Chapter 301: Exorcising Demons

The demon cage fell silent once again.

But the fire fox's heart could no longer be still:

"Dragon qi."

"It's dragon qi!"

Its eyes ignited in an instant, as if flames burned within, and it began to tremble uncontrollably.

The fire fox never imagined.

That it would see a true dragon body, a rarity after ten thousand years.

"The Demon Lord will surely love this!"

The true dragon body appears once in a thousand years; dragon qi aids demonic beasts in transformation and is a supreme tonic for them. It is said that dragons never originally existed—"dragon" was merely a title given to the strongest among demonic beasts.

Dragon qi benefits all demonic beasts.

"No!"

"If I eat this man, why should I fear the Demon Lord? I will become the Demon Lord."

"Yes."

In an instant, the fire fox made its decision.

Then, taking advantage of a moment when no one was paying attention, it vanished from the demon cage.

Outside the demon cage.

Though the crowd flowed like a river, Li Rui brought the tall boy to a quieter corner.

Then he pulled a silver ingot from his sleeve:

"Alright, go home."

The tall boy stared at the silver, eyes wide: "Sir."

He had thought he would be taken by this old man to live in one of the grand three- or four-court mansions the elder had mentioned.

He never expected this outcome.

Li Rui: "Anything else?"

"N-nothing."

The tall boy quickly shook his head. Though disappointed, the old man's generosity was immense—this silver equaled years of his wages; his parents would be overjoyed.

He bowed repeatedly, then ran off in excitement.

Li Rui smiled and shook his head.

"Do what you can."

He couldn't change everything—only help when he saw an opportunity without harming himself.

Had he not acted today,

the tall boy would likely have been beaten to death.

He claimed to have taken an interest in the boy, yet never brought him into the mansion, merely saying so to the demon cage's overseers.

With his reputation, the overseers wouldn't dare harass the boy further.

He had once been a suffering soul himself, so he understood the boy's plight.

'Consider it a good deed for the day.'

Afterwards,

He squinted slightly at the demon cage, lost in thought.

Night deepened; the streets grew emptier.

Occasionally, a few staggering drunks could be seen.

At the entrance of the glittering Zui Xian Pavilion, three large red lanterns glowed merrily, and the people below all wore smiles.

"Brother Li, no need to see me off, really no need."

"I can walk myself."

Yan Zhongxing staggered out of Zui Xian Pavilion, then climbed onto the Shi Mao Office's carriage.

With a crisp "Giddy-up!" from the driver,

the wheels crushed pebbles with a clatter, vanishing into the night's end.

Li Rui's face was slightly flushed; he watched the distance with a smile, which gradually faded.

He had just finished inspecting the demon cage; at dusk, Yan Zhongxing sent someone to invite him to dinner—and of course, to drink.

The key was, Yan Zhongxing had an abysmal tolerance for alcohol.

Li Rui had already experienced this before.

So from the moment they sat down, he had already planned: barely three or five cups, and Yan Zhongxing was already half-blind with drunkenness; knocking him out was effortless.

Hmm.

He deliberately asked the Zui Xian Pavilion's shopkeeper for the strongest liquor available.

Time is precious; better to save it.

By the time he returns, he can still complete his Qi circulation and sleep at his usual hour.

At his age, he always preferred to follow a set routine.

"Master, here's the sobering powder."

Wang Zhao walked over and handed Li Rui a packet of herbal powder.

Li Rui wasn't drunk at all, but he still tipped his head back and swallowed the powder.

It was dry and gritty.

He swallowed it with great effort.

"Let's go, Xiao Zhao. Head back to the mansion."

He stepped onto the carriage already waiting at the gate and leaned back, feigning sleep.

After a slight sway, the carriage slowly headed toward Anning Guard.

In a dark alley opposite Zui Xian Pavilion,

a flash of crimson Shenying darted past.

The carriage passed through the bustling Qinghe Street, then turned onto a quieter side road.

It detected not the slightest trace of anything following.

'This is the place.'

The fire fox observed its surroundings—this was the perfect spot to strike.

'The true dragon body is mine!'

His heart burned with heat.

His speed increased rapidly until he became a streak of rainbow light, appearing before the carriage in a blink, his toes landing silently upon the ground.

