A Matter of Grave Importance

Hu Jiuying's right hand, which had just been holding a chicken drumstick, transformed into a white fox claw and gouged into Princess Consort Huai's eye sockets.

Riiip!

"Aah-!"

Princess Consort Huai screamed involuntarily. Born into wealth and privilege, she had never suffered such torture.

Before, she had only watched others suffer and felt the punishments were not cruel enough. Now that it was her turn, she regretted not having killed Hu Yue outright.

"How dare you! How dare you! How dare you..."

Princess Consort Huai babbled incoherently, the excruciating pain nearly driving her mind to collapse.

Before her screams could leave the room, a transparent barrier blocked them. Hu Jiuying wanted Princess Consort Huai to experience the same torture, so she had not sealed her five senses.

"The Green Mound Fox Clan always repays kindness and avenges wrongs. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

"Now it's time for the teeth," Hu Jiuying said.

Her magical power became threads that wound around Princess Consort Huai's teeth and tongue, then yanked viciously.

Blood sprayed from her mouth and flooded her throat. Princess Consort Huai made muffled noises. "Kiww me... pwease kiww me..."

"Hehehe, do you take me for a fool? Besides, Hu Yue didn't die by your hand..."

Hu Jiuying smiled with pursed lips. "Why not make your life worse than death?"

Streaks of magical light fell upon Princess Consort Huai, shattering every bone in her limbs and body. Unless she obtained an immortal pill capable of reviving the dead and growing flesh on bare bones, she would spend the rest of her life bedridden.

Having finished, Hu Jiuying turned into a streak of light and vanished.

A moment later, she appeared in another courtyard.

The night was deep and silent.

Li Su, Prince Huai's heir, lay dead drunk in a pavilion.

A cold wind blew past. He opened his bleary eyes and saw a lovely figure slowly approaching.

"Bright Moon! You're still alive?"

Li Su scrambled up in delight and reached out to grab the woman.

"My dear Li, how could you be so heartless? Why didn't you come save me?"

"I... I was afraid of my mother... Bright Moon, I hate myself! I hate my own cowardice!"

Li Su dropped to his knees with a thud and actually began sobbing. "I always thought I was a skilled fighter, accomplished with bow and horse. Only when it mattered did I realize I was nothing but a coward..."

The woman's voice sounded distant and ethereal. "Then do you truly love me?"

Li Su wiped away his tears. "Bright Moon, I truly love you. It was Mother who tore us apart."

"Then why not take your own life? We can be husband and wife in the underworld, and no one will ever separate us!"

A precious sword fell before Li Su, its cold gleam shimmering.

"Take my own life... I..."

Li Su picked up the sword and placed it against his neck. He tried desperately to draw it across, but hesitated for a long while.

"C-c-can I tell Father first? He'll be heartbroken if I die. Imperial Grandfather dotes on me, too. I need to say goodbye..."

"Shut up!"

"Don't say another word."

"If you won't die, I'll do it myself!"

Suddenly.

A dragon's roar resounded throughout Green Transformation Ward.

Roooar-!

Before the dragon's roar faded, an overwhelming pressure rose from Prince Huai's Residence, and a vast bank of dark clouds abruptly appeared overhead.

A human figure stood amid the clouds, his Daoist robes snapping in the wind. A golden pillar of light descended from the precious mirror in his hand, sweeping every inch of Prince Huai's Residence.

Hu Jiuying flickered, turning into a streak of light as she fled.

"The heir's a spineless weakling, but I never expected Princess Consort Huai to have some backbone. She actually killed herself!"

The Daoist in the sky noticed the fleeing light and bellowed.

"Fiend, where do you think you're going!"

Rumble...

Thunder rolled within the dark clouds. Guided by the Daoist's magical power, it condensed into bolts of lightning that struck the fleeing light.

"You think a paltry lightning-control art can keep your granny here?"

Hu Jiuying retained her human form, but nine fox tails, each dozens of yards long, sprouted from her back. Terrifying demonic energy surged into the sky.

"A nine-tailed demon fox!"

The nine fox tails swept across the sky. In an instant, the lightning died and the clouds scattered. Unable to dodge in time, the Daoist was smashed straight into the ground.

"Hehehe, study for a few more centuries, little Daoist. Your granny will be waiting for you in Green Mound."

With a string of silvery laughter, Hu Jiuying rode her fleeing light into the night sky and vanished.

Prince Huai's Residence stood in Green Transformation Ward, only a few miles from the Imperial Palace.

When the dragon-roar alarm sounded, three streaks of light rose from the Imperial Palace. By the time they reached Prince Huai's Residence, however, the nine-tailed fox had vanished without a trace.

Xuanwei waved a hand and drew out the Daoist, who had been smashed dozens of yards underground. He fed him a pill and dissolved it with magical power.

The Daoist slowly awoke. Seeing Xuanwei, he hurriedly saluted. "Greetings, Martial Uncle Xuanwei."

