Extra · Yan Huaqing x Bai Qiuyue
After everything had finally settled, Feng Qi and Ji Chaoyun made another trip to Qingqiu.
After the war ended, the Heavenly Fox Clan was able to return to its homeland. Following discussion among the clan, they decided to temporarily seal Qingqiu’s entrances so they could recuperate in peace. Feng Qi and Ji Chaoyun arrived before Qingqiu closed itself off, naturally to fulfill the final request left behind by the Demon Venerable.
“Divine Lord, Young Master, please rest assured. The clan has agreed to keep the former Clan Leader’s inner core. I will take good care of it from now on.” The young fox Ah-Li held the brocade box containing Bai Qiuyue’s inner core. He looked at the two before him, seeming hesitant to speak. “It’s just...”
Feng Qi said, “Don’t worry. I’ve already examined this inner core. Since Yan Huaqing’s death, every trace of demonic qi upon it has disappeared. You only need to find a cave somewhere in Qingqiu and place the inner core there, allowing it to absorb the spiritual qi of heaven and earth on its own. If fate permits, then given enough time, it may gather a spirit and be reborn.”
“Ah-Li, we don’t mean to force you,” Ji Chaoyun said. “If you’re unwilling, we won’t make things difficult for you.”
“No... I’m not unwilling.” Ah Li said, “The Clan Leader was bewitched by the demons and nearly committed a grave mistake. Since there’s still a chance for him to turn back, we’ll save him. I just don’t quite understand... Young Master, after everything the Clan Leader did to you, why are you still willing to save him?”
Feng Qi chuckled softly and shook his head toward Ji Chaoyun. “What can I do? Someone here insists on repaying wrongs with kindness. There’s no talking him out of it.”
Ji Chaoyun glanced at him but said nothing.
Ah-Li escorted the two out of Qingqiu. Rather than flying through the air, they found a small, black-canopied boat and left over the water.
Feng Qi gazed toward the distant island when he heard Ji Chaoyun say quietly behind him, “I’m the one repaying wrongs with kindness? I wonder who spent over a hundred years of cultivation gathering together that remnant soul.”
“...” Feng Qi withdrew his gaze and pulled the man behind him into his arms. “Fine, it was me. I’m the one repaying wrongs with kindness, but didn’t you agree to it too?”
Ji Chaoyun gave a quiet hmph.
The little boat drifted farther away until Qingqiu vanished from sight.
Ji Chaoyun said softly, “You understand perfectly well that his chance of gathering a spirit and being reborn isn’t even one in ten thousand. No one knows how many years it might take either. Besides, the half of his soul that belonged to the demons has completely dispersed. Even if he is reborn after gathering a spirit, he won’t remember anything from his former life.”
“I know.” Feng Qi said, “Isn’t that good? Everything can begin anew and return to the path it should have taken.”
“That’s true.” Ji Chaoyun smiled and rubbed his head lightly against Feng Qi’s chest. “Let’s stop by Changyuan Pavilion. I promised the little ones we’d bring pastries back before we left.”
Feng Qi said, “You’re the one craving them, aren’t you?”
“...Mm.”
☁
Bai Qiuyue was born on a late autumn night.
The moonlight that night was cold and clear, spilling over the secluded lands of Qingqiu.
Inside a cave in the rear mountain, a large nine-tailed white fox lay curled upon a stone bed covered in soft blankets, lowering her head to look at the newborn fox in her arms.
The little fox in her arms was so small.
Its eyes had yet to open. Nine tails drooped behind it, its body covered only in sparse white down. Like a tiny white ball of fluff, it lay against its mother’s chest and whimpered softly.
Relief appeared in the white fox’s eyes.
Thank goodness.
The child had finally been born safely.
Ever since the war ended, her old wounds had never healed. Every moment, she had feared that the child would not survive long. Now, at last, she could set her heart at ease.
The large fox and the tiny one nestled together in the quiet cave. The white fox gently licked the kit in her embrace. The little one whimpered softly beneath those tender strokes and finally opened its eyes.
