The妖狐's (yao hu - demon fox) blood dripped to the ground along Lin Zhao's slender fingers, yet she strode forward in the smoky, rain-like mist of blood, casually reaching into the void to snatch a struggling fox soul from the air.

By the time Lin Zhao returned to the living room with the fox soul in hand, Ye Yang and Feng Ruoxing were already waiting there, both covered in a faint layer of phosphorescent light.

It seemed the fire fox's tricks hadn't trapped them for long.

Lin Zhao took a teacup from the cupboard, trapping the fox soul inside. He tapped the cup lightly and said, "Now, you're surrounded by two experts of the Tuifan realm, so don't even think about escaping."

"I know your fox clan is vengeful and possesses secret methods to contact your kin. You can threaten me with your fox clan, but I will ignore your threats."

"The only bargaining chip you have is the secret of Mingshi Mansion. Before dawn, we have plenty of time to negotiate."

"Get ready, we can begin anytime."

The fire fox sighed and said, "You've said everything that needs to be said. What else can I say? I have only one request: ask your questions and let me go."

"Agreed!" Lin Zhao said, "What exactly is the secret of Mingshi Mansion?"

The fire fox said, "This matter must begin with the Zanglong Temple (Temple of the Buried Dragon)."

"Many years ago, someone secretly built Zanglong Temple. The temple wasn't very large, at least not as large as Mingshi Mansion."

"The person in charge of building Zanglong Temple was a geomancer; no one knew his name. All that was known was that he constantly demolished temples and immortal abodes to build Zanglong Temple."

Lin Zhao frowned slightly at this, "Was he gathering demonic energy, or accumulating merit?"

Although Lin Zhao wasn't a geomancer, he knew that old temples or demon dwellings would accumulate spiritual energy over time. Tearing them down would provide enough materials to create magical artifacts.

Ye Yang said in a deep voice, "Was he targeting immortals or demons? What were his characteristics?"

People in the Northeast believed in immortals (xianjia), but people in other places didn't understand the difference between immortals and demons. Some even asked if foxes and weasels with abilities weren't demons? Why would they become immortals?

Others thought that "immortal" was a term of respect, just like ordinary people calling robbers "heroes," flattering them out of fear.

In fact, the biggest difference between immortals and demons wasn't their true form, but their actions.

Immortals accumulated merit by helping people solve problems through their spirit mediums (chuma dizi). In the eyes of the people, no matter what the true form of the immortal was, as long as they could help people, they should be respected and enjoy incense offerings.

As for legends of immortals harming people, most of them occurred because someone provoked the immortal first. Otherwise, immortals wouldn't harm people without reason.

Demons, on the other hand, did the opposite.

The fire fox said, "He demolished immortal temples, and many weak immortals suffered at his hands. Lao Huang (Old Yellow) and I were driven out of our home at that time. If we hadn't run fast, we would have been reduced to ashes long ago."

"As for that person..."

The fire fox hesitated for a moment and said, "He always wore a mask, so we couldn't see whether he was male or female. However, he always had a string of emerald prayer beads in his hand. He wasn't chanting scriptures, just mindlessly playing with them."

Ye Yang couldn't help but gasp, "A compassionate hand with a demonic heart! Mu Yue, the first patriarch of the Mu family! Continue."

The fire fox said, "After that person finished building Zanglong Temple, he drove a carriage into the temple. I don't know what was inside the carriage, but the wheel tracks were very deep, even deeper than those left by a cart full of gold."

In ancient times, bandits could judge what was in a carriage from the depth of the wheel tracks. The fire fox's words made Lin Zhao frown, "What did the carriage look like? Were there any peculiarities about the horses pulling it?"

The fire fox said, "The carriage was very large, with an iron canopy, looking a bit like a modern box truck. I didn't dare get close to the horses pulling it, but I always felt they were like zombies. Their expressions and movements were identical, even the size of their steps was exactly the same."

Lin Zhao said softly, "That carriage is a coffin. Ye Yang, ask further questions first, I'll contact my master to see if our sect has ever delivered a coffin to someone."

Ye Yang replaced Lin Zhao, "Continue talking."

The fire fox said, "After that geomancer drove the carriage into Zanglong Temple, he never came out again. Including the people who built Zanglong Temple that year, none of them ever left the gates of Zanglong Temple again."

Ye Yang's voice deepened, "Are you sure the builders of Zanglong Temple were human?"

"This..." the fire fox said, "Probably! Lao Huang and I didn't dare to get close to Zanglong Temple. We could only see people going in and out. I'm not sure if those people were dead or alive."

"Seven days after that geomancer locked himself in Zanglong Temple, the temple mysteriously disappeared. Not even a tile was left behind."