Chapter 19

The Mountain Fiend’s scream was sharp and piercing. The licking flames made it instantly retract its claws.

Fu Juan didn’t use the opportunity to retreat and leave the Mountain Fiend’s attack range. Instead, she pressed forward directly. Seizing the moment the Mountain Fiend left an opening, she slashed a huge gash across its body with the broken sword. Reaching out, she smeared her hand with the Mountain Fiend’s blood and, without any expression, used it to draw a Five Thunders Talisman in mid-air. Five-colored Thunder Light exploded out of nowhere, blasting the Mountain Fiend’s fur jet-black.

Though injured, the Mountain Fiend became even more frenzied and vicious. Its eyes were filled with bloodlust. It bared its teeth, drool dripping from its yellowed fangs—an eerie, sinister sight.

Jiang Yiguang pressed her temples. After making her choice, her thoughts felt like they had sunk into a quagmire, difficult to stir. The scenes of the fight were reflected in her eyes, but her empty, hollow mind could extract no useful information from them. If she could just remain entirely in that murky state, it would be better. But unfortunately, she could feel her own struggle, unable to fall completely to either side.

【Host, it is best to rely on yourself to break free from the bindings.】

The system’s voice gave Jiang Yiguang a bit more clarity. She looked down at the Seven Star Sword in her hand, feeling as if it were superglued to her palm. At this moment, her palm was still dripping with fresh blood.

Perhaps another cut was needed. Thinking hazily, Jiang Yiguang pressed her finger pad against the razor-sharp blade’s edge and swiped.

Pain came first, then fresh drops of blood.

But this still wasn’t enough.

Throwing the Peach Blossom Pastry to the ground, she gritted her teeth and slapped herself hard, then flung the Seven Star Sword towards Fu Juan!

Over there, Fu Juan gave Jiang Yiguang a deep look. The Little Paper Dolls, however, spoke freely: “Is Jiang Yiguang possessed? Why is she hitting herself?”

Fu Juan had no leisure to worry about Jiang Yiguang now. The Mountain Fiend’s roars were like thunder. The talismans falling on it had blasted its flesh and blood to shreds, but they couldn’t completely sever its life force. It was very likely just a body driven by the Nine-Tails. To truly resolve this, they had to sever its head and extinguish that spark of spirit fire within.

Two humans and one ghost were all fighting.

The “outsider” Jiang Yiguang felt a weight lift from her. Perhaps after that plot node passed, the grinder that stirred her thoughts vanished. She felt uncommonly relaxed. She wiped the blood from her hand haphazardly and looked down at the Peach Blossom Pastry box, now stained with a few drops of blood.

“Send it into the cave.”

“Send it…”

The soft, alluring tone was tender and entangled, like whispers between lovers. In a daze, Jiang Yiguang had already bent down and picked up the Peach Blossom Pastry from the ground. But she didn’t step forward. Her crystal-clear gaze looked towards the dark cave entrance. No matter how she looked at it, something felt wrong.

Having received the Seven Star Sword, Fu Juan’s attacks became even fiercer and more ruthless. Even knowing that Jiang Yiguang’s artifacts were sufficient for self-protection, she still spared a thread of attention for her. Seeing Jiang Yiguang lifting the Peach Blossom Pastry, she immediately said in a hoarse voice, “Don’t casually offer sacrifices. It might let her resolve her mental barrier.” In that momentary distraction, her sleeve was ripped by the Mountain Fiend, leaving glaring, bloody gashes on her arm.

“Sorry,” Xie Chaoyun also came to her senses at that moment. She wasn’t a Mystic Sect disciple and didn’t know there were so many intricacies. She had simply recalled past times and wanted to settle that bit of guilt in her heart. Only later did she realize that no matter what had become between them, Tushan Yi had never doubted her, while she had betrayed that trust.

“You went back on your word? How could you go back on your word?” The soft, alluring tone gradually transformed into a piercing, shrill wail. The diffuse smoke and clouds slowly coalesced into a strange human silhouette, like a bizarre demon formed from the clouds. “Xie Chaoyun, how can you bear to deceive me?”

Jiang Yiguang: “…” Her ears were ringing. She knew she had taken on a bad job. Was there a Peach Blossom Pastry segment in the plot too? Would it fall into the Nine-Tailed Fox’s hands? Would she use it to regain power and break free? If so, would she have to lose control again? She truly disliked that feeling of losing control… Jiang Yiguang stared at the exquisitely wrapped Peach Blossom Pastry box and sighed deeply. Perhaps the system’s side quest would carry rich rewards, but she didn’t want to experience it again. In this moment of brief mental clarity, Jiang Yiguang directly tore open the Peach Blossom Pastry box. Enduring the dry, throat-choking texture, she shoved the Peach Blossom Pastry meant as an “offering” to the Nine-Tailed Fox into her own mouth.

Fu Juan’s eyelid twitched violently at the sight.

She didn’t know whether to praise Jiang Yiguang’s boldness or curse her recklessness. Jiang Yiguang in recent days seemed like a completely different person; she must truly be possessed!

Jiang Yiguang wiped the crumbs from the corner of her lips, feeling only a stifling dryness.

But eating the possible “plot item” gave her a small sigh of relief. She even had the presence of mind to activate a Talisman she had drawn earlier, muttering the Evil-Subduing Incantation under her breath. Unfortunately, her cultivation was low and her skill insufficient. The talisman had only burned halfway before being extinguished by a gust of malevolent wind, a stark contrast to Fu Juan, who was wielding the Five Thunders.

Jiang Yiguang covered her mouth and coughed lightly, hiding the slight embarrassment deep inside.

The Nine-Tailed Fox’s seductive voice vanished. The mountain mist grew even thicker, so dense that the scene before her eyes was unclear. Jiang Yiguang frowned, sensing the sounds of fighting grow distant, gradually beyond hearing. She turned her head around, feeling somewhat lost, when a sharp pain suddenly shot through her foot. Looking down in shock, what she saw… was fox fur stained red with blood.

She, she, she had turned into a fox!

What was going on?

Just as Jiang Yiguang’s mind was racing, she heard a creaking sound. An old man in coarse cloth clothes was walking over, stepping on fallen leaves. Before she could escape, the old man gently lifted her into his arms. Jiang Yiguang didn’t dare move until the old man had bandaged her wound. Only then did she roll over and collapse onto a wooden board, utterly drained.

Judging by the clothing, this was ancient times. An unfamiliar small mountain village at the foot of the mountain, sparsely populated with fewer than twenty households. Her rescuer was the old man living at the village’s end; the household consisted only of an elderly couple, no young people. They knew some herbal medicine and usually made a living treating the villagers’ injuries. Jiang Yiguang didn’t plan to run away; she didn’t know where she could run to.

Was this an illusion, a dream? A trick used by the Nine-Tailed Fox? How could she break free from such a predicament? Jiang Yiguang tried to call the system, but there was no response. After silently cursing “useless thing,” Jiang Yiguang rolled over and continued to lie there lazily. But this carefree little life of comfortable food and sunbathing didn’t last long. Rough shouts and rampaging soldiers abruptly shattered the village’s peace.

It turned out the imperial court was conscripting soldiers, and even those over sixty were not exempt.