Character Profiles
Chapter 1: Encounter with a Demon
The Tianyun Continent, the Great Ming Dynasty, Fengwu City.
The Tianyun Continent comprises the Nine Provinces, a vast and fertile land where ten great dynasties coexist and vie for supremacy.
Among them, the Great Ming Dynasty occupies the entire Fengzhou region, and Fengwu City is one of the cities under its rule. The people of Fengwu City are simple and honest, the populace is prosperous, and the herbal medicine trade is highly developed.
Golden sunlight bathed a wooded area on the outskirts of the city. Wei Yun, mounted on a white steed, bow and arrow in hand and a quiver slung across his back, rode slowly along the mountain path.
Wei Yun, the adopted son of Wei Xiao, a wealthy merchant of Fengwu City, was sixteen years of age. He was tall and well-built, with a ruggedly handsome appearance: thick eyebrows, large eyes, a square jaw, broad shoulders and a sturdy build, and powerful arms. He had a straightforward temperament and enjoyed making friends from all walks of life.
The Wei family had been merchants for generations, with no scholars among them. His parents had originally hoped he would pass the imperial examinations and serve the dynasty, but Wei Yun had neglected his studies from a young age and, as an adult, showed no interest in a proper career, preferring instead to wield swords and spears.
He would often wander off alone to the storytellers’ halls to listen to tales of the martial world and supernatural tales. When he was seven or eight, he even rallied a group of street urchins to ‘uphold justice’, causing quite a few comical incidents.
It was early autumn, and the forests on the outskirts of the city were ablaze with colour. Red maple leaves carpeted the ground, glistening in the golden sunlight—a truly splendid sight.
Early this morning, Wei Yun had invited a few friends of his own age to venture out of the city for an autumn hunt; he intended to bag a few game animals to take home and simmer into a soup.
In the past, one could always spot plenty of elk, wolves and hares in the mountains, but today, for some reason, not a single large game animal was to be seen; even the birdsong seemed noticeably sparse.
“Brother He, Brother Luo? Don’t hide any longer; I’ve already spotted you.”
Wei Yun and his friends had split up to search. Seeing no game to hunt, he called out a few times, but heard no reply for a long while. He’d initially thought they were playing a prank on him, but something didn’t quite add up.
He furrowed his brow slightly and thought to himself, ‘Surely nothing has gone wrong?’
Wei Yun rode on; the terrain was flat and easy to traverse.
Suddenly, Wei Yun heard a strange sound faintly drifting from a hollow ahead. He spurred his horse towards it; the sound grew clearer, and as he listened, he could no longer remain calm. It was unmistakably the sound of a man and a woman in the throes of passion!
There were plenty of red-light districts in Fengwu City, and Wei Yun was no greenhorn; he knew exactly what it was. He’d often gone with his rowdy mates to spend money on those women of the night.
Naturally, he recognised the sounds immediately. Yet he was puzzled: how could there be a woman in this desolate wilderness? Could it be that his mates had secretly arranged a tryst?
And they didn’t even tell this young master? That’s just not on.
He immediately spurred his horse on, soon reaching a mountain hollow. Looking up, he spotted a cave concealed by vegetation just around the bend—the sounds were coming from within!
Wei Yun reached the cave entrance, dismounted, tossed aside his bow and arrows, and charged inside, shouting, “Save one for this young master!” In his haste, he felt his way into the cavern, which was surprisingly spacious and well-lit.
What met his eyes was a lewd scene that made Wei Yun’s eyes blaze with fury: sure enough, a group of men and women were inside, abandoning all restraint and entwined in passionate embrace!
Inside were four men and five women, all stark naked, their clothes strewn across the floor. The four men were none other than Wei Yun’s four close friends. At that moment, each had a young maiden pinned beneath him, thrusting wildly upon their snow-white, delicate bodies. Lost in the moment, their expressions radiated pure pleasure, utterly oblivious to their surroundings.
The young women were equally eager, clinging to Wei Yun’s friends like octopuses, giving themselves to them wholeheartedly. Each was strikingly beautiful, yet their faces were full of wanton desire; their soft gasps and moans carried far into the distance.
Wei Yun glanced over and couldn’t help but be secretly astonished. These girls looked no older than seventeen or eighteen; every one of them was as beautiful as a flower or the moon, with skin so fair and delicate it seemed it might break at the slightest touch, and figures to die for. Where on earth had they found them?
Even Sister Miao Miao, the top courtesan at the Tianxiang Pavilion in the city, was no match for them!
Four men and five women—yet one beautiful maiden remained unclaimed, reclining on a slab of green stone. Her delicate, white arms gently caressed her snow-white breasts and the tender, pink slit between her legs. The very moment Wei Yun entered, her alluring eyes lit up, fixing upon him with a gaze as piercing as lightning.
“You’ve arrived just in time, young master. I’ve been waiting for you for ages!”
