The moment the elder sister cried out "Run!", Fang Zuo was genuinely taken aback.
These little half-breed fiends possessed astonishingly weak spiritual power, yet they had managed to sense even the faintest flicker of his intent?
Then, they'd instantly pushed the younger sister to flee.
To achieve such awareness across such a vast gulf of cultivation realms was virtually unimaginable.
Interesting. Innate bloodline talent?
Or a skill honed through generations of brutal experimentation?
A thought took form.
Restrain!
Invisible spiritual binds solidified around the younger sister, freezing her mid-escape at the doorway.
The elder sister stared at her immobile sibling, then back at Fang Zuo, eyes wide with shock.
Too strong.
This man was terrifyingly strong. Beyond anything she'd ever encountered, surpassing Onmyoji masters and the terrifying Demon Kings of Hyakura Mountain alike.
He loomed before her like an impassable mountain range, his presence vast, heavy, and utterly inescapable – a force demanding submission.
Thump.
The elder sister prostrated herself fully, her forehead pressed firmly against the cool floor.
"Sumimasen, exalted Honorable Lord! Please, spare my sister! I will sign a Spirit Pact! I will serve you!"
She raised her head, a seductive flush blooming across her face. She gently bit her lower lip, her gaze transformed into something heavy-lidded and profoundly alluring. The fluffy fox tail swayed hypnotically behind her.
"I am part cat, part fox... I possess... exceptional talent in this art," she murmured, the words thick with promise. "No one understands a man's needs like I do. Keep me, Honorable Lord. I will be worth far more than the cost."
Cute and lethally alluring merged upon her in a dizzying blend.
Fang Zuo snapped his fingers.
The binds holding the younger sister dissolved instantly.
The next moment.
"Onee-chan! I won't leave!" the younger sister wailed, throwing herself forward and clutching desperately at Fang Zuo's leg. "Lord! Sign me! I have big breasts! Please, let Onee-chan go!"
"Lord! Don't listen! Spare her! She's too young, she knows nothing! Sign me!" the elder sister countered urgently.
"Lord! She lies! Onee-chan is only ten minutes older! I know everything! I've watched a lot of... educational movies!" the younger sister declared defiantly.
"Sign me!"
"Sign me!"
"Stop arguing," Fang Zuo stated calmly, scratching his chin. "Haven't you considered the possibility... that I might sign both of you?"
"Nani?!"
"NANI?!"
The twin catgirls froze simultaneously.
They stared at Fang Zuo, identical expressions of pure horror dawning on their faces.
This man was a demon! He wouldn't spare either of them?
"Honorable Lord... if you insist on this path..." the elder sister's expression hardened with a grim resolve. "If I cannot save Imouto... I... I would rather die."
"WAHH! Onee-chan! No! Don't die!" The younger sister burst into messy tears, giant droplets rolling down her cheeks. "If you die, who will I fight with over strawberry shortcake?!"
She paused abruptly, her crying momentarily punctuated by genuine outrage.
"You... you didn't save me any cake today! I'm still mad about that!"
"Waahhh! My strawberry shortcake!"
She plopped down hard on the floor, dissolving back into inconsolable sobs.
The elder sister threw her arms around her weeping sibling. Two identical, beautiful faces pressed together, streaming tears and snot. Then, as one, they lifted their tear-streaked faces towards Fang Zuo, sniffling pathetically, their expressions a strange mix of terror and fatalistic acceptance.
Just kill us already.
"Enough noise," Fang Zuo said firmly. "Perhaps you should hear what I actually wanted to ask first?"
"Ask what? We won't tell you where Auntie Fox is hiding!" the younger sister sobbed, wiping her nose with the back of her paw.
Fang Zuo's hand lifted slightly, palm open.
From beneath the decorative katana stand behind the sisters, an object flew out – a distinctively Chinese-style sword scabbard. It landed perfectly in his grasp.
He turned it over, examining it closely.
The wooden scabbard was incredibly ancient. Intricate, esoteric cloud-thunder patterns (云雷纹) were carved deeply into its surface. As Fang Zuo held it, an overwhelming sense of familiarity washed over him.
Decades ago, a mere Taoist boy standing behind his master, he had witnessed that man in the Huangdi Temple. He had snapped a branch from an ancient cypress struck by divine lightning. One piece forged into a wooden sword. The other, crafted into this very scabbard.
And now, that man was gone. Vanished. Yet his scabbard had surfaced here, in this foreign land.
The world was changing too swiftly, leaving traditional cultivators like Fang Zuo feeling increasingly alienated.
Shaking off the memories, Fang Zuo held the scabbard aloft.
"I merely wanted to ask... where did this come from?"
