73 - The Cannon Fodder is Prepared to Divorce

After several rounds of drinks, Yue Bai and Ji Wu Nian decided to take their leave, mentioning vaguely when they might leave. Cong Sheng and Su Yang did not insist on keeping them, merely telling them to come back anytime they wished, as the room would remain available for them. Cong Sheng pulled Ji Wu Nian aside and whispered in her ear, “Feel free to use anything in the cabinet, I replace them with new stuff every time.” Ji Wu Nian, embarrassed to admit that she had nearly used one on herself, gave Cong Sheng a few knowing glances, pretending to be on the same page. Hours past midnight, Ji Wu Nian led Yue Bai into the dense forest, heading back towards the vicinity of the demon market. Little demons do not need sleep, and the demon market is almost always open, with some businesses becoming even more bustling at night. Ji Wu Nian and Yue Bai perched in a tree, watching the lively scene from a distance. Though not as grand as a human city, it had its own charm. "Are you really coming with me?" Ji Wu Nian rested her hand on the tree trunk, feeling somewhat uneasy. "I'm going to kill someone." “…If you're going to kill someone, why are you hesitating?” Jiu Yi mocked. “Be straightforward! Go!” This system increasingly seemed to scorn the target it had assigned to Yue Bai. Yue Bai chose to ignore it, unsure of what to say. “You do your killing,” Yue Bai's eyes remained on the bright lights of the demon market. “I'll just watch.” If she moved quickly, she might even have time to wander around later. Seeing the look in her eyes, Ji Wu Nian seemed to understand Yue Bai's intent and sighed. She moved forward, taking Yue Bai's hand and blinking at her. “Why don't you go stroll around the demon market first? I'll come find you later.” Though Yue Bai liked this suggestion, she prided herself on being responsible and understanding. She let her form dissipate until it scattered like stardust before Ji Wu Nian's eyes. "Just pretend I’m not here." True enough, Ji Wu Nian could no longer see her. She looked around, “Yue Bai, Yue Bai?” "You do your business, I won't interfere." The message came through clearly, and Ji Wu Nian caught sight of a faint glimpse of her from the corner of her eye. Yue Bai, having concealed herself, had moved far away. In the dense forest, Ji Wu Nian nearly lost her trace. ...Isn't this cloaking in plain sight? Ji Wu Nian couldn't understand why Yue Bai was just following her without asking any questions. It seemed like she was interested, yet not interested, merely an observer, indifferent to everything else. The red fox lowered her head with a bitter smile, realizing she had no way to deal with Yue Bai. But she still had to do what she came to do. The six-tailed fox leapt deeper into the mountain forest. *** “…Why don't you just ask her?” Jiu Yi was baffled by Yue Bai’s aloofness. “Are you addicted to being a stalker?” “She wouldn't say even if I asked.” And if she did, it wouldn't be the truth. Ji Wu Nian was a little trickster. No matter how close and affectionate they got, the final barrier of her heart never came down. Watching the red-clad figure vanish into the distance, Yue Bai thought: rather than being deceived, I’d rather observe and discover for myself. With a flick of her hand, she drew a teleportation circle, reaching Song Ze’s location before Ji Wu Nian. The group of four from earlier were gathered around a bonfire. Two younger disciples were meditating, while Song Ze and another man were tending the fire with sticks, looking quite at ease. "Brother Song," one disciple fanned the flames with his hand, "How long do we have to stay here in this godforsaken place?" "Don't be so impatient," Song Ze smiled lightly. "Look at those two fox demons we saw today, one a master, the other a paragon. They must be big shots. Perhaps they’ve learned of our intent to hunt the three-tailed fox and came specifically to obstruct us..." Jiu Yi, listening in, was incredulous. "Is their plan based on speculation? Are they crazy?" "Demon kind is truly despicable," the disciple fumed with righteous indignation. "So many families in Jiangning were slaughtered..." Song Ze shook his head. “Now that we’ve found the trace of that demon fox, if the demon emperor doesn’t hand her over, there’s not much we can do for now… justice is hard to come by.” “That Ling Zhou…” the disciple sighed, “The demon world sure knows how to hide people…” He looked at the flickering fire, his tone shifting. “But honestly, those two foxes we saw earlier were really beautiful, especially the white one…” Song Ze chuckled, a hint of longing in his eyes. “To be given the title of paragon, they must be nine-tailed celestial foxes, naturally gorgeous…” Just then, Yue Bai read his sea of consciousness, and the emerging images… were exceedingly inappropriate. Even Jiu Yi wanted to cringe. “What the hell?” Not only inappropriate but perverse, mingled with a haughty sense of debasement. Jiu Yi concluded, "An eyesore." And the next thought, "Really didn’t see that coming." To think someone seemingly so gentle could harbor such thoughts; and the fact that he’d