Bai Heng stood in place, her gaze calm as she watched the young itinerant cultivator who called himself Lu Liang.
She made no response and adopted no attacking or defensive stance.
She simply watched him quietly, like a deep, serene mountain spring reflecting every one of his movements.
Seeing Bai Heng’s reaction, a flicker of understanding flashed through Lu Liang’s eyes.
He was not annoyed by her silence.
Instead, it only confirmed his assessment.
This white fox had not only awakened her spiritual intelligence but also possessed a steady temperament far beyond that of an ordinary, ignorant demon beast.
“Fellow Daoist is unwilling to converse in human speech. Is it inconvenient, or are you simply not yet accustomed to it?”
Lu Liang’s tone was gentle, carrying a consultative note.
“No matter. The path of cultivation is long, and each race has its own way. It is fortunate that Fellow Daoist can understand my words through your own spiritual intelligence.”
He took two slow steps forward, deliberately maintaining a safe distance to show he harbored no ill intent.
Then, he casually sat down on a broken log half-buried in the soil nearby, his posture relaxed.
“Most of what I said earlier was speculation. Now that I’ve met Fellow Daoist, it seems my guesses were on point.”
His gaze swept over the large stone marking the grave once more before returning to Bai Heng.
“When I was chased to this place before, it was truly out of desperation. That battle was far-reaching and unfortunately involved… your family.”
He paused, his voice carrying a note of sincere apology.
“Although it was not my intention, it happened because of me. For that, I apologize to Fellow Daoist.”
As he spoke, he cupped his hands respectfully toward Bai Heng and in the direction of the large stone.
Bai Heng remained silent.
Her ears twitched almost imperceptibly, but her expression stayed calm.
Lu Liang straightened and continued.
“After escaping that day by luck, I found a place to heal my injuries and concealed my tracks. Only recently, when I felt the situation had calmed, did I dare return to retrieve the item I had hastily hidden.”
He did not specify what the bone fragment was, obviously keeping some things to himself.
“I didn’t expect to encounter Fellow Daoist here. It seems there is some affinity between us.”
As he spoke, he took out a palm-sized cyan jade bottle from his robes, pulled out the stopper, and poured out two pills glowing with vibrant green spiritual energy.
“This bottle of Green Wood Returning Origin Pills is a healing and qi-replenishing medicine I refined myself. The properties are mild. Please consider it my compensation for involving your family back then, and a way to form a good connection with Fellow Daoist.”
He placed the two pills on a clean green stone before him and put the jade bottle away.
“The pills are here. Fellow Daoist may take them if you wish. If you don’t trust them, feel free to discard them.”
After doing so, he looked at Bai Heng again. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before asking.
“I see that Fellow Daoist’s aura is pure and upright, with restrained spiritual light. The cultivation technique you practice must be extraordinary. However, it seems… you live here alone?”
He glanced around at the mountain forest, now restored to tranquility after the previous chaos.
“Although this place is quiet, after last year’s incident, it is no longer absolutely safe. Moreover, Lan Province is remote and the spiritual energy here is not the best. If Fellow Daoist wishes to advance further, you might consider finding a more suitable cave abode elsewhere.”
His words sounded like casual advice, without any hint of coercion or probing.
Thoughts churned in Bai Heng’s mind.
This Lu Liang had shown no obvious malice from the moment he appeared until now.
He was meticulous and methodical.
His apology and compensation seemed sincere enough.
Moreover, he displayed none of the usual human cultivators’ disdain, greed, or hostility toward her identity as a demon cultivator.
But one could never be too careful. Yun Qing’s fate was still fresh in her memory.
The more flawless he appeared, the more cautious she needed to be.
She naturally wouldn’t touch the two pills—who knew if they contained any tricks?
As for his suggestion about a new cave abode… she had already planned to leave anyway.
She maintained her silence, merely tilting her head slightly, as if listening or simply observing.
Lu Liang waited for a while. Seeing that Bai Heng still had no intention of communicating, he smiled, unperturbed.
“I spoke too much. Fellow Daoist has your own plans.”
He stood up and brushed off his daoist robe as if removing nonexistent dust.
“Meeting Fellow Daoist today was quite an interesting encounter. I have other matters to attend to, so I won’t linger.”
He cupped his hands toward Bai Heng once more.
“Farewell. May Fellow Daoist’s cultivation proceed smoothly.”
With that, he turned and walked away in the opposite direction from which Bai Heng had come.
His steps were calm and unhurried, without any hesitation or backward glances.
Bai Heng watched his figure disappear into the depths of the forest.
Her divine sense remained extended cautiously, confirming that his aura had truly departed without concealment or return.
Only when his presence completely vanished from her perception did she slowly relax her tense nerves.
