Chapter Seventy-Six: Qingqiu (Part Two)

As the story goes, Music, Xiaomei, Baolong, Lingmei, Wuming, and the others had just arrived at the homeland of the Nine-Tailed Fox: Qingqiu. They were instantly captivated by the scenery—Lingmei found herself lost in memories, while Wuming was completely enchanted by this beautiful, secluded paradise. Xiaomei, Music, and the rest discussed their path, deliberating on how best to find the lone fox. Their goal was singular: obtain the fresh blood, then withdraw from the spirit world.

“Xiaomei, do you think we’ll ever find that fox? We’re in their lair, after all. If we’re not careful, we’ll be eaten alive… Sure, the Nine-Tailed Fox women are said to be as beautiful as goddesses and the men are dashing scholars, but I don’t want to die,” Music grumbled, his words clearly suggesting they should turn back before they were wiped out completely. As long as he survived, he didn’t really care about the sect leader’s fate—after all, a new leader could always be chosen.

At the mention of beauties, Baolong immediately burst out, “We could use the honey trap! The women seduce the men, and the men seduce the women…” Before he could finish, Xiaomei and Lingmei each landed a punch on his forehead, leaving him too frightened to utter another word.

“Senior Sister, maybe we should just talk to them. If they’re willing to cure my illness, great; if not, we’ll have to think of another way. If we try to take it by force, I don’t think we’ll succeed,” Wuming said, shaking his head. He had no idea that if he couldn’t obtain the blood of the Nine-Tailed Fox, he would have to trade Qin Qing’s life for it—all because he had once been blind and deaf.

Lingmei gripped her whip, nodding absentmindedly. “Alright, let’s ask first. If that fails, then we’ll try to lure and snatch!”

The group had no choice but to follow Wuming down the hillside and into Qingqiu, hoping luck would be on their side.

In the distance, they spotted an elderly man approaching—dressed in black, leaning on a cane, with a head of white hair and a three-inch beard, exuding the air of a reclusive immortal. Beside him trailed a ten-year-old girl in a red and pink dress, her feet clad in soft cloth shoes. Her hair was tied into two buns with red strings, ribbons fluttering in the breeze.

“Senior Sister, let’s ask them for directions,” Music suggested excitedly, hurrying toward them. Lingmei didn’t stop him, still absorbed in the scenery.

“Excuse me, may we ask for directions?” Music greeted them politely with a bow.

“Who are you people, dressed so strangely? What do you want?” the old man asked in a mysterious tone. “You’re not here to steal the Nine-Tailed Fox’s Bloodstone, are you?”

“No, no, we just need directions,” Music quickly denied.

“Liar! You’re definitely here for the fresh blood!” the little girl pouted, exposing their true motive outright.

Just then the old man fixed his gaze on Wuming, his eyes narrowing. “Ah, this young man—there’s a peculiar poison in his eyes. Has he been poisoned?” His words stunned everyone, for no one could tell Wuming was poisoned just by looking at him.

Thinking quickly, Wuming bowed to the old man and said, “Please, honorable one, would you advise me what to do…”

“Wait—first of all, I’m no ‘honorable one.’ Second, I have no desire to advise you,” the old man replied haughtily.

“Then at least, may I know your name?” Wuming bowed again.

“My grandfather is a famous healer in Qingqiu—he can raise the dead, and is a master of the Green Satchel Arts. There’s nothing he cannot do…” the little girl declared, munching on a candied hawthorn and pouting.

Baolong listened intently. “Then your grandfather must be a miracle doctor! Please, Miracle Doctor, you must save our sect leader—if you don’t, he’ll die!”

“Pah! Miracle doctor? My grandfather isn’t a miracle doctor—he’s a ghost doctor!” the little girl scoffed at Baolong, as if he were a country bumpkin.

Lingmei’s eyes flashed. “Ghost Doctor? Could you be…the same one we met three hundred years ago…?”

The old man stroked his beard. “Oh? Is that so? I don’t remember. Getting old, I suppose. And you are?”

“My name is Lingmei. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten? If you have, then…” With that, Lingmei stomped hard on the old man’s foot.

