The next day.
Shen Mu first went to ask Hong Jingcheng for leave, then headed to the county town to buy the beast meat he would need for body tempering over the next while.
At the butcher shop run by the Money Gang, Shen Mu spent twenty taels of silver on twenty pounds of unranked beast meat. He then spent another five taels at a wine shop to buy fifty pounds of strong liquor for brewing Origin Mulberry Wine.
Due to the Three-Tailed Demon Fox's earlier revenge, Shen Mu had also been forced to buy three sets of spare clothes. Only then did he shoulder his big bundles and walk along the bluestone street toward the outskirts of town.
After two months of body tempering and a steady supply of beast meat, Shen Mu was no longer as thin as he had been.
His features were still clean-cut yet unremarkable, but his eyes now held a resolute glint. Combined with his height of six feet one and the muscles faintly bulging beneath his robe, his whole bearing had changed dramatically. As he walked down the street, many young women glanced his way.
Shen Mu, however, didn't notice them at all. He was focused on getting back to Emerald Cloud Valley as soon as possible so he could begin his body tempering.
"Hahaha, the beast took an arrow! Hurry, chase it! Don't let it get away!"
"We have to kill that beast today and sate the hatred in my heart!"
"Everyone, watch out! It's headed southeast!"
"..."
By the time Shen Mu returned to Emerald Cloud Valley, it was already noon.
As he followed the narrow path through the fields toward the Origin Mulberry Field he guarded, he found the valley in an uproar, with people hot on the Three-Tailed Demon Fox's trail.
Watching a group head southeast, Shen Mu's expression turned strange.
Nearly a month had passed, and that Three-Tailed Demon Fox, which had committed one outrage after another, had become a household name in Emerald Cloud Valley.
"I can't believe it's survived this long. That's really unexpected."
Shen Mu shook his head with a wry smile, making no move to join the hunt.
Carrying the liquor and beast meat, he returned to his Bamboo Shed. He put the Origin Mulberry Fruit he'd prepared into the liquor to brew, then rubbed salt into the meat to cure it.
Once he was done, Shen Mu took Moon Embroidery down from the wall, ready to begin his body tempering for the day.
But the moment he stepped out of the Bamboo Shed, he saw the Three-Tailed Demon Fox, the beast everyone wanted dead, waiting outside.
"Yikes—"
The Three-Tailed Demon Fox had appeared right outside his door, startling Shen Mu.
Its condition was clearly poor. A deep arrow wound pierced its lower abdomen, and blood had stained most of its fur.
Its eyes were dull. Perhaps it knew it was about to die, because it showed no fear when Shen Mu suddenly emerged from the Bamboo Shed.
It merely glanced up at him, then slowly brushed past him and stepped into his Bamboo Shed.
Shen Mu watched in silence, his expression complicated. He also wanted to see what the creature was up to.
Then, beneath Shen Mu's complicated gaze, the Three-Tailed Demon Fox took a piss on the floor of his shed...
Shen Mu: "..."
"Fine, fine. You're almost dead, and you still had to come back and get revenge on me, huh?"
Shen Mu's cheek twitched.
The three sets of spare clothes he'd bought were all thanks to this creature.
He hadn't expected it to make a special trip back to get revenge one last time before dying.
"What a spiteful creature."
With a sigh, Shen Mu carried Moon Embroidery into the Bamboo Shed.
All it would take was one slash to put an end to the feud between them that had lasted for the past month.
When Shen Mu entered with his blade, the Three-Tailed Demon Fox showed no fear. But its body had given out, and it collapsed to the ground, looking as if it were already on its last breath.
Shen Mu's expression was complicated, but he never brought Moon Embroidery down.
If the Three-Tailed Demon Fox had pissed all over his Bamboo Shed a month ago, he would have chopped the beast down without hesitation.
But over the past month, it had caused such a sensation throughout Emerald Cloud Valley, earning the ire of nearly every Guardian in the valley. Every last one of them wanted it dead.
Yet now, as it lay here utterly helpless, Shen Mu felt no desire to kill it.
Perhaps the commotion it had caused in Emerald Cloud Valley had given the Guardians a bit of fun to while away the time.
Or perhaps, over the past month, Shen Mu had already lost the will to kill it.
"Fine. Since you came to me, I'll save you this once. Whether you survive is up to fate."
Muttering to himself, Shen Mu set Moon Embroidery aside and went to examine its injuries.
An arrow had pierced its lower abdomen, and blood was still seeping steadily from the wound. Fortunately, it hadn't damaged its organs; otherwise, the fox would likely have died during its mad dash.
Shen Mu had no medicine for treating wounds, so he could only smear wood ash over the injury to stop the bleeding.
"Brother Shen! Brother Shen, are you there?"
He had just finished when Zhou Xuan's voice suddenly came from outside the Bamboo Shed.
Hearing him, Shen Mu hurriedly shoved the Three-Tailed Demon Fox under the bed and covered it with a piece of clothing.
Once he was done, Shen Mu stepped outside.
Several Guardians stood outside the Bamboo Shed. One of them was holding a longbow.
"Brother Zhou, what's going on?"
Shen Mu asked, pretending not to understand.
"We're looking for that damned beast."
Zhou Xuan glanced at Shen Mu and smiled meaningfully. "Brother Shen, that beast ran this way. Have you seen where it went?"
Since they had found their way here, they had probably followed the bloodstains on the ground.
Fortunately, there were no drops of blood outside his Bamboo Shed.
Otherwise, they would surely have suspected that Shen Mu had already caught the Three-Tailed Demon Fox.
Shen Mu couldn't help but feel relieved.
If word got out that he'd saved the fox, who knew what kind of trouble it would cause? The Three-Tailed Demon Fox was the Guardians' public enemy now.
Meeting everyone's eyes, Shen Mu nodded. "That beast just passed by here. I was about to chase it, but it ran southwest."
"Southwest? Thanks for the tip, Brother Shen."
Zhou Xuan gave him a long look, smiled, and took his leave. Then he and the others chased off to the southwest, making sure to relay the news to the Guardians farther away.
Watching them disappear into the distance, Shen Mu's expression turned strange. The Three-Tailed Demon Fox was infamous throughout the valley.
He wasn't sure whether it could survive such a serious injury.
If it died, Shen Mu wouldn't feel guilty at all. He could skin it for a cape to sell, and keep the meat to try. That should raise his blood energy quite a bit.
Once the group had vanished from sight, Shen Mu returned to the Bamboo Shed and dragged the Three-Tailed Demon Fox out from under the bed.
The fox stared quietly at Shen Mu with its blood-red eyes. It had lost so much blood that it no longer had the strength to move.
Shen Mu cut off a piece of beast meat, sliced it into strips, and held them up to the fox's mouth.
Beast meat nourished the blood energy of humans. For the Three-Tailed Demon Fox in its current state, it was undoubtedly the best food to replenish its blood and energy.
"Can't deny it, this beast is lucky. I happened to go into town for beast meat today."
Watching the Three-Tailed Demon Fox nibble at the meat, Shen Mu couldn't help sighing.
"Now you can stay in there and smell your own piss."
After the fox finished eating, its eyes rolled back and it fell asleep. Shen Mu gave a wicked chuckle and shoved it under the bed again.
Whether it could pull through now would depend entirely on its own will to survive.
Before you continue