Bai Heng followed Granny Jiang’s advice and stopped deliberately suppressing her cultivation.
Her third-tier aura flowed out naturally — clear, upright, and restrained — while a faint moon-like radiance of cold purity emanated from her entire body.
When she squatted on the rock or moved through the forest, the rhythm of her two tails swaying behind her carried a few extra degrees of composure compared to before.
Those hidden gazes still swept across this patch of forest, yet the time they lingered grew even shorter.
Third tier was not worth expending effort over.
The low-tier cultivators, however, reacted more noticeably.
Bai Heng could sense several Qi Condensation stage scouts beginning to circle the edges of this forest.
They did not dare approach, nor did they dare look too long.
The effect of deterring low-tier troublemakers had indeed taken hold, just as Granny Jiang had said.
A third-tier demon cultivator was already someone they needed to look up to.
Qin Yu came up the mountain the very next day.
The little girl ran quickly, with Lin Lan following behind at a steady pace.
“Sister Bai Heng!”
She ran close, squatted down, and stared at Bai Heng with bright eyes.
After watching for a long while she suddenly spoke.
“Sister Bai Heng, you seem to have changed.”
Bai Heng’s ears twitched slightly.
“…You look even prettier.” Qin Yu tilted her head and thought for a moment.
“Two tails! And… something else changed? I can’t quite say, but it just feels…”
Bai Heng looked at her and gently flicked the two tails behind her, as if deliberately showing them off.
Qin Yu smiled and began chattering away.
She said she had missed her, that her mother had made new clothes waiting for her to wear upon return, and she spoke of the changes in the village and the new people who had arrived.
Lin Lan stood quietly to the side and listened.
Only when Qin Yu grew tired did she finally speak.
“Miss Bai, it is good that you have returned.”
Her tone was calm, yet those eyes clearly held a trace of gentleness.
Bai Heng nodded.
Lin Lan said nothing more and led Qin Yu by the hand as they slowly walked down the mountain.
After a few steps Qin Yu turned back and called out.
“Sister Bai Heng, I will come see you again tomorrow!”
Bai Heng watched the figures of the big one and the small one disappear into the forest before withdrawing her gaze.
Xu Cheng and Lu Mingshuang arrived on the third day.
The two walked up the mountain path one after the other.
Xu Cheng held a scroll in his hand while Lu Mingshuang followed behind with her usual expression.
When they reached the edge of the forest Xu Cheng stopped and looked at the white fox on the rock for a moment.
Bai Heng nodded.
Xu Cheng did not approach further. He simply stood there, his gaze resting on her.
“Miss Bai, it has been a long time.”
“Third tier.”
“Two tails.”
He withdrew his gaze and cupped his hands.
“Congratulations, Miss Bai.”
Bai Heng did not reply.
Xu Cheng did not mind. He smiled and nodded, then turned to walk back.
Lu Mingshuang followed behind him.
After a few steps she suddenly looked back at Bai Heng.
That gaze carried a trace of scrutiny and a trace of curiosity.
Bai Heng looked at her and gently flicked her tail.
Lu Mingshuang withdrew her gaze and followed Xu Cheng away.
In the days that followed, Bai Heng noticed that the atmosphere in the village was quietly changing.
She could not quite put her finger on what felt off.
It was simply that the people coming and going looked at others differently.
The way they looked at Qin Yun and at the Qin family had become somewhat different.
Even Qin Yu that girl had noticed.
That day when she came up the mountain she sat beside Bai Heng and spoke in a low voice.
“Sister Bai Heng, the people in the village have been acting very strange lately.”
Bai Heng looked at her.
Qin Yu frowned and tried hard to organize her words.
It was as if she did not recognize her. She paused.
“They keep staring at my brother. That kind of look… as if they recognize him… I do not like it.”
Bai Heng was silent for a moment and gently flicked her tail.
Qin Yu leaned over and rested her head against Bai Heng’s body.
“It is really good that you came back, Sister Bai Heng.”
Bai Heng did not move and simply let her lean there.
A few days later rumors began circulating through the village.
At first they were only scattered bits of idle talk mentioned over tea and meals.
They spoke of a child whose spiritual root had been stolen more than ten years ago, of a child who had been a heavenly talent that became a cripple overnight, and of the person who stole the spiritual root belonging to some great clan.
Mortals could not understand it well and simply treated it as a story, yet the cultivators who heard it inevitably had some thoughts.
Bai Heng squatted on the rock and watched from afar the figures in the village who were whispering among themselves.
Granny Jiang’s old friends had acted quickly.
The rumors seeped into every corner like water.
Today one more sentence, tomorrow a few more sentences — gradually they gained shape.
Some said the child was the son of a Qingxu Sect elder.
Some said the one who stole the spiritual root was a junior of the Feng Clan.
Once the names Qingxu Sect and Feng Clan appeared, the atmosphere in the village changed completely.
Those rogue cultivators who had originally been watching began whispering among themselves.
Even the small sects showed traces of an indescribable greed.
The disciples of small sects looked at Qin Yun with complicated gazes that held both sympathy and curiosity.
Bai Heng saw the reactions of Xu Cheng and Lu Mingshuang clearly.
That evening the two stood at the village entrance, simply standing with hands behind their backs.
Lu Mingshuang stood beside him.
Neither of them spoke as they gazed in the direction of the Qin family home.
After a long while Xu Cheng spoke softly.
“If the rumors are true…”
He did not finish.
Lu Mingshuang picked up the thread.
“Then what we did before was not wasted.”
Xu Cheng nodded and turned to walk back.
Lu Mingshuang followed behind him.
After a few steps she suddenly looked back once more in the direction of the Qin family home.
That gaze carried a trace of complicated emotion.
Mu Xuejun only came to find Bai Heng several days later.
She arrived later than usual and her expression was not quite right.
After finding Bai Heng in the forest she sat down beside her and remained silent for a long while.
“Little White sister, have you heard?”
Bai Heng nodded.
Mu Xuejun gazed at the distant mountain forest, her tone carrying a trace of indignation.
“Stealing someone’s spiritual root — such a despicable act. In all the years I have lived, this is the first time I have heard of it.”
She paused.
“That child — how old was he? Such a bright immortal path, ruined just like that.”
Bai Heng did not speak.
Bai Heng remained silent for a moment.
Mu Xuejun turned her head and looked at her.
“Did you already know?”
Mu Xuejun looked at her, her gaze carrying a trace of scrutiny.
A moment later she withdrew her gaze and sighed.
“You did not tell me because you were afraid I would act impulsively?”
Bai Heng did not deny it.
Mu Xuejun smiled, that smile carrying a trace of helplessness.
“I am somewhat impulsive, yet I am not stupid.”
She paused.
“This kind of major matter cannot be treated as true based on a few rumors alone. It must be investigated clearly before any decision is made.”
Bai Heng looked at her and felt a slight relief in her heart.
This big cat was indeed playful and active, yet at least when it came to major matters she was still steady.
Mu Xuejun stood up and patted the dirt from her clothes.
“Still, if the rumors are true…”
She looked at Bai Heng, her gaze serious.
“I will watch over that child properly.”
Bai Heng nodded.
Mu Xuejun smiled and prepared to turn and walk down the mountain.
“Little White sister, you hide things better than I expected.”
Bai Heng’s tail paused slightly.
Mu Xuejun said nothing more.
She waved a hand, took a few leaps, and disappeared into the forest like a wisp of agile moonlight.
Bai Heng squatted on the rock and gazed in that direction.
The sky was about to darken.
Dusk grew thick and the lights in the village below the mountain lit up one after another.
Their number was clearly much greater than before.