The Great King Ordered Me to Marry – Chapter 60
by Little PandaSpeaking of the Fox, Bashfully Scolding the White Tiger
The characters hadn’t finished flowing—leaping onto the paper one by one like bizarrely shaped fish.
Kunyu’s handwriting grew more and more illegible. Several characters were so malformed they were unrecognizable—perhaps she didn’t know how to write them and simply scrawled them into a blot.
「I hear the Yellow Springs Bureau has also seen upheaval. The Nightmare King is well-informed and is attempting to apprehend the demon or ghost who burned the Destiny Registers. Officially, the 〇-fiend who infiltrated the Yellow Springs Bureau broke protocol and is suspected of disrupting the three realms.」
Zhuoxue guessed the missing character was probably niezhang1.
Kunyu continued writing, her characters sprawling in every direction.
「But the demon lords of the various mountain realms aren’t focused on this. With heavenly lightning descending upon the world this time, the Heavenly Dao is likely quite displeased with the immortals of Kunlun Jade Capital too. It’s the perfect opportunity for the Demon Realm to strike back.」
「The sky was pitch-black and the lightning relentless. Even my caves at Jueming Ridge collapsed in a few places. The Mortal Realm must have had it far worse.」
「The demon lords have resolved to gather again at Wugou Stream on a chosen date, to petition the Nightmare King to drain the Yexu Waters within Wugou Stream.」
Zhuoxue read on, perplexed. “What are the Yexu Waters?”
Longming paused, her gaze fixing on the paper.
For just an instant, the wistfulness that seeped from those eyes seemed to carry boundless sorrow.
Zhuoxue had seen a similar expression on Longming’s face before—whenever she was thinking of Princess Jueguang. But the sorrow in this moment was heavier, deeper.
Longming said, “There is a water called Yexu—yexu, unbroken, ceaseless, generation after generation. That is the name of the river and sea within Wugou Stream.”
“Why drain it?” Zhuoxue asked again.
Below Longming’s eyes, even those two dark markings had become an obscure obituary.
She said calmly, “The demon and immortal clans have been at odds for many years. Whenever they clash, the bones of fallen demon warriors are brought back to Wugou Stream and laid to rest beneath the Yexu Waters. Draining the Yexu Waters to expose those bones is a declaration to the ancestors: war has been ignited, and they will fight to the death.”
Zhuoxue had never witnessed war, but she had seen mountains of bones. The grief that surged in her heart was beyond words.
Longming scoffed coldly. “Many of the bones in those waters shouldn’t have died when they did. A century ago, the Nightmare Tribe didn’t honor their agreements and dragged them to their deaths.”
“The Nightmare Tribe lives within Wugou Stream—how can they sleep in peace?” Zhuoxue could hardly believe it.
Longming was thoroughly contemptuous. “The Nightmare King is too arrogant.”
Zhuoxue pondered. “The Lightning Tribulation has become a heavenly omen—even heaven is sounding the drums and blowing the horns for us. If the Nightmare King changes the subject at a time like this, it’s obvious he’s stalling for Kunlun Jade Capital. He wouldn’t dare not drain it.”
On the White Deer Paper, a chaotic splatter of ink bloomed.
Far away at Jueming Ridge, Kunyu waited long for Longming’s reply and finally grew anxious, scribbling a long string of questions in quick succession.
「Could it be you haven’t returned yet?」
「Where are you?」
「I’ve written this more than five times. I can recite it backward.」
「Where’s the person?」
「Person!」
「Person!」
「Tiger?」
Then came a large patch of scribbles. As it turned out, Kunyu’s drawing skills were no better than her handwriting—everything she drew came out looking like nothing at all.
It was nothing but a mess of ink stains, yet it felt like a thousand suona2 blasting directly into one’s ears.
Zhuoxue stepped back half a pace, her eyes irritated from looking. She poked Longming’s back. “It’s so loud it’s hurting my eyes. Why don’t you reply to her?”
Longming was just about to take up the brush when Kunyu quieted down on her own.
Kunyu resumed writing with tireless persistence, stroke by stroke, every single one crooked.
「I reckon the Nightmare King absolutely won’t drain the Yexu Waters, nor will he agree to dispatch troops. Otherwise, wouldn’t that mean going against Emperor Tianji?」
“Not necessarily,” Longming said mildly.
Zhuoxue blinked. She didn’t know the details of the war a century ago, but seeing how drastically Longming’s cultivation had fallen, and how she’d been forced into exile in the Mortal Realm, she could tell how bitterly contested that war had been.
A flash of insight struck her. “Could the Nightmare King be planning to repeat his old scheme from back then?”
