Chapter 44: First Glimpse of Eminence

The fox demon's form flickered as she leaned against the head of the bed.

She covered her arm with one hand, raising her eyes with lingering fear, then sneered in shame and anger: "Good, good, good. I thought the Lin family was deceiving me, but it turns out you really killed Yin Lang."

As her words faded, the fox demon suddenly threw off the blanket.

Lin Baiwei wore only a thin undergarment, her fragrant shoulders exposed; several bruises marred her pretty face, and dried blood clotted at the corner of her lips.

Her gaze was hazy as she struggled to maintain consciousness.

The fox demon gripped her neck, sharp nails digging viciously into the flesh, her voice shrill: "I told you to sleep with this wretch, to torture this wretch, to kill this wretch! Yet you learned martial arts from her!"

"You are quite the teacher, my Lin Captain! You turned the dog I raised so easily; you must have taken many liberties with him, hadn't you?"

Their faces were identical, yet jealousy churned in the fox demon's eyes, lending them a slightly ferocious look.

The moment that title was spoken, a flicker of imperceptible panic swept through Lin Baiwei's hazy eyes.

Moments later, though weak, she still forced a faint smile: "You talk too much. Enough already; I'm still hungry."

Watching Lin Baiwei close her eyes.

The fox demon's gaze grew cold, mocking: "No wonder someone with a backer can remain so calm even when reduced to this state... Why pretend to be so composed? I cannot kill you, but can he not?"

Upon hearing these words, Lin Baiwei finally showed emotion, falling silent with pressed lips: "..."

The fox demon looked disdainfully to the side: "A thing bought with trifling favors; do you truly think she acted out of kindness? Pig-brained! Do you know that given her master's status, merely for your act of binding her that day, you deserve to be torn apart by a thousand cuts, a crime beyond pardon?"

Shen Yi gazed silently at the bell before him.

From start to finish, the fox demon's mind had not been on it, yet this object moved without wind.

Under the activation of the perfected Blood Fiend Blade Art, the black blade still could not cut another inch.

Rather than a weapon, it seemed more like the "protective artifact" he had imagined.

So the demon arts of this world had reached such a miraculous degree.

No wonder a named demon faction existed; even a random second-generation member could broaden one's horizons.

"Are you even listening to me?" The fox demon waved her hand, recalling the string of bronze bells to her fingers, quite annoyed.

"..." Even with a fluttering heart, Lin Baiwei could not help but twitch the corner of her lips; this person's indifference was not directed solely at her.

Shen Yi顺势 withdrew his long blade and walked toward the two women.

"Stop! Don't move!"

Perhaps the previous strike had been too ruthless, leaving some psychological shadow.

Seeing his approaching figure, the fox demon instinctively tightened her fingers; gurgling crimson blood flowed down Lin Baiwei's neck, causing her to groan and frown.

Until the youth, as if hearing nothing, still stepped forward and stood before her.

Seeing the indifference on his face, the fox demon suddenly felt something was wrong.

The relationship between Shen Yi and Lin Baiwei did not seem as close as she had imagined; not only were they not lovers who understood each other's hearts, but even a brief master-disciple bond should not warrant such treatment.

"If you do not care for her, why not be decisive and clean up your mess? I allow you to flee to North Cliff to avoid the storm... Let the matter of Yin Lang drop..."

The fox demon hesitated for a moment, offering conditions the other could not refuse.

Shen Yi had already offended the Zhen Mo Si; where was there any retreat?

They were grasshoppers on the same rope; those damn Zhen Mo Si Captains had already secretly slipped into the county town. She was tired of playing in the Lin family; it was time to end this game.

Hearing this, Lin Baiwei silently opened her eyes to look at the youth; her red lips moved, wanting to explain something, yet feeling somewhat powerless.

She had originally planned to reveal her identity once they were more familiar, but now that the fox demon had come and exposed everything, given Shen Yi's cautious nature, no amount of explanation could make him believe her assurances.

As she pondered, she suddenly saw Shen Yi raise his hand.

Slap!

A long, powerful finger struck the fox demon's face, catching her completely off guard.

Surpassing the initial realm, immense force erupted from his fingertips; the fox demon's seemingly delicate body was slammed backward, then grabbed by the back of the neck by the youth and hurled violently toward the door!