actually acted on such vile impulses with lesser demons… Jiu Yi was truly taken aback. Yue Bai, however, was not too surprised. Such depraved hypocrites were everywhere, impossible to eradicate fully. Yet this particular hypocrite appeared unconnected to Ji Wu Nian. Why had she chosen him as her target? Just as she thought this, a sudden gust of wind arose, accompanied by a sharp ring. Su Qin. Yue Bai drifted further away, her eyes still fixed on the clearing. A white flash zoomed past, catching the meditating disciples unawares, killing them as blood splattered into the fire, dimming and flaring intermittently. The two awake individuals reacted quickly. Song Ze's sword flashed urgently, barely deflecting the oncoming white light. The weapon spun and returned, hovering above the campfire, suspended by the zither's music. “Brother! What is this?” The duo stood on edge, not daring to relax an iota. Song Ze gritted his teeth. “A zither sword, it’s Ling Zhou.” Yue Bai found Ji Wu Nian and settled on a distant tree. Ji Wu Nian sat cross-legged on a branch, the zither resting on her lap, tail hanging down behind, her fingers plucking the strings softly, the zither’s tune echoing harmoniously. The sword vibrated with each note, flickering the flames, and stirring the duo’s hearts. Song Ze moved first, prompting the tune’s tempo to quicken. The sword darted forward but was intercepted by Song Ze’s cross-guard. Cracks formed along the long sword’s length; Song Ze pushed his junior disciple away, saying, “You go first!” The disciple dare not linger. Sword drawn, he prepared to flee. However, the zither’s swiftness, accompanied by the white blade’s lethal edge, sliced through Song Ze’s sword and pierced the junior disciple’s torso. The blue-clad disciple fell heavily to the ground, a cloud of dust rising, staining the earth with blood. Yue Bai leaned back against the tree, watching as the little fox plucked the final note and halted the zither’s vibrations. She stowed the zither and retracted her fox ears and tail. Draped in red robes, she slowly descended before Song Ze. The white blade returned to her side and was obediently sheathed. Her right hand formed a claw, nails sharp, red tongue licking the edges. Ling Zhou preferred to wear masks in public, but the corner of her sultry smile couldn’t be hidden. She resembled a red flower amidst thorns, alluring yet treacherous. Teetering on the edge of life and death, Song Ze found himself entranced by this fatal charm, discarding his shattered sword to draw his true weapon, an enchanted spear. Eyes wide, he fixated on the red-robed demoness with a delirious smile. Yue Bai didn’t need to access his ocean of thoughts to know what was going through his mind. “Such a pervert,” Jiu Yi muttered. The red-robed woman arched an eyebrow, smiling as she spoke, “Am I a sight to behold?” Song Ze answered with his eyes but attacked with his spear. A sharp gust flew forward, aimed at the demoness’s abdomen, followed by a purple-gold talisman, carrying wind and thunder, sealing her path. Yet the red robe remained unscathed, the woman pressed close, holding his weapon. Face to face, Song Ze saw her ruby eyes arching, faintly visible through the mask, with a tear-shaped mole by her eye… “Ah!!” The red-robed woman kicked away the man, clutching two bloodied eyeballs in her left claw, the nerve endings dangling between her fingers, dripping blood. Flicking her wrist, the eyeballs dropped and were crushed under red boots, oozing gelatin. The red-robed demoness advanced, picking up the spear left behind. She leaned in close and whispered into the kneeling, wailing man’s ear. “Do you like it?” Song Ze’s body shuddered, in agony but also in a twisted excitement. “Ah!!!” An icy chill scraped down his collarbone, shattering the stirring desire. The desire to lift his head was blocked by the spear; all his urges and screams stuck in his throat, and Song Ze could only emit short, trembling gasps. But these gasps quickly ceased. The sharp pain of his torn lower body was eclipsed by the agony of his pierced collarbone. Before he could scream, a tremendous force lifted him, ripping his body from his anchored lower half. The sensation of slow dismemberment made the lower body’s pain all the more excruciating. “Ah!... ah!” The screams were clipped, choked with suffocation, and Jiu Yi could hardly bear to listen. And yet, the tormentor wasn’t finished. With her blood-soaked left arm lifting the man, her right hand methodically touched and cut the trembling flesh before her. The sheer pain pushed Song Ze towards unconsciousness, the claw marks on his abdomen eliciting no response, only the extraction of his organs from the tear generating another deathly scream. The upper body now void of innards, the red-robed woman extracted a golden core from the chest cavity and a heart from the ribcage. She released her grip, the heart still in hand, and the mangled remains fell to the ground. With a forceful squeeze, blood spurted, even the unstained parts of her red robe now drenched in a bloody hue. Complete, brutal slaughter. Jiu Yi was at a loss for words and could only