Chapter 8
When Yuan Zhong returned to the inn, two of his fellow clansmen were already waiting there.

Upon seeing him return unharmed, they breathed a sigh of relief.

“Elder Ding Xu has already learned of Zi Fei’s death.

It is a great fortune that you have returned unscathed,” the two clansmen said with expressions of reverence as they half knelt down.

Yuan Zhong smiled.

“If I couldn’t return unscathed, why would I come here?”

The High Priest had a peculiar temperament; he could be jovial and amiable one moment and completely indifferent the next. Everyone knew his quirks, so the two clansmen dared not speak.

“Don’t those old men like Ding Xu feel any remorse?” Yuan Zhong took off his dirty robe, saying, “Fighting with the War Ghost Clan, today it’s Zi Fei who died; tomorrow, who knows who else will die? They’ll only be satisfied when we are all dead.”

The two clansmen looked at each other, unsure how to respond.

Yuan Zhong untangled his tangled hair and began to comb it slowly.

Suddenly, he said, “You two may leave. I need to bathe and change clothes.”

Clansman A hesitated for a moment, then said urgently, “Your Highness the High Priest, we were sent by Elder Ding Xu to assist you…”

“Go back,” he said, putting down the comb and turning around, his face expressionless but his eyes cold. The two clansmen shuddered under his icy gaze.

“But… the people from Orang Lake… Although they have been away from Fangwai Mountain for a long time, the feud between our clan and the War Ghost Clan runs deep. All our people need to be united and stand together. Today, you have taken the lead for them. I believe they will not refuse Fangwai Mountain…”

“Don’t make me repeat myself for the third time,” Yuan Zhong coldly interrupted, “Go back and tell Elder Ding Xu that after having my right hand severed, he is the one who attached it back for me. I have repaid this debt, and from now on, his actions are none of my concern.”

Even the High Priest was planning to leave Fangwai Mountain?! The two clansmen were shocked. They had grown up in Fangwai Mountain, and the rules of the elders like Ding Xu were considered absolute.

The High Priest’s actions this time could be considered deviating from the right path.

“But…” Clansman A wanted to say more, but at this moment, the High Priest’s face was as calm as water, and they felt a sense of fear.

After hesitating for a moment, they bowed and took their leave.

All day long, fighting, fighting, as if the Fox clan were really good at fighting, but they just relied on his left hand and treated him as nothing more than a killing tool.

Yuan Zhong released a barrier to envelop the inn, then lifted his hand to remove his false face, revealing the blood-stained half of his face underneath. Looking into the mirror, he indeed found a bloody gash on his forehead. He didn’t pay it much mind, tore off his clothes, and plunged into a tub filled with cold water.

His mood wasn’t great.

Anyone who sees their clansman die before their eyes wouldn’t be in a good mood, especially since Zi Fei had nothing to do with it originally.

It was him who sent Zi Fei to investigate Ji Tanyin’s identity, but the matter with Ji Tanyin was his own suspicion. She ended up dead, making Zi Fei’s death seem even more pointless.

When priest Xin Mao was on his deathbed, his only worry was him.

He had been with Elder Ding Xu’s group for a long time, doing countless dishonorable things and changing too much.

Elder Ding Xu had once said that it was his fate. After so many years, that hand had finally reappeared in the clan. He was destined to become the sharp edge of the Fox Clan, mercilessly killing any enemies.

Priest Xin Mao had asked him: Yuan Zhong, let me ask you: do you still trust anyone in this world besides yourself?

He didn’t answer at that time and still can’t answer now.

Priest Xin Mao said: Our clan was once so carefree… Those were his last words before passing away.

Yuan Zhong let out a faint sigh, splashing cold water haphazardly on his face, leaning back in the tub, and gazing around in melancholy. There was a teacup on the table.

Just at noon, Ji Tanyin had drunk from that cup, and in the blink of an eye, a life was gone.

He had certainly played a part in it; perhaps if it happened again, he would do the same without hesitation, but maybe Zi Fei’s death felt too unjust, leaving him feeling guilty towards Ji Tanyin as well.

He was going to leave.

He didn’t know what Priest Xin Mao meant by carefree, but staying in Fangwai Mountain would only make everything worse.

As he reached for a towel to dry his face, he suddenly heard a faint click from the window latch. The securely locked window silently swung open.

Ji Tanyin, who should have been dead, had just poked half of her body through the window sill.

However, upon seeing him stark-naked leaning in the tub, both of them were startled.

Ji Tanyin pondered countless explanations along the way, such as whether my unique physique prevented me from dying or whether I’m a craftsman, so freezing me wouldn’t work.

But upon careful consideration, she realized these excuses would only be believed by fools. She was completely helpless, so she could only ride the mechanical bird in a circle outside, deep in thought and contemplation.

Should she borrow another body?

However, even though she had spent a very short time with the High Priest, she could tell he was extremely suspicious.

He probably never used maids. The fact that he had used her before was merely based on suspicion.

Even if she managed to borrow another body and entered Fangwai Mountain without any flaws, she wouldn’t be able to catch even half a strand of his fox fur.

