CHAPTER 52: 52. FOX FUR

The incident rate at the Chores Room of Shadow Puppet Peak in the Puppet Sect is actually not low.

Yet no Official Disciple is willing to be on night patrol there.

First, it’s dangerous, requiring constant resistance against ghost entities, which is noisy and consumes a lot;

second, it’s unnecessary.

It’s a deserted place despised by all, even ghost cultivators are unwilling to attack at midnight.

The reason is simple: Ghost cultivators don’t seek dead people but dead cultivators, especially Great Cultivators.

And this requires a stable and healthy growing sect.

Ghost cultivators would rather protect the talent reserve base of the Puppet Sect, so why would they slaughter?

However, even so, incidents are still frequent at the Chores Room, with ghost entities breaking in from time to time.

The reason for setting the Chores Room in such a place is equally simple: it reduces runaway attempts and lowers guard costs.

People can’t run away at night, and due to the night watch, they expend so much energy that combined with daytime skin-making, they are drained, leaving no energy to think about escaping.

Everyone has gotten used to it.

Even as recent as ten years ago, when Song Yan opened the door and committed murder at midnight, it was left unresolved.

Let alone now?

In the mountain ranges here, spanning thousands of miles north to south, there are two Profound Vein spirals, one at Paperman Peak, and the other in the Evil Sea as thick as red jade at the Evil Land.

Since there are ghost cultivators, the Red Mist Ghost Master, and the Double-faced Ghost in the Evil Sea, ghost entities running amok at night and occasional incidents are inevitable.

Thus, no one has ever paid much attention to the ’midnight deaths.’

Song Yan himself didn’t care either.

But after hearing the Empress’s information, a strange sense of awareness arose in his heart.

No!

It’s not awareness but an inexplicable excitement and anticipation.

It even made him feel as though he were about to fall in love, accompanied by a nervous thrill of gain and loss.

’Since there are so many fox cubs, since the bloodline illusion techniques of those fox cubs are so terrifying, since cultivators are the best food for those fox cubs, then...’

’The Multi-tailed Dragon Bo Cannibal Fox cubs should be of high grade but not overly powerful demons, right?’

...

...

"The easy acquisition of longevity" granted Song Yan tremendous patience, a highly stable style, and strong action power.

He began "staking out," going to the Chores Room every few nights, hiding far away under the tree shadows in the bloody mist, expanding his perception.

But nothing was gained.

Ten days...

Twenty days...

Winter passed, yet he still found nothing.

With the arrival of early spring showers, the mountains bloomed in peach pink and apricot white, dazzling with colors.

On this day, an incident suddenly occurred at the Chores Room.

This time, it was a "consecutive door-breaking" event.

Throughout the night, three Suspended Rooms in the Chores Room were simultaneously broken into, and among the six people inside, four disappeared, leaving two dumbfounded and stupefied.

An Inner Sect Disciple in red from the main peak of Shadow Puppet Peak came, and Song Yan, as the senior brother of South Bamboo Peak, naturally accompanied him.

The Inner Sect Disciple wasted no words, directly capturing the servants around the incident room to begin a soul search. After finishing, he concluded that "last night was a rare peak period of bloody mist, with some powerful ghost entities breaking in, which is normal."

These words instantly solved Song Yan’s confusion from years ago.

He still remembered that day, during the day, he was nervously skin-making, nervously watching the Inner Sect Disciple investigate "the cause of death of Sheng Dazhu and Wen Erniu," yet nothing came of it...

Song Yan suddenly had a look of realization and praised, "So that’s it, senior brother, you are wise."

The Inner Sect Disciple was pleased with his realization, smiling as he looked at him and said, "I know you, you’re the junior brother of Wen Shu and Jin Yuntian, a registered disciple of Master Shi, and the future Great Skin Master."

Song Yan awkwardly scratched his head and said, "Junior brother’s knowledge is shallow, and I didn’t even recognize senior brother in person, shameful, shameful."

The two exchanged brief pleasantries before the Inner Sect Disciple intended to kill all the servants rendered stupefied due to soul searching, but after another disciple whispered a few words, he only killed half and then took them all away.

This time, Song Yan also understood the role of "corpses" and "stupefied servants" within the Puppet Sect.

As servants, if they become stupefied... they are sent to "Bizarre Poison Peak" for drug testing; if they die... they are sent to "Blood Corpse Peak" for new disciples to practice making flesh puppets, extremely evil and cruel.

Song Yan watched the Inner Sect Disciples leave, sighed lightly, looking at the eyes of awe and the shrinking attitudes of the surrounding servants, waved his hand and said, "At night, keep your doors reinforced, there’s invigorating powder in the market at the foot of the mountain, if it comes to that, buy a bottle! Don’t be stingy with contribution points, when you’re dead, nothing’s left!"