'What is that?!'

Wang Zhao was startled by the sudden appearance of the fire fox, too stunned to react.

The moment his gaze met the fire fox's,

his mind exploded.

His eyes glazed over, his body stiffened in place.

The Red Dragon Horse, as if seeing its sovereign, froze in place, trembling violently, nearly collapsing to its knees.

'A great demon!'

The Red Dragon Horse's face twisted in terror.

In an instant, Wang Zhao and the Red Dragon Horse were subdued; the fire fox didn't even glance at them.

With a swift whoosh, it shot toward the carriage.

Just as its body neared the carriage curtain, two large hands suddenly reached out from within, gripping its neck firmly.

"Squeak!"

The fire fox's black-and-gold pupils widened in terror.

A force so terrifying it made its soul tremble surged violently into its body from those hands.

In an instant,

it lost all strength.

It was a fifth-rank demonic beast!

How could it be subdued so easily?!

How was this possible?!

The carriage curtain was pulled aside, revealing Li Rui's face.

"Chi Yan Hu Hu?"

He smiled faintly, studying the fiery fox in his grip with interest.

"I sensed something odd about you in the demon cage. Everyone thought you were just a fire fox, but you're of the royal bloodline—the Chi Yan Hu Hu."

In that instant, the Chi Yan Hu Hu was overcome with unbearable fear.

Not only because of the terrifying power of this human, but because he clearly understood what it was saying.

This was a nightmare!

The Chi Yan Hu Hu couldn't believe what he saw.

Li Rui's expression remained as calm as ever.

Because he attended the banquet today solely to create an opportunity for this Crimson Flame Fox.

At the demon pen.

The tall boy reminded him that the corner of the demon pen was dirty; an ordinary official might have merely nodded and ignored it, but Li Rui, having risen from the bottom, understood immediately that this was a veiled warning.

Dirty.

It wasn't the environment that was dirty—it was something foul.

The foul thing in the demon pen was, of course, a strange beast.

Only then did Li Rui realize the beast locked in that corner was no ordinary creature—it was a fifth-rank beast.

A fifth-rank beast in the demon pen.

To put it plainly, it was like someone capturing a fifth-rank human cultivator and selling him as a slave.

Something that simply could not happen.

When something defies normalcy, there must be a sinister cause.

Since the Crimson Flame Fox showed no injuries, the only possibility was that this beast had ulterior motives.

Merely this alone would not have prompted Li Rui to go to such lengths—he was not personally involved.

But every single detail, every single clue, every single piece of content, when viewed together—

The key was that after he looked at the Crimson Flame Fox, the mist within his Insight Eyes turned red, confirming that the fox's target was him.

Since it concerned him, and the source of danger had been confirmed,

Li Rui would eliminate the threat while it was still in its infancy.

Later, over wine with Yan Zhongxing, he casually inquired and learned that one beast had gone missing from the demon pen that day—a fox, coincidentally.

Linking these clues together was enough to justify Li Rui's action.

With the Western Heaven Gate and the Demon-Slaying Victory Technique on his person, he had a decisive advantage over beasts.

A fifth-rank beast could not possibly be his match.

With nine-tenths certainty, he would strike first.

As the Immortal Mystical Qi continuously flooded in, it finally reached the breaking point—the Crimson Flame Fox could no longer resist the suppression power within the Qi, its head lolled to one side, and it fainted.

Almost instantly.

Wang Zhao woke up.

He gazed at the cold, empty street—where was the shadow of the strange red fox from moments ago?

He turned his head.

The carriage curtain remained closed, as if nothing had happened.

He suddenly felt cold.

He dared not lift the curtain, but summoned courage and called out tentatively: "Master?"

Then he heard Li Rui's voice:

"Xiao Zhao, let's go."

Hearing Li Rui's voice, Wang Zhao felt uneasy for the first time, his mind spiraling with doubts.

What if his master had been possessed by the fox spirit?

He had often heard the village elders say that the Fox Elder was especially skilled at bewitching minds.

He was about to ask again,

When the Crimson Dragon Horse snorted: "Let's go—the fox has already been captured by your master."

