The Fox Spirit Raised by the Villain Wants to Defect - Chapter 30

“Don’t be afraid, I have no ill will.”

The hand stretched toward Xiaoyu was cracked and dry, with blackened fingertips that looked like they had been stained from long-term exposure to some substance.

Xiaoyu took a step back, avoiding her hand.

“Apologies, but I am not accustomed to being touched by others,” she declined, her eyes now filled with caution toward Lian Qiao.

Lian Qiao was mentioned very few times in the original book, and Xiaoyu had no impression of her.

However, her intuition told her that this woman, like Duanmu Ying, harbored hostility toward the Monster Race.

Her current identity was that of a monster, and she had already been manipulated by Lian Qiao once, so she could not expose too much.

Lian Qiao withdrew her hand, wearing a look of disappointment.

“Since the young lady is unwilling, I won’t force it,” she said, smiling, the wrinkles on her old face deepening. “But I am curious, what is your relationship with Wen Yu? I have been in the sect for many years, yet I have never seen a demon beast by his side.”

As she spoke, her cloudy eyes darted up and down, finally settling on Xiaoyu’s face, conveying a speculative expression.

Xiaoyu understood her meaning and did not want to get entangled with her.

“Are you his newly acquired demon slave?”

Xiaoyu was stunned. Although she did not know the exact meaning of “demon slave” (妖奴), she had heard the term “human slave”  in the demon domain before, suggesting it was nothing good.

“That is a matter between Wen Yu and myself, which I am not at liberty to discuss,” Xiaoyu stated. “Thank you for your help earlier.”

She gave her final thanks and walked past Lian Qiao to leave.

Lian Qiao turned and watched her retreating figure, deep in thought.

Before long, Duanmu Ying emerged.

“Aunt, are you feeling better? Why are you standing out here?” Duanmu Ying had just woken up and, not seeing Lian Qiao, feared something had happened. She only relaxed after stepping out of the cabin and seeing her aunt’s figure.

Lian Qiao smiled as Duanmu Ying approached her, saying, “Much better. Your aunt is a Medical Cultivator; when I treat myself, I recover quickly.”

Duanmu Ying was still uneasy: “My mother passed away early. Now, the only close relatives I have are you and my father. You absolutely must not have any more accidents.”

Ever since her mother’s death, her aunt had always looked after her.

She was not her birth mother, but better than one.

Lian Qiao took Duanmu Ying’s hand, patted the back of it, and comforted her: “Don’t be afraid. Here I am, back and alive and well.”

“When we return to the sect, I will speak to Father and insist that we must find the people who kidnapped you,” the memory of Lian Qiao’s haggard appearance in the pit filled Duanmu Ying with fresh anger.

This matter must be thoroughly investigated!

Lian Qiao merely agreed and said nothing else.

“Let’s go back. Aunt, you need to rest and recuperate,” Duanmu Ying said worriedly, helping Lian Qiao.

Lian Qiao nodded, and the two slowly returned to the room.

As soon as Duanmu Ying closed the door, she heard Lian Qiao ask her: “How did that fox demon come to be traveling with you all?”

The mention of Xiaoyu immediately ignited Duanmu Ying’s fury.

“When we were looking for you, we went to a demon domain. I separated from my Master and went with my Senior Brother to search for clues. Later, my Senior Brother was captured by a demon beast. When I went to find Master to rescue him, that fox demon was already close to Master.”

Duanmu Ying poured out the details of her experiences over the past few days to Lian Qiao.

Lian Qiao responded with acknowledgments as she listened.

“Based on that, she approached Wen Yu with a specific objective, then?”

Duanmu Ying agreed: “She is absolutely harboring malicious intent! How could a demon beast genuinely treat a human kindly…”

As she said this, however, she recalled Mount Fu Lord and Lady Rong.

Her voice gradually dropped toward the end, and she herself began to feel uncertain.

Someone as powerful as Mount Fu Lord, who could stand almost shoulder-to-shoulder with her Master back then, fell in love with a demon beast.

If that was true, then what about her Senior Brother…

Her Senior Brother was a demon, which was even different from a demon beast.

The Demon Race and the Human Race had always been natural enemies, at odds for many years. Why would her Senior Brother be a demon?

Why must he be a demon?

