A Fox Bathing

Xishan was a mountain that sat to the west of the city of Xianyang. It protected Xianyang from all threats emanating from the west.

Xishan was covered by a dense forest, and its terrain was challenging, with many outcroppings of rock, lots of various streams and waterfalls, and areas where tumbling rocks were scattered everywhere.

Xishan consisted of several distinct areas. One area was the Royal Hunting Field, where commoners were not allowed. Another area was filled with many Buddhist shrines and temples like the Icy Mountain Temple, and believers came there to pray. A third area consisted of a communal grave that was generally used for burying prisoners who had been executed.

On leaving Ye Manor, Ye Sheng felt blissfully liberated. He felt as if he had just been released from prison. He was so happy that he felt an urge to start jumping about like a little child.

But Ye Sheng quickly got control of himself. He wasn't truly free yet. He had only been given temporary permission to leave Ye Manor in order to pay his respects to his mother. If he didn't return within the next three to five days, Lord Ye would definitely send men out to capture him and take him back to Ye Manor.

Even if Ye Sheng ever managed to escape Lord Ye's men, there was always the almighty and unbeatable Lord Ye himself who would come looking for him.

Ye Sheng knew how to weigh this situation properly. So, he took a deep breath of the fresh air outside Ye Manor and started off on his trip to Xishan.

He went with no servants and no carriage drawn by horses. He looked like a complete nobody. But that was exactly what Ye Sheng needed.

"I must make full use of this time to increase my cultivation level while I am in Xishan. I have to become more powerful so that nobody can hurt me ever again." Ye Sheng understood this logic very well.

After walking for an entire day, Ye Sheng reached the edge of the city of Xianyang and traveled to the part of Xishan where his late mother's grave was.

An inconspicuous, small gravestone marked the spot where she lay. It was covered by tall grasses. The long grass and the many trees surrounding it nearly hid the grave from sight. If Ye Sheng's eyes hadn't been sharp enough, he might have missed it.

Ye Sheng first started by clearing out all the weeds that had grown up around the grave. Then he chopped away some of the dense trees shadowing it, and finally he cleaned the gravestone. Then he knelt down to burn joss paper.

Even though she wasn't technically his mother, she was the mother of the body that he was in. Since he had taken over this body, it meant that he was now her son. As her son, it was his duty to pay respects to her grave.

At night, Ye Sheng finished paying his respects to his mother's grave and lay down to rest in the little wooden hut that was standing near to his mother's grave.

This little wooden hut had been built for Ye Sheng on Eldest Sister's orders, when she had still been unmarried.

When Eldest Sister was still living in Ye Manor, Ye Sheng had been allowed to come to pay respects to his mother once a year. But he wasn't allowed to stay, and he had to leave the same day he came. Later, Eldest Sister found out about this, and she ordered people to build him a small wooden hut close by his mother's grave so that he could spend several days with his mother.

But after Eldest Sister married the emperor, Ye Sheng was no longer allowed to leave the house to pay respects to his mother. He requested an audience with First Madam, but First Madam refused to see him. She said that these were the Old Lady's instructions, and she couldn't go against her.

As a result, Ye Sheng hadn't come to pay respects to his mother in three years now.

Nobody else had stayed in this wooden hut for three years either, so it was covered in dust and there were even some poisonous bugs. Ye Sheng lit a bonfire, carefully cleaned out the whole place, and sat down inside after he had thoroughly cleaned the hut.

Outside the hut, the withered grass and the trees rustled in the wind that howled across the high mountains.

The wind blew so hard that it made the wooden hut creak at night, and it never let up. The wind made the hut seem very unstable. Ye Sheng was wondering if it might collapse at any time.

VOOM!

A spark flew out from the burning bonfire, shining brightly in front of Ye Sheng, then falling to the ground and extinguishing itself.

Howls came from the distant mountains. They could be from wolves or tigers, but they were too far away and the wind was too strong, so Ye Sheng couldn't be sure what made the sound.

This was certainly a place that could strike fear in one's heart.

The deep woods on the mountain, a wooden hut, cold winds, and the howling of wild beasts made one very quiet as one contemplated one's smallness in the universe.

But, thankfully, Ye Sheng had begun practicing martial arts, so he was much bolder than he had been before. The Qi flowing within his body also helped to dissipate any fears that he felt inside.

"Nighttime is an excellent time to practice martial arts." Ye Sheng stood up and started practicing his punches within the wooden hut.

