Hu Li sat dejectedly on the steps of the ruined temple, seemingly a bit injured.
Yu Sheng, too, sat slumped on the steps of the ruined temple—He was indeed injured; Miss Fox Deity had bitten off a large chunk of his flesh, skin and all!
He knew that canines protect their food, but he had not expected the Fox Deity to make such a fuss while doing so!
"Savior..." Finally, Hu Li spoke up, the white fur fox seeming almost on the verge of tears, "I'm sorry, I... I couldn't hold back, I hurt you again..."
"Yes, you hurt me again, but it's much lighter than when we first met," Yu Sheng sighed lifelessly, glancing at the blood on the corner of Hu Li's mouth, grateful that it was just a bite. The damage from their first encounter, when she headbutted him at subsonic speed, was much greater— it was practically an amputation from the neck down...
Upon hearing this, Hu Li merely tilted her head in confusion, obviously unable to recall the "first encounter" Yu Sheng mentioned—Yu Sheng had already indirectly inquired about it several times, and her response was always similar.
"Savior, you said... Have we really met outside the ruined temple before?"
"You have no recollection whatsoever?" Yu Sheng couldn't help but frown, "I was fighting with some disheveled creature at the time. You rushed over saying you'd help, and then 'bang'— everything went dark for me, and when I woke up, I was here, and you were wandering outside."
Hu Li narrowed her eyes, as if struggling to remember something, and after a moment, the pair of fluffy ears on her head also drooped down, indicating her difficulty in recalling.
Yu Sheng then looked down at the wound on his hand.
The bite from Hu Li was healing, visibly so. Between the torn flesh, countless tiny buds sprouted, and the blood seemed to have a life of its own as it moved in the wound's gaps— he even thought he could hear the faint sounds from the wound, as tissues regenerated, and broken skin fused together; everything... was healing back to its original state.
In a matter of minutes, he could hardly feel the pain anymore, only a mild tingling lingering around the wound.
This wasn't normal; of course, he knew that human wounds couldn't heal at such a speed, but more alarming than the rapid healing—was that of coming back to life.
The changes in his body made him uneasy. Although so far these transformations seemed beneficial, he was always worried that there might be some unknown risks, or a "price" behind them.
Humans instinctively resist the unknown and the uncontrollable, and for Yu Sheng now, his own body was becoming the biggest unknown.
But just then, an unusual sensation suddenly interrupted Yu Sheng's thoughts—he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was, but it felt as if he had heard something, or some thoughts had suddenly "invaded" his mind, thoughts... that weren't his own, memories that didn't belong to him, a small part of his mind uncontrollably stirring. Then, he felt another thought within that stirring—
Mom disappeared, dad disappeared, aunts and uncles all gone, it's dark, poisonous, cold, scared, hungry, very cold, very hungry, extremely hungry, the fruit is poisonous, bark inedible, leaves inedible, soil inedible, rocks inedible... inedible, all inedible, hungry, very hungry, extremely hungry…
Overwhelming hunger, almost crushing his will, swept through Yu Sheng's mind, even though it was just a strand of foreign information infiltrating his brain, he still had the illusion that his own reason was about to be completely devoured by this hunger—this frenzied thought caused a roaring in his mind, and when it finally began to subside, Yu Sheng slowly regained his ability to think and looked up at Hu Li sitting next to him.
The demon fox girl was slowly licking the corner of her mouth. Yu Sheng saw his blood, as if alive, wriggling on Hu Li's tongue tip, seeping into her skin, into her teeth, and into… her soul.
Hu Li noticed the gaze from beside her, she licked the last bit of blood from her mouth, looked up at Yu Sheng, and revealed a simple, harmless smile.
However, Yu Sheng saw her as if looking directly into her soul, he saw… that part which was verging on madness, saw the frenzied hunger beginning to surge and grow beneath that smile.
She was very hungry, still very hungry, hungrier than she appeared, and even… hungrier than she felt herself.
"Savior..." she carefully looked towards Yu Sheng's pocket, her face bearing a naive smile, "do you still have any food? I feel… my stomach doesn't hurt anymore, but I'm still, a bit hungry."
Yu Sheng felt a slight chill run down his spine, he seemed to vaguely think of something, and at the same time, he grew more curious about how he had "read" information in his mind just now.
Why… could he see Hu Li's thoughts and memories?
He thought of the scene he had just witnessed: his blood rapidly seeping into the other's skin.
Was it because of this?
And at this moment, he noticed that Hu Li's facial expression changed rapidly various times.
As if suddenly remembering something, her eyes became dazed, then the dazed look turned into astonishment. Hu Li slowly stood up from the steps, staring blankly at Yu Sheng as if "re"-recognizing the person in front of her. Then, she suddenly shook her head, unbelievingly pointing at Yu Sheng: "Savior… you… you didn't die?!"
Yu Sheng was a bit stunned.
