Two puppet talismans sprang into action, transforming into two small paper figures.
One picked up a pair of scissors from the dressing table, while the other found a small knife in the drawer.
Though they were so light that a gust of wind could blow them away, the paper figures now lifted the scissors and knife, far heavier than themselves, and flew onto the bed.
The young girl lying on the bed was motionless, with no breath or heartbeat.
The scissors stabbed into her body repeatedly, yet no blood flowed out. The knife slashed across her face, peeling back flesh, yet still no blood appeared.
The two puppet talismans seemed to have gone mad, one frantically carving up the girl’s face, while the other stabbed holes all over her body.
Shen Mingshu slowly opened her eyes and said in a low voice, “The show is about to begin. Let’s go.”
She pushed the door open and stepped out, only to see a dark shadow darting out from the opposite room.
The fox spirit had just been injured by a magical artifact. If not for her cultivation, she would have nearly been annihilated.
Shen Mingshu formed a hand seal with one hand, and a thin thread of fire shot from her fingertips. “Demon! Where do you think you’re running?”
The fox was horrified and immediately dashed toward her own courtyard.
As long as she could return to her body, she would be safe!
“Quick, follow me to Fan Jiaojiao’s courtyard!” Shen Mingshu waved her hand and chased after the fox spirit, shouting as she ran, “Fire! Fire!”
Seeing this, Yun Niang also began shouting, after all, following Shen Mingshu’s lead was never wrong.
The household servants were all roused from sleep, and even Master Fan and the others hurriedly got up to see what was happening.
In the distance, flames were rising from one of the courtyards.
Madam Fan cried out in shock, “That’s Jiaojiao’s courtyard!”
A crowd rushed en masse to Fan Jiaojiao’s courtyard, with servants carrying buckets of water to put out the fire.
Pei Jingheng glanced at Shen Mingshu and saw her knocking on Fan Jiaojiao’s door.
Shen Mingshu feigned urgency as she called out, “Miss Fan, there’s a fire! Come out quickly!”
Concerned, Concubine Feng also hurried over to knock on the door. “Jiaojiao, wake up!”
But the door remained tightly shut, as if Fan Jiaojiao had fallen into a deathlike slumber.
The servants muttered in confusion, “What’s going on? Why won’t the fire go out?”
Old Master Fan said anxiously, “Fetch more water!”
Shen Mingshu turned to Concubine Feng and said gravely, “We can’t wait any longer. If the fire spreads inside, it’ll be disastrous!”
Concubine Feng nodded immediately. “Break the door down!”
Just as the two were about to kick the door in, it suddenly swung open.
Fan Jiaojiao stood there with her face wrapped in cloth, her voice muffled as she said, “Mother, I’m fine.”
“Thank goodness!” Concubine Feng quickly pulled her out, puzzled. “Why is your face covered? Were you burned?”
Shen Mingshu chimed in, “Yes, it would be such a shame if such a beautiful face were ruined.”
Fan Jiaojiao’s venomous eyes, the only part of her face visible, glared at Shen Mingshu as she hissed through gritted teeth, “I’m fine!”
Her body must have been ruined by this damned exorcist!
Shen Mingshu swiftly yanked the cloth off her head. “Everyone’s worried about you. Let us see!”
The moment the cloth was removed, Concubine Feng let out a piercing scream. “Ah-!”
“Jiaojiao, your face!”
The flickering firelight illuminated the courtyard brightly, revealing Fan Jiaojiao’s face, covered in deep gashes, her appearance ghastly like a demon.
Not only was her face slashed, but her neck was also riddled with puncture wounds, the pinkish-white flesh torn open, a grotesque sight.
After taking a closer look, Old Master Fan nearly fainted from shock. “Wh-what… what is going on here?”
Shen Mingshu pulled Madam Feng a few steps back, a cold smile curling at her lips. “Everyone, take a good look. She’s covered in cuts, yet not a single drop of blood is flowing, isn’t that strange?”
Pei Jingheng was the first to respond. “Strange indeed. She was perfectly fine during the day. These wounds must have just appeared, why isn’t she bleeding?”
Shen Mingshu scoffed and raised her voice. “Because she’s a fox spirit!”
Madam Feng shook her head in disbelief. “How can this be? This is the daughter I carried for ten months and gave birth to!”
Fan Jiaojiao quickly chimed in, “Mother, I am your daughter! These people are evil, they’re the ones who hurt me!”
“Waaah! Sister, are you jealous of me? Is that why you brought these people here to harm me?”
The crowd turned their attention to Fan Fangfang, only to gasp in shock, she had suddenly lost weight!
Madam Fan rubbed her eyes, unable to believe what she was seeing. “Fangfang, how did you suddenly become so thin?”
Even Fan Fangfang herself hadn’t noticed. The excess fat on her body had vanished without a trace.
She stared at her slender fingers, then touched her face, her jawline was sharp and defined, with no trace of chubbiness.
“Mother! I’ve changed back!” Fan Fangfang exclaimed excitedly. “I’ve returned to how I looked before my coming-of-age ceremony!”
Old Master Fan frowned in confusion. “What on earth is happening?”
Fan Fangfang pointed an accusing finger at Fan Jiaojiao, her voice trembling with fury. “It was all this fox spirit’s doing! I was originally slender and beautiful! She stole my looks! And Mother’s and Madam Feng’s beauty, she stole theirs too!”
The Fan family had always lived comfortably, so Old Master Fan’s wife and concubine had both been beautiful women from the town.
Madam Fan touched her own face. “No wonder I suddenly grew white hair and wrinkles… It was as if I aged overnight…”
But Fan Fangfang suddenly exclaimed, “Mother, your white hair is gone! You’ve become younger!”
Old Master Fan stared at his wife in astonishment. “She really has become younger!”
Shen Mingshu turned Madam Feng around to show them. “She’s also become younger. The fox’s disguise has been destroyed, so the illusions she cast on all of you have been dispelled.”
Madam Feng touched her own face, still struggling to accept the truth. “This can’t be… Jiaojiao is my daughter. How could she harm us?”
“Then I’ll make you see exactly what this ‘Fan Jiaojiao’ really is!” Shen Mingshu gathered mystical energy at her fingertips and pressed them against Madam Feng’s forehead, commanding sharply, “Break!”
Madam Feng felt a sharp pain in her head. She staggered, swaying unsteadily.
Shen Mingshu steadied her and asked, “Do you remember now?”
A long-buried memory surfaced in Madam Feng’s mind,
A child covered in red fur, a thick, bushy tail, and a face like a fox…
“Ah!” Madam Feng shrieked, trembling as she looked at Fan Jiaojiao. She shrank back, hiding behind Shen Mingshu. “A fox! I gave birth to a fox! I never had a daughter, she’s not my child!”
Shen Mingshu spoke calmly. “That’s right. Back then, you gave birth to a fox infant. This fox spirit bewitched you and the midwife, making you forget what happened. That’s why everyone in the Fan family believed you had delivered a healthy baby girl.”
She turned her icy gaze towards Fan Jiaojiao and said coldly, “You wretched fox! You stole an infant’s body and robbed over thirty people of their beauty just to maintain your appearance. Do you admit your guilt?”
Fan Jiaojiao hadn’t expected Madam Feng’s memories to be restored. With her current body now useless, there was no way to continue the charade.