Rolling Rocks Boxing Technique!

This particular technique was very common among the people in this area, and even laborers at the piers knew a move or two. But when Ye Sheng delivered these punches, each punch was fierce and produced wind, and each punch was accompanied by the sound of several blasts of air. A wave of Qi surged and rumbled along with Ye Sheng's punches.

After he was finished practicing his punches, Ye Sheng picked up a tree branch to practice his swordsmanship. Fallen Leaves Sword Technique seemed perfect for this occasion. A faint wind circulated within the room, blowing through the bonfire and making it burn even more brightly than before.

Practicing his Fallen Leaves Sword Technique and Typhoon Steps made the Qi and blood within Ye Sheng's body heat up. He was filled with energy, and he displayed his moves to their maximum.

After having transmigrated for more than a week now, this was the first time Ye Sheng had felt so relaxed and uninhibited. When he was at Ye Manor, he had to be so cautious about practicing martial arts, and he didn't dare to go all out at all. He had to continuously hold himself back to make sure he didn't expose himself.

Here, Ye Sheng didn't have to think so much. He could just go ahead and put his martial arts on full display.

KABOOM!

At this moment, all the Qi and blood within Ye Sheng were concentrated within his dantian and surged rapidly. His level of Qi rose and actually charged toward Acquired Level Second Stage.

BOOM!

After he'd completed one round of boxing, one round of swordplay, and one round of steps, Ye Sheng's dantian shook, and he broke through to Acquired Level Second Stage.

The muscles on his body became stronger as his strength increased to 400 units.

If he'd had 400 units of strength in his previous life, he would have been one of the strongest men around. But here, he was merely at Acquired Level Second Stage.

"Time to bathe." Ye Sheng was covered in perspiration after practicing so hard. He smiled brightly as he headed off to the reservoir not too far in the distance.

The reservoir was a deep body of water that had been created from the water crashing down from the waterfall and continuing to flow downstream. Ye Sheng had walked past it earlier. It was clear enough that he had been able to look into the water and ascertain that there were no animals or poisonous bugs inside it.

But as he approached the reservoir this evening, Ye Sheng suddenly stopped in his tracks under the moonlight, and his eyes got very wide.

There was a beautiful woman bathing in the reservoir. Under the moonlight, her fair skin, black hair, and gorgeous face transfixed Ye Sheng.

But then, even more shockingly, once this beautiful woman had discovered Ye Sheng's presence, her expression changed. She dove into the water, as a snow-white fox came running toward Ye Sheng as if to attack him.

"You pervert, go to h*ll!" A female voice shouted at him, and the fox attacked with its sharp claws out.

"Oh, cr*p!" Ye Sheng quickly retreated using Typhoon Steps, and he managed to dodge the attack.

"D*mn it, this is a Fox Spirit. Why was it bathing here?" Ye Sheng cursed quietly to himself. He had read from the books in Lord Ye's library about how this universe was full of demons and spirits, but now that he had actually seen one and realized that he was facing an actual Fox Spirit, he found it hard to remain calm.

"You peeping tom! You deserve to die for peeping at me bathing." Since the first attack hadn't managed to hit him, the fox sprinted toward him again. Its body spun, and it became the gorgeous lady from before. Her tall, slim body was dressed in a chiffon dress, and she raised a slender hand to slam down toward Ye Sheng's head.

"Rolling Rocks Boxing Technique!" Ye Sheng grit his teeth and sent out one punch.

The punch went out with three blasts and the addition of 400 units to reach a total of 700 units as it met his opponent's attack.

BOOM!

As expected, Ye Sheng went flying and crashed into a large tree. He coughed violently as he looked with disbelief at this Fox Spirit. This spirit was way too powerful.

"Wait, please wait! I'm here to pay respects to my mother's grave, and I just wanted to take a bath before sleeping. I didn't mean to intrude on your privacy. This has all been a misunderstanding. I'm not a pervert," Ye Sheng tried to defend himself.

"Humans cannot be trusted, especially human men. They're very good at using flowery language to cheat others." The Fox Spirit smiled coldly as she charged toward Ye Sheng. She held up her fingers like a sword and aimed straight for the spot between Ye Sheng's eyebrows.

If these fingers went through his head, Ye Sheng was definitely going to die.

Ye Sheng wanted to escape, but his opponent moved so quickly he couldn't even tell how fast she was moving.

"The heavens are determined to kill me after all," thought Ye Sheng miserably to himself.