They were crimson.
The white fox froze.
Those were absolutely not the eyes a fox should possess.
The instant the kit opened its eyes, an overwhelmingly powerful demonic aura suddenly poured from its body.
That aura was so familiar, so cold, and so oppressive that the white fox, gravely wounded and weakened from childbirth, could barely breathe beneath it.
The newborn fox tilted its head curiously. Its beautiful red eyes looked at the white fox beside it, as though it could not understand why its mother had suddenly stopped.
It nudged into her embrace, wanting its mother to continue grooming it.
Yet no embrace came.
No gentle grooming followed.
In the next instant, the white fox sank her teeth viciously into its throat.
“...Wu… wu…”
The bite was nearly strong enough to sever its throat. The tiny fox trembled in terror. Its small limbs could not break free of the white fox’s grip, leaving it only able to whimper desperately through suffocation and pain.
The agony in its throat grew sharper. Mist filled the little fox’s eyes, and the light within them gradually dimmed.
Why...?
Why are you doing this to me...?
At that moment, a voice sounded inside its mind.
“Little fox.”
The voice was low and gentle. In that instant, every trace of pain vanished from the little fox’s body.
It opened its eyes in a daze.
In the emptiness before it, a man walked toward it.
“Little fox, don’t be afraid.”
“Wu...”
The little fox struggled to raise its head. It saw the edge of a scarlet robe and the man’s deep, handsome features.
The man smiled at it, his voice gentle. “Do you remember who I am?”
As soon as he spoke, countless shattered memories flooded into the little fox’s mind. With the awakening of that half-soul within its body, memories, emotions, and power all poured into its tiny form.
The little fox finally stopped trembling.
It lifted its head and met those warm eyes from across the distance.
“Do you want to live? Only I can let you live.”
It heard the man speak gently.
“Kill her.”
The white fox still had her jaws clamped tightly around her newborn’s throat, feeling the tiny body in her embrace gradually stop struggling.
She closed her eyes in despair.
She never even noticed the tiny paw that lifted and pressed against the space between her brows.
In the next instant, the spiritual power within her body began draining away at terrifying speed.
She opened her eyes.
At the final moment, just before her spiritual power was completely exhausted, she met the once-again normal dark green eyes of the child in her arms.
That was the last sight she saw before her life ended.
The young master of the Fox Clan had been born. The Clan Leader’s wife died from spiritual exhaustion.
The Heavenly Fox Clan buried the Clan Leader’s wife and immediately named the newborn child their new Clan Leader. They gave him the name Bai Qiuyue and devoted the entire strength of the clan to raising him.
“What’s wrong, my little fox?”
A small white fox sat beside a stream with its head lowered, lost in thought.
The little fox had grown somewhat since birth. Its fur was now fuller, and its nine long tails dragged behind it listlessly.
A figure suddenly appeared on the surface of the water before him.
The little fox startled so badly that the fur along his back stood on end.
“Aowu!”
“Don’t be afraid. It’s me.” Yan Huaqing spoke with great patience, his tone warm. “I saved you. Don’t you remember?”
The little fox blinked and lowered his head toward the water, where he saw that familiar face.
“Remember now?” Yan Huaqing asked. “Today... seems to be the memorial rite for Qingqiu’s former Clan Leader and his wife. Why are you hiding here by yourself?”
The little fox lowered his head. “Wu...”
“You’re saying... you don’t like it there?”
The little fox had not even reached his first full month. Other kits his age should still have been nestled in their mothers’ arms, spoiled and played with. Yet every day, he could only sit alone in an empty room and watch his clansmen bustle about, doing things he did not understand.
He did not understand why those people laughed, why they grieved, or why they came to comfort him.
“Little fox, listen to me.” Yan Huaqing said, “You are not strange. You are simply different from them.”
The little fox raised his eyes toward the stream. “Aowu?”
Yan Huaqing said, “No one in this world understands you. That means you only have me. You don’t need to understand what they are doing. You only need to understand what I want.”
