Chapter 5 - Please Step on Me, Mommy
Visitors had to follow four golden rules of this city.
1. Visitors who cross the front entrance must never look back, or they will fall through the clouds.
2. Male visitors must not meet the eyes of a female resident, or they will be forced to marry the fox. This rule doesn't apply to female visitors.
3. Everybody must wear a fox mask all the time. Violation may result in death.
4. Only gold coins with Ji Clan's patriarch's face can be used as a currency.
Some rules seemed deadly while a certain rule might attract the wrong crowd.
Celestial Foxes had a unique marriage tradition. If both sides were from the fox clan or the bride was from another race, the ceremony proceeded as intended. But if the groom was not from the celestial fox clan, the groom and the bride would spar in public. And if the groom lost, he would become the bride's food, and the marriage would be canceled.
Despite the lore, many players expressed their desire to be eaten. Fu Tong couldn't help but recall the weird side of the game community.
'Don't look. Don't look.'
Fu Tong recited in his mind and proceeded.
As Fu Tong minded his steps, he could sense several presences following him from behind. A busty woman in a revealing dress walked by his side and whispered sultry words. She intentionally adjusted her dress, revealing the upper part of her humanoid body.
"Hey, handsome. I haven't seen you around. Where are you from?"
Her language pattern mimicked those of earthlings. He averted his eyes away from the smooth and round skin. His vision fixated on the blue line as he walked.
A lewd arm came from behind and coiled around his waist. Someone breathed on his neck and pressed her chest against his back.
"Sexy, I have a heaven-grade artifact to sell. I saw you bribe the guards earlier. How about you turn around and look at my artifact? I'll sell you for one coin."
That was a lie. She simply tried to trick him to turn around and fall from heaven. But as Fu Tong tried to walk further, her arm pulled him backward one step.
Two more female residents stood on his path. They bent their knees, lowering their stances. Both women with a fox mask looked up to meet his eyes.
'NOPE! WHERE IS MY BE-GONE-THOTS SPRAY?!'
Fortunately, Fu Tong closed his visual sense, disguising himself as a blind man.
As Fu Tong was blind, the two fox women clicked their tongues in disappointment, but one of them didn't give up.
"Hey, handsome brother. Wanna dual-cultivate with this junior sister? My 18th birthday was yesterday, and I'm in season."
Fu Tong sighed and gently pried the arm around his waist. He could have chased them out, but he was afraid of angering them. He chose to compromise.
Inserting his hands into his pockets, he created two handfuls of gold coins. Pulling the coins out, he dropped them on the floor.
"Please excuse me. My virgin yang is reserved for someone else. You can have these instead."
"KYAAAA!!"
The fox girls released Fu Tong and scrambled to collect the coins.
Seizing the opportunity, Fu Tong opened his third-eye vision and quickened the pace. Taking five steps forward, the presence of the women disappeared.
He let out a sigh once more. The temptation was real in both in-game and reality. Thinking back, Fu Tong laughed as he remembered how lewd players fell for their traps on purpose to get eaten.
10 minutes later, Fu Tong reached the end of the road. He looked ahead, but there were still pedestrians in front of him. Moreover, the area ahead was an open market.
'Here comes the tricky part.'
Celestial foxes loved pranks. Sometimes, they gave false information for fun.
In this case, the guard lied, and Fu Tong was stuck. He couldn't turn around nor proceed blind. If he took a wrong turn, he would die. This was where a player's intelligence and puzzle-solving skills were put to a test… unless they could cheat.
Fu Tong pulled out two handfuls of gold coins once again. After turning off his vision sense, he announced.
"I'm searching for Hu Li Travel Agency! Anybody who can bring me there, I'm giving you these Ji Clan's gold coins!"
All celestial foxes in the city turned heads in unison, but nobody dared to move. The crowd shifted their gaze north and parted ways, kneeling at the approaching person.
A charming white-haired woman in a long crimson hanfu dress marched through the market's busy road. Her entourage carried a paper umbrella over her head and followed her closely. Unlike the other residents, the woman didn't wear a mask. Her long straight hair that reached her lower back and fluffy fur of her tails stood out from the rest of the fox immortals nearby.
Fu Tong heard the footsteps getting closer. The woman's crimson high heels knocked on the cloud tiles, creating a vibrating echo. Every knock caused a thumbing pain in everybody's chest, but Fu Tong felt nothing.
The woman then stopped in front of Fu Tong. She waved her fingers and collected all the gold coins.
"I am the master of the Hu Li Travel Agency. What business do you have with me?"
The lady was Jin Yu. Although she claimed that she was the master of the travel agency, in reality, she was the city lord and also one of the main heroines of the game.
This heroine was a nine-tailed fox immortal, who only appeared during the third chapter in the game. Among all female game characters, the community ranked her third as the top MILF or mother waifu. However, because of her haughtiness, sharp gaze, and sadistic personality, she ranked first in the "Please Step on Me" and "She Can Fix Me" categories.
Fu Tong couldn't afford to admire her dashing fashion sense, gorgeous makeup, pretty face, jade-white skin, big bust, and hourglass figure at the moment. He kept his head down and declared his business.
"I wish to travel across the great sea and join a mortal's cultivation sect by the name Divine Cloud Sect. I need your aid. Name the price."
Fu Tong had gotten the clues from the blue pine forest. Local cultivators considered the forest as a highly dangerous area or a forbidden zone while players deemed it as an ideal early-chapters grinding spot. In addition, the forest was located on the smallest continent, southwest of the mainland, where the Divine Cloud Sect was located.
Jin Yu smirked. Instead of talking about the business, she questioned him.
"Before that, I'm curious. I thought the Ji Clan was very strict with the distribution, and only about 20,000 gold coins was circulating in the mortal world. How did a mortal, without a cultivation base at that, manage to get his hands on the immortal gold coins."
As soon as Jin Yu finished her sentences, all fox immortals discarded their disguises, reverting to their monster fox appearance. All giant fox monsters in the city glared at Fu Tong, exuding killing intent.
Despite facing such a threat, Fu Tong raised his head. Confidently, he muttered.