Chapter 84: Folklore Horror (14)
Swish—swish—the gold leaf danced through the ear chamber like wedding confetti, hopping lightly and gracefully in midair. Countless shards of stone piled up between Jian Yuntai and Fuzhu, crackling audibly.
The Mother Goddess took a half-step back.
It was as if she suddenly understood something, and she laughed out loud in astonishment. “So it is true… so it is true! Years ago, I heard the young heir of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox clan went missing. It’s been ten years! The fox clan has searched every demon tribe for your trace. They would never have imagined that their noble young heir—the future king—would be bound by a master-servant contract with a human.”
The words “master-servant” were deliberately emphasized by the Mother Goddess, ground carefully on her tongue until, surprisingly, a trace of sympathy emerged in her tone.
Ten years ago, the young heir of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox clan disappeared during a migration, shocking the entire world. All the demons trembled in fear and confusion.
They constantly worried that the fox clan would unleash their wrath on the smaller demons. Over the years, the fox clan indeed disrupted all other demon tribes profoundly.
Search. Seek.
Day after day, year after year, bounties were issued repeatedly. Whenever there was even the slightest hint of news, the entire fox clan mobilized to find their missing young heir.
This was also tied to the fox clan’s unique bloodline. Unlike other demon tribes, where intermarriage diluted bloodlines, the fox clan valued the purity of their lineage. The royal bloodline was rare and noble, always passed down in a single line.
After the young heir disappeared, the Celestial Fox Queen fell ill from grief and soon passed away. The foxes were passionate yet fickle; before finding true love, they played with the feelings of others for amusement. But like a curse, when they finally met true love, they became the ones being manipulated. Thus, intermarriage within the clan, manipulating each other, was the reason the fox clan remained prosperous to this day.
After the Celestial Fox Queen died, the fox king’s health declined day by day. Now, he barely held the throne together.
To prevent chaos in the clan after the king’s death, the fox clan never gave up on finding Fuzhu.
They scoured the demon world, leaving no stone unturned.
Yet they never imagined that Fuzhu was among humans.
Thinking of this, sympathy welled in the Mother Goddess’s eyes. She said, “Do you know that the Celestial Fox Queen passed away?”
Fuzhu’s body trembled slightly, but he said nothing.
On the day his mother, the Celestial Fox Queen, died, the entire demon world donned mourning attire to pay respects. Yet the demon hunter sect celebrated with lanterns and festivity, reveling in this so-called “great event.”
Trapped within the demon hunter sect, Fuzhu could only hide in the dark dungeon, listening to the laughter and noise outside. At that time, he could not yet take a human form, and he hid silently under his fluffy white fox tail, stifling the ache in his nose.
He remembered it was very cold that day.
The fox clan had the warmest fur in the world, yet he felt as if he had fallen into an icy pool, struggling helplessly to resurface.
Later, fragments of news about the fox clan occasionally reached him—snippets exchanged among demon hunters and captured demons.
The fox king—his father—was near death.
Ten years.
Ten short years, barely a blink for demons, yet in that time, Fuzhu’s life had been overturned. From the favored child of the heavens, he had fallen into the mud overnight.
Being at the mercy of others was only part of it. While Fuzhu suffered, his family fell apart because of him.
And the source of it all…
Fuzhu’s eyes reddened as he looked at Jian Yuntai. His gaze mixed disbelief, grievance, and sorrow, finally forming a tear that hung at the corner of his eye.
He silently questioned:
—Why?
Jian Yuntai opened his mouth. Countless lies he had long rehearsed surged to his mind. But when he saw the faint red tint at the corner of Fuzhu’s eye, he felt a flash of déjà vu, recalling the day Cui Yu had cried.
On that day, Cui Yu had wept violently, his heart bleeding yet unmelted. Today, the grievance of the inner core theft was revealed; the white-haired beauty’s lashes were streaked with tears. Fuzhu cried exactly like Cui Yu, both eliciting empathy and heartbreak.
Jian Yuntai, who never admitted wrong to Cui Yu or Fuzhu, felt as if he were seeing a lost friend in that instant.
“Clap, clap”—the Mother Goddess applauded beside them, eyes sparkling with excitement as she looked at Jian Yuntai. “Is this the demon hunter sect’s conspiracy? After stealing the inner core, the sect abducted the young heir of the foxes as a prisoner, then sent you to rescue him?”
“No,” Jian Yuntai immediately denied.
The Mother Goddess then realized: “So, you mean… all this was your doing alone?”
