[In the blink of an eye, several years had passed, and during this time, the Central Plains experienced great upheaval.]
[First, the head of the Wangquan family was replaced by Wangquan Shouzhuo, who, with overwhelming strength, severed the dark side of the clan.]
[He took full control of the family and pioneered a new swordsmanship free from the shackles of the Wangquan Sword, breaking through to the level of Yōkō and becoming the first of a new generation of royal-class warriors among humans.]
[Secondly, Dongfang Guyue established the Divine Fire Manor, and it now stood shoulder to shoulder with the Wangquan family in terms of power.]
[Thirdly, Kei, along with his husky, visited the gates of every major noble clan in the Central Plains—one by one!]
[Not a single clan member could leave through the front gate; they had to sneak out the back, utterly humiliated.]
[Because of this, the prestige of the old noble houses plummeted, while the newly risen Wangquan family and Divine Fire Manor became renowned.]
[They became recognized as the pinnacle of the human world's power. Thus began the era of the Twin Swords of Taoism: "Divine Sword Wangquan, Divine Fire Dongfang."]
[Fourth, the head of Tushan was no longer Fengqi but now Tushan Honghong. With the support of the Tushan yōkai, she broke through to the Yōkō realm!]
[Thus, the four Yōkō-level rulers of the yōkai world were finally set—North Emperor, South Sovereign, and the two foxes of the East and West—each governing one cardinal direction.]
—
At a tavern near the border of the Central Plains...
"Do you know who I am?"
"No… no, I don't."
"You dare ask me for money and you don't know who I am? Let me tell you—I am the famed Human-Yōkai King, Divine Doctor Kei!"
"See this badge I'm holding? I got it from Kei when my mom and he drank together!"
A teenager around fifteen or sixteen waved a strange-looking badge.
"Of course, we've all heard of Divine Doctor Kei! If you really were him, we wouldn't even ask for money—heck, we'd give our lives."
"But lately there've been scammers using his name to eat and drink for free. What proof do you have that you're the real one?"
The waiter was initially shocked, then frowned and questioned the youth.
"Proof? I need proof? I look like the real deal!"
The brat retorted arrogantly, "Can you prove you were born of your mother? No, right? Then how can I prove I'm me?"
"You're being unreasonable here…" the waiter muttered.
Despite his doubts, something about the guy's confidence made him hesitate. What if this really was Kei?
"If I weren't reasoning with you right now, your whole tavern would be leveled!"
The yōkai noticed the waiter flinch and realized he had scared the guy. Looked like he'd be eating for free today.
"I'm leaving now. If you dare stop me, don't blame me for flipping out!"
He moved toward the door. The waiter instinctively wanted to block him but hesitated. What if something really happened?
He looked at the manager, who subtly shook his head. It wasn't worth it—just a meal.
The waiter gritted his teeth and stepped aside, cursing in his heart: So-called divine doctor my foot—freeloader!
"Excuse me, what's Divine Doctor Kei's full name again?"
Just then, someone called out. A man was sitting nearby on a bench, next to a white dog gnawing on a bone.
A dog… eating at the table?!
A strange sight—but no one questioned it. It felt oddly… natural.
The young yōkai looked at the man, then the dog. Something felt off—but he couldn't tell what.
"Of course, it's Kei! Who else would it be?"
"Well, what a coincidence. I'm also called Kei. People also call me Divine Doctor. Also call me Human-Yōkai King."
"Isn't that quite the coincidence?"
The moment Kei finished speaking, the little yōkai realized something was wrong. He turned to flee, but before he could take a step, Kei grabbed him by the neck and lifted him up.
The brat turned into his true form—a small golden-brown fox.
"D-Devine Doctor sir, I was wrong! Please forgive me! I won't do it again!"
He instantly recognized the real deal and dropped any delusions. He started begging.
"You went around impersonating me just to get free food? No shame?"
"People always say you're merciful! I figured it was just a few meals—if you found out, you wouldn't bother tracking me down…"
"But if I did something really bad, then I'd be doomed for sure… I know the difference!"
"You're clever, I'll give you that."
Kei patted his head, then pulled some money from his pocket and tossed it to the waiter. "This one's tab is on me."
"And don't go around saying I dine and dash. If word gets out, people might think I'm too broke to buy food."
"Of course, of course. I was just mumbling earlier! No offense, no offense!"
The waiter quickly apologized. He'd seen all kinds of people, but Kei truly was… different.
It was hard to describe what made him special—but there was an undeniable charisma that drew people in.
Kei didn't care about the muttering. After paying, he called the dog, sat on its back, and headed out with the little fox still in his hand.
"W-Wait! That illusion… How did you trick everyone? Even a fellow fox spirit like me got fooled?!"
The fox suddenly realized that the man who had been there all along was actually Kei, using a fox-specific illusion art—Fox Mind Technique.
"This move works well. Against those weaker than me, it's foolproof. Saved me a lot of trouble on the road."
Ever since his name spread, people had been constantly seeking him. To avoid that, he learned this technique—unless he wanted to be seen, no one would recognize him.
Once they left the city, Kei let the little fox go.
"This time I'll let you off. But if you impersonate me again just for a free meal, I'll turn you into a fur scarf."