“...Give me your paw, little fox. I’ll show you what I want.”
The little fox obediently stretched out his paw and lightly touched the surface of the water.
Ripples spread across the still stream.
When the little fox opened his eyes again, he was no longer beside the water.
Darkness surrounded him.
At the end of the road, everlasting flames flickered, illuminating a tall figure.
The little fox watched the figure approach, then saw a hand extended toward him.
“Welcome to the Demon Realm.”
“The Demon Realm lies beneath eternal night. Everlasting lamps hang throughout every street and alley. This is where I live. It is called Wujincheng.”
Yan Huaqing carried the little fox through the long streets of Wujincheng. Passing demons bowed to him from time to time, and the frightened little fox buried his head in Yan Huaqing’s arms.
Yan Huaqing smiled and rubbed his head. “Don’t be afraid. They can’t see you.”
The little fox peeked out from the crook of Yan Huaqing’s arm, looking around curiously. “Aowu...”
“Yes, it’s very dark here.”
Yan Huaqing continued, “In ancient times, the Demon Clan once fought against Heaven. After their defeat, they fled and eventually discovered this land, a place filled with inexhaustible demonic qi. Several founding demons sacrificed their own flesh and demonic bones to forge the Demon Realm and protect their people. From then on, the Demon Clan was trapped here and never left again.”
“The demonic qi here sustains the demons’ cultivation and daily life, but these resources are not truly endless. Do you know why?”
The little fox shook his head.
“Because that is how the laws of this world work. Yin and yang, purity and turbidity, were always meant to balance and sustain one another. When the ancient gods lifted the Divine Realm into the heavens for their own protection, pure qi in the world continued increasing, which caused the demonic qi of the Demon Realm to gradually weaken. Tens of millions of years have passed. The Demon Realm has long been approaching collapse.”
“And that is not even the most frightening consequence. When yin and yang fall out of balance, when the world no longer generates turbid qi, pure qi will weaken as well. When that day comes, I fear the Mortal Realm will cease producing enough pure qi for mortals to cultivate, while the Immortal Realm will gradually follow the same path as the Demon Realm.”
The little fox’s eyes widened in surprise.
Yan Huaqing gave a low, mocking laugh. “Those lofty gods who sit high above us may very well know all of this. They simply do not care. They possess the richest resources. Even if pure qi weakens, they can continue drawing it from the Mortal Realm and the Immortal Realm. That alone will sustain them for another several million years.”
“This is a secret I discovered within Wujin Abyss. I have told no one but you.”
The little fox sat on Yan Huaqing’s arm, his face full of childish confusion. “Aowu?”
“You’re asking how to solve it?” Yan Huaqing said, “Truthfully, I don’t know either. I only know that demonic qi is born from turbid qi, and the ancient war among Heaven, the Demon Realm, and the other realms produced immeasurable amounts of turbidity.”
“That is why I started the war.”
“I do not care what happens to the Mortal Realm or the Immortal Realm in the future. But if demonic qi disappears completely, the Demon Realm will cease to exist, and the Demon Clan will face eternal extinction. I will not allow that to happen.”
Yan Huaqing stroked the little fox’s head and asked softly, “You’ll help me, won’t you?”
The little fox looked up at the man’s handsome profile and nodded solemnly.
From the day Yan Huaqing brought the little fox into the Demon Realm, he began training diligently.
Not because of any grand ambition to save the Demon Realm.
It was simply because, from that man, he had felt something unlike anything he had ever known before.
It was the lifelong longing and ambition of the supreme ruler of the Demon Realm.
The little fox possessed exceptional talent. Before even ten years had passed, he could already take human form, far sooner than others of his clan.
Beside a deserted stream, a tiny nine-tailed white fox came racing from the distance.
Soft white fur covered his body. His nine long tails trailed behind him, their tips lifting uncontrollably and betraying their owner’s excitement.
The little fox leaned toward the stream and called softly, “Venerable One, are you there?”
Ripples spread across the water, and Yan Huaqing’s handsome face appeared in the reflection.