“Xiao Ying, Xiao Ying? What are you thinking about?” Lian Qiao noticed Duanmu Ying becoming distracted while speaking and called her name a few times.

Duanmu Ying immediately snapped back and hurriedly replied: “Nothing. I was just thinking about the fox demon’s objective in approaching Master.”

She did not tell Lian Qiao that Nan Chenghui was a demon.

Nan Chenghui and Yan Ziqiong had already been under Wen Yu’s tutelage before she became his disciple.

Wen Yu must know that Nan Chenghui is a demon, but he concealed it from her.

When she returned to the sect, she would ask her father if he knew Nan Chenghui’s identity.

She could not speak of it now.

“The Demon Race approaches the Human Race for only one purpose,” Lian Qiao reminded Duanmu Ying, “Destruction.”

“Your mother, in the past, died tragically because of a demon race invasion.”

This sentence was like a sharp knife, cruelly slicing open Duanmu Ying’s sealed memories.

Her face instantly turned pale, and she clenched her hands, hatred surging out.

“I remember. I remember everything.”

She vividly recalled how the demon beasts killed her mother and how they tormented them.

“Aunt, I know what I must do.”

Duanmu Ying looked toward the closed door. Directly across from that door was Xiaoyu’s room.

Inside the room, Xiaoyu was currently lying down, practicing her demonic power.

She wanted to master her innate abilities and also wanted to comprehend a few more. Although Wen Yu had agreed to her request, practicing more herself would surely do no harm.

The only issue was that she did not know the effect of her solitary practice.

The Charm Technique needed to be used on a living creature to see what level of mastery she had achieved.

After practicing for a while, Xiaoyu suddenly realized that she had been awake for so long, yet she hadn’t heard any movement from Wen Yu.

Was he still asleep?

He looked quite energetic last night, not like someone with severe injuries.

Suddenly, the image of Wen Yu covered in red threads at the edge of the pit flashed in her mind. At that time, he possessed a kind of broken beauty.

The situation was too critical then to overthink it.

Thinking back on it now, Xiaoyu couldn’t help but sigh.

He was handsome and powerful, so why must he die so early?

After practicing for a bit, Xiaoyu lay down on the bed to rest.

But before long, she heard a faint tapping sound.

Xiaoyu immediately sprang up, looking around.

Could the ‘Coal Ball’ be back to urge her to kill Wen Yu?

Her gaze shifted and spotted the emerald green jade flute at the window.

As soon as the jade flute saw Xiaoyu look its way, it swiftly flew into the room and landed in front of her.

The emerald green jade flute disassembled and used its fragments to form characters.

“Come over.”

Xiaoyu read the words aloud and asked, “Is Daozhang calling me to go over?”

The fragments reassembled into the jade flute, which bobbed up and down.

“Alright, I’m coming right now,” Xiaoyu got out of bed, put on her shoes, and walked toward the door.

That’s strange. Why does he need to use the jade flute to relay a message? It’s like he’s doing something sneaky.

Xiaoyu looked at the jade flute: “Why didn’t you come through the main door? Are you afraid of being seen by others?”

This time, the jade flute ignored Xiaoyu and flew directly out of the window.

Xiaoyu opened the door and walked straight toward Wen Yu’s room.

It seemed that Wen Yu needed her for something, but he did not want the other two people to know?

She tried to walk as quietly as possible. When she reached Wen Yu’s door, before she could knock, the door opened, and the jade flute flew to her back, pushing her inside.

The door closed, and Xiaoyu saw the person lying on the bed.

He lay there straight and still with his eyes closed, his chest barely rising and falling.

The jade flute flew onto Wen Yu’s body, tapped his waist, and urged Xiaoyu to come closer.

“Daozhang?”

Xiaoyu stood by the bed and called out, but he did not wake up.

“What’s wrong with him?” Xiaoyu asked casually. She then suddenly remembered that the jade flute could not speak. She was just about to move closer to check when the jade flute turned into fragments, forming one character after another for Xiaoyu to read.

“Heal wounds.”

“Mustard Seed Talisman.”

“Pills.”

Xiaoyu read them out loud, understanding the jade flute’s meaning.

She had not expected Wen Yu’s Natal Magic Weapon to be so sentient and protective of its master.

