劍問蒼天 - 第219章 猥瑣 - 清風書屋

Shangguan Lue felt only a numbness spreading around the wound on his back, while a chill, yin-cold energy poured ceaselessly from that Yin Phantom into the meridians of his body, like ten thousand ants gnawing at him—an agony almost beyond bearing.

In but a moment, cold sweat was streaming down his forehead, and his face had gone pale. Little Bai, standing atop the roof, took in Shangguan Lue's wretched state, and the smile on her face seemed to deepen, brimming with schadenfreude. "Didn't expect this, did you, old ghost?" she laughed. "Even you have a day like this."

Shangguan Lue gritted his teeth, gave a cold snort, and forced himself to stay upright. "Demon!" he barked. "You still dare show yourself before me?"

Little Bai gave a "ha" of laughter, as though she had heard the most absurd thing in the world. With a flick of her sleeve, she drifted lightly down from the rooftop and alighted not far in front of Shangguan Lue. Smiling, she said, "I don't dare come out and face you? Yes, that's right—I'm timid, I don't dare face you, so I came out and gave you a little greeting gift first, and only then dared to show myself. Old ghost, you kept me cooped up in that Profound Fire Altar for all those years—if I don't repay you properly this time, I'd truly be failing you."

Shangguan Lue's face was full of fury, but in his heart he was genuinely afraid. Back then, in the Profound Fire Altar, it had been largely thanks to the altar's own earth-fire spiritual power, together with the remnant Eight Fierce Profound Fire Formation that still existed at the time, that this thousand-year fox demon had been suppressed. Otherwise, given the cultivation of a Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox, he truly had no confidence he could have dealt with her for certain.

But times had changed. The Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox had broken free of every shackle, and he himself, in a moment of carelessness, had fallen to this demon's ambush and been gravely wounded. Most likely he was no match for her now.

At that moment, the night wind moaned across the wilderness, and from every direction came the sound of ghosts wailing and wolves howling, as though on this desolate deep night countless night-ghosts wept at once, and the yin energy ran thick.

Within the mortuary, Little Bai and Shangguan Lue still faced each other.

Though Shangguan Lue had already been ambushed and gravely wounded, Little Bai showed no intention of immediately striking down this old foe. On the contrary, she seemed merely to be studying him with keen interest, like a cat toying with a mouse, a mocking look on her face.

Shangguan Lue knew well that what he needed most now was a safe, quiet place to circulate his power and heal, to suppress his injuries—but with this unfathomable thousand-year fox demon standing before him, it was maddening beyond words.

In his vexation, Shangguan Lue said bitterly, "Since you're set on coming after me, why haven't you struck? Standing there motionless—what's your meaning?"

Little Bai smiled slightly. "I'm fine, you know. It's no secret—I'm not like you humans, always thinking life is too short. I've got heaps and heaps of time and nothing to do with it, so I'll just stand here and watch you slowly. I'm very patient, after all."

Hearing this, Shangguan Lue was nearly boiling over with rage. The demon was plainly stalling him—knowing full well he was gravely wounded, she deliberately gave him no chance to heal. And as time wore on, he would naturally be worn down; the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox need not lift a finger—he would collapse on his own.

Yet for all Shangguan Lue knew this, against Little Bai's rather shameless tactics he was truly helpless. Fight? Gravely wounded as he was, against an opponent of unfathomable cultivation, he would most likely lose. Don't fight? His injuries would only worsen, and dragging it out was a dead end. It seemed no other way would do—he would have to flee in disgrace.