In his right eye, the twisting fox head was a mass of hazy gray mist.
The fox leaned close to sniff him, its nostrils fluttering as it sniffed again and again.
Shi Chun also caught the source of the fragrance: the Fox Demon before him. His smile grew ever more fawning, but mingled with the torment raging inside him, it was hardly a pretty sight.
The next moment, he could no longer smile. His expression froze as the Azure Fox Great Demon bared terrifying fangs at him.
Shi Chun hastily cried, "Fox Immortal Lady..."
He could not tell whether the fox was male or female, but he guessed female, since he had just heard a woman's voice.
But before he could finish begging for mercy, his words were stopped short.
A huge, pink, slippery tongue swept out between those savage fangs and swiftly licked his face and body several times. Then the fox turned her head away in disgust, giving a woman's silvery snort. "Your blood stinks."
Suddenly, she lowered her head and bit straight into the accuser's corpse. Blood burst out as she sucked it into her mouth and carried it away, making Shi Chun, who was mere inches away, shudder in fright.
The Azure Fox Great Demon's head withdrew into the spatial rift, and the vast demonic aura receded like the tide. As the claws bracing the rift pulled away, it rapidly closed, returning to its original state in an instant. A great deal of demonic aura still drifted through the city, but the terrifying pressure that had lent it force abruptly vanished.
Lan Qiaoyan and the others atop Wangbo Tower, along with nearly everyone in the city bewildered by what had happened, were staring in the same direction.
Shi Chun landed on the ground and touched his face and body. They were wet with saliva, but that hardly mattered. He looked around and at least confirmed that he was safe for the moment. Still, lingering fear left his legs weak. After all, the accuser had been swallowed in a single bite right before his eyes.
The City Guard still holding the drumstick gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing. Clearly, that overwhelming pressure had frightened him too.
He had wanted to run, but he knew someone nearby was watching and dared not abandon his post.
Upstairs, Du Huoguan remained calm. After all, he knew the Prison Master had released the Azure Fox Great Demon. Still, he was somewhat puzzled and offered a reminder. "Prison Master, the wounds on the deceased can serve as evidence. Shi Chun should know what happened that night."
What he meant was: why had the Prison Master released the Fox Demon to eat the evidence?
Nie merely replied coolly, "How much longer do you intend to leave those corpses lying around? Dispose of them properly."
Du Huoguan froze. Apart from the corpses of Qi Yueru's son and his companions, there were no others here. His gaze flickered, and he turned toward the scene where blood covered the ground but no corpse remained. In an instant, he understood.
It was precisely what his own eyes had witnessed: the Prison Master had deliberately released the Fox Demon to eat the evidence-the evidence that Shi Chun had killed Qi Yueru's son!
Then it was not hard to guess what the Prison Master meant by ordering those corpses disposed of.
His eyes widened a little. Was the Prison Master trying to protect that fellow downstairs whose legs had gone weak with fright?
He found it hard to believe. What sort of figure was the Prison Master? Yet he intended to protect an "ant" he had never met?
"Yes," he answered, though the startled doubt in his eyes did not fade. Wondering why the Prison Master would make such an astonishing move, he recalled the name of some demonic art the Prison Master had uttered upon recognizing it. He could not be certain of the first word, since too many words sounded alike, but the sight of skull-shaped marks being struck into the accuser's flesh was still fresh in his memory. That was anything but ordinary. He ventured to ask, "Prison Master, is Shi Chun cultivating a demonic art?"
His heart was uneasy as he asked. Righteousness and evil could not coexist. Why would the Prison Master protect someone who cultivated a demonic art?
Nie gave him a sidelong glance. He had not intended to explain, but some misunderstandings were unnecessary, especially when they concerned the irreconcilable divide between righteousness and evil. In a rare move, he offered an explanation. "The Demon-Bathing Art. 'Bathing,' as in taking a bath. During the ancient war between Gods and Devils, the first person to create and cultivate this art dealt devastating blows to the devils and slew the Devil Ancestor."
Du Huoguan was shaken to the core by those words and blurted, "Slew the Devil Ancestor?"
