Under the gaze of those beastly eyes, Ji Chan’s strength was exhausted. Her face pressed against the ground, her voice barely audible, “Are you… going to eat me?”
In the darkness, there was only the sound of heavy breathing. The terrifying beastly eyes showed no change.
“Then come and eat me. It’s better than dying like this…” she murmured haltingly, “I’m just a bit afraid of the pain.”
In the suffocating silence, a soft, enchanting female voice suddenly spoke, “I don’t eat people.”
The voice undoubtedly came from the owner of those beastly eyes hidden in the dark.
“You… you’re a demon?”
Only the demons of legend could speak human words and transform into human form.
“Yes.”
“Why… why did you come to the capital? If you’re discovered, you’ll die.” Ji Chan curled up on the ground, the fear of impending death seeming to fade with the presence of this demon beside her.
“I came to seek a seal.”
Ji Chan vaguely recalled that in the tales of the supernatural she had read, if a demon successfully sought a seal from a human, it could take on human form.
“So you want to become human. You can… seek a seal from me.”
“Why? I’m a demon. Aren’t you afraid?” The beautiful voice carried a note of confusion.
Ji Chan’s lifeless eyes stared at the falling snowflakes before her, “What’s so scary about demons?”
The most terrifying things were people, human hearts.
The voice in the darkness paused, then suddenly asked, “Do I seem human?”
“You do. You’re more human than they are.”
After saying this, Ji Chan exhausted all her strength, yet nothing happened in the darkness.
She heard the owner of the voice sigh, “What a pity. My eight tails are all severed. I can’t become human anymore.”
Seeking a seal was something that could not be spoken of openly. She had only told this dying woman because she wanted someone to talk to before her death. For her, seeking a seal was merely an obsession.
“How… could that be?” An inexplicable sense of unwillingness welled up in Ji Chan’s heart. She could do nothing, and even her last wish to help someone before dying had failed.
“I’m going to die too,” the voice said.
She had fled thousands of miles to the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty, but there was no way for her to survive here. She had broken into the city, yet she could only wait for death. She hadn’t expected to have a human companion in her final moments.
In the darkness Ji Chan couldn’t see, a tailless fox demon, covered in deep, bone-revealing wounds, lay quietly on the ground. Her body was broken beyond repair, unable to hold on any longer.
The snow fell on her, quickly stained red by her blood.
“Dying together here, perhaps this is what you humans call fate.”
Ji Chan, touched by the faint trace of joy in her words, unconsciously tugged at the corner of her lips.
Yes, having someone to die with could indeed be considered fate.
“Why… did you lose all eight tails?”
“Because I trusted someone I shouldn’t have. What about you?”
“Maybe my father didn’t want me to live.”
The human and the demon fell silent again. Betrayed by someone trusted, betrayed by a loved one—it all sounded so tragic.
After just a single sentence, Ji Chan coughed up a mouthful of blood. She could no longer see the snow before her eyes.
She knew she was about to die, yet her heart was still unwilling—unwilling to die so easily, unwilling to be unable to do anything.
Suddenly, she recalled another tale from that book of supernatural stories, “I heard… I heard that spirits can possess humans and live on in their bodies. Is that true?”
“It’s true, but it’s difficult. Such an act is forbidden by the heavens.”
“What if… it’s voluntary?” Ji Chan’s tone grew urgent. “If I give you my body, can you live on?”
“…Perhaps,” the voice replied after a long pause.
Ji Chan curved her lips into a smile, “Good. I’ll leave this body to you. After I die, live on in my place.”
“Why?” The voice was filled with deep confusion.
“You said we’re fated. We can’t both die here. One of us has to live, and I hope… it’s you. If… if you can live, will you avenge me and my mother?”
“…Alright.” If she truly possessed this human’s body, perhaps, as the other had said, she could live on.
As a naturally born eight-tailed fox, her soul was powerful. After entering this frail human body, her remaining strength could repair its physical form.
She didn’t know what she would face by agreeing to this. But if there was a chance to live, who would choose death?
Hearing her response, Ji Chan wanted to smile, but her face was already stiff.
She said, “My name is Ji Chan—Ji for the seasons, Chan for the beauty of the moon. My mother gave me this name, and I love it. From now on, I’ll lend it to you.”
“Alright. After I’ve avenged you, I’ll return your name to you.”
“Thank you… And you, what’s your name?”
“My name is Achan—the Achan of lingering affection. I have no surname.”
“Achan…”
Ji Chan softly called her name, then fell silent.
The moment the last trace of life left Ji Chan’s body, the beastly eyes in the darkness suddenly dimmed. A green light emerged from the fox demon’s broken body and surged into Ji Chan’s.
A muffled thunderclap sounded in the sky, followed by continuous rumbles.
As Achan had said, possession was against the natural order, especially in the capital, a place where human prosperity thrived. For a demon to become human here was forbidden by the heavens.
Had Ji Chan not willingly given her body, Achan might have perished under the heavenly thunder the moment she attempted the possession.
After entering Ji Chan’s body, a wave of weakness and intense pain overwhelmed her consciousness. The relentless thunder roared in her ears, as if it could tear her soul apart at any moment.