Everyone’s eyes widened in shock. With a yelp, the ethereal old man suddenly transformed into a short, chubby, earthy-looking elder, resembling the God of the Land himself. He grumbled, “My dear lady, could you be a little gentler? Oh, my foot…” The little girl giggled behind her hand, “Grandpa, you’ve slipped back into your true form again… Heeheehee.”

“Alright, enough laughing!” the Ghost Doctor said dejectedly. “Lingmei, next time, show some mercy, will you?”

Lingmei, even more aggrieved, snapped, “You old Ghost Doctor! How do you plan to settle our score from last time?” She was here to collect her debt.

The Ghost Doctor replied, “Fine, fine, wasn’t it just a Perpetual Youth Pill? I have one, I have one!” He produced an exquisite box from his robes and handed it to her. “I spent years refining this.”

Lingmei eyed him suspiciously, then accepted the box. Everyone else crowded around to see. When Lingmei opened it, they saw a pearl-like elixir, dazzling and luminous. For a moment, everyone was delighted—until Xiaomei’s heart ached in the next instant. Lingmei hurled the box and its pearl at the Ghost Doctor’s face, snarling, “Trying to fool me again with inferior goods?!” She seized the Ghost Doctor by the collar.

“What? Inferior goods? Well, if you don’t want it, give it here!” Xiaomei and Music immediately scrambled on the ground to retrieve it.

The Ghost Doctor was terrified, begging, “Please, my lady, it’s genuine, I swear!” Meanwhile, the little girl chanted, “Grandpa’s a liar, hehe…” Who knew whom she took after.

Lingmei’s whip instantly transformed into a sharp dagger, which she pressed to the Ghost Doctor’s forehead. “Lying to me again! Last time your trick cost me a hundred years’ worth of wrinkles. Are you trying to cheat me again?!”

The Ghost Doctor shuddered; he knew Lingmei was not to be trifled with. “Alright, alright! Here—this is the genuine article!” He quickly opened a small box from the dragon head of his cane and handed it to Lingmei.

Still suspicious, Lingmei opened it. Her expression darkened. “Liar! Are you looking for death?!”

This time, the Ghost Doctor nearly fell to his knees, face contorted in misery. “I swear, my lady, this one’s real! It’ll keep you young for five hundred years!”

Lingmei suddenly laughed. “I was teasing you. I don’t actually know what’s real or fake, but this one seems genuine.” At her words, the Ghost Doctor nearly fainted.

Unable to bear the farce any longer, Wuming stepped in to smooth things over. “Enough, Ghost Doctor, Senior Sister, let’s discuss serious matters…”

“What? You call him ‘Ghost Doctor’? He’s nothing but a scoundrel!” Lingmei declared, making her opinion known.

Wuming could only shrug. But Lingmei, having gotten what she wanted, was in high spirits. “Ah, right, let’s return to business!” Her demeanor shifted completely; she bowed respectfully to the Ghost Doctor. “Elder Ghost Doctor, what treatment do you suggest for our sect leader?”

The transformation was so abrupt it left Wuming baffled.

The Ghost Doctor, maintaining his dignity, nodded. “Well, since we’re acquainted, I’ll take a look. Please, come to my humble clinic.”

Lingmei, Wuming, and the others followed the Ghost Doctor to his clinic.

“Hey, Senior Sister, why are you so polite all of a sudden?” Wuming asked Lingmei quietly.

Lingmei replied, sounding a bit mystified herself, “Isn’t it obvious? The deal before was between him and me—he cheated me, so I had to collect my debt. But this is a transaction between the sect and him, so we have to follow the rules. A senior sister should be ladylike, after all…”

Music, listening to this explanation, felt a little uneasy. “Ladylike? She nearly cut the Ghost Doctor to pieces just now…”

“We’re here at last…” the Ghost Doctor’s little granddaughter said, popping the last hawthorn berry into her mouth and pouting. Before them stood a house only ten feet wide and long, but three times as tall. A couplet was inscribed in sandalwood over the entrance.

“Heal ghosts, heal spirits, not men; save monsters, save demons, save the dead,” Music read aloud from the couplet, finding it odd, yet followed the girl inside nonetheless.