Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

Chapter 163 The Real and Fake Third Sister

This farce came unexpectedly. If we go back to when Shang Sanguan appeared in her two brothers' dreams, she did so with the intention of teaching Shang Chen and Shang Li a lesson and making them hurry home to manage the family business. Therefore, this dream didn't take long, and Shang Chen and Shang Li woke up quickly.

When the two brothers woke up, they did not feel the joy of reuniting with their sister after a long separation. Instead, they were both depressed and looked like wilted eggplants. However, they were quick to act. As soon as they woke up, they said goodbye to Yue Wuque and Meng Danqing and began to pack their luggage to leave.

Yue Wuque didn't know what Shang Sanguan said in the dream. He just felt that the reaction was not right. Although his sister was indeed confirmed to be dead in the end, they still met in the dream. Why were they both so dejected?

The two brothers were naturally happy to see Shang Sanguan again, but this was not a typical reunion. The beginning might have been touching, but the majority of the later part consisted of the sister criticizing her two brothers for their reckless behavior. In other words, Shang Sanguan had scolded them in a dream, taking them back to the year they lost the lawsuit.

Shang Sanguan was right. His family suffered a calamity and spent so much money on the lawsuit. Even though the government later guaranteed the business because of Shang Sanguan's heroic act, it only prevented the wealthy family from retaliating against the business people, without any real compensation.

The family business had shrunk by more than half, the mother was widowed, and there were two scholars who needed to continue their studies and take the imperial examinations. These were no small matters. It was indeed somewhat thoughtless of them to abandon the mess and run away.

Since his younger sister had come to reprimand him personally, Shang Chen and Shang Li naturally couldn't let their emotions get the better of them. The most important thing for them to do right now was to go home as soon as possible, sort out all the household affairs, and move on.

“We were impulsive before. Back in our family, if we did something wrong, our little sister would remind us. Now that she’s in the afterlife, we two older brothers are actually making her worry about us.”

Thinking back, besides her father, the most opinionated person in the family was her youngest sister. Shang Chen and Shang Li dragged their father's body away from burial, and it was Shang Sanguan who reminded them. Her husband's family was unwilling to wait and wanted her to marry him directly with a simple ceremony, but they were scolded back. Even the final revenge for her father's murder was ended by her.

It seems that in the past, it was always this youngest sister who was worried about all kinds of things at home. Compared to Shang Sanguan, the two older brothers were really not up to the task.

"My younger sister hopes that we can take good care of our mother and the family business, and not trouble you all any further. It's a pity that Brother Ding hasn't returned yet, so I can't say goodbye to him."

At this time, Ding Ziming and Shu Longqin were still at the White Lotus Sect's base and would not be able to return for a while. The Shang brothers, Shang Chen and Shang Li, had to leave as soon as possible and could not say goodbye to Ding Ziming in person.

The fact that the two brothers were able to travel such a long distance was undoubtedly due to Ding Ziming's influence. After all, just looking at the two of them and the merchant who had only caught a glimpse of the White Lotus Sect, it was impossible to figure out their exact location. Ding Ziming, on the other hand, knew more about this and could identify which White Lotus Sect they were looking for through some keywords.

And so, the Shang brothers, Shang Chen and Shang Li, left. Although Yue Wuque didn't really want to interfere, he still symbolically saw them off at the door to make sure they wouldn't encounter any accidents as soon as they stepped out.

But in the end, nothing unexpected happened to the brothers, but something did happen to Yue Wuque. Just as Shang Chen and Shang Li disappeared, and Yue Wuque and Meng Danqing were about to return, a fox spirit of unknown gender suddenly appeared from some obscure corner, grabbing Meng Danqing's hand and trying to express her love. What the hell?

"It seems that even monsters can be mentally unstable. Let's go back. If we get infected, Yuren doesn't want to fight the Black Sea King for that reason."

Despite his anger, the other party was just a small monster, unable to withstand a slap from Yue Wuque. This inexplicable appearance was truly suspicious. Even if he were to hit it with his shoe, Yue Wuque would find it dirty and would consider the other party to have dirtied the soles of his shoes.

Yue Wuque ignored the fox of unknown origin and took Meng Danqing back. The news of Shang Chen and Shang Li's departure still needed to be communicated to Ding Zimo on the other side by Shu Longqin.

They've been gone for quite a while now. Is Zhao Wang's family a difficult case?

Yue Wuque and Meng Danqing ignored the fox demon's somewhat inexplicable behavior, but the fox demon wasn't about to give up so easily. Seeing the two were about to leave, she swiftly circled around to the front and spoke again.

"My name is Feng San Niang. Seeing your beauty, elder sister, I cannot help but admire you. Elder sister, could you please..."

"boom."

Before the fox demon could finish speaking, a tree suddenly fell down by the roadside, its trunk breaking off near the bottom. Just then, Yue Wuque withdrew his outstretched hand.

