Four people strolled leisurely along a narrow country path.
Two of them had their heads hanging low, looking utterly dejected.
"Yaya, I contributed such a great idea, didn't I? With a contribution this big, they should at least invite me to Yao Xin Zhai for three days of lavish feasts! Fine, if they don't want to go that far, they could at least let me return and help discuss the details of putting my plan into action. But no! I'm still stuck here helping the dirt dog find his fated partner. Does that make any sense at all?!"
Faced with Ren Kurogane's complaints, Yaya sighed.
"Give it up. We've already accepted this mission. Unless we genuinely exhaust every possible option and still can't complete it, we're not allowed to abandon a fated-bond mission."
Yaya wasn't upset because she didn't want to do the job. It was the thought of her elder sister making some major moves while she herself was away that bothered her. The idea of not being by Honghong's side during such an important time was driving her crazy.
Beside them, Fan Yunfei and Li Xueyang hardly dared to speak above a whisper, afraid of disturbing the two.
"Young Master, there's really no need to rush to find the young madam's reincarnation right now. Once Tushan finishes registering the human population, we can ask them to help us search. That would be much more efficient than wandering around blindly like we're doing now!"
Fan Yunfei scratched his head without saying much.
Who knew how long Tushan would take to finish the population census? Hadn't Ren Kurogane requisitioned ten years' worth of eggs from Chicken Tyrant Mountain? That meant the project would take at least ten years, conservatively speaking.
Ten whole years!
What if he found Xueyang's reincarnation before then?
He couldn't afford to stop searching.
Seeing the determination in her young master's eyes, Li Xueyang sighed helplessly.
"Fine. We'll keep looking…"
At that moment, she prepared herself for another five hundred years of hard labor.
There was no other choice. The Western Western Region had already run out of money for the two of them to squander.
Tushan
After returning, Rongrong summoned everyone in Tushan and explained Ren Kurogane's population census plan.
At first, everyone frowned.
"The One Qi Alliance won't allow us to do this."
"Exactly. Human territory belongs to the One Qi Alliance. They won't let us demons march into their lands so openly and do whatever we please."
Several fox demons voiced their concerns, but Honghong didn't think those particular problems were worth worrying about.
Ren had previously told her that humanity's strength had suffered a major decline in this new era. Considering what she had seen of Wangquan Baye in Mutian City, she could practically confirm that humans no longer had the strength to resist the demons.
However, when she thought about her own dream, Honghong knew she couldn't simply resort to force.
"There's no need to rush this. We should at least wait until Dongfang Yuechu and Wangquan Fugui have gained control over the One Qi Alliance before seriously considering it. As for the demon side…"
Honghong had made up her mind.
"All right. We'll carry this out secretly for now. Start with some remote villages and gather information there. Once the time is right, we can expand the operation everywhere."
"Yes!"
Since the Queen of Tushan had given her orders, the others naturally followed them.
With Chicken Tyrant Mountain sponsoring the project, the Red String Immortals of Tushan soon began heading out, each carrying a basket of eggs.
Qinlan also informed Dongfang Yuechu about the recent developments in Tushan. Once he heard the plan, he immediately approved.
"By the way, how are things with your cousin? Did you actually ask him what he wants to do?" Qinlan asked, bringing the conversation back to Wangquan Fugui.
Dongfang Yuechu smiled.
"I reckon it won't be long before my cousin leaves the Wangquan family."
"Really?" Qinlan said. "Then don't forget to take the Wangquan Sword with you when you leave with him."
"Got it!"
After hanging up, Dongfang Yuechu shook his head helplessly.
"My mother really is something else. Isn't she worried about whether her precious son can even get out of the Wangquan family in one piece?"
After complaining a little, he returned to his research into spiritual power technology.
One Month Later
"What? You've found someone?!" Ren Kurogane exclaimed in disbelief.
"That's right. They say they've found a girl named Xueyang in a small mountain village. Come on, let's go have a look."
Yaya put away the letter and waved her hand, taking the lead.
Fan Yunfei's face lit up, and he hurried after her.
Before long, all four of them had arrived at the location mentioned in the letter.
From a distance, they spotted a little blonde girl walking slowly along the village road with a large basket strapped to her back.
The basket was full of weeds, probably fodder for the livestock at home.
The moment Fan Yunfei saw her face, which was almost identical to Li Xueyang's, he could barely contain himself. He was about to fly straight over to her when Ren Kurogane grabbed him.
Fan Yunfei looked at him in confusion.
Ren shook his head. "Hold on. Let's watch her for a bit first."