manage to mutter, "She...is so dark..." Yue Bai didn't say anything, merely watching as Ji Wu Nian inflicted claw marks on the remaining few before leaping away, covered in blood, eventually stopping by a stream, with her entire body dripping. Tonight the moon was veiled, failing to illuminate her blood-stained form. Yue Bai appeared behind her, while Ji Wu Nian smiled, her lips still dripping with hot blood. She apologized to Yue Bai, “I ruined another set of your clothes.” The red clothes belonged to Yue Bai; now, they would be unwearable. “Mm.” Yue Bai met her gaze and walked forward, taking her sharp fox claws in her hand as she passed. Ji Wu Nian retracted her claws, not wanting to scratch Yue Bai's skin. Yue Bai, unbothered by the bloodstains on her own hands and the white clothes dirtied by splattered blood from Ji Wu Nian’s sleeves, continued to hold her hand as they moved forward. The stream water splashed, submerging their calves, and became tainted with various shades of red as it passed Ji Wu Nian. Yue Bai instructed her to stand still, facing her, as she began undoing her belt. The belt, not wide, had a pearl in the center and gold embroidery in clouds, now blackened by blood. The belt floated away with the stream, and Yue Bai glanced at Ji Wu Nian, noting her loose clothing that exposed the edges of her inner garments, also darkened. Yue Bai undid the clasps of Ji Wu Nian’s long robe, letting the red fabric fall away to reveal the stained undergarments beneath. She lifted the robe over Ji Wu Nian’s shoulders before letting it slide off. The overwhelming stench of blood began to fade with the garments. Without raising her head, Yue Bai moved to undo the inner garments next, the task becoming simpler. She pulled at the waistband, prompting Ji Wu Nian to step forward, allowing the red-and-white garments to drift away. All that remained was a single piece of undergarment and a mask. Yue Bai’s hands encircled Ji Wu Nian’s neck, first untying the knot behind it before moving forward to undo the clasps at her back. Ji Wu Nian watched Yue Bai’s face intently, but Yue Bai didn’t look up until Ji Wu Nian was entirely undressed. Her expression was still cold and indifferent. Yue Bai discarded the mask as well, leading Ji Wu Nian to a spot further upstream. Finding a flatter area, Yue Bai instructed her to sit down. The water level was just right, flowing just beneath Ji Wu Nian’s chest, cool and refreshing. Yue Bai knelt behind her, scooping water with her hands to wash the blood from Ji Wu Nian’s hair. The running water eventually turned from deep red to a lighter hue; the surrounding birdcalls and insect chirps made the silence almost palpable. “Yue Bai.” “Mm?” Yue Bai’s hands were still combing through Ji Wu Nian’s hair, checking for any remaining blood clots. Ji Wu Nian hugged herself tighter, looking at her reflection in the pool. “Aren’t you going to ask?” The unwarranted, brutal slaughter—such malevolent acts, yet not a single question? Yue Bai scooped another handful of water over her head. “Do you want to talk about it?” Water cascaded around her, and Ji Wu Nian fell silent. “Once you’re clean, change into new clothes,” Yue Bai said, noting that she too needed a change. Naturally, this set of clothes would also be charged to Ji Wu Nian. “It’ll be dawn soon.” This sudden urgency made Ji Wu Nian turn her head, finally taking a good look at Yue Bai’s face. “Is something wrong?” “The demon market,” Yue Bai stated matter-of-factly, looking down at her blood-stained clothes, her tone unchanged. “I still want to browse around.” ...Indeed, her outfit had stains and would need to be discarded. Yue Bai was struck with remorse over her ruined clothes, but a light laugh interrupted her thoughts. Ji Wu Nian’s fox ears twitched, her face breaking into an uncontrollable smile. Her laughter bent her waist, nearly curling her body up. Still dripping wet, it was unclear if the water at the corner of her eyes was tears or something else, but she ultimately covered her own tear mole with a fingertip, as if wiping away something. “...You really are...” Yue Bai was still waiting for the next part of her sentence when she was suddenly tackled to the ground, her jaw gripped, and her lips bitten. ...There was even a rusty taste of blood. “Lord Yue Bai...” The previously despondent person was suddenly putting on airs again, but Yue Bai had always found this kind of behavior annoying, especially when a sharp rock was digging into her back, causing real pain. Yue Bai pushed her shoulders, trying to create distance, despite the sight of her fox ears and tail twitching with starry eyes adding to her nonchalance. Despite the pain in her palm and the strange taste lingering in her mouth, Yue Bai frowned. “You’re not thoroughly clean.” Ji Wu Nian blinked innocently before quickly casting a cleansing spell on herself, then knelt properly in the stream. ...It seemed the famed cultivator Ji Wu Nian remained diligent even in fox form. Seeing Yue Bai’s frown finally relax a bit, Ji Wu Nian took Yue Bai’s hand in hers. No longer imposing on her, Ji Wu Nian brought Yue Bai closer, gently kissing her.