For Shopkeeper Hu to be on such good terms with the fox grandfather, he was likely an extraordinary person himself.
Qin Xuan did not dare underestimate him. "I heard that Mr. Hu is quite knowledgeable about matters concerning the demon clans. I would like to inquire about a few things."
Hu Yulin nodded. "No problem.
"However, buying information is no different from buying a book. A book is read with the eyes from paper, while information is heard with the ears. Mortals pay mortal rates, and Qi Refining cultivators are no exception."
Not having to owe a favor actually set Qin Xuan's mind at ease. "That is only fair."
Hu Yulin asked, "What would Young Master Qin like to know?"
"I want to know if Sheng Hu, the spider demon from Poison Scorpion Valley in Chuanlai Commandery, has close ties to Lan River Water Palace. And where she and Lord Gutless, the crab demon in the city, are right now."
Hu Yulin answered promptly, "I can tell you the answer to the first question right away. For the second, you'll have to wait a day."
"Just one day?"
Old Hu offered a polite, gentle smile. "A day is being generous. What, you don't believe me?"
Qin Xuan did not say he disbelieved him, merely phrasing it tactfully: "Mr. Hu, since this is business, a customer shouldn't be kept entirely in the dark."
Hu Yulin agreed wholeheartedly. "In truth, I stayed at Guangling Water Palace for quite a long time."
Guangling Water Palace?!
Qin Xuan was startled. The figure behind the black catfish great demon was the Clear Water Flood Dragon King of Guangling Water Palace. "What was your connection to the flood dragon king, sir?"
Hu Yulin's expression carried a touch of reminiscence.
"I used to be the scribe in Guangling Water Palace. Occasionally, I gave the flood dragon king advice—such as how to build closer ties with North Sea Dragon Palace, or how to get along with neighboring factions.
"Later, my cultivation ran into problems, and my magic power gradually dwindled, breaking my ambition. On top of that, the flood dragon king was rather stingy and stubborn at times, so I made up an excuse about wanting to retire into seclusion. Only then did I open a bookshop in the commandery seat to enjoy my later years in leisure.
"Though I left Guangling Water Palace, the surrounding demon clans still show me ample respect. The information you're asking for isn't top secret; finding out won't be difficult for me."
Though it sounded fantastic to Qin Xuan, seeing Mei'er nod made him realize it was likely true.
As a former advisor to the flood dragon king, he was bound to know inside information.
The Clear Water Flood Dragon King was the mightiest demon in the region. Though the Poison Scorpion King of neighboring Chuanlai Commandery also carried the title of 'king,' if the two ever met face-to-face, the Poison Scorpion King would probably hardly dare breathe before him.
"Mr. Hu, what is the price for this news, and how should I pay?"
Hu Yulin held up four fingers. "I only ask for four kinds of things: yin spirits born of deep grievances, ancient ghosts, celestial demons, or pestilence demons."
"Do you walk the yin road as well, sir?"
"I do not. I don't have the courage to go to Yin City. I collect these simply to trade with Brother Gu."
Qin Xuan had captured yin spirits before, and he had felt ancient ghosts in that prince's tomb.
Celestial demons roamed the high heavens, said to be spiritual entities born of the Paranirmita Vasavartin realm, which could also be viewed as fiends filled with delusions that interfered with one's mind.
"How do you define a pestilence demon?"
Old Hu explained, "Pestilence demons are tied to cultivators undergoing tribulations.
"When a cultivator faces a tribulation, if the tribulation qi is exceedingly dense, it may take shape and birth a spirit, turning into a tribulation pestilence demon.
"There is also another kind: when a cultivator fails their tribulation and is consumed by demonic thoughts, swallowed by a fiend—that can also be counted as a pestilence demon.
"Such pestilence demons are commonplace across various sects and races. When they linger by the Huangquan River for too long and undergo mutations, they become what the mortal world commonly calls Netherworld demons."
Hu Yulin laughed. "If you had a celestial demon or a pestilence demon, forget this bit of news—even if you wanted to know about domestic troubles in the Clear Water Flood Dragon King's harem, I could satisfy your curiosity."
Qin Xuan smiled and shook his head, having no interest in gossip about the dragon king.
Inside the Xieling grand elder's treasure pouch were over twenty jars of yin spirits, every one of them an evil ghost entangled in obsessive delusions. He took out three, but Hu Yulin shook his head. He brought out five, and Hu still shook his head.
When he set down the tenth, Old Hu broke into a grin and called out, "Deal!"
Seeing how wide the merchant's grin stretched, Qin Xuan knew he had paid too much.
