Yan Hui felt that the ghost of the three-tailed fox demon seemed off.
She didn't dare to be careless, so she spent the entire afternoon looking for a seldom frequented willow grove. She set up a spell array in the grove.
Yan Hui sat in the middle of the spell array. She rubbed her hands together: "You stand watch at the border of the spell array. If you see the fox demon about to possess my body, then immediately kick away that rock by your side. Be fast. The fox demon's ghost seems like a malicious spirit now. If I get possessed by her, then we both will suffer."
"I'm not as slow as you." Tian Yao was clearly getting annoyed by Yan Hui's repeated warnings. "Cast your spell."
Yan Hui's mouth twitched, but she didn't continue arguing with him. She only closed her eyes and quickly recited a secret chant. Hardly any time had passed when a black aura started to materialize. It was like the fires of purgatory were scorching the earth.
Tian Yao couldn't see the black aura, but he could feel the temperature suddenly drop all around him.
Yan Hui was so scared by the black aura that she didn't want to continue the spell anymore. This vicious feeling....she feared the fox demon was already an evil spirit.
Right when Yan Hui started to internally quake in fear and give up, the fox demon suddenly appeared.
The fox demon's translucent soul floated in mid-air. Her body was dimly lit with a red glow. Her hair was loose and disheveled; her face was deathly pale and haggard. However, the demon's eyes were lit with a vaguely murderous red light. Yan Hui couldn't help swallowing in fear at the sight.
In this world, the reincarnation cycle was freely entered. Those with a formidable enough will to remain as a ghost numbered less than one in one thousand. Out of those ghosts, the ones that become malicious spirits were less than one in ten thousand. In her life, Yan Hui had met many ghosts, young to old. Some wailed and grieved. Some enjoyed pranking the living. But she had never met a ghost that could strike fear in a heart without a single word before.
She glanced at Tian Yao. It was a hint for him to be prepared at any moment to kick away the stone holding together the spell array.
Tian Yao naturally didn't need her hint. From the moment the three-tailed fox demon appeared, his foot had been placed right next to the stone.
Although some would call Tian Yao a malicious spirit, he had never even seen a ghost before. When the three-tailed fox demon appeared, he simply only felt a bad feeling. The ghost's aura was extremely ill-omened.
The fox demon ignored Tian Yao and fixed her gaze on Yan Hui. She didn't say a single word nor move a single muscle.
Yan Hui lightly coughed twice. She cautiously probed: "How about...taking a seat first?"
The fox demon didn't move.
Yan Hui didn't get a satisfactory response. She rubbed her nose: "Um then, I called you out today because I wanted to talk to you about your daugh....."
Yan Hui hadn't finished speaking when an evil wind assaulted her senses. The fox demon had suddenly rushed in front of Yan Hui's face. The demon's black eyes were tinged with red. Her fiery gaze hardened and forcefully pinned down Yan Hui. Her lips were a dark blue, almost black. The demon spat out three ominous words: "Go save her."
"What the Hell!" Yan Hui was so scared that she clutched her heart and started to fall backwards.
Tian Yao wanted to kick the stone when he saw Yan Hui fall back. However, still clutching her chest, she held out her other hand to stop him: "Wait, wait, wait."
The fox demon didn't take advantage of the moment to possess Yan Hui. Looks like she wanted to chat too. Yan Hui planned to seize this moment to strike a connection.
Yan Hui scooted around on her butt a little bit, trying to put some distance between her and the fox demon. It was only when Yan Hui calmed down did she said: "Older sister." Yan Hui addressed the fox demon as such to indicate respect. "Look, before you wanted me to save your daughter. And I went to save her, right? Then I was found out by Ling Fei. You saw that with your very own eyes in that prison. I tried very hard to save your daughter, but in the end, you know I didn't..."
Tian Yao watched Yan Hui chatter about what happened with the fox demon. That look on her face was identical to the ones worn by the gossipy aunts and uncles in Tong Lou Village...