“…” Jian Yuntai glanced at Fuzhu, locking eyes with his bloodshot gaze, and his heart tightened.
From the perspective of the instance’s narrative, that should have been the case. But personally, he had never done any of this.
Silence.
Silence stretching longer and longer.
After the statue was snapped in half, the exit of the underground palace became visible. Overnight, a long streak of white light appeared on the horizon—the sign of sunrise.
The darkness before dawn always carried a needless fear.
“You see,” a low, hoarse male voice cut through the shattered gold leaf, Fuzhu’s voice ringing out, “if you speak and explain, I will believe you.”
“…” Jian Yuntai remained silent for a moment. “I’m sorry.”
Thump—thump—his heart skipped two beats. Fuzhu seemed to lose all strength at once, staggering backward. Jian Yuntai rushed forward to support him but grasped only empty air.
Fuzhu recoiled like avoiding a viper, stepping back two large paces, his face paler than ever.
The livestream viewers were already crying at their screens:
“Damn! Jian Dadan, what’s wrong with you?! You always lie effortlessly, and now at the most important moment you go mute?! Explain yourself!”
“I think I know what Jian Dadan is thinking. Same as the last instance… at first, facing Cui Yu, he always lied. Cui Yu could see through him. Later, Jian Dadan started to feel… something. Once he felt something, he never lied to Cui Yu again.”
“Wait, so the sisters mean Jian Dadan has feelings for Fuzhu?”
“No! Don’t overthink it. He couldn’t possibly feel that way about Fuzhu. Jian Dadan’s just like that—smiling cruelly at enemies, sweet-talking strangers. But to people like Cui Yu or Fatty, he was always sincere.”
“So Fuzhu finally moved Jian Dadan? Qaq I always thought Jian Dadan didn’t care about Fuzhu before.”
“Perhaps it was because he shared his blood, but Fuzhu essentially risked himself to save Jian Dadan once. It was hard for Jian Dadan not to be moved.”
As the viewers discussed, Jian Yuntai slowly lowered the hand that had been hovering in the air and pressed his lips tightly together.
It wasn’t that he refused to explain—it simply wasn’t necessary.
Since Fuzhu cared so deeply about the inner core, and was so saddened because of it, then it should be returned to him.
Jian Yuntai was not someone who normally coddled others or felt sentimental. In the past, he had felt annoyed whenever someone cried in front of him. But seeing Fuzhu silently staring at him while shedding tears stirred an anxious unease inside him.
He was frightened by the sensation.
It was as if, in a fleeting moment, he saw Cui Yu standing before him. Through Fuzhu, he seemed to see Cui Yu once more.
—He could no longer be close to Fuzhu!
If he simply gave Fuzhu enough time, perhaps he could forget Cui Yu. But if Fuzhu lingered around him day after day, he would only sink deeper into these feelings.
It would be unfair to Cui Yu—and even more unfair to Fuzhu.
Even more terrifying to Jian Yuntai was the stark reminder of Lin Fuxue’s tragedy, which still lay plainly before him. He—he absolutely refused to follow in those footsteps. That path led straight to death.
The thought barely formed when Fuzhu suddenly let out a short, hoarse laugh and asked, “The reason you avoided looking at my face before, many times… it wasn’t because of Cui Yu, was it? It was because of the inner core? You couldn’t face me?”
Jian Yuntai answered truthfully: “Yes.”
“…” The smile on Fuzhu’s face melted into bitterness. Slowly, he shook his head, thinking it ridiculous.
After being deceived and manipulated, the irony was that he even felt a sense of relief—Jian Yuntai had been avoiding his gaze for days, and he had thought it was because Jian Yuntai resembled Cui Yu. But in truth, it was because of the inner core.
Not because of Cui Yu.
But because of him—because of Fuzhu.
This love had been humiliated, buried in dust, and delayed in receiving any response. All his faith had been shattered in an instant. The underground palace shook violently as gold leaf swirled up once again.
The Mother Goddess glanced at Fuzhu in fear. She dared not stay in that place for even a moment, lest disaster fall on her. After hesitating for a few seconds, she quietly retreated. Nong Lingling, also terrified, hid behind the statue, her face etched with anxiety.
Only Jian Yuntai remained. As if he felt nothing of the surrounding terror, his expression stayed calm. He said, “I drank your blood. Now I return to you an inner core.”
Fuzhu blinked in surprise. “What?”
Before Fuzhu could fully react, Jian Yuntai solemnly raised his hand, fingers plunging sharply into his own abdomen—right where the warm glow of the inner core pulsed.