"N-No! I swear I won't! I just… I was starving…"
The fox was terrified. Kei sounded like he was joking, but one look at him and you could tell—he wasn't.
There was a voice in the fox's head that screamed: If I mess up again, I might really become a scarf!
"You've got some cultivation and decent transformation skills. Why are you struggling for food?"
"I was doing fine… I had a little territory near Tushan. Life was okay. But recently, I don't know what's wrong with those grannies from Tushan…"
"They suddenly kicked us all out. Claimed the land around Tushan was theirs and nobody else was allowed near."
"We never disrespected them! We even brought gifts every year!"
"And just like that, we were thrown out. No warning, no time to prepare. Tushan's gone too far!"
Kei now understood why this fox had been reduced to scamming food. Every region was controlled by a local yōkai faction—an outsider like this fox would be shunned.
"Tushan's been acting strange lately…"
He'd heard a lot about Tushan recently. They cut ties with the Million Merchants Association, drove away surrounding yōkai… and now even stopped responding to his messages.
Normally, Kongqing would reply—but lately, nothing.
He hadn't thought much of it, but now it all added up. Tushan was definitely in trouble.
"Alright, I'm off. Oh, by the way, head east. There's a tribe of rabbit spirits there. I saved them once—mention my name, and they'll give you a patch of land to survive."
Kei waved goodbye and headed toward Tushan. The little fox bowed deeply behind him, eyes filled with gratitude.
"Thank you, Divine Doctor Kei! Thank you, Lord Yōkai King! I will never forget your kindness! I won't cause trouble again!"
Now he knew why Kei's name was so famous—this man was truly amazing!
His eyes gleamed with admiration.
—
Tushan – Beneath the Tree of Eternal Sorrow
"Ling-oneechan… has Honghong-oneechan still not woken up?"
Tushan Rongrong stood under the sacred tree, face full of worry. Before her stood the head of the Water Leech Clan, Cuoyu Mingniao's sister—Cuoyu Ling.
"No… her body and soul are fine, but her consciousness is… gone."
"She doesn't respond to anything outside. I've never seen this condition before… I'm sorry. I'm powerless."
Cuoyu Ling shook her head helplessly. Though hailed as a top yōkai healer, she truly couldn't comprehend what was happening.
"Are you sure there's nothing you can do?! Please… if you help her, I'll do anything to thank you!"
Tushan Yaya paced anxiously, gripping Ling's hand.
"Yaya, I really tried. But this is beyond me."
"However… if you could find the Human-Yōkai King, Divine Doctor Kei… perhaps he could help."
"I heard from my sister that he once treated a similar case in the Northern Kingdom. He even developed a technique called Soul Acupuncture."
"If he's anywhere, he might be the only one who can help."
"Where is he?! I'll go find him right now!"
"I don't know. After he blocked all those noble houses in the Central Plains, he vanished. Could be in the West, North, South… anywhere."
"He's a wanderer. No one knows where he'll show up next. But… he's always accompanied by a dog with Yōkō-level strength."
All her information came from those she'd treated—she had tried to contact Kei before to exchange medical insights.
But he'd been busy quelling a rebellion in the South, so her message never reached him.
"I'll go to the human world and find him! No matter what, I have to bring him back to save my sister!"
Yaya no longer cared how dangerous it might be. She had only one goal: find Kei and save Honghong.
"Yaya-neesan, stop it!"
"Honghong-oneechan is still unconscious, and Tushan is in a fragile state! If you go to the human world and stir up trouble…"
Rongrong didn't finish, but everyone knew: if Yaya went alone, she'd never return.
The noble houses were still powerful—even if Kei humbled them, that was his strength. Yaya didn't have it.
And if word got out that Tushan's queen had fallen unconscious, their enemies would descend instantly.
That's why they cut off all communication—to keep the world from knowing.
"Rongrong, you're the smart one. Think of something! What should we do?!"
Yaya was panicking. She didn't care that her little sister just yelled at her—she needed a solution.
"I… I don't know."
Rongrong looked at Honghong, face full of helplessness. It felt like she was trapped in a cage again.
She'd thought she had become strong. But without her sister… she was just a scared little girl again.
"…Stop crying already. No need to be afraid."
"I'll let you in on a secret—I'm a fox spirit too, you know!"
Suddenly, Rongrong heard a familiar voice echo in her mind—a voice from the past, from the one who saved them from captivity.
"If only Kei-nii were here…"
She shook her head. That was impossible. He never came near Tushan.
Even when he brought her and her sister back, he only escorted them to the outskirts—she hadn't understood why.
Later, she learned… it was because of the divide between humans and yōkai. He didn't want to trouble Kongqing.
"Oh Tree of Eternal Sorrow… please, show me the way! Tell me how I can awaken my sister!"
She began to pray with all her might. Yaya sighed and followed suit. Maybe the tree would create a miracle.
They were said to be the children of the sacred tree. Surely it would protect them… surely it would help…
"Instead of praying to some old tree for a miracle, wouldn't it be better to go make it happen yourself?"
A familiar voice rang out.
Rongrong's eyes widened. Her tears fell freely as she saw the figure approaching, seated atop a white dog.
That voice… that figure… just like back then…
"You—who are you?!"
Yaya didn't recognize him and snapped defensively.
—
(End of Chapter)
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