Chapter Thirty-Seven: Old Nineteen

The man's fox-like face startled Hongye for a moment. In her heart she wondered… Could it be she was meeting yet another humanoid beast-headed monster? But she quickly realized he was nothing like the cat-man she'd encountered earlier; he simply had an alluring, foxish countenance, especially his eyes, which were almost identical to the white fox she’d just seen.

Yet, he was certainly human—albeit somewhat androgynous, somewhat ethereal, his skin as pale and tender as a newborn’s. At most, he was a man who resembled a fox, or perhaps a human with a touch of the supernatural. Most importantly, he wore proper clothing—gray work attire emblazoned with four red characters: “Forest Fire Prevention.” One look, and it was clear he was a forest fire ranger.

Hongye felt her heart finally settle. At long last, she’d met a normal human being, or so it seemed. In her confusion and anxiety, she immediately decided to invite this fire ranger to help her escape her predicament.

In adversity, Hongye recounted to the man all the bizarre encounters she’d had along the old Qi road, earnestly begging him for assistance.

The man listened quietly, then raised his head, his deep, fox-like eyes gazing into the woods behind Hongye—as though he could see through something.

What was he looking at? Curious, Hongye turned to look as well, but saw nothing. Slightly perplexed, she turned back, only to find that, at some point, the man had changed his clothes: from a forest ranger, he’d transformed into a “special ops” agent clad in a black tactical vest.

That was… remarkably fast!

Now, he stood with the tactical bag slung across his shoulders, a large knife strapped to his waist, his black hair flicking gently under the pale moonlight. His gaze was dreamy, tinged with a subtle sorrow and an air of romance.

For a moment, Hongye thought she’d encountered “Lu Xiaofeng with four eyebrows.” This handsome man left her utterly dazed, her cheeks flushed.

“Come! I’ll take you to find your friends.”

He smiled with calm confidence—an intoxicating smile that seemed to steal souls.

He continued, “For convenience… call me Old Nineteen. That’s what the people from Zhao’s Tower always call me.”

His voice was magnetic, like an elder brother gently guiding his little sister, compelling in its charm. Hongye found his tone so soothing that she blurted out, “Nineteen Brother… Thank you for your trouble.”

He extended his hand—broad arm, slender pale fingers, smooth and refined…

…“Stop! Enough!” I cut off Hongye’s recollection abruptly.

Then I turned and stared at the nonchalant “human-fox” Old Nineteen, then glanced at the lovestruck Hongye. Annoyance and disgust swelled in my chest.

Inwardly, I cried out for all men: Women! Are you born to swoon? What’s so cool about this four-eyebrowed “human-fox”? Striking a few poses—does he really think he’s Lu Xiaofeng?

But compared to my inner fury, it was clear Hongye hadn’t caught on; she tilted her head and asked, “What’s wrong, Old Tian? Why the sudden cold sweat? Stomach ache?”

Sigh! Forget it. How could she ever understand the true feelings of a real man?

This… isn’t a stomach ache, it’s heartache!

After calming myself, I glanced at Wang Hou, lying unconscious on the opposite bunk, then turned back, suppressing my irritation with a smile, and continued questioning Hongye.

“Girl, let’s drop the ‘human-fox’ business. Just tell me directly how you found Wang Hou and us.”

“Oh!”

With that, Hongye’s lovestruck expression faded. She began, in a trembling voice, to recall what happened next.

Later, Old Nineteen led Hongye through the woodland, weaving through the trees like navigating a labyrinth for a very long time.

Along the way, Hongye often glimpsed fleeting blue eyes and white shadows among the trees. Old Nineteen, however, told her calmly not to be afraid.

“They’re all friends. They’re just… curious,” Old Nineteen said, pointing at the white shadows and eyes.

“Curious?” Hongye looked down, puzzled. “What are they curious about?”

Old Nineteen turned and smiled at her, “You carry something special.”

But he never specified what was so “special.” As Hongye was about to press him for details, he suddenly stopped, pointed ahead into the thicket, “Is that your friend?”

Hongye followed his gesture, and was utterly stunned.

There, dozens of paces ahead, Wang Hou sat pale-faced, eyes closed, facing Hongye, leaning against a low tree, arms tightly wrapped around our luggage.

“Wang Hou!” Hongye cried out, rushing over.

Drawing closer, she was shocked to see that Wang Hou bore no new wounds, but was unconscious, his face ashen, his body cold and unresponsive no matter how she called or shook him.