At the same time, Yaya took out the Book of Heaven. As they approached the girl, waves of spiritual power began emanating from its pages, confirming that they had indeed found the right person.
Yaya glanced suspiciously at Ren. She couldn't understand why he had stopped Fan Yunfei.
"W-what… what else… do we need to observe?" Fan Yunfei asked.
"Her family circumstances, whether she likes anyone, how she feels about demons, that sort of thing." Ren gave a few examples. "Besides, if you suddenly swoop down in front of her, you'll only frighten her. Don't forget, she's an ordinary human right now. What if she gets so scared she drops dead?"
The other three twitched at his words.
The first few points were understandable, but what was that last one about frightening her to death?
"Ahem. I don't think the young madam would be afraid of demons, even after reincarnating," Li Xueyang said.
"That's what you think. Reincarnation means starting over. Even if someone's underlying personality stays the same, the way they behave on the outside can still change quite a bit."
He continued, "Besides, Tushan's business is helping people fulfill their fated bonds. If I get you two to meet again, then I've done my job. Whether you become lovers again afterward is up to you."
Fan Yunfei nodded. "I understand."
"So, what are you planning to do?" Ren asked curiously.
"I… I plan to… pursue… Xueyang… all over again!" Fan Yunfei stammered, but his determination was clear.
"Tch. All right. I can only wish you luck."
Ren glanced at the little girl in the distance, who looked no older than seven or eight, then at Fan Yunfei beside him.
That's certainly something.
Still, this was ancient times. There weren't nearly as many restrictions as there would be in the future.
It wasn't uncommon for people barely into their teens to become parents.
Yaya was still flipping through the Book of Heaven, apparently searching for something.
"What are you doing?" Ren asked curiously, leaning over to look at its contents.
"I'm looking for a way to restore the memories of reincarnated people who've entered into fated bonds."
"Wouldn't that require the Tree of Acknowledgement?" Ren asked. "You hardly ever meditate on its power. How would you know how to restore their memories?"
Yaya closed the Book of Heaven and turned to look at him.
"You cultivated beneath the Tree of Acknowledgement for so many years. Didn't you figure out how to do it?"
"Uh… well…"
Ren's eyes wandered away.
"Oh? So someone spent several years sitting beneath the Tree of Acknowledgement and didn't actually learn anything from it?"
Ren understood what Yaya was getting at. It wasn't that he had gained nothing. He had nearly mastered the way of the soul. He simply wasn't sure whether his divine ability could restore a reincarnated person's memories.
After all, his ability only allowed him to blow a soul out of its body.
"For now, let's investigate her background," he said. "If she's living a miserable life, we can pay her parents to let her come with us. Then she can return with you as a child bride, and you can slowly build a relationship."
The four followed the girl until she reached a thatched cottage.
Don't assume that a thatched cottage was necessarily a miserable place to live. For poor people in this era, simply having a home that kept out the wind and rain was already quite fortunate.
Once the girl went inside, Ren looked around.
"Does she live here alone?"
Fan Yunfei's heart ached at the thought. He was already itching to go over and help her.
"Hey, hey, hey! Calm down!" Ren hurriedly stopped him. "If you walk straight over to her now, you'll look like one of those creepy men who abduct children. You'll scare the poor girl!"
"Then what should I do?"
Fan Yunfei was so anxious that he stopped stammering. He stared at Ren expectantly, hoping he'd come up with a decent plan.
"Well…"
Ren turned toward Yaya. When it came to fated bonds, she knew more than he did.
Probably.
Yaya tucked the Book of Heaven back into her clothes and spoke to Fan Yunfei.
"Don't rush. I've figured out a few things."
Then she put on a mysterious expression and explained, "Once you've found your fated partner, you need to fall in love with the person whose wish you're helping fulfill. When your relationship reaches the right stage, the magical treasure inside them will be revealed. Once both parties' fated-bond treasures are combined, the fated bond will be complete!"
The three people facing Yaya stared at her blankly.
What on earth was this little fox talking about?
Why did none of them understand a word of it?
In the end, Li Xueyang sighed.
"Anyway, let's just let the young master introduce himself to the young madam first."
The four of them dispelled their invisibility spells. Fan Yunfei walked up to the door, an excited smile on his face.
Just as he was about to knock, the door suddenly opened.
A girl with a rather dirty face, Lin Xueyang, looked up at the unfamiliar man standing outside her home. She stared at him in confusion.
He's so handsome…
Lin Xueyang gazed blankly at Fan Yunfei. In all her life, she'd never seen anyone so good-looking.
