Chapter 229 – Impending Death (1)

Seeing a fox spirit in person wasn’t something Li Yun expected to happen when he decided to meet Su Daji after years of being separated from each other. It’s one thing to hear about fox spirits, but meeting one was not certainly something many would experience in their lifetime. 

Li Yun considered himself lucky to encounter one right now. If he was a normal shaman or a human, he might have scampered away in fear once he sensed the great presence of the fox spirit. He had seen and encountered so many demons in the past, but none of them looked as majestic and yet intimidating as this fox spirit before him. 

“Daji… this…” He gave the young lady a questioning look. 

“You promised me, Brother Yun, so please don’t hurt my companion.” Su Daji reminded him of the words he had spoken earlier. 

Li Yun fell silent at that. Should he go face-to-face with this demon, he knew that it wouldn’t end well for him, even if he was one of the strongest shamans around. In the end, he let out an awkward laugh. 

“Lady Daji, surely, you jest? It should be me who needs to be wary of your companion and not the other way around.” 

Su Daji furrowed her brows in confusion, but Li Yun didn’t dare to say more in front of the fox spirit. 

Li Yun thought that his childhood friend truly had no idea about the kind of demon she had taken interest in.

Meanwhile, the fox’s amber eyes bore into him as if gauging his reaction. What Su Daji had told her earlier seemed to have a basis. Although high-ranking demons like her rarely faced shamans in battle or just simple fateful encounters, it could be said that this Li Yun was vastly different from his peers when it came to spiritual power. 

Still, he was inexperienced. He would need to practice a lot more before he could even muster the confidence to oppose the fox. At least, he was level-headed… compared to the shamans whom she had met in the past. They would dare to exorcise her, only for them to perish without a trace from her foxfire. 

“You said that I have a faint trace of black magic on me… Brother Yun, what’s going on?” Su Daji asked, her tone had a hint of worry in it. She thought that when Mu Yue removed the curse on her, saving her life in the process; she was completely free from the ninth prince’s influence. 

It hadn’t been a month since her return from the borders. If Li Yun could still sense it, was it possible that Mu Yue also knew about it? 

As if sensing the whirlwind thoughts, Mu Yue answered the young lady’s question: 

‘Although I had completely removed the curse on you, it seems the ninth prince got a hold on a piece of yourself during your meeting,’ the fox explained, which only could be heard by Su Daji. ‘Anything that is your personal belonging, or a few strands of your hair, is enough for the black magic practitioner to keep an eye on you.’ 

“Then, what should I do?” Su Daji said frantically, her gaze pacing back and forth between the fox and her childhood friend. “It seems that the ninth prince has decided to use me against Father and Brother Mo.” 

This time, her eyes were stung with tears. She couldn’t help but blame herself. If she knew this would happen, she wouldn’t have left the camp. She wouldn’t have encountered the vicious ninth prince. 

“Cease your crying, Daji. I would make you an amulet that could dispel the effects of the black magic on you. However, you have to promise that you won’t remove it until we find a solution.” Li Yun didn’t like seeing his childhood friend like this. 

Jiang Mo probably knew this, so he sent Daji home just moments after Li Yun notified Jiang Mo of his arrival. 

Su Daji nodded and wiped her tears dry. She repeatedly apologized to Li Yun for troubling him as soon as he returned from his expedition. 

“It’s no trouble, Daji, if I could help you.” The young shaman smiled. 

Su Daji was then called by her as one of the maidservants. She was worried to leave Li Yun and Mu Yue alone on their own, but looking at the two, she could only sigh and hope that they wouldn’t start arguing during her absence. 

“I’ll be back soon.” She promised and hurriedly went to follow her maidservant, leaving Li Yun with the white fox. 

“So… would the great fox explain why she’s hanging out with a human?” Li Yun took a sip from his drink before giving the white fox a slight smile. 

‘Out of curiosity,’ Mu Yue replied through telepathy, catching Li Yun off-guard. 

“You are versed in human language, I see.” 

The white fox scoffed at that. 

‘If I could not learn such a skill after living for centuries, I should have allowed others to kill me,’ she said with mockery. 

Oddly enough, Li Yun laughed along with her. It seemed that Su Daji was worrying about nothing. 

“Although I have to admit, I was surprised when Daji said you removed the curse for her. I didn’t know demons were capable of that.”

‘There are many things that humans still don’t know about spirits and demons like us,’ Mu Yue said nonchalantly. It only proved her assumptions that Li Yun still hadn’t reached his peak as a shaman yet, but he was already showing great potential to become a formidable one in the future. 

“That’s true. I think there are many wonders of the world that humans couldn’t understand just yet, but we might be doing a good job in learning one step at a time.” The young shaman agreed with the fox. 

When Su Daji returned, she was flabbergasted to find that the two were engrossed in a conversation. Li Yun would even occasionally laugh about something Mu Yue just said. 

‘What’s going on?’ She frowned. These two spoke to each other as if they had known each other for a long time. Was she really worrying about nothing for the past days? 

“Ah, Daji, you are back.” Li Yun beamed a wide smile at her. “What took you so long?” 

“We’re preparing tonight’s dinner.” Su Daji explained, “Brother Yun should join me. I haven’t had a decent meal with someone for a long time.”

“Oh! Finally! Decent human food!” The shaman lamented. “Daji, you have no idea how this brother of yours lived for the past years, only eating bland rations.” 

The young lady giggled at that and gestured at her maidservant to start serving the dinner. For the first time, Su Daji shared a meal with someone. This was one of the things she missed ever since her father and her brother left to protect the borders. Somehow, she had a way to forget her worries, as she spent a good meal with a good friend. 

Once the dinner was done, Li Yun bid goodbye and promised to return with the amulet after two weeks. After all, he needed some time to complete it. However, before he left, Li Yun had a private word with the fox spirit. 

“Making the amulet would take me some time. I know that it’s not your responsibility to protect Daji, but you are strong enough to repel the black magic that would accumulate in this place. I could only lower my pride… and request for you to please protect Daji until I return,” he said helplessly. 

It was really weird for a shaman like him to ask a demon like Mu Yue a favor. It’s just that Su Daji’s life was at stake. He supposed swallowing one’s pride was needed. 

“The amulet would only stop the black magic from harming her body, right? Shamans like you are versed in purifying stenches such as that. Wouldn’t it be feasible if you just purified Daji’s body instead?” Mu Yue questioned him. 

Li Yun shook his head, taking a deep breath. Thankfully, Su Daji was not around to hear their conversation. 

“It’s not that easy. I think the black magic has been ingrained deeply in her body already. Perhaps the ninth prince had already predicted that someone would be able to remove the first curse that he cast on her. So, by removing it, a seed has managed to ingrain itself into her body.” 

Mu Yue scoffed. She was starting to get annoyed with the ninth prince’s underhanded tricks. Even her heightened senses weren’t able to detect that seed from Su Daji’s body. 

“So, what would happen to her?” 

“Her body would start to deteriorate soon, with the seed feeding on her life essence,” Li Yun explained grimly. He somewhat regretted that he hadn’t paid Su Daji a visit much earlier. 

“Do you think you… could take it away from her body?” He asked the white fox, but her black stare was the only answer Li Yun received from her.