Chapter Sixty-Six: The Substitute Fairy

The next morning, sunlight filled the courtyard. Chu Youcai awoke feeling a rare sense of joy and contentment. After practicing his swordsmanship for a while, he sat to rest at the stone table in the courtyard. At that moment, he suddenly heard faint noises outside the door, as if someone was trying to open it quietly.

His heart skipped a beat, and he shifted his body to approach the door cautiously.

The door creaked open slowly, and Hongyu slipped in, dressed all in black for a nighttime excursion.

Startled by the sudden sight of someone in her path, Hongyu nearly stumbled to the ground. Looking up and realizing it was Chu Youcai, she let out a sigh of relief, patting her chest. “Brother Chu, you frightened me!”

“What were you doing out so late? Don’t tell me you went to the Ghost Marsh?” Chu Youcai asked in surprise.

A blush rose to Hongyu’s cheeks. She quickly replied, “Brother Chu, I have something wonderful—come and see, will you?”

“Did you catch it in the Ghost Marsh?” Chu Youcai recalled that Hongyu had been diligently practicing with the whip given to her by Yan Yunfei. Perhaps she had made some progress yesterday and ventured into the Ghost Marsh alone to capture a ghost.

The last time they had gone, there was the rare occurrence of a ghost tide. But as long as Hongyu didn’t enter the Ghost Fortress, she should have been safe.

“Mhm!” Hongyu’s face glowed with excitement. She flicked her whip, and from it appeared a small, palm-sized white jade box, which she gently opened.

Chu Youcai was taken aback to see the box was empty.

Only then did Hongyu realize what she had forgotten. She pricked her finger and dabbed a drop of her blood onto Chu Youcai’s eyelid.

At once, Chu Youcai’s vision brightened, and now, within the white jade box, he saw a flower the length of a finger, its petals displaying nine distinct colors.

Hongyu gently touched the flower, and it blossomed open. Inside lay a tiny figure, identical to Hongyu herself, fast asleep. The only difference was that this little one had a pair of wings.

Startled awake, the tiny figure saw Hongyu and immediately clung to her fingertip, attempting to climb up. But her strength was feeble, and she soon slipped back down, though she pressed herself tightly against Hongyu’s finger, smiling with pure happiness.

“What is this?” Chu Youcai was thoroughly intrigued. Why did this little creature look exactly like Hongyu?

Hongyu bit her fingertip and let a drop of blood fall into the tiny girl’s mouth, who received it as if it were the greatest treasure. After absorbing the blood, she became dizzy, swayed, and tumbled back into the jade box, quickly falling asleep again.

Even in sleep, she unconsciously kicked her little legs and stretched out her arms, as though longing for the embrace of her parents.

Hongyu finally explained, “I found her in the Ghost Marsh. She seems especially fond of clinging to me, and I thought she was so cute, so I brought her back. At first, she was just a fruit. But after being near me, somehow, she took on my appearance.”

“She understands my words and can even communicate some thoughts. She calls herself the Doppelgänger Sprite, but I gave her a new name—Redberry,” Hongyu said earnestly.

Hearing the name “Redberry,” Chu Youcai couldn’t help but smile. But then his expression grew solemn—the Doppelgänger Sprite! It was said that once activated with blood, such a being could transform into one’s own likeness. Such creatures were exceedingly rare, and just yesterday, the God of Willows had mentioned slaying the locust demon’s avatar, which must have been a Doppelgänger Sprite like this.

A Doppelgänger Sprite could sometimes save a life—they were invaluable.

With this in mind, Chu Youcai was deep in thought. He recalled the trial within the Dragon-Tortoise Mountain River Pearl and felt a sudden inspiration regarding the art of doppelgängers.

He longed to immediately immerse himself in the world of the Dragon-Tortoise Pearl and attempt the Trial of Thunder and Yin-Yang.

But he reined in his impatience, knowing such matters required careful planning. He patted Hongyu’s shoulder and said, “Since she likes you, you must take good care of her.”

“Mhm! I also caught a lot of newborn ghosts. Now I can protect myself and help you too, Brother!” Hongyu flicked her whip, and at its tip, the faint shapes of seven or eight ghostly spirits appeared, clearly visible only through the power of the whip.

Chu Youcai smiled and said, “Good. Next time we’re in danger, I’ll definitely take you with me.”

“Great!” Hongyu beamed, though a hint of disappointment crossed her face. “But I’m still not strong enough to catch fierce ghosts, and these newborns will disappear if they leave the whip.”

“You’ve only just begun training, Hongyu. In time, you’ll get there,” Chu Youcai assured her.

Hongyu broke into a happy grin.

Just then, the door opened, and Yun Cuixian entered, having just woken up. On seeing Hongyu, she immediately asked what happened and why she hadn’t come home the previous night. Hongyu dabbed a drop of blood on Yun Cuixian’s eyelid, letting her see the Doppelgänger Sprite. Yun Cuixian was amazed.

So the family spent a beautiful, harmonious morning together, and Chu Youcai took the opportunity to relax his mind and spirit.

Ever since moving the foundation of his Daoist practice from the snowy valley to the icy summit, Chu Youcai felt his strength had grown enormously. Coupled with the inspiration from the Doppelgänger Sprite, he was now far more confident about facing the combat trials within the Dragon-Tortoise Mountain River Pearl’s inner world.

He sat beside Yun Cuixian and recounted his adventure at the City God Temple the previous night—writing his “Rules for Disciples,” rushing to the southern quarter, alarming the God of Willows, and finally subduing the locust demon. Yun Cuixian and the others were both amazed and concerned.

When they heard that Song Peng, despite his gilded exterior, was rotten within and had been thrown from the city wall by Yan Yunfei, the three women could not help but smile with satisfaction.

“So now, with ‘Bamboo and Rock’ and ‘Rules for Disciples,’ your name must be spreading across Yan Prefecture City. Your reputation should be much improved?” Yun Cuixian asked.

Chu Youcai replied, “But reputation does not change overnight. It takes time and subtle influence.”

Yun Cuixian nodded in agreement.

But Chu Youcai quickly grew serious. “But that’s not what’s important. The First Madam is watching us like a hawk, and the locust demon is still at large—dangers are everywhere. In fact, I suspect the locust demon may be hiding in Yan Prefecture City itself. You must all be extra cautious these days.”

Yun Cuixian and the others nodded solemnly.

After a moment’s thought, Yun Cuixian said, “The First Madam’s plan having failed, and her dignity wounded by Hero Yan, she’s unlikely to let the matter rest. I’ve also heard that the eldest young master, Chu Yuwei, is returning soon. He entered the Dao a decade ago—now he must have nearly ten years of cultivation. He cannot be underestimated. You must be careful as well.”

Chu Youcai nodded. This eldest son was a prodigy, having established a Daoist foundation at age twelve and mastered Daoist arts, once hailed as the foremost youth of Yan Prefecture. Though Chu Youcai had now established his own foundation, he still struggled to learn the Daoist arts, making the gap between them vast.

A sense of urgency welled up inside Chu Youcai. He instructed Yun Cuixian to keep the doors tightly shut and see no visitors, then retreated to his room, sat cross-legged on the bed, and entered the world within the Dragon-Tortoise Mountain River Pearl.

He was eager to see whether the method he had devised could defeat Lei Yinyang within that space, seize the Blood Fox Fur, and gain the power to reverse time.

In that instant, his remaining years of life dropped from five to four.