The girl leapt down in front of Wei Yun and, without a word, threw her arms around him. Her almond-shaped eyes were as gentle as water, and she let out a soft, coquettish moan of “Ah!” as she kissed him repeatedly on the face. Her cherry lips were soft and luscious, and a faint, sweet fragrance wafted towards him.
“You little minx! I’m here to have my fun with you!”
Wei Yun hastily undid his clothes and, embracing the girl, began to lick and suck her with lustful urgency.
His friends had long since been lost in the throes of passion with these maidens. Wei Yun thought to himself, no wonder they were nowhere to be seen earlier; it turned out they’d been here all along, enjoying the warmth and softness of these beauties. Hmph, if there’s a good time to be had, they could at least have given a shout!
As he thought this, he was suddenly overcome by suspicion. In the middle of this desolate wilderness, how could such a group of stunningly beautiful maidens have appeared? And they were all strangers to him—could there possibly be a settlement nearby?
By now, Wei Yun could care less about such matters. With her fragrant, supple body pressed tightly against him, he decided to indulge himself first and worry about the rest later.
The maiden opened her mouth and exhaled a faintly pink, fragrant mist onto Wei Yun’s face. Instantly, Wei Yun felt a tingling sensation course through his entire body, clouding his senses. A surge of lust rose from his lower abdomen, coursing through his whole being. His manhood, already impatient, stood erect, pressing against the maiden’s pair of long, fair thighs.
Enchanted by this intoxicating fragrance, Wei Yun was consumed by passion. His eyes burned as he gazed at the maiden before him, his hands ceaselessly caressing her snow-white flesh. The maiden responded with equal fervour, pressing her soft cherry lips against his mouth. Her fragrant tongue slipped out gently, and for a moment their lips and tongues entwined, emitting soft, wet sounds.
The girl let out a soft moan as Wei Yun’s hands firmly kneaded her snow-white, tender breasts; his fingers sank into the flesh, which sprang back into shape the moment he withdrew, revealing breasts that were both full and incredibly supple.
Wei Yun’s breathing grew heavy as he buried his head between the girl’s breasts in a daze. He opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue, greedily sucking and licking her pair of snow-white breasts. Her full breasts were covered in Wei Yun’s saliva. The girl’s almond-shaped eyes grew hazy, her lips parted slightly, and soft, lustful moans of “Ah, ah” escaped her mouth.
“Sshh…”
Wei Yun suddenly felt a shiver run through his body; it turned out that the girl’s delicate, white hand had grasped his rigid member. Her soft palm gently stroked it, mimicking the sensation of penetration, which felt incredibly pleasurable.
Wei Yun’s body went limp, and he sat down on the ground. Before his eyes were the girl’s white, tender legs; between them, the skin was flawless and bare of even a single pubic hair. The two soft, pink labia gently clasped the slender, crimson slit in the centre, from which a thread of transparent, lustful fluid oozed out.
Wei Yun felt a wave of heat wash over him. His eyes widened as he greedily licked the tender, crimson slit with his tongue, drawing the droplet of love juice into his mouth. The taste lingered on his palate, and he opened his mouth to kiss the girl’s tender labia, licking back and forth with even greater greed than when he had been suckling her breast moments before.
“Ah… Master… be gentle… ahhh…”
The girl’s curvaceous, delicate body swayed slightly. With one hand, she pressed Wei Yun’s head against her honeyed cleft. Her eyes were filled with lust, her expression one of utter debauchery, utterly devoid of the innocence one would expect from a girl of seventeen or eighteen.
Wei Yun opened his mouth to lick her, his tongue sweeping back and forth over the girl’s pink, tender slit, ceaselessly sucking up the sweet, lustful juices secreted there. This tender, slippery honeyed slit was truly delicious, lacking entirely the sour, salty taste of the courtesans in Fengwu City’s brothels. Such a beautiful slit truly made one linger and lose oneself; Wei Yun could hardly wait to thrust into this tender slit and experience it for himself.
“Ah… oh… I’m coming… ahhh…”
The girl’s slender body suddenly trembled, and a gush of juices spurted from her tender, pink slit, splashing all over Wei Yun’s face. Panting heavily, Wei Yun pinned the girl to the ground, spreading her slender, pink legs wide apart, his thick cock pressed against her slightly parted pink labia. The head of his cock rubbed against her lips a few times; they were already incredibly wet and slippery. With a sudden thrust of his hips, his cock plunged deep inside, driving straight to the heart of the matter, passing through the girl’s wet, warm, tender vaginal flesh, and pressing against her delicate, soft G-spot.
“Ah… it’s so big… ah… Master… be gentle… I… I can’t take it… ahhh…”
Though the girl begged him to be gentle, her slender frame kept meeting his thrusts. She wrapped herself around Wei Yun, her pale, pert bottom thrusting forward to meet his vigorous thrusts as he moved in and out. Her slender legs entwined around his waist, her eyes narrowed into seductive slits as she gazed up at the young man atop her with a smile.
