Day and night tour

Chapter 507 Joyful Doll
The leader of the Longevity Cult did not have much contact with Zhou Xuan, but from those few interactions, he at least figured out one of Zhou Xuan's characteristics—he was courteous in his dealings with others.

This "etiquette" is simple in theory; it's nothing more than "If someone treats me with respect, I will treat them with even greater respect."

Take "King Xishan" for example. After King Xishan placed his bet on Zhou Xuan, although the fox clan gave Zhou Xuan a lot of benefits, in the end, Zhou Xuan "returned" more benefits.

With Zhou Xuan's support, the fox clan established its own headquarters, a unique achievement among demon clans in the mortal realm.

King Himalayas also became a celestial deity.

Now, even the Longevity Cult Master and the Crippled Monk want to find some blood food in the Fox Clan, but they are sternly refused by King Xishan. The reason why King Xishan has this confidence is because Zhou Xuan is backing him up.

Of course, this etiquette wasn't only effective for the Prince of Xishan—every painter, musician, and tattoo master Peng Sheng in Mingjiang Prefecture had received favors from Zhou Xuan.
Even Yuan Jinpeng, who was performing on the stage, received a reward of six gold bars just because he adopted a humble posture.

"It's always good to adopt a humble attitude when facing Master Zhou."

As the leader of the Longevity Cult pondered, his inner turmoil lessened, especially when he recalled his meeting with Li Changxun earlier that day.

In the past, Li Changxun was incredibly pathetic, always acting like a grandson to everyone in the sky. But now, this grandson has stopped acting like a grandson and has transformed into a grandpa, not even afraid of Qing Yangyu.

"If I continue to hesitate, I'm afraid that in a few days, I'll have to bow and scrape to Li Changxun. Why? Because he has a good master."

"Isn't it just a romantic opera? Let's sing it. Sing an opera, and you can get close to the future giant that is Mr. Da. What's wrong with that?"

Having figured all this out, the leader of the Longevity Cult, who couldn't get a seat at the head table at the wedding banquet, made a certain decision...

……

"Old Xi, today is a joyous day for your Fox Clan. Your young master from the Hu Clan has been brought back."

Zhou Xuan's eyes narrowed as he glanced at Mu Hua, a hint of a joke in his voice, and said...

Mu Hua was very shy about being called "Young Master," and lowered her head, pretending not to hear it.

But the foxes from the Fox Clan came up to toast him table by table, always addressing him as "Young Master." There was no way around it; Mu Hua's seniority was too high—or rather, Sister Cui's seniority was too high, as she was one of the few remaining members of the "Hu Clan Yun Generation."

“It is a joyous day.” King Xishan said to Zhou Xuan, “We fox people are already overwhelmed with gratitude for the permission of the Grand Master and the Wandering Gods to enter the city.”

"What's wrong with going to the city?"

Zhou Xuan, holding his wine cup, said, "Old Xi, I told you from the beginning that the fox clan can embrace civilization from now on. They can go to the city to study, work, and relax—no problem at all."
As long as the younger generation of your fox clan can transform into human form and not frighten the people, you can enter the city, go to school, work, and play as you please. Neither the Bureau of Spirits nor the government can stop you.

"Really?" King Xishan raised his wine cup again, offering a toast to Zhou Xuan with trepidation.

Zhou Xuan finished his drink, then added a hint of advice in his words, saying, "However, Lao Xi, your current identity as a fox clan member is hard-won. Don't bring some of your mountain habits into the city."
"We must never allow things like 'eating raw meat and drinking blood,' where the fox sees something it likes and plots to steal it, or if it can't steal it, it teams up with the foxes in its tribe who have supernatural powers to steal and kill—this must be prevented from happening."

"Of course, the clan is so large and the fox's heart is so complicated. No matter how you try to restrain them, there will always be some bad incidents. If something really happens, you, as the fox king, must not fail to uphold justice and follow the law just because they are your own people, and instead try to protect them."

Zhou Xuan's words conveyed only one main point: the fox clan is allowed to enjoy the human rights of Mingjiang Prefecture, but the fox clan is not allowed to consider themselves a divine race, disregard human laws, and trample on the human rights of Mingjiang Prefecture.

