The Wang estate was bustling last night, but tonight, it's eerily quiet.
Having received Ling Xiaoyue's instructions, everyone in the Wang family retreated to their rooms, not to come out regardless of any noises they heard, to avoid accidental injury.
Ling Xiaoyue and Fang Zhou stayed in Wang Minghong's courtyard, waiting for that fox demon to return.
According to Ling Xiaoyue, Wang Minghong still had a vestige of male essence within him, which the fox demon wouldn't pass up. It might have been playful before, not in a rush to harvest it, but after getting shot in the face by Ling Xiaoyue last night, it would surely come back to absorb the last bit of yang energy and take its revenge on the two.
Ling Xiaoyue stayed in the next room, and when Fang Zhou went in, he noticed a thick piece of cured meat on the table that seemed to have just been brought over by the butler.
"What's this?"
Fang Zhou picked up the cured meat, feeling that its shape was a bit ominous.
Ling Xiaoyue was drinking a small jar of wine and replied, "That's Yue Ya'er's horsewhip. I specifically asked the butler to keep the horsewhip and then used a secret technique to stew it into this cured meat. It's very nourishing. You're in luck, disciple."
Fang Zhou: "..."
He tossed the horsewhip back at Ling Xiaoyue, who caught it smoothly and tossed it back: "Keep it for me, this is good stuff, I'm not lying. Now go back and watch over Young Master Wang."
Fang Zhou glared at her fiercely, turned, and went back to Wang Minghong's room. Wang Minghong couldn't afford any mishaps tonight; otherwise, it would be hard to explain to Wang Fulai, especially after taking so much money from him.
With nothing else to do, Fang Zhou began to cultivate and summoned Hu Lai's left hand, practicing control while cultivating to improve his proficiency.
Lately, he would take out Hu Lai's left hand whenever he was free and play with it, significantly increasing his proficiency. Although he couldn't say it was as natural as moving his own limb, at least he could hit wherever he aimed, not ending up hitting the chest when aiming at the head.
He added the 1 point of manly fortitude he got from Wang Minghong to his strength, boosting it a little.
He opened the system panel.
Name: Fang Zhou
Realm: Qi Refining Realm (entry-level)
Cultivation Method: New Moon Qi
Skills: Illusion Technique, Hu Lai's Left Hand
Strength: 4
Speed: 5
Constitution: 4
Spirit: 2
Manly Fortitude: 0
His attributes now were much better than when he first transmigrated, comparable to an ordinary disciple of Xuanji Sect who doesn't merit a name.
However, he was still far behind Li Ruyu, not to mention Ling Xiaoyue.
He still needed to work hard. He didn't aim to dominate the world but at least had to overcome Ling Xiaoyue, so as not to be constantly looked down on by this shameless person acting as if she was his master who could fleece him at will.
Fang Zhou was cross-legged cultivating in the room, while the courtyard outside was silent, with the occasional reminder from outside the Wang estate, "Dry weather, be careful with candles."
Time passed, and suddenly a wind began to howl in the yard, sounding like the wails of ghosts.
Fang Zhou, who was in the midst of cultivation, opened his eyes and glanced at the candle on the table; it had burned halfway down.
Had the fox demon arrived?
Fang Zhou stood up, and turning his head, he saw Wang Minghong hiding beneath the blankets, shivering with fear: "It's here! It's here!"
Seems he's quite experienced.
The wind outside grew stronger, rustling the flowers and trees.
"Eh? Quite a few are here, disciple, stay with Young Master Wang and don't wander off, your master will be right back."
Ling Xiaoyue's voice came from next door, but she was already outside in the courtyard, gone without a trace.
As Ling Xiaoyue left, the fierce wind outside suddenly died down, returning to quiet.
Fang Zhou really wanted to go out and join the excitement, but he thought better of it, not wanting to be stolen away by someone.
He sat down again, but before long, the sound of the wind picked up outside again, this time accompanied by faint laughter.
"Hong'er... Hong'er... Hong'er..."
The chilling screams followed one after another, like the howling of ghosts; Wang Minghong in the bed was already shaking like a sieve, unable to utter a single word.
Fang Zhou abruptly stood up, his face solemn.
What is Ling Xiaoyue up to, how did the demon fox get here?
The sound of the wind outside grew louder and louder, blowing the doors and windows until they could no longer withstand the pressure and burst open with a bang.
The cold wind poured in from the doorway, snuffing out the candles, and the entire room was plunged into darkness in an instant.
A burst of red light shot in from outside the door, heading straight for Fang Zhou.
Fang Zhou, already on guard and with reflexes far better than before, controlled Hu Lai's left hand and threw a punch directly at the red light.
"Slap!"
It sounded like hitting a balloon as the red light was punched and sent flying backward.
[Triggered new mission - Defeat the fox demon]
[Difficulty: Ordinary]
[Reward: Male Fortitude*4 Blue Card*1]
[Failure: Death]
Seeing Hu Lai's left hand was effective, Fang Zhou felt greatly relieved, grabbed a weapon at hand, and charged out of the room into the courtyard.
After being punched out of the room, the demon fox spun around in the courtyard and then pounced towards Fang Zhou again.
Fang Zhou controlled Hu Lai's left hand and slashed down at the demon fox's head.
The left hand caused a sharp whistle through the air as it attacked; although the demon fox couldn't see it, it could sense it and agilely dodged in mid-air.
However, Fang Zhou had another move ready, drawing his sword to thrust at it.
Wait, why does the feel of this not seem right?!
Fang Zhou looked down and to his shock realized that what he had grabbed was not the longsword, but the horsewhip that had been placed alongside the longsword.
"Ling Xiaoyue, you backstabber!!"
Fang Zhou cursed in his heart, his action too late to stop; holding the horsewhip, he stabbed at the demon fox.
He had braced himself for the whip to break and himself to be injured, but unexpectedly when the demon fox was hit by the horsewhip, it let out a sharp cry and suddenly flew away.
What's going on?
Fang Zhou looked dumbfounded as he drew back the horsewhip, wondering if this thing actually had exorcising powers.
The demon fox flew to the other side of the courtyard, landed on the ground, the red light faded away, revealing a seductive beauty.
Fang Zhou eyed the fox demon suspiciously, sizing it up and down several times, then suddenly asked, "Are you male?"
The demon fox was greatly startled; it clearly had the appearance of a woman, so why was it seen through?
Seemingly realizing something, the demon fox said angrily, "Did Hong'er tell you?!"
Fang Zhou felt a chill but also sensed something was amiss and hurriedly threw an illusion at the demon fox.
The demon fox's gaze became vacant for a moment, then rapidly returned to normal, its eyes showing a fierce light as it lunged straight for Fang Zhou.
"The illusion doesn't work?"
Fang Zhou was shocked; could it be that the demon fox's spiritual resistance could directly neutralize his illusion.
He hastily threw two more illusions, but they were still ineffective, and he could only engage with the demon fox in battle with the horsewhip.
.......
A young novice monk peeked over the wall and looked into the courtyard.
He saw that guy with a face he was jealous of; they were the same age, so why could you be so handsome, while I could only rely on my temperament?
It wasn't just Fang Zhou; the young novice monk also spotted another seductive beauty. Just one look, and the young novice felt as if his soul was about to be hooked away.
Fortunately, the young novice monk was quite composed thanks to traveling around the south with his master, and quickly came back to his senses, realizing that this beauty was probably the fox demon.
However, the situation between Fang Zhou and the fox demon was strange; man and demon faced each other, neither moving nor speaking, both wearing similarly dazed expressions.