"Linghua, what exactly happened? Who triggered the dragon's cry?" Xuanwei demanded sternly.

The formations and barriers in the Imperial Palace and the princes' residences had all been installed by the Daoist Order itself. Yet a member of the demon race had come and gone freely. It would be difficult to explain when His Majesty assigned blame afterward.

Linghua gave a bitter smile. "Martial Uncle, Princess Consort Huai was brutally attacked. The killer was a nine-tailed fox from Green Mound."

A nine-tailed fox was a first-rank demon king. Even Xuanwei could not be certain he would be a match for her.

"Amitabha. Even a nine-tailed fox should not be able to evade both the Demon-Revealing Mirror and the Demon-Subduing Spell entirely."

Kongci wore a sorrowful expression. The Buddhist School would not escape punishment either, for Prince Huai's Residence also bore Buddhist spells blessed by eminent monks.

Eunuch Zhu, deputy chief of the Palace Attendants Bureau, glanced at the two Buddhist and Daoist masters and snorted. "Let's look at the princess consort first. Let me make this clear: His Majesty must already know of this. None of us can shirk responsibility."

The three exchanged glances and descended to the ground.

Many people had already gathered in the courtyard.

At the princess consort's bedside.

Prince Huai, Li Heng, stared grimly at his consort, who had died with her eyes still open. His heir, Li Su, knelt limply beside him.

"Unfilial wretch! You've caused your mother's death!"

"Father, I was wrong! Beat me to death!"

Li Su had lost all hope. He held a withered twig in his hand; the sharp sword had revealed its true form.

Hu Jiuying had lived for hundreds of years and long understood that killing a person was not as effective as destroying their heart.

The more Li Su hated his own cowardice, the more she exposed his cowardly nature.

Eunuch Zhu and the others entered. Seeing the princess consort's gruesome death, they hurried forward to pay their respects.

"Greetings, Your Highness."

Prince Huai was the reigning emperor's nephew and enjoyed great favor. As the current Clan Court Director, he held immense rank and power. Neither the Immortal Stipend Bureau nor the Palace Attendants Bureau could escape blame for this affair.

"Please rise, honored Attendants. My beloved consort was killed by a demon. I ask your help in tracking down the culprit."

Even Li Heng did not dare put on the airs of a prince before first-rank masters.

"Your Highness, please provide something the princess consort carried on her person, so I may divine the fox demon's whereabouts."

"A strand of hair or a trace of blood would be best," Xuanwei added. "That will allow greater precision."

Li Heng plucked a strand of hair and collected a drop of blood. "Please cast your spell, True Person Xuanwei!" he said solemnly.

Xuanwei's expression grew grave as he circulated his magical power.

"With blood as the guide, trace the trail across a thousand miles!"

The hair ignited without a flame, and red fire rose from the blood. An unfathomable fluctuation spread through the unseen, following the threads of bloodline and karma. Just as it was about to locate the fox demon's trail-

A hazy female figure appeared out of thin air. Her gaze was indifferent as she glanced at Xuanwei.

His soul shuddered, and his energy fell into chaos...

Pfft...

Xuanwei spat out a mouthful of blood. He hurriedly took out a pill bottle and poured its contents into his mouth as though his life depended on it.

Kongci murmured scriptures, his prayer beads spinning rapidly through his fingers.

Eunuch Zhu stared blankly, coughed a few times, and bowed respectfully to Prince Huai.

"Your Highness, this is a matter of grave importance. This old servant had best report to His Majesty first."

Same Fortune Inn.

Zhou Yi stood before the window, looking toward Green Transformation Ward.

The demonic energy soaring into the heavens could be clearly sensed from dozens of miles away. Who knew how many masters in the Capital it had awakened?

The fox spirit Feng Ling'er nestled in Zhou Yi's arms. A throbbing resonance in her bloodline made it impossible for her to cultivate in peace.

"What was coming has come. Where there is a cause, there must be a consequence."

Spiritual light flickered in Zhou Yi's eyes as he watched the nine-tailed fox's aura flee from Green Transformation Ward into South City. He merely sighed softly and made no move to stop her.

Last year's courtesan queen, Bright Moon-the Green Mound fox Hu Yue-had died beneath Zhou Yi's executioner's blade. Whether she deserved death had already been judged by the Demon and Monster Compendium. Even so, Zhou Yi could not approve of Princess Consort Huai's actions.

She had subjected a woman to all manner of torture because her son was infatuated with her, yet placed no restraints on Li Su himself. A great disaster had only been a matter of time.

From Hu Yue's memories, Zhou Yi had learned that the Green Mound Fox Clan lived in the blessed land of Green Mound Mountain. Their ancestor was a Fox Immortal who had surpassed the nine-tailed stage.

How could a descendant of the Fox Immortal's bloodline die horribly at human hands without retaliation?

With such a power behind them, Zhou Yi was unwilling to expose himself unless he had no other choice.

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