The King of Xishan was naturally a reasonable man. He immediately drank three cups of wine and said to Zhou Xuan firmly,

"What you say is very true, sir. As the saying goes, one bad apple spoils the whole bunch. From now on, I will be even stricter in disciplining the fox clan, so that they can live happily and not do anything wrong. If they do something bad, let alone the Mingjiang Prefecture and the Bureau of the Wandering Gods, they will be punished more severely in my hands."

“Alright, Lao Xi, from now on, you will arrange for the fox clan to enter the city. The beautiful Yeming River will also be open to your fox clan. You are no longer mountain barbarians.”

Zhou Xuan's words almost brought tears to the eyes of King Xishan. For centuries, he had pondered the "future of the fox clan" night after night—wasn't this exactly what it meant?

The fox clan no longer had to live in fear of being sacrificed to those powerful figures, and no longer worried about being hunted by those important people. They could enjoy all the new and interesting things in this world.

King Xishan grew increasingly excited as he thought about it. He consulted Zhou Xuan, asking, "Master, this joyous occasion is too great and has come so swiftly. May I take this opportunity to explain to my fox children and their offspring that they have gained the right to enter the city from now on?"

"of course can."

Zhou Xuan was still waiting for King Xishan to announce the good news. There were quite a few people from the fox clan who came. If they all smiled broadly, how much "great joy" would that be?
King Xishan immediately stood up and, addressing the fox clan members' seats, declared in a powerful voice: "The Grand Master has already given the order: from today onwards, the magnificent Yeming River is open to our fox clan. Any fox who can transform into human form is welcome to study, work, and stroll around Yeming River."
We foxes are no longer mountain barbarians.

These words made the foxes excited, their faces glowing red, and they danced with joy.

The fox clan, born and raised in the mountains, are much more open in expressing their feelings than the people of Mingjiang.
Many of them were foxes, and some even danced in public to express their gratitude for this hard-won identity and fox rights.

The festive atmosphere immediately infected the other guests, and some of the Mingjiang people, no longer restrained, joined in the singing and dancing.

Zhou Xuan also thoroughly enjoyed watching it. He felt that this scene was quite familiar—if you don't know how to perform a song, then learn to perform a song; if the prince strikes a pose, then you strike a pose too…

"Let's harvest the festive wheat first."

Zhou Xuan closed his eyes and concentrated, activating the Law of Destiny.

In an instant, the laughter and joyful smiles at the banquet, these abstract emotions that could be felt but not touched, all became tangible things in Zhou Xuan's eyes.

He unleashed his senses.

The powerful senses, like countless invisible giant hands, captured all those joyful emotions.

Before Zhou Xuan, a doll materialized—a happy doll.

The baby was all smiles, extremely cute.
Just as the festive mood washed over him, the doll was covered in plaster, grayish-white in color, with indistinct features.

But as the festive mood grew stronger, the doll's body seemed to be plated with a layer of gold, shining brightly.

Sitting to Zhou Xuan's left, Zhao Wuyai also saw that the lucky doll looked like a golden god of wealth, and his hands started to itch, so he reached out to touch it.

As soon as he touched her, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, hahaha, interesting, interesting."

"Hehehe, hehehe, this is really interesting."

Zhao Wuyai suddenly burst into wild laughter, startling everyone around him, who thought that this young Taoist priest had suddenly fallen seriously ill.

Yun Ziliang and Li Changxun were completely stunned.

Li Changxun asked Yun Ziliang, "Ya Zi, what happy thing have you thought of?"

"I wonder if the doctor can cure Ya Zi's illness."

"Hahaha, hehehe." Zhao Wuyai laughed so hard he could hardly breathe.

Zhou Xuan had also finished collecting the first wave of joy. He hurriedly opened Zhao Wuya's hand and threw the golden doll into the secret realm.

But Zhao Wuyai was still laughing wildly, unable to stop. If he continued to laugh, he might really laugh himself to death at the banquet.

Zhou Xuan called over the White Deer Taoist: "Old White Deer, what do we do now?"