"If you keep nagging, the beauty won't mind having an extra fur coat."

If it weren't for the fact that this guy's behavior was too suspicious, and that taking direct action might lead to a trap, Yue Wuque would have struck a tree trunk instead of the tree trunk with that palm strike.

"..."

A single palm strike could snap a tree in two, so the fox demon shut up obediently, and Yue Wuque and Meng Danqing walked past her and left.

"Did you see anything?"

Yue Wuque turned his head towards Meng Danqing and asked.

"His behavior was deliberate, not genuine."

Meng Danqing fell into deep thought. He was indeed startled by the other party's immediate declaration of love, but he quickly calmed down. The fox demon's words and actions were too deliberate, and this posture was clearly intentional.

But why would someone do something like this intentionally? Meng Danqing knew very well that he didn't know the other person. If there were more rumors about him lately, it should have attracted things related to painting, not this strange person with questionable behavior.

"It's probably some unscrupulous guy who came up with this disgusting trick."

The fox demon incident was just a minor episode, and neither of them paid much attention to it. They went back to write a letter to Shu Longqinxin. A few days later, Shu Longqinxin returned, but only he came back.

Zhao Wang finally listened to the advice, because Yi Yang and the others really didn't come back. The Asura King and the divine master didn't come, but the vengeful monsters and the government's wanted notices did. Under these circumstances, if he didn't run, would he just wait to be beheaded?

However, Zhao Wang's entire family, consisting of five or six people, were in the White Lotus Sect. If they wanted to leave, packing their luggage would take some time. Ding Ziming volunteered to stay and help them pack. Wang Liulang, as the City God, had some prestige and could stabilize the situation during this time. Shu Longqinxin returned first.

Before he even stepped inside, he saw a woman standing not far away, seemingly about to knock on the door. But as he got closer, he realized that she didn't seem to be human.

"Young lady, are you looking for someone?"

With Shang Chen and Shang Li gone, Ding Ziming also absent, and Mo Xunzong having gone off with Shuang Xiu, only Yue Wuque and Meng Danqing should remain at this temporary residence. Shu Longqin couldn't imagine who they would be looking for.

"That's it."

The woman turned to look at Shu Longqinxin; she hadn't even noticed someone behind her.

“Young master… is no ordinary person.”

She looked Shu Longqin up and down; her attire and appearance were nothing like those of an "ordinary person."

A monster? No, this person doesn't exude any demonic aura; a ghost? There's no yin energy either, and it's daytime, the sun is still high in the sky; a Taoist priest? Doesn't seem like one; a deity? Is that even possible...?

Seeing the increasingly complex look in the other person's eyes, Shu Longqin knew that they were struggling with their identity. By the standards of this world, people born with innate abilities were indeed quite diverse.

"Please treat me as an ordinary practitioner. My friend and I are staying here temporarily. Who are you looking for?"

"They're not looking for people from here, they're looking for people from this neighborhood."

Upon hearing Shu Longqin's words, the woman snapped out of her reverie and remembered the purpose of her visit.

"This young master has seen a young woman who was frivolous and looked... a lot like me."

At this point, the woman couldn't help but frown, a flash of disgust crossing her eyes; she clearly disliked the other person. But if they look alike, are they sisters?

"I just got back today. Wait a moment, I'll go in and ask my friend. What's the girl's name?"

"My surname is Feng, you can call me San..."

What are you standing there for?

Just then, Yue Wuque opened the door from the inside. He had already sensed Shu Longqin's presence, but for some reason, she had been standing in front of the door without coming in, and the door was unlocked.

As soon as the door opened, there was a man and a woman in front of him. Yue Wuque recognized the man as Shu Longqinxin. As for the woman, coincidentally, he also recognized her.

"Tsk, it's you again."

Upon closer inspection, Yue Wuque realized that this was the fox demon who had harassed Meng Danqing last time. If he really wanted to be beaten up, he wasn't incapable of showing mercy and giving the other party a slap on the sole of his shoe.

Wait, that's not right.

"Wait a minute, are you a fox spirit?"

No wonder he didn't sense such a strong demonic aura when he opened the door. Feng San Niang, who came before, was clearly a fox spirit. How did she turn into a fox fairy today?

Although fox spirits and fox fairies all cultivate from foxes, there are actually great differences between them. It is impossible for a fox spirit to become a fox fairy in just a few days. Yue Wuque realized that things were not simple.

"what's your name?"

Yue Wuque looked at the fox spirit.

"Feng Sanniang."

Shu Longqin was still unaware of what had happened, but the fox spirit who called herself Feng Sanniang had already guessed the general idea.

"Has this young master ever seen a fox spirit who looks exactly like me and claims to be named Feng San Niang?"

"good."

