Chapter 250: The Painted-Skin Demon

The gloomy, heavy clouds slowly drifted over from the distant horizon. Among the winding mountain foothills, the wind grew stronger, while the commotion of farmers returning home and children leaving school came from a nearby village.

The red fox blinked her eyes and watched this scene somewhat dejectedly. Her fluffy long tail swayed, and intermittent whimpers came from between her closed jaws.

The fox let out a mournful cry.

Who knew how long ago it had been when she and her elder sister raced through the mountain forests? Although they were demons, they had still been free and unrestrained. To cultivate, they would also seek out woodcutters in the mountains, merchants traveling alone, and scholars on their way to take the imperial examinations, transform into beautiful women, and absorb their Yang Essence.

Just as humans hunted them for the fur on their bodies, the reasoning was exactly the same.

She simply did not understand why, when they did the same things, their eventual fates were different. Had the hunters who killed them for their fur ever been punished?

Unfortunately, her elder sister was already gone, and she was now being punished by being made to guard this land and help those who encountered misfortune in the nearby mountains. But in the end, she was still bound by restrictions.

Rumble—

Thunder rolled across the sky. A raindrop the size of a bean fell onto the tip of her nose. She raised her upper body and heard merchants traveling along the mountain road ahead shouting loudly, waving their whips to drive their donkey carts forward.

“Put some more strength into it!” “It’s going to rain!”

“The cart shaft is stuck in a pit! Those behind us, don’t rush!”

A fox-shaped shadow lightly leaped into a nearby patch of grass. She watched several people push a donkey cart loaded with goods, while someone at the front tugged hard on the reins of a donkey. The wheel beneath the cart frame was stuck in a muddy pit. It rose and fell several times, nearly climbing out, only to sink back down each time, leaving the other carts traveling behind it unable to pass.

Seeing that heavy rain was about to fall, some of them could not help but grow anxious.

“The raindrops are falling!”

“Those at the front, put some strength into it! Can you manage it?”

Someone at the front turned around and shouted back, “Then why don’t you come and do it yourself?! What are you yelling for?!”

In the grass, the red fox watching this scene opened her jaws and blew a breath toward the donkey cart whose shaft was stuck in the mud. Originally, nearly half of one wheel was buried in the pit, but it was as if an invisible force had given it a push, allowing it to climb out with ease.

“Hahaha, it’s finally out! It must be the manifestation of Goddess Hong Lian’s divine power!”

“When we pass by in a few days, let’s come and pay our respects. I heard she’s quite efficacious.”

“Let’s find somewhere ahead to shelter from the rain first. Hurry, hurry, don’t block the people behind us.”

Amid the sparse streaks of rain, the few people continued shouting and laughing as they hurriedly drove their donkey cart away toward the end of the mountain road. The red fox demon hiding among the grass let out a breath, drooped her ears, and prepared to leave as well, heading into the mountain forest to shelter from the rain.

She had already helped people like this more than ten times. At first, helping others had felt somewhat novel, but as time went on, she instead found herself increasingly longing for her former life.

It was still the sight of those people enjoying themselves beneath her before having their Yang Essence drained dry, and the expressions on their faces, that brought her the greatest satisfaction.

‘You want to leave. ‘

The red fox heading toward the mountain forest suddenly stopped. Her soft paw pads pressed down on a tree branch, and her swaying long tail froze in midair. She hurriedly turned her head to look around the surrounding woods, where raindrops were striking the leaves and pattering down in a continuous rustle.

‘Only you can hear me. ‘

Amid the growing sound of the rain, that faint voice seemed to ring out right beside her ear. The red fox’s fur stood on end, and she arched her body, baring her teeth as she let out a low, “Hrr, hrr.”

A moment later, that voice came again.

‘I bear no hostility, so there is no need to be nervous, little fox. Tell me, do you want to leave and return to a carefree life in the mountains and wilderness? ‘

The red fox remained arched, baring her teeth as she warily glanced around. “Who are you? What are you sneaking around here for? Do you know that this is Qixia Mountain? If Mr. Lu discovers that you intend to cause trouble, he will take you into his gourd.”

“Oh? Just like your elder sister?”

The voice was faint, yet its tone carried a hint of frivolity, ringing softly beside the red fox’s ear as though someone were blowing into it.

“Then are you afraid? You cultivated for so many years, enduring countless hardships to become a demon, only to turn into a pool of thick liquid in the blink of an eye. Are you afraid?”

The fact that it even knew about such things made the red fox’s fur stand on end. Her body took on a form that was half fox and half human, and with a sweep of her sharp claws, she tore a drooping tree branch into several pieces, sending them falling to the ground.

She took two steps forward and looked around with her fox face, baring the fangs on her muzzle. “Who exactly are you? Show yourself!”

