Chapter 6

Lüru opened her eyes and found herself lying on a bed. A candle had burned down to a small stub. Through the mosquito net, she saw a person reading at a table.

The room was filled with the smell of medicine. She could tell it was a healing ointment. On a small stove by the wall, a long-eared earthen pot was boiling medicine.

As soon as she moved, Mo Xian immediately raised his head. "Miss Lüru, you're awake!"

Lüru's mind raced, and the events of the past few days flooded back. "Where am I? Thank you for saving me!"

"Don't worry, this is my home. You can rest and recover here." Mo Xian stood up, put down the book, and poured the medicine from the pot into a bowl. "You're injured. Drink this medicine first!"

Lüru tried to sit up, but found her wounds were already bandaged. Seeing her attempt to get up, Mo Xian quickly came over and placed a pillow behind her back, carefully supporting her in a half-reclining position. "Lie down, I'll feed you."

"Big Brother Mo, my sister was taken away." Lüru, feeling as if she had found a relative, burst into tears.

Mo Xian fed her the medicine with a spoon while comforting her. "Don't worry, take it easy and tell me what happened."

Lüru recounted the events in a broken manner. Although her description was not clear, Mo Xian finally understood: a group of people had attacked the village, killing and burning. Lüyi had protected her and was captured, while Lüru, injured, managed to break through the encirclement and was pursued by the enemy until she was saved by Mo Xian.

Although Lüru did not say who did it, Mo Xian could tell from the details that it was not the work of ordinary bandits. It seemed to involve a regular army and a group of people he was familiar with—the people from the Yama Hall.

When did the Yama Hall, an organization of assassins, team up with the government? Mo Xian fell into deep thought. Could it be?

Mo Xian had a bad feeling. He remembered his assassination attempt, which led to his being hunted by the Yama Hall. He was just a pawn, unaware of the higher-ups in the organization.

"How is Miss Lüyi? Do you have any news about her?" Mo Xian asked, his heart racing.

"My sister was taken away. I heard someone say they were going to offer her to Lord Zheng."

Mo Xian thought of the beautiful woman, her beauty untainted by the world. He felt a pang of pain and comforted her. "Stay here and recover. I'll go and gather information when it's light. Don't worry, even if it costs me my life, I will save Miss Lüyi."

"Big Brother Mo, you're so kind."

Mo Xian felt a sense of guilt. He believed he had brought this disaster upon them. He thought that his presence, while recovering, had led the Yama Hall to discover them. It seemed that his survival and the secret had been revealed to the Yama Hall.

He didn't know that it wasn't like that at all. The Yama Hall had discovered the place purely by chance. The location was hidden by an array, which should not have been discovered. It was Lüru's carelessness, accidentally being seen when she entered and exited, that drew the Yama Hall's attention.

When it was light, Mo Xian gave instructions and left, pretending to sell flowers to gather information in the city.

As soon as Mo Xian left, Lüru immediately sat up in a meditative posture. A faint white mist emerged from her nose, gradually enveloping her entire body, and her wounds began to heal.

An hour passed, and the white mist gradually disappeared. There was no sign of injury on her body.

She slowly got out of bed and looked around the room. The room was not luxurious. The curtains were half-open, and several screens divided the room into two parts.

Outside the screens was an eight-person table with a teapot and four teacups. In the corner was a small red clay stove, but there was no dressing table. By the wall was a bookshelf with only a few books, seemingly for show.

It looked like an ordinary wealthy merchant's home, with no servants.

Lüru walked to the bookshelf. There were only seven or eight books. As her eyes scanned them, she suddenly froze. She saw two books: one was the *Huangting Jing* and the other was the *Muni Sanpan Jing*. She didn't pay much attention to the *Huangting Jing*, but she had heard of the *Muni Sanpan Jing*. It was a book of spells from the Muni religion, which was considered heretical by Buddhists. The Muni religion had disappeared from the world, but here, she saw this book.

Could Mo Xian be a member of the Muni religion? It didn't seem likely. If he were, he would have valued the book and wouldn't have left it on the shelf. Moreover, Big Brother Mo knew martial arts, but Lüru could tell he didn't know magic.

Or was this book not from the Muni religion, just with a similar name?

She reached out, took the book, and opened it. Although she had never seen the *Muni Sanpan Jing* before, she was certain it was the *Muni Sanpan Jing*.

Lüru was not human but a celestial fox from the mountains, transformed into human form. The so-called Hu Family Village was actually a den of foxes, usually hidden from the world.

Mo Xian fell off a cliff, right above Hu Family Village. Lüyi and Lüru, seeing someone fall, felt compassionate and used magic to save him. At that time, Mo Xian was already unconscious. If not for Lüyi's help, Mo Xian would have been crushed to death. What Mo Xian saw when he woke up was just an illusion.

