The Cannon Fodder Turns His Sister Into A Soaring Phoenix – Chapter 338

Chapter 339: Little Fox, Skin-Peeling Master (Two-in-One)

The stars hung in the sky above Tianan City. The west gate of the city stood tall, its gates shut tight. Outside the city, the market was deserted, and shops on both sides of the street had long closed. Only a few teahouses and inns still had lights on.

At an old square table by the window on the second floor of a teahouse, a man with a fierce yet handsome face was calmly sipping a cup of “Snow Bamboo Mao Feng,” a local specialty of Tianan City.

The tea was slightly sweet at first, followed by a lingering aftertaste, and finally a hint of bitterness with the unique bamboo fragrance of the local mountain soil and spiritual energy.

The Demon Emperor, Hu Mu, nodded with satisfaction. He casually flipped his teacup over and tossed a few spirit stones into the hands of the waiting teahouse waiter as a reward.

“The tea is good.”

The waiter took the spirit stones and bowed his head subservientiently.

“Thank you, senior, thank you, senior… It’s just…”

He hesitated, his words trailing off as he glanced at Hu Mu’s face, seemingly intimidated by its fierce appearance.

Hu Mu glanced over. “Ask.”

“For the past four days, I’ve seen senior and the fairy come here the moment we open and leave when we close. I couldn’t help but be curious. May I ask if you are waiting for someone? … If you are waiting, I can introduce you to the Immortal Tea Pavilion in Tianan City. The environment there is much better than this small teahouse, and it’s more comfortable to sit, don’t you think?”

Hearing this, Hu Mu withdrew his gaze and ignored the waiter, continuing to drink his tea.

Snow Tianqiao, sitting opposite him, chuckled and picked up the conversation.

“Hey, it’s because my Master doesn’t dare to enter the city! If he had the courage to enter, why would he condescend to stay in such a shabby little teahouse? Don’t you think so, Master?”

As soon as she spoke, a murderous intent flared in Hu Mu’s eyes. He glared at his dear disciple, his eyes narrowing.

The waiter, not understanding, looked puzzled. “Doesn’t dare to enter the city?”

“Yes, isn’t this the Imperial Sect’s main city? The Emperor of the Central Domain lives inside. My Master can’t beat him, so he doesn’t dare to enter the city and can only stay outside. Don’t you think so, Master?”

Hu Mu: “…”

The waiter stared blankly for a moment, thinking it was a joke. He replied in a joking tone, “So, Fairy, does your Master have any grudges with the Emperor of the Central Domain?”

“Yes, my Master is the Demon Emperor~ Don’t you think so, Master?”

“Demon… Demon Emperor…” The waiter was startled and looked at Hu Mu again, laughing, “Then I have met the Demon Emperor.”

“You should call me Your Excellency. The Demon Race doesn’t use honorifics like ‘adult.’ Don’t you think so, Master?”

“Then I have met His Excellency the Demon Emperor.”

The waiter felt a bit speechless. With a cheerful bow, he picked up his teapot and went to serve tea to the table next to them.

After the waiter left, Hu Mu’s teacup was instantly crushed by his fingers. He then reached out and pinched Xue Tianqiao’s chubby cheeks, pursing her lips into a pout.

“If you don’t learn to control that foul mouth of yours, do you believe I’ll pull out all your teeth?”

Xue Tianqiao blinked her eyes. She didn’t struggle but quietly took out a small notebook and ink brush from her storage bag and made a mark on the notebook.

?

Hu Mu frowned, looking at the notebook in her hand, and asked, “What are you recording?”

“Hmm, since Master led the Demon Race to break through Jade Pass, Master you’ve threatened to skin your disciple six times, tried to roast me three times, bury me twice, and pull out my teeth five times… That’s six times now.”

“…”

“Master is so fierce~”

“……”

Hu Mu took a deep breath, his anger seemingly exploding and then resetting. He exhaled with a long sigh, withdrew his hand, poured another cup of tea, and said, “Who told you I couldn’t beat him? I’m not even afraid of that old woman from the Xuan Xing Sect, why would I be afraid of that Nian Gong guy?”

Xue Tianqiao pouted and retorted, “Then why doesn’t Master enter the city? I’m bored to death following Master, just drinking tea every day. I want to go to Tianan City’s night market, eat the sweet roasted chicken in the city, and go play with Granny Si.”

Hu Mu glared at Xue Tianqiao and ignored her, continuing to drink his tea.

However, just as he was about to savor a sip of tea from his cup…

Boom—

A muffled roar came from the direction of Tianan City. The entire teahouse shook, and naturally, most of the tea in Hu Mu’s cup spilled out.