The maiden’s tender slit was truly a soul-stirring fleshly cavern; the flesh within was moist and slippery, warm and comfortable, with a hint of suction. Wei Yun had only thrust a few times when he felt her honeyed slit, like a small mouth, ceaselessly sucking on his glans, and this suction grew ever stronger, until finally, Wei Yun found he could no longer pull back. He could only feel the maiden’s honeyed passage constantly drawing in his glans; it had sunk completely into the depths of her core, unable to extricate itself, and his entire shaft was being drawn ever deeper. Fortunately, Wei Yun was blessed with exceptional endowment—his member was naturally thick and long—otherwise he would never have been able to reach the maiden’s innermost depths.
“Ah!”
As the suction and friction from the maiden’s honeyed passage intensified, waves of pleasure washed over Wei Yun. His whole body seemed to be tossed about by the tides, and he soon reached the peak. Unable to hold back any longer, a sharp ache shot through his lower back as a torrent of thick semen gushed deep into the maiden’s honeyed passage.
“Giggle!”
The girl showed no sign of stopping; the suction and massaging power of her honeyed passage only grew stronger. Wei Yun’s member, which had begun to soften, grew rigid once more, and the urge to ejaculate returned.
At that moment, the entire cave was suffused with a lewd atmosphere; a pink miasma shrouded the whole space, filled with incessant moans as five pairs of young men and women engaged in fierce copulation, entwined in a desperate embrace.
Wei Yun had only just arrived and had engaged in no more than two rounds of action—which was bad enough—yet the other four men already looked dazed, their eye sockets sunken and their complexions turning a sickly grey-black. Their vitality had long since been drained. One of them even trembled violently twice before going completely still, having exhausted his seed and died of sheer ecstasy on the spot!
Moments later, Wei Yun had already climaxed three times, yet the young woman remained full of vigour. Taking the lead, she sat astride his hips and began to thrust her slender form rapidly, riding Wei Yun’s lower body. This caused the pale purple crescent-shaped jade pendant hanging from his neck to sway.
It was a pale purple, crescent-shaped jade pendant, no larger than a thumb, crystal-clear and smooth to the touch. He had been wearing it ever since his adoptive parents had found and taken him in.
A gentleman never parts with his jade without cause; this was the only item Wei Yun had worn continuously since childhood.
Having ejaculated three times, Wei Yun had sobered up considerably. His eyes brightened, and he instinctively felt a pang of unease.
On his usual visits to brothels, Wei Yun’s prowess in the bedroom was unrivalled; his friends all paled in comparison, and every courtesan sang his praises. Yet now…
Faced with such a stunning young woman, Wei Yun was utterly helpless. Not only had he ejaculated several times, but she seemed to possess even greater stamina, continuing to demand more with relentless intensity. How was this possible?
Wei Yun tried to struggle to his feet, but the girl on top of him turned the tables, straddling him and grinding relentlessly, refusing to let him rise. Instead, she quickened her movements on top of him, moaning incessantly. The strangest thing was that this girl possessed incredible strength; even though Wei Yun mustered all his might, he could not move an inch!
“You… you…” Wei Yun stammered, when suddenly he noticed the commotion around him had died down. Glancing around, he saw his friends lying motionless on the ground, one after another, whilst the girls on top of them continued to thrust their snow-white, naked bodies.
One of the youths had already met his end. The girl on top of him gave a coquettish laugh and pounced on Wei Yun, who still had some strength left. She placed her slender legs on either side of his head, preparing to press her tender, pink slit against his face, whilst a small, jade-like hand pressed down on his chest, landing precisely on the Purple Moon Jade Pendant there.
At that very moment, a faint purple glow emanated from the Purple Moon jade pendant on Wei Yun’s chest. As soon as this glow appeared, an invisible force radiated outwards!
The young girl on top of Wei Yun suddenly let out a shriek; a wisp of green smoke rose from her palm as she leapt off him. Whilst she was still in mid-air, her body underwent an instantaneous transformation—
The once snow-white, naked young maiden instantly transformed into a fluffy, snow-white fox. As the fox landed on the ground, its alluring eyes, still retaining a human-like quality, fixed upon the jade pendant on Wei Yun’s chest, her expression one of utter horror.
The other maidens also transformed one after another into foxes—some pale grey, some pale yellow, and others fiery red—none of them human!
“Eeek!” The five foxes let out a shrill cry, crouched, and leapt out of the cave, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Wei Yun shook his head; only now did he have the strength to rise, and he hurriedly dressed himself.
The other lads came round one by one, but one remained motionless. Upon seeing their own and their friends’ bedraggled state, they were all horrified. They had all been full of vigour when they arrived, yet now their faces were sallow and black, and they were utterly exhausted—clearly the result of excessive indulgence.