“No!!!”
Fuzhu’s face changed instantly. He rushed forward, barely managing to grab Jian Yuntai’s hand. For a moment, they were so close it was almost suffocating.
But even so, he was half a second too late.
Jian Yuntai’s fingers had already pierced half an inch into his abdomen. Blood began to flow, yet his brow remained uncreased; only the pallor of his face betrayed his weakened state.
Their breaths mingled.
Jian Yuntai froze as Fuzhu’s grip on his wrist hurt worse than the wound in his abdomen.
“You… didn’t want your inner core back?”
“I’ve never cared about the inner core!” Fuzhu’s brow furrowed tightly, voice rising. “I’ve never wanted it! I’m angry—I’m angry not because of the inner core!”
Jian Yuntai frowned in confusion. “Then… why?”
He truly didn’t understand. From a rational perspective, if someone had stolen his inner core, causing him years of suffering, he would hate that person and want to reclaim it.
But Fuzhu said it wasn’t about that.
The livestream bullets flew by in rapid succession:
“Why is the cp we ship always so tragic qaq”
“Wuwuwu Jian Dadan may not admit he’s career-focused, but he totally is! His way of thinking is so different from Fuzhu’s. Fuzhu’s all about love, only cares why Jian Dadan lied to him. But Jian Dadan doesn’t get it—he thought Fuzhu was angry because he lost the inner core.”
“OMG I wish Fatty were here, someone save them!!”
“Even if someone tried to wake them up, it wouldn’t work. Don’t forget this is an instance. The fact that Jian Dadan developed feelings for Cui Yu was already an accident. Last time, it went so badly he got scared. If he responded to Fuzhu’s feelings, Fuzhu would sink deeper. After Jian Dadan leaves the instance…”
“What should Fuzhu do?”
“Let’s say, even if Jian Dadan reciprocates, and meets Fuzhu over and over again in instances…”
“Then he… would become the next Lin Fuxue!”
The viewers were right. The first reason Jian Yuntai didn’t explain was that he had already intended to return the inner core.
The second reason—though this decision was difficult—was that Jian Yuntai was inherently ruthless.
Ruthless to others, ruthless to himself.
Only in this way could Fuzhu truly give up hope.
He could not keep liking him. Jian Yuntai wasn’t of this world; he was a player who could leave at any moment. Any lingering affection would only hurt Fuzhu more in the future.
Better to sever Fuzhu’s attachment completely now.
With that thought, Jian Yuntai prepared to cut open his own abdomen to retrieve the inner core. But his wrist was firmly grabbed. Fuzhu’s eyes were dark as a deep abyss.
“You really are cruel.” Fuzhu lowered his gaze at Jian Yuntai’s pale face, at his tightly pressed lips. The tear hanging from his eyelash finally fell, striking Jian Yuntai’s wrist.
Fuzhu inhaled deeply. He had grown stronger, and the demon core was constantly harming Jian Yuntai. If this had been anyone else, he would have taken it back without hesitation. Yet… his gaze met Jian Yuntai’s face.
Fuzhu could not bring himself to act. He stepped back two paces, his long white hair losing its color, frozen like snow spilling behind him. His gaze no longer held its former serenity.
Growth often happened in an instant.
He let out a bitter laugh, his smile no longer calm and peaceful as before, now edged with the tension and caution reminiscent of Cui Yu’s smile.
“You really are cruel.” Fuzhu murmured again, lowering his eyes. “But I just… like you. I like you so much. You drank my blood—isn’t that our mating? By our clan’s customs, I should already belong to you.”
Under Jian Yuntai’s silent gaze, Fuzhu stepped back several paces, swaying unsteadily, almost losing balance. Long moments passed before he turned pale, back to the others, and walked away.
“When we made the master-servant contract, you carried me from the abyss with each drop of blood in my fox tail…”
Thump—thump—
Thump—thump—
Jian Yuntai’s heartbeat raced. He felt an ominous premonition. Before he could react, Fuzhu abruptly raised his palm decisively, transforming it into a blade—
SPLAT.
Blood spattered, some crimson drops landing on the corner of Jian Yuntai’s eye and flowing down his face.
The fox tail fell to the ground, dissolving into white light and vanishing into the floor.
Fuzhu yelped in pain, curling his fingers sharply, then trembled as he let them drop. By breaking the tail, the master-servant contract attached to it activated, inflicting agonizing backlash.
