Yan Hui didn't know what Tian Yao was thinking when she was talking with the fox demons' souls. She just talked to the head fox demon: "I want you guys to help. Are you willing or not?"
The fox demon didn't even hesitate. She looked right at Yan Hui: "What do you want us to do?"
The eyes of every fox demon were filled with raging hate. It was like that hate could consume their souls.
Yan Hui pointed at Tian Yao, who was standing outside the array. "I want you all to shield me and him."
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Midnight.
The bustling Yong Zhou City finally settled down.
However, the activity within Heavenly Fragrance hadn't died down yet. The courtyard was lit with lanterns, illuminating the area with a dull yellow. The fox demons were imprisoned on a flat patch of ground. Each fox demon was imprisoned in their own metal cage. The surrounding were free from any cover. If a fox demon were to stick out a leg, the patrolling xian disciples would be able to see.
The xian disciples would whack the sides of the metal cage: "Why are you moving around? Do you want to go reincarnate?!"
The fox demon could only withdraw their leg back within the cage and curl up into a ball, waiting for their time to die.
That empty space was filled with nothing but stifling fear.
Suddenly, a group of people wearing different clothes than the disciples walked in. The fox demons in the cages immediately became even more scared. They all knew the arrival of these people meant another fox demon would be taken away tonight.
Bai Xiao Lu was huddled up in the corner of her cage. She looked at the three people approaching her direction with great fear. The people ended up standing in front of the cage next to her.
"Unlock it," ordered the head person. Another person immediately took out the right key from a large rings of keys. The key was inserted into the lock. Bai Xiao Lu saw the eyes of the fox demon next to her widen, lips turning pale. The fox demon was so terrified, his body started to spasm.
When the fox demon was grabbed by the people, Bai Xiao Lu buried her head in her arms. She couldn't bear to look anymore.
"Mother, mother..." She didn't know how many times she had cried out in her mind, but there was no response.
Suddenly, a breeze blew through the leveled area. It brought an unusual chill into the prison area. Bai Xiao Lu, whose head was still buried, suddenly heard clanging from the cages. It was this small wind that caused the cage doors to rattle.
Every single cage door rattled, filling the area with clanging.
The xian disciples only thought this was strange. They looked around but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The fox demons here had their neidan removed. They didn't even have a wisp of demonic aura.
However, the cage doors continued to rattle. The noise was getting louder and louder. It was like an invisible thing, filled with wrath from another world, was continuously yanking on the doors.
The xian disciples were terrified. For a moment, there was chaos. They looked around in panic, not knowing what was haunting them.
In their alarm, no one noticed two disciples had already been knocked out in a dark corner. They were stripped out of their clothes, stuffed into a sack, and left in that corner.
Yan Hui and Tian Yao switched into the disciples' clothes. They snuck into the disciples' midst and pretended to be panicked. Shuffled around the cages, Yan Hui looked all around for Bai Xiao Lu.
Tian Yao focused hard on sensing his dragon horns' aura.
"I saw Bai Xiao Lu." Yan Hui softly said, "What about your horns? Are they here?"
Tian Yao shook his head. He closed his eyes. It was like he was recalling a map of the layout. He said: "If we go further in and pass through three courtyards, my horns are placed inside a room."
Yan Hui was slightly surprised: "Why does it seem like you've been here before?"
"I can sense them." Tian You steadily continued, "They are part of me."
The Heart Protection Scale in her heart was part of him too. Yan Hui pursed her lips. She turned around: "In a moment, I'll take the lead and harass these disciples. You pretend to panic and run off to get help. Some fox demon souls will follow you. When you've found your horns, they'll do the same as they did here and cover for you. You just have to focus on getting your horns. When you get them, leave first. Don't worry about me. I'll stay here and release the fox demons. Leading them will be a bit difficult."
Tiao Yao raised an eyebrow: "You want to let all of them go?"
"Might as well."
Done speaking, Yan Hui walked a step toward Bai Xiao Lu and loudly yelled: "It's...it's a ghost!" With that shout, it made the already terrified people tremble further in fear.
Some of them also yelled out: "It's the ghosts of the fox demons! They returned!"
Yan Hui snuck in another sentence: "They're coming after our lives!"
In a split second, everyone panicked. Some frantically ran outside to escape.
Yan Hui sent him a look as a signal. But when she saw Tian Yao staring back, her look turned flirtatious.
Tian Yao: "..."
Yan Hui's mind snapped back: "..." She covered her face, "Quickly go."
She hadn't finished when they suddenly felt a cool breeze slowly waft over.
Tian Yao's expression suddenly changed, and his body stiffened in place. He rigidly looked off into the distance. Yan Hui glanced at him. She didn't understand why he looked like he had been struck dumb by lightning. She was just about to ask when she saw a clear light from a spell descend from the sky.
It was like moonlight piercing through the dark clouds, spilling onto the ground. It dispersed the turbid night.
The clanging sounds from the cages immediately stopped. Yan Hui heard the fox demon souls start to shriek like they had been hit.