Hu Li then raised her hand, pressing hard against her forehead, her body wobbling unsteadily. The chaotic and conflicting memories were causing her already unstable mind to nearly collapse, and then, she finally began to recall those "realities" that had once disappeared from her memory—
She remembered the first time she "met" Yu Sheng, remembered the terrifying "mishap" she made at that time, recalled the "Savior" torn to pieces, remembered the warm, fresh blood of the living, and then… that blood gradually turning into nothingness, the remains disappearing, the events of Yu Sheng's "death" fading from her memory…
She slowly steadied her body, her golden-red eyes murky, murmuring to herself: "Ah, I remember now, Savior, we just met outside, on the open ground, I accidentally harmed you… but..."
She hesitated, stopping halfway, her words turning into muffled murmuring, her muddled mind seemed to be taking over, rapidly plunging her thoughts into chaos.
Yu Sheng blinked, clearly, Hu Li remembered their first meeting and the supersonic headbutt, he didn't know how she suddenly recalled all this, perhaps it also had something to do with him suddenly seeing Hu Li's thoughts and memories just now—but now was clearly not the time to delve into the cause of this matter.
Hu Li's condition was clearly off; her body began to wobble again, as if she were about to falter at any second.
Yu Sheng instinctively took a half step forward—but the reaction that followed made him abruptly stop in his tracks.
Hu Li raised her head, her golden-red eyes seemingly filled with bloodlust. She stared intently at Yu Sheng, issuing a low, beast-like groan from her throat.
Gradually, she bent down, her disheveled tails spreading out bit by bit. Her Fox Tails flaunted themselves under the night sky, growing, with azure flames leaping at each tail's end, burning.
She assumed the posture of a wild beast, freely releasing the aura of a predator.
Hunger was growing wildly in those blood-filled eyes. Through a vague connection, Yu Sheng felt as if he could even hear the voice constantly echoing in the girl's heart—
Savior, you smell so good...
Yu Sheng swallowed hard, slowly stepping back slightly, and at that moment, he finally noticed a shadow behind Hu Li through the corner of his eye.
It was a massive shadow, emanating from the darkness, inching closer to Hu Li. The Fox Demon's azure Spiritual Fire flickered through the night, and under the illumination of those flames, the shadow gradually took shape—as if a plethora of grotesque and twisted limbs of wild beasts were haphazardly fused together, forming a massive mass adorned with crisscrossing mouths, eyes, and claws, resembling the embodiment of hunger and predation. This monster behind Hu Li let out a low, urging, indistinct growl.
Amid those indistinct growls and encouragement, Hu Li's body lowered even more. Silver-white fur covered her skin, her cheeks deformed, sharp teeth grew, and human features rapidly receded, almost in the blink of an eye, the girl always smiling foolishly disappeared—a giant Silver White Demon Fox stood under the night sky, its azure Fox Tail Fire reflecting off the dilapidated ruins of the ruined temple, as well as Yu Sheng's face.
Yu Sheng heard a voice, laden with strong temptation and a pierce-like power, vaguely coming through—
"Eat… eat, and you won't be hungry...
"Feed…
"Let's feed together…
"You're hungry, eat..."
At first, Yu Sheng thought it was Hu Li's inner thoughts he heard, but he soon realized that it was actually the voice Hu Li was hearing—the true source of these sounds was that grotesquely formed monster.
It urged Hu Li to feed, to yield to that hunger, as though it was waiting for something it had nurtured for a long time to bear fruit.
Yu Sheng wanted to shout out loud, to remind Hu Li not to be seduced by that voice, loosely guessing some of the truth, but before he could speak out, he felt a terrifying hunger emanating from the depths of Hu Li's mind.
That hunger could swallow all reason, block out all external voices.
He could only smile wryly, spreading his hands in front of the demon fox.
"I'm telling you, later your mouth and stomach will be at odds, and next time we meet it'll be awkward for you…"
After saying those words, as if he had finished making his will, he steeled himself and adopted a stance from military boxing.
Of course, military boxing was no match for the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox (perhaps a Seven-Tailed or Eight-Tailed), but military boxing could allow him to die with some dignity.
And who knows? His physique had inexplicably become much stronger, Yu Sheng thought maybe he could punch Hu Li on the nose before he died, spoiling her mood for a good while…
With such a trivial thought flashing through his mind, the next second, he felt a gust of Astral Wind coming towards him, and the massive body of the Silver White Demon Fox suddenly soared into the air—intense wind pressure made Yu Sheng instinctively close his eyes.
The anticipated death did not descend.
Yu Sheng opened his eyes doubtfully.
He saw the Silver White Demon Fox in mid-air turning its body and fiercely pouncing on that nauseating monster—she let out a roar so furious it almost turned into a cry, and bit into the monster.
However, the next second, numerous pitch-black keratin spikes and skeletal fragments burst forth from within Hu Li, piercing through her body in various places, pinning her tightly in mid-air.
Yu Sheng watched the scene in shock, saw the Silver White Demon Fox struggling to turn its head in mid-air, as golden-red blood streamed from the wounds all over her body, steaming under the night sky.
"Savior... run..."
{You smell so good...}
"I am not a monster yet..."
{So hungry...}
"Run!"
{Run!}