After countless delays, we were finally on our way from Kangcheng No. 2 High School to Mount Qin.
The bus would drop us off at the foot of the mountain — from there on, it was all up to our legs.
The atmosphere on the last bus was electric.
The students were buzzing with excitement.
I couldn’t help but get caught up in it too. I felt like saying something.
“Cluru, you’ve gotta act arrogant!”
Everyone was chatting away in pairs and groups.
I slapped the crate beside me like some drunken elder rambling about life, and started lecturing Cluru.
“Look at me! If someone dares to criticize me or talk down to me — they curse me once, I’ll curse them ten times! They curse me a hundred times, and I’ll… I’ll…”
“Cry and show them how hurt you are?” came Cluru’s amused voice from inside the crate.
“Bullshit! I’ll drag their ancestors out of the grave and beat them all until their skulls are rolling!”
“Oh~~”
Cluru dragged the sound out, obviously not believing a word.
“You’ve gotta toughen up too,” I thumped the crate. “If someone bullies you, you bully them right back! Otherwise those little clowns will just keep pushing their luck!”
Cluru stayed quiet.
“And if there’s something you want — go and take it!”
Maybe it was the tight space and lack of oxygen in the bus, but I got carried away, leaning back against the crate like some swaggering cultivator, ranting recklessly:
“We cultivators fight fate itself. If you want something, you take it with your fists!
If you can’t win, drug them. If that doesn’t work, lure them into a trap or catch them off guard in a secret realm. There’s a thousand ways to screw someone over — I can teach you all of them!
Morality? Bottom lines? I only play fair if they do — and most cultivators don’t. Those who do don’t live long. When it comes down to it, just strike first and ask questions never!
Got it? Huh?”
I kept knocking on the crate.
Little did I know the tentacles inside had turned blood-red.
“Next time something happens — fight back! Slap ’em in the face if you have to! Don’t let anyone walk all over us!”
“Thud— Schlurp!”
Just as I was about to knock again, a tentacle shot out and wrapped tightly around my wrist.
The strength in it was no joke — I couldn’t even budge.
I instantly panicked, breathing faster, my cheeks flushed.
“Y-you… what do you think you’re doing?!”
“If you keep knocking… I can’t promise what’ll happen next.”
Cluru… might have actually taken my words to heart.
That voice, with something dark and heavy simmering beneath, made my heart skip a beat.
If I knocked again… something terrifying might really happen. Something very terrifying.
……
“What’s up, Xiao Luo Xian?”
As we got off the bus, the class monitor Xinyue looked at me — quiet and motionless like a statue and seemed confused by the sudden change.
I smiled awkwardly and spoke softly:
“Mimic chests… eat people.”
“……”
My right wrist was still entangled, like it might get swallowed at any moment.
Heh. We cultivators have seen all kinds of situations. Flexibility is key to survival in another world — so what if I have to behave for a bit?
Arms crossed proudly.
Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west — once this mimic lets go, I’m gonna knock that crate a hundred more times!
“Alright, everyone settle down,”
Before heading into the mountains, Teacher Ishida gave us one final briefing.
“Unless absolutely necessary, no one is to separate from the group. Stay together at all times.”
“There are not only wild spirit beasts in Mount Qin — but also malicious spirits. They’re brutal and primitive. Best to avoid them if you can.”
“Now then—”
“Teacher, teacher!” Xinyue raised her hand. “If we run into a legendary spirit beast like the Bifang, can we beat it up and tame it?”
“Absolutely not!” Ishida snapped. “You brats haven’t even grown all your hair and you’re thinking of using brute force on a legendary spirit beast? If you piss it off, we’re all dead!”
“Boo—”
The students groaned in disappointment.
Everyone dreamed of ascending to greatness in one leap.
“Legendary spirit beasts can only be contracted by passing their tests. If you run into one, show proper respect — and forget about trying to fight it!
Not all legendary spirits are as kind as the Kirin or Bai Ze.
Take creatures like the Longzhi, Taotie, Qiongqi, Tengu, Zhuyan, Jiaolong, Suanni, or Candle Nine… they’re all famous spirit beasts, yes, but they either eat people for fun or have crazy tempers. You run into one — you’re dead meat.
So clamp your tails down and behave, got it?!”
“Yeah yeah—”
Clamp our tails down.
Okay, I clamped mine.
Feels weird though. The tail keeps rubbing against my white stockings as I walk… Ugh, do I really have to keep walking like this?
Every step makes me gasp softly. It’s… a very strange sensation.
“It’s just a metaphor, you don’t have to actually do it,” Ishida muttered, face red. “Just walk normally, or we’re never reaching our destination.”
Why wouldn’t we reach it?
Fox tilted head. Confused.
“Alright, we’re heading in. I’ll do my best to keep you safe — but if someone causes trouble and brings danger on us, don’t blame me for being heartless.
When things get serious, I’ll only protect the majority.”
His voice turned cold.
“Move out.”
……
We entered the woods.
Barely walked a kilometer—
Trouble.
“Put it out! Quickly! Everyone, stomp out any embers in the ashes! Anyone with a water-elemental spirit, spray now!”
