Chapter 1200: Bai Jiumeng
Yang Haoran and Bai Xue both saw how serious the fox demoness was, and their expressions shifted slightly, so subtly that it would be hard to notice without careful attention.
Ever since Ye Zhiqiu brought the fox demoness back to the Guardian District, Yang Haoran had never inquired about her identity, not even her name. He knew it would be pointless to ask; she wouldn't possibly tell him. Only after she agreed to join the Flock of Demons Society would obtaining such information become simple.
Therefore, Yang Haoran, who didn't even know the fox demoness's name, naturally couldn't have known her identity.
"Heh heh, many demons had powerful enemies outside before they joined the Flock of Demons Society, yet the Flock of Demons Society accepted them all the same. Do you question our courage?"
Yang Haoran counter-asked with a smile. His words seemed casual, but they revealed a powerful conviction, and this strong confidence seemed to give the fox demoness a sense of reassurance. Though the conflicted expression on her face still remained, it had significantly lessened compared to moments before.
"I have another question," the fox demoness began. "I want to know what will be required of me if I join the Flock of Demons Society. I don't believe you would provide me with resources to break through to the Demon King realm if I did nothing in return."
The fox demoness spoke, this being her most pressing concern. For in this world, there was no love without reason, no hatred without cause, and certainly no free lunch. If one wished to gain something, one must certainly pay something else in return.
If what she had to give was within her acceptable limits, then it was no issue. Conversely, if it exceeded her limits, she would certainly refuse.
"Heh heh, any organization has its rules. Only then can it develop and avoid descending into chaos. The Flock of Demons Society is naturally no exception; it also has its own rules."
"You don't need to beat around the bush with me. That will only make me think you're deliberately avoiding my question."
Since the fox demoness had put it so directly, Yang Haoran wasn't going to drag it out any further.
"Heh heh, after becoming a member of the Flock of Demons Society, one will naturally be subject to certain organizational restraints, required to obey the organization's management and arrangements, and even undertake certain missions. After all, a portion of the organization's resources are acquired through various missions. Of course, after each mission, corresponding rewards will be granted, and in addition, a fixed amount of resources will be available for collection each month. Most importantly, when a member encounters danger or an insurmountable problem, the organization will step forward to resolve it for them."
Yang Haoran said with a faint smile, and in one breath laid out the pros and cons of becoming a member of the Flock of Demons Society. The fox demoness didn't spend too much time pondering after hearing him, simply nodding at Yang Haoran.
"Alright, I'm willing to join the Flock of Demons Society. But if, after becoming a member, the situation is entirely different from what you've described, then don't blame me for leaving the Flock of Demons Society!"
Although the fox demoness agreed to Yang Haoran's invitation to join the Flock of Demons Society, she still stated her reservations upfront. Yang Haoran didn't take it to heart at all.
"Heh heh, don't worry. Once you become a member of the Flock of Demons Society, you'll discover that what I've told you today about its benefits is merely the tip of the iceberg. The Flock of Demons Society offers many more advantages to its members, and you'll need to discover them gradually on your own. Since you've decided to join, it's time for us to get to know each other properly. And while we're at it, tell me about your situation, especially your enemies, because only after I have a certain understanding of the matter can I apply the right remedy and better deal with it."
The first half of Yang Haoran's statement made the fox demoness feel much more at ease, as she could tell Yang Haoran wasn't lying. If that truly was the case, then joining the Flock of Demons Society would indeed be a good choice.
However, the latter half of Yang Haoran's statement troubled her somewhat. Introducing herself was naturally no problem, but asking her to elaborate on other aspects of her situation—that put her in a difficult position.
But she also knew that if she didn't, Yang Haoran certainly wouldn't be at ease, and she wouldn't be able to show Yang Haoran her sincerity in joining the Flock of Demons Society. So, she considered it briefly and decided to do as Yang Haoran said.
Once she had made up her mind, the fox demoness informed Yang Haoran of her detailed circumstances, and by extension, informed Bai Xue as well.
It turned out that the fox demoness's name was Bai Jiumeng. Although she shared the surname Bai with Bai Xue, their shared surname of 'Bai' had a significant difference.
Bai Xue's surname of Bai was one she chose herself, because she was originally a white snake, and without a human surname to begin with, she simply adopted the surname Bai after cultivating into a demon.
Bai Jiumeng's surname of Bai, however, was not one she chose herself, but a family surname.
Bai Xue cultivated into a demon on her own, without the help of a family behind her; she even chose her own name after cultivating into a demon. Bai Jiumeng, however, was born into a fox demon family. Bai was her clan's surname, and Jiumeng was given by her parents. This was a fundamental difference from Bai Xue.
According to Bai Jiumeng, she was not from Jingling Continent, but hailed from the White Fox Clan of Jun Prefecture. Her parents were both white foxes and both fox demons, so it was only natural that she, too, became a fox demon after birth, completely different from ordinary foxes. Compared to other demons who awakened their spiritual intelligence through chance encounters and cultivated into demons on their own, her starting point was far, far higher. In comparison, she was fortunate.
As for Bai Jiumeng's birth, it truly couldn't be compared to demons like Bai Xue who cultivated into spirits on their own. However, compared to the influential figures of her clan, Bai Jiumeng's birth seemed rather humble. This was because Bai Jiumeng's parents held no prominent status within the White Fox clan; one might even say they were very ordinary. This consequently meant Bai Jiumeng's own status was not high either.
As Bai Jiumeng had not experienced the awakening of spiritual intelligence and cultivating into a demon on her own, she could not comprehend the difficulties Bai Xue had endured to reach her current state. Let alone reaching this point, just transforming from a white snake to a cultivated demon – she couldn't fathom the dangers and hardships within that journey.
