Yourong - Chapter 1

Gu Fengchun was angry, and when Gu Fengchun got angry, things got serious.

The last time it happened, he had single-handedly slaughtered half a mountainside of vicious demons. He had almost killed me along with them.

So I promptly lifted my third cub under her little arms, held her out to him, and pleaded, “You can have this one too, all right?”

Unlike her two older brothers, my third cub was a clever, pretty little fox. Her furry ears twitched at my words, and she opened her arms for a hug, her big eyes glistening. She had learned every last bit of the awkward, affected routine I used to pull.

Sure enough, the weight left my arms. Gu Fengchun took her and settled her comfortably against his chest.

He still fell for it, then.

I rubbed my nose. In the moment it took me to collect myself, he made a quick hand seal. He gave me a cold snort, took all three cubs inside, and shut the door.

I rubbed my hands together and knocked. It wasn’t anything else. My money pouch was still hanging from my daughter’s neck. Losing the children *and* the money? That wasn’t fair. Besides, without it, I’d be sleeping outdoors tonight.

Before long, Gu Fengchun came out wearing a face like thunder. He narrowed his phoenix eyes at me.

“Planning to take back something you’ve given away? Ten years ago you abandoned your husband, and now you’ve abandoned your children. You’ve had a grand old time all these years, while the rest of us were apparently nothing but a burden. If you’ve come back for another chance, forget it. You’re too late!”

Ten years ago, I had found Gu Fengchun, a blind Daoist priest on the verge of death from his injuries. I saved him out of the goodness of my heart. It certainly wasn’t because his remarkable resilience made him ideal for practicing my medicine. What a dishonest reason that would have been.

For quite a while, we maintained a perfectly good doctor-patient relationship: I treated him however I liked, and he did his best to stay alive.

Then, one dark, windy night, we ate wild mushrooms we shouldn’t have. We were both poisoned with an aphrodisiac, and somehow I ended up pregnant. The man was incredible. One time was all it took!

I panicked. Humans and demons weren’t supposed to be together. These days, out of every ten couples who tried a forbidden romance, eleven came to a bad end. Being hunted down by both sides and killed was considered lucky.

So I left a note saying I’d attained the Dao and ascended, then slipped away.

Back in the present, I looked at Gu Fengchun and averted my eyes. What was he going on about? We had never even bowed to Heaven and Earth. What husband had I abandoned?

I forced myself to continue. “Um, about the money pouch on our daughter’s neck…”

Gu Fengchun’s breath caught. “Hu Yourong, you really are something. Do you even have a heart? Did I ever matter to you? Even now, all you care about is money. What about me? What am I to you? What were those three years we spent together at Golden Pool?”

What were they? Bad luck on his part, getting picked up by me. Not *terrible* luck, though. If some other demon had found him, he wouldn’t have lived long enough to be rescued. The grass on his grave would be waist-high by now.

Before I knew what was happening, he slung me over his shoulder and carried me into the house. Then, like the domineering prince in one of those forceful-romance storybooks, he tossed me onto the bed.