In the stillness of the late night, beneath a pale moon and a gentle breeze, it should have been a quiet and peaceful scene. Yet in Sanshan Village, it felt as though a storm was brewing. Faint, muffled tremors echoed like distant thunder.
Jiang Yin stared at the dark blue sky illuminated by the moonlight, her heart sinking again and again.
This was not thunder.
She did not dare pause for even a moment. She rushed desperately toward the Xue residence. From afar, she saw that the mud wall outside the Xue house had collapsed by more than half. In the courtyard, a towering dark figure was striding forward on two thick legs, chasing something. The rumbling she had heard came from its footsteps.
Aside from the fox illusion she had seen in the trap pit, this was the first time Jiang Yin had faced a demon beast directly. Looking at the massive figure that stood a full three meters tall, a surge of instinctive fear rose in her heart, and her limbs trembled faintly.
Yet she still moved forward toward the Xue house without hesitation.
When Xue Zhuang’er, who had turned into a stone demon, saw her, he paused in a brief daze, as if about to rush toward her. However, a small figure blocked Jiang Yin’s path.
It was the chick she had snatched back from Sun Zhuzi. Who knew what it had gone through over the past two days. Its originally pale yellow down was now patchy, bald in some places and charred black in others, as though it had been scorched by fire. Its body had also grown a whole circle larger.
The chick lifted one wing and pointed at the stone demon. “Chirp chirp chirp!” ‘Kid, come at me!’
Jiang Yin: “…”
She must have gone mad to see provocation on a chicken’s face.
The key point was that the stone demon was actually drawn to it. With a stomp, it raised its hand and reached out to grab the chick.
The little chick nimbly dodged and began leading the stone demon in circles around the courtyard.
The scene was absurdly fantastical. Jiang Yin froze for two seconds before suddenly snapping back to her senses.
Something was wrong!
Where was Xie Huaian?!
The courtyard wall had been completely torn down. At a glance, there was no sign of the young man in white. Only a pool of blood beneath the locust tree reflected a dim, eerie glow under the moonlight.
Her mind buzzed, and half her body went numb.
Had something happened to Xie Huaian?
No, that could not be. If it were really him, there would not be so little blood. Besides, she had just seen it. Although Xue Zhuang’er had become much stronger after turning into a stone demon, his body was extremely clumsy. Even a tiny chick could toy with him without a scratch, let alone Xie Huaian.
He was so clever. He would definitely have found a way to preserve his life before the power in his body drained away.
Jiang Yin forced herself to calm down and searched everywhere for any trace of Xie Huaian.
“Brother Huaian, Brother Huaian… Xie Huaian!”
From the four corners of the courtyard to the locust tree, even the collapsed wall, she checked everything. Only at the end did she remember that although the courtyard had collapsed, the two mud houses were undamaged. The bedroom door was closed, and there was still lamplight inside.
She had been so anxious that she overlooked such an obvious place.
Pushing the door open, the young man was indeed inside. Jiang Yin first let out a sigh of relief, but then anger surged up immediately.
She had been worried sick outside, her voice nearly hoarse from calling him, yet Xie Huaian was here, leisurely sleeping. Beside him, a pot of chicken soup was even stewing.
“Xie Huaian! If you’re fine, why didn’t you answer me? Do you know how worried I was? I thought something had happened to you, I…”
“Shh.” Chu Nanci raised a finger and opened his eyes. In the rising steam, an indistinct tide seemed to surge within his gaze.
That was a desire born from the depths of a demon beast’s instincts.
The full moon had little effect on great demons, and they could usually suppress it. However, some days ago, he had been jointly hunted by cultivators from Xuantian Sect and other sects. Although he ultimately turned the tables and killed them, he himself had been injured, nearly losing one of his tails.
As a result, during this full moon, he found it somewhat difficult to suppress the surge of his demonic nature.
And at this very moment, Jiang Yin barged in, chattering endlessly at his side.
“Why is there so much blood on your face?” Jiang Yin had only noticed him lying there earlier. Now she saw that half of his face was splattered with blood, while the other half was so pale it was almost translucent. The stark contrast of red and white lent a faintly unsettling wickedness to his originally gentle features.
Chu Nanci slowly replied with a single word, “Chicken.”
Tonight was the full moon, and that blood demon had also been acting up, clamoring for Jiang Yin to come back. Annoyed by its noise, he had killed a chicken right in front of it to make it behave.
The blood on his face had splashed on at that time. If it were not still useful, what he would have drunk today would have been blood demon soup.
Chu Nanci closed his eyes again. The pain at the base of his tail was distinct, intertwining with the restlessness deep within his bloodline, tormenting his nerves.
“Does it hurt a lot?” Jiang Yin thought of the demonic curse within Xie Huaian’s body, her brows knitting together.
“Mm.” He responded lazily. “So be quiet.”
Jiang Yin immediately fell silent.