Longming gave a low “mm” and suddenly flicked her sleeve, spreading the White Deer Paper back across the desk. She selected a brush from the stand and wrote her reply in sweeping, flowing script.
「The Nightmare King will very likely repeat his old tricks, just as a century ago—secretly scheming to let Emperor Tianji gain the upper hand, so he can use Tianji to weaken the various demon tribes’ forces.」
Just as Zhuoxue had thought.
She marveled at once. “Kill two birds with one stone! This way he can secure Emperor Tianji’s position as Celestial Leader while keeping the Nightmare King comfortably entrenched in Wugou Stream. Good thing we still have the torn remnants of the Destiny Registers—we can definitely cut off their escape route.”
Longming shook her head, her eyes dark and grave as ink. “The Nightmare King and Emperor Tianji have countless tricks up their sleeves. They’ll surely devise a hundred ways to disavow the evidence. We must proceed carefully. Especially since the Tearful Eye Moisture in the Huangliang Dream Market was all discarded—now, if we want to obtain more, our only option is to enter Kunlun Jade Capital and find it.”
“As long as there’s more to be found, what’s there to worry about?” Zhuoxue wasn’t worried at all, thoroughly pleased with herself. “Besides, you have me.”
If she’d been in fox form, her tail would absolutely have been wagging nonstop.
The fox beside her possessed both cleverness and liveliness in equal measure. Longming’s brow lifted, and she felt an urge to cast aside all distracting thoughts and pin the fox firmly in her arms.
She used to always say the fox was greedy for food. Now she was the greedy one.
Over at Jueming Ridge, Kunyu had been writing herself into a frenzy and finally received a reply.
She could scarcely believe it, not knowing when Longming had returned to Lingkong Mountain. She indignantly dotted the paper with a few inexplicable black marks before writing.
「I thought you two were trapped inside Buzhou Mountain and couldn’t get out. I was about to go look for you.」
Zhuoxue’s ears flushed crimson. Thank heavens Kunyu didn’t go!
While Kunyu searched desperately on the mountain, the two demons below were inverting phoenix and—well—overturning luan3. How, how utterly indecent!
Even if she’d tunneled clean through Buzhou Mountain, it wouldn’t have relieved her shame.
Longming, whether out of exquisite tenderness or deliberate mischief, actually said, “It’s fine. Even if she went into the mountain to search, she wouldn’t find you or me.”
Zhuoxue thought: Is this a question of finding us or not? This is a hurdle the fox simply cannot get over.
“Another reason Kunyu refuses to leave Jueming Ridge is that she gets lost easily outside,” Longming said, exposing Kunyu’s weakness.
“Still not okay!” Zhuoxue said.
Longming smirked and put brush to paper.
「Since the demon lords wish to offer their counsel, let them go. I’d like to see what decision the Nightmare King makes.」
Kunyu replied promptly.
「In that case, I’ll go along too.」
Longming set down her brush and said composedly, “If the Nightmare King agrees to march, that would be quite a spectacle.”
Zhuoxue’s heart pounded like war drums. Her still-burning ear tips went cold in an instant. “What can I do?” she asked, suddenly anxious.
“If the Nightmare King intends to march on Kunlun Jade Capital, then we travel the same road.” Longming already had a plan. “I promised Sacred Immortal Lan Xiang that I would destroy Emperor Tianji’s might. You will help me.”
Zhuoxue surged with excitement, grabbing Longming’s arm. “Teach me some spells, quickly!”
“Even if I must fight Emperor Tianji to the death, I won’t push you into danger.” Longming’s grave expression dissolved into a soft laugh.
“But I want to.” Zhuoxue’s eyes shone like stars—the golden moon of the Milky Way contained entirely in her smiles and frowns.
“The moment you resolve to act, there’s no way back. You certainly won’t emerge unscathed.” Longming wanted to pluck the stars and moon from Zhuoxue’s eyes, and reached out to touch the corner of her eye.
The slightest contact with Longming sent Zhuoxue’s thoughts spiraling.
She pressed her lips together, secretly darting her tongue out to wet her dry lips, and said indignantly, “Am I the type to flee halfway through?”
She wasn’t even human.
“No matter. I’ll keep watch for you.” Longming said unhurriedly, “I’ll call the wind is tight, let’s bolt4, and you run.”
These were the very words Zhuoxue had said before they infiltrated Yanwang’s Office. It had been several days, yet the white tiger remembered them so clearly.
In an instant, Zhuoxue held her breath, hastily releasing Longming’s arm, her heart hammering wildly.
Longming, however, pinched the edge of her robe, lowered her head with perfect composure, and leaned close to take a sniff.
Zhuoxue stared, dumbfounded. This white tiger was truly—
How brazen!