Most puzzling, between Wang Hou’s hands, besides our luggage, was a crimson, blood-soaked object gripped tightly in his right hand. It was unclear what it was, but it certainly wasn’t part of our belongings.

Curiosity piqued, Hongye reached out to pry open Wang Hou’s hand to see what the bloody thing was.

But before she could, Old Nineteen stopped her.

He swiftly interrupted Hongye’s action, his tone suddenly stern, “If you don’t want to end up half-dead like your friend, don’t touch that filth!”

His words were so abrupt and serious that they startled Hongye.

Seeing Wang Hou’s ghastly face, she realized that whatever it was in his hand had caused all this.

But what was that blood-soaked thing?

Under the moonlight, Old Nineteen drew the knife from his belt. The blade was pitch black, gleaming with a chilling sheen.

He slowly inserted the knife between Wang Hou’s fingers, using the flat of the blade to pry them open one by one.

One finger, two, until four were loosened, at which point Old Nineteen suddenly jerked the knife and kicked the bloody object far away.

It rolled on the ground, landing five or six paces from Hongye, instantly hissing as white steam rose like a hot stone plunged in water.

Curious, Hongye wanted to approach and look closer, but Old Nineteen grabbed her arm.

Expressionless, he shook his head and spoke words that chilled Hongye to the bone.

“That vapor is not to be inhaled. If you breathe it in, worms will grow in your belly. Worms that glow.”

His warning froze Hongye in place, and reminded her of the fireflies crawling on the gray cat.

She watched as the bloody mass gradually vaporized and disappeared, leaving only a twisted, ordinary stone.

Old Nineteen looked at the stone and smiled, “It’s witchcraft. Looks like whoever did this is highly skilled.”

“Who?!” Hongye demanded, expressionless. “Do you know who cast this spell?”

Old Nineteen nodded, but just as he was about to reply, he abruptly closed his mouth, a flash of surprise in his eyes. He glanced at the woods beside Hongye, ignoring her question.

He stretched his neck, staring fixedly into the forest, unmoving.

Moments later, from the direction he gazed, a dazzling red light shot forth!

“Come!” Suddenly, Old Nineteen’s face lit up with excitement. Without turning, he strode toward the red glow.

“What about Wang Hou?” Hongye asked anxiously.

Old Nineteen replied without looking back, “He’s helpless for now, we’ll deal with him later.”

No matter how Hongye called after him, Old Nineteen never turned around, disappearing into the depths of the woods.

After a moment’s hesitation, Hongye followed.

When she finally caught up with Old Nineteen’s swift stride, she was once again stunned.

For at that moment, she saw all three of us.

According to Hongye’s account, she saw us sprawled on the ground in tattered clothes; Zhao Hong and I were both unconscious. Especially me—I was charred from head to toe, as if scorched by fire. Xiao A Si, though still conscious, kept his eyes tightly shut, muttering about “forest law,” hovering on the edge between life and death.

…Hearing this, I hurriedly interrupted Hongye’s recollection, anxiously asking,

“Um… Hongye, tell me honestly. Who took off my clothes, and while I was unconscious…”

I glanced uneasily at the half-human, half-fox Old Nineteen, then, feeling deeply tragic, asked Hongye, “Hongye… do you know if anything… licked me?”

“Licked you?” Hongye replied instantly, “Yes! So you weren’t completely unconscious?”

“Well… sort of,” I answered awkwardly. “Who was it?”

“Foxes!” Hongye told me without hesitation.

“Foxes?!” I was dumbfounded.

It was impossible to imagine why this forest was so full of strange and eerie happenings—first cats, then foxes. The cats were supernatural “fire cats,” the foxes seductive three-tailed spirits. Even people were half-male, half-female, four-eyebrowed hybrids.

What was happening here? Was coming to Stone Man’s Bluff like entering a wild animal park?

Just as I was trying to make sense of it, the long-silent, calm Old Nineteen suddenly spoke.

“The reason the foxes licked you is because they like you! It’s their reward.”

My astonishment was beyond words.

A bunch of foxes liked me? Rewarded me? Surely… they didn’t want to bear me a fox cub?

So, feeling deeply uneasy, I asked the human-fox, “What… did they reward me with?”

“You killed the Lantern King, so… they rewarded you with survival!” Old Nineteen replied with a smile.

Then, Hongye told me everything she had witnessed.