Chapter 44: A Frenzy of Demons, Part 37

He took out the last Bailing Fruit and forced it into her mouth, making her swallow it.

Yet, the Bailing Fruit was no elixir; it was merely a spiritual fruit that could strengthen the body. Whether Xu Xiangyun could survive this ordeal, Shen Xiao had no certainty at all.

Xu Xiangyun, dazed and losing consciousness, murmured, “Daoist, when I used to say I liked you, I was actually lying…”

Her wedding dress could not be undone, so Shen Xiao could only draw a blood-staunching talisman with his bare hands and press it to her body.

The riverbank was scattered with smooth pebbles, and vivid red blood seeped into the cracks between them, trickling in rivulets that formed a tiny stream.

Xu Xiangyun whispered, “But I think, just now… I may have—just a little, a little—liked you…”

Hearing this, Shen Xiao felt a pang of sorrow. He gently stroked her head and said softly, “Silly child, what you like isn’t me. What you yearn for is unfettered freedom, the unrestrained pursuit of justice and vengeance, all those things you see in me and long for. It’s not truly me, the person.”

“Is that so…” Xu Xiangyun’s voice grew weaker, her eyes slowly closing. “So… that’s how it is…”

A wave of utter helplessness surged within Shen Xiao.

He had pursued cultivation to make the world a better place, yet here before him, a vibrant life was slipping towards death, and he was powerless to do anything.

“Master Shen!… Master Shen!…”

In the distance, Xu Qingfeng came running. Seeing Xu Xiangyun lying on the ground, his steps unconsciously slowed, hesitation and dread keeping him from approaching—or perhaps, he was simply afraid to face the truth.

Shen Xiao lifted Xu Xiangyun in his arms and walked up to Xu Qingfeng.

“Master… my, my sister, she…” Xu Qingfeng opened his mouth, words stuck in his throat, his eyes fixed on Xu Xiangyun’s unconscious face.

“Take care of her,” Shen Xiao said, his voice low. “Whether she wakes or not now depends on fate alone.”

Xu Qingfeng silently embraced his sister, his eyes reddening with tears.

Shen Xiao gazed toward the distant inferno.

The fox demon still struggled in the flames, its piercing cries stabbing at the eardrums. The parasitic eyes had sunk beneath its fur, gripping bone and flesh with unyielding force.

Few of the puppets that had encircled the area remained. Lin Yuan could drive back the puppets to spare the fox, but he could not prevent the fox demon from harming itself.

With a desperate twist, it bit at the parasitic eye on its own shoulder, tearing out flesh and fur in a savage act of self-mutilation.

A hideous tearing sound rang out.

The blood that spattered was not red, but black as ink.

The nine-tailed fox let out a heart-rending wail. Once a great demon of a thousand years, it had fallen to such depths. The bloodthirsty demon nature within it was stirred to frenzy. Its eyes glowed crimson, claws shattering boulders. The agony wracking its body made it long to destroy all creation.

Shen Xiao watched, heart quivering with dread.

He knew the signs: the nine-tailed fox was about to descend into madness. The demon cultivator had always underestimated the destiny and fortune that allowed such a great demon to arise in this world. Should the fox demon lose all sense and go berserk, forget about claiming its demon core—even within a hundred miles, nothing would survive its wrath.

He dared not hesitate. Sword in hand, he dashed toward the fox demon. No matter what, he had to stop its rampage—or at the very least, lure it far from the townsfolk.

At that moment, Shi Xianyu arrived astride her goat, panic in her voice. “Brother Shen! What happened? Why is the city on fire?”

Shen Xiao replied succinctly, “The fox demon in the city is actually the magistrate’s wife. Now, the demon cultivator is using dark arts to drive her mad in pursuit of the demon core. If we can’t awaken her reason soon, her demon nature will spiral out of control and unleash a massacre! Burning a city is trivial—wreaking havoc upon the world is the true calamity!”

With those words, he rushed off, sword drawn, with no time for further explanation.

Shi Xianyu stood stunned. The fox demon was Lady Xu? If Lady Xu was a fox demon, then why did she marry? Why did she want to marry off her own daughter? …What utter chaos was this?

“Brother Shen! I’ll go with you!” Shi Xianyu hurried after him.

…

The fire in the city raged ever fiercer.

Houses were consumed, the entire hillside swallowed by flames. The suspension bridge ahead had long since burned away. Shen Xiao leapt across the chasm, but Shi Xianyu had neither the skill nor her goat the ability to follow.

To get across, she would have to circle around.

Truthfully, even if she made it, she would likely be of little help. But with Shen Xiao’s and Lin Yuan’s lives at stake, she could not stand idly by.

She paced anxiously astride her goat, finally reaching a high slope from which she could see clearly: amidst the inferno prowled a massive nine-tailed fox, its shoulder drenched in blood, fiery red fur sticky with gore, black ink-like fluid oozing from its wounds, white spinal bone faintly visible from repeated collisions with stone—a ghastly sight.

The eyes on its back had been smashed to pulp by its own desperate thrashing, but the one atop its head remained. Driven mad by this, the fox demon had demolished houses, snapped trees, and torn to pieces every living thing in sight.

Shi Xianyu saw a dark figure leap onto the fox’s back—it was Lin Yuan! He struck with all his might, cleaving open the parasitic eye on its forehead. Black ink spurted forth, and in the next moment, the out-of-control fox demon threw him into the flames.

Shi Xianyu’s heart wrenched in terror.

He was clearly wounded, and after falling into the sea of fire, could not escape for a time. The fox demon’s massive paw crashed down, houses collapsing like brittle toys. Lin Yuan fought his way clear from the devastation, spitting blood, then suddenly collapsed to his knees.

From afar, Shi Xianyu watched, horrified, clapping her hand over her mouth to stifle a scream that threatened to burst free.

She watched, powerless, as the fox demon’s claws swung toward Lin Yuan again. Shen Xiao, blocked by the flames, could not possibly reach them in time.

But in that instant—at that very second—the fox demon inexplicably froze.

It withdrew its paw, stopping before Lin Yuan.

Had it regained its senses?

Had Lady Xu recognized Lin Yuan?

Shi Xianyu slowly lowered her hand, staring in astonishment at the distant fox demon and Lin Yuan.

At that moment, Shen Xiao finally arrived. The instant he appeared, the fox demon fell into another frenzy, howling and leaping at him.

This was exactly what Shen Xiao wanted: to draw the fox demon away, to prevent further chaos in the city.

But Shi Xianyu was troubled by a question…

Why?

Why did the fox demon recognize Lin Yuan, but not Shen Xiao?

Why, even after they had destroyed the parasitic eyes, did it remain so crazed, attacking friend and foe alike? Was it truly because its demon nature had wholly eclipsed its reason?

Shi Xianyu stared at the fox demon being lured away by Shen Xiao, her thoughts a tangled storm, when suddenly, inspiration struck.

“Could it be…” Her eyes widened. “Ah… I think I know… I know!”

She immediately grabbed her goat’s horns and urged, “Quick! We must find Lord Xu! Only Lord Xu can do this!”