"Huh?"
The twin sisters blinked in unison, their tears momentarily forgotten. They stared at the scabbard, then back at him, faces blank with utter incomprehension.
Fang Zuo sighed inwardly. These twins aren't the sharpest claws in the bag.
"This scabbard," he explained slowly, deliberately. "It belongs to my homeland."
"I tell you plainly, it is quite valuable."
"It was the personal possession of an immensely powerful figure from ages past. Seeing it here, in exile, fills me with curiosity."
"So, I came specifically to retrieve it."
"And, incidentally, to learn any trace of that person."
"Understood?"
Two identically blank expressions stared back. They exchanged a glance, then slowly, hesitantly, nodded together.
Still clueless. Fang Zuo rubbed his temple.
Communicating with these adorable, dimwitted twins required the bluntest possible approach.
"Just tell me directly: Where did you get this thing?"
The younger sister shot her hand up, bouncing eagerly. "Hai! We stole it from Auntie Fox!"
The elder sister slapped her hand down. "Baka! We can't tell him where Auntie Fox is!"
Fang Zuo gave a dismissive flick of his wrist, storing the scabbard away within the folds of his robes.
"Very well. Pass a message to your Auntie Fox for me. Tell her... I am a fellow traveler connected to this object. I wish to meet her."
He looked directly at the sisters, clearly doubting their ability to relay even this simple message.
"Did you understand that?"
"Understood! We will tell Auntie Fox!" the elder sister quickly confirmed, nodding vigorously.
"Tell her soon. I will return." Fang Zuo turned to leave. His gaze lingered on the twin beauties, still tangled together on the floor, knees pressed to chests. He reached out and gently flicked a pink cat ear on each.
"Ah!"
Instantly, their eyes glazed over, pupils dilating, twin moans escaping their parted lips. Watery confusion replaced the fear, their bodies relaxing into a strangely receptive haze.
Standing at the door, a final thought struck Fang Zuo. He pulled out his wallet and tossed it towards the dazed sisters.
"There you go. It's not much."
He stepped out quickly, closing the door behind him.
A flush of embarrassment heated his cheeks. Embarrassingly broke.
Even an exalted Nascent Soul True Person could feel profoundly awkward without funds in his pocket. A man truly needed cash to move comfortably through the world.
Stepping onto the street, he checked the time. Past eleven. He instinctively reached for his pocket to hail a taxi, only to remember – his wallet was gone.
Fine, I'll walk. Using spiritual energy to fly felt unnecessarily wasteful. The distance to Shiraishi Nagisa's mansion in Chiyoda Ward was barely ten kilometers. A brisk pace would have him there in under half an incense stick's time.
Fang Zuo began walking through the heart of Kabukicho. The night was far livelier now than earlier. Neon signs bathed the streets in pulsating rainbows. Cosplayers and anime-girl hostesses vied aggressively for attention, their appearances ranging from cute to stunningly attractive. 'Tour guides' clutching photo cards of available girls persistently tried to corner him with promises.
This world... the ambient spiritual energy withers to nothing, yet life itself races forward faster than ever. The pace left old-school cultivators stranded.
Brring-brring!
His phone vibrated. He glanced at the screen – Sawada Yui.
"Onii-chan! Hurry back! Oka-san is selling the house!" The girl's voice was a pouty whine, thick with urgency.
"Why is she selling it?" Fang Zuo frowned.
"I don't know! I asked, and Oka-san wouldn't say! Two groups of agents came to look at it tonight!" Sawada Yui sounded near tears. "Uuuh... Yui doesn't want to be homeless!"
"Relax. She won't sell it. I'll handle it," Fang Zuo reassured her gently. "Go to sleep."
"Mm! I believe Onii-chan! I'm going to bed! Don't hang up! You have to stay on until I fall asleep!"
"Alright."
"Arigatou, Onii-chan is the best!"
A happy sigh, and within minutes, the soft rhythm of her breathing indicated sleep on the other end. Only then did Fang Zuo end the call.
Approaching the mansion's grand entrance, unlocking the door felt eerily reminiscent of that other dark night.
This time, however, Sawada Yui wasn't asleep on the sofa.
The similarity lay in the way a different, overwhelming softness instantly engulfed his legs.
Shiraishi Nagiso clung to him like a drowning woman, kneeling at his feet in the shadowed foyer.
She was still dressed in the white blouse, pencil skirt, and sheer nude stockings from earlier that afternoon.
Her exquisite face tilted up, eyes swimming with unshed tears. Her small frame trembled violently.
Her voice, thick with a desperate mixture of relief and supplication, barely escaped her lips:
"Master..."