Fox Tail

The noisy crowd finally dispersed.

Ye Wuyou rose from the ground, brushed the dust off his sleeves, and hummed a little tune as he headed back inside.

But soon, he turned to stare behind him, a trace of confusion appearing on his dust-streaked face.

Bai Lu was following him silently, moving like a phantom without making a sound.

Only now, the usual quiet gentleness was gone from her face, replaced by undisguised disgust and anger.

The closer she stood, the more clearly she could feel the connection between them.

Bai Lu hated Ye Wuyou.

Who could willingly accept becoming someone else's spirit beast for no reason, with a "master" suddenly set above them?

She recalled the fates of her brothers and sisters, and the warnings of her clan elders.

A chill of dread crept through her heart.

People coveted the Demon Foxes of the Qingqiu Royal Clan not for their strength in battle, but for their innate divine ability.

One tail for one life.

And it was her life that paid the price.

That alone surpassed every other innate divine ability in the world!

In other words, if Ye Wuyou was killed, he would not die. Instead, the Demon Fox would die in his place.

For humans, this was an immensely powerful innate divine ability.

But for Demon Foxes, it was also immensely cruel.

Yet Bai Lu could not attack Ye Wuyou. The connection within her was also a contract; she could not even hurt him.

Furthermore, as someone bound by a bound spirit beast contract, she was strongly compelled to obey her master's words.

"Why are you following me?" Ye Wuyou finally noticed her and asked, thoroughly puzzled.

Bai Lu took a deep breath, suppressed all the tangled feelings in her heart, and said calmly, "I think we should talk."

Talk?

About what?

Her words left Ye Wuyou bewildered. He stared blankly at Bai Lu for a moment, then broke into a happy smile.

First, he closed the shabby little door. Then he walked over to the bed and patted it.

"Sit."

Bai Lu froze for a moment, but then her body moved as though beyond her control, walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed.

It's all right. We're only talking, Bai Lu told herself.

But the next instant, her expression stiffened. Humiliation and bashfulness flickered in her beautiful eyes, while her alluring face betrayed reluctance and a faint tremor.

She did not look, but those hands had clearly reached behind her, brushed over the curve of her backside, and finally touched the place that filled her with shame.

[You understand. You finally understand! Such a breathtaking Demon Fox is beloved for more than her bound divine ability. Her finest use is this: possessing her alone surpasses possessing countless others in this world!]

[A Demon Fox can take on countless appearances, and her Charm Art comes as naturally as breathing. Whether it is a proud empress of peerless elegance, a cold, ethereal maiden shamed and humiliated against her will, or a lovestruck woman who is aloof toward outsiders but bares everything to you alone, she can become them all, become them all! Hahaha!]

[What is a Divine Ability? This is a fucking Divine Ability!]

Bai Lu gently closed her eyes, concealing their trembling, uneasy movements beneath her lids.

She recalled the fates of some of her clansfolk who had been captured by humans. They were not of royal blood and did not possess the bound divine ability that made her so coveted.

Most humans captured them for just one thing.

Thin strands of vital breath silently wound around her.

She was ready to fight to the death, even if they died together.

But soon, the discomfort behind her vanished, and the man's puzzled, resigned voice reached her ears.

"Forget it. Thanks for coming over and cooperating with my investigation, but I really can't see a tail."

"I won't suspect you anymore."

Ridiculous. Do you think I'll let you off just because you say that?

Bai Lu opened her eyes, determination flashing within them.

Creak...

Ye Wuyou opened the door, then spoke.

"Go on. Go back to your own room."

"You lost so much blood earlier. Even though I brought you back to life, you still need a good rest."

The woman in the white dress rose from the bed and walked toward the door like a puppet.

Only after the door closed behind her and the cold wind brushed past did tiny beads of sweat appear on Bai Lu's forehead.

Her chest rose and fell unevenly. Lowering her gaze, she headed toward her own room.

The tips of two fox tails emerged beneath her skirt, only to retreat a moment later.

"Lunatic!" she spat through gritted teeth.

Only she knew what she had just gone through.

Standing outside her own door, Bai Lu hesitated for a while before finally pushing it open and going inside.

"I'll rest for one night and leave tomorrow."

With her memories restored, she soon made her decision.

Using her bound divine ability today had taken too great a toll. She truly needed to rest.

Whatever happened to Ye Wuyou, she had to find a chance to escape this strange village first.

