Chapter 28: You Can’t Pick Up Foxes by the Roadside
Looking at the number of light orbs, Ying Tong couldn’t help but marvel at the fact that the middle-aged man had quite a collection of valuable items.
However, when she looked into what was actually inside these light orbs, she was stunned.
“A pot?”
Recalling that he had been a cook in life, it made sense that the most precious items for a chef would be cooking utensils.
Moreover, the tools he had treasured and collected were likely not ordinary.
After putting away the items, Ying Tong gestured for the middle-aged man to proceed.
After witnessing him kill the black fox, scattering its soul, and then disappearing himself, Ying Tong finally approached Ying Xuechen and the others.
“Your Excellency, what should we do next?” Ying Xuechen asked, cradling the unconscious Ying Xuan.
Ying Tong glanced around; besides them, there was no one else left.
“Let’s leave. This place is finished.”
Upon hearing her words, the other Ying family members displayed looks of regret.
Fortunately, the Ying family members had a traditional virtue: they were not picky.
Throughout their journey, they had collected everything they could find along the way.
Although it had taken a bit of time, compared to others who had little to show for half a month of effort, they felt they had fared quite well.
In light of this, their expressions brightened significantly.
When the Ying family members emerged from the ruins, those guarding outside had already learned about the events from others.
Such a rich ruin had been destroyed by demonic energy.
At this moment, the crowd present was incredibly angry with the person who triggered the mechanism, especially those from the Great Zhou Dynasty.
This ruin had appeared within the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and regardless of future ownership, they would have been the most direct beneficiaries.
Now, a duck that was almost in their grasp had flown away; a perfectly intact ancient ruin had been ruined by demonic energy.
As soon as Ying Tong left the ruins, she stealthily returned to her main body.
…
On the flying boat, Ying Tong slowly opened her eyes and took out the light orbs she had received from the middle-aged man. Besides cooking utensils, there was also a book.
Ying Tong had initially thought the book would contain some life recipes or cultivation secrets, but it turned out to be an autobiography.
After finishing the contents of the book, Ying Tong gained a brief understanding of the author—the middle-aged man—and the story between him and the black fox.
In short, it was a tale of a loving couple who saved a fox, only to become entangled with it in the end.
The middle-aged man was named Huang Zhongyi, and he had shown an astonishing talent for cooking from a young age. Later, he was determined to travel the world to taste all kinds of delicious food.
His wife was named Ruan Yanran. She couldn’t cook but was particularly particular about food, being a unique woman determined to taste all the world’s culinary delights.
Thus, a chef who loved making food and a foodie who enjoyed eating met and quickly ignited sparks of love.
The first half of the autobiography described their adventures as they traveled around, collecting ingredients and cooking delicious meals.
As Ying Tong read the words overflowing with pink bubbles, she felt a bit of a toothache and was slightly overwhelmed.
The turning point of the story occurred in the second half.
They unintentionally saved a black fox.
Initially, they planned to use it as a backup food source, but the little fox turned out to be exceptionally spirited. Over time, they abandoned the idea of eating it and instead kept it as a pet.
However, they never expected that they had saved a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
During their prolonged interactions, the black fox gradually became envious of the couple.
It fell in love with the chef, Huang Zhongyi.
Thus, on a sunny afternoon, the black fox disappeared.
From the following text, it was clear that the black fox had disguised itself as Ruan Yanran and stayed by Huang Zhongyi’s side.
The fate of the real Ruan Yanran was obvious.
The book didn’t detail how he discovered his wife had been replaced; it only mentioned that after uncovering the truth, Huang Zhongyi sought out a friend.
He had once done this friend a favor by offering him a meal, so upon receiving his request for help, the friend agreed without hesitation.
The two of them joined forces to severely injure the black fox, originally intending to kill it outright.
However, at the last moment, the black fox used Huang Zhongyi’s wife to buy itself some time to escape.
Yet, it turned out that the black fox had not spoken a single truth.
Ruan Yanran had been killed the very first day she was replaced.
Huang Zhongyi felt that it was his fault that his wife had met with misfortune. Out of guilt, he never stepped into the kitchen again, nor did he touch any of the cooking utensils. Instead, he devoted himself to transforming the unclaimed secret realm they had inadvertently stumbled upon into a place that resembled what his wife had loved.
As for the demonic energy at the core of the ruins, it was the demon core left behind by the black fox after it had been injured.
To prevent the black fox from taking the demon core after his death, Huang Zhongyi decided to take drastic measures. He ground the demon core into powder and mixed them with his own and his wife’s ashes.
Upon reaching this point, Ying Tong fell into silence.
Wouldn’t it have been better to destroy the demon core completely to prevent the black fox from finding them? Why mix them with his and his wife’s ashes? Wasn’t that distasteful?
The key was that it was his choice, but why involve his wife?
In summary, after reading the autobiography, Ying Tong felt she had a clear understanding of the entire situation.
“It seems that not only should wildflowers by the roadside not be picked, but neither should foxes be casually picked up.”
“What shouldn’t be casually picked up?” Ye Ying walked in from outside. “Zhou Yunxing is looking for you. It seems he wants to discuss the matter of the ruins with you.”
“Ruins?”
“He doesn’t expect me to clear the demonic energy inside, does he?”
Ying Tong furrowed her brow slightly; she couldn’t believe this person would actually consider her for such a task.
As it turned out, Ying Tong was right in her suspicion.
Although the ruins had already been corroded by demonic energy, Zhou Yunxing was unwilling to simply give up.
The erosion of demonic energy was not irreversible, but it required completely cleaning out the demonic energy inside to achieve that.
To accomplish this, someone with profound cultivation was needed.
Looking around, was there anyone in the entire Cangqiong Realm more suited than Ying Tong for this task?
“This kind of thankless job, Emperor Zhou should find someone else. I’m very busy and don’t have time to waste here with you,” she refused without hesitation.
To clear the demonic energy was, in essence, to use her own cultivation to eliminate it.
As the demonic energy was dispelled, her own cultivation would constantly regress. She would have to be out of her mind to agree to such a thing.
Zhou Yunxing had anticipated Ying Tong’s refusal.
“Since Venerable Yunhuang does not agree, then it shouldn’t be too much to ask the Ying family to send some members to help clear the demonic energy,” he suggested.
Zhou Yunxing thought this plan was good; since Ying Tong had already refused once, it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to refuse again.
If the old emperor had been there, he would have told Zhou Yunxing that he was still too young and didn’t understand Ying Tong at all.