“You should be practicing right now. What are you doing here?”
The little fox’s tails wagged even more happily. “I-I can take human form now!”
Yan Huaqing looked faintly surprised.
The little fox hurriedly added, “I came out especially for this. I didn’t tell any of them.”
“...” Yan Huaqing shook his head. “You shouldn’t do this. If someone discovers you, they’ll become suspicious.”
The little fox’s ears drooped. “But... but I wanted you to be the first to see. Can I show you just once? I’ll go back immediately afterward. No one will notice.”
Yan Huaqing asked, “Why do you want me to see first?”
“Because... because...” The little fox did not know how to explain. His tails swayed anxiously behind him. “Because I like you, Venerable One. I wanted you to be the first to see what I look like.”
Yan Huaqing stared at that tiny body through the water and asked softly, “How do you know what it means to like someone?”
The little fox answered, “I want Venerable One to be happy. I want to see Venerable One all the time. I only feel happy when I’m with Venerable One. Whenever I think that if I work just a little harder, I’ll be able to see Venerable One sooner, I feel so happy inside. Aren’t… aren’t those things what it means to like someone?”
Yan Huaqing fell silent.
No. It was not.
These feelings were only an illusion produced by the influence of the soul-splitting technique.
Fortunately, those feelings would not interfere with his plans.
Yan Huaqing gave no answer. He lowered his eyes and said softly, “Didn’t you come to show me your human form? What are you waiting for?”
“Okay!”
A soft white light flashed beside the stream.
A young boy appeared within it.
He looked only twelve or thirteen. His features were delicate and beautiful, still carrying a trace of childishness, though his brows already possessed the beguiling charm unique to the Fox Clan.
A pair of furry fox ears stood rigid atop his head from nervousness, while nine tails swept back and forth behind him.
Yan Huaqing suddenly lost himself for a moment.
The boy crouched beside the stream, visibly nervous. “V-Venerable One, I did it. I transformed.”
The reflection on the other side remained silent for a long while.
Then Yan Huaqing laughed.
“Silly fox. You haven’t even learned to hide your ears and tails, and you came running over to show off.”
“Huh?”
The boy quickly clapped his hands over his ears.
Yan Huaqing’s figure was reflected in the stream. The boy himself had never seen what he looked like in human form. Only now did he notice those fox ears trembling violently from nerves.
Another white light flashed.
The little fox returned to his original form.
His two front paws were still covering his ears as he said awkwardly, “That one doesn’t count. Next time... next time I’ll do it properly before showing Venerable One again.”
Yan Huaqing said, “There’s no need. I’ve already seen.”
“Then... then is Venerable One happy?”
Yan Huaqing paused.
“Happy?”
Thousands of li away from Qingqiu, Yan Huaqing sat within the Demon Lord’s palace, gazing at the small figure in the light mirror.
The little fox’s round eyes met his through the mirror. They resembled a spring of clear water, clean and bright.
Yan Huaqing remained silent for a long while, then raised a hand to his chest.
An emotion he had never experienced before surged from within, as though his entire body and mind had suddenly relaxed.
“...So this is what it feels like.”
The corner of Yan Huaqing’s mouth lifted.
His voice was gentle.
“I’m very happy.”
On the other side of the mirror, the little fox continued chattering without pause.
“They said that once I can take human form, I’ll be able to formally succeed as leader of the Fox Clan. Then I’ll be able to do even more for Venerable One. I really wish I could meet you in person sooner. Staying here all by myself… I feel so lonely.”
“Lonely?” Yan Huaqing asked. “What is loneliness?”
The little fox froze.
His brows drew together as he tried to explain. “It’s... it’s when I don’t understand what they’re thinking. I don’t understand why they’re happy or why they’re sad, but I know what Venerable One thinks. I know you’re happy when my cultivation improves and gets angry when I slack off. You want me to come to you soon too, don’t you?”
Yan Huaqing fell silent again.
