The spirit hunter bowed to her. There was a polite, almost deferential quality to him - not something she would have expected of someone on the hunt, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “Fellow cultivator,” he said, “this humble daoist is Bao Sheng. Me and my fellow cultivators are on the hunt for a dangerous spirit.”

A spirit?

The gears spun in her mind, thinking of what she had seen. The dog was still barking at his feet, and she bent down, sneaking her hand behind its ears faster than it could react to give it a scratch. The dog shut its mouth, and spun its head to try to sniff at her hand curiously, but she was moving too quickly for it to properly react, sneaking in scratches here and there.

That it let her turn away from the others was a nice bonus.

“Hmm,” Qian Shanyi said slowly, still playing with the dog, “I am Qian Shanyi. I wish you the luck to rival the Heavens in your search.”

“This here spirit hunter thanks you. There is just one matter -”

“I am afraid I can't offer my help.” She glanced up at Bao Sheng, interrupting him. There was a pained expression on his face from seeing her play with his dog - no doubt it wasn’t supposed to get distracted while at work. Her guess that he wouldn’t actually voice his disagreement was spot on. Rui Bao watched her with detached amusement, corners of his eyes wrinkling a bit when they shared a look. Jian Shizhe looked about as haughty as usual. “Salt and ash upon my head, but I am...preoccupied.”

“Fellow cultivator, that is not -”

“Unless the crisis act had been invoked?”

“It had not been. Fellow cultivator, please, we simply need -”

She sighed tragically. “If it had, I would have of course lent my aid. Even though I am still recovering from my terrible, terrible wounds.”

“I wish you the best of health,” Bao Sheng said, “However -”

“Shanyi, we are hunting a kitsune,” Jian Shizhe interrupted the two of them. “The dog indicates it entered your room. We humbly request to search it for traces.”

Qian Shanyi's eyebrows flew up entirely on their own accord. A kitsune?

When Bao Sheng mentioned a spirit, she thought Linghui Mei was simply a witness, knew where it was hiding, or perhaps carried it on her body, if it was small enough. But a kitsune… Her thoughts flashed back to what she said. If this was true, Qian Shanyi came awfully close to an incredibly painful death, or at least being crippled for life.

Damnable Heavens.

The dog used her brief distraction to flee, quickly climbing up Bao Sheng’s robes and onto his shoulder. His hand came up with a treat from a small bag at his side, seemingly with no thought given to it, and the dog busied itself with a biscuit.

“You think there is a kitsune in our room?” Qian Shanyi said, giving Jian Shizhe her best baffled look. “I might as well pluck out my eyes then, for they clearly serve no purpose, if I have managed to miss it.

How did Linghui Mei even manage it? Her spiritual energy was identical to that of an ordinary person. There wasn't even a single word about kitsune being able to do this in the books.

Bao Sheng threw a dirty look to Jian Shizhe, motioning with a hand for him to step back. The two crossed stares like swords, barely caged fury in Jian Shizhe’s eyes clashing with the slight glint of Bao Sheng’s glasses.

Hm. Something to exploit, perhaps.

“Jian’s nose is not that reliable,” Bao Sheng said, and Qian Shanyi had to force her face to remain impassive at the sudden image of Jian Shizhe with dog ears and a collar. “This kitsune had already tricked us with her scent in the past. It will not do so again.”

There was a sharp tone to his voice, far more than anything he said before. This wasn’t just about his job, or saving people from a kitsune - there was something personal.

Jian Shizhe motioned to her door, not baking down. “The dog is snarling at the room. This is more than it did when we found that merchant unconscious!”

“Honorable cultivator, do you question my judgment?”

Jian Shizhe pursed his lips, but finally bowed his head, and stepped back further. Bao Sheng turned back to Qian Shanyi. “I apologize for this indiscretion,” he said, “The protocol dictates that we search all the rooms one by one. We must humbly ask for your assistance.”

Qian Shanyi glanced back, pretending to look over their room. Where in netherworld’s name was Wang Yonghao? Every second here was four point six seconds inside the world fragment, and several minutes had already passed since he went in. She very much doubted he was dead, but if he managed to get himself knocked out, she would have a hard time explaining how he managed to simply vanish from their room. How long did it take to convince one woman to stay put?

One kitsune, she corrected herself. How did it manage to hide so well? She was starting to wonder if Linghui Mei's account of the events was correct, and she really was just an ordinary person fleeing unjust persecution, as opposed to a spirit that preyed on all sentient life.

