Chapter 49 — The Demon Fox

That laugh at once melted the frost from her face. Zhang Qingyue felt thoroughly awkward, thinking that standing up for the man this time had been truly worthless—and worse, he had lost face before Bili. He set his face and made to walk away.

Zhou Yixuan was frightened out of his wits and cursed his luck inwardly. Shi Tou, seeing the awkwardness, reminded Zhang Qingyue, "Brother Zhang, why don't we go in? The real business is what matters."

Zhang Qingyue agreed, and ignoring the others, turned to enter the woods with Shi Tou. Bili was taken aback a moment, then said from the side, "This forest is thick with demon aura. What are you two going in there for?"

Zhang Qingyue said, "We are going in precisely to destroy the demon."

With that he tugged Shi Tou and strode quickly in. Shi Tou glanced back at the old man and his granddaughter, and at Bili, then followed. The clearing fell silent at once. Bili turned back with a cold face, and Zhou Yixuan instantly clapped his hand to his chest in a warding gesture—whether it would actually ward anything off was another matter.

But Bili did not strike. She pondered a moment, then said to Zhou Yixuan, "Do you know what they have gone in there to do?"

Zhou Yixuan started. He had been in the little town that afternoon and naturally knew the whole business, so he said, "I do. There is a black stone cave in the forest, and in it lairs a three-tailed demon fox. They have gone to rid the town of it. Why?"

Bili gave a cold hum, her gaze dropping slightly, and murmured, "With the little cultivation he has, and still he—"

Zhou Yixuan saw that she seemed to be standing there lost in thought, and thought to himself, what a fine opportunity this is—how could I let it slip? He tugged at Xiaowan's hand and began to creep away. By the time Bili came back to herself, the two were already far off, nothing but their backs visible.

Still, with Bili's abilities, overtaking them would have been easy enough. But she seemed to have no such intention. Instead she turned around and gazed at the forest before her, growing ever darker and deeper in the moonlight, and stood staring, lost in a trance.

Zhang Qingyue and Shi Tou entered the woods. The trees were tall and straight, their branches and leaves thick, blocking out the moonlight, and the forest was all gloom. As they walked on, silence closed in on every side, and from deep in the woods there seemed to rise a thin mist like gossamer.

The two exchanged a glance, and Shi Tou said in a low voice, "Careful."

Zhang Qingyue nodded. Both summoned their treasures and went forward with minds on guard.

After walking a while longer, they saw ancient trees towering to the sky and felt gusts of yin energy—they had clearly reached the depths of the forest. Just then they heard floating toward them through the mist that drifted among the trees a woman's voice, gentle and somewhat plaintive:

On the little pine ridge, the moon like frost,

We drift like willow catkins, and the flowers too are grieved.

Ten-odd years, three thousand years,

If only we part yet do not forget each other.

The woman's voice was sweet and low, crooning softly. No shadow of a figure could be seen, yet a breath of sorrow came faintly toward them. Zhang Qingyue and Shi Tou exchanged a look, both their faces changing. Deep in the night, in this desolate and unpeopled place, it was most likely some demon or spirit. They went cautiously toward the sound.

The thin mist drifted lightly, and gradually wrapped their two figures in as well.

Not long after they had gone in, a flash of green appeared, and Bili stood where they had just been standing. She gazed at the dark mist ahead, frowned, pondered intently for a while, then plunged in.

The night in the forest wavered dim and uncertain in the darkness. Now and then a few inches of moonlight fell through gaps in the leaves overhead, lighting upon the underbrush and trembling softly.

All around, there seemed to be nothing but the low chirping of insects from far away.

Suddenly Shi Tou caught hold of Zhang Qingyue. He started and said, "What is it?"

Shi Tou said in a low voice, "Listen."

Zhang Qingyue listened intently, and heard only a faint sigh, drifting toward them from ahead.

A shaft of moonlight, like a bright lamp in the darkness, a beam of frosty radiance, shone gently down, lighting the mist there as it swirled and drifted. And out of the depths of the darkness, a woman in white slowly walked forth and stood within that light, gazing faintly toward them.

Zhang Qingyue and Shi Tou both held their breath.

She was a woman of surpassing softness and charm. Her long, straight hair was not bound up but lay over her shoulders, gentle as water; on her fair skin were delicate brows, a slender nose, lips faintly red, and eyes like water, and as she looked at them it was as though she looked into the depths of their hearts.

She was a woman who seemed to wound the heart at a single glance. So she stood there timidly, standing in the moonlight, gazing at them.

Time itself seemed to have stopped at that moment.

"Have you come to kill me?" she asked faintly.

Zhang Qingyue and Shi Tou were both startled. Shi Tou bit his lower lip, steadied his resolve, and cried out loudly, "Are you that three-tailed demon fox, that monster?"

Her water-like gaze swept over Shi Tou, then passed over Zhang Qingyue's face, and in that instant Zhang Qingyue felt as though a gentle hand were stroking his cheek.

He was greatly shocked. He had never imagined there could be such a bewitching woman in this world—truly not of human kind.

She did not answer, only frowned slightly, as though some sorrow were graven between her faint brows.

She lifted her head to look at the moon again, and saw it hang flawless in the mid-heaven.

"I am she," she said faintly.

The night was deep. In the darkness behind her, something seemed to stir stealthily.

Shi Tou's face darkened. In his hand the great golden wolf-fang club, Break-Evil, slowly began to shine, and the woods around them seemed to turn to gold in its light. Zhang Qingyue stood at his side and drew a deep breath.

But the woman seemed to show no great reaction. She glanced at them, shifted her feet lightly, and walked to one side, her snowy white sleeves waving gently. The two saw the underbrush draw apart, revealing a well. From a distance the stones about its rim looked ancient, furred with green moss; plainly it was of great age.

She went to the well and looked down, and with her hand gently smoothed the hair that hung at her side.

Seeing her strange behavior, the two dared not stir for a moment.

Then her voice came drifting through the forest: "This is a well three thousand years old. They say that on the night of the full moon, if you look down into it with a devout wish, your wish is sure to be granted." There seemed something forlorn and lost in her voice. "But since I came here, I have looked three times. Why is it that his illness still shows no sign of improvement?"

Zhang Qingyue and Shi Tou looked at each other in amazement. From her looks and her words she was plainly a woman grieving for love, but Shi Tou was far firmer in such matters than Zhang Qingyue. He knit his brows, stepped forward, and at once the wind began to rise in the forest. "Shameless monster!" he roared. "You still dare to lead the world astray! Come here and meet your death!"

The woman turned her head, her water-like gaze passing over the two of them. She paid Shi Tou no heed, but looked at Zhang Qingyue two moments longer, then suddenly said softly, "Is there no woman in your heart whom you deeply miss? Then come and look."

The wind passed through the forest, and the chill suddenly grew.

The tips of the branches seemed to rustle.

A confusion came over Zhang Qingyue's heart, and he found himself stepping forward against his will.