Married the Second Generation Fox Demon with a Baby in a Flash Marriage - Chapter 17

The person seeking out Hu Mengmeng was none other than Tong Qiao, the Vice President of the Martial Arts Club.

Previously, Hu Mengmeng hadn’t given the Martial Arts Club a single thought. However, ever since her “brief spring breeze” with that demon hunter, she had lived with a constant sense of impending doom. If she accidentally let her fox tail slip and got caught, she’d be hunted, cornered, and skewered by demon hunters—she might even end up as a fur coat.

The mere sight of that sword was terrifying enough, let alone high-tech gadgets like helicopters. It was like those movies where mercenaries showed up and—slash—it was game over.

Now that she had thinned down, her body felt much lighter, and exercise didn’t seem quite so repulsive anymore. Therefore, when Tong Qiao mentioned the club, Hu Mengmeng found herself genuinely interested.

The memories she had unlocked only contained fox demon instincts and strange secret arts—mostly focused on pleasure and bewitching people. Aside from Charm, she had no survival skills, let alone human combat techniques.

If this Martial Arts Club actually had some substance to it, she wanted to join and learn something, even if Lin Yuanya wasn’t there. Otherwise, if she got snatched away, her mother would be left all alone—it was bad enough her fox mother had already been taken!

“Mengmeng, the Martial Arts Club! That’s amazing!” Zhao Qingqing was more excited than Hu Mengmeng. The Martial Arts Club was the hardest organization to get into at Fengcheng University, with a brutal screening process. Out of hundreds of freshmen applicants this year, only a dozen or so were recruited. Yet, Hu Mengmeng had been personally invited to join.

“The Martial Arts Club? Do they actually teach martial arts? It’s not just for show, is it?” Hu Mengmeng asked.

“Our club has won the National Collegiate Martial Arts League three years in a row. We have members in the SWAT teams and the Provincial Games. Do you think that sounds like it’s just for show?” Tong Qiao replied with a confident smile.

“Why are you asking me to join? Do I look like I have talent?” Hu Mengmeng asked another question, wondering if the girl had sensed her fox spirit identity. That should be impossible, right?

“Of course you have talent. Look at your height, the length of your legs, your proportions, and your bone structure—they’re all perfectly suited. If you agree to join, you’ll have to practice hard, or you’ll be disqualified. All new members have a one-month observation period.”

“Okay, I’ll join. What’s the procedure?”

“We’re out of time for the formal drive, but here’s the form. Fill it out and add me on WeChat. I’ll collect it later. Submitting the form makes you an official member. I’ll let you know about the activity times, training grounds, and daily hours then,” Tong Qiao said with a grin.

The two exchanged WeChat info. Hu Mengmeng took the form and went to grab breakfast with Zhao Qingqing before their morning lecture.

Tong Qiao watched Hu Mengmeng leave, her eyes crinkling with satisfaction.

What Hu Mengmeng didn’t know was that even though she had masked her demonic aura and suppressed her bloodline, her body was still tinged with Spiritual Qi.

Tong Qiao was thrilled. Finding a recruit with spiritual energy would definitely make Ye Xinyu happy.

Ye Xinyu’s reason for running the Martial Arts Club wasn’t as simple as promoting martial arts; she was searching for talented individuals capable of absorbing spiritual energy to expand the ranks of demon hunters.

In the old days, demon-hunting families were insular, guarding their secret arts with extreme secrecy. It was the same during Ye Xinyu’s grandfather’s generation. Now, the direct Ye line only consisted of the grandfather and Ye Xinyu.

A single tree cannot make a forest. Relying on Ye Xinyu alone made it too difficult to sustain the family. Ever since she entered university and gradually took the reins of the Ye family, she had begun searching for such talents. Beyond the university club, she had also established schools and security companies.

The chosen recruits were first taught the basic methods of absorbing spiritual energy; their continued training depended on their talent and character. However, because they had started late, there weren’t many people ready for duty yet.

“Xinyu, are you coming to the new member orientation? There are a few promising ones among the recruits,” Tong Qiao said into her phone once she reached a quiet spot. Her voice softened, and her gaze grew warm.

“Mm. Thank you for your hard work. I still have some things to handle here, but if I finish in time, I’ll definitely go,” Ye Xinyu’s voice replied from the other end.

“That’s good. Please stay safe. If you need my help with anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

“I know. Binhe Avenue isn’t safe lately. Warn the others—no morning exercises or night runs over there. And try to avoid swimming at night,” Ye Xinyu instructed.

Tong Qiao nodded repeatedly. Even after hanging up, her eyes were still shining.

Hu Mengmeng arrived at the classroom. Taking advantage of the time before class officially started, she finished filling out the form.

The first class was Advanced Mathematics.

Hu Mengmeng was using half of her concentration to suppress her bloodline, and combined with her poor academic foundation, the lecture sounded like complete gibberish to her.

Before she knew it, two periods had passed.

Looking at the abstract doodles she had drawn in her textbook with a ballpoint pen, Hu Mengmeng clutched her hair in frustration. She had promised Su Mingli she would study hard, yet here she was, acting like this in the very first class!

