Chapter 77 - Nyanya, do bad things for me! (Patreon)

.... Did you leave the review? No? Umm... at least a rating? I am warning you. Vixen girls can be pretty and pretty vindictive! - https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/75341/dao-of-the-web-an-isekai-cultivation-story

[Table of Contents]

Ziyou Maque’s face was oozing nothing but hatred, the hard-boiled man uncaring about death. This was the scariest Yung had ever seen the gang leader. His already scarred face looked even more hideous, brows squinted and lips wide, teeth grinding with each other as if to break them. His ponytail had come loose, and his braids danced in the violent wind like tentacles.

Su Nanya’s essence qi, no, her murderous origin qi, devoid of the usual warmth and regality, loomed above the man like a maw of a monster. The Empathic Link connecting them turned red as blood, thick magma of unknown intentions flowing like a herald for what was to come.

What does it mean? This is the first time I’ve seen the Empathic Link connecting others show such a reaction. Yung was confused. What had changed?

"If I make it outta this alive," Ziyou Maque growled, his gold tooth glinting, "I owe ya my life, 'cause it was me who dragged the others into this mess. And don't go pointing fingers at Lady An Ping. With the Dark Star leader off dealing with that Wretched Emissary, we saw our shot and took it." He paused, the scar on his face twitching with emotion. "These cursed cultists took my wife from me and brought that void rush down on us 14 years back. Every one of us lost something that damned day. I'm begging you, highness, let a dirty madlander like me join you in this hunt. We're thirstin' for some payback!"

Ziyou Maque was not fooling around. His eyes were bloodshot, and his hands grasped his spear so hard that the metal shaft was bending. Qi ran through his scarred skin, giving off a pressure absolutely filled with bloodlust.

Ziyou Ling was the same. The girl had been lost in recent times, spending all day showing Xiu Jiujiu the ropes about body cultivation, waiting for the foxmoth hunt to be over so the Flareful Empress could start her tutelage.

But now, it was as if she had found something. Something to punch!

Her face was grim; she stood behind her father like a solemn statue, grasping a collection of low-grade but deadly spears.

Youjin Chun, the Youjin clan heiress, stood at a distance, her long raven hair fluttering in the wind. Her makeup was off, her robes were dusty, and a thin sword was grasped in her hand. If usual, she would have scoffed at the foolishness of the madlander barbarians. But today, there was something dark in her eyes too. She had a target; her soul looked for prey to kill.

But she didn’t speak up, waiting for Nyanya to reply.

The Vixen, on her end, looked flabbergasted, as if not believing that puny peasants had the gall to disrespect her decree.

<They said they disobeyed your order? What order?> Yung asked.

<… We had been articulate and clear, yet they spit on our faces!> The Vixen was positively fuming. <What part of keeping away do they not understand!>

The communicator's message made it obvious to Yung. Probably sometime earlier, Su Nanya had ordered An Ping’s group to stay away from the cave with the foxmoths via the communicator. An Ping should have relayed that order around.

Yet here Ziyou Maque was, not at all ashamed of his insolence.

<We cannot be bothered to deal with this. They have chosen death.> Su Nanya put her front left paw on the ground. From the crown of her head, a strange aura leaked out. And Yung saw blood-red light travel like magma through the threads connecting the madlander and Youjin group to his girlfriend.

<W-W-Wait Nyanya!> Yung ran and hugged the giant Vixen’s snout again, but this time, it was a less romantic, more dangling affair. The fox princess was taken aback but did not shake him off. She merely squinted, her giant vixen eyes staring straight into his.

<What manner of molestation is this?>

<What were you going to do to them?>

<A quick end.>

<… Oh jeez, please.> Yung was amazed. His girlfriend wasn’t joking. He looked back at her with a squint of his own, showing the meanest expression of disapproval he could muster.<You can’t do that.> He realized that the Empathic Links turning red of that specific shade might indicate an intention to do harm. When had his powers changed–Ooooh! Nyanya sucking my dick makes my cheat evolve!

<W-We merely kid.> The Vixen blushed, and with a panicked flutter, she shook Yung off and hid her face with her paws. But she knew Yung knew that she was, in fact, not kidding.

She really was about to off them.

But Yung fantasizing about their scorchingly sexy night might have thrown her off balance. Again.

