Evil Deeds

The next day.

Shen Mu first went to find Hong Jingcheng to request leave, then headed to the county town to purchase the beast meat required for his body tempering over the coming period.

At a butcher shop run by the Money Gang, Shen Mu spent twenty taels of silver to purchase twenty catties of unranked beast meat, and another five taels at a liquor store to buy fifty catties of strong spirits for brewing Origin Mulberry Wine.

Because of the Three-Tailed Demon Fox's previous retaliation, Shen Mu was also forced to buy three sets of spare clothing before shouldering his heavy bags and walking along the bluestone street toward the outskirts of the city.

After two months of body tempering and a steady supply of beast meat, Shen Mu no longer looked as thin and frail as before.

His features remained delicate and unremarkable, but his eyes now held a streak of determination. Combined with his height of 1.85 meters and the muscles faintly bulging beneath his robes, his entire demeanor had changed significantly, drawing glances from many young maidens as he walked down the street.

However, Shen Mu paid no attention to this, focused only on returning to Emerald Cloud Valley as quickly as possible to resume his training.

"Haha, that beast is hit! Chase it, don't let it get away!"

"We must slaughter this beast today to vent my hatred!"

"Everyone, pay attention! The beast headed toward the southeast!"

"..."

By the time Shen Mu returned to Emerald Cloud Valley, it was already midday.

As he followed the dirt path toward the Origin Mulberry Field he was stationed to guard, the valley was abuzz with the frantic pursuit of the Three-Tailed Demon Fox.

Watching a group of people head toward the southeast, Shen Mu's expression turned somewhat strange.

Nearly a month had passed, and that wicked Three-Tailed Demon Fox had become a household name throughout Emerald Cloud Valley.

"To think this creature has managed to survive this long; it's truly unexpected."

Shen Mu shook his head with a bitter smile, having no intention of getting involved.

He carried the strong spirits and beast meat back to his bamboo hut, placed the prepared Origin Mulberry into the spirits to brew, and then used salt to simply cure the meat.

Once finished, Shen Mu took the Moon Embroidery hanging on the wall and prepared to begin his daily body tempering.

However, just as he stepped out of the bamboo hut, he saw the very Three-Tailed Demon Fox that everyone wanted to kill standing right outside his door.

"Hiss~"

The appearance of the Three-Tailed Demon Fox at his doorstep startled Shen Mu.

The fox was clearly in bad shape; there was a piercing arrow wound on its flank, and blood had already matted most of its fur.

Its eyes were dim, and perhaps knowing it was about to die, it showed no fear toward Shen Mu as he stepped out of the hut.

It merely looked up at Shen Mu once, then slowly brushed past him and stepped inside his bamboo hut.

Shen Mu watched it quietly, his expression complex, curious to see what the creature was trying to do.

Then, under Shen Mu's complicated gaze, the Three-Tailed Demon Fox took a leak inside his bamboo hut...

Shen Mu: "..."

"Fine, fine, fine. Even on the verge of death, you still have to get back at me, don't you?"

Shen Mu's face twitched violently.

The reason he had bought three sets of spare clothing was entirely thanks to this creature.

He hadn't expected that even at death's door, it would go out of its way to take revenge on him one last time.

"What a vengeful creature."

Shen Mu sighed, carrying the Moon Embroidery into the hut.

Now, he needed only one strike to settle the grievances between them that had lasted for a month.

Seeing Shen Mu walk in with his blade, the Three-Tailed Demon Fox showed no fear, but its body, exhausted, collapsed directly to the ground, appearing to be in its final moments.

Shen Mu's expression was complex, but the Moon Embroidery in his hand never fell.

If this had been a month ago, and the Three-Tailed Demon Fox had urinated in his hut, he would have sliced the beast down without a second thought.

But over this past month, the Three-Tailed Demon Fox had caused so much commotion in Emerald Cloud Valley that it had annoyed almost every guard in the valley, all of whom wanted it dead.

Yet, seeing it collapsed here without any power to resist, Shen Mu felt no urge to kill.

Perhaps it was because the stir it caused in the valley had provided the guards with a bit of entertainment to pass the time.

Or perhaps, over this past month, Shen Mu had simply lost the heart to kill it.

"Forget it. Since you've come to my doorstep, I will save you once. As for whether you survive, that will be up to your own fate."

Shen Mu muttered to himself, set the Moon Embroidery aside, and stepped forward to examine its wounds.

There was a piercing arrow wound on its flank, and blood was still oozing out. Fortunately, it hadn't hit any vital organs, or it would have died during its flight.

Shen Mu had no medicine for wounds, so he could only use wood ash to cover the injury and stop the bleeding.

"Brother Shen, Brother Shen, are you there?"

Just as he finished, Zhou Xuan's voice suddenly rang out from outside the bamboo hut.

Hearing this, Shen Mu hurriedly shoved the Three-Tailed Demon Fox under the bed and covered it with a piece of clothing.

After finishing all this, Shen Mu stepped out of the bamboo shed.

Outside the shed, several guards were standing there, one of whom was holding a longbow in his hand.

"Brother Zhou, what is this about?"

Shen Mu asked, feigning confusion.

"We are looking for that damned beast."

Zhou Xuan glanced at Shen Mu and smiled meaningfully, "Brother Shen, that beast ran in this direction. Have you seen any sign of it?"

Since these people were able to find their way here, they must have followed the trail of blood on the ground.

Fortunately, there were no bloodstains dripping outside his own bamboo shed.

Otherwise, these people would inevitably suspect that Shen Mu had already captured the Three-Tailed Demon Fox.

This made Shen Mu breathe a sigh of relief.

If word got out that he had saved the Three-Tailed Demon Fox, there was no telling what kind of trouble it might stir up; after all, the Three-Tailed Demon Fox was currently the public enemy of all the guards.

Meeting their gazes, Shen Mu nodded and said, "The beast just passed by here. I was just about to step forward to catch it when it ran off toward the southwest."

"The southwest? Then thank you for the information, Brother Shen."

Zhou Xuan gave him a deep look, smiled, and greeted him before heading off with the others in the southwest direction, not forgetting to relay the message to the guards in the distance.

Watching their retreating figures, Shen Mu wore a strange expression; the Three-Tailed Demon Fox was notorious within the valley.

He wasn't even sure if the Three-Tailed Demon Fox could survive, given the severity of its injuries.

If it died because of this, Shen Mu wouldn't feel any guilt; he could just skin it to make a shawl to sell for money, and the meat could be used for a fresh meal, which would surely boost his vitality significantly.

Once their figures disappeared from sight, Shen Mu returned to the bamboo shed and pulled the Three-Tailed Demon Fox out from under the bed.

The Three-Tailed Demon Fox opened its blood-red eyes and watched Shen Mu silently; having lost so much blood, it no longer had the strength to move.

Shen Mu sliced off a piece of beast meat, cut it into strips, and placed them by the Three-Tailed Demon Fox's mouth.

While beast meat nourished the vitality of humans, for the Three-Tailed Demon Fox at this moment, it was undoubtedly the best food to replenish its blood and energy.

"I have to say, this beast is quite lucky that I happened to go into town to buy meat today."

Watching the Three-Tailed Demon Fox swallow the meat in small bites, Shen Mu couldn't help but sigh.

"From here on out, you'll just have to get used to the smell of your own urine in here."

After the Three-Tailed Demon Fox finished the meat, it rolled its eyes back and fell asleep. Shen Mu gave a wicked chuckle and shoved it back under the bed.

Whether it could pull through from here on out would depend entirely on its own will to survive.