Carefully carrying the pink box, I felt like I was holding Pandora’s box. Like opening it would unleash a great flood and drag me into a whole new world.
“It’s over. My life is completely over!”
I’d never, ever forget that shop assistant’s teasing smile just now. It was like she was saying, This outfit suits you perfectly, so go on, be bold and try it!
Yeah, right. As if I’d believe that.
[Don’t be so pessimistic, human. It’s just buying a skirt. In our era, only noble young men of royal and aristocratic families could wear skirts. You should feel honored instead.]
The Fox Demon spoke lazily in my head. But what she described was probably some kind of ancient robe, right? Come to think of it, I still hadn’t asked what era this fox was from.
A Fox Demon. A Fox Demon sealed away for thousands of years... Could she be a Nine Tails fox demon? Wait, no way... Could she actually be that...?
Impossible. That was a fox spirit from myth. I was overthinking it.
“Heh... well, thanks a lot for that. But what I don’t get is, why are you so fixated on my deskmate? He’s just a poor loser.”
[The people of your era have pitifully little spiritual energy in their bodies. Humans who can help this palace recover its power are one in ten thousand. But your luck is good. The boy and girl you met today happen to qualify. Their spiritual energy is passable. Nourishing yin and supplementing yang, and my strength should recover to about one tail.]
“The boy and girl I met today? Who?”
[Your deskmate and your class monitor, of course. That pretty little girl—after I deal with the yang spiritual energy, she’ll be my next target. Those tender little lips of hers... I can hardly wait to take a bite.]
...Why are the people around me all like this? One deskmate, one class monitor. According to the Fox Demon, if she wanted more spiritual energy, she had to stir the other person’s emotions. In other words, make them fall for you. The aura gained that way was dozens of times stronger than what she could draw out by force with a kiss.
That was also why the Fox Demon wanted to buy women’s clothes to seduce Yushan.
But men were easy. Show them a pretty face and they’d fall fast. Girls, though? Especially someone like Class Rep Hanhan, a cold goddess who seemed above worldly desires. No way the Fox Demon could hook her using my body.
“Then you’re seriously underestimating Class Rep Hanhan. She’s gotten countless love letters. Even rich, handsome second-gen guys have chased after her. And what happened in the end? Those men never showed up at school again. That’s one of the main reasons our school has way more girls than boys.”
[I think you’re the one underestimating me. When it comes to toying with emotions, if a Fox Demon says she’s second in this world, no one would dare claim first.]
The Fox Demon sounded completely confident. Me? I had zero confidence. My natural conditions were right there in front of us. Like she said, I’d slowly turn day by day into the breathtaking beauty she used to be.
Sure, that might work on men.
But Class Rep Hanhan was a girl.
Unless she liked girls too... but that was basically impossible, right?
Whatever. Why was I even thinking about that? The real priority was satisfying the Fox Demon and getting her out of my body as soon as possible.
“You don’t have anything going on tonight, right?”
After getting home, I casually tossed the clothing box aside, stripped down until I was only wearing my underwear, and lay on the bed.
[No. Why?]
“Then I’m going to sleep. I’m seriously exhausted today.”
[Oh. Then sleep. I won’t disturb you.]
After getting the Fox Demon’s assurance, I slowly closed my eyes. It was strange. Normally, I’d need at least a few minutes of lying there before I could fall asleep.
But this time, drowsiness came over me almost at once, and my consciousness slowly sank.
Then my breathing turned steady.
[You really are carefree, human. Aren’t you afraid I’ll devour your soul?]
The corners of my lips lifted slightly. My closed eyes suddenly opened, revealing crimson, blood-red pupils. At the same time, my body sat upright in one sharp motion.
[Asleep already. His consciousness is defenseless. Should I... no. Forget it. I’m still not familiar with this world. I need this human as a disguise.]
After hesitating for a long time, the Fox Demon gave up on taking over the body. Maybe it was for the reason she gave. Maybe it was for something else. No one knew.
[My clan’s descendant—Su Su. I wonder what relation she has to Su Su. The Nine Tails bloodline in this body is purer than I expected. Half Fox Demon, half human. After thousands of years, that shouldn’t be possible. Unless his line has been passed down directly from one generation to the next? Even that makes no sense. Fox Demons should have gone extinct long ago.]
[Whatever. Let me use the bloodline in your body to recover some strength first. Since we come from the same lineage, our cultivation methods should be compatible.]
The Fox Demon walked to the balcony and controlled this body into a cross-legged sitting position. Looking at the stars and bright moon veiled by smog, she frowned.
[No wonder there are no cultivators in this era. The sun, moon, and stars are all blocked by this foul haze. How is anyone supposed to absorb the essence of heaven and earth? Cultivate my ass.]
After saying that, the Fox Demon slowly closed her eyes. Her consciousness sank into the body and guided the shattered Demon Core in the dantian—one that belonged to her—to slowly rotate, releasing demonic power through the extraordinary meridians and eight channels to nourish the body.
At the same time, the thin moonlight filtering through the smog seemed to be drawn toward her. It turned into specks of light, slipped into the body, and finally entered the Demon Core. There, it was transformed into demonic energy, which then nourished and strengthened the body in an endless cycle.
Gradually, under the Fox Demon’s transformation, the human side of the body was slowly worn away.
On the wall, Su Su’s shadow had originally been that of an ordinary male figure. But as the Fox Demon cultivated, its outline slowly changed. It became curvier, graceful, and alluring. From the lower half of the shadow, nine tail-like silhouettes gradually grew out. At the same time, a pair of “ears” sprouted from the top of its head.