<We’ll talk about this later. I know you can read my mind. Or daydreams, whatever that means. Don’t kill my friends, please.>

The Vixen actually mewled. Even as enraged as the Free Sparrow gang and the Youjin Clan were, with half still terrified of Su Nanya’s earlier murderous aura, they couldn’t help but stare googly-eyed at the invisible back and forth.

Yung patted Su Nanya’s snout, his hand lingering a little too long. “Give us a moment.” He said to the others, and they nodded.

<Nyanya, I ask on their behalf too. Let them come.>

<Do you truly wish for our weakness to be known?> Su Nanya sounded hurt.

Yung didn’t want to back down on this point.

Keeping Nanya’s secret safe was a matter of principle. He would do it. But keeping his own life safe was a matter of survival. He must do it!

<How about we make them take a heavenly vow? Swear them to secrecy?>

<Should they stumble upon the secrets of our Su Fox Clan, their fate is sealed. Su Haochen serves under my beloved mother's command. This is a matter of clan politics; even heavenly oaths hold no weight here.>

<Why?>

<There are many a way to extract memories from vow-bound souls, and not all of them are sinister. For we shall point out, such a method includes the strange skills you use, oh how vulgar you are, to peer into the shameful depths of our hearts.>

<I understand.> Yung needed to confirm something.

“This shadowy barrier only lets people with a cultivation of Imperfect Heaven 1st Realm and lower enter. The strong among you can’t go in.” Yung said.

“We’ll put a lid on our cultivation. I’ve done it before to stalk some treasure in other planar fragments.”

“But then, if there comes a situation where you need to use more power—”

“The planar fragment will be done for, or we will. My bet’s on the latter, Young Yung. Since the ones here who’ve to worry ‘bout such dying are the few of us who’re in Imperfect Heaven 2nd realm, just barely, I doubt our spirit roots and cultivation bases are strong enough to make the place unstable.”

“And still, you want to risk going in?”

“Lady An Ping, she let us hear the voice of the cursed cultist fighting her team down east. That crazy—I know her.”

“You do?”

“Aye. My wife, Ling’s mother, knew her too. Thought they were thick as thieves. Or so I thought! Now I find out she’s part leadership of the voidfiend rush that killed my wife! There’s something going on, and it's not funny. I reckon it’s been going on for a while, and we’ve been none the wiser. Someone’s making a fool out of us, and I’ll be damned if I don’t pull these worms by their tails, even if it costs me my life!”

“Yeah!” Behind the gang leader, the other madlanders and Ziyou Ling roared.

“And you?” Yung asked Youjin Chun, “What business do you have? I cannot imagine you people throwing your lives away for revenge even if the voidfiend outbreak had killed so many of the Dim Gold City’s folks back then.”

“Sharp-tongued as always, Ziyou Yung.” Youjin Chun said. Her empathic link read fear and anger. “You judge us harshly, and I will not comment on your baseless assumptions. Yet we, too, have scores to settle here. The void cultist that attacked these mercenaries, I know one of them.”

Yung waved his hand for Youjin Chun to continue.

“The man that attacked the team to the north was captured by Elder Han Xinglou. Fairy An Ping passed down his voice through the communicator to us since the Elder recognized him, and my father, the Lord Patriarch, wanted visual confirmation. Elder Han then brought the cultist man back before joining the fight with the Wretched Emissary. This cultist was one of the closest attendants of the late Youjin patriarch. He had mysteriously disappeared after the late patriarch’s fall.”

“That’s bad.” This time, it was Yung’s turn to be taken aback.

“Worse than bad! Since Elder Han knows him too, he suspects the foul play that caused our patriarch to perish was done by the old attendant and had nothing to do with the Duan Clan or the Malignant Moon Sword Sect. He had blatantly planned to use this new evidence to absolve themselves of all responsibility–”

“Oh, yeah, don’t care.”