"H-hello…"
"Hello," Fan Yunfei replied.
Lin Xueyang came to her senses and quickly lowered her head. She asked cautiously, "Are you here to ask for directions? I'm pretty familiar with this part of the village."
"I'm here to find you!" Fan Yunfei replied.
"Me?" Lin Xueyang looked up at him, puzzled.
"Mm…"
Fan Yunfei nodded. Seeing the dirt on Lin Xueyang's face, his heart ached. He raised a hand and gently stroked her cheek.
His tenderness reached her clearly. For a moment, Lin Xueyang felt an unexpected sense of security, much like the feeling she'd had in her grandmother's arms.
Watching from a distance, Ren Kurogane studied the scene.
"Looks like Xueyang's reincarnation has taken a liking to Fan Yunfei."
Yaya nodded. "Mm. Seems like we can go home now."
"Let's go!"
The two turned around without another thought. Neither wanted to stick around any longer than necessary.
Since Fan Yunfei and the little girl seemed to have made a good first impression on each other, they might as well trust him to handle what came next.
Li Xueyang didn't stop them either. Now that they had found the girl, all that remained was for Fan Yunfei and Lin Xueyang to develop their relationship. Once their feelings grew strong enough to awaken the spiritual power and magical treasure within Lin Xueyang, they could ask Tushan to help restore her memories.
Ren and Yaya headed home at an easy pace.
"Yaya, how about we stop at Yao Xin Zhai and have a feast when we get back?"
"Sounds good! I've worked hard for the past month. I deserve to treat myself!"
They didn't hurry back. Instead, they stopped by some nearby villages to check on the progress of the population census.
"As soon as people hear they can get ten eggs just by giving us their names, they come running to register. Sometimes we can barely keep up with all the people lining up!"
Listening to the fox demons' report, Ren was once again impressed by his own genius.
"Who in this world could resist the temptation of ten eggs?"
Along the way, Ren even noticed that quite a few villages now had chicks running around. Apparently, some villagers had chosen not to eat the eggs they'd received. Instead, they'd carefully incubated them so their villages could keep producing eggs in the future.
"But is this really a good idea?" Ren wondered aloud.
It wasn't that he was worried about people eating too many eggs. He was more concerned that someone might not appreciate what they were doing.
"Let's talk to Cu Yu Ling when we get back. Ask her to keep an eye out for chicken plague."
By the time they reached the outskirts of Tushan, news had begun circulating among the demons.
"The three Demon Emperors have gathered in Tushan. Apparently, they're going to choose a leader for the Demon Alliance."
"Who do you think will become the leader?"
"Obviously, whoever has the strongest fists! I think it'll be Shi Kuan, the Northern Mountain Demon Emperor. He destroyed Jin Chenxi with three punches before. He's definitely the strongest!"
"…What's Jin Chenxi?"
"Jin Chenxi! That Jin Chenxi incident that caused such a commotion back then! You've never heard of it?"
"That was just a rumor. Who actually knows what Jin Chenxi was? Have you ever seen it? Have you?"
Faced with the ox demon's questions, the little demons all lowered their heads.
They really hadn't seen Jin Chenxi.
A leader for the Demon Alliance? Looks like Honghong is finally making her move, Ren thought.
Yaya shot into the air and headed straight for Tushan.
"Two Demon Emperors have already entered Tushan's territory. If only my sister is here, we'll be at a serious disadvantage in numbers!" she said.
Yaya believed her elder sister was invincible, but she still didn't want Honghong facing the other Demon Emperors alone.
Besides, who knew what those fellows were planning by coming to Tushan?
What if they ganged up on her sister?
The two sped through the air and returned to Tushan in moments.
At that time, the three Demon Emperors were holding a meeting.
"After tens of thousands of years, it's about time we demons united," said Huan Du Qingtian, the short old man. "I'm the most senior among us, but I have no desire to lead the Demon Alliance."
The Northern Mountain Demon Emperor, seated opposite him, spoke up as well.
"I don't want to be the leader either. But if we simply give up on the idea, the people under our command certainly won't agree."
Both men looked toward Honghong. Their intentions were obvious.
Honghong asked, "Shall we have a fight?"
"Just for show."
"Put on a performance."
The three quickly reached an agreement.
Neither of the other two wanted the responsibility, but they supported Honghong's plan to unite the demons.
Honghong hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. If she'd proposed this earlier, could she have established the Demon Alliance long ago?
"Let's go!"
The three Demon Emperors emerged from the secret chamber, ready to put on a grand show for the entire world to witness.