It seems like she had her own methods to deal with difficult ghosts...
"My abilities only go so far. This matter of yours is difficult for me. Furthermore, I'm no longer part of Chen Xing Mountain. There's no way I can go to Chen Xing Mountain to save your daughter now....."
"She's not at Chen Xing Mountain." The fox demon's voice was hoarse. Her emotions were more stable than before. Her black aura was also starting to calm down.
Yan Hui was startled: "Then where is she?"
"Yong Zhou City."
Yong Zhou City...that wasn't too far from here...
Yan Hui and Tian Yao exchanged a look. Yan Hui silently rubbed her chin and said: "Then you followed your daughter all the way to Yong Zhou City?"
The fox demon nodded.
No wonder, Yan Hui thought to herself. When she was at Tong Lou Village, she didn't have sleep paralysis. Turns out it was because the fox demon hadn't found her. Now, she was here with Tian Yao, and it was close to Yong Zhou City. That's why the fox demon was able to find her again.
This was fate...
Yan Hui sighed internally. Her horoscope was terrible - so terrible.
"Xiao Lu...isn't doing well." The fox demon said with anguish. Her terrifying eyes started to mist. A blood drop rolled from her eyes and traced down her face. "I can't protect her. Help me save her again. She's still young..."
Yan Hui was silent, but she instantly followed up with a question: "How is she at Yong Zhou City? After Chen Xing Mountain's people let Bai Xiao Lu off, was she captured by some other cultivation sect?"
"Chen Xing Mountain's people....." When the fox demon said those words, it seemed like she remembered a horrifying event. She started to tremble and covered her face. There was so much anger. "They...they sold Xiao Lu to merchants in Yong Zhou City."
Yan Hui was slightly startled. She always knew all sects did some business transactions in order to pay for the sect's expenses. Some transactions were done properly; some under the table. She was only a minor disciple at Chen Xing Mountain. She hadn't been in contact with the areas the shifus and older generations dealt with. So she never knew Chen Xing Mountain would actually....
Be in the demon trade.
Off to the side, Tian Yao frowned. He interjected in: "Why would people buy demons?"
Yan Hui also thought it was strange. Normally, people who weren't cultivators couldn't get away from demons fast enough. Why would they be involved in such a dangerous business?
The trembling fox demon remained silent for a while. Her blackening hands slowly slipped down from her face. Her terrifying eyes revealed her panicked expression: "They take the blood of fox demons and concoct it into a Charm Fragrance. When the scent is rubbed onto a person, it will make people go crazy."
Yan Hui and Tian Yao were both silent. The difference was that Yan Hui was shocked while Tian Yao became contemplative.
"Wait..." Yan Hui rubbed her temples. She didn't dare believe what she heard and asked again: "I don't understand. They take fox demon blood and turn it into what?"
"Charm Fragrance," said the fox demon. "When a female puts it on herself, it'll make men go crazy for her. The reverse is also true for men." The fox demon's fingers tightened, almost ripping the skin on her face. "The blood of nine fox demons can be concocted into one small bottle of Charm Fragrance. Merchants sell it at a sky-high price. However the imperial nobility practically trip over each other trying to buy it."
Yan Hui blinked and thought for a few moments: "Is it possible you're wrong? How can there be such a method in this word? Human blood, demon blood. It's all just blood. Mix it with water and boil it in a pan. What you concoct will just be blood foam. Ah...or maybe blood tofu. Soft, tasty texture. It's not bad..."
"I'm not wrong." The fox demon shook her head. "I was drained dry for the fragrance. I died in Yong Zhou City. I died right there..."
Yan Hui fell silent.