Inside the mirror, the little fox suddenly hurried, “I think someone’s coming. Venerable One, wait for me a little longer. Once my cultivation is stronger and I can hide my demonic aura better, I’ll be able to contact you whenever I want. Then Venerable One won’t be lonely anymore either.”
After saying that, he turned and hurried away.
The Demon Lord’s palace fell silent.
Yan Huaqing continued staring for a long time at the retreating little fox within the mirror. The exhilaration that had stirred within his chest slowly faded, leaving him calm once again.
He raised his eyes toward the vast, dark, empty Demon Lord’s palace.
His expression was hidden in the shadows and impossible to discern.
After a while, he extended a finger and stroked the gradually fading surface of the light mirror. A tenderness entered his gaze that even he himself had never noticed.
“Very well. I’ll wait for you here.”
“I’ll wait for you to come find me.”
☁
The barrier of light before Yan Huaqing gradually collapsed and shattered.
Lying in a pool of blood, his thoughts finally withdrew from one memory after another.
He raised his head in a daze and looked beyond the barrier.
Outside, sunlight spilled brilliantly across Qingqiu’s shoreline.
A tiny white fox came running from the distance.
Its fur glowed softly beneath the sunlight. A pair of crimson eyes looked toward him, just as clean and bright as they had been in his memories.
“Did you come to find me?” Yan Huaqing asked softly, gazing at the little fox in the distance
The little fox tilted its head and looked at him in confusion.
“You shouldn’t have come.” Yan Huaqing said, “It’s all over.”
“After I die, you’ll finally have true freedom.”
“The demonic aura within you will disappear. Your soul will become whole again. You’ll be able to feel the joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness of an ordinary person. You will no longer feel anything special toward me.”
“Go.”
“I’m letting you leave.”
All that love, devotion, and longing for something forever beyond reach had been nothing more than an illusion created by the soul-splitting technique.
From this moment onward, every one of those feelings would disappear with his death.
The white fox gradually moved farther away.
Yan Huaqing watched that tiny figure until it faded in the distance, then laughed softly.
“In the end, the only one who truly fell too deep…was me.”
☁
Qingqiu had suffered devastating damage during the war.
It took a hundred years of rebuilding, isolation, and recuperation before the land gradually recovered.
The rebuilt Qingqiu no longer involved itself in any conflict between the Immortal and Demon Realms. The Heavenly Fox Clan lived and multiplied there, finally turning the island into a secluded paradise untouched by the outside world.
Several hundred years later...
“Yue’er! Yue’er, where did you run off to?!”
A man’s voice called from the distance.
A tiny nine-tailed white fox darted into the bushes. Just as it poked its head out to look around, its paws slipped, and it tumbled into a sandy hollow.
“Aowu...”
The little fox landed in a daze. It shook the leaves off its head and slowly climbed back to its feet.
The hollow was not very deep.
The little fox flicked its nine tails and was about to jump out when it suddenly noticed something behind itself.
There stood a boundary stele.
Most of the stone had been buried beneath the sand, while what little remained exposed was so weathered that the inscriptions could no longer be read.
The little fox stared at the stele for a long while.
As though noticing something, it turned and walked toward it.
Using both front paws, it carefully dug away the sand beside the stone.
Beneath that buried earth grew a tiny flower, delicate and exceedingly fragile flower.
The little fox’s deep green eyes reflected the flower’s form.
Finally, it raised one front paw and gently touched the vivid red petals.
The tender petals trembled.
Its stem slowly bent and rested against the little fox’s paw.
Just as, many years ago, there had once been a man who reached out and touched him with the same tenderness.
☁︎₊˚⊹ The Author’s Jade-Slip Aside ⊹˚₊☁︎
I couldn’t bear to give them a complete BE, but Old Yan really did commit far too many terrible deeds, so I’ll reluctantly leave them with an open ending orz.
————
Next chapter is all about the cubs! Phoenix Cub has a CP,* so cuties who mind that can skip it.
🦊🌺 Okay, You Voted... Now Accept Your Fate
What did you choose above? Tap your answer for your official post-chapter emotional diagnosis.