Since no one usually came to the mountains, Lüru developed a liking for Mo Xian. Mo Xian, knowing his own situation, secretly left at midnight.

Lüyi, as an observer, breathed a sigh of relief when Mo Xian left. However, she inadvertently drew the attention of the Yama Hall. The soul collectors, who knew magic, broke through the array that concealed the place.

The celestial foxes, though they knew some magic, only had it as an instinct. As a result, Lüyi was captured, and Lüru, with Lüyi's help, managed to escape.

Mo Xian knew none of this. If not for his encounter with the Shadow Ghost, who was preparing to investigate the Cixin Hall at night, he would not have accidentally saved Lüru.

He used the Ape Gong Sword Technique, and Lüru was not surprised that he knew martial arts. However, she was surprised to find the *Muni Sanpan Jing*.

Lüru was knowledgeable. The content of the book raised no questions for her. Her own cultivation was instinctual, and she had not systematically studied it. This was her first cultivation manual. She carefully read and memorized the various spells and talismans.

The book also contained prescriptions. Seeing the herbs, she recalled the medicine Mo Xian had given her last night. She shook her head; the herbs were not refined. It seemed he didn't know magic. Using unrefined herbs, while effective, was far inferior to refined ones.

She put the book down and tried to recall it, but only remembered about a third of it. She realized she needed to copy the book, but she would have to ask Big Brother Mo first.

She left the room and came to the main hall. To her surprise, the food on the table was covered with a gauze and had already cooled. She understood that Mo Xian had said in the morning that lunch could be heated from the table.

It was not yet noon, so she went out into the garden. Various flowers were in full bloom, and her gaze focused on a particular orchid.

It was a Flame Orchid, with buds about to bloom. In the Dahan Empire, which revered Buddhism and Taoism, especially Buddhism, there was a poem: "Four hundred and eighty temples in the imperial capital, how many pavilions in the misty rain." The orchid was fragrant and had many varieties, one of which was very rare, called the Flame Orchid.

What people didn't know was that it had another name, the Enchanting Orchid. The celestial foxes used it to enchant people, even using a spell to make men believe they were having real intercourse, with the orchid as the medium.

Seeing the Enchanting Orchid, Lüru couldn't help but think of her sister. She wondered how she was and whether she should go to save her. But as a fox, she was unfamiliar with the human world. She would wait for Big Brother Mo to return and see what he had learned.

She remembered the books in the bookshelf, including the *Huangting Jing*, a Daoist classic. She returned to the room.

She flipped through the *Huangting Jing* but was disappointed. It was just a book on visualization techniques, mainly focusing on visualizing the deities within the body. She shook her head; it wasn't particularly profound, not as good as the *Muni Sanpan Jing*. She put the book down and picked up the *Muni Sanpan Jing* again, memorizing it silently.

In the evening, Mo Xian pushed a wheelbarrow back home, bringing some herbs and two unsold flower pots.

After arranging the items, he noticed the plants had been watered. "Lüru, your injuries haven't fully healed. Why did you work?"

"It's fine. The work wasn't heavy. Do you have any news about my sister?"

"Miss Lüyi should be alive. I heard in the market that Lord Zheng is taking a concubine. The concubine is described as beautiful and charming, named Lüyi. However, due to the national mourning period, it will be four more months before he can take a concubine. I haven't seen her, so I can't be sure it's your sister."

According to the Dahan Empire's etiquette, the emperor's funeral should last three years, and the feudal lords should mourn for one year. However, after four hundred years, the feudal lords no longer followed the etiquette, though the mourning period was never less than six months. So Mo Xian said it would be four months before Lord Zheng could take a concubine.

"Can I see her?" Lüru asked, knowing that if her sister became Lord Zheng's concubine, it would be difficult to see her.

A feudal lord's concubine is called a "xijun."

"Don't worry. There's an opportunity. It's said in the market that Miss Lüyi likes orchids, especially the Flame Orchid. The Flame Orchid grows in the deep mountains and is not available in the market. However, I have one. I'll use the pretext of offering the orchid to try to see her." Mo Xian was not worried; his main task was to confirm if the Lüyi in question was Lüru's sister.

"It's her, definitely my sister!" Lüru became excited. "My sister loves the Flame Orchid!"

Mo Xian looked at her strangely. The Flame Orchid was very valuable, and it was normal for a woman to like it.

Lüru was certain that only the celestial foxes could use the properties of the Flame Orchid. Her sister didn't want to be a concubine of Lord Zheng; she must be using the Flame Orchid to cast an illusion. Her sister only loved one person, Huiming, who died for her.

"Tomorrow, you can disguise yourself and go with me to deliver the Flame Orchid. If it's your sister, we'll ask her what's going on." Mo Xian thought for a moment and said to Lüru.