“Hehe, don’t be nervous. I bear no ill will, but I won’t reveal myself here. There is also that temple, and your younger sister is watching the surroundings. If you want to leave this place, why not come to the mountain where Lu Liangsheng often stays?”

“I won’t be coming.”

“You will come. If you want to leave this place, I’m your only option. Otherwise, you’ll have to stay here for a hundred years, or even longer.”

Ignoring the red fox’s low growls, the voice did not sound again in her mind after saying this, disappearing without a trace.

Rumble, patter—

The heavy rain poured down, and the sound of raindrops striking the forest drowned out every other sound around her. The red fox transformed back into a fox and headed toward the damp, chilly cave.

Watching the water drip, drop by drop, from the tree roots extending out beside the cave entrance, she stopped and stood there for a long time. Then she turned her head to look beyond the forest. In the leaden-blue curtain of rain, the streaks of rain connected heaven and earth, while the distant, winding mountain ranges appeared mysterious.

Leave.

Her gaze fell upon the white ropes around her four limbs, and her pupils contracted. Her claws dug into the mud. A moment later, she turned around, stretched out her four limbs, and dashed toward the fields, her long tail trailing behind her. Braving the heavy rain, she bounded several times across the ground, passed Lu Family Village to one side, and ran toward Qixia Mountain to the west. She raced along the muddy mountain path as the rain splashed yellow mud onto her fur.

Before long, looking rather disheveled, she stood atop a large rock on the cliff edge, looking at the ancient pine beside the precipice and the small courtyard with its thatched cottage.

“I’ve come.”

“I knew you would come, little fox. Come inside the thatched cottage.”

Clouds rolled and surged among the mountains, while birds taking shelter from the rain watched from nearby branches as a red fox leaped down from a large rock and warily stared at the thatched cottage over there. She knew that this was the cottage where Lu Liangsheng lived. Even when he was away, his spiritual power still maintained it, so she did not dare approach lightly.

She cautiously walked up to the courtyard gate made of bamboo fencing and looked toward the door opposite. Opening her long muzzle, she spoke in a low voice.

“I’ll stay outside the courtyard.”

“Hehe, what a timid little fox.”

With a creak, the door slowly opened. A figure sat facing a bronze mirror, a peachwood comb gliding through strands of jet-black hair. A thin veil of emerald-green clothing outlined her graceful, slender figure. Her sidelong glance possessed a captivating charm that could steal away souls, and as she stared at the fox outside, her red lips curved upward and parted slightly.

“Can you feel at ease now? Come in. I’m very familiar with the restrictions here.”

“Your appearance!”

The red fox took several steps into the courtyard and stared at the beauty dressing herself inside. She felt a sense of familiarity, as though she had seen her somewhere before, yet for a moment, she could not recall where.

Her gaze swept left and right across the surroundings. Just as the other party had said, the restrictions Lu Liangsheng had set up seemed to have an opening through which she could enter.

“You said you could let me leave. Now, can you tell—”

Beside the thatched cottage’s doorway, the red fox turned her head back. Just as she was about to say, “Can you tell me,” her voice abruptly stopped. The woman reflected in her pupils suddenly spread open with a whoosh, like a sheet of skin being peeled off and unfurled flat in the air. The beautiful woman’s face was still imprinted on it, smiling at her.

“You?!”

The terrified cry had barely burst from the fox demon’s mouth when the cottage door slammed shut. The outstretched skin pounced on her and wrapped her up tightly, like a gigantic ball of flesh.

Inside, the red fox shrieked and struggled, kicking wildly with all four limbs, leaving one bulging mark after another on the flesh ball as she fought.

Before long, the sounds of struggle ceased. The round skin sack wrapped around the fox’s body slowly took on the shape of a woman. She rose from the ground, her jade-like legs slightly parted, her bare feet lightly touching the ground. By the time she stepped over the threshold, delicate embroidered shoes had already appeared on her feet. She wore long sleeves of red gauze, her features exquisitely delicate, with a touch of vermilion between her brows.

She pushed open the door and spread out her palm to catch the rainwater dripping from the eaves, feeling its coolness.

“Hehe.”

“Hahahaha—”

The woman swept her long sleeve, brushing aside the curtain of rain, and floated lightly through the mountains, passing over the mountain village below, shrouded in rain. At the temple outside the village, a flash of magical light suddenly illuminated the surroundings.

The Painted-Skin Demon waved her hand, deflecting the light to one side.

“Stay obediently in your temple and remain a clay statue. Lu Liangsheng is mine! Hehehe!”

The woman let out a sharp, mocking laugh, turned around, and flew into the distance, disappearing in the blink of an eye amid the leaden-blue mountains and the curtain of rain.

At the same time, in Shangyong to the north, the sunlight was brilliant, and the cicadas sang in waves. Lu Liangsheng led the old donkey to the outskirts of Shangyong City and walked into a roadside tea stall.