Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Moyun Mountain was swarming with tourists due to the early April cherry blossoms.

At first, only the cherry blossoms drew visitors, who came to see the flowers, take photos, and leave. But with gradual development, more recreational activities appeared.

There was grass sledding, hot springs, a barbecue and camping area, and even a nearby film and television shooting base, where luck might bring a glimpse of a celebrity. Slowly, the visitor traffic to Moyun Mountain grew, and every weekend the parking lots overflowed.

Bai Zhizhi, who had no clue why a nap had dumped him in a different place, gazed at the blue sky and white clouds, feeling the warmth of the sunlight. His nose twitched—the smell was nothing like Qingqiu. He was almost instantly certain this wasn't Qingqiu.

He stealthily extended his spiritual sense to check his surroundings. There were no spiritual arrays blocking him either. His confusion deepened: Where was this? How had he gotten here?

He brushed the dust off his clothes, pricked up his ears, and with a whoosh, flew toward the liveliest area, set on figuring out what this place was and who was messing with him!

Following the winding mountain path, a bustling, unfamiliar scene came into view. People—so many people, all wearing strange and varied clothes.

Never having seen a human ever, Bai Zhizhi stood frozen on the path, ears perked, forgetting how to take a step.

Though Qingqiu wasn't exclusively fox-kind, there were other demon races, but no humans. All his knowledge of humans came from books, which described human cultivators.

Now standing here, watching the people coming and going below, he sensed no cultivation aura from them. So these weren't cultivators—just regular people?

Bai Zhizhi cocked his head, baffled. So many ordinary humans—just where had he slept himself into?

He instinctively turned to look for Bei Shan, but his constant shadow hadn't come along.

His ears drooped, and the spark in his eyes dimmed. Not having Bei Shan around felt strange. He should've dragged Bei Shan into that tree hollow with him.

After a moment of dejection, Bai Zhizhi quickly cheered up. The world beyond Qingqiu—he'd always been dying to see it.

Just as he took a step downhill, he glanced at his own clothes, then at the humans' clothing below. Would it be bad if he dressed differently? Shouldn't he follow local customs?

Looking around, he spotted a stall that seemed to sell clothes. With a gleam in his eyes, he zipped down, snatched a set of human clothes, and zipped back up.

He copied how the humans wore theirs and put them on. The fabric was kinda scratchy and uncomfortable, but it was new to him. Now that he looked like everyone else, he strutted down the mountain.

As soon as he stepped into the crowd, many people turned to look at him. Almost everyone who passed did a double-take.

Bai Zhizhi frowned a little and checked himself over. Human shirt, human pants—he was dressed exactly like them. Why were they staring?

Turning his head, he saw the stall owner also looking his way. Bai Zhizhi's ears shot up in alarm, and he spun around and ran.

He remembered from books that the human cultivation world had different kinds of money—spirit stones, gold, and silver. Since these were ordinary people, they probably didn't use spirit stones, so he'd swapped a gold leaf for the clothes—on the sly, of course.

He had no idea if one gold leaf was enough. The last thing he wanted on his first day away from Qingqiu was to be caught for stealing. So he bolted, feeling guilty and panicked.

Once he was far from the stall owner, Bai Zhizhi slowed down, relieved, and began to take in his surroundings.

Everything was unfamiliar—not even recorded in books. He didn't understand, and felt too embarrassed to ask, so he just quietly observed, committing these strange things to memory. He'd figure them out eventually.

He couldn't figure out the gadgets and stuff, but food was easy—if others were eating it, it was edible.

But the way people paid here seemed different from what he'd read. No spirit stones, no gold or silver. People were using some weird gizmo, tapping it to another weird gizmo, and then taking their food.

What was that odd thing?

Two girls buying ice cream noticed his gaze. They exchanged a look and, at the same time, squeezed each other's arms, silently amazed.

He was breathtakingly handsome—delicate features like a painting, dark brows and eyes, porcelain skin, silky flowing hair, and a pair of white ears standing on either side of his head.

When he saw them staring, his ears even twitched back. So realistic! What kind of god-tier face was that? Total furry bait—they wanted to pounce and sniff him, certain he'd smell soft and sweet.

Their intense gaze made Bai Zhizhi step back, ready to flee.

One girl quickly called out, "Sorry, can we take a picture with you? Are you a coser? Which anime character are you cosplaying? Your ears and hair are so well done!"

Bai Zhizhi didn't understand. Cos? Anime? He never spoke about things he didn't know, so he just smiled at them, tilting his head. His sister always said his smile was enchanting—when he smiled like that, people couldn't refuse him anything, except, of course, letting him leave Qingqiu.

Sure enough, seeing his smile, the girls grew excited and stepped closer, pulling out that strange device.

Bai Zhizhi studied it intently, but before he could figure it out, one girl stood beside him, leaning her head almost on his shoulder.

Before he could step back in shock, the other girl said they were done, and they swapped places, the second one also standing beside him.