But she did not leave. Chu Nanci heard her footsteps approaching the bedside and could feel her gaze resting on his face. None of it mattered. Right now, he did not want to deal with anything. He only wanted to breathe in the aroma of the chicken soup to distract himself from the pain in his injured tail.
The room was quiet. Only the faint crackling of firewood and the soft flicker of candlelight could be heard. Mixed into the scent of chicken soup was the unique fragrance of a young girl, like flowers warmed by sunlight. It was not unpleasant, yet it made it impossible for him to calm his mind.
Just as he was about to drive her out, that irritating scent suddenly rushed straight into his nose.
This time, it carried a heavy scent of blood.
Chu Nanci abruptly opened his eyes, narrowing them slightly.
Jiang Yin held a dagger in one hand. On the slender wrist of her other hand, there was a clear gash. Thick blood welled out from the wound and dripped by his lips.
Although people often said demon beasts were bloodthirsty, it referred to their indiscriminate killing. Looking across the entire demon realm, aside from that omnivorous blood demon, no other demon beast truly fed on human blood.
Blood only stirred the violent instincts within demon beasts. Yet for the first time, Chu Nanci realized that the fresh blood entering his mouth made him especially want to kill the person before him.
He raised his hand and seized her wrist. The wound was compressed, and bright red blood seeped through the gaps between his fingers, staining his jade-like knuckles. He glanced at it, then turned over and sat up, enunciating slowly while suppressing his killing intent.
“What are you doing?”
Jiang Yin looked at the blood dripping away with heartache. With her wound pressed by the young man, the pain made her voice tremble.
“I… I have a demon-seeking compass on me. I know that you… are under a demonic power curse… I wanted… to help you…”
In the original story, the female lead, Zhu Nian, had not known that Xie Huaian was afflicted by a demonic power curse. She had mistaken him for a demon and tied him up with rope. The blood flowing from her wound had accidentally dripped into Xie Huaian’s mouth, and by sheer coincidence, it had alleviated his discomfort.
Only then did Jiang Yin imitate it. She was doing this for the greater situation. Outside, Xue Zhuang’er, who had turned into a stone demon, could break in at any moment. If Xie Huaian remained weak and powerless, then once the stone demon broke through the chick’s defense, she alone would not be able to protect the two of them.
Even if Xie Huaian had no spiritual power, he still had his abilities. If they could not win, he could at least take her and escape.
She had calculated everything clearly, but the young man did not know any of this. He lowered his gaze to her bleeding wound, and after a few breaths, a soft laugh escaped his throat.
“You actually care about… me this much.”
A demonic power curse could indeed be alleviated with human blood, but it was difficult to eliminate. The cursed person’s craving for blood would grow stronger each time. The further it progressed, the more blood would be required. In the end, they might even lose control and bite the provider of blood to death.
His demonic power was unstable today. The demon-seeking compass on Jiang Yin might have reacted because of this. She knew that her ‘fiancé’ was human, so it was reasonable for her to assume that the abnormal demonic power in his body was due to a curse.
Yet she had actually used her own blood to ease his condition.
The one she was helping was not a nine-tailed fox demon, but her childhood sweetheart and fiancé.
For no clear reason, a surge of violence churned within Chu Nanci. His long, narrow eyes half-lidded, a smile forming that did not reach his eyes.
He had changed his mind.
Before, he had only intended to go along with the mistake, to pretend to be her fiancé and play the role. When she returned home and discovered she had mistaken the wrong person, he would simply enjoy her flustered embarrassment, and that would be the end of it.
But now, he wanted to take this deep affection she held for her fiancé and claim it for himself.
“Does it hurt?” He released his grip. Without a handkerchief, he used his fingertips to wipe away the blood for her. His brows knit slightly, his tone carrying both guilt and concern. “I’m sorry. I was too anxious just now. I truly couldn’t bear to see you hurt yourself.”
“It’s… it’s fine.” Jiang Yin’s wrist throbbed painfully, but seeing him like this, she still forced out a small smile to reassure him. “I’m alright. What about you? Are you feeling better? Do you want to drink a little more…”
Catching sight of the young man lifting his eyes, darkness swirling within them, Jiang Yin guessed that he probably did not like this method of relief. She tried to persuade him tactfully.
“…I mean, since it’s already like this, rather than wasting it, we might as well make full use of it.”
Chu Nanci neither agreed nor refused.
He did not bend down. Instead, he lifted Jiang Yin’s hand, his lips covering the bleeding wound.
As the blood entered his mouth, its metallic sweetness rolled deep into his throat. In the past, he had disliked this taste, but now it felt different. It was not the taste of the blood, but Jiang Yin’s expression.
The young girl was clearly in pain. Her delicate brows were drawn together, her almond-shaped eyes nearly wrinkling into waves. Her red lips were pressed into a thin line. It was obvious she was gritting her teeth to endure it. Yet when her gaze met his, she quickly relaxed her tense muscles and forced a trembling smile at him.