“Where is his Mustard Seed Talisman?” Xiaoyu looked where the jade flute pointed, but there was only the belt fastening his waist.

The jade flute nudged the belt, signaling Xiaoyu to use her hand.

Xiaoyu reached out, specifically checking to see if Wen Yu was awake. She felt relieved only after confirming his eyes were tightly shut.

She probed inside the waist wrap at the spot the jade flute indicated, but she didn’t touch anything.

There was only the cool, smooth fabric of his clothes.

Xiaoyu reached in a little deeper, feeling inside, her movements very small.

She could still only feel his clothing.

She decided to use both hands and simply removed the waist wrap.

Since Wen Yu wouldn’t wake up now, she should find the Mustard Seed Talisman first.

She had just taken off the waist wrap, and before she could put it down, the jade flute lightly smacked the back of her hand.

“Why did you hit me!” Xiaoyu lowered her voice, retaliating with a gentle tap on the jade flute.

The jade flute ignored Xiaoyu this time and pointed directly at a spot on Wen Yu’s body.

Xiaoyu reached out and lifted his outer garment. Sure enough, on the inside, she saw a piece of talisman paper tightly pressed against the clothing, upon which was drawn a diagram she did not understand.

“How do I take it out?”

Xiaoyu had never seen this item before. Earlier, Wen Yu had conjured the flying boat with a wave of his hand, which must have come from the Mustard Seed Talisman.

The jade flute transformed into a sword, carefully drew a tiny bit of blood from Wen Yu’s body, and then swiftly cut a small opening on Xiaoyu’s finger, collecting the overflowing blue blood.

It fused the two drops of blood and applied them to the Mustard Seed Talisman.

Xiaoyu only felt a slight sting, and the wound on her hand healed.

Before she could process the jade flute’s quick series of actions, the sword body lifted the Mustard Seed Talisman and slapped it into Xiaoyu’s hand.

The moment she touched the Mustard Seed Talisman, Xiaoyu immediately sensed a spatial area inside, storing many items.

After marveling at how convenient it was, she began to retrieve the items as instructed by the jade flute.

With a thought, she simply took everything out.

Xiaoyu looked at the numerous bottles and asked incredulously, “Does he have to eat all of these?”

If he needed to take so much medicine, were his injuries very severe?

The jade flute shook slightly, urging Xiaoyu to feed him the medicine.

It was clear that the jade flute was very anxious and worried.

Xiaoyu had no choice but to feed him the pills one by one.

She lifted Wen Yu’s head, sat on the bed, and let him rest against her lap.

She gently pinched his mouth open, poured in one pill, and then closed it.

She wondered if this method was effective.

After feeding him, Xiaoyu got up to put the bottles and jars back into the Mustard Seed Talisman.

She asked the jade flute, “Is he alright?”

The jade flute dissolved into fragments to form two words: “Don’t worry.”

The Natal Magic Weapon certainly resembled its master; even its way of speaking was similar.

Xiaoyu felt reassured and did not rush to leave.

Looking at the weak person, she suddenly felt a bit melancholy.

Even someone so powerful could be injured so severely.

Thinking of how Wen Yu had blocked the attack for her earlier, Xiaoyu took the opportunity, while he was still unconscious, to look at his palm.

His palm had many tiny red dots. Xiaoyu reached out and carefully touched them, a warmth flowing through her heart.

She mentally thanked him again.

She then placed Wen Yu’s hand back and quietly asked the jade flute, “Why didn’t you call Lian Qiao? She’s a Medical Cultivator.”

The jade flute gently tapped Xiaoyu’s head and placed its cold body against Xiaoyu’s forehead.

It seemed to be using its temperature to make Xiaoyu think carefully.

“Why do you always like to get physical?” Xiaoyu protested. “Just say it directly if you don’t trust them. I can figure it out.”

Even a jade flute can bully me now, hmph!

Just wait until Wen Yu wakes up; you’re going to be reported.

Xiaoyu did not wait for Wen Yu to wake up, but she did wait for Duanmu Ying.

When the door was knocked, Xiaoyu’s heart leaped to her throat, and she stared anxiously at the door.

She felt a little guilty, like a thief.

“Master, have you not woken up yet? Aunt has something she wishes to discuss with you.”

Xiaoyu did not make a sound, maintaining her original posture motionless.