A forest fire. Small in scale, recently extinguished.
But the ashes still glowed red — if the wind carried them off, things could get much worse.
We hadn’t even encountered a single spirit beast yet, and already we were dealing with a life-threatening fire. What rotten luck.
“This sucks…” the students groaned.
“Does it? Not necessarily.” The class monitor, eyes gleaming, cupped some of the ash like it was treasure.
“If the fire just ended… then if it was arson, the arsonist can’t be far.” I caught on to Xinyue’s train of thought.
“Exactly! I knew you’d get it, Luo Xian.” She stood up excitedly. “Wanna guess who the arsonist is?”
“‘A wood spirit, like a bird, green in color, barefoot, one-legged — its presence foretells a fire in the region.’”
Top student Cluru chimed in smoothly, reciting the ancient passage most of the class had struggled even to understand.
“This passage basically means: there’s a wood-element creature that looks like a bird — green feathers, bare feet, only one leg and wherever it appears, strange fires will follow… That’s the legend of the Bifang,” explained the second top student, Xinyue.
“You’re saying… the fire was started by the Bifang?” The students instantly buzzed with excitement. “The Bifang is nearby?!”
“It’s a possibility. And if there are more fires around here, we might be able to track the Bifang by following the trail.”
“Then should we…”
The students all turned to look at Ishida.
After all, he was the supervising teacher.
By instinct, they assumed he’d be making the decision.
“This is your journey. I won’t be part of the decision-making. Just pretend I’m not here.” Ishida shook his head coldly.
“Alright then. Let’s vote. Everyone who agrees to track the fire, raise your hand.”
Almost everyone raised their hand.
Only Cluru and I didn’t.
Cluru… couldn’t, logistically.
As for me, I frowned — something felt off.
Blood.
The mountain wind was chaotic, making it impossible to pinpoint direction, but I could clearly smell blood in the air.
And not beast or spirit blood.
Human blood.
That scent — too familiar to mistake.
……
“Another bunch of fools dreaming about finding the Bifang… Get in there quietly! Or else… heh, want to end up like your teacher?”
Deep in the mountain range, at the mouth of a cave—
A man slammed a cage door shut with a heavy clang.
The cage was already crammed full of living people.
“These are students from Kangcheng No. 1 High. Plenty of them — just about filled the whole cage.”
“Yeah, one more batch should be enough… The guys at the entrance said another group of students just came in — from No. 2, apparently.”
“No. 2, huh? Hah… The top two schools in Kangcheng, and all their best students vanish right before college entrance exams. The Security Bureau must be losing its mind.”
“Ooooh~ I’m sooo scared~”
“Cut the act. You lot — did you set the fire at the mountain pass?” growled a man with a thick beard.
“We did.”
“Good. Keep it burning. Lure them in fast.”
“Don’t worry, boss. Who could resist the temptation of a legendary spirit beast — especially those cute, naive high school kids…”
“You’re awful. They’re just children!”
“Heehee… That’s why we’ll give them a very special welcome…”
……
“We can’t go. It’s a trap!”
Among the ashes and burnt forest, I stood firm, casting the lone dissenting vote.
“I’m telling you — people know the Bifang’s habits. Bad people can use that to lure travelers into traps. We can’t go. We absolutely can’t just let ourselves be led around like this!”
Ishida looked at me in surprise.
Silently, he scribbled something into his notebook.
A small, pleased smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
But the rest of the class… was not so pleased.
“Yun Luo Xian, you have a legendary spirit beast already. You have no idea how important this is to us!”
“You don’t need the Bifang, but we do! Even if we can’t form a contract, just being tested by it could change everything for us!”
“The Bifang is right in front of us. This kind of chance only comes once in a lifetime!”
“I know, I really do…” I tried to reason with them. “But this smells like a trap! No matter what treasure or opportunity lies beyond — it won’t matter if we don’t live to see it!
Think about it. If the Bifang really set fires wherever it went, and all you had to do was follow the fire… wouldn’t it have been found long ago?”
I said everything I could — but none of them seemed ready to change their minds.
“Maybe it hasn’t set fires before! I don’t care. This is an amazing chance and I’m not letting it slip by! Class rep, you decide!”
They turned their frustration toward Xinyue, who had brought up the Bifang in the first place.
She looked visibly torn.
At first, she really had believed we were close to finding the Bifang.
But after hearing what I said, she was starting to see how something wasn’t right.
It was too easy to find this thing.
And more than that — as someone who had followed my story since the very first episode, she trusted my instincts and judgment.
“I believe in Xiao Luo Xian,” Xinyue said firmly. “This really is dangerous.”
“There’s no such thing as a risk-free success! When opportunity knocks, only the brave can answer. Cowards will never become strong!” One student raised their voice, rallying the others. “Raise your hand if you want to track the Bifang! Majority rules!”
Rustle rustle rustle.
Well then.
Aside from Xinyue, Cluru, and me — the rest of the class raised their hands without hesitation.
“Looks like everyone’s real brave today,” the student smirked, waving them forward.
“Fortune favors the bold. Let’s go—Legendary Spirit Beast, here we come!”