With the Crimson Dragon Horse's words, Wang Zhao finally relaxed.

Li Rui's voice, laced with amusement, came from inside the carriage: "Relax—the matter is settled. Don't spread it around."

The carriage moved slowly forward.

A short while later,

They returned to the Assistant Military Commander's residence.

Li Rui's arms were bulging, as if he carried something inside; he gave Wang Zhao a few instructions in the carriage, then dashed straight to his room the moment he stepped out.

Soon after, he entered the secret chamber.

"Squeak!"

A sharp, piercing cry.

The Crimson Flame Fox's consciousness revived; when it opened its eyes, it saw a room surrounded by candles.

Li Rui's expression was cold:

"Speak—why did you try to attack me?"

The Crimson Flame Fox blinked: "Because… you are the True Dragon Body."

Li Rui frowned slightly:

"How do you know that?"

"The Crimson Flame Fox clan has far superior perception; I could smell it."

Li Rui nodded.

Seeing this, the Crimson Flame Fox hurried to add: "I only wanted to take a single breath of your Qi—I meant no harm."

But the moment it finished speaking,

A pair of large hands seized its head, and the familiar electric shock surged through it, leaving the floor scorched yellow.

Li Rui remained unmoved.

After a full quarter-hour, he released his grip and looked again at the Crimson Flame Fox, now collapsed into a limp heap on the ground:

"You lied."

"This is the cost."

The Crimson Flame Fox stared at Li Rui in terror.

It was afraid.

It was truly afraid.

It had never seen a human with such bizarre methods—it was nearly broken.

"It was the Lord of Giant Rock City—he sent me here to find Little White Dragon, the son of the Old Jiao from Ten Thousand Mountains."

Upon hearing this, Li Rui narrowed his eyes slightly.

The Lord of Giant Rock City wanted to capture Little White Dragon?

After further interrogation,

He confirmed the Crimson Flame Fox had revealed all its secrets, then delivered a final palm strike that ended its life.

He frowned:

"The Lord of Giant Rock City wants to capture Little White?"

Giant Rock City was a major eastern Wuhu city, far more powerful than Barbarian Bone City; its lord was a Primordial-level cultivator, and a Demon Lord resided within its walls.

His power was unfathomable.

This Crimson Flame Fox was one of the Demon Lord's subordinates.

If the Lord of Giant Rock City and the Demon Lord wanted to capture Little White Dragon, Li Rui alone could not protect him.

But sending Little White Dragon back to Ten Thousand Mountains might still be useless.

According to the Crimson Flame Fox's account, neither the Lord of Giant Rock City nor the Demon Lord knew Little White Dragon was here—if they had, they would have simply stormed in, not sent a scout first.

Had the Crimson Flame Fox not been tempted by Li Rui's body, a great disaster might have unfolded.

Even knowing Little White Dragon was protected by a Earth Immortal Jiao, they still moved to act.

This could only mean one thing:

They had a method to counter the Old Jiao.

"This is a difficult matter."

Li Rui fell into thought.

Since it concerned Little White Dragon, he could not stand idly by; the situation was not yet hopeless, and there remained a chance to resolve it.

'If even an Earth Immortal cannot protect him, then the only place in Yunzhou that can is one.'

He cleaned the secret chamber thoroughly.

Only then did Li Rui leave his room and head to a side chamber in the southeast corner of the Assistant Military Commander's residence.

This side chamber was Little White Dragon's quarters.

Qinghe had long spread the rumor that Assistant Regional Commander Li of Anning loved snakes—because he had specifically reserved a room for Little White Dragon, and the story gradually spread.

Though it was a beast,

Li Rui still knocked gently on the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

The muffled knocks echoed.

Soon, the door opened, revealing Little White Dragon in its true form, lazily using its tail to swing the door open.

"Big Brother, what do you need?"

Having stayed with Li Rui for so long, Little White Dragon had grown increasingly human in its understanding.

Li Rui looked at Little White Dragon:

"Little White, do you trust me?"

Little White Dragon: "Of course I do."

Li Rui nodded:

"Then it's settled. Tomorrow I'll send you as tribute to the Marquis of Annan; you'll stay there nicely."

(End of Chapter)