“Our room is a little... Unkept, at this moment,” she said, deciding to stall some more. There was a clock in the world fragment - if Wang Yonghao did get knocked out, he should have enough sense to avoid coming out until the night fell in full. “I would never live down the embarrassment of inviting fellow cultivators in. Perhaps if you could come a bit later? Give me a bit of time to clean up?”

She saw a pained crease form on Bao Sheng’s forehead, but he bowed his head all the same. “Of course,” he said, “Would it suffice -”

“No,” Jian Shizhe snapped, “Shanyi, step aside.”

Bao Sheng slowly exhaled, and turned to glare at the other man. To his credit, not even a wrinkle appeared on his spiritual shield, despite his emotion. “Honorable cultivator Jian Shizhe,” he said, “I humbly request that you allow me to decide, as is your obligation, by imperial law.”

“This is ridiculous,” Jian Shizhe said, “The protocol is to search every room, the dog is snarling at theirs, and you want to simply move on?”

“Jian's nose is not reliable. We will search the remaining rooms first, to give fellow cultivator Qian time.”

“Time for the kitsune to flee?”

Bao Sheng’s fist clenched and unclenched over the pommel of his sword. “It will not flee. My partner will see it.”

Jian Shizhe shook his head. “No. We can't take the risk.” He motioned to her door once again. “This is our best trace so far. We have to take it.”

“Honorable cultivator Jian, I once again remind you that you are choosing to assist me,” Bao Sheng said, turning around to head to the next door down the corridor. “I will not have us disturb the propriety of a fellow cultivator. Now follow.”

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“Then I am no longer assisting,” Jian Shizhe said, making a cutting motion with his hand.

“Don’t be stupid,” Rui Bao said, finally speaking up. “Do you think you know more than the spirit hunter?”

“To cultivate is to rebel against the heavens,” Jian Shizhe said through clenched teeth, “not waste time on propriety when human lives are at stake.”

“If that is your belief, darling,” Rui Bao said playfully, leaving the two of them alone.

Jian Shizhe turned back to her. “Shanyi, step aside,” he said.

Qian Shanyi narrowed her eyes at him. The slight was not so great, and not altogether inappropriate after they went through the tribulation together, but…

“Have you married into my family without me knowing?” she said coldly, “I do not recall us becoming friends, nor letting you call me by my birth name.”

Jian Shizhe clenched his teeth, his Adam's apple moving as he swallowed his objections. “Honorable cultivator Qian,” he said, emphasizing her name, “I humbly request that you step aside.”

“No. You have no right to demand this.”

“This is a kitsune. Ordinary people will die if we do not kill it. It is the duty of every cultivator -”

“Are these people in my room?” she interrupted him sharply.

“These people -”

“Are these people in my room?”

Jian Shizhe’s glare could have burned a hole straight through her skull, if it wasn’t matched by an equally fiery one of her own. “No.”

“Perhaps I have missed an entrance to some secret realm within my fireplace?” She said, not giving him a chance to continue speaking. “Is that where these people are?”

“No. They are -“

“If they are not here, you have no business with me,” she said, moving to close the door entirely. “Now leave.”

Jian Shizhe put his hand on her door, stopping it. “Shanyi, you are wasting time -”

“Do you intend to insult me, Jian?” She said, letting fury flow freely through her tone. Who did he think he was? She knew he was pampered, but this was crossing all lines. “I expected the young master of the Northern Scarlet Stream sect to know better.”

Jian Shizhe closed his eyes, breathing deeply, but still kept the door from closing. “I beg for your understanding, honorable cultivator Qian, but -”

“You will have none,” she cut him off, “If you intend to find this kitsune, then go and do so. This has nothing to do with me.”

“Where is Wang Yonghao?”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “What purpose do you have with him?”

“Tell me where he is.”

“Tell me what is your purpose with him.”

“To speak with him.”

“You can speak to me.”

“I need to speak to him so that he could make you stop this foolishness!” Jian Shizhe said, his tone just below a shout.

Shanyi circulated the Crushing Glance of the Netherworld Eyes, making her eyes flash dangerously. “Make me? Whatever do you mean by that?”

“He is your man, for all that you do not act like it,” he said, quieter this time, “If you won't listen to reason, then perhaps you will follow the words of your husband.”

Qian Shanyi slowly drew in a long breath. Of course this is what it always came down to, once some idiot started to lose the fucking argument. Not even remotely surprising, especially coming from someone who wore the dress of ages long past.