She stammered, “You won’t need to call anything. If Emperor Tianji and the Nightmare Tribe try to hurt you, I’ll step up and fight them off. I’ll protect you.”
The fox who had bolted no fewer than three times was now vowing to protect someone.
Longming was momentarily dazed. An imperceptible joy rose to her brows and eyes—so faint, yet like a gentle blade, slowly carving away a piece of her proud detachment.
“Then you’re quite impressive,” she said.
Zhuoxue was thoroughly indignant. “I’m the only Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox in the world, after all. I ought to be infinitely strong, with boundless magic.”
Bearing a heterochromatic Demonic Core, neither immortal nor demon, which side of the mortal world she walked on was entirely up to her.
Still, the fox would surely prefer to be a demon—which happened to match the nonsense she’d spouted before.
A great demon unseen in ten thousand years—it was real after all.
The Demon Realm was fortunate to gain a Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox. They should beat gongs and drums, celebrate across every land. Even the master of Wugou Stream should receive her as an honored guest.
The fox wasn’t afraid. It was Longming who felt the urge to retreat.
Longming watched Zhuoxue in silence. Her heart was like a ten-thousand-ren mountain—harder to cross than walls of bronze and iron. She suddenly had the urge to keep Zhuoxue guarded beneath a ten-zhang5 fissure in Buzhou Mountain, not letting anyone else steal a single glance.
Only she could see her. Only she could touch her.
But she absolutely could not, out of selfish desire, keep a fox who cherished freedom confined forever in that cramped space. She could win the fox’s true heart, but she couldn’t use that love to draw a prison around her.
Zhuoxue thought the white tiger had lost her wits, standing there motionless and silent. She hurriedly waved her hand in front of Longming’s face and leaned in. “Scared by my boundless magic?”
Such a frail, delicate big cat. When they entered Kunlun Jade Capital, she’d have to look after her.
Before she knew it, as soon as she leaned close, her wrist was caught in a firm grip. Longming yanked her close, and before she could react, her lips were captured.
Zhuoxue’s eyes went wide.
All their previous contact had happened while she was lost in the Mating Heat, half-dazed and half-awake. She could remember the tingling ache at the tip of her heart, the dampness lingering on her skin, the way her own fierce biting and gnawing had been methodically dissolved by the tip of Longming’s tongue…
But all that intimate closeness, no matter how tenderly entangled, had felt veiled in cloud and mist, as if in a dream.
Now her mind was clear and her eyes were bright. Whatever clouds and mists, silks and rains, had all evaporated into wisps of smoke. The soft press of lips against hers was like a peach blossom fallen into water, drifting along the stream straight to the tip of her heart.
Her heart pounded madly. It’s over, she thought. It seemed the fallen petals were willing, and the flowing water was moved6.
But weren’t they just talking business? How was it that, without warning, she was being wooed again—not only prying open her lips, but also, also using her tongue!
Zhuoxue leaned back to escape, but her lips were even more glistening than when she’d secretly licked them—where could she possibly go? Longming’s grip found the back of her neck, pinching until her bones turned to jelly and her nerves went numb.
A soft gasp slipped out from between her slightly parted lips. She heard it herself and was so mortified she didn’t dare open her eyes. She could only raise her arm and push twice at Longming’s shoulder.
The hand on the back of her neck slid down to her spine, patting and stroking very slowly, with a hint of coaxing.
Longming shifted her lips away. Her breath, still damp, pressed warm against Zhuoxue’s forehead, and she gave a light peck—like a dragonfly skimming water—and said gently, “Just steadying your breath.”
Zhuoxue simply buried her face in Longming’s shoulder, as if she’d crushed all her cherry-pink into the corners of her eyes and the tips of her ears. She bumped her forehead against Longming’s shoulder, equal parts shy and indignant.
The white tiger’s form was powerful and agile, and the same held true in human shape.
The fox butted her head hard against the white tiger, hoping to make the tiger feel ashamed. Little did she know, only she felt the pain.
Zhuoxue looked up with glistening eyes, her brows and lashes flushed a pitiful red. “I’m so mad I could die!” she fumed.
Longming wanted to devour this fox before her—chew slowly, savor every bit, leave not a morsel behind.
Zhuoxue had meant to deliver a sharp, severe scolding. Unfortunately, the blush that covered her face made it look like nothing more than coy pampering. She raised her voice: “Don’t you dare go out tomorrow!”
“Why?” Longming had been planning to invite several demon lords for a talk the next day.
“You smell like…” Zhuoxue was too mortified to finish.
Longming understood perfectly. She pressed her index finger against the fox’s glistening lips, feigning ignorance. “What?”
