On a decrepit temple's steps, Hu Li hung her head low, looking as if she was a little injured.
Yu Sheng also sat there, his head drooping—he really was hurt; that bite from the fox spirit had left him with a sizable chunk of skin and flesh missing!
He understood that canines could be protective about their food, but he hadn’t expected the fox spirit to be so vigorous in doing the same!
“Benefactor…” Hu Li finally spoke, her white fur brimming with emotions, as if she might cry. “I’m sorry, I… I couldn’t help it. I hurt you again…”
“Yes, you did hurt me again, but it’s much lighter than when we first met,” Yu Sheng sighed heavily.
He gazed at the blood at the corner of Hu Li’s mouth, thinking that thankfully it was only a bite this time.
When they first met, that swift headbutt had caused a wound much worse—after all, it had nearly severed his lower neck…
After hearing this, Hu Li tilted her head in confusion, still unable to recall what Yu Sheng meant by their ‘first meeting.’ Even after Yu Sheng had tried to hint at it a few times, she had reacted in the same way each time.
“Benefactor, you mean… did we really meet outside the temple before?”
“Not one impression at all?” Yu Sheng couldn’t help but frown. “I was fighting some strange creature then, and you came running over, offering to help. Then ‘bang’—I blacked out, and when I woke up, I was here, and you were wandering outside.”
Hu Li squinted her eyes, as if she was trying very hard to remember something.
After a moment, the fluffy ears atop her head slowly drooped, indicating that recalling was quite a struggle for her.
Yu Sheng then glanced at the wound on his hand.
The spot bitten by Hu Li was healing at an astonishing speed.
Visible to the naked eye, countless small tender buds grew between the torn flesh.
The blood appeared to have a life of its own, wriggling and swirling within the gap of the wound.
He even felt like he could hear soft sounds coming from it, as if the tissue was regenerating, and the broken skin was fusing together.
Everything… was returning to a complete state.
In a matter of minutes, he couldn’t feel any pain, only a slight itch remaining around the wound.
This was not normal; he knew that human wounds could not heal this quickly.
Yet, what troubled him even more than the fast recovery was the sensation of being ‘reborn’ after death.
His body’s changes left him feeling uneasy.
Although these changes seemed like “good fortune,” he couldn’t help but worry about the unknown hidden behind them, or perhaps… a “cost.”
Humans instinctively resist what is unknown and out of their control.
For Yu Sheng, his body was gradually transforming into the greatest unknown in his mind.
But suddenly, a strange feeling interrupted Yu Sheng’s thoughts.
He couldn't quite identify it; he merely felt as if he heard a sound or some thoughts that suddenly “invaded” his mind—thoughts and memories that did not belong to him.
He sensed a part of his mind stirring uncontrollably, and then, within that agitation, he noticed another presence—
Mother is gone, Father is gone, Uncle and Aunt are gone, it’s very dark, it’s toxic, it’s cold, I’m scared, I’m hungry, very cold, very hungry, extremely hungry.
The fruits are poisonous, the bark can’t be eaten, the leaves can’t be eaten, the soil cannot be eaten, the stones can’t be eaten… nothing can be eaten, nothing at all.
I’m hungry, so very hungry, so very hungry…
A wave of hunger swept over Yu Sheng's mind like a fierce tide, almost shattering his reason.
Though it was merely a strand of foreign information that entered his mind, he felt as if his rationality was to be completely devoured by that hunger.
The chaotic thoughts surged like thunder in his brain.
When they finally began to subside, he slowly turned to look at Hu Li, who was sitting beside him.
The fox spirit girl was licking the corner of her mouth, and Yu Sheng saw his blood swirling at the tip of her tongue, seeping into her skin, seeping into her teeth, seeping into… her very soul.
Hu Li noticed the gaze directed at her.
She cleaned the last bit of blood from her lips, looked up at Yu Sheng with a naive smile.
Yet when Yu Sheng looked at her, it felt as if he were peering directly into her soul.
He could see the part of her that was on the brink of madness, the chaotic hunger stirring deep within that innocent smile.
She was very hungry, hungrier than she appeared, even… hungrier than she herself realized.
“Benefactor…” she said cautiously, peering into Yu Sheng's pockets with that silly smile on her face. “Do you have anything to eat? I think… my stomach doesn’t hurt anymore, but I’m still… a little hungry.”
Yu Sheng felt a chill running down his back.
He instinctively sensed something, while at the same time, he felt curious about the process of “reading” those thoughts in his mind earlier.
Why… did he see Hu Li’s thoughts and memories?
He recalled that moment earlier: the sight of his blood quickly seeping into her skin.
Was it because of that?
Just then, he noticed that Hu Li's expression had quickly changed several times.
As if she had suddenly recalled something, her gaze became unfocused, and then that confusion transformed into shock.
Hu Li slowly stood up from the steps, staring blankly at Yu Sheng, as if she were “re-recognizing” the person in front of her.
Then she shook her head sharply, incredulously pointing at Yu Sheng: “Benefactor… you… you’re not dead?!”
