Hospitality is a crucial part of dealing with people.
Common routines include burning incense, playing the zither, offering tea, and so on.
But being told to bathe first—this was Ye Yu’s first time seeing that one.
Seriously? Did the ancient yokai have a custom like this? He’d never heard of it.
The maid called Xiao Hong, blank-faced, lifted a hand and pointed outside. "The bathhouse is out there. Please."
Ye Yu didn’t answer at once. Instead he sent a heart-voice to the “sleeping” Luo Shu in the cage behind him: "What exactly is going on?"
"What else? We’ve run into the God Realm’s famous Poison Madam."
"Rumor has it her true body is a serpent yokai. She has a mysterious intel channel, claims to know the world’s affairs, and is extremely skilled at cookery.
"So she opened an alliance that specializes in selling information—and gourmet food.
"Outrageously expensive, but worth every coin.
"It’s called the Home of Yokai Gods, but that’s just a banner to lure unlucky yokai in as ingredients.
"If you made it here, she’s probably got her eye on your bear paws."
At that, Ye Yu felt his hands go cold.
This was a straight-up black shop.
No wonder he hadn’t seen any other yokai in the alliance—looked like they’d all been eaten.
Seeing Ye Yu still silent, Xiao Hong spoke again: "The bathhouse is outside. Please."
This time her voice was much louder,
threaded with a hint of divine power that set the cutting board on the table faintly trembling.
At that sight, Ye Yu started to consider killing the maid and getting out with Luo Shu.
But a heartbeat later, Luo Shu’s voice sounded in his mind again.
"Poison Madam looks soft, but her true strength is unfathomable. Even at my peak, I couldn’t guarantee a solid win against her."
"Don’t think about forcing it. Better to go with the maid to the bathhouse—and slip away quietly."
Ye Yu sent back, "What about you?"
"Don’t worry about me. I’ll figure something out. You make sure you can get out first."
No sooner had Luo Shu’s words fallen than Xiao Hong repeated herself a third time:
"The bathhouse is outside. Please."
Divine power began to churn around her.
A pressure unique to a Heavenly God–level expert swept out.
No question: if Ye Yu didn’t answer now, the next repetition would likely come with a direct attack.
Xiao Hong was like a machine with preset instructions—
cold, relentless, with zero flexibility.
"All right," Ye Yu said. "Lead the way."
Xiao Hong nodded and walked straight for the door.
Her slender back, to Ye Yu’s eyes, was full of openings.
If he struck fast enough, killing her wouldn’t be hard—but doing it without alerting Poison Madam would be.
By Luo Shu’s account, in his heyday he’d been late-stage Divine Lord.
If even he couldn’t claim a sure win over Poison Madam, that meant she was at least at that level.
No—possibly stronger.
After all, these last years Luo Shu had been knocked back to his original form, but she’d never been injured. Taking another step forward wasn’t out of the question.
That was the real reason Ye Yu completely shelved the idea of acting.
Led by Xiao Hong, he arrived outside a separate wooden hut.
A plaque above bore a single character: Wash.
Short and to the point.
Xiao Hong opened the door, gestured for Ye Yu to enter, then lifted her hand to the «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» tie of her robe.
Ye Yu pressed her hand down at once.
"What are you doing?"
Still blank-faced, Xiao Hong answered softly, "Washing our honored guest nice and clean. I’ll do it myself."
"That won’t be necessary. I can wash myself. If you insist on doing it, then I won’t bathe."
Ye Yu’s tone left no room for argument.
Xiao Hong was silent a moment, then lowered her right hand.
Clearly, getting Ye Yu properly clean was the top priority.
Other rules ranked below that task in precedence.
Ye Yu entered the hut alone.
A large tub was already prepared within, steam curling from it—
perfectly set up for a bath.
But Ye Yu had no intention of removing his robe. He began inspecting the surroundings.
There was a window on the north wall—not large, but usable—and it faced the back.
If he was careful enough, he had a very good chance of slipping out unseen.
Should he take the gamble?
A short while later,
Tao Hua swayed up from outside.
Seeing Xiao Hong standing at the bathhouse door, she frowned slightly,
stepped up, and asked, "Why are you out here? Where’s the bear yokai?"
Xiao Hong pointed at the hut and said softly, "He wouldn’t let me wash him. He said if I go in, he won’t bathe."
Tao Hua tapped Xiao Hong on the forehead,
and scolded, "That bear yokai just swallowed a Minglong Dao Pill. I’ve already lined up a buyer. If you let him get away, see how I deal with you."
For the first time, Xiao Hong’s changeless expression showed a flicker of fear.
Tao Hua shot her a glare and started toward the bathhouse—
but the door opened in the next second.
Ye Yu stepped out bright-eyed and asked, with a teasing lilt, "I just heard someone say ‘buyer.’ What buyer?"
"It’s nothing. You must have misheard. By the way—have you decided whether to join our alliance?" Tao Hua smiled bewitchingly, all soft feminine charm.
She always followed one rule: whatever the ingredient, you mustn’t frighten it while it’s alive, or the meat won’t taste good.
So before processing, the ingredient should be in a relaxed mood.
Just like now—Tao Hua kept talking about alliance business with Ye Yu,
while, in reality, Tao Ku had already started prepping dishes.
Ye Yu lifted his right hand and waved it in front of Tao Hua’s eyes.
A ripple passed through her gaze.
She kept up the act and asked lightly, "What are you doing, Fellow Daoist?"
"Nothing—just making sure Poison Madam sees a little more clearly."
At the sound of her title from his mouth, the smile vanished from Tao Hua’s face.
"Imagine that—my alliance hasn’t opened for nearly a million years, and there are still juniors who’ve heard my name. How unexpected."
"But if you know who I am, why aren’t you running?"