And he still kept his fucking hand on the damnable door. She wanted to punch his teeth in so damn much.

One of her many plans for establishing their sect floated to the top of her mind. It called for her to duel this drooling imbecile. Ordinarily too risky to try, but if he wanted to push for it himself - so be it. All that was left was to get him to challenge her, so that she could dictate the terms.

If he had more than half a brain, this would have taken even the slightest amount of effort.

“If you do not wish to hear a woman speaking,” she said, clamping down on her fury and speaking gently, as if to a child, ”then why do you open your mouth?”

She heard Rui Bao choke from all the way down the corridor, and his steps headed in their direction, but he'd be too late by far. Even if he had a thunder step technique, he couldn't compete with the swiftness of her tongue.

"What?" Jian Shizhe said slowly, fury coming back into his tone with a vengeance.

She tilted her head, putting on her most innocently curious face. “A eunuch then?” she said, ”It is always hard to tell with you northerners.”

“You dare?!”

She blinked in mock confusion. “Have I caused offense?” she said. ”I was merely curious. It is just the way you speak, the pitch of your voice - well. Hardly the most masculine ones I have ever heard.”

This was a blatant lie, his voice was perfectly average. Jian Shizhe's face was turning crimson, complimenting his purple clothing. Rui Bao hurried to them faster, and her eyes met his for a moment. There was more than a bit of panic in them. He made a cutting motion across his neck, telling her to shut up.

She rolled her eyes at him.

She heard cautious steps behind her, and felt Wang Yonghao finally deign to leave the spiritual energy gathering formation. Well, there was no way to stop this runaway cart now. She focused back on Jian Shizhe. "No matter,” she said sharply, “Either challenge me to a duel or shut up. You have wasted enough of my time as it is."

She stepped back and kicked the door hard enough to slam it shut, even despite Jian Shizhe’s added weight on the other end, but his fist rammed into it at the same time, keeping it open. Her ribs whined in protest. The wood croaked from the impact, a long crack passing through the middle of the door. Rui Bao's entire body cringed as he arrived at their side. "Shizhe, remember -" he said.

"CULTIVATOR QIAN SHANYI," Jian Shizhe roared, "ON MY HONOR, I WILL HAVE SATISFACTION OF A DUEL, OR I AM NOT JIAN SHIZHE!"

“I accept,” she said easily, ignoring the simultaneous swears from Rui Bao and Wang Yonghao. “At the central square, on the fourth day from now, just before noon.”

Wang Yonghao’s hand came down on her shoulder, and yanked her away from the door. She didn’t resist. Rui Bao did much the same with Jian Shizhe.

“Fellow cultivators,” Wang Yonghao said through clenched teeth, “may I have some time to speak to my partner alone? We have much to discuss.”

Rui Bao nodded, and Wang Yonghao slammed the door closed, locked it from the inside, and leaned against it, looking exhausted. There were several red lines crossing his face, as if some vicious fairy raked her nails across his skin.

Or claws.

Qian Shanyi turned around and walked into their muffling formation. Wang Yonghao followed after her silently. “What were you thinking?!” he started shouting as soon as they crossed the boundary.

So uncivilized.

“Linghui Mei is a kitsune,” she said idly, ignoring the question.

He glared at her, pointing towards his face. One of the marks passed just millimeters away from his right eye. “Yeah, I noticed.”

“What were you doing down there so long?”

“Waiting for a healing pill to take effect,” he said, “I couldn’t come out with bloody claw marks all across my face.”

She nodded. “Good thinking,” she said, ”Well, open up your world fragment - let’s go talk to the fox. I’ve bought us a good ten minutes of peace.”

“Thanks - no! Stop distracting me!” He pointed an accusatory finger at her. “How could you challenge him to a duel?!”

“He challenged me.”

“Don’t pretend you didn’t do this. Are you insane?!”

She gave him a flat look. You would think she’d deserve a little bit more respect. “The imbecile was doing his hardest to barge into our room after I explicitly told him to leave,” she said calmly. “Setting aside the question of what possessed him to think this was remotely acceptable - my reputation would have been ruined if I simply allowed it. I would have had to duel him either way, and this way I get to dictate the terms. Besides, I have a plan.”

Wang Yonghao covered his face with his hands. “Shanyi. Please. Please tell me you didn’t do it just to save face.”

“Face?” Qian Shanyi scoffed. “Please. I didn’t do it for the face. I did it for the taxes.”