly made of dark silk with a faint golden sheen. She draped the robe over Su Che, who immediately felt a cool sensation spreading through his heart.

"Jing Yunyi?"

The Yin-Yang Dharma King stepped forward and stroked the long robe on Su Che's body. He carefully examined the faint patterns on the robe. The robe appeared to be completely unsewn, but upon closer inspection, there seemed to be many fleeting cloud and thunder patterns inside.

The Cloud Recesses of the East Sea is a world-renowned holy land for weapon forging, where foxes spend their days tinkering with the Zhongzhonglu weapon forging method that has been passed down since ancient times.

There are countless sects specializing in weapon crafting throughout the world, but if the foxes of Cloud Recesses possess any unique skill, it must be Jing Yunyi before them. These foxes raise a strange insect that feeds on the clouds in the sky, swallowing the clouds and then spinning silk. This silk is extremely tough and impervious to water, fire, and weapons.

The silk spun by these strange insects varies depending on the time they have been feeding on clouds. The most common silk on the market is the so-called ten-year silk and five-year silk, which means that the silk spun by these strange insects after they have consumed clouds for ten or five years.

However, the item in Su Che's hand was clearly not one of those ordinary items; it was probably not the legendary century-old silk.

The Yin-Yang Dharma King had heard that the strange insects in the Cloud Recesses of the East Sea were quite delicate. Those that could hold their breath for ten years without spinning silk were rare and of the highest quality, while those that could spin silk once every fifty years were extremely rare.

As for the century-old silk, it is extremely rare, but with the resources of Cloud Recesses, it is still possible to extract some.

Back when the ancient Heavenly Court had not yet perished, the Yin-Yang Dharma King heard that these foxes were preparing to create a cloud-patterned robe made of millennium silk. He wondered if they had succeeded in doing so after all these years.

"These are the most famous Jingyun Robes from my Cloud Recesses." The little fox seemed quite satisfied with the Yin-Yang Dharma King's expertise. She nodded and continued, "These are all top-grade items that have absorbed a hundred years of cloud light. With your current cultivation level, if you wear them, even an ordinary Void Step cultivator wouldn't be able to break through their defenses."

"Why wasn't a formation added?"

Besides being extremely tough and providing excellent defense when refined into a magical artifact, the most important characteristic of Jingyunyi is that it is formed from the condensation of heaven and earth clouds, creating its own aura. It can be used as a base to set up formations on top of the garment, essentially allowing one to walk around wearing a magical array.

It has many uses, whether for self-defense or for killing enemies.

However, looking at the Jingyun Robe before him, the Yin-Yang Dharma King could tell that it had been refined, but it only had defensive capabilities; the most famous personal magic array was nowhere to be seen.

Could it be that these foxes are getting worse and worse, even losing the skills passed down from their ancestors?
“My elders said that since you are a disciple of Huang Tiandao, it would be best if Huang Tiandao were to handle the various formations on this robe. Mo Jiaoyu of Huang Tiandao comes from my Cloud Recesses, so I will ask her to take a look at how to arrange it.”

What does it mean to be considerate? This is what it means to be considerate.

Looking at the Jingyun robe, the Yin-Yang Dharma King felt that even if he married into the Cloud Recesses and became a live-in son-in-law, it wouldn't be a bad deal.

As long as he receives the same treatment as this young Su, that's fine.

"Little fox, do you have any unmarried sisters, nieces, or cousins?"

The Yin-Yang Dharma King shamelessly asked a question, only to be met with a glare from the little fox.

The little fox then took out a small, exquisite purple-gold gourd, which she shook gently, making a tinkling sound inside.

"This is a batch of Pure Flower Wonderful Response Pills. Cultivators who consume it can extend their lifespan by ten years, while ordinary people who consume it can increase their lifespan by thirty years."

“Young lady, these gifts are far too valuable. Please forgive me for not daring to accept them.”

The sword forged from the Nine Heavens Ice Meteorite is a deadly weapon for slaying enemies and vanquishing demons. The Warm Sun Jade Pendant possesses unique abilities, capable of warding off inner demons. The Jingyun Robe is a treasure for resisting external calamities.

The three items sent by Cloud Recesses were indeed the result of considerable thought. As for the gourd of longevity pills, if used correctly, their effects would go far beyond simply extending one's lifespan by a few years.

For example, it can be used to win people's hearts and minds, or as leverage in certain key transactions.

Ordinary people can extend their lifespan by thirty years, while cultivators can extend it by ten years. Such a thing is truly an extremely rare elixir in this Central Plains.

Su Che had been living a life of luxury, and when he saw what Yun Shen Bu Zhi Chu brought out, he could only exclaim that it was truly a grand gesture. No wonder even an old master like Yin Yang Fa Wang had been tempted by worldly desires and started to speak recklessly.

Upon hearing Su San Gongzi's reply, Yin Yang Fa Wang rolled his eyes, thinking to himself, "They've already offered such a price, why are you still pretending? Just take it all."

However, the little fox didn't seem offended at all, as if she had expected Su Che's reaction. She gently pulled Su Che's hand and began to mutter.

"It's okay, let me tell you about what happened between us before."

In the little fox's narration, her encounter with Su Che was as follows.

After his disappointment in Jiankang, Su Che stumbled and staggered to Cizhou, a place he knew nothing about. The only page he brought with him was a spy left behind by Bailudong, thanks to the discerning eye of the Third Young Master Su.

At that time, in Shanyin County, the wealthy families were all ruthless and greedy, and in the shadows, there was also the Xuanshan Old Monster, also known as the Old Lion, stirring up trouble.

At this critical moment, the little fox, like a fairy descending from the heavens, slowly walked out and immediately took a liking to Su Che, who was in danger, and provided him with all-round, multi-faceted, and thorough assistance.

First, he decisively eliminated the spies planted by Bailudong. Then, he followed Su Che through several life-and-death situations in Xuanshan, finally helping Su San Gongzi to become a disciple of Huangtiandao and turn his life around.

As for the mission in the Zhongshan Society, the two cooperated seamlessly, and could be said to be fellow travelers on the path of cultivation and good confidants on the path of love.

The many details that unfold are so poignant that they would break one's heart and bring tears to the eyes of anyone who hears them. No one would dare say that their love was stronger than gold; their hearts must be made of clay.

Even the Yin-Yang Dharma King, a seasoned veteran who had seen it all, was initially skeptical, but later became completely engrossed and hoped the little fox would say a few more words.

Su Che was completely bewildered.

If I didn't actually remember how I first met the little fox, how I tied her up, and how I met the big white fox in Xuan Mountain...

We really should believe the little fox's tales.

They had planned everything perfectly, but they made one wrong move.

Su Che glanced at the disappointing Yin Yang Dharma King beside him; the current situation could be described as a dilemma.

If he refuted the little fox, it would mean that he had not lost his memory and was morally guilty.

If he didn't refute the little fox, he would be confirming the fact that she was incredibly devoted to him.

It's truly a situation where advancing is worrisome, and retreating is also worrisome.

This little fox used to be so innocent. What did it learn after returning to the East Sea?
(End of this chapter)