She was not afraid that Duanmu Ying would just walk in.

If Wen Yu did not speak, Duanmu Ying would not rashly enter.

What she feared was Duanmu Ying returning with Lian Qiao. Lian Qiao’s status was higher than Duanmu Ying’s, and she was an elder. Xiaoyu truly feared they would walk in and immediately start accusing her.

Duanmu Ying asked again and did not enter.

Footsteps sounded, growing fainter until they completely disappeared. Only then did Xiaoyu breathe a sigh of relief.

They finally left.

“When will he wake up?” Xiaoyu asked the jade flute, then looked at Wen Yu.

His pale face was bloodless, and his open clothes revealed blood holes, which made Xiaoyu’s heart wrench.

It must have been so painful. How did he endure the array’s attack at the time?

Was the price for breaking the Killing Array this state of unconsciousness?

So, when he spoke to her last night, was he actually forcing himself, revealing his weak side only in front of her?

Xiaoyu sighed, thinking that Wen Yu must have a very difficult life, with so many people trying to kill him.

Her gaze moved down, seeing the clothes she had messed up. She quickly found the waist wrap and helped him tidy his garments one by one.

She ran into trouble while trying to fasten the belt, as she had to pass the waist wrap behind Wen Yu’s back and then around to the front to tie it.

Xiaoyu held one end of the waist wrap, attempting to slide her hand under Wen Yu’s waist, close to the bed surface.

“Why is this person so heavy?”

She exerted great effort just to get her hand past his waist.

With her other hand, she grabbed the protruding end of the belt, freeing the hand that was holding the other end.

Both hands were now holding one end of the waist wrap, but she paused.

How do I tie this? Do I cross them or…?

Xiaoyu motioned with the belt for a long time but still hadn’t figured out how to fasten it properly when a voice startled her so much that she immediately dropped the waist wrap in her hands.

“What are you doing?”

Wen Yu was awake.

The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Xiaoyu holding his waist wrap, while his own clothes were loose.

Seeing this scene, an absurd thought flashed through Wen Yu’s mind. After suppressing the thought, he spoke.

A dense, prickling pain spread across his body, but Wen Yu only frowned, showing no outward sign of pain.

“Why are you here?”

It was not until this sentence was spoken that Xiaoyu realized the jade flute had called her, and Wen Yu had been unconscious the entire time.

“Your jade flute called me over to save you,” Xiaoyu stood up straight, pointing at the jade flute.

Wen Yu followed Xiaoyu’s hand to the upright jade flute. After the pain subsided somewhat, he spoke.

“To save me, why did you have to remove my clothes?”

After speaking, Wen Yu propped himself up to lean against the headboard, his pair of dark eyes staring directly at Xiaoyu.

The fox ears were gone.

The magical seal he had carved onto Xiaoyu’s fox ears was also gone.

A bitter taste filled his mouth.

Wen Yu pursed his lips and summoned the jade flute.

As soon as he touched the jade flute, the connection with his Natal Magic Weapon immediately took effect, and Wen Yu learned what had happened since he lost consciousness.

Although the information was fragmented, he could generally piece things together.

Sure enough, his illness was related to demonic energy.

Wen Yu held the jade flute, listening to Xiaoyu’s explanation, but his thoughts had already drifted elsewhere.

“Daozhang, are you listening?”

Xiaoyu waved toward Wen Yu, but he didn’t look up at her.

What is he thinking about? He is so preoccupied.

Wen Yu withdrew his thoughts, suppressed the strange emotion in his heart, and looked up at Xiaoyu: “Thank you for your trouble. Yesterday…”

He had no memory of the latter half of yesterday.

The increasingly frequent onset of his illness and the lack of memory during crucial moments were causing him uncertainty.

Especially with the variable of Xiaoyu being present.

“It’s nothing, Daozhang,” Xiaoyu smiled. Seeing Wen Yu’s weak appearance, she hesitated for a moment and asked him, “Was that Killing Array very powerful?”

The Wen Yu she had seen before always walked at the very front, his posture tall and firm, standing like a great mountain that would not fall.

Now, he was leaning there, his face pale, with slightly messy strands of hair hanging along his cheeks. It made Xiaoyu feel that even the person renowned as the Human Realm’s strongest Sword Venerable also had moments of vulnerability.