Youjin Chun corrected her pristine posture before continuing, “The old attendant was the Youjin Clan’s liaison with the Malignant Moon Sword Sect. He’s also the one who brought the proposal from the Duan clan, and I-I… If it wasn’t for that, then Elder Brother Chao… Excuse me. My father and Elder Gengxin from the Selenosilver Valley, through careful questions and to Elder Han’s great displeasure, were able to get the attendant to admit that there exist ill agents in the Duan Clan’s and Malignant Moon Sword Sect’s members too. They then ordered our team to investigate the other cultists. If word of this gets out, and it definitely will, then the name of our clan will be dragged through the mud, as will the Duan Clan’s and the Malignant Moon Sword Sect’s. We will be branded as cult grooming betrayers. Honoured Fairy Su, as your most faithful of servants, please assist us in clearing this injustice!”

Youjin Chun knelt and kowtowed hard on the ground; her already dishevelled face was now covered in dirt and grime. The rest of the Youjin Clan followers followed suit.

““Fairy Su, please assist us in clearing this injustice!”” They cried.

A second later, the madlanders did the same.

“Y-Y-You! One after another, annoying bugs and fungi! You—” The chorus seemed to have only enraged Su Nanya even more. She snarled, taking a heavy step forward. Origin Qi kept gathering in seven coloured rays on her crown.

<Babe.> Yung said.

<Eeeek, what is it? What manner of slimy colloquialism is that, why do you call me your daughter?> Su Nyanya flinched as though someone had stepped on her tail. She howled, then scooted away from Yung again.

<Babe, honey. The future mother of my maybe babies.> Yung walked to her with a slimy smile. <Can’t you listen to me? I’ll of course go with you. I still don’t know how the body double maid thing makes sense, but these cultists bullied Floofy, right?>

“Woof!” Barked the fluffy fox. She ran to Yung’s feet and bit hard.

Of course Floofy was on her maid’s side. The traitor!

Floofy bit harder.

Yung’s smile cramped. <S-So we’ll find the bad guys, beat them up, and get whatever secret you lost here back. The Free Sparrow Gang and the Youjin Clan, in the meanwhile, can keep me safe. Just in case anything goes wrong. My Empathic Isolation does not have infinite duration, and any random Qi blast from beings at your level fighting can level me.>

<Y-You feel not safe with us? How? Boyfriend, you hurt us so!> Now it was Su Nanya’s time to be taken aback.

<So you have absolute confidence in keeping me safe. Explain how. As I always say, we can solve all disagreements, or at least agree to disagree, with honest conversations.>

Nyanya yelped, shaking her head.

<... we really have too many secrets, to both of us. Nyanya, I trust you. I want you to trust me too.>

<We have… set the stage. Now, it is up to you and this love that you claim to have for me to deduce our hidden meanings.>

Is this the same thing as girlfriends getting mad about why their boyfriends can’t read their minds? Christ, I’d always laugh the memes off online, but it was real! Yung was amazed before accidentally saying out loud, “Ugh, women.”

Ling, Chun, and even Youjin Linbi and one other madlander female cultivator’s expression gloomed.

Floofy bit down harder.

And Su Nanya stared at him, shocked.

“L-Let’s change the topic.” Yung hurriedly tried to save his social reputation. He repurchased the conversation to an earlier point, <Nyanya. Heavenly vows might not hold any weight, but your word will, right? Have them sign a binding contract and request mercy on their behalf. Pretty please?>

<You would selfishly use them as expendable lives?>

<It is their choice to make. They said they wanted revenge. This is no longer them throwing away their lives because I selfishly wanted to get the foxmoths back but for their own selfish gains! Gains which coincide with my own.>

<That’s just sophistry.>

<No, Nyanya. That’s called choice. One that advantages me. Please, let them help me help you. I love you more than anything, but I cannot honestly say I love you more than my life. That would be a lie.>

<...Truly, your morality has so much to be desired. Yet, your daydreams are so, disgustingly hopeful. Mayhap, there is another Wretched Emissary down the caverns. Do you really think we would waste even a speck of our origin qi to shield them when a fight breaks out? Think again.>

<That’s fine. You should only protect me. And they should only protect me. They know that.>

<How disgustingly hopeful. We cannot say we dislike it.>

<I love you too, babe.> Yung smiled, Nyanya eeeeeke’d.

<Mother matriarch may not even listen to our pleas, you know?>

<You should only speak on their behalf if your clan actually learns of what happened today. How will they know if you don’t tell them?>

<….huh?> The Vixen squeaked.

Yung grinned. He knew he had her. <Nyanya, this will be our naughty little secret.>