Chapter 84: Xie Yingying Awakens

Among the food, there appeared to be something resembling a lump of flesh and blood, along with some small white bones that seemed as if they’d been cut from a child. There were even several long chicken feet, though they looked more like deep-fried fingers. Bai Qirui, seeing this, cleared his throat and asked with a forced smile, “Where did you buy these things?”

The young girl raised her hand, pointing toward the distant Blood River and replied, “Just up ahead. Today happens to be the Feast of Ten Thousand Ghosts, and the long street of the ghost market is open. I bought them there.”

Bai Qirui followed her gesture, only to see a desolate wasteland. He saw no bustling avenue, no grand gathering of ghosts.

“Oh...” The girl, noticing his confusion, suddenly remembered to explain, “The Feast of Ten Thousand Ghosts can only be entered by ghosts and demons. To prevent outsiders from causing trouble, there’s an enchantment that conceals it from view.”

“I see,” Bai Qirui replied.

After he spoke, the girl once again offered him the food she clutched, her eyes bright with anticipation. Bai Qirui smiled faintly, said nothing, but raised his hand and pointed to the black misty passage before him. His voice hoarse, he asked, “Since I can’t enter, do you know how I might be able to?”

“Huh? You can’t go in?” The girl sounded puzzled. “Normally, anyone can.”

Before Bai Qirui could answer, the girl walked straight into the passage of black mist. She emerged moments later, saying, “I can enter just fine!”

Bai Qirui had no desire to explain what he’d done within the Evil Sect that had left him gravely wounded and expelled. He remained silent, waiting outside the passage for Bai Shengyun.

The girl offered him the food again. But he was so badly injured that even speaking caused him agony—eating was out of the question. He gently shook his head to refuse, then closed his eyes, resuming his rest.

The girl, seeing he could speak, assumed his injuries weren’t too severe. Her cultivation was low, and she couldn’t use her spiritual sense, so she chattered on, “My name is Bo Meng, and I am a Mist Demon. What about you? If I’m not mistaken, you’re from the Immortal Sect, aren’t you?”

Though his rest was interrupted, Bai Qirui showed no annoyance. He merely opened his eyes, gaze full of helplessness, and replied, enduring the pain, “I’m seriously injured and need to rest.”

Bo Meng, reminded of something by his words, once again offered the food before her. “These can heal internal injuries—they taste pretty good, too. Try some.”

Bai Qirui looked at the offering, his expression unchanged but his helplessness deepening. Even someone as unflappable as Bai Shengyun would probably be so enraged by the mere sight of these things that he’d burn down the entire ghost street.

Though his temper was far better than Bai Shengyun’s, he still could not accept such bizarre and grotesque fare...

Within the Evil Sect, in the Hall of Ecstasy.

Bai Shengyun’s spiritual power was constantly drained and replenished, then guided and poured into Xie Yingying’s core. Xie Yingying woke several times from pain, only to faint again with a cry, her face now even paler than before—white as paper, evoking pity at a glance.

Night faded. The red sun crept slowly into the sky, rosy light flooding the barren earth. The Feast of Ten Thousand Ghosts grew ever more raucous, skeletons in the Blood River leaping and writhing like fish.

When Bai Shengyun completed the final step, the cracks in Xie Yingying’s golden core closed in silence. His own spiritual power was nearly depleted, and he hadn’t the energy to replenish it. He poured the last traces into the Purple Gold Bell, setting the iron thorns outside the bedchamber crackling with lightning. A few enormous electric serpents flicked their tongues, glaring coldly at the people before them.

With that, Bai Shengyun’s spiritual energy was utterly spent. Soon after, a flash of white light—at the edge of the bed appeared a drowsy snow fox, its tail tipped with red fur.

Though exhausted, he could not relax his vigilance while inside the Evil Sect. His tail flicked from time to time, and his spiritual sense stretched outside the bedchamber, keeping watch on the three who had returned, as well as several disciples of the Evil Sect.

Still, despite his exhaustion, there was at least one piece of good news—he had managed to resolve part of the Heavenly Fox essence within Xie Yingying.

Several hours passed, and Bai Shengyun remained in his fox form, his fluffy tail swaying, a sign he had not yet lost consciousness.

“Ugh…”

Xie Yingying slowly opened her eyes, her whole body aching as if her bones had been torn apart. Any movement made her grimace in pain.

She drew a sharp breath and, in doing so, woke Bai Shengyun beside her.

He opened his amber eyes, raised his head, and fixed a cold, vicious gaze on Xie Yingying.

A chill sliced across her face like a knife. She turned her head, and her eyes met those icy, amber ones—big eyes to small.

Though Bai Shengyun’s original form looked different from his human one, Xie Yingying remembered him well enough to recognize him at once. Startled, she swallowed and forced a dry smile. “Hey…”

Bai Shengyun, utterly exhausted, had no desire to respond. Seeing she was awake, he squeezed toward the center of the bed.

He’d been sleeping on the edge; rolling inward, he ran into Xie Yingying, who lay there like a dead pig. Rolling outward, he nearly fell off. Rest had been anything but pleasant.

Xie Yingying watched in confusion as he pressed against her, but as he was in fox form and without spiritual power, he couldn’t budge her. He lifted his eyes in warning, as if to say, “If you don’t move, I’ll kill you.”

The look reminded Xie Yingying of their days in Gu Feng Mountain. Instinctively, she shifted aside.

Bai Shengyun then claimed two-thirds of the bed, the entire fox sprawling lazily in the soft bedding.

And Xie Yingying could only sit pitifully in the corner, close to tears.

By now, the sun hung over the western hills. Seeing Bai Shengyun sound asleep, Xie Yingying quietly crept toward the edge of the bed.

The moment her foot touched the cold floor, hope flared—freedom was near, and the door, once distant, seemed so much closer.

Just as her other foot was about to reach the ground, Bai Shengyun, now in human form, spoke behind her.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

The sound startled her, and she turned sheepishly to see Bai Shengyun watching her coldly.

“I—I was just going to get you a glass of water,” she stammered with a forced smile.

“Oh?” Bai Shengyun offered a cryptic smile. “Then go ahead.”

At that, Xie Yingying spun and ran for her life!