Wei Yun recounted what had just happened and asked, “We were bewitched by a fox spirit. Is everyone all right?”
“We’re… we’re fine…”
One of the youths rubbed his dark circles under his eyes, then suddenly looked to his side and cried out in horror, “Brother He!”
The others looked and realised that one of the youths had lost consciousness; no matter how they tried, they could not rouse him—he was already dead.
Still reeling from the shock, the boys, overcome with grief and fear, joined forces to carry the dead boy out of the cave and place him on a horse. They each found their own mounts and left the mountains, heading for the city.
The boys returned to their respective homes and dared not set foot outside for a fortnight…
Upon his return, Wei Yun briefly recounted their mountain ordeal to his father, Wei Xiao.
Wei Xiao’s expression grew grave. He ordered his son to stay at home and not go anywhere, yet he himself left without a word. Half a day later, he returned leading a group of Taoist priests.
The Wei family was a wealthy household in Fengwu City, having amassed considerable wealth through generations of trade.
The current head of the family, Wei Xiao, was well-versed in the ways of the world, had cultivated a wide circle of friends, and was highly regarded. In recent years, all the business ventures he had undertaken had flourished, yielding steady profits without a single loss.
Recently, tales of strange occurrences had been circulating throughout the city. The eldest son of the Zhang family had been murdered in the dead of night, his body withered and dried out, a truly gruesome sight; it was said that some sort of evil spirit or demon had drained him of his vital essence. The young lady of the Zhao family had also met with misfortune; once a beauty as fair as a flower, she had gone mad overnight, seemingly having fallen victim to an evil spirit as well.
Especially after Wei Yun had encountered a fox spirit whilst out and about, Wei Xiao felt all the more strongly that this matter could not be delayed any longer.
He hastily summoned Taoist priests from Xuanhu Temple, asking them to perform an exorcism ritual and affix talismans throughout the house to ward off evil and invite good fortune.
Xuanhu Temple, situated twenty li outside Fengwu City, was presided over by Master Qingfeng, a Taoist priest reputed to be deeply versed in the arts of physiognomy and traditional Chinese medicine, as well as possessing the ability to subdue demons and banish evil spirits.
Ordinary families would likely struggle to secure his services, but fortunately, the Wei family had been devout followers of Buddhism and Taoism for many years, regularly sending offerings to Xuanhu Temple. Wei Xiao and the abbot, Master Qingfeng, were on good terms, so Master Qingfeng readily accepted the Wei family’s invitation.
The Wei family’s piety stemmed entirely from their son, Wei Yun.
As the sole heir of the Wei family, Wei Yun was not the biological son of Wei Xiao and his wife; this was no secret. Back then, Wei Xiao and his wife were approaching fifty and still had no children of their own. Wei Xiao had even taken several concubines, yet still failed to produce an heir.
However, one winter evening, Wei Xiao’s wife, Lady You, heard the wailing of an infant outside the door.
Upon opening the door, she found a plump, fair-skinned infant wrapped in cotton garments, lying there by the entrance. Seeing no one in sight, Lady You enquired about the neighbourhood but could not discover who had abandoned the child. After consulting with Wei Xiao, they took in the foundling, naming him ‘Wei Yun’ to carry on the Wei family line.
Before long, Wei Yun had come of age at sixteen. In such a household of plenty, where he lacked for nothing, Wei Yun was also deeply devoted to his parents.
True to his origins as a foundling, Wei Yun bore no resemblance to his adoptive parents. He had a straightforward nature; from a young age, he was lively and active, fond of wielding spears and staffs, yet had no interest in scholarship or commerce.
Wei Xiao and his wife were overjoyed to see their son come of age. Believing him to be a gift from heaven, they were ever grateful and frequently visited the Suspended Gourd Hermitage to burn incense and worship the deities, lavishing the place with generous donations.
Wei Yun accompanied them on every visit, and over time, he even earned the favour of Master Qingfeng.
Daoist Priest Qingfeng spent an entire day performing a ritual for the Wei family, allowing Wei Xiao to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
As he was leaving, Daoist Priest Qingfeng pointed at Wei Yun and said to Wei Xiao, "I have observed your son’s features. His forehead is full, his chin is broad, his facial proportions are perfectly balanced, and the bridge of his nose is straight and high. Most notably, his eyes and brows possess a rare, extraordinary quality... there is an air of transcendence about him. If he is properly nurtured, he will surely become a man of great destiny in the future!"
Wei Xiao had no reason to doubt the priest's words; this Daoist's skill in physiognomy was famously accurate. Because of this, an idea took root in Wei Xiao's heart: he wanted to send Wei Yun to the Xuanhu Temple to study under Daoist Priest Qingfeng and learn his skills!