He bent over, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
“Fuzhu!” Stunned, Jian Yuntai’s face went pale. He hadn’t expected this little fox to take such a resolute action. It was… truly—he had no words.
Just as he felt helpless, the background music of the instance suddenly exploded in his ears.
【Side Quest Updated】
【STEP2: No Longer Weak】
【Many years ago, a player extracted the demon core from Fuzhu, causing his demonic power to be sealed. Every time Fuzhu grew stronger, it became harder for you to suppress the demon core’s power, and you grew increasingly weakened. Players must take care—if the demon core is extracted, a Heavy Injury buff will be applied.】
【Detected: Player Jian Yuntai has lost contact with contracted demon Fuzhu; the master-servant contract has been broken.】
【Player has cleared the Light Injury buff!】
【Detected: The inner core remains inside the player; there is no need to apply the Heavy Injury buff.】
【Congratulations! Player has completed Side Quest Step 2!】
“This…” Jian Yuntai never expected that Step 2 of the side quest could be completed this way. He didn’t need to dig out the inner core to stack the Heavy Injury buff—he could simply clear the Light Injury buff.
Yet Jian Yuntai felt no happiness at all, because this meant that the pain he should have borne had now entirely shifted onto Fuzhu!
Seeing Fuzhu’s figure teetering ahead, Jian Yuntai had initially resolved that he must get Fuzhu to safety, but Fuzhu’s decisive action shook the deeply rooted certainty in his heart.
It was like the roots of a tree swaying; the trunk and branches trembled in response, and the rustling noise reverberated endlessly in his mind, tossing his heart into chaos.
Jian Yuntai immediately gave chase.
Behind him, the statue trembled violently, gold leaf and dust swirling everywhere. The old scenes replayed before his eyes—
After the saintess’s engagement, the world fell into turmoil. Her lover consumed a poison and broke the engagement. There was no betrayal, no fear of public opinion—everything was simply fate defying desire. The lover did not wish to become a burden blocking the saintess’s path forward.
A voice of hatred cried out:
“From this moment… we are done with each other.”
The statue raised its hand high, as if to grasp something—she wanted to seize the man she deeply loved.
Jian Yuntai likewise quickened his steps, reaching out toward Fuzhu. This scene overlapped with the shadow of the past. Just as the saintess had failed to keep her lover, he could not hold onto Fuzhu.
By the time he ran out of the underground palace, Fuzhu had already vanished. Jian Yuntai’s legs gave out, and he sank to the ground, his face drained of color. Had he done wrong?
He had not.
Players and NPCs were always separated by a vast gulf—there was nothing wrong, only a slight ache in the heart.
Jian Yuntai had been a brutal, bloody precedent. He could not—he had barely survived the slum, endured so much humiliation and pain. Any inhuman torment he had gritted his teeth through. He could not—he absolutely could not fail in matters of the heart.
Only then did Nong Lingling dare to emerge. She timidly approached Jian Yuntai from behind.
She saw him coughing weakly and expected him to break down in tears. But this boy was far tougher than she imagined. He merely sat in silence for a long while.
“Let’s go.”
Supporting himself with one hand on the rubble, Jian Yuntai swayed to his feet. His eyes were heavy and deep as he said, “There’s still something unfinished. I’ll take you to find the High Priest.”
Once it was done, he would dig out the inner core and return it to Fuzhu, intact and whole.
※※※
Li Yang was the fastest fox in the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox clan. When the clan was rushing toward Mother Goddess Mountain, he found the others too slow and sped ahead on his own.
When he found Fuzhu, the cave before him was pitch black, illuminated only by the faint flicker of fireflies.
Even in that weak light, Li Yang barely recognized the long-missing Fox clan young heir before him.
In the past—
The young heir had been born into privilege, surrounded by countless attendants wherever he went. Yet he paid them little attention, almost as if arrogance were etched on his face.
The proud, heaven-blessed heir now crouched in the deepest part of the cave, dirt and dust covering him. Just like before, whenever he felt heartache, he hid himself away.
“…Young Heir?”
Li Yang stepped forward cautiously. He had followed Fuzhu closely since childhood; they had grown up together. After nearly a hundred years, Li Yang remained unchanged, but the young heir seemed like a completely different person.
What had happened in these ten years?
Seeing Fuzhu sit motionless, heart dead as ashes, Li Yang braced himself and said, “Young Heir, the clan has come to bring you home.”
After a long while, Fuzhu seemed to notice another presence in the cave. His eyelashes twitched slightly, but he did not look at Li Yang.