"When the cultivation sects capture a fox demon, they all remove our neidan, our cultivation, before shipping us off. It leaves us powerless to rebel. After the merchants get us, they use a secret artifact on us daily to suck out the spirituality in our bodies. After 49 days, our spirituality is gone. They take our blood and concoct it with our spirituality to make the fragrance." When the fox demon got to this point, she started to get agitated again. The black aura around her body sharply intensified, and her hair started to billow. Her eyes began to redden. The fox demon spat out:
"Every bottle of the fragrance is alive. It's filled with our lives. They take our blood and rub it on their bodies to attract other people. They can't get enough of it. They are so arrogant, showing off how they stripped our lives away. You xian and Dao cultivators say demons are loathsome. But these people are the real loathsome ones. You cultivators are accessories to this. You are also loathsome!"
The fox demon's nails rapidly started to grow: "You should all join me in hell!" Her voice was shrill. It looked like she was losing control.
Yan Hui trembled in fear. She yelled out toward Tian Yao: "Kick it!"
Tian Yao didn't hesitate. He immediately kicked the stone out of the spell array.
The three-tailed fox demon's body instantly disappeared. Yan Hui frantically ran out of the spell array. The moment she exited the array, it was like the ground inside of the array exploded. Dirt flew everywhere. It took a while before the dust settled.
Tian Yao looked over at the slightly shell-shocked Yan Hui: "Did she leave?"
Yan Hui absently responded: "She should be back at Yong Zhou City." She used her foot to smooth over the lines drawn in the dirt to create the spell array. She said, "Let's go back to the town. The negative aura in this willow grove is too strong." After saying so, Yan Hui walked toward the town in a daze. Tian Yao silently followed along.
To tell the truth, Yan Hui dare didn't believe what she heard just now. Or in other words, she didn't want to believe.
That xian sects would actually be in this kind of business. That the leader of the sects would actually permit this kind of business. That Ling Xiao....would actually permit it...
Yan Hui thought back to the far past. She was still young when she met Ling Xiao. While she followed him back to Chen Xing Mountain, Ling Xiao killed a demon that ambushed a village. His fluttering white clothes made him look like a xian descending from the Heavens. The sight made Yan Hui want to kowtow in reverence. She worshiped Ling Xiao, admired Ling Xiao. She wanted to be like Ling Xiao, having the strength to kill demons. However, Ling Xiao told her: "Don't have a thirst to kill nor want to kill. Even if a demon is wicked, when you kill the demon, you still must have mercy in your heart."
Even when you kill, you must be merciful. Yan Hui always remembered those words.
But now, Ling Xiao actually tolerated such merciless and cruel business happening right under his nose.
Had she been wrong about her shifu all these years? Or had he slowly changed over the years....
The midday sun fiercely beat down on the busy pedestrian street. However, Yan Hui only felt cold all over. They remained in silence all the way back to the inn. Yan Hui silently sat by the desk for two hours. Then she slapped the desk: "I have to save Bai Xiao Lu. I have to investigate which sects are in the business. I have to know..."
Yan Hui had to know if Ling Xiao gave his approval for the business.
Tian Yao heard her and glanced over: "That's good. I'm also very interested in this matter."
Yan Hui turned her head to look at him and saw that he had already finished packing. It seemed like he was ready to leave immediately. Yan Hui asked: "You want to bear the responsibility for demons, to save them?" Yan Hui nodded: "You are a warm-hearted demon."
Tian Yao side-eyed her: "No, I only want to retrieve what's mine."
Yan Hui blinked: "What's that?"
"The fox demon said, 'the merchants have an artifact that can absorb spirituality'." Tian Yao's eye had a cold light, "49 days to completely absorb ten fox demon's spirituality. Aside from my dragon horns, I can't think of any other magical item with that ability at the moment."
Yan Hui was stumped. It was a few moments before she remembered the folktale, dragon horns are a peerless artifact when it comes to absorbing essence and vitality.
If those merchants are using Tian Yao's horns...
Then this situation was becoming even more complex.
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Wahhhhh, another body part! Whoop whoop! Never thought I'd be happy about finding body parts lol