Chapter 71: The Language Teacher Is Dead

“You insolent mortal! I am the Dragon King of Qiantang—release me at once!” Xin Eighth Sister, courting disaster, declared herself the Dragon King the moment she spoke. Fourteenth Sister, standing anxiously to the side, was at a loss for what to do.

She had left home partly because she disliked her family’s ways, but also for Shen Shi’s sake. She knew her family well; sooner or later, they would set their sights on Shen Shi. Her return was both an act of rebellion and a gesture of gratitude—a resolve to shield Shen Shi from her sisters’ meddling. Yet she never expected that before she even discovered Eighth Sister trailing her, Eighth Sister would already fall into Shen Shi’s hands.

“Dragon King? All I see is the miasma of a demon and a heavy weight of karma upon you.”

“Sir, does my Eighth Sister truly carry karma?” Fourteenth Sister asked anxiously. After all, that was still her sister.

Shen Shi nodded. “Yes, she does.”

“Fourteenth, little Fourteenth, is that you? Come, beg him for mercy—have him let me go!” Eighth Sister, hearing her younger sister’s voice, hurriedly pleaded.

Fourteenth Sister did not answer, instead looking to Shen Shi.

Shen Shi glanced at the subtitles beneath the alchemical furnace and shook his head. “Since she’s come for me, the threads of fate are already tied; I cannot release her so easily.”

The subtitles informed him that the fox demon in the furnace had come in pursuit of immortality. As Fourteenth Sister’s elder sibling, perhaps she could not be slain, but a lesson was necessary. Such boldness—to masquerade as the Dragon King! Shen Shi was not eager to have a demon bear him a grudge and strike from the shadows. Moreover, this was something Fourteenth Sister could not do, but he could.

“Ah! Fate? There is no fate, no such thing! I harbored no malice—please, Daoist brother, let me out. The kindness of today’s wine shall be repaid tenfold in the days to come.”

“Sir, do not trust her,” Fourteenth Sister could not help but interject.

Wine? Fourteenth Sister was exasperated with her Eighth Sister. Was it truly for wine that she came? No, it must have been for the scholar’s vital essence! She wanted to tell Shen Shi the truth, yet feared he would be angered and act too harshly. She was torn.

Ah, if only it had been one of my other sisters.

“How clever you are, always dodging the important questions,” Shen Shi observed, shaking his head. The subtitles told him clearly why she had come; whether she harbored ill intent or not, as a cultivator, he could sense it—and in his eyes, her malice was so plain it had become visible text.

“I cannot take your word for it, especially when you carry such karma. Since you have fallen into my hands, this is your tribulation. Whether you meant harm or not, I cannot let you go.”

Shen Shi played his part well; at least, Eighth Sister noticed nothing amiss. Entering the world of cultivation was much like joining the bureaucracy—upon encountering a demon steeped in karma, it was one’s duty to mete out punishment. Upholding righteousness and expelling evil was no empty phrase. Would a Daoist ever need an extra reason to exorcise a demon?

Confined within the furnace, Eighth Sister could not see outside, but she could hear the rustling noises. Alarmed, she demanded, “What are you doing?”

Shen Shi laughed. “Oh, nothing. Aren’t you the Dragon King? As the heir to the Celestial Mystery Sect, I have never refined a pill—what a disgrace to my teachers. Today, let’s begin with you!”

Eighth Sister paled in terror. She had no desire to be turned into an elixir. She struggled desperately inside the furnace, but to no avail, and at last, she cried out pitifully, “If you let me go, I would gladly remain by your side and serve you.”

“Don’t listen to her, sir. She’s still up to no good!” Fourteenth Sister, flustered and embarrassed by her sister’s words, turned red with shame and anger.

How mortifying! How utterly shameful!

“You greedy brat! I knew you wanted to keep everything for yourself. I am your elder sister—let me have a taste. I swear I won’t harm him!”

Am I some sort of delicacy to be tasted? To ‘use up’? They truly underestimate me.

“Ahem—let me ask you, why have you crossed into the mortal realm?”

Fox spirits were far too shameless; their words bordered on the unbearable. To prevent her from saying anything even more outrageous, Shen Shi cut her off.

Eighth Sister stammered, “We… we just wanted a change of scenery after long years of cultivation, nothing more…”

“Hmph, do you take me for a child of three? Such a flimsy lie, and you expect me to believe it? Humans have their world, demons theirs—each follows its own way.” Shen Shi sneered. “You must have learned something, or you would never dare masquerade as the Dragon King.”

“Eighth Sister, is that true? Why didn’t you ever tell me?” Fourteenth Sister pressed for answers.

Eighth Sister’s heart skipped a beat. She cursed her luck at having run into such a difficult man—he had guessed nearly the whole truth about her masquerade. Now, having hidden herself in the alchemical furnace, she had no escape and could only await his judgment.

But the secret behind pretending to be the Dragon King was too important. Clinging to hope, she refused to confess, instead rambling about all manner of celestial secrets, even how their father once stole scriptures (without saying from whom), hoping to distract Shen Shi. Yet he remained unmoved, feeding the fire beneath the furnace ever higher.

Before long, the temperature within the furnace began to climb. Though Eighth Sister cultivated the Water Dragon method, her true form was that of a fox, not a dragon. The furnace, a magical artifact, was designed to purge impurity and extract essence. In a short while, all her spiritual energy was depleted. With the flames assaulting her, she could endure no longer and cried out, “No more, no more—I’ll talk, I’ll talk…”

Shen Shi’s hands did not pause. Casting a glance at Fourteenth Sister, he said coldly, “Speak.”

Eighth Sister, now helpless, had no choice but to confess all.

They were of the Qingqiu clan. Since obtaining a Daoist scripture, they had devoted themselves to cultivation.

But they were foxes, not humans. Many things eluded their understanding, and their progress was muddled and uncertain.

Then, one day, they rescued a scholar. Through him, they learned what had been missing from their practice—scholarly essence.

“What about the dragon, then?” Shen Shi pressed.

“This… this…” Eighth Sister hesitated again.

“What is it? Out with it!” Shen Shi demanded.

“If you must know, I’ll tell you. At first, we didn’t understand what this ‘scholarly essence’ meant. So, the eight of us sisters each chose a different interpretation. I chose the dragon.”

At this, Eighth Sister grew indignant. “Cursed mortals, always inventing new terms! ‘Scholarly essence’—as if it were so mysterious!”

To think she mistook a scholar’s essence for a dragon! What a peculiar leap of logic. Her language teacher must have died of exasperation.

“Well, now you know. Let me out quickly!” Having recounted her blunder, Eighth Sister pleaded at once. She was most uncomfortable within the furnace.

“One last question—what became of that scholar?” Shen Shi doused the fire, and Fourteenth Sister suddenly asked.