Yu Sheng was taken aback.
Hu Li raised her hand and pressed it hard against her forehead.
Her body swayed, the conflicting memories invading her already unstable mind, threatening to topple it.
Slowly, she began to remember those “realities” that had slipped from her memories…
She recalled their first “encounter,” the jarring “accident” that had occurred, the fragmented image of “Benefactor,” the warm blood of a living person, and then… that blood gradually turned to nothing, the remains disappeared, the process of Yu Sheng’s “death” faded from her memory…
She finally steadied herself.
In her golden-red eyes, confusion mingled with clarity as she muttered, “Ah, I remember! Benefactor, we just… met on the open ground outside. I accidentally injured you… but…”
She hesitated, the latter part of her words trailing off into incoherent mumbling, her fuzzy mind overpowering her thoughts and plunging her back into chaos.
Yu Sheng blinked.
Clearly, Hu Li had recalled their first meeting and the incident of the headbutt.
He didn’t know how she suddenly remembered all of this; perhaps it was related to his recent experience of seeing her thoughts and memories.
But now was not the time to delve into the cause.
Hu Li’s condition was evidently not right.
Her body swayed again, as if she would lose her balance at any moment.
Yu Sheng instinctively took a half-step forward—but just then, Hu Li’s reaction made him stop in his tracks.
She lifted her head, her golden-red gaze suffused with a bloody light, locking onto Yu Sheng intently.
A low, beast-like whimpering growl came from her throat.
She gradually bent down, her chaotic tail spreading behind her.
The fox's tail flared in the twilight, growing, as eerie blue flames danced at the tips of each tail, burning bright.
In a beast-like manner, she unleashed the aura of a predator.
The hunger was surging wildly in her blood-glowing eyes.
Through some vague connection, Yu Sheng felt as though he could hear the voice that echoed in Hu Li’s heart—
Benefactor, you smell so good…
Yu Sheng struggled to swallow, inching backward a little.
At that moment, he finally noticed a certain… shadow behind Hu Li.
It was a massive shadow, creeping closer from the darkness behind Hu Li.
The fox spirit’s eerie blue flames flickered in the night, and in the light, the shadow began to take shape—like countless twisted, monstrous limbs fused together chaotically, a blood-soaked mass towering several meters high, with mouths, eyes, and claws tangled in a frenzy of hunger and predation.
This monster behind Hu Li released low, muffled roars like a reluctant press.
Amid the rush of distorted roars, Hu Li bent her body even lower.
Silver fur covered her skin; her cheeks shifted, sharp teeth grew, and her human features quickly retreated.
Almost in the blink of an eye, the always cheerful girl vanished—the enormous silver fox stood against the backdrop of night, its ethereal blue foxfire illuminating the ruins of the crumbling temple and Yu Sheng’s face.
Yu Sheng heard a voice, woven with strong temptation and piercing mental power, faintly drifting in—
“Eat... eat it, and you won’t be hungry anymore... “Feast upon it...
“Let’s feast together...
“You’re hungry, go ahead and eat…”
At first, Yu Sheng believed he was hearing Hu Li’s inner thoughts, but he quickly realized the voice actually came from the monstrous being behind her. It urged Hu Li to feast, to give in to that hunger, as if awaiting a long-nurtured thing to blossom.
Yu Sheng wanted to shout a warning, to tell Hu Li not to be fooled by that voice, for he vaguely suspected some truth, but before he could speak, he felt the fearsome… hunger coming from deep within Hu Li’s mind. That sense of hunger was capable of devouring all reason, blotting out all external sounds.
He could only bitterly smile and hold his hands open before the fox spirit.
“I’m telling you, pretty soon your mouth and stomach will be at odds, and when we meet next time, you’ll be quite embarrassed…”
Having said that, he felt as if he had made a final confession. He steeled himself, sinking into a martial arts stance. Certainly, a military stance could not compare to a nine-tailed fox (though it could be seven or eight-tailed), but at least it would allow him to die with some dignity.
And who knows? Perhaps his body would somehow turn out to be a lot stronger; maybe just before he died, he could land a punch on Hu Li’s nose, leaving her sore for quite some time… As this silly thought crossed his mind, the next moment, he felt a powerful wind rushing towards him.
The gigantic silver fox suddenly leaped into the air— the pressure of the wind compelled Yu Sheng to instinctively shut his eyes. The anticipated death did not descend. Yu Sheng puzzledly opened his eyes.
He saw the silver fox in midair change direction, lunging fiercely at that repulsive creature—she let out a roar of rage, nearly to the point of crying, and then opened her mouth to bite into the monster.
Yet in the next moment, countless dark, sharp spines, and fragments of black bones erupted from Hu Li’s body, piercing through various parts of her, nailing her in midair. Yu Sheng stared in shock at this scene.
He saw the silver fox struggling in the air to turn her head, golden-red blood flowing from her wounds, steaming beneath the night sky.
“Benefactor… run…”{You smell so good…}“I’m not a monster yet…”{So hungry…}“Run!”
{Run!}
(End of Chapter)