50. Mother's Corpse, Vicious Habit Resurgence

Chapter 50: Mother's Corpse, Vicious Habit Resurgence

Li Wa was badly shaken. Yelü Yuyan and Lu Hualong were shocked, too.

The two stared at their old father, who was about to flee in a panic. Their expressions differed: Yelü Yuyan looked horrified and disgusted, while Lu Hualong looked astonished, as if thinking, "You can actually pull a stunt like this?"

Bao Hanzhang was just as surprised. The kite-flying tactic had been working perfectly—why had the kite suddenly cut its own string and tried to run?

Unable to hold back, the upright official spat out:

"Just like you, Old Turtle."

"So you weren't fooled by my shallow little trick after all. You were using me to leave behind this heap of bait and loose ends, so you could make a leisurely escape."

"If I go after you, you'll probably turn on the common folk, won't you?"

Bao Hanzhang and Yelü Tianzheng were political enemies who had tangled with each other for years. They knew each other inside and out.

Seeing Yelü Tianzheng flee so decisively, without even sparing a thought for his daughter and son-in-law, Bao Hanzhang knew he had made up his mind.

If he left no opening and went straight after him,

Yelü Tianzheng would surely be driven into a corner and turn on the common folk, forcing Bao Hanzhang to let him pass.

With that concern holding him back, Bao Hanzhang hesitated. In the end, he could only refrain from stopping him and watch his utterly transformed old foe turn into a cloud of blood and flee Jiangzhe Province, carrying the corpses and severed limbs of a host of Mortal Transformation Realm colleagues.

Unless something unexpected happened, this would be how the affair ended: the chief culprit escaped, leaving behind the many remnants of the Eternal Life Cult, the Evil Cultivators, and Yelü Tianzheng's daughter and son-in-law.

Though Bao Hanzhang wouldn't earn great merit from this, he wouldn't be punished either. With Tuotuo's mediation, he might even be credited with a little merit. A promotion could be within reach.

But the unexpected really did happen at once.

Yelü Tianzheng was almost out of Qiantang County.

Suddenly, Yelü Yuyan, who had been silent all this time, glared at Ge Xian, who was lounging in the Vajra Bowl. In her eyes, Ge Xian saw a struggle, then unwillingness, and finally a ruthless resolve, as if she meant to cut herself off from all emotion and desire.

The next moment, she did something no one could have expected.

A "female fox corpse" abruptly flew out of her Fox Tail Sac.

Then Yelü Yuyan opened her mouth and spat out a large quantity of essence blood brimming with demonic qi. In the blink of an eye, it soaked the corpse, which had been as black as charred wood, and it began to recover.

Before long, a half-human, half-fox Fox Woman had taken shape, gentle and lovely to behold.

This Fox Woman!

Though she belonged to the Demon Fox kind, anyone who saw her would think her gentle and virtuous, and take an instant liking to her.

Her temperament was utterly unlike that of the frenzied father and daughter, Yelü Tianzheng and Yelü Yuyan.

When she spoke, the massive cloud of blood, already almost vanished beyond the horizon, came to an abrupt halt.

"My lord, where are you going?"

"Do you still remember the promise you made me, years ago, when Madam was roasting me?"

The Fox Woman's voice was indeed infinitely tender.

Some unknown demonic art Yelü Yuyan had used caused her words to ring directly in the depths of Yelü Tianzheng's soul.

The cloud of blood hung still, then abruptly sped up again, only in a different direction.

Yelü Tianzheng had come back.

Within a few breaths, he returned to the battlefield and once more revealed his hideous, shocking stitched-corpse Dharma body. The monstrous face in its center had turned gentle and affectionate.

The demonic qi already in utter chaos inside him now erupted like a volcano.

The "colleagues" sewn into his body swayed and roared, wailing or laughing wildly... Any cultivator whose soul was even slightly fragile might have been frightened into madness at the sight.

A cultivator with a little experience could tell what was happening: [Yelü Tianzheng is suffering from the torment of "Vicious Habit Resurgence," and he can't suppress it at all...]

The scene also let Ge Xian and the others immediately guess the Fox Woman's identity.

Ge Xian, who knew more scandalous secrets than anyone, stared wide-eyed, his mind shouting that he'd learned something new again.

"Yelü Yuyan!"

"That Madwoman was hiding such a vicious trick! She must know exactly which vicious habit is resurging in Yelü Tianzheng. That's why she could use her own mother's corpse at the critical moment to provoke and control him. Cruel, but incredibly effective."

"What kind of vicious habit is it, to overwhelm a formidable Spirit Connection Realm demon like him, so he can't force it down?"

"Judging by this, could it be an obsession with love?"

As Ge Xian reeled in shock,

Yelü Tianzheng seemed to have become a completely different person. His face was still repulsive, yet he was now utterly lovesick, with an expression seemingly carved into his features, one that could never be erased.

Guilt!