Not a moment later, not a single fox demon soul was seen around the leveled ground.
Yan Hui was shocked. What kind of person did it...
Yan Hui looked up and saw a woman dressed in white cotton clothes. It was like the women had just stepped down from the moon. Sleeves fluttering in a xian wind, hair curled, limpid eyes with a natural cold look. Her feet touched the ground, yet not a single speck of dust was disturbed.
Su Ying...Zhenren Su Ying!
Yan Hui was stunned. Why?! Why was she in a place like this?!
After her shock, she subconsciously looked to her side and saw Tian Yao staring at Zhenren Su Ying. His eyes, filled with emotion, locked on to her. There was indescribable anger, shock, and hatred.
Yan Hui couldn't even imagine how Tian Yao felt about being caught unawares and meeting Su Ying here. Her first thought was to prevent Su Ying from seeing Tian Yao in any case.
It was like Tian Yao's soul had left. He stared fixedly at Su Ying, eyes slowly turning red. It looked like he was itching to throw himself forward and maul Su Ying to death.
Yan Hui inwardly complained, this situation was so cruel! If Tian Yao went forward, the one to be mauled to death would be him!
And maybe her too!
While Yan Hui was anxiously thinking about the situation, Tian Yao stepped forward. It was like an arrow, just about to be shot forward.
Yan Hui grabbed his hand and blocked him. She turned and looked at him. Apparently, the Fox Charm Fragrance didn't work on her in life-or-death situations. The halo around his head had disappeared. Yan Hui fixed her eyes on him and shook her head. Her eyes asked five words: "Do you want to die?"
Do you want to die? Do you want to die? Rush out like that, do you want to die a wretched death?
Tian Yao had no choice. He couldn't struggle free from Yan Hui. Thus, he finally shifted his gaze away from Su Ying and onto Yan Hui.
Four eyes met. This time, Yan Hui could read into Tian Yao's eyes. It was so cold, like an icy needle stabbing into her bones. Needle after needle stabbing into her skin. The more the needles stabbed, the deeper it became until it felt like they were entering her bones.
Yan Hui had no choice but to endure. Even the headstrong, unruly her was pinned down by Tian Yao's gaze.
This really was a true Millennium Dragon and not a fake.
It took up to this moment for Yan Hui to realize Tian Yao had never truly been angry before.
And right now was his hatred toward Su Ying that he hadn't suppressed in time. That was why she felt it, nothing more.
But even if it was like that, his gaze still stabbed her and shocked her. However, she couldn't let him rush out.
Thus, Yan Hui looked away from him but still steadily blocking him. She continued to grasp his hand without releasing the slightest bit of pressure.
She didn't know how Tian Yao, who was behind her, would react. However, little by little, the stabbing chill at the back of her head began to recede...
It looked like Tian Yao was starting to calm down.
The two of them communicated with each other in a single glance. It wasn't an obvious movement. Su Ying was far from them right now. Under the cover of night and dressed in disciple clothes, Yan Hui and Tian Yao hadn't been discovered yet.
Su Ying walked past several cages and stood in the middle of the leveled ground. She briefly looked over the disciples assembled there: "Trifling, pranking little demons actually caused a group of xian disciples to lose their heads in panic. Unacceptable." When she spoke, her tone was like ice.
When she heard Su Ying's voice, Yan Hui felt her hand suddenly start to hurt. She looked down. It turned out to be Tian Yao tightly gripping her hand. His joints were white with force.
Fine....squeezing her hand was better than rushing out and throwing away his life.
Yan Hui just gritted her teeth and endured.
"Zhen...zhenren is right in her criticism."
With some disciples agreeing with Su Ying, everyone bowed down with hands clasped in front, one right after another.
Seeing everyone greeting Su Ying like that, Yan Hui became extremely anxious. Everyone bowed at their waist. If Tian Yao didn't bow and continued to blankly stare at Su Ying, then they were bound to...
Her hand was free. Tian Yao had let go of Yan Hui. Yan Hui was stunned. In the moments where she didn't manage to grab his hand back, her heart thudded. Then she saw Tian Yao bowing down like the other disciples toward Su Ying. His head hung down.
Yan Hui looked at his bent spine and remembered what he told her before. He loved a person who pulled out his tendons and skinned him. She felt a flash of pain in her heart. It was like the Fox Demon Charm Fragrance had come back and also like the Heart Protection Scale in her heart also reacted. In that split second, Yan Hui could feel Tian Yao's unwillingness, resentment, and the twenty years that he silently endured and couldn't speak of...
Now, helpless and without a choice, he had to bow down in front of the person he once loved and now hated.
Yan Hui felt her heart throb in pain and ache.
Reality can be so cruel sometimes.
Yan Hui raised her hand, bent her waist, and greeted Su Ying. She copied what the other disciples did: "Zhenren is right in her criticism."
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Dun dun dun dunnnnnnnnnn
The villain has appeared!!!