Chapter Forty-Two: The Way Out Is Blocked

Once, this was the stately rear courtyard of a county office.

Now, the half-man, half-beast Guo Youfang sprawled upon the ground, his thunderous snores echoing, as fine fur continued to sprout from his pores. With each passing moment, his features grew more beast-like, less and less recognizable as human.

All around him lay the husks of the living, their flesh and blood devoured, littering the ground with unspeakable stench that tainted the air. The courtyard, now a vision of hell on earth.

Suddenly, the previously motionless fox demon statue shuddered lightly; crimson light flared in its eyes. And across from it, a jade statue as tall as a man had mysteriously appeared.

The Jade Bodhisattva—the very one that had vanished from Qi Xiu’s home—had now, with uncanny strangeness, manifested in the back hall of the county office.

Two statues faced each other, as if engaged in a silent conversation.

The corpse-controlling bell chimed crisply. From the shadows emerged a corpse child, expressionless, clutching a scroll.

With a rustling sound, the scroll unfurled. Upon the pristine paper was painted a young man, refined and scholarly in appearance—Qi Xiu himself. This scroll was left behind by the assassin Peng Chong.

The lifeless fox demon statue slowly turned, its crimson, monstrous eyes fixing upon the scroll in the corpse child’s hands. For a fleeting moment, it seemed to wear a wicked smile.

Its gaze drifted from the scroll, and once again the fox demon faced the Jade Bodhisattva, the intangible conversation resuming.

A few minutes later, their eerie communion ended.

Three corpse children emerged from the shadows, lifting the Jade Bodhisattva and carrying it away.

The fox demon statue, after a brief silence, began to hover slowly, the patterns etched in its body casting twisted, peculiar shadows all about.

In the next instant, the fox demon statue, originally only three feet tall, swelled to nearly three meters in the blink of an eye—a monstrous colossus.

An overwhelming stench flooded the air, tinged with streaks of black and yellow filth, as if even the atmosphere was contaminated.

Suspended in midair, the fox demon’s blood-red eyes swept across Baohua County. Obscure, murmured whispers spilled from its mouth, spreading slowly in all directions.

Affected by these whispers, Guo Youfang, sleeping on the ground, suddenly snapped open his eyes. In his yellow, slit pupils, the reflection of Qi Xiu was unmistakable.

...

Knock, knock, knock—

The night was cloaked in fire and strange happenings. The sudden sound of knocking in a silent alley would make anyone’s heart clench.

Qi Xiu stood at the gate of the Qiao family, rapping insistently, anxiety growing in his eyes.

The Qiao family had cared for him these past two years. Now that disaster was about to strike Baohua County, if he did not help them, their family of three would surely meet a terrible fate.

What was going on?

After a long silence, with no response, Qi Xiu’s brows knitted. Time was short; he lifted his foot, ready to leap over the wall.

Creak—

Just then, the gate opened. Qiao Yong, draped in his robe and carrying a lantern, poked his head out, still half-asleep.

“Mr. Qi? It’s so late—what brings you here?”

Watching Uncle Qiao rub his eyes and yawn, Qi Xiu’s gaze grew peculiar. Such a massive fire in the city, yet Uncle Qiao seemed utterly unaware?

“Uncle Qiao, something terrible is about to happen in the city. Quickly, gather your things and leave with me—”

Suppressing his doubts for the moment, Qi Xiu stepped forward, but abruptly froze.

He looked down at the [Seal] character on his chest, now glowing and burning.

Qi Xiu stared in disbelief at the man before him.

“What’s wrong?” Still oblivious to his disguise being pierced, Qiao Yong scratched his head. “You said something’s happening in the city—what is it?”

His expression serious, Qi Xiu strode forward, pushing past Uncle Qiao and into the courtyard.

“Hey, Mr. Qi, Mr. Qi—!” Qiao Yong hurried to stop him. Despite his best efforts, he could not restrain this seemingly frail scholar.

Bang!

With a kick, the main hall doors burst open.

A wave of foul stench rolled out. On the floor lay two shriveled, blackened bodies—one large, one small.

Atop the table in the hall sat a fox demon statue, draped in a long robe, an eerie, mocking smile upon its face.

Qi Xiu’s mind went blank. He stood rooted, barely believing his eyes.

Uncle Qiao… had indeed worshipped a demon shrine!

“Since you’ve seen everything, you too shall be offered to the great Fox Immortal,” snarled Qiao Yong. Face contorted with madness, he lunged at Qi Xiu, knife in hand, shrieking and cackling.

Hiss—

Qi Xiu spun, catching the blade with one hand. Blood streamed down his sleeve.

His gaze was complicated as he looked at the once honest and simple Uncle Qiao, now driven mad by obsession. Turning towards the fox demon statue, his eyes grew cold.

With a swift motion, he drew his autumn sandalwood cane, slashing out a blade of energy that shattered the statue to pieces.

“No! Fox Immortal! My Fox Immortal!” Qiao Yong wailed, throwing himself at the fragments, frantically gathering them while muttering insane pleas for mercy.

Staring at the madman and the two dead, Qi Xiu pressed his lips together, frowning.

For the first time, he felt a deep, seething loathing and resentment for these so-called monsters and demons.

Watching Qiao Yong still collecting the shattered pieces, Qi Xiu raised his cane several times, only to lower it again and again.

At last, he sighed deeply and turned to leave.

...

Leaving the Qiao household, Qi Xiu hurried down the main street. Around him, some shouted for help to fight the fire, others looked on with idle curiosity, some glared from the shadows with bloodshot eyes, and yet others licked their lips with eerie expressions.

This night, Baohua County had become another world entirely.

All the hidden strangeness and ominous forces accumulated in secret came pouring out amidst the conflagration.

Arriving at the city gate, Qi Xiu looked up at the tightly shut doors, thoughts racing.

By dawn, it would be too late to wait for the gates to open—and judging by the state of things, perhaps no one would come to open them at all.

Scaling the wall would be his only option.

He tightened his bundle and stepped back, preparing to leap onto the wall.

But as he looked up, three ghostly, pale specters hovered over the city tower, their empty eyes meeting his.

With shrill cries, the three ghosts screamed as if sounding an alarm.

What now?

Unease rising in his chest, Qi Xiu readied himself to deal with the ghosts and vault the wall.

Suddenly, a thunderous crash exploded behind him, as if some colossal beast were hurtling at full speed.

From the end of the street, a grotesque, half-man, half-beast figure smashed through the wall in a shower of dust and stone—Guo Youfang, charging madly toward Qi Xiu.

What is that—a crawler?

Qi Xiu eyed the oncoming beast, then turned to leap onto the city tower. The three ghosts could not stop him; a touch of his Crimson Sand Fire would send them howling.

Yet just as Qi Xiu vaulted upward, about to set foot on the tower and escape Baohua County, the shadows atop the wall rippled like water.

Two tall, expressionless figures, radiating a bone-chilling cold, lunged out with blinding speed to intercept him.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

In midair, three figures clashed, fists and feet a blur, the dull sounds of impact thundering like drums.

Thrown back with tremendous force, Qi Xiu landed heavily, feet cracking the ground with spiderweb fissures. Eyes wide with shock, he stared up at the city tower.

“The Jade Bodhisattva?!”

Atop the gate, the corpse child appeared, bearing the serene-faced, prayerful Jade Bodhisattva on its shoulder.

Sensing his gaze, the Bodhisattva’s face twisted into a vicious, murderous snarl, as if intent on devouring Qi Xiu alive—only to melt into a cold, mocking smile, as if to ridicule him for sealing off his only path of escape.

...