Chu Nanci extended his tongue, gliding it over the wound. His lips brushed lightly against the bone of her wrist, stained with blood, and the distance between them gradually closed.
He kept looking into her eyes. Her pale-colored pupils were gentle and harmless, as though they held countless unspoken words, effortlessly drawing one in to stare.
As he watched, the candle flame crackled and flickered, concealing the light rising in his eyes.
“Ah Yin.”
“Mm?” Jiang Yin felt the atmosphere growing more and more strange. He was clearly just drinking her blood, yet seeing those overly vivid, blood-stained thin lips pressed against her wrist, and the way his lips and tongue brushed her wound, sending a ticklish sensation through it, made her feel as if her own lips were tingling too.
Her head felt so dizzy. Was she losing too much blood?
“It doesn’t seem to be enough,” the young man said gently, his voice soft and soothing.
“Mm.” Jiang Yin understood. “It’s fine. You can keep drinking. I can still hold on.”
“Can you really?” His tone carried concern. “You’ve lost so much blood. Aren’t you dizzy?”
“No…” Jiang Yin wanted to reassure him, but looking into his eyes, she unconsciously spoke the truth. “A little dizzy.”
“Then let’s change to another method, alright?” Chu Nanci coaxed her step by step, drawing closer.
The fox clan’s charm techniques were unmatched in the world. Last time, he had only been teasing Jiang Yin, which was why Xue Zhuang’er had been able to call her back. But now that he was using it with full force, no one could stop him from doing what he wanted.
“A better method. A more effective one.” He parted his thin lips slightly. Blood stained the edges of them, lending a soul-stealing allure.
Jiang Yin stared, entranced, and swallowed. “…Alright.”
She did not ask what method. Somewhere in her subconscious, she seemed to already know what to do.
The young man guided her injured hand to rest at his waist, and she took the initiative to wrap her arm around him. Tilting her face upward, she leaned closer, her eyelashes trembling uncontrollably.
Moonlight streamed in through the doorway, illuminating the shadows on the ground as they drew nearer and nearer. At the entrance, the two little demons who tried to come in were knocked to the ground by a barrier and fell silent. In the stillness, only the sound of heartbeats could be heard clearly.
Closer and closer.
The candlelight cast a golden glow over the girl’s trembling lashes. As they fluttered, it seemed as though shattered stars fell to the ground. Her red lips were full and moist, glistening with a tempting sheen under the dim, amber light.
Chu Nanci’s throat bobbed unconsciously. He had originally intended to wait for her to take the initiative, but now he could not help lowering his head to meet her.
Yet her warm lips suddenly shifted downward, leaving only a damp patch on his chin.
The girl’s hand, which had been resting at his waist, slipped down. Her head drooped weakly onto his shoulder.
A night without sleep, continuous rushing about, and the loss of so much blood. Her weakened body could not withstand the fox clan’s charm technique at full force. Just like that, she fainted.
Chu Nanci checked her pulse. She was already this weak, yet she still dared to let her blood to save someone. If he truly were an ordinary man afflicted by a demonic power curse, she would likely have died here today.
Suppressing the agitation in his heart that only grew stronger instead of fading, the fox tail that extended from behind his waist instinctively coiled around Jiang Yin’s slender neck. After a brief pause of two seconds, he rubbed his brow. The tail slid downward, wrapping instead around her wrist.
Her blood stained the snow-white fur red. The wound healed rapidly, and even the burn on the back of her hand was gently brushed by the tip of the tail, restoring it as good as new.
Chu Nanci used his fingertips to wipe away the blood at the corner of Jiang Yin’s lips. The softness beneath his touch resembled her harmless appearance, so fragile that he could reduce her to ashes with the slightest force. Yet she could so easily stir ripples in his previously untroubled heart.
Blood stained his fingertips, seemingly mixed with something else, glistening crystal-clear in the candlelight. He brought it to his lips, his tongue lightly touching it. The heightened senses of a beast allowed him to taste a trace of sweetness hidden beneath the metallic tang of blood.
This was Jiang Yin’s scent.
Chu Nanci stared at her lips, his gaze growing ever deeper and more fervent.
…
As the first light of dawn spread faintly, Jiang Yin pushed open the wooden door. She saw golden sunlight pouring over the ruined mud courtyard. The morning breeze swept through the forested hills, carrying lush green leaves that drifted gently down, as if life were returning amidst the ruins.
In the courtyard, Xue Zhuang’er had already returned to his human form, curled up in a corner, fast asleep.
Beside him, the little chick hopped onto his body and stomped vigorously. Startled awake, Xue Zhuang’er scooped the chick into his arms and scratched his head in confusion.
Why was he sleeping in the courtyard?
Then he spotted Jiang Yin, and a wide smile immediately spread across his face. “Sister Jiang Yin, you’re back!”
Jiang Yin’s expression was complicated. “Mm.”
After learning that Xue Zhuang’er’s true form was a stone demon, she recalled certain details from the book about the blood demon massacring the village.