“You smell like me.” Zhuoxue blurted it out in one burst, then abruptly dropped into a crouch and ducked right under Longming’s arms.
She shifted into fox form and leaped onto the bed, leaving a trail of muddy paw prints.
She hadn’t cast a cleansing spell on the way back. The fox’s paws were astonishingly dirty—the white tiger’s back must have been covered in mud too.
The fox hung her head and stared at the plum-blossom paw prints, her ears flicking slightly backward. She raised her voice in a show of bravado: “Go soak in the spiritual spring for half a shichen7. Don’t come back until you’re clean. You reek!”
Really, she just wanted Longming to go soak until all the mud prints were washed away.
But Longming said, “How can you dislike even your own scent?”
The fox dug frantically at the bed. At least fox form couldn’t blush—as long as she pretended not to care, she could bluff her way through.
“Then I’ll go soak in the spiritual spring.” Longming was truly obedient in every regard. She casually pulled the wooden hairpin from her hair and set it on the desk.
It was only a thing made by magic, but the fox had helped pin up her hair with it once, and she found she was a little reluctant to part with it.
The fox’s golden eyes silently tracked that tall, slender figure, and only after Longming stepped out the door did she stop digging.
The touch on her lips had been so soft. When Longming kissed her, she’d nearly drowned in it, unable to pull herself out.
The fox bit down on the brocade coverlet she’d shredded into a heap, a thin something held between her lips, her head full of nothing but thoughts of love and romance.
She was done for.
After a long while, the fox released the thin coverlet with a long exhale, resignedly cast a spell, and not only removed every mud print from the bed but also washed herself spotless.
It was Longming who suffered—soaking in that freezing spiritual spring in the middle of the night.
The spiritual spring was cold to the bone. Longming soaked for a full half shichen before emerging. Her limbs were long and lean but not frail, and she sprang onto the bank with powerful grace.
Water droplets scattered across the ground. She hooked her clothes toward her, and between one breath and the next, her body was perfectly dry—not a trace of dampness remained.
Dressed, Longming walked back to the bedchamber to find the gauze curtains in complete disarray—half tangled around the fox, half trailing on the floor tiles.
Zhuoxue was fast asleep. Her nine fox tails were curled every which way, and her face was buried among them, completely submerged beneath a fox-fur duster.
Longming couldn’t even spot the fox’s head at first glance. She knelt by the bedside, reaching in to part the fur for quite a while before she found the fox’s peaceful sleeping face.
She cradled the fox’s face and gazed at it steadily—when the fox suddenly whipped her head around and bared her teeth.
The fox’s fangs were razor-sharp, clamping onto the tiger’s mouth of her hand like a beast trap.
Precise. Clean.
No technique whatsoever—just a well-practiced mouth.
The nine-tailed silver fox murmured in her sleep: “Chicken wing root… so fragrant.”
Longming struggled quite a bit to rescue her hand from the fox’s mouth without waking her.
Two knocks sounded at the door.
It was Chunxi, who said in a low voice, “Reporting, My Lord: the demon lords of Chunyang Mountain Realm, Fuye Mountain Realm, and Helin Mountain Realm have come requesting an audience. The three demon lords are already at the mountain gate.”
Longming’s expression shifted slightly. She raised her hand, and spiritual power condensed instantly, forming an invisible barrier on all four sides of the bed to keep Zhuoxue from waking.
She hooked her hand to open the door panels and said coldly, “What perfect timing. I crossed the mountain gate not a moment ago, and these three arrive right after.”
Footnotes
- 孽障 | niezhang | A Buddhist-derived term for a karmic obstruction or sinful creature; commonly used as a curse word for wicked beings and fiends.
- 唢呐 | suona | Traditional Chinese double-reed horn known for its piercing, penetrating volume; used at weddings, funerals, and festivals; often called the loudest instrument in a Chinese ensemble.
- 颠鸾倒凤 | dianluan daofeng | Classical Chinese euphemism for passionate sexual intercourse; literally "inverting the phoenix and overturning the luan," two mythical birds symbolizing romantic union.
- 风紧扯乎 | feng jin che hu | Traditional Chinese thieves
- 丈 | zhang | Traditional Chinese unit of length equal to approximately 3.3 meters, used since antiquity for measuring depth, height, and distance; ten zhang would be roughly thirty-three meters.
- 落花有意，流水有情 | luo hua you yi, liu shui you qing | A reversal of the classical idiom "fallen petals have intent, but flowing water is heartless," which describes unrequited love; here both petals and water have feeling, signifying mutual affection.
- 时辰 | shichen | Traditional Chinese time unit equal to approximately two hours, based on the twelve earthly branches that divide the day and night.
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