The worry on her face fell into Wen Yu’s eyes. Wen Yu suppressed the sudden, inexplicable irritability in his heart and recalled the Killing Array.

The Immortal Execution Killing Array, created by the Demon Lord two hundred years ago specifically against the Human Race, had enough power to kill Human Cultivators of his rank.

But clearly, the person who laid down such an array could not fully exert its power, using puppet threads as an auxiliary to restrain him.

Wen Yu closed his eyes, pushing down his emotions.

Since they were on the flying boat, it meant the matter had been resolved.

The reason he was not dead might be due to the demonic energy that had not yet fully dispersed within his body.

“It was the Immortal Execution Killing Array; they came for me,” Wen Yu looked up, his face calm, not looking injured at all.

His gaze landed on Xiaoyu’s trembling eyes, which were clear and showed concern.

Whether it was the lingering effect of Xiaoyu’s desire-to-breed fragrance or because he was weak all over from excessive blood loss, Wen Yu suddenly just wanted to stay put quietly, with this little fox by his side.

“Don’t worry,” Wen Yu moved a finger, comforting her awkwardly, “I will recover soon.”

Xiaoyu felt relieved and pointed to the door, “Duanmu Ying just came by. She said Lian Qiao has something to discuss with you.”

Wen Yu collected his thoughts, catching the name Lian Qiao. It seemed they had indeed found Lian Qiao in the Sand Demon Domain.

Having been unconscious for too long, he needed time to sort out everything that had happened.

“We can ignore Lian Qiao for now.”

He had been at the Yuehui Sect for many years, and the number of times he had met Lian Qiao could be counted on one hand. He did not believe Lian Qiao’s need to speak with him was urgent.

“Oh, alright then.” Xiaoyu stopped speaking and just continued to stare at Wen Yu.

Her gaze was too direct, making Wen Yu feel a little uncomfortable.

For the first time in his life, he had exposed his severely injured and weak side to someone else, and that someone was a demon beast he had only known for a few days.

Wen Yu tightened his grip on the jade flute, then suddenly released it, placing the flute aside. He turned his face away from Xiaoyu and asked her,

“Could your ears be retracted now?”

Upon hearing this, Xiaoyu immediately raised her hand to touch the top of her head. She hadn’t realized her ears had shrunk back when she combed her hair earlier.

“I don’t know,” Xiaoyu lowered her hand. “After you turned me back into my original form, and then Lian Qiao helped me suppress the desire to breed, they turned out like this.”

Not having fox ears was very convenient. As long as the cultivator wasn’t too powerful, they should not be able to tell her true form was a demon.

“Once I meet Yan Ziqiong and learn demonic techniques from him, I should be able to learn to control my body.”

She said so much, only to receive a single grunt of agreement from Wen Yu.

Xiaoyu scrutinized Wen Yu, trying to discern something from him.

Is he injured, so his spirits are low, and his attitude is so flat?

Wen Yu turned his head to look at the jade flute; Xiaoyu could no longer see his profile completely.

The jade flute shook slightly, responding to Wen Yu.

“Bring me my waist wrap,” was the only thing he eventually said.

Only then did Xiaoyu notice that Wen Yu’s clothes were still loose, and the collar had opened due to his movement when sitting up.

She saw a tiny red spot on his collarbone, which looked like a mole.

But that should be a wound left behind by the red thread piercing him.

Handing the waist wrap to Wen Yu, Xiaoyu pointed to the crimson “mole” on his collarbone and asked, “How are your injuries?”

Wen Yu saw her pointing at him, looked down, and the collar opened wider because of his movement while accepting the waist wrap.

He calmly used his hand to close his garment, slowly fastened the waist wrap, looked up at Xiaoyu, and answered her question: “Not very well.”

His blood was nearly exhausted. If his body wasn’t unique, he would have already lost his life.

“Then I’ll just stay here and take care of you,” Xiaoyu moved a chair to the bedside, intending to stay with him.

“You saved me. Consider this my repayment to you.”

Wen Yu’s gaze fell on her eyes. After a moment, he replied, “Alright.”

Before Xiaoyu could say anything more, Duanmu Ying’s voice rang out from outside the door: “Master, Senior Brother has woken up!”

Both of them simultaneously turned their gaze toward the doorway.