His gaze stayed fixed on his own hands.
There was a gash in his palm.
It was the wound left from feeding blood to Jian Yuntai.
“I’m not leaving.” Fuzhu hugged himself tighter. In the past, he would have wrapped himself in his fox tail for comfort. Now, with the tail gone, the cave’s chill crept into his heart, soaking his already shattered soul.
“Where did your tail go?” Li Yang had sensed something amiss earlier; now it finally clicked. He calmed himself and looked closer, shocked. His expression twisted: “Y-your inner core… it’s gone too?!”
Fuzhu lowered his gaze, lips pale.
After a long silence, he spoke not to Li Yang but as if to himself: “The elder said that loving someone is painful. Loving someone who does not love you back is even more desperate.”
The bloodstain on his palm reflected in his pupils, as if his heart itself had been carved into a bloody wound. Fuzhu let out a faint, hollow laugh. “I did this willingly.”
“…!!!”
The Fuzhu in his memory had been proud, noble, a heaven-blessed heir. Ten years gone by, and Li Yang never imagined anyone could break Fuzhu down to this state.
Even without knowing exactly what had happened, Li Yang felt anger rise from his core. “Who did this? Was it a demon, or a human? I’ll take you to confront them and settle this!”
He immediately stepped forward to pull Fuzhu along.
But Fuzhu didn’t move.
By the flickering firefly light, Li Yang was struck again—Fuzhu was silently crying. His voice was tight as he shook his head. “I never want to see him again.”
“Never want to see him? You mean you’re trying to protect him!” Li Yang couldn’t understand, frustration bubbling in his chest. “Protecting him won’t help! When the clan elders arrive, there’s no way they’ll let your inner core end up with someone else—they’ll insist on getting it back!”
“The elders can’t find him. Only I know where he is.” Fuzhu’s pale eyes, slightly red, stayed fixed on the ground.
“…?” Li Yang froze for a long moment. A flurry of thoughts flashed through his mind.
The inner core—its presence couldn’t be sensed from a great distance. Fuzhu losing his tail was strange as well. After a moment, a thought struck him. His face drained of color. “You mean… you actually gave the Celestial Fox Jade Pendant to that person too?!”
“…” Fuzhu remained silent.
With a loud thud, Li Yang stomped on the cave floor, making it shake. Anger flaring, he paced back and forth, feeling as though it was reaching the top of his head. “You… how could you—”
The Fox clan was famous for producing beautiful people, and also for passionate lovers. But no matter how passionate, you don’t just give away the Celestial Fox Jade Pendant!
That pendant was meant for the future Celestial Fox Queen. Putting aside the clan’s strict rules against marrying outsiders, you two haven’t even begun your fates together, and you already handed it out?!
Li Yang slammed down and sat heavily. “You have no respect for fox traditions!!!”
Fuzhu didn’t even lift an eyelid, curling up in the deepest, darkest part of the cave. His voice rumbled from his chest. “Even if I didn’t give it to him, I would never give it to anyone else.”
Li Yang rubbed his forehead. The young heirwas a foolish little fox, but he still had to give him advice. “Does he like you?”
“No.” Fuzhu’s eyes fell, lonely and resigned. “After I shifted form, I looked a lot like the person he liked.”
“….” Li Yang leaned back, stunned. After a long moment he calmed the storm in his chest and asked again, “So… how far have you two gone?”
Fuzhu: “We mated.”
Li Yang: “………”
He leaned back again, speechless, his expression indescribable. After coughing a few times from choking on his own saliva, he asked in horror, “You were on top or bottom?”
“…..?”
Fuzhu, who had been staring at the ground, finally raised his eyes and looked at Li Yang, his eye rims red and a puzzled look on his face. “What?”
“Top or bottom?!”
“What top or bottom?”
After a brief exchange of miscommunication, Li Yang finally understood the situation, and all he could do was laugh and shake his head in disbelief. Smacking his own chest, he growled, “The clan won’t arrive for several more days. Don’t worry—before they do, I’ll teach you how to take him! But before that…”
Noticing Fuzhu’s confused gaze, Li Yang pulled a small illustrated manual from his sleeve. Acting like a seasoned veteran, he flicked the cover with a sly grin that turned shamelessly mischievous.
The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox clan was either promiscuous or faithful. Li Yang belonged to the sly, promiscuous batch. His fox eyes narrowed into slits as he let his gaze drop for a moment.
“You need to know how to mate with him so he enjoys it. Once he’s satisfied… eh, he won’t be able to leave you.”
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