The teahouse patrons on the second floor froze for a moment, then rushed over to the railing, looking in the direction of the sound.

They saw that the roof of the Xing Tian Division’s twelve-story pavilion, which was a hundred feet tall, had vanished. In its place, a golden dragon coiled in the sky above.

“Isn’t that the golden dragon that appeared in East City a few days ago?”

“What happened? That’s the Xing Tian Pavilion, right? Did that golden dragon tear off its roof?”

“Did some demon sneak into the city again?”

…

Speculations continued to rise, causing veins to bulge on Hu Mu’s forehead. He looked down at his tea-soaked clothes, then stood up and followed everyone’s gaze.

Upon seeing the golden dragon, Hu Mu’s already furrowed brow deepened by another three points.

“Saint Emperor…”

He murmured, then reached out and grabbed Xue Tianqiao, who was trying to seize the opportunity to go and watch the commotion. He lifted her by the scruff of her neck and pulled her in front of him, turning her to face him.

“Stay by my side quietly. Don’t leave even half a step, or I’ll skin you alive.”

At that moment, another sound echoed. The twelve-story pavilion of the Xing Tian Division collapsed with a roar, and the intertwining lights of spiritual energy completely obscured the starlit sky.

Just as everyone watched in fear and confusion, the sound of swords clashing from the direction of the west gate of Tianan City drew their attention back to the city wall a hundred feet away.

Boom—

A burst of fire exploded above the city wall, and then two or three heavily armored Imperial Guards fell from above.

Hu Mu, holding Xue Tianqiao, squinted at the flames on the city wall, trying to see what was happening. Suddenly, a woman’s voice came from behind him.

“Excuse me!! Who is the Demon Emperor?!?”

Hu Mu turned around and saw a Core Formation cultivator in white, wearing a fox mask, standing in the center of the second floor of the inn shouting, which made the panicked crowd fall silent.

Ye Wan’er looked around. After two breaths, seeing no response, she muttered to herself.

“Not here?”

Then, her figure vanished from everyone’s sight.

Before the teahouse patrons could react, Ye Wan’er’s voice was heard from another teahouse across the street.

“Excuse me!! Who is the Demon Emperor?!?”

Hearing this second cry, Hu Mu’s eyes twitched slightly. He had just thought this Core Formation cultivator’s escape technique was quite good for her cultivation level, but he hadn’t expected her thought process to be so… peculiar.

However, he considered Granny Si Xuanji’s peculiar thought process as well, and figured this person was likely sent by that old woman to escort him into the city.

But Hu Mu had no desire to respond at the moment.

He couldn’t exactly shout, “I’m the Demon Emperor!! I’m here!!” in public, could he?

At this moment, the patrons on the second floor of the teahouse looked towards the teahouse opposite, murmuring amongst themselves.

“What Demon Emperor? What was that just now? She’s looking for the Demon Emperor?”

“Is the Demon Emperor drinking tea in these shabby teahouses? How is that possible? The Demon Emperor isn’t that stingy, is he?”

“What a mess… First the golden dragon, then the city gate suddenly opening, and now someone shouting for the Demon Emperor in a teahouse…”

…

Black lines appeared on Hu Mu’s forehead.

The next moment, Xue Tianqiao’s sudden shout silenced the teahouse, which had been filled with chatter.

“Hey!! Here!! My Master is here!!”

“…”

Hu Mu’s head creaked as he lowered it, looking at Xue Tianqiao, who was dangling from his hand, her feet not touching the ground. His face was etched with the words “skinning you alive.”

Xue Tianqiao was unfazed. Seeing her Master glaring at her, she blinked and explained, “Master, she’s calling for you.”

“Hiss—Hoo—”

Hu Mu scanned the surroundings, seeing the teahouse patrons staring at him with terrified expressions. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, expelling the thought of stewing the troublesome fox in his hand.

The next moment, a white shadow flashed.

Ye Wan’er immediately returned, scanned the surroundings, and her gaze fell upon the fierce man holding Xue Tianqiao. Seeing him glare at her with murderous intent, her legs went weak, but she quickly cupped her hands in a salute.

“Junior greets the Demon Emperor. I implore Your Excellency to enter the city quickly.”

Hu Mu glared at Ye Wan’er. He genuinely wanted to skin and bone this Core Formation cultivator with a questionable mind, but upon noticing a Returning Star Bell hanging from her waist, he quickly suppressed his murderous intent.

—Those who carry the Returning Star Bell are confidantes of Si Xuanji. If he killed her, Si Xuanji would surely skin him afterward.

Hu Mu was silent for a moment, then glanced at the rogue cultivators around him. Black mist surged from the sleeves of his robes, enveloping him.

When the mist dissipated, a black fox tail appeared behind his long robes.