The White Deer Taoist was busy eating and drinking when he heard Zhou Xuan's call. Holding a pig's trotter in one hand, he inquired about what had just happened. His eyes darted around several times before he finally came up with an idea and said...

“Master, is it Brother Wuya? He is experiencing joy. According to the method of restraint among the seven emotions and six desires, fear can overcome joy. Is there anything that Brother Wuya is afraid of? As long as he thinks about it, he will not be so happy, and his madness will naturally be cured.”

This presents Zhou Xuan with a difficult problem.

Zhao Wuyai is usually carefree, and Zhou Xuan really can't think of anything he's afraid of.

"What's there for Ya Zi to be afraid of? Even if Lao Yun beats him up, he won't be afraid." Zhou Xuan thought of Zhao Wuya, that kid, who was particularly resilient.

But no one knows a disciple better than his teacher.

Yun Ziliang said quietly, "Ya Zi, your pants have been pulled down, and your big black donkey is coming to fuck you."

"Hehe...uh...nonsense, my donkey can do whatever it wants, but it can't do anything to me."

Despite saying this, Zhao Wuyai stopped laughing. He was genuinely afraid that the big black donkey would go berserk, so he held it down and got it done.

"So you were afraid of this?"

Zhou Xuan was also amazed.

Yun Ziliang said from the side, "We, the Dragon Seekers, value our reputation the most. Since we value our reputation, we are very afraid of losing face. In the world, what is more shameful than being fucked by your own donkey?"

Zhou Xuan gave Yun Ziliang a thumbs up, saying that if anyone was bad, it was Old Yun.

"Eat your food and drink your wine, and stop talking about those trivial things." Zhao Wuyai held his wine glass, his face slightly flushed. He also realized that he had been too out of line just now.

Zhou Xuan asked, "Don't rush to drink. Tell me, just now, when you touched my wedding doll, what did it remind you of?"

"I don't remember anything, I really don't remember anything." Zhao Wuyai lowered his head and ate his food, trying to get away with it.

Yun Ziliang immediately shouted, "If I ask you, then you should answer. If you don't, I'll answer for you. I saw exactly what you were thinking just now."

"Well... Brother Xuan, it's really nothing... I just thought that since I became the leader of the Dragon Seeking Sect, I kicked out all the other disciples and took in a bunch of beautiful female disciples to serve me..."

Zhao Wuyai became increasingly embarrassed as he spoke, and lowered his head even further.

Yun Ziliang was furious and slammed his fist on the table, saying with great indignation, "What kind of behavior is this? What kind of behavior is this? How can such filthy thoughts be in the minds of my disciples who seek the dragon?"

"..." Zhao Wuyai. Zhao Wuyai: "Grandmaster, didn't you already see what I was thinking?"

"I saw nothing! I'm just kidding you." Yun Ziliang had been hanging out with Zhou Xuan for a while, and his ability to bluff had improved.

"Grandmaster, you can't blame me. Those illusions were just too real. That female disciple, she was so big and soft, I reached out and touched her..."

As Zhao Wuyai spoke, he reached out and grabbed a plate of longevity cakes from the table—they were actually steamed, soft, fermented brown sugar buns.

"Just like this pancake, the feel of it is absolutely wonderful." Zhao Wuyai chuckled as he savored the memory.

Yun Ziliang really wished he could sever his master-disciple relationship with Zhao Wuyai on the spot.

Zhou Xuan didn't have time to tease Zhao Wuya; he fell into deep thought.

"Ren Dan can induce hallucinations. I used to think these hallucinations were nothing special, but now I see that the intensity of these hallucinations is a bit too high."

Zhou Xuan's happy doll is a material for refining the "Happy Longevity Pill". And this is just the material. Zhao Wuya only touched it once, and he was able to have such a realistic illusion.

"This thing is a dream that couldn't be more real."

"I just don't know what kind of effect the real pill will have once it's taken after my Longevity Pill is finished."

Zhou Xuan couldn't imagine what level of hallucinations the even stronger "joy" would produce after taking the elixir.

"If the hallucinations are so intense that they cannot be more intense—the rest of the effects of this elixir become secondary."