Night deepened.

Growl...

He was too hungry to sleep.

Ye Wuyou climbed out of bed, rubbed his head haphazardly, and went outside.

He walked along the empty, silent village road, carefully searching his surroundings for something.

He had stayed up late yesterday and, unable to keep going, fallen asleep at the Eastern Village Entrance early this morning. By the time the noise around him woke him, it was already afternoon. He had practically gone an entire day without eating.

"Should I go get a chicken from the Cloth-Clad Boy's house?"

The thought had barely crossed Ye Wuyou's mind before he shook his head regretfully.

"Forget it. He was beaten until he coughed up blood. Poor guy."

After finding nothing on his circuit of the village, Ye Wuyou could only head to the Water Well at the Eastern Village Entrance.

He drew up a bucket of icy water, washed the mud from his face, then drank in great gulps.

The icy well water made his whole body shudder as it entered his stomach, but it also washed away some of his fatigue.

He tossed the bucket aside and stood beside the well, raising his head to look at the moon.

The moon shed gentle light over the village road. It was perfectly round.

It was almost midnight. Ye Wuyou propped his chin on his hand, his eyes thoughtful.

"Will there be another wolf today...?"

He had already beaten the Man in Brocade to death ahead of time during the day.

What did that count as?

Right! Ye Wuyou clapped his hands as understanding dawned.

The wolf had exposed himself and killed someone during the day. Now that wolf was out of the game.

Then why wasn't it over yet...?

[Wake up, wake up! You are gradually remembering everything. The Uncanny here is not worth mentioning!]

Something seemed to leap out of his mind.

It was a familiar memory of the past.

"I'm Ye Wuyou. I'm not a villager. I'm not a villager from this village."

"I'm the Seer? No, that's not right."

Ye Wuyou crouched down and clutched his head.

"Heavenly Prison, jailer, Demon Fox..."

A glimmer of clarity appeared in his clouded eyes.

"Jailer, jailer, lovely feet, lovely feet, jailer, lovely feet..."

Ye Wuyou's eyes became exceptionally clear, and he spoke with conviction.

"Lovely feet!"

[???]

When people thought, their eyes wandered unconsciously.

Ye Wuyou's gaze drifted toward the mouth of the well, where he saw the moonlit surface of the water.

The round moon in the sky was reflected in the well, but it looked as though something had flattened it. No longer round, it was reduced to a long, curved line.

It caught Ye Wuyou's attention.

He did not think it looked like the moon.

Within the round mouth of the well, the water reflected a curve that resembled an eye-one with a vertical pupil.

Ye Wuyou had a vague feeling that he had seen this vertical-pupiled eye somewhere before.

"Mountain, Demon Fox, Bell..."

As Ye Wuyou continued muttering, fragments of the past gradually returned to his mind.

"So there's a Heavenly Prison on the mountain, and the Demon Fox inside has lovely feet, with a Bell hanging from them?"

He stared into the well in a daze.

His dazed gaze soon sharpened.

"I remember! That night, there was an eye inside that last Bell!"

"That thing is right here now! Catch it!"

Ye Wuyou looked down into the well. He seemed to sense something.

An aura strikingly similar to the Uncanny entities in the Eighth Layer of the Heavenly Prison.

Jingle...

The ringing of a bell drifted through the village.

Nothing happened.

But behind him, something seemed to give him a push.

An immense force sent Ye Wuyou plunging uncontrollably toward the well.

At a thought, a spectral blue hand extended from his body and caught the edge of the well.

Ye Wuyou did not fall.

He struggled to turn around inside the well, but then his pupils contracted, as though he had seen something.

The spectral blue hand looked as if it were being gnawed away. That force dispersed the Ghost Hand outright, loosening its grip.

This thing can counter the Uncanny?

Splash.

So what if I fall into the well?

Ye Wuyou's vital breath flared as he prepared to step upward.

But then his vital breath faltered slightly. He looked into the water, toward the bottom of the well.

It was as though countless hands at the bottom of the well were holding him fast.

The sounds of a man struggling in the water rose from the well-the final struggles of someone drowning.

But as time passed, the struggles grew weaker.

Until they ceased.

The round moon still hung alone in the sky, but a dark cloud drifted over, gradually obscuring it.

In the last lingering moonlight, a fox tail could just barely be seen swaying beside the deserted Water Well.

I overslept this morning.