Chapter Thirty-Three: Slaughter

“Settle… settle… settle what, damn it! Now we’re in real trouble!” Fang You couldn’t help but curse inwardly. He had almost managed to talk things through, but suddenly everything had gone awry. Chasing away the foxes’ descendants should have been enough—yet the villagers hadn’t just driven them off, they’d beaten one of the foxes’ young to death. With a grudge as deep as the loss of one’s own offspring, how could the foxes not seek vengeance?

“You little priest, I thought you were a reasonable person, but you incited others to kill my kin! Give me back the life of my child!” The yellow-white fox in front of him finished speaking, and the dozen or so foxes nearby began to close in on Fang You.

“Wait, can’t we still talk this through?” Fang You backed away, step by step.

“Talk? Enough talking! Children, skin him alive!” At the shrill command of the yellow-white fox—called Lady Huang—the foxes surged forward as one.

Now there was no choice but to fight. Fang You swung his twin swords, defending and counterattacking in a desperate dance. He dodged, rolled, and looked thoroughly bedraggled. In the chaos, he managed to wound several foxes. It was clear now—he would have to fight for his life.

As Fang You pressed tight to defend himself, a fox suddenly shot up from underground, clamping onto his right ankle. Stunned, he didn’t have time to react before another fox dragged his left foot into the dirt. Now both legs were pinned and he couldn’t move at all.

The foxes pressed their attack, and Fang You could only fend them off with his peachwood sword and the sword of copper coins. These spiritual weapons truly lived up to their name—in his hand, the peachwood sword burst into flames upon striking a fox, burning their flesh. The copper coin sword, when it struck, released a surge of righteous energy, hurling the foxes meters away.

One by one, the foxes fell wounded, but as their numbers dwindled, Lady Huang became impatient. Her body suddenly radiated immense demonic power, and in a heartbeat, the small half-meter fox grew into a massive beast five or six meters tall.

“Spell of Fire! Obey!” Fang You hastily traced fire sigils at his feet. As the flames ignited, the two foxes holding his legs recoiled and fled from the blaze. It was true—no matter how much spiritual cultivation they’d gained, the fear of fire was instinctive.

Seizing the moment, Fang You rolled away and retreated to the base of a tree. Even amid his attacks and defenses, he’d taken care not to kill any of the foxes, merely injuring them. If he had killed indiscriminately, perhaps he could have escaped, but that would have been a different matter.

“Today, you’ll meet your end here!” Lady Huang roared, her massive jaws opening wide as she lunged for Fang You.

“They killed your offspring, and that was wrong. But you could just as easily take the life of one of the villagers to settle the score. Wouldn’t that balance things?” Fang You rolled aside as he spoke, dodging her attack.

The tree behind him was instantly split in two by her jaws. Had he been a moment slower, he’d have been crushed or worse.

Before Fang You could catch his breath, the other foxes swarmed him, each grabbing hold of an arm, a leg, pulling him mercilessly toward the earth. Fang You hooked both swords into the ground, resisting with all his might to keep from being torn apart.

But Lady Huang, now towering above them all, leapt into the air with a roar. “You and those villagers—you won’t escape me!” She brought her massive paw down on Fang You’s chest. Blood spurted from his lips as if he’d been hit by a speeding train.

“Where’s your courage now?” Lady Huang lifted her paw again. The foxes below yanked even harder at his limbs, trying to drag him underground.

Fang You felt himself on the verge of being ripped to shreds. Above, Lady Huang’s paw crashed down again, slamming into his chest with bone-shattering force. His vision blurred; he was sure every rib had been broken. Another blow and he’d be dead, if not torn apart by the foxes below.

“Time to feast!” Lady Huang declared, jaws yawning wide as she dove for him. Her bite had just shattered a tree—if she got him now, there’d be nothing left but blood and scraps.

Death and terror closed in. Fang You remembered the helpless dread he’d felt when poisoned by Senior Brother’s green snake venom. Scenes from his life flashed before his eyes. The fear and powerlessness returned in a tidal wave.

“I… don’t… want… to die!” His voice was barely more than a whisper, his face and body smeared with blood, twisted from the relentless assault—clinging to life by the thinnest thread.

“With such righteous resolve, I bet you taste delicious!” Lady Huang’s fangs were already brushing his skin.

To pit one against ten was folly from the start. Was Fang You, in his youthful recklessness, really going to pay with his life for such rashness? The wind whistled in his ears, but his battered body could hardly sense it. Through the dappled light, he caught glimpses of butterflies dancing above—was this to be the final beautiful scene he’d ever see?

A surge of defiance rose in Fang You’s heart.

How could he die like this?

He absolutely would not die like this!

At that moment, golden light burst from his body. On his forehead, a divine eye forced itself open, blinking around like a newborn’s gaze. In the next instant, it shot a beam of golden light straight through Lady Huang’s skull.

A muffled roar escaped Lady Huang as she crashed to the earth, unmoving.

The foxes still clutching at Fang You were stunned into stillness.

Fang You jerked upright, golden light blazing from his body as the wounds from his beating began to heal at a miraculous pace. The divine eye on his forehead glared at the foxes, blasting them with another golden beam that sent them fleeing in panic.

But now, Fang You seemed less a man than a demon, teetering on the brink of madness from his terror of death.

Seizing the peachwood and copper coin swords, he launched himself at the foxes, no longer holding back. This was true slaughter—not simply wounding or repelling, but cleaving the beasts entirely in two.