The moment she opened her mouth, the difference between this Feng San Niang and the previous one became immediately apparent. The previous one spoke with a coquettish tone, mainly using flirtatious gestures, while this one was generous and poised, with a temperament many times better than the one from a few days ago.

Knowing there was a hidden reason, Yue Wuque did not refuse Feng Sanniang's entry. Unlike the mixed-race fox demons, who were both good and bad, fox spirits followed the proper path of cultivation and were unlikely to harm people. They could not be too tainted by karma, otherwise they would damage their cultivation.

According to Feng San Niang, she was looking for an enemy, a fox demon, who had a grudge against Feng San Niang but couldn't defeat her. So, the fox demon transformed into Feng San Niang's appearance and went around harassing others and ruining Feng San Niang's reputation.

She came here following the traces of the other party. The other party used Feng San Niang's appearance and name to harm people, and in the end, Feng San Niang herself is likely to take the blame.

As a legitimate fox spirit, how could Feng San Niang tolerate such an insult? Naturally, she pursued him relentlessly, determined to teach him a lesson that would make him behave himself.

Moreover, after meeting Meng Danqing, she was able to immediately guess what the fake Third Sister had come to do.

"That little beast couldn't harm people, and he couldn't defeat me in a magic fight, so he went around ruining my reputation. He's really despicable."

Oh, by the way, through this real Feng San Niang, Yue Wuque and the others learned that the fake one from a few days ago was a white male fox that liked to use its beautiful appearance to seduce people before killing them, and it didn't discriminate between men and women.

The reason why the fox demon and the fox fairy became enemies is quite simple. Compared to handsome men, Feng San Niang really preferred beautiful girls. The woman she loved was a mortal who happened to be targeted by the white fox. He didn't know that the woman had a fox fairy protecting her and was secretly plotting something, but Feng San Niang caught him red-handed.

"That beast tried to harm my sister, but I caught him on the spot. He did have some guts, cutting off his tail to escape."

As she spoke, Feng San Niang took out a small pendant, which was a small section of white fox tail, belonging to the white fox.

"Originally, considering that he and I were practically of the same clan, and that cultivation was not easy, I thought that since he had escaped, he had survived a great calamity. But I didn't hold it against him, and this beast came to take revenge on me, taking my appearance to harm others."

"That palm strike should have landed on him."

This was Yue Wuque's first thought after hearing the whole story. Because the fake Third Sister's behavior was too deliberate, he suspected a trap and didn't hit her. What a pity! He should have slapped her first, then smacked her with his shoe.

"Wuque, what do you think about if we tell Yuan Wuxiang about this..."

"Do you really want the Black Sea King to come and kill you, along with his spoiled golden phoenix?"

"Black Sea King? Golden Phoenix"

Feng San Niang didn't quite understand, but the word "phoenix" was no ordinary word, and the people in front of her all looked incredibly powerful.

"I was just joking about my brother and his close friend, Miss Feng, please don't take it to heart."

Meng Danqing gave a brief explanation, but he was more worried about something else.

"That white fox came once and then disappeared. It's not a kind creature. Could it go to the nearby towns and harm people again?"

Listening to Feng San Niang's words, and combining them with my previous impressions, she didn't seem like a docile person at all. I haven't seen her around these days, so there's a high chance she's a bully who preys on the weak and fears the strong. Since she can't mess with Yue Wuque and Meng Danqing here, she's going to harm others.

"It's possible."

Feng San Niang looked at the broken-tail pendant in her hand with a serious expression.

"Recently, for some reason, many monsters have been captured by those who practice evil ways, causing unrest in many places. I have been chasing after them, and I have encountered many obstacles along the way."

Moreover, that white fox was very fast; if it weren't for its severed tail, Feng San Niang might not have been able to find this place.

“I can no longer let that beast use my appearance to do evil. Third Sister, I will take my leave now. Once he is caught, I will definitely bring him here to apologize to you all.”

After saying that, Feng San Niang bowed and left. Her words and actions were completely different from those of the imposter. The other one probably acted that way just to smear her.

"The real person and the imposter, this kind of plot is pretty tired of it."

Yue Wuque takes out his pipe. Shang Sanguan and Lan Ying, Feng Sanniang and Bai Hu—this kind of scene is common, but to encounter two such incidents in such a short time is a bit excessive, isn't it?

"Isn't it said that similar stories tend to cluster together somewhere?"

"This is a guess from so long ago. If it's true, what kind of story would be similar to that of Feng San Niang?"

Is it about fox spirits again? But to be honest, foxes make up half of the story in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, and fox spirits and fox demons can be found all over the world.

"What if..."

Meng Danqing thought of a possibility.

"Is it about sexual orientation?"

One sentence silenced the other two.

"...Danqing, promise Yuren one thing."

"what?"

"From now on, take fewer orders from Luoshen and Qiaotiangong."