Bai Zhizhi was totally lost and kinda flustered. These humans were so strange.

After taking the photos, one girl bought an ice cream and handed it to him: "Thanks, cutie. You're way too hot not to make it big. If you ever become a celebrity, we'll be your OGs."

He still didn't get it, but he'd gotten his first food in this weird place. He watched how others ate, then tentatively took a bite. It was cold and icy, not as good as it smelled, but it was the first thing he'd eaten since leaving Qingqiu.

He looked at the two girls who'd bought him the ice cream, his eyes sparkling with a sweet smile. "Thanks."

While Bai Zhizhi observed this unfamiliar human world, a group of people called in by an emergency alert from the Bureau gathered from different places.

These people were all drop-dead gorgeous with an otherworldly vibe. Gathering together, they drew the attention of many tourists.

Some visitors assumed they were celebs from the nearby film studio, though they didn't recognize their faces. The mix of handsome men and beautiful women prompted many to pull out phones to take photos.

Totally used to being stared at, the group ignored the nosy tourists and discussed something among themselves. Then another car pulled up. Seeing the person who stepped out, the tense expressions on their faces eased.

The newcomer was over 6'3", with crazy long legs, a straight and commanding posture, a chiseled face, handsome and heroic features, and a calm, composed demeanor.

As soon as he appeared, Lin Xiaoyang hurried over: "Brother Jiang!"

Jiang Lin looked at the group: "I just got a call from higher-ups. The demonic energy that erupted is very strong. Don't take this lightly, guys. This incident has been classified as a top-level emergency. Nearby cultivators are also on their way."

Lin Xiaoyang hissed softly: "Top-level? But we've been scoping the place out for a while and haven't picked up any demon qi."

They were cultivators—either those who stumbled onto the Dao by accident or those nurtured by the government due to good talent. The Bureau, backed by the government, gave them resources and perks. In return, they handled special situations, like investigating anomalies.

After arriving, Jiang Lin also noticed something off. The situation here didn't line up with the Bureau's urgent report. Everything seemed ordinary—he couldn't sense even a trace of demonic energy. It was so clean it felt like the Bureau's alarm had been a false one.

Even without finding demonic energy, Jiang Lin did not let his guard down: "Spread out and search the area thoroughly. Be careful. Report any findings immediately. No rash action."

The group dispersed according to his orders, and Jiang Lin chose a direction and walked into the crowd.

It was the height of the cherry blossom season, and weekend crowds were enormous. Many wore colorful costumes to pose for Insta-worthy pics under the trees.

In a place where you'd see a wig every three steps and fake ears every five, Bai Zhizhi's white ears weren't too conspicuous.

But Jiang Lin instantly clocked that Bai Zhizhi wasn't a cosplayer—he was a little fox spirit with actual fox ears.

When Jiang Lin spotted him, Bai Zhizhi was being pulled by a guy with a creepy look in his eyes. The man wheedled, "The work's easy. Just eat and drink and make at least a thousand a night. Thirty grand a month, easy. If you don't have a place to stay, we provide accommodation."

Bai Zhizhi didn't know how much thirty grand was in this currency, but when he heard there was a place to stay, he was about to go with him. Having just arrived and not understanding anything, finding a place to crash seemed like a good first step.

As for this man's obvious ulterior motives, Bai Zhizhi was not afraid at all. They were all ordinary mortals; a single slap from him could kill a whole group of them.

Just as he was being pulled away to leave, a hand suddenly reached out from the crowd and grabbed him.

Bai Zhizhi followed that hand and looked at the person who had come. His slightly round eyes widened a bit—the aura of a cultivator. This was no ordinary person; he was a cultivator!

Jiang Lin looked at the man who had almost tricked this little fox demon into leaving, his gaze turning sharp. "Maybe you'd like to come with me to the police station."

Meeting his gaze, the man who had been deceiving Bai Zhizhi gave an awkward smile and let go of his hand. "I just saw him alone and wanted to ask if he needed help. If not, that's fine."

With that, he turned and ran off, afraid that if he were any slower, he would be dragged to the police station.

Jiang Lin did not go after the man with ill intentions. Instead, he stared at the little fox demon with a dark look.

He saw that this fox demon's ears had not fully transformed, and there was no demonic aura on him. His eyes were innocent and pure, looking completely naive. He was wearing a tourist shirt that said "I was here," and was barefoot. Any random con artist could easily have fooled him into leaving. He was clearly a little fox demon who had just come down from the mountain.

While Jiang Lin was sizing up Bai Zhizhi, Bai Zhizhi was also sizing him up.

He wrinkled his nose and sniffed. He didn't smell any powerful magical artifacts. Ordinary clothes, mediocre cultivation level. With just a little effort, he could kill this man. Hmm, a weak human cultivator. No threat.

Author's Note:

First Impressions

Jiang Lin: A little fox demon who just came down from the mountain.

Bai Zhizhi: A weak human cultivator.