He left somewhat irritably.

But he... did not believe that last night’s "consecutive door-breaking" incident was an accident.

Just as he knew that the "door-breaking" on that day was not caused by ghost entities, but by him.

...

...

That night.

Song Yan staked out.

Nothing happened.

...

The second day.

The third day.

Still nothing.

Fourth day...

Song Yan still came patiently, not growing tired or skeptical despite the uneventful days before; he spent his time on stakeouts rather than sleeping or cultivating furnaces.

He crouched in the long grass shrouded in miasma, lowering his body to watch the distance.

Once again, a whole night passed.

...

...

In a flash, half a month went by.

On this day, at midnight, spring rain blurred everything, mingling with mountain winds and miasma to dance wildly in the dark.

In one suspended room after another, curtains were drawn early, blocking outside view; only through the gaps did rotting skin and bones occasionally attach, filtering in eerie surveillance.

Sheng Guochun was a robust male servant, a servant who had successfully absorbed cultivation techniques from the "Profound Qi Guiding Technique" more than two months ago. Now he was filled with expectations for the future, his big face often adorned with smiles, even his eyes hid satisfaction, and he frequently showed pride while making skins.

Living with him was a pretty lady named Ahua.

Like Qiu Lianyue before her, Ahua hoped she could leave this ghastly place through becoming an "Official Disciple".

Previously, she had seen official disciples coming to pick people and had tried to dress herself prettily, but unfortunately... she wasn’t chosen.

On her face hung worry, and...weakness.

At this time, it was shift change.

Ahua descended from the fifth step, while Sheng Guochun climbed up.

As they passed each other, Sheng Guochun showed a smile, raised his hand, and touched Ahua.

Ahua didn’t resist either, she sat weakly, allowing Sheng Guochun to act.

"Sit up."

Ahua clung tightly to him.

Both faced each other.

Sheng Guochun’s eyes widened in horror, his mouth opened wide, and goosebumps surged across his body.

Sitting on him and making love was not Ahua; it was clearly a fox!

A fluffy sharp-nosed fox faced him, grinning with a sinister smile and revealing sharp teeth!

Sheng Guochun’s throat rolled, terror erupted from the depths of his heart, a scream rose from his chest, but before it could sound, it was suddenly stifled...

The fox turned its head and swiftly bit his neck.

Snap...

Snap...

Bone chewing.

Gulp, gulp...

Frenzied blood drinking.

The Fox Demon savored the meal, soon after it would randomly kick open a room door, let the ghost rush in, drive two servants mad, then return to this room, secretly leaving at dawn. A few days later, it would stealthily consume a solitary servant, then transform into their guise and mix back in.

The Fox Demon ate happily, burping after finishing, before climbing onto the steps, watching intently as its eyes rolled around, pushing the door open, its hind legs leaping to shoot out.

But just as it poked its head out, it felt a sudden tightness around its neck.

From the unknown darkness, a giant hand extended like a hunting python, instantly fastening tightly onto the prey.

Snap...

Without any pause, the crisp sound of bones cracking echoed.

The fox’s head tilted, falling down weakly, its pupils protruding, fear still lingered.

It hadn’t seen anything clearly.

And the terrifying demon shadow, carrying the fox, swiftly leaped several times into the nearby woods, then hunched and darted further away; first raising its hand for Soul Search, then reaching into the void to extract a skinning knife, commencing the skinning process.

The next day, however, would just be another event of "thicker miasma, ghost crashing the door," nothing surprising.

...

...

At dawn, Song Yan, drenched in rainwater, returned to the cave mansion.

The two women hadn’t woken up, for he had thoughtfully let them smell "Long Sleep and Clear Wind" before leaving.

The less they know, the better they live.

He was never stingy with kindness towards those around him.

After a brief check, the two women were sleeping soundly.

He then let them smell "Long Sleep and Clear Wind" once more, before taking out the "Fox Demon Skin" from the darkness.

A tail, gray fox, the hideous fox head already gone.

He pulled out a skinning knife and began to work on the skin, then took a drawing, closed his eyes, and focused on recalling the fox demon’s pose he had just observed, his brush moving as if inspired, soon presenting a vivid, nearly leaping-out-of-the-page Demonic Fox.

He raised his hand, among the five fingers profound qi was abundant, steaming blood qi made his palm like an iron, swiftly drying the demon skin, rendering it semi-transparent, then skillfully pasting it onto paper, fetching a carving knife to start the skin making.