In the seventh month, sweltering heat swept across the mountains, roads, and cities alike. Carrying the wooden case on his back, Yan Chixia made his way through the forest. Pausing for a brief rest, he arrived at a roadside tea stall along the official road outside He Valley County. Dispelling his Divine Movement spell, he stepped inside and ordered a bowl of chilled tea and two steamed flatbreads from the attendant.

It was the height of summer. Though the ravages of war had only recently passed, prosperity had already begun to return. The roadside tea stalls and humble inns were once again crowded with merchants traveling to and fro.

As they ate and drank to satisfy their hunger, they naturally exchanged stories of what they had seen along the road.

“When you came here, did any of you pass by Qixia Mountain? Brothers, when you head over there later to buy fish for resale, you ought to stop by the Honglian Temple outside Lu Village.”

Most merchants were devout believers in the blessings of temples and shrines. At the mention of it, the surrounding traders and travelers, who had been eating and resting, cast curious glances over from time to time.

The speaker’s companion across the table looked puzzled.

“I’ve heard of that temple before, the last time I passed through. What’s happened?”

“Its incense offerings are flourishing. They say Young Master Lu of Qixia Mountain personally had it built. You know Steward Liu from Wanxia Town, don’t you? He fathered seven or eight daughters, but not a single son to inherit his vast fortune. He worshipped at every temple he could find, and none of them worked. Then last month he went to pray at that temple on Qixia Mountain. His concubine, who was expecting, gave birth to a big, healthy baby boy at the beginning of this month. He’s been so overjoyed that he’s been strolling around every day with a birdcage in hand.”

“That’s almost miraculous…”

With his back to the table where they were talking, Yan Chixia merely shook his head as he raised the bowl of chilled tea and drained it in a single gulp. He finished the steamed flatbreads in a few bites, settled the bill, and resumed his journey.

He had spent ten years in the south and still remembered the general direction of Qixia Mountain. Whenever he reached a fork in the road, he asked for directions. Before nightfall, he had already passed through Fushui County.

The setting sun cast its light over the mountaintops, traveling alongside him. Ahead, the continuous mountain foothills glowed beneath the evening light. Suddenly, the dense foliage began to sway violently. A gust of wind stirred countless leaves, sweeping them onward.

“Big Sister, wait!”

A red figure and a white figure rode upon a demonic gale, darting across mountains and ridges. Suddenly, the crimson fox spirit called out, bringing the surging demonic wind to an abrupt halt. Brushing aside a drooping cluster of branches, she gazed toward the mountain peaks beyond the forest.

“Big Sister… doesn’t this place seem a little familiar?”

The white fox walked to her sister’s side, surveying the surrounding terrain. As her gaze settled on a distant spot, her pupils suddenly contracted, and her muzzle parted slightly.

“This is where we sisters cultivated all those years ago.”

In the direction she was staring, beyond gaps in the forests covering the distant hillside, stood a dilapidated building that was all too familiar.

“How did we end up back here? Did we take the wrong path?”

The red fox spirit turned to look at her sister. Only the white fox possessed the memories Grandmother had bestowed upon her. Closing her eyes, she once more searched through that fragment of memory that did not belong to her.

A moment later, she opened them again and shook her head. “No. This is the right direction. But we sisters lived here for many years, and we’ve never once heard of Black Mountain. Farther south lies Qixia Mountain, but I never heard of any great demon dwelling there either.”

The two demons stared out beyond the mountains, thoroughly perplexed. Yet Grandmother’s command had been clear: find the Black Mountain Old Demon.

Back then, they had fled north in a wretched state, meeting rejection wherever they went. Only Grandmother had taken them in at Lanruo Temple. As a thousand-year-old Great Demon, she had become someone they clung to for protection. Cultivating under the nourishment of her demonic power, the red fox had finally recovered a portion of the strength she once possessed.

Now, they naturally did not dare disobey her orders.

“Qixia, ‘Qixia – when the sun sets, all becomes black.’” The white fox voiced her speculation. “Little Sister, perhaps Black Mountain is simply another name for Qixia Mountain—one known only to Grandmother.”

The red fox considered it more and more, finding the explanation surprisingly plausible.

Neither demon dared waste any more time. Once again, they summoned a demonic gale and sped across the mountain foothills.