Moreover, being able to borrow this body was also a stroke of luck. How could there be so many coincidences in the world?

She racked her brains but couldn’t come up with any brilliant ideas, so she decided to stop thinking and go directly to meet him.

The locks on the inn windows might as well not have existed for her. With a simple copper wire, they opened easily.

She wasn’t concerned about the Fox Clan’s barrier at all. She had prepared for the possibility of the High Priest not being at the inn, and she had also prepared for any situation, such as him being asleep or eating, but she hadn’t expected him to be bathing.

Water droplets still clung to his hair, and his long eyelashes were also adorned with droplets.

He swayed unsteadily.

Under his eyelashes, his eyes were bright and godlike, with a slight upward tilt at the corners.

His skin was extremely pale, presumably due to wearing false facial skin for years. Tanyin suddenly understood why he wore a fake face.

With such a face, anyone who saw it would never forget it. That intense yet cold demeanor was enough to drive people insane.

At first, Yuan Zhong stared at her fixedly, his gaze astonished and bewildered. But it lasted only for a moment. His gaze turned colder than ice. With a splash, Tanyin was dragged, stumbling to the edge of the tub, and the window silently closed behind her.

His left hand was ungloved, and there was less than half a finger’s distance between it and her neck. She could clearly feel the faint chill emanating from his fingertips. She remained unfazed, calmly meeting his gaze.

“…What are you?” Yuan Zhong’s voice was low, and his question was blunt.

He didn’t believe a mere mortal could survive being shattered by the War Ghost Clan and then frozen by him. She appeared unharmed in front of him. Was she possessed by some demon? Or was there something else he didn’t know about?

He had encountered demons that couldn’t be killed before—those creatures from the Nanman Twenty-Four Caves.

Even if their heads were cut off and sliced into pieces, they wouldn’t die.

But he had never seen a mortal who couldn’t be killed, nor did he believe there could be one. Could he have been mistaken? Was Ji Tanyin not a mortal? But she had no trace of demonic energy in her body, and he didn’t believe he could be mistaken.

He was very clear about the distinction between humans, demons, and immortals.

After much thought, Tanyin finally said, “I am Ji Tanyin.”

Yuan Zhong gave a strange smile, and then she felt her entire body go numb, as thick ice and snow almost instantly sealed her in.

She sighed inwardly, lightly blowing, and the thick layer of ice and snow turned into powder, fluttering down to the ground.

She looked at him quietly and said softly, “I won’t harm you.”

After a moment’s thought, she added, “Nor will I harm the Fox Clan.”

Yuan Zhong looked at her as if she were a monster, saying nothing.

It wasn’t until now that he realized this girl in front of him seemed slightly different from before, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what was different. Her nose, eyes, and mouth were all exactly the same; not even her hairstyle had changed, yet something was definitely different.

The Ji Tanyin in his memory seemed more like a mortal, with pretty but lifeless eyes, a calm yet slightly naive demeanor, and the appearance of a true seventeen-year-old girl. Now her eyes were too bright.

In the distant memories, those black gem-like eyes flashed by, and he himself found it absurd.

He stepped back, turned around, and the soap robe hanging on the shelf flew towards him as if it had eyes, automatically adhering to his body. When he turned back, his face had already changed to a plain and unremarkable mask.

Tanyin felt she needed to say something; she had imagined the High Priest flying into a rage and wanting to kill her or interrogating her without hesitation, but he didn’t say anything, leaving her unsure of what to do.

“Um…”

She was about to speak when the High Priest suddenly transformed into a golden light and disappeared from the guest room in the blink of an eye.

…He actually ran away.

Yuan Zhong rode on the back of the Bird of Paradise. His mood was already bad, and now it was worse. A series of questions and fears of the unknown gripped him tightly.

He was confident that there were no immortals or demons that he couldn’t kill. Even the renowned War Ghost Clan had to submit to his left hand.

So why couldn’t he kill Ji Tanyin? Unable to kill her, he could only leave. The High Priest of the Fox Clan had never been so embarrassed.

Suddenly feeling something wrong behind him, he turned around and saw Tanyin riding on a strange-looking mechanical bird, following him from afar.

She just wouldn’t leave! What exactly was she, and where did she come from?!

Yuan Zhong took out a jade chess piece from his pocket, one he had picked up from Tang Hua to play with. He aimed at the chest of the mechanical bird and flicked the jade piece with his fingers.

With a “click,” something delicate inside the strange bird’s body seemed to have been damaged, causing it to stagger and fall.

He breathed a sigh of relief, then realized he was breaking out in a cold sweat. He couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

Everything that had happened tonight was simply absurd to the extreme. Was he perhaps having a nightmare?

Not far ahead, a glimmer of golden light shimmered, and Yuan Zhong immediately recognized it as the barrier of the Fox Clan. This should be the territory of the Orange Lake tribe.

(T/N: I translate this as aolan lake previously but now I will stick with orange lake)

In this scene, a sense of security suddenly rose in his heart, as if he had finally returned home, feeling somewhat helpless and amused at the same time.