"Oh? Something of interest to me?"
Su Yan's fist stopped, halting less than half a centimeter from the Fox Demon's head.
"If what you bring out doesn't interest me, I'll scatter your ashes later."
"Heh, you'll be interested," the Fox Demon said, her tone cold.
By now, she was too lazy to feign the delicate and enchanting demeanor of a temptress. After spending some time together, she had come to understand what kind of person Su Yan was. He never did anything that involved risk. He never accepted any promises without a guarantee. He only looked at immediate, tangible benefits. If she didn't show him a concrete and assured benefit, just blabbering about vague, intangible things, she would only end up being beaten to death by a flurry of his punches.
At this moment, the Fox Demon believed she could offer Su Yan a benefit that would make him spare her—a benefit he couldn't possibly refuse. She trusted that with this, she would no longer need to constantly maintain a subservient and reverent demeanor towards Su Yan just to survive, stripped of all dignity.
"If you have something, bring it out quickly. Don't dawdle, or I'll consider it wasting time and confiscate everything."
Su Yan was also getting impatient. For a species like the Fox Demon, known for lying as easily as drinking water, he had no patience whatsoever.
"What's the rush? In a hurry to reincarnate?"
The Fox Demon glared at Su Yan. Then, under his slightly wary gaze, she pulled a pearl shrouded in purple mist from within her body.
"This is my Monster-Core. Once it breaks, I will die on the spot."
As she spoke, the Fox Demon passed the pearl to Su Yan and continued, "Holding my Monster-Core is like holding power over my life and death. My fate will be entirely in your hands."
As she finished speaking, the Fox Demon extended the pearl in her hand closer to Su Yan and said, "In other words, you can order me around as you please in the future. You won't have to worry about me retaliating."
"In this life, I am destined to be nothing but your tool, not a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment."
"Tell me, isn't a harmless tool like me worth sparing?"
While speaking, the Fox Demon lifted her head and looked straight into Su Yan's eyes, unafraid of his gaze, her face full of confidence. She believed no man would pass up the opportunity to have such a tool. Especially someone like herself, an alluring and ever-changing beauty—who wouldn't want to possess her?
Just as the Fox Demon anticipated, Su Yan seemed somewhat tempted, his expression hesitant.
He looked at the so-called Monster-Core, paused for a moment, then finally reached out and took it. He asked doubtfully, "If this thing breaks, you'll really die on the spot?"
"If it breaks, I will surely die."
The Fox Demon assured him with a solemn expression, "If you don't believe it, you're welcome to try. I'm just afraid you'll lose a valuable tool..."
Before the Fox Demon could finish, a CRACK resounded. Su Yan, standing before her, had instantly crushed the pearl in his hand to dust.
Fox Demon: "..."
Su Yan glanced at the crushed remnants of the pearl in his hand, then at the unharmed Fox Demon before him, and couldn't help but laugh.
Obviously, the Fox Demon had lied. The shattered pearl in his hand wasn't a Monster-Core at all. Even if it were, it couldn't have been hers; it most likely belonged to some other creature.
"Heh, I knew it. You can never trust a Fox Demon. Their words are mostly lies, and the rest are even bigger lies. Only a fool would believe them."
Su Yan looked mercilessly at the Fox Demon kneeling before him, his tone indifferent. "Now that it has come to this, do you have anything else to say?"
The Fox Demon took a deep breath, then slowly lifted her head to look at Su Yan, her expression utterly resigned. "Sir, could you please be gentle?"
"Sure," Su Yan agreed readily, without a second thought.
Then, without another word, he threw a punch at the Fox Demon's head. With this punch, he used as much force as he could muster, instantly obliterating the kneeling Fox Demon before him. The scene was brutally violent, enough to make anyone watching wince in sympathetic pain.
However, it was strange. The Fox Demon had been shattered by the punch, yet throughout the entire process, she hadn't uttered any scream of agony, not even a muffled groan. Not only that, but not a single drop of blood had splattered.
All that remained was a cloud of fur scattering to the ground and a bushy tail lying quietly motionless. Besides that, there was nothing else. Everything seemed extremely eerie.
Su Yan was very puzzled by this. He stepped forward, squatted down, and picked up some of the fur from the ground, examining it closely in his hands. It felt very dry and coarse, like dead skin and hair shed through natural metabolism.
Soon, Su Yan's gaze fell upon the nearby fox tail. Bushy. It seemed very fresh. Just by looking at it, one could clearly sense an abundant vitality within. It was just a tail, after all. How could it possess so much life force? Could it be... that this bushy tail was actually the Fox Demon's true form?
Su Yan hesitated for a moment, then reached out to pick up the fox tail from the ground.
Just then, information about a mysterious item suddenly popped up in the depths of his mind.
[Fox Tail]: The innate life vessel of the Fox clan. It can be used to concoct Big Rejuvenation Pills that bring the dead back to life and regenerate flesh on bones; extremely valuable for medicinal use.
The life vessel of a Fox Demon? Su Yan was puzzled, not quite understanding what it was. However, one thing was clear: this fox tail was definitely a valuable item. After all, it could be used to concoct something like the Big Rejuvenation Pill, which sounded incredible. It must be worth a lot of money.
As he was thinking, several more prompts suddenly popped up in the depths of Su Yan's mind:
[Detected the tail of a Nine-tailed Fox Demon]
[Do you choose to Devour?]
[Option 1]: Yes
[Option 2]: No
[Devouring it will grant an extra life]
Is this... a new cheat?
Su Yan was momentarily bewildered by what he saw.
「Meanwhile.」
On the outskirts of Luo City, atop a bamboo building constructed along the river, a girl who looked as frail and gentle as water walked with a staggering gait along a narrow bamboo path, one hand braced against the wall and the other clutched to her chest. As she walked, she occasionally coughed up blood, her expression one of immense pain.
Just moments ago, she had unfortunately lost an extremely important tail. This meant one of her nine prized lives had been abruptly severed. Her body had also suffered a backlash, leaving her vitality greatly diminished and seriously weakened.
"Scumbag!"
"Despicable villain!"
"Shameless wretch!"
Clutching her aching chest, the girl couldn't help but curse aloud.
She seethed over Su Yan's treacherous, heavy punch, still finding it hard to accept. He had clearly promised to be gentle, yet he had struck with his full force! He had no concept of treating a lady with care!
Caught completely unprepared, her spirit had been violently shaken. Her delicate body felt weak all over, and her legs were still wobbly. She was drenched in sweat, as if she had just finished a high-intensity workout. Completely exhausted, she had no vitality left.
"You shameless fiend, just you wait! I'll find you sooner or later. I'll drain your Essence, wring your body dry, and make you my slave for eternity!"
The girl stared in the direction of the hospital with resentful eyes, grinding her teeth.
She was innocent and naive, unversed in the ways of the world. That scumbag had hurt her too deeply, all at once. From now on, she would never again believe a single word any man said. Men's words are nothing but deceiving lies!
...