This person had arrived suddenly and left just as decisively.
He truly resembled an itinerant cultivator who happened to pass by, discovered something interesting, chatted briefly, and then continued on his way.
Yet a lingering doubt remained in Bai Heng’s heart.
It was too coincidental.
She had just decided to set off and returned to this old place to say her goodbyes, only to encounter another party from the original incident.
Moreover, he had proactively analyzed and exposed her identity as a demon cultivator.
Was it pure coincidence, or… had she already entered someone’s sights without realizing it?
She couldn’t be certain.
However, since the other party had left and shown no hostility for the time being, overthinking it served no purpose.
She simply needed to remain vigilant.
Bai Heng walked over to the green stone and looked at the two emerald pills resting on it.
The medicinal fragrance was fresh and pure, the spiritual energy clean.
They didn’t appear to have any issues.
But she still didn’t touch them.
With a slight thought, an extremely faint strand of demon power carrying the cool essence of moonlight seeped from her claw tip.
It brushed over the two pills like the gentlest breeze.
This was a minor technique she had comprehended from manipulating Heavenly Fox True Fire—using demon power for the most superficial contact and inspection.
The pills’ internal structure was stable, their spiritual energy flowing naturally, with no hidden traces of poison or tracking marks.
Even so, Bai Heng used her mental force to gently sweep the two pills off the stone, letting them roll into the grass nearby.
One could never relax even the slightest bit in guarding against others.
After dealing with the pills, she returned to the large stone marking the burial of Little White and her family.
She stood quietly for a moment before extending her front paw and gently pressing it against the cold stone surface.
“I’m leaving.”
She finally spoke.
Her voice still carried some stiffness, but it was smoother than before.
“In the future… I might not return. You all… take care.”
With that, she withdrew her paw and took one final look at this place that held the first memories and emotions of this body.
She turned around without reluctance and set off once more in the intended direction.
This time, she encountered no further incidents.
She moved through the dense mountain forests, her figure light as the wind.
Deploying her Fox Shadow Step, she navigated the complex terrain as if walking on flat ground.
Although she didn’t fully activate Heavenly Fox Concealment, she maintained a degree of aura suppression, blending harmoniously with her surroundings without startling any birds or beasts.
When hungry, she hunted mountain chickens or wild rabbits, or foraged for wild fruits. When thirsty, she drank from mountain springs and streams.
At night, she would find a safe tree hollow or rock crevice to meditate, regulate her breathing, and absorb moonlight essence.
She was in no rush to reach her destination.
Yun Qing’s storage pouch contained a rough map jade slip.
She knew Qingxi Village lay at the border between Lan Province and the neighboring Ping Province—still quite a long distance from the deep mountains where she currently resided.
Traveling on foot allowed her to slowly familiarize herself with this world, adapt to her increasingly powerful fox body, and further refine the various techniques she had recently acquired.
Occasionally, she passed small villages scattered along the edges of the mountain forests.
She never approached them, observing only from afar with her divine sense.
Seeing mortals in coarse clothes who toiled from sunrise to sunset, the curling smoke rising from village chimneys, and hearing faint roosters crowing, dogs barking, and children’s laughter, a strange yet distant sense of familiarity would surface in her heart.
That was the worldly smoke and fire of “humans.”
It felt like an entirely different world from the tranquil mountain forests where she now lived as a “demon.”
She simply watched quietly, never considering stepping into their midst.
One afternoon, she passed through an open river valley.
The river flowed gently, its banks covered in lush green grass dotted with unknown wildflowers.
Bai Heng stopped by the river to drink and rest.
Suddenly, her keen divine sense detected unusual spiritual energy fluctuations coming from upstream, accompanied by the sounds of clashing metal and human shouts.
Cultivators were fighting.
Bai Heng immediately went on alert.
She fully activated Heavenly Fox Concealment, quietly retreating and concealing herself in a dense patch of reeds by the riverbank.
She contracted her divine sense to the minimum, maintaining only basic vigilance, while pricking up her ears to carefully listen to the faint sounds carried on the wind.
The sounds of battle were not particularly fierce but continued steadily.
From the noise, it seemed two people were attacking one.
“Hand over the goods! And we’ll spare your life!”
A rather rough male voice rang out.
“Hmph! You two highwayman cultivators think you can take me? Keep dreaming!”
A younger voice, filled with anger, responded.
Then came denser sounds of weapons colliding and spells exploding.
Bai Heng remained motionless within the reed thicket.
She had no intention of intervening.
In the cultivation world, the weak were prey to the strong, and murder for treasure was commonplace.
She was still weak herself and had no desire to get involved in any disputes.
She only hoped the fight would end quickly and not reach her location.
However, things did not go as she wished.
The sounds of battle were gradually moving in her direction.