But in the end, the thunder only rumbled in the sky, never striking down.
Atop the Sky-Reaching Tower in the imperial city, the officials of the Imperial Observatory, who were reading the stars to divine the fortunes of the Great Xia Dynasty for the year, turned pale at the sound of the thunder.
The Chief Astronomer immediately handed the Sky Observation Disk to a flustered deputy and ordered, “Quickly deliver the Sky Observation Disk to the Commander of the Mirror Division. Tell him a great demon has entered the city, triggering a celestial phenomenon.”
“Yes, my lord,” the deputy said, clutching the disk with both hands and hurrying off.
The Mirror Division was established by the founding emperor of Great Xia and led by his brother, the Bright King.
For a thousand years since the founding of the Great Xia Dynasty, the Mirror Division had been passed down through generations, with each head bearing the title of Bright King, always a member of the imperial family.
The deputy stumbled into the Mirror Division’s headquarters, announcing his name and demanding to see the Commander. But the guard on duty hesitated, “Tonight, the emperor is hosting a grand banquet for the court in the imperial city. The Commander has gone to attend.”
The deputy’s heart sank. The great demon mentioned by the Chief Astronomer was likely at least of the Fourth Realm in cultivation.
In the world, cultivators revered the Five Realms. The head of the Mirror Division, the Bright King, was a Fifth Realm master, while the Commander was at the peak of the Fourth Realm. With the Bright King absent, only the Commander would be reliable enough to handle this.
Tonight was a day when the dynasty’s fortune converged. If the disturbance grew and alarmed the emperor, no one would escape blame.
“Then what should we do? Besides the Commander, who else is here?” the deputy asked.
The guard replied, “The Chief Enforcer is still at the headquarters.”
“Which Chief Enforcer?”
The Mirror Division had four Chief Enforcers, each suppressing supernatural disturbances across the nine provinces. All were highly skilled, and if one was present, it might suffice.
“Lord Bai Xiuming.”
Hearing this name, the deputy’s heart settled. He hurriedly said, “Lord Bai is here? Please inform him immediately.”
As the guard rushed off, the deputy wondered why Lord Bai, who should have been at the Lantern Festival banquet with the Bright King, was not attending.
The surname Bai was the imperial surname. This young Chief Enforcer, Bai Xiuming, naturally came from the imperial clan. There were even rumors that he was raised by the Bright King and might one day inherit the title.
Five years ago, when Bai Xiuming was appointed Chief Enforcer, many had doubted him. But after he slew a Fourth Realm black dragon causing chaos by the Wei River with a single strike, those voices fell silent.
He had been stationed in Youzhou until recently, when it was his turn to serve in the capital.
These thoughts flashed quickly through the deputy’s mind. Before long, the guard returned, “My lord, please follow me.”
He led the deputy toward the main hall of the Mirror Division.
Before they could approach, a figure slowly emerged from the hall. The man appeared strikingly young, with an extraordinarily handsome face. His peach-blossom eyes carried a natural gentleness, easily mistaken for a sign of a mild temperament.
He wore a golden crown, a black cloak draped over his shoulders, with only a glimpse of the bright red official robe beneath visible as he moved.
The deputy dared not look too long. Upon seeing Bai Xiuming, he immediately bowed and said, “Lord Bai, I am the deputy of the Imperial Observatory, sent by the Chief Astronomer to report that a great demon has entered the city, triggering a celestial phenomenon.”
“Location.”
The deputy presented the Sky Observation Disk with both hands, “This is what the Chief Astronomer instructed me to give you.”
Bai Xiuming took the somewhat worn disk, tapping its wooden surface with the ring on his index finger, producing a soft sound.
He lowered his gaze to the disk, where three pointers—black, white, and red rested. The red pointer had shifted, indicating the great demon’s location.
“Gather the men,” Bai Xiuming ordered.
Several voices responded instantly. “Yes.”
The deputy, startled, glanced around but couldn’t see where the speakers were.
In moments, dozens of Mirror Division guards were ready to move.
Before mounting a dragon-blood horse brought by a subordinate, Bai Xiuming ordered the deputy to be escorted back.
The dragon-blood horses of the Mirror Division galloped through the main street, the surrounding crowd parting to make way, none daring to follow and investigate.
With the speed of the dragon-blood horses, it took less than a quarter-hour to reach the demon’s location.
The group halted in Anping Lane. The men dismounted and silently infiltrated the area, while Bai Xiuming strode toward the direction indicated by the pointer.
The dark alley posed no obstacle to a cultivator’s vision. With one glance, Bai Xiuming took in the scene.
A human and a demon lay together. The demon’s aura was completely gone, but the human curled up beside it seemed to still be alive. Near the human’s hand lay a blood-stained arrow.
After her soul repaired the shattered heart, Achan’s body remained weak, with no strength left. Humans were far frailer than she had imagined, especially an ordinary human like Ji Chan, incapable of cultivation.
Unable to rise, she could only huddle beside her original body for warmth.
Suddenly, she heard steady footsteps. Someone was coming.
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