After putting away the yin spirit jars, Shopkeeper Hu spoke:
"Young Master Qin, among the demons, fiends, Buddhists, Daoists, and incense lineages of Pingyuan Commandery, your name already carries some weight.
"The black catfish great demon views you as a looming threat, tossing and turning sleeplessly in recent days, desperately wanting to eliminate you.
"He put up a precious weapon as a bounty for your head at the underground demon market. But the commandery's factions fear Guanjiang Mountain; they can only drool over the prize, not daring to act.
"The spider demon is different. She came here to work for the Huanyin Sect and already intended to strike at your Yuansong Temple. So she set her sights on this precious weapon and hit it off with that crab demon to deal with you together.
"I suspect..."
Shopkeeper Hu gave a sly smile. "What you really wanted to learn through the spider demon is whether the Huanyin Sect behind her is connected to Guangling Water Palace, isn't that right?"
Qin Xuan was astonished. That was precisely what Senior Mao had wanted to know; he had not expected the old man to deduce so much. "Sir, what can you tell me?"
Having stopped midway, Old Hu put on his profiteer face and stretched out a hand once again.
*I took a massive loss today; I'll have to get Senior Mao to reimburse me when I get back.*
He pulled out six more jars of yin spirits. The greedy merchant had calculated that Qin Xuan was already committed to the sunken cost and wanted to squeeze out more.
How could Qin Xuan let himself be manipulated like that? He made a move to pack the jars back up.
"Hold on, hold on!"
Old Hu caught his hand and swept the six jars of yin spirits into his grasp. "Since this is Young Master Qin's first visit, I'll give you a discount and won't ask for more."
Qin Xuan turned his head away in annoyance. Seeing his irritated look, Mei'er could not help but purse her lips in a smile, bringing him a cup of tea.
Shopkeeper Hu continued, "Young Master Qin, rest assured, Guangling Water Palace definitely has no ties to the Huanyin Sect. The flood dragon king loves taking petty advantages, but he isn't bold enough for that. He cannot afford to provoke the Perfected Ones of Guanjiang Mountain. Even if the Huanyin Sect promised him heaven-shaking benefits, he would never cooperate with them.
"I know him all too well."
Perhaps because the crafty Hu truly had been an advisor to the dragon king, his words carried great weight with Qin Xuan. If this was the truth, then the small errand Senior Mao had assigned him was essentially complete.
"Mr. Hu, how do you know so much about the Huanyin Sect and our Guanjiang Mountain lineage?"
Shopkeeper Hu took on the tone of an experienced elder. "If I didn't possess good intelligence, how could I conduct business? Besides, the matters I dealt with in Guangling Water Palace were far more complicated than what happens here. If you spent some time serving as a scribe in the dragon king's palace, you would understand everything."
Having said this, Old Hu looked into the distance toward Guangling Water Palace, seeming to sigh softly with emotion, and said no more.
Since Qin Xuan still had to wait for news on Lord Gutless, he strolled around Huyue Book Pavilion to see if they had *Spring Letters, Autumn Post*. The copy of *Spring Flowers, Autumn Harvest* he had picked up last time had nothing to do with sword arts.
Hu Yulin stepped out for an errand, leaving the shop temporarily in the little fox's care.
Seeing Qin Xuan lingering around the romance and light biographies section, she could not help but recommend a volume: "Young Master, this one is wonderful."
Qin Xuan glanced at it; the title was *Tender Little Fox Maiden*.
"This one is good, too."
Mei'er fetched another volume: *Little Fox Immortal Knocks Under the Moonlight*.
Qin Xuan remained unmoved. "I don't read these. I study the *Spring and Autumn Annals*."
There were many ancient texts in this pavilion, some even recording events from before Chaotic Antiquity. In a thin volume, amid the disorganized records, he unexpectedly came across a sentence:
"During the cataclysm of Buddhas and fiends, Queli Temple was destroyed, and the Tathagata was slain by demons."
The person who wrote this had left a strange name: Ma Ge.
From Chaotic Antiquity until now, the Buddhas and Tathagatas of the Western Religion still walked the world, even establishing lesser Demon Courts; this remark was likely nothing more than sensationalist drivel.
After casually flipping through it, he put the book down.
Although Qin Xuan failed to find his "Spring and Autumn," his browsing was not entirely fruitless. The merchant Hu truly was once an advisor to Guangling Water Palace; there were many books here regarding the demon clans, which allowed Qin Xuan to learn a bit of demon unofficial history.
Mei'er was refining talismans here and originally planned to return to Huashi Alley by nightfall.
However, because Qin Xuan intended to wait for the information and stayed overnight, the little fox decided to stay as well.