His gaze shot beyond the window lattice, and he looked at Shi Chun with entirely different eyes. This tiny ant was actually cultivating an art that had slain the Devil Ancestor. No wonder its first signs had already revealed such domineering palm strikes.
As though guessing his thoughts, and likewise wishing to avoid a misunderstanding, Nie explained again. "This art has long since become like chicken ribs—too little meat to be worth eating, yet a pity to discard. In fact, it is worth even less. First, it is extremely selective about its practitioners. The precise criteria are unclear, but it is said to be difficult to get started. If one does manage to begin cultivating it, it is more domineering than ordinary arts at first, as you have just seen. But sooner or later, he will have to switch to another cultivation art. Otherwise, he will remain stuck at Initial Martial, finding it difficult even to enter the Advanced Martial Realm."
Du Huoguan was puzzled. "Why?"
Nie said, "Though this art is domineering once mastered, its cultivation process is exactly as its name suggests. Without demonic energy, it cannot flourish. One must absorb Demonic Qi to cultivate it, and the higher one's cultivation advances, the greater the amount required. The age when the Demonic Path ran rampant has long passed. Traces of devils have dwindled away, and there is simply no longer enough to sustain cultivation of the Demon-Bathing Art."
"So that's how it is." Du Huoguan understood. Looking at Shi Chun downstairs, he found himself puzzled again. "To think the Prison of Life still has a legacy of the Demon-Bathing Art."
Such a supreme cultivation art should not have faded into obscurity, yet he had never even heard of it. Clearly, it had vanished long ago. Only the passing years could defeat and bury everything.
Nie said, "Before coming to the Prison of Life, I had never heard of this art either. After taking over, I was bored and browsed through the materials passed down by successive Prison Masters. By chance, I came across an ancient record and learned of it. It dated back to before the Heavenly Court changed rulers several times. Long ago, a successor to the Demon-Bathing Art was indeed banished here."
"Huh?" Du Huoguan was deeply surprised. Instinctively, he voiced the same question again. "Why?"
Nie said, "Precisely because cultivating it was like gnawing on chicken ribs, with little hope of achievement, he had no choice but to take an unorthodox path. This art does have its domineering aspects. Apart from absorbing Demonic Qi for cultivation, it can also absorb killing aura to temper the body. Killing aura is strongest where great armies clash. That man secretly laid schemes and stirred up bloody wars in the mortal world. In the end, the commotion grew too great to conceal. After he was caught, his cultivation was crippled, and he was cast into this place. According to the records, he died not long afterward. I never expected that, after so many years, his legacy would still endure."
Du Huoguan nodded repeatedly as he listened. Indeed, only an art so unrewarding that its practitioners could never rise above the rest and were ultimately forced to abandon it would remain obscure. Otherwise, such a domineering art could not have gone so many years without a chance to make its name.
Nie also looked at Shi Chun downstairs. "The most domineering aspect of this art is that anyone it kills has their soul scattered and their spirit and form utterly extinguished. They vanish completely from the world, denied even the chance to enter reincarnation. Perhaps that is why this art has never flourished again. Its method of killing is too extreme."
Du Huoguan drew a sharp breath. This meant it destroyed not only a person's present life but severed their next life as well. Its method of killing was indeed too extreme. He could not help recalling the outline of the face he had seen beneath the skin, struggling as though enduring every conceivable torment.
Having said all he intended to, Nie raised his chin toward the floor below. "He won. Let them go."
"Yes." After accepting the order, Du Huoguan remembered that the Prison Master was deliberately protecting Shi Chun and offered another reminder. "Prison Master, leaving this place will be easy for him, but once he is out, the Qi Household may not spare him. He may be walking straight to his death."
What he meant was that even if the Prison Master helped him now, the effort would be wasted.
Nie pondered briefly, then said coolly, "That woman who came to visit the prisoner-execute her on the spot."
"..." Du Huoguan thought he had misheard. Coming to his senses, he hurriedly asked, "If we kill Qi Yueru, how will we answer to the Qi Household?"
"What Qi Household? Never heard of them." Nie turned and walked toward the Brocade Couch. "After the execution, hang her corpse outside the city for all to see. Say that I personally executed her!"
His meaning was plain. Afraid they would demand an explanation? Let the Qi Household come ask him for one.