For a moment, Zhou Xuan actually understood why the Buddhist Kingdom was instigating the Dan Calamity in the heavens.

These pills can truly control the spirit of the Heavenly Fire Clan.

……

The celebratory banquet continued.

Yun Ziliang has begun to patiently and earnestly try to persuade Zhao Wuyai.

He quite liked this young apprentice, Xunlong. This apprentice also had a great affinity with Buddhism and the Twenty-One Zens resided within him. If he were to train him diligently, he would be an excellent candidate to succeed Xunlong as the sect leader in the future.

But such distorted thinking is unacceptable—a sect full of female disciples, the erotic scene, he dared not even imagine what it would be like.

"You better behave yourself. If you ever have any more wicked thoughts about taking on female disciples, your grandmaster will have to be ruthless," Yun Ziliang threatened while trying to compose himself.

"Ah, Grandmaster Grandfather wants to kick me out of the mountain gate?" Zhao Wuyai was a little scared.

Yun Ziliang retorted, "I'll castrate your little thing and cure it permanently."

"..." Zhao Wuyai's hair stood on end upon hearing this, and he covered his crotch.

Zhou Xuan clinked glasses with Yun Ziliang and said, "You can't cure Ya Zi either—if you cut Ya Zi's leg, the male disciple will suffer terribly."

Yun Ziliang and Zhao Wuyai: "..."

While Zhou Xuan was joking with Yun and Zhao, King Xishan became drunk.

This fox king first cultivated the art of escape, then the art of dragon seeking, and finally comprehended the "True Scripture of the Valley," but as a result, his "yin energy was excessive and his yang energy was weak," causing his meridians to become disharmonious.

With his meridians out of balance, he was somewhat unable to hold his liquor at the dinner table. In addition, there were many foxes and their offspring present today, and every fox from the main branch and the smaller branches had to toast Mu Hua.

But Mu Hua couldn't drink too much alcohol, so Xi Shan Wang, being his "third brother," naturally had to drink on his behalf.

He drank round after round, and the alcohol made his head spin, leaving him feeling dizzy and disoriented.

In his daze, he looked at the flowing wedding banquet and felt that it was not a wedding banquet at all, but rather a banquet that resembled the "Cult Leader's Birthday Banquet" that he had attended with his fox cubs before he rebelled against the Hu Clan.

The Hu family, formerly affiliated with the "shaman," became the outer disciples of the main hall of Dongguan Prefecture.

Every year on the Laba Festival, it is the birthday of the Longevity Sect Master. On that day, disciples from all the outer and inner sects go to Mangshan in Dongguan Prefecture to celebrate the Master's birthday.

Since it's a joyous occasion, it's customary to bring some gifts.

The gifts given to the Hu family for each of their celebratory occasions were almost identical—three thousand foxes.

These foxes were all offerings to the cult leader; they were spirit foxes drawn from the life-or-death lot by all the fox clans in the world.

On the auspicious day, King Xishan and some elders from the Fox Clan will sit below the stage to celebrate the leader's birthday together.

One of the activities at the Joyful Celebration Banquet was a blood sacrifice. The cult leader would select about ten of the most intelligent foxes from among the three thousand foxes, and on the stage of the Joyful Celebration Hall, he would publicly behead those foxes, collect the blood wine, and distribute it to each guest who had joined the banquet.

At such times, King Xishan felt both sorrow for the fate of the Fox Spirit and a profound sense of humiliation.

Despite being a high-ranking figure in the Fox Clan, he could only sit below the stage and watch helplessly as his own kind were beheaded and their wine taken by the shamans.

This sense of humiliation was also an important reason why King Xishan rebelled against the fox clan and was determined to bring a new way of life to all foxes in the world.

Now, with Zhou Xuan's support, the fox clan has truly ushered in a new life.

But when King Xishan got drunk at the banquet in Dongshi Street, that sense of shame rose up again.

He vaguely saw headless foxes kneeling on the stage, one after another, while the guests, holding large bowls, went up to pour blood wine with beaming smiles.
He then heard the shamans greeting him warmly: "Grandpa Hu, this year's spirit fox tastes great, full of vigor and vitality, it's really invigorating to drink."