This treacherous, corrupt official, who could sell off all of Jiangzhe Province, was now showing a guilt so intense and unshakable that even Bao Hanzhang was dumbstruck.

So he failed to react in time, and Yelü Tianzheng trampled straight through the battlefield, charging toward Sunset Mountain.

As the old monster swept toward them, he wailed:

"Yu Niang, my Yu Niang."

"It was all my fault. I was a coward. I was useless."

"That damned jealous shrew carried on with other men outside, but wouldn't let me come near you. Back then, everything I had came from her, so I didn't dare resist. I could only watch her torment you... I was the one who deserved to die. I, Yelü Tianzheng, was the one who deserved it."

"Right, right! I promised you I'd take good care of Yuyan and Yufeng."

"They're both doing very well now. I passed your Fox Clan inheritance to Yuyan and found her a husband with a fine reputation to cover up the shame. I've always doted on her, giving her whatever she wants... Yufeng is doing even better. He got the Chiwu Inheritance and has already gone over to worship under the Myriad Laws Sect Master. His Dao Path and official career are both brilliantly bright."

Yelü Tianzheng wailed as he charged forward, rambling on as though he were truly catching up with his departed wife.

The scene was both bizarre and horrifying.

What sort of person was Yelü Tianzheng?

Everyone present knew, even Ge Xian.

It was no exaggeration to call him a first-rate scoundrel, a treacherous and shameless demon. He was the sort who would abandon everything for his own benefit.

After all, there weren't many people in the world who could sell off an entire province.

Yet this demonic scoundrel now looked so lovesick, and his feelings were so sincere and heartfelt, utterly free of pretense. Who wouldn't find it eerie?

As everyone stared in horror, Ge Xian's soul shuddered, and warning bells rang in his mind.

Without a moment to spare, he sent a voice transmission to Bai Fugui and Bao Mingjing.

"Yelü Yuyan used her mother's corpse to provoke Yelü Tianzheng. She must want him to stay behind and cover her escape."

"But this Fox Demon is insane. Before she flees, she'll definitely take revenge on us, even if it means sacrificing Yelü Tianzheng. Get out of her way, or we're in for it."

Ge Xian's warning wasn't entirely selfless.

He was sure Yelü Yuyan would seize the chance to retaliate, but she would target him, Ge Huolang. Bai Fugui and Bao Mingjing weren't on her list.

But the two weren't as cunning as he was, and his warning sounded perfectly reasonable to them.

They moved at once, heading toward Bao Hanzhang for safety.

Yelü Yuyan, who had been watching Ge Xian the whole time, immediately noticed them move. The Fox Woman's vicious habit seemed to be obsession and a grudge that never faded. She had her sights fixed on Ge Xian and was determined to kill him.

She wanted to control Yelü Tianzheng, have him capture Ge Xian, then send her safely away.

But this secret art required her to use her mother's corpse as a medium. If she went up to Yelü Tianzheng herself and ordered him around, her shameless father might slap her dead.

So she could only be patient and use the blood as a medium, making her mother speak gently once more:

"My lord, since you promised me, how can you run away alone?"

"No matter what, you must protect Yuyan. If she wants something, you must give it to her."

"Yes, yes, Yu Niang, you're right. I'll do as you say."

"Yu Niang, Tianzheng misses you so much..."

As he spoke, Yelü Tianzheng even began to sob.

Blood tears truly streamed from his mutated giant eyes.

Compared to before, he was more than a different person. He had undergone a self-transformation so profound and horrifying it defied description.

The comical scene made Ge Xian's heart pound with fear, and stirred a fierce wariness in him as well:

"If I never develop a vicious habit, that'll be fine. But if I'm unlucky enough to acquire one, I have to hide it away completely."

"I must never let anyone else see it. Otherwise, if they find the right object or person to target it, wouldn't I fall for it?"

"If I can see other people's vicious habits, though, I could make good use of them..."

While Ge Xian was lost in thought,

Bai Fugui and Bao Mingjing were leading him around Sunset Mountain to join Bao Hanzhang and the extraordinary army, which had already finished dealing with the Eternal Life Cult's remaining forces.

Along the way, they happened to cross paths with Yelü Tianzheng.

At that instant, Ge Xian felt as if he'd fallen into a hell of flesh and blood.

Even inside the Vajra Bowl, he could feel the rank, bloody stench burrowing into his nostrils. A mountain of flesh and blood, covering the sky and sun, swept toward them. The corpses of the high officials embedded and sewn into it seemed close enough to touch; their features were lifelike, and even the Dao Qi within their bodies remained active.

Before he could marvel, Yelü Yuyan's long-suppressed shout rang out:

"Yelü Tianzheng, capture that stinking loach in the Vajra Bowl at once, then get me out of here at any cost."

"Everything else can be sacrificed. Everything, including you."

Hearing those words, a look of struggle clearly appeared on Yelü Tianzheng's massive face.

But a moment later, his "mother's corpse" leaned close and spoke gently again: "My lord, listen to Yuyan."