However, what Bai Jiumeng had experienced was also something Bai Xue could not comprehend: namely, the impact her beauty had on her. Although Bai Xue's beauty was on par with hers, Bai Xue's environment was different. Thus, the effects Bai Jiumeng experienced due to her beauty were something Bai Xue had never known.
The impact beauty had on Bai Jiumeng had positive aspects, but more often negative ones. At least in her view, the negative impacts far outweighed the positive.
To minimize the negative impacts, Bai Jiumeng diligently cultivated. Without betraying her principles, she tried every possible way to find more resources to improve herself, because she clearly understood in her heart that only by elevating her strength could she better protect herself and her family, and only then could she make those with ill intentions abandon their thoughts and stop pestering her.
Under Bai Jiumeng's diligent efforts, she finally raised her strength to the peak Great Demon realm. For newly born lesser demons, that was naturally an existence they could only look up to. But looking across the entire clan, the peak Great Demon realm still couldn't put her among the ranks of the high-ranking nobility. Such a level of strength only managed to deter some people; there were still some who couldn't be intimidated by her strength.
It was precisely because of this that many within the clan still coveted Bai Jiumeng. Moreover, some outsiders to the clan also fixed their gaze upon her, wishing to claim her for themselves, which in turn caused those within the clan who desperately desired her to feel a strong sense of crisis inwardly.
The internal clan struggle hadn't yet reached a conclusion, and now outsiders wanted to interfere as well. These individuals naturally didn't want to see Bai Jiumeng ultimately fall into the hands of an outsider. Thus, they successively leveraged their influence within the clan, some even persuading highly respected elders of the clan to intervene.
After a series of overt and covert struggles, the ultimate victor emerged from among these individuals, and thus came about the matter of a forced marriage decree.
Of course, this so-called 'force' was only directed at Bai Jiumeng. As for the ultimate victor of this struggle, the word 'force' simply did not apply to him, for he had always yearned intensely to possess Bai Jiumeng. How could he possibly consider the marriage decree to be forced?
Faced with the powerful figures within the clan enforcing the marriage decree, Bai Jiumeng's resistance had no effect whatsoever. In front of these influential individuals, she had no say whatsoever. Indeed, in the eyes of others, for her to be chosen by the clan's high-ranking members and granted a marriage decree was practically no different from an ordinary girl marrying into a wealthy family—it was a heaven-sent blessing, something many people wished they could be so fortunate as to receive.
It was one thing for outsiders to think so, but what Bai Jiumeng couldn't accept was that even her own family thought the same way. Moreover, they tried every possible method to persuade her, not only to make her accept this marriage, but to accept it willingly.
Before this forced marriage, there had been quite a few who came to propose marriage. Those who dared to propose were all individuals of some capability, holding a certain degree of influence within the clan. At that time, Bai Jiumeng's family had hoped she would accept the proposals of these suitors, because once she married into their families, their own family's status would also rise accordingly.
However, at that time, Bai Jiumeng's family did not use forceful methods. Although they greatly hoped she would marry these influential figures, she firmly disagreed, and her family merely felt uncomfortable inwardly, taking no drastic actions.
But faced with this particular marriage decree, Bai Jiumeng's family's attitude became rigid. On one hand, it was because their family was too ordinary, lacking any right to resist. On the other hand, the individual Bai Jiumeng was to marry this time was one of the few great families in their White Fox Clan, holding a pivotal position within the White Fox Clan. Once she married into such a family, not only would Bai Jiumeng's status undergo a seismic change, but their family's status would also skyrocket because of it.
Therefore, to prevent Bai Jiumeng from refusing this marriage decree and ruining it, her family exhausted all their methods. They had different people take turns continuously persuading her.
But Bai Jiumeng simply didn't like the person she was forced to marry, and she strongly disliked this method of arranged marriage. So, she secretly escaped. To avoid being caught and dragged back, she even fled out of Jun Prefecture and came to Jingling Continent.
Tongyou City was not Bai Jiumeng's first stop upon arriving in Jingling Continent. After reaching Jingling Continent, she intended to choose a secluded place to cultivate, hoping to break through her current bottleneck as soon as possible. As long as she successfully entered the Demon King realm, her status within the clan would undergo a seismic change. After all, the power of a Demon King was completely incomparable to that of a peak Great Demon. Looking at their entire White Fox Clan, the number of clan members who had reached the Demon King realm was not large.
Because resources were limited, it was not easy to reach the Demon King realm. Especially for ordinary clan members, it was even more difficult to enter the Demon King realm. Therefore, whoever could enter the Demon King realm, their status within the clan would undergo a seismic change. As long as her status underwent a seismic change, in Bai Jiumeng's view, the matter of forced marriage would never happen to her again.
Bai Jiumeng knew that her secret departure would certainly displease the clan's higher-ups, and the clan would definitely send people to track her down and forcibly bring her back. To avoid this from happening, she had to choose a secluded place to settle, and then find a way to enhance her strength, completing her breakthrough as early as possible. Only then could she return to the fox clan and rightfully refuse this marriage.
But what she never expected was that before she had even successfully found a suitable place to settle in Jingling Continent, she was discovered by Ye Zhiqiu in Tongyou City and forcibly brought by Ye Zhiqiu to Yang Haoran's Guardian District.
This experience made her feel as if she had just escaped the wolf's den only to enter the tiger's lair. Her tendency to get angry upon seeing Yang Haoran was naturally one of the reasons for it.
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