Shopkeeper Hu returned very late. In the pitch-black night, he lit the worn paper lantern beneath the eaves and retired straight to his bedroom at the back of the pavilion to rest, saying nothing and not even sparing a glance at Qin Xuan or Mei'er.
"Is Mr. Hu usually like this?"
Mei'er shook her head. "I don't know. I usually craft talismans here and leave by dusk. On overcast or rainy days, I head back even earlier. I never stay through the night."
Just as Qin Xuan was about to ask more, the door to Shopkeeper Hu's bedroom creaked open.
Hu was nowhere to be seen, only his voice drifted out: "After the midnight hour, if anyone stops here to read and rest, do not speak with them."
*Creak—*
The door shut once more, followed soon after by the sound of snoring. Shopkeeper Hu had fallen asleep.
That night, past the hour of midnight.
A gust of yin wind blew through the northern street of the commandery seat. Outside the entrance of Huyue Book Pavilion, several figures appeared. The two in front were a horse-faced man and an ox-horned man, dragging iron chains that trailed into a mass of black mist, obscuring whatever lay within.
Suddenly, the black mist swelled, taking the form of a gigantic ghostly silhouette.
The horse-faced burly man drew a whip and lashed it repeatedly, beating the ghost silhouette back into its original shape.
"Damn it all, this Pingyuan Commandery is no peaceful place."
The ox-horned fellow also panted heavily, pointing toward Hawk's Beak Mountain. "In that direction, there's a fortune to be made."
The horse-faced man said, "Too risky. Besides, our current task isn't done yet."
Shopkeeper Hu had been right: the visitors who came at night were indeed reading books.
Except they were not reading books from inside the pavilion.
The two ghostly figures sat beneath the yellow paper lantern, pulling a ledger-like volume from their robes, murmuring, circling, and jotting down marks.
Suddenly...
The ox-horned man turned his head, looking toward Qin Xuan and Gu Mei'er.
Qin Xuan closed his eyes, meditating peacefully without paying any mind, and Gu Mei'er did the same.
"I have a faint feeling he's listening to us."
The ox-horned man pointed at Qin Xuan. The horse-faced man cast a glance over, but soon looked away. "He isn't from the Nine Nethers Netherworld, just a petty cultivator. Even if he can see us, it's unlikely he understands the tongue of the underworld."
The ox-horned man said, "Times are different now. Some homesick souls risk coming to the mortal world; perhaps he hails from the Netherworld too?"
"What are the odds of such a coincidence?"
Though the horse-faced man said this, he still stole another glance at Qin Xuan.
The ox-horned man grunted, "Forget it, no more resting. I can't shake the feeling that he's eavesdropping. Let's go."
With that, a gust of yin wind swept up, and they vanished from the front of the book pavilion.
Only then did Mei'er whisper, "Young Master, those were nether runners."
Seeing her expression, Qin Xuan knew this was not her first time seeing them. "Does your grandfather understand the underworld tongue?"
"Yes. Grandfather said that if you go down to the Nine Nethers Netherworld, stay by the Wangchuan River for a while, and listen to the yin souls in the water speak, you can learn it. But it is extremely perilous; it's very easy to get trapped in the underworld and never return.
"If nether runners expend magic power, they can also communicate with the living, but they are rarely willing to do so. I've heard it damages their merit."
Hearing this, Qin Xuan could not help glancing toward Shopkeeper Hu's bedroom.
The following morning.
Shopkeeper Hu left early and returned about the time it took to finish a cup of tea, bringing Qin Xuan his news:
"Yesterday, the spider demon visited the Yishui River God's Mansion. Today, she is at the mountain god temple. As for the crab demon, he's inside the city, asking everywhere for news about you."
Old Hu smiled. "If you look for him right now, he's definitely there. But a crab moves around; if he goes elsewhere, you can't blame me for faulty intelligence."
Qin Xuan nodded; those jars of yin spirits had been well spent after all.
Senior Mao's instructions were largely fulfilled, and it would be best if he could wrap up the matter with Master Black Bear at the same time.
The crab demon possessed a tough carapace capable of withstanding sword talismans, cultivated at a level equivalent to a Foundation Building cultivator, and was well versed in the demonic arts of Lan River Water Palace. Combining these three factors made him an exceedingly formidable opponent for Qin Xuan.
He discarded any notion of acting alone and retrieved the transmission talismans given to him by the two ascetic elders of the Scripture Pavilion.
Before engaging in battle, the rule was always to summon reinforcements first.
Recalling the crab demon's previous arrogance and malice toward him, a cold sneer played across Qin Xuan's lips. *Lord Gutless, it's time for us to settle our score...*
Chapter 64