She had no classes for the next two periods. The strain of suppressing her bloodline was making her dizzy; she wanted to head back the moment she stepped out of the teaching building, but after a second thought, she sent Tong Qiao a message, met her at an agreed-upon spot, and handed over her registration form.

“I’ll add you to the club group. For now, it’s just a group for new members. Once you become an official member in a month, I’ll pull you into the main group—the owner of that group is our President Ye!” Tong Qiao said as she took the form.

“Senior Tong, will someone actually teach us if we join the Martial Arts Club?” Hu Mengmeng asked. She wasn’t particularly interested in this “President Ye”; she only cared about whether she could learn some real skills.

“Of course. We have a national martial arts champion as a coach, and President Ye comes to teach whenever she has time. There are weekly training sessions where seniors lead the drills, and we have regular sparring matches to select competitors. It’s all real combat,” Tong Qiao explained. As for the deeper details—like teaching how to absorb spiritual energy—that would have to wait until she passed the observation period and became an official member.

Hearing this, Hu Mengmeng felt a flicker of hope regarding the club.

After a brief exchange, they went their separate ways. Hu Mengmeng glanced at her phone; Lin Yuanya’s account was in the WeChat group too. She was a member as well.

Hu Mengmeng still remembered everything from her childhood. Even though Lin Yuanya had treated her poorly recently, she didn’t hate her. I’ve improved a lot now; surely Xiaoya won’t look down on me anymore? Xiaoya used to be so, so good!

With a slightly melancholic sigh, Hu Mengmeng quickly shouldered her backpack and headed back to her place.

The very first thing she did upon arriving home was lock the door and release the bloodline suppression. This “clumsy method” was effectively a reversal of her natural flow, and it definitely came at a price. When suppressed for a long time, she could feel the fox spirit bloodline throbbing, resisting as if it were alive, requiring more effort to keep contained.

Exhaling a long breath of relief, she changed into her slippers, sat down, and drank a glass of water. Her mind felt significantly clearer. On a whim, she pulled the Advanced Mathematics textbook out of her bag.

She focused her attention on the book again. This time, the “heavenly script” from earlier actually began to make sense. Without her attention being divided, and with the integration of the fox spirit bloodline, her memory had improved significantly. She could remember anything she read once; though some parts remained difficult due to her weak foundation, she looked up the roots of those problems on her phone. Before long, the first lesson of Advanced Math felt crystal clear, and she easily finished the homework the teacher had assigned.

Over the past few days, Hu Mengmeng had been helping Su Mingli, and she usually went straight to sleep after releasing the suppression at home. She hadn’t expected that her mind would be so sharp in this state. She realized she could use this time to study and boost her efficiency.

She sat down and pre-studied the afternoon’s lessons, even memorizing the articles in her English textbook. She had never found studying so effortless before. It felt… so easy!

The old Hu Mengmeng spent almost all her time studying—aside from eating—but no matter how hard she tried, her grades were poor. Her memory and comprehension were lacking, as if she were “missing a gear.” Now, it was as if her meridians had been cleared; she had gone from walking on foot to flying down a highway.

She studied with intense focus until past noon when Su Mingli called, asking her to come pick up food. Her mother had made braised pork rice for her at the shop. Su Mingli had already started work but strictly forbade Hu Mengmeng from helping on weekdays. She was told to use her time to study—otherwise, her mother would “break her legs.”

Hu Mengmeng made a trip to the shop, brought the rice back, and continued studying. This pace made her feel like she was actually worthy of the food her mother prepared.

When Su Mingli returned after closing the shop that evening and saw Hu Mengmeng reading, she was greatly relieved. It didn’t matter how much she learned, as long as she was trying.

The cost of living and rent in Fengcheng were high, but since opening, the gross income had already exceeded that of their small shop in Taolin County. Su Mingli felt the hard work was worth it.

With her mother handling the logistics, Hu Mengmeng spent the next few days studying her freshman textbooks as soon as she got home. Her efficiency and concentration were so high that she finished a quarter of the semester’s curriculum in a single week.

When the weekend arrived, Hu Mengmeng helped Su Mingli in the morning, and if there were delivery orders, she rode her small electric scooter to drop them off.

At around 7:00 PM on Saturday, while heading back from a delivery, she passed by Binhe Avenue and spotted a familiar figure: it was Lin Yuanya.

She was wearing a pink tiered gauze dress and a dark shawl. The wind from the river caught her clothes, making them flutter; she looked like a piece of scenery. The light was dim, and there were guardrails and warning signs posted along Binhe Avenue.

Hu Mengmeng didn’t know what Lin Yuanya was doing there, but she slowed down. She instinctively felt that something was lurking in the seemingly calm river—it was an unsettling feeling.

On the other side, Lin Yuanya’s eyes were fixed only on Ye Xinyu, who was “strolling” along the riverbank. She was excited; after asking many people, she had learned that Ye Xinyu had been frequenting Binhe Avenue lately, and today she had finally run into her.

Lin Yuanya walked down the steps, ignoring the yellow caution tape blocking the way, and headed straight toward Ye Xinyu.