blankly as a minor deity from the underworld appeared before me."Well... you actually dodged the first punishment... Looks like you're not so bad after all..." That Ox-Head said to me in a low, rumbl...The little boy, with a chocolate- smeared mouth stretched into an "O", was scooped up by my brother and tossed beside the giant gourd he was laughing so hard about.

I frowned. What should I do Younan was actually crying and his nose was running. What should we do with such a small child who is sick Medicine isn't good for the body, and finding a vein to give him an injection is impossible!

You actually think a runny nose isn't a big deal

"Little Niece, have you always spoken to the Emperor like this" The little boy looked at me with bright eyes.

What does this worshipful look mean

"What's wrong Is there something wrong with the way I'm speaking" I asked, frowning.

"Hmm... just feeling... well... that..." The little boy tilted his head and pondered for a long time before squeezing out, "I just think you two are very loving!"

"... Don't worry about this, kids. Just eat your snacks and go to the Ninth Heaven to deliver the message." I urged them.

Actually, I'm a little worried about Jiang Qiyun. He got injured on his hand last time, and this time he's facing two opponents alone. It seems quite dangerous.

The little boy wasn't a child at all; he was much older than me. He comforted me and said, "Little Lady don't worry, the Ziwei Emperor is just too lazy to intervene. He doesn't want either of the two honored deities to feel resentful, so he lets the Emperor take action. It's nothing to worry about. Although they fight fiercely, turning heaven and earth upside down, it's just a duel. They won't kill each other."

"To fight until the heavens and earth are overturned and you still let me rest assured It's been two nights of heavy snow, how much longer do we have to fight" I asked helplessly.

The little boy tilted his head and pondered, "That's different. I was only there for a short while these past two days... Last time must have been about two hundred forty years ago... It rained for half a month on Earth, and the Jade Emperor sent word to the Purple Microstar Emperor, saying that if the Yellow River burst its banks, he should send people from the Purple Microstar Palace to oversee it. That's how things calmed down."

The corner of my mouth twitched. Jiang Qiyun said that the Three Purities and Four Imperials of the Nine Heavens were great divine beings who had lived for thousands of years in the celestial realm. How come, from a child's mouth, this picture was completely off

My brother was laughing so hard he was wiping tears away. He said, "I feel like Grandpa A is yelling at Grandpa B next door: 'Control your damn kids! They're making so much noise, I can't even play cards...' That kind of feeling."

The little boy nodded seriously and said, "Yes, that's right!"

I sighed helplessly: “Well, the Great Gods have nothing to do all day, I understand. Go ahead and send a message, it’s already a foot of snow outside.”

The little boy wiped his mouth and put the gourd on his back, saying: "Little lady, if you have anything to do, you can call me by reciting the sacred incantation of the deity. The deity will send me."

"What are you muttering about some sacred texts for Offering snacks to the shrine won't do anything. You'd run faster than anyone else if something was really wrong." My brother scoffed.

The little boy giggled and vanished from our sight.

My brother poured some hot tea and, with a serious expression, said to me, “Xiao Qiao, Madam Ma is still the honorary head of the Tongxuan Society. If we go against her, wouldn't it anger the various factions within the Tongxuan Society, those uninformed insiders”

This...I didn't expect this many.

"Since you've raised this question, I presume you've already considered the countermeasures" I looked up at him.

He smiled: "Of course, the Tong Xuan Hui is an organization that took a different path. It wasn't formed based on school lineage, but with the goal of restoring balance between yin and yang. The rewards are also straightforward—gold. So it shouldn't be treated as an enemy..."

"Our good friend, Mr. Lin Yanhuan, could be very helpful. If we ask him to support someone we know well to manage the Tongxuan Society, that would be even better."

I looked at the grain of the table and, listening to my brother's words, whispered, "Who do you want to support"

My brother smiled: "There are three kinds of people: monks, Taoists, and commoners. How many of them would be close to us"

“Are you thinking of having Master Huicong replace his master, Yuanhui, and then have him also oversee the Tung Xuan Society” I guessed.

My brother nodded.

"Alright... I'll discuss it with Lin Yanhuan. He isn't familiar with this group of people, including Old Mrs. Ma, so he shouldn't defend them."

"Well, at Xi Linzhou's place, I found a little problem... She has wounds behind her ears and under her eyelids," my brother said coldly in a low voice. "I think Old Mrs. Ma's fox spirit must have bitten her with poisonous insects to blackmail her with the antidote."

"What kind of bug is that"

"I have no idea! Don't you remember how Lin Yanqin was terribly treated by that 'fairy' who used a poisonous curse from the Mi River Basin I reckon Xi Linzhou is even worse off, so he's taking a gamble."

I was getting a little agitated and scratched my head: "If she dared to do this, who knows if others will continue to threaten the child... This time, we can't be soft."

My brother patted my hand reassuringly. "Don't worry, take things one step at a time. With Qi Ke Xin, Hu Shou, Gui Gongzhu, and Mrs. Ma all happening at once, it's natural to feel overwhelmed. But really, things aren't that complicated."

We speculate that Old Mrs. Ma is nearing the end of her life, and the fox spirit dwelling within her needs a new vessel. However, it can't find a suitable living person for the time being. The most useful option would be that fox head.

If a fox fairy's ghost roams about outside, it can easily be captured by the Yin Si people.

Jiang Qiyun did not return that night, but the blizzard in the sky had already begun to weaken. By morning, it had stopped altogether. We immediately set off with Xi Lingzhou and went to confront him at his door.

Grandma Ma is quite well-known in the north. Her business in Beijing is a teahouse, doing ordinary business downstairs. Those in the know go upstairs for secret dealings.

Because we were accompanied by Xi Linzhou, we were almost unhindered and ushered into a dim yet lavish room upstairs.

Old Madam Ma was sitting cross-legged on a Buddhist couch, with two disciples guarding the door. But didn't these disciples notice anything unusual about Old Madam Ma

She closed her eyes, but the muscles on her face were unnaturally drooping.

I've met many "unusual" people, and the faint smell of death that hit me as I stepped into the house, coupled with Old Madam Ma's unsettling expression, made it instantly clear to me why the old fox fairy was so desperate to force Xi Linzhou to steal the fox head.

I couldn't help but blurt out, "Old Fox Spirit, you don't need to play tricks... Mrs. Ma has actually been dead for a long time, right!"

After a period of time, corpses will show signs of softening. Just looking at the sagging skin on Old Mrs. Ma's cheeks, one can tell that she has been dead for several days.

That fox spirit emerged gloomily from under the bed curtain, her voice laced with anger, and said, "Give me the fox head, and everything will be solved!"

"Is everything settled Xi Linzhou colluded with the underworld and kidnapped my child as a hostage. How can I settle this score!"

"Colluding with the underworld Ha, that Ah Yue is my own disciple. It's only natural for me to supervise Xi Lingzhou! What collusion" This old fox was very adamant.

Little Ni stared at the old fox and said, “You are a soul condensed into form, so you desperately need a physical body, right If you have the guts, come over here and try to take it. See if I don't bite you to death…”s, or he was forced to be cannon fodder.Another little demon disappeared into the darkness. My brother chased after him, and I worried he might slip up, so I immediately rushed over to grab his arm: “...