Hu Lijing froze. His entire body seizing as his heart skipped a beat or two upon hearing that disembodied voice ringing inside the depth of his mind, rising above the darkness, it crooned at him.
Tears fell, the shock did nothing in particular to stop the liquid grief raining down his blood stained cheeks.
His hair — tangled and messy with blood — clung to his cheek as he snapped his head to look around himself, for a moment, as he pondered upon the voice, he could not help but wonder—
—Had he finally gone crazy?
"None of that, you pathetic excuse of a fox." The voice grumbled darkly, the undercurrents of mirth stark in it. "It is I who wishes to speak to you, nine-tailed fox. Hear my call and answer, would you want to make a trade?"
Hu Lijing stiffened as the disembodied voice sounded once more, something about the cadence of it set him off, it was a discomforting feeling he could not hope to put in words with his currently meddled mind.