😭 EMOTIONAL DIAGNOSIS: HOPELESSLY MERCIFUL
YOU HAVE CHOSEN MERCY.
Fine. FINE.
Let the tiny fox meet the suspicious little flower again. New life, new choices, and hopefully significantly fewer war crimes.
You know what Yan Huaqing did. You have seen the receipts. You are not erasing ANYTHING.
You just looked at that final scene and whispered, “...maybe this time?”
Diagnosis:
Terminal reincarnation-romance brain.
Recommended Treatment:
One completely clean lifetime and several hundred years of Demon Venerable community service.
Prognosis:
You will absolutely cry if that flower blooms.
🌺 EMOTIONAL DIAGNOSIS: PUT THE SHOVEL DOWN
You saw that tiny red flower and said:
THAT IS ENOUGH.
No resurrection scene. No immediate reunion. No convenient “everything is forgiven now” ribbon tied around three hundred years of emotional devastation.
Just one tiny possibility.
Maybe they meet again. Maybe they don't. Maybe this time they become something entirely different.
AND THAT IS WHY IT HURTS SO GOOD.
Diagnosis:
Open-ending connoisseur.
Recommended Treatment:
Protect the flower. Protect the fox. DO NOT LET THE AUTHOR TOUCH THEM AGAIN.
Prognosis:
Permanently haunted, but aesthetically satisfied.
⚖️ EMOTIONAL DIAGNOSIS: CRYING WITH MEDIA LITERACY
Congratulations.
You have somehow managed to possess TWO THOUGHTS AT THE SAME TIME.
“Oh God, that's actually tragic.”
AND:
“Anyway, you two still committed atrocities.”
The backstory explains them. It humanizes them. It makes the entire disaster hurt approximately 900% more.
It does not magically delete what they did.
Diagnosis:
Emotionally devastated but still holding the receipts.
Achievement Unlocked:
🏆 Having Media Literacy While Still Crying™
Prognosis:
You can feel bad for them AND demand accountability. Look at you multitasking.
🦊 EMOTIONAL DIAGNOSIS: FREE THE FOX
Bai Qiuyue has been through ENOUGH.
Born with another person's divided soul inside him? Manipulated basically from infancy? Raised to believe that one person was the only one who could ever understand him?
NO.
Give that fox a peaceful life in Qingqiu. Give him snacks. Give him sunshine. Give him hobbies.
Give him literally ANYTHING that does not involve becoming emotionally entangled with Old Yan again.
Diagnosis:
Protective fox-parent instincts activated.
Recommended Treatment:
Place Bai Qiuyue in a soft meadow approximately 8,000 li away from suspicious red flowers.
Prognosis:
The fox will be fine. Old Yan's visitation request has been DENIED.
🚨 EMOTIONAL DIAGNOSIS: RESTRAINING ORDER ISSUED
SECURITY!!!
Everybody else saw the tiny flower touching the fox's paw and started crying.
You saw it and immediately reached for legal documentation.
“Sir. We have discussed this. Step AWAY from the fox.”
Tragic backstory? Noted. Complicated feelings? Fascinating. Beautiful symbolism? Gorgeous.
STILL NO.
Diagnosis:
Immune to suspiciously effective redemption-by-flower propaganda.
Recommended Treatment:
Maintain a minimum distance of 500 li between Bai Qiuyue and all unidentified red flora.
Official Ruling:
Old Yan may submit an appeal after approximately ten thousand years.
🤡 EMOTIONAL DIAGNOSIS: ROBBED IN BROAD DAYLIGHT
You came into this chapter prepared to maintain your hatred.
You had RECEIPTS.
You had THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF EVIDENCE.
You were READY.
Then the author handed you one lonely baby fox, one emotionally constipated Demon Venerable, several devastating realizations, and one tiny red flower.
Your defenses did not survive.
Diagnosis:
Emotionally mugged.
Recommended Treatment:
Stare at the ceiling for 10–15 business days.
Prognosis:
You still don't forgive them. Unfortunately, you now have feelings about it.
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