"The fox clan needs to change its way of life."

When the King of Xishan was drunk, he began to mutter to himself, and Zhou Xuan happened to overhear him.

Zhou Xuan handed over a cup of wine and said to King Xishan, "The fox clan today has a new way of life."

Upon hearing Zhou Xuan's voice, King Xishan's drunkenness lessened slightly. He quickly took the wine and said to Zhou Xuan, "Great Master, thanks to you, the fox clan is now living a good life."

Zhou Xuan pointed at the Longevity Cult Leader in the distance and said to King Xishan, "Old Xi, do you want to kill the Longevity Cult Leader to avenge the former Fox Clan?"

King Xishan shook his head and said, "We once signed a contract with the leader. We offered the spirit fox, and he protected our clan. Although he did not fulfill the contract many times, it was signed in black and white, and our Hu clan cannot go back on its word."

As the head of a clan, his ability to endure was honed over many years. To be patient, one must not make mistakes, nor be unforgiving when one gains power.

"Even if you kill the Longevity Cult Leader, I won't say anything. However, I'm currently using the Longevity Cult Leader. Once I've used him, I won't stop you from doing whatever you want."

Zhou Xuan said to King Xishan, "However, today, I want to give your fox clan a great gift."

"What gift?"

"Let's first wash away the humiliation your fox clan has suffered," Zhou Xuan said.

King Xishan was completely bewildered, not understanding what Zhou Xuan was trying to do.

Zhou Xuan then called over the hostess and asked, "Old Ding, how many more performances are there for this gathering?"

"There are three more performances. Now it's Mr. Ji from Qingfangyuan singing 'Iron Chariot'."

Zhou Xuan pointed at the Longevity Cult Leader and said to the hostess, "Old Ding, have your apprentice give Mr. Ji a signal so he can sing a little more before taking his final bow. And you, go tell the Longevity Cult Leader to have him sing a short opera for the Fox Clan's fox masters."

"..." King Xishan could hardly believe his ears.

He knew all too well what it meant to have the deity behind the "shaman" sing a "Fengliu Opera" popular only in Dongguan Prefecture.

"Sir, this is absolutely not acceptable..."

Before King Xishan could finish speaking, Zhou Xuan asked, seemingly gentle but actually firm, "Old Xi, I don't know much about the 'Wind and Willow Opera.' Which one do you think would be most suitable for the Longevity Cult Leader to sing?"

"Master, I'm afraid you'll offend the leader of the Longevity Cult..."

"What's there to be afraid of offending? Today we've hosted a feast for the fox clan, and it's also a happy occasion for Mu Hua and Sister Cui. They're both from the 'Yun' generation of the fox clan, and I'm the one who's arranging this banquet, so naturally, you fox clan members should be genuinely happy."

Zhou Xuan pointed to the performance and said, "I don't like bloodshed at performances. We shouldn't do things like beheading or killing people, but we should let the Longevity Cult Leader make amends through a play."

King Xishan was so excited that he didn't know what to say, and his tongue was almost tied in knots.

Zhou Xuan then asked, "Old Xi, Master of the Longevity Cult, what kind of 'Wind and Willow Opera' would be best for you to sing?"

“Sing…sing…the Great God’s Tune,” said the King of Xishan.

This great divine tune originally originated from the shaman's invocation of the gods. Later, it was absorbed by local operas and became a famous piece in Fengliu opera. When the leader of the Changsheng Sect sang this piece, it took on a certain unspeakable meaning.

Zhou Xuan agreed and said to the hostess, "Old Ding, tell the Longevity Cult Leader to sing the 'Great God Tune'."

The ceremonial officer hesitated to go, saying, "Sir, that gentleman is not a human being, but a god from heaven. I am just a ceremonial officer from a small emcee shop, and I dare not provoke him."

"What do you mean by 'provoking'?"

Zhou Xuan took out the "Happy Doll" from the secret realm and placed it casually on the hostess's tray, saying, "Go ahead, when the sect leader sees this doll, he will naturally not say anything and will gladly go on stage."

(End of this chapter)