“Lead the way.”

With a slight wave of his sleeve, he and Xue Tianqiao disappeared from their spot and reappeared before the west gate of Tianan City.

Ye Wan’er was stunned and quickly followed.

As she reached the gate, a loud explosion rang out, and a black figure shot out from a gap in the gate, bouncing twice on the ground before using his hands to stop himself.

Liang Zhu caught his breath and looked at Ye Wan’er beside him. “Miss Ye, where is the Demon Emperor?”

Ye Wan’er pouted speechlessly and gestured with her eyes behind him. Liang Zhu then noticed the person standing behind him and stiffly turned his head.

Upon seeing Hu Mu holding Xue Tianqiao, Liang Zhu swallowed and immediately stood up, cupping his hands in greeting.

“Junior greets Your Excellency.”

“…”

Hu Mu glanced at him and suddenly felt that everyone under Si Xuanji was a bit… eccentric. Xue Tianqiao looked at her Master’s expression and helped answer.

“My Master says, you are excused.”

At this moment, two teams of Imperial Guards emerged from the west city gate, forming a circle around Liang Zhu, Ye Wan’er, and the others.

The Imperial Guards showed some confusion upon seeing the giant fox tail behind Hu Mu, but they tightened their grip on their spears.

Then, a black-haired man holding a spear slowly walked out from within the city gate.

“How dare you, under my nose…”

Before he could finish speaking, upon seeing the fox tail behind Hu Mu, the man’s expression froze. He cautiously glanced at Liang Zhu and Ye Wan’er, who had secretly snuck into the city gate and opened it, and questioned them with disbelief. Did you summon this fox spirit?

Liang Zhu paused and then cupped his hands. “Your Excellency, this person is a trusted confidant of the Emperor of the Central Domain. Wu Wen’an, mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivation.”

“…”

Hu Mu glanced at Liang Zhu and then took a step forward, holding Xue Tianqiao.

Seeing this, Wu Wen’an quickly retreated a step. However, the Imperial Guards surrounding them remained motionless. As Hu Mu approached, the closest Imperial Guard immediately raised his spear and thrust it toward Xue Tianqiao, whom Hu Mu held in front of him.

Wu Wen’an quickly waved his hand to stop him. “Don’t!”

But it was too late. The spear had been thrown and could not be retracted.

Just as the spear tip was about to touch Xue Tianqiao, the black tail behind Hu Mu flickered, and a dark shadow shot out from its tip, swallowing all the Core Formation Imperial Guards and Wu Wen’an in the vicinity within a single breath.

Clang…

All that remained were scattered armor and spears, and a profound silence.

Thunder—

A flash of lightning illuminated the night sky, illuminating the dark city wall and startling Ye Wan’er, who was stunned behind them.

Ye Wan’er was truly a bit frightened.

Dozens of Core Formation cultivators and one mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator had vanished in an instant, not even leaving behind a single bone.

She knew Void Realm cultivators were powerful, but she hadn’t expected this…

“This… this this this…”

Liang Zhu was slightly surprised as well, but Ye Anping had warned him beforehand – “No matter what, don’t touch Hu Mu’s tail, not even accidentally. That’s his stomach.” So he knew what had happened.

Seeing Ye Wan’er’s flustered look, he paused and reminded her, “Miss Ye, I don’t know if Old Six warned you, but no matter when, don’t touch that tail. Not even a touch, it’s his stomach.”

“N-no… Isn’t Immortal Dan Yue even more powerful than him?”

?

Liang Zhu blinked and nodded. “One cultivation realm difference, what do you think?”

“…”

Ye Wan’er’s heart sank. This was her first time witnessing a Void Realm cultivator in action.

When others said someone was powerful, it was hard to conceptualize.

Back at Jade Pass, she had stolen Immortal Dan Yue’s daughter’s spirit sword, insulted her, and even saw her and Ye Anping together…

If she harbored resentment, and Xiao Yunluo reported it to her mother, then…

Wouldn’t she also vanish in an instant?

Ye Wan’er shivered, covering her shoulder. She swallowed and said, “Brother Liang, you’re my big brother… Later, when we go back, please put in a good word for me with Young Master Ye, and have him speak well of me to Young Master Xiao… I… I’m scared.”

?

Liang Zhu was speechless. He ignored her and walked forward, extending his hands in a standard gesture of invitation. “We respectfully invite Your Excellency to enter the city.”

Hu Mu glanced at him. He had heard their hushed conversation. Why did so many people think that Granny Si Xuanji was more powerful than him?

But he simply pretended not to hear, nodded slightly, and then, carrying Xue Tianqiao, stepped after Liang Zhu through the city gate and into the city.

…