Whoooosh… whoooosh…

The demonic wind whipped through the surrounding forest, setting the trees swaying. Returning to their fox forms, the two demons raced across the rugged ground on all fours. With the wind lending them speed, they crossed an entire mountain in the blink of an eye.

In the distance, the setting sun hung suspended between the peaks of two broad mountains stretching across the horizon, while the two foxes continued bounding forward with long, effortless strides.

As though they had triggered something, a faint azure spiritual radiance suddenly rippled through the air. The moment the two demons rushed into it, they felt the spiritual qi fluctuate violently. They skidded to a halt as a wall of spiritual light unfolded before them, stretching into the distance.

The demonic wind swirled around them as the red and white foxes resumed their human forms. Like prey caught in a hunter’s snare, they looked around in alarm. The azure spiritual qi extended in straight lines toward the surrounding peaks, vaguely outlining a triangular formation.

“What’s going on?!”

“It’s a formation!”

As the two demons spoke in astonishment, the formation seemed to sense their demonic aura. A childish voice suddenly rang out.

“Where did you little demons come from? How dare you trespass onto Qixia Mountain!”

The two foxes turned toward the voice. Not far ahead stood a child of five or six years, dressed in a light green robe. He casually swung a small gourd in his hand.

Faint though it was, the two foxes could sense a trace of demonic aura emanating from the little boy.

He must be the Black Mountain Old Demon’s attendant.

The red fox shot a glance at her elder sister, then quickly stepped forward and gave a graceful curtsy like a mortal woman.

“My elder sister and I have come uninvited and beg your forgiveness for the disturbance. We were entrusted by our Grandmother to seek out the Black Mountain Old Demon.”

“The Black Mountain Old Demon?”

The little Daoist attendant tilted his head in thought. He couldn’t recall anyone by that name around Teacher.

Aside from Toad Grandmaster, there was only the old hen that was on the verge of becoming a spirit, and… his own mother, who remained at Little Spring Mountain. There simply weren’t any other demons here, much less one with such an unpleasant title.

He immediately waved his little hand several times.

“No, no. This is Qixia Mountain. There’s no Black Mountain Old Demon here. If you don’t leave now, I’m going to call for help!”

The red and white foxes exchanged worried glances.

“Little Demon Attendant, think again. Perhaps your master simply never told you. Why not announce our arrival?”

“What do you mean, ‘Little Demon Attendant’?! My name is Mingyue. I am my Teacher’s Daoist attendant!”

Though Mingyue was half-demon, he disliked being addressed that way. He raised a finger and pointed at them, his youthful, delicate face flushed with indignation.

“Leave now! If you don’t, I’m really going to lose my temper!”

The two sisters found themselves in a dilemma. They could neither leave nor remain. If they failed even such a simple errand, Grandmother would surely punish them upon their return.

“Big Sister, let’s subdue this little attendant first, then we’ll go look for the Black Mountain Old Demon.”

Hearing her younger sister’s whispered fox speech, the white fox spirit quietly bent her hind legs, preparing to pounce. The instant her eyes narrowed—

Mingyue suddenly raised the little gourd in his hand. Something inside, like a pebble, rattled loudly as he shook it above his head.

Clack! Clack!

Opening his small mouth, he shouted at the top of his lungs,

“Uncle Donkey! Someone’s bullying me!”

The two fox spirits froze for a moment.

Then, in the next instant—

“Hee-haw! Hee-haw!”

A donkey’s bray echoed from afar, and the mountain beneath their feet trembled faintly.

Boom!

Crack—!

Two bolts of azure-white lightning shot through the gaps in the trees and descended from the sky in an instant, engulfing the red and white foxes before they had any chance to dodge.

Electric arcs exploded in every direction. Amid the blinding flashes, even the faint silhouettes of their skeletons became visible for a brief moment.

Rustle… rustle…

The dense grass parted as Old Donkey ambled out at an unhurried pace, leisurely chewing on a mouthful of fresh grass. He glanced at the two smoking figures sprawled on the ground, snorted twice through his nostrils, then gave a few low brays toward the little Daoist attendant.

Swishing his bald tail, arcs of lightning crackled across his body once more.

Then he charged straight at the two fox spirits lying on the ground.