Back at the residence, Li emerged from the shadow by the wall. “Why are you back alone? You couldn’t find the person you wanted to rescue?”
“I did find him, but things turned out to be quite unexpected…” Xia Fan recounted the trip. “He has everything he wants there. He doesn’t even want to follow me to my next appointment.”
Li found it unbelievable. “Is he really your master?”
“Yes… Sort of.” Xia Fan had never put much thought into his relationship with his master, but he couldn’t give a straight answer to Li either. After all, what he would call a “master-disciple relationship” deviated greatly from the notion in this era. “Anyways, if this is really what he wants, I can’t stop him.”
Knowing that Master wasn’t imprisoned and suffering was enough. Considering that cultivators who were not regulated were often discriminated against by the Privy Council, leaving Master here was perhaps the best way to go about.
“Well, that’s all. Let’s eat dinner first.”
The inn offered meals. Although it didn’t taste as good as restaurants, it was already much better than the pancakes and dried food that they had during their journey earlier.
The soup was too hot, so Li could only peck at it carefully. Seeing this, Xia Fan felt that the fatigue from days of traveling had been washed away.
Especially when she swallowed, her tail would waggle around behind her. It was so adorable that if it was in the 21st century, people wouldn’t be able to resist patting and stroking her tail.
And yet people in this era don’t like it! Unacceptable!
The difference between the two times was as deep as the Mariana Trench!
“What are you laughing at?” Li noticed his suspicious smile and asked with a frown.
“Nothing. I’m just amused at how similar you behave like a dog. I guess that’s why foxes are grouped in the canine family!”
Li’s tail brushed up and hid behind her. “How are foxes like dogs? There are so many animals with a tail and on all fours, and they’re all so different! And I’m a fox demon!”
Is she angry? Xia Fan realized that grouping her as a canine would always trigger her anger. It was probably time for him to cast aside his scientific spirit. “… You have a point. Demons shouldn’t be classified hastily.”
“Isn’t that obvious?!” Li felt offended. “You’re strange! You even said once that wolves and dogs are the same! But you humans glorify the former and dishonor the latter, yet you still claim that they are the same? I really don’t know from whom you acquired such ridiculous knowledge!”
From “On the Origin of Species”…
Xia Fan decided to put aside the controversy for now. “Right, since you’re free now, teach me more about spells. You can tell me anything your master told you.”
“No.” She was firm.
“But you agreed…”
“Demons are born with Qi sensory. It will stay the same no matter how much we practice later in life. But it’s a different case for humans.” Li explained seriously, “Although Master didn’t talk much about this, I still remember that having a peaceful and focused mind is crucial for humans when they cast spells. If you learn too much in a badly structured approach, it might even damage your ability to draw Qi.
“This is also the reason why the disciples of established families are generally better than others. Your master clearly isn’t aware of this. That’s why you’re lagging behind. After you join the Privy Council, they will provide you with structured training. So, instead of asking me to teach you, it’s better for you to just wait for a few weeks.”
“Really? My master never taught me so…” Xia Fan was surprised.
“Of course. Anyway, your master didn’t receive structured training in the first place. Also, testing your mind is very difficult. The auxiliary materials required are at least of the third grade. Even the established families don’t always have them.” Li paused before continuing, “Another reason is that the Privy Council has very tight control over this information. Most people won’t ever learn about it.”
Xian Fan had a first-hand experience with that. Evil spirits weren’t rare, but very few people could name the different types and talk about how to deal with each. Even his master would only draw on his past experience when facing evil spirits. When his experience failed him, he’d run away immediately. Master hardly knew what to expect before engaging.
Whenever he traveled through large cities, he would visit bookstores to search for books on identifying evil spirits and on how Qi and spells worked. But they did not exist. Naturally, someone was restricting the circulation of such information. Considering the function and the status of the Privy Council, it was probably the one behind this.
“Then… how about evil spirits? What do you know about them?”
“Master taught me a lot about them. Yeah, I can tell you,” Li said frankly. “But the Privy Council will teach you these as well. Are you sure you want to learn it from me?”
Xia Fan nodded at once. His curiosity had been nudging him for too long. Moreover, listening to a fox demon talk about it would definitely be much more intriguing than listening to the lecturing of old men with white beards in the Privy Council.
“Then, let’s start with the classification…”
Li was just about to start when a sudden knock on the door interrupted her.
“Mister! Mister! Are you there? An old lady outside wants to see you… We have asked her to leave, but she said that lives are at stake and she won’t go back until she sees you today!”
Xia Fan instinctively glanced in the direction of the door. Technically, he was the only one living in this room, so they must be looking for him…
The problem was he didn’t know any old lady…
When he turned back, the seat in front of him was already empty. The moment the door was knocked, the fox demon had quietly retreated into the darkness.
Xia Fan wanted to refuse. But…”lives are at stake?”
He pondered for a while and decided to ask them first why she wanted to see him.
The attendant quickly ran off and soon returned. “Mister, the old lady said that Daoist Zhao told her to come for you!”
Daoist Zhao… Could it be that she was referring to his master, Zhao Dahai?
“Let her in.” Xia Fan winked at the darkness, then instructed.
Soon the attendant led the old lady into the room. “I shall excuse myself now. If you need any help, please call me again.”
And before the old lady even sat down, she threw herself on all fours at Xia Fan’s feet. “Please save my daughter-in-law and my grandson, Young Daoist!”
Xia Fan was startled. Although he had long known that ancient etiquette was different, seeing someone kneeling in front of him was still a huge cultural shock.
Almost subconsciously, he reached out and tried to pull her up. “What are you doing… Please get up!”
“I won’t get up until you say yes… Please, only you can save them in Feng Hua County!”
“I need to know what is happening first.” Xia Fan quickly regained his composure. “The sooner I know, the sooner I can come up with a solution.”
When he said that, the old lady stopped crying and allowed him to help her into the chair.
In less than ten minutes, Xia Fan finally understood what was happening.
Basically, there was a “ghost” in her house!