"Too afraid to kill her, yet pretending to be ruthless."

Shen Yi rubbed his wrist, then turned to look.

The fox demon lay face-down on the ground in disbelief, her features twisted; long fur sprouted, her lips protruded, and she spat out broken teeth.

That casual throw had actually shattered several of her ribs.

When she raised her head again, the fox face was filled with venom: "You are doomed... Once I report to my Third Grand-Uncle, I will personally flay your skin..."

By provoking both the Zhen Mo Si and the North Cliff Fox Clan, the opponent had no path to survival in Outside Qingzhou!

Lin Baiwei's small face was stunned as she looked at the tall figure before her.

She had thought... the opponent would at least ask about her origins; after all, she had concealed so much for so long, fearing that once he knew everything, he would burn his boats and kill her to silence her.

Now that the truth was exposed, Shen Yi's bold attack was far from what she had imagined.

"..."

Lin Baiwei's tense heartstrings finally relaxed for a moment; her feigned calm smile gradually faded, after all, it truly hurt to smile when the corner of one's lips was cracked.

She steadied her breathing, her voice hoarse: "Ignore her; her mind is not quite right."

As long as she remained in Boyun County for one day, the Third Grand-Uncle mentioned by the fox demon would never easily set foot here; otherwise, he would not have merely sealed her acupoints and sent her back to the county town.

Even the thought of wanting to kill her was merely the little fox acting on its own initiative.

Of course, Lin Baiwei did not wish for Shen Yi to become overly entangled with the fox demon.

With the bronze bell artifact bestowed by an elder protecting her, even an ordinary Jade Liquid Realm martial artist could not keep her unless they possessed some fierce means.

The previous strike did not threaten her life, and the fox demon had not reacted in time, so the bell did not activate.

If she truly forced the fox demon to fight for its life, awakening its ferocity...

Just then, Lin Baiwei suddenly saw Shen Yi walk forward.

She endured the pain, reaching out to grab the other's sleeve: "I am truly fine; there is no need..."

Shen Yi turned back, looking at her with a slightly strange expression.

Under that gaze, Lin Baiwei pressed her lips together, suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed, as though she had misunderstood something just like the fox demon.

"I didn't mean it that way, you… you're not its match…"

The more she spoke, the more muddled it became; she seemed to have lost her usual composure and cleverness.

"…"

The fox demon slowly propped itself up, looking coldly at the two of them, then raised the bell in its hand.

The bell's chime was clear; the air congealed.

Compared to before, under this active urging, its aura rapidly declined, but the copper bell's effect had multiplied more than tenfold!

The fox demon could not understand why it and this woman shared the same face and wore the same clothes.

Yet the other could be so lucky at all times—even running into Third Grand-Uncle, she could still keep her life; clearly taken away by the evil catcher, yet until today she was still a maiden, without even a scratch on her.

At the instant her neck was about to be wrung off by herself, she could still squeeze out that annoying smile.

The jealousy in the fox demon's eyes gradually thickened, gathering into venomous spite: "Even you, you lowly dog, must side with her! If I can't kill her, I can at least kill you first!"

Two short daggers in hand, amid the clear chime of the bell, it suddenly lunged toward Shen Yi in a killing strike.

Lin Baiwei felt her congealing body, her expression shifting slightly.

Even when she had once run into that Core Formation great demon, her heart could remain steady; now a rare hint of panic surfaced on her face.

Suddenly, she sensed Shen Yi gently shaking off her hand.

Within this void-like quagmire, the other could actually still move?

The next moment, streams of invisible aura gathered within the room, solidifying at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Like flying swords filling the sky, suspended in midair.

A bone-chilling intent spread all around, silent as though it were not the mortal world.

The fox demon gripped its daggers, expression dazed, looking at the youth standing with arms at his sides.

Shen Yi stood quietly in place, his face pale, yet his gaze was like an ancient well without a ripple.

The moment his mind stirred, the fox demon immediately felt itself locked onto by his qi, and for a moment it was as though someone had seized its throat and it could not breathe.

In an instant, countless true primal force poured down, smashing toward the fox demon in full!

(End of this chapter)