"I'm telling the truth!"
Su Daji cried out hoarsely, as if desperate for Roy to believe her. Her eyes brimmed with pitiful tears, her entire body curled into a ball, her gaze filled with terror as she looked at him. "...I'm not lying. You can verify this just by visiting the First Emperor's mausoleum. Please, stop torturing me—it's too painful!"
Her pitiable appearance, her tear-streaked delicate face—even her usually bewitching and seductive features now carried a hint of innocence, enough to stir any man's protective instincts.
Roy stared into Su Daji's eyes. The fox spirit didn't flinch, meeting his gaze bravely. After a long moment of scrutiny, Roy couldn't detect any deceit in her expression.
Yet, his instincts told him that this fox had omitted something.
"I believe what you've said is true. You haven't lied to me."
Roy's slow words made Su Daji exhale in relief—until his next statement made her tense again.
"But truth doesn't mean completeness. That's also a form of rhetoric, Su Daji. You didn't tell me—what was your role in the First Emperor's quest for the elixir of immortality?"
"My role? I just helped Xu Fu a little, aiding him in deceiving that other fox so he could retrieve something from the Yellow Emperor's mausoleum."
Su Daji spoke quickly.
"What was inside the Yellow Emperor's mausoleum?"
"Fragments of the remains left behind when the Yellow Emperor departed this world. With those fragments, Xu Fu could refine an elixir for the First Emperor, granting him the body of a 'True Immortal.'"
Su Daji pointed at Yu Ji. "...Just like her form of existence. And it seems the First Emperor found a way on Kunlun Mountain to suppress the 'urge' and bypass the 'Five Decays of Heaven and Man.' Once the elixir is complete, he'll become a perfect 'True Immortal!'"
Roy's mind stirred as he followed Su Daji's gesture and looked at Yu Ji. If what she said was true—that the First Emperor's mausoleum held a method to suppress the 'blood-drinking urge'—then even if he ignored the issue of human order, he would have to visit the mausoleum.
For Yu Ji's sake, Roy had to go there and find a way to resolve the torment that had plagued her for years.
"From what you're saying, the First Emperor should be immobile now, relying entirely on Xu Fu to complete his final preparations. Why would Xu Fu help him so loyally? He could easily keep the elixir of immortality for himself instead of handing it over to the First Emperor."
"...You're helping Xu Fu retrieve something from the Yellow Emperor's mausoleum. Could it be that you've actually conspired with Xu Fu all along, planning to deceive the First Emperor?"
Roy pondered the issue from a human perspective, searching for inconsistencies in Su Daji's words.
Trying to judge whether this fox was lying through her micro-expressions and tone was nearly impossible. Even with Roy's meticulous observational skills, he couldn't detect any emotional fluctuations in Su Daji's speech. He could only rely on some inexplicable sixth sense. The fox's cunning reputation was well-deserved.
"You're really suspicious! This is exactly why humans are so detestable!"
Su Daji grew irritable, but she didn't dare refute Roy outright, fearing he might subject her to some cruel torture.
She snapped impatiently, "...I don't know what Xu Fu is thinking—you should ask him! If he truly intends to deceive the First Emperor and steal that elixir for himself, I would stop him. I wouldn't let him succeed."
At this point, Su Daji suddenly froze, then glared at Roy in realization. "...You were tricking me into talking!"
"Finally caught on, fox! I suppose this is to be expected from a sly, deceitful fox like you. Getting you to reveal your true colors was no easy task, but thankfully, it worked in the end... You do have your own goals and schemes. The First Emperor's resurrection has been your doing all along. So, why don't you tell me—what exactly are you trying to achieve?"
Roy smiled victoriously as he crouched before Su Daji, his tone gentle but his eerie double pupils filled with cold ruthlessness.
Su Daji's face cycled between pale and flushed before she finally sneered at him in resignation. "...Just who is the real fox here? I have no idea where you even came from—you never existed in this land of Huaxia before!"
"...Since you want to know my goal so badly, I'll tell you. I despise all humans. I wish every last one of them would die—no, death is too merciful. I love watching humans writhe and wail in despair—that's the finest commodity! I adore seeing them beg pathetically for salvation as they're tortured to death, only to receive none. I relish their ingratiating smiles that ultimately gain them nothing."
"Bullying humans, tormenting humans—that is my joy. That's why I had King Zhou use those cruel tortures on his loyal ministers, just to watch them curse me helplessly."
"...Helping the First Emperor serves this very purpose. As for how—I won't tell you. Not because I don't want to, but because I can't!"
Su Daji's face flushed as she spoke, but by the end, she clamped her mouth shut, adopting an obstinate refusal—no amount of torture would make her say more.
'Not because she doesn't want to, but because she can't... Is this fox bound by some kind of contract? Whatever can restrain her must be no ordinary thing.'
Roy pondered for a moment. He didn't want to delve into how Daji's hatred and loathing for humans had come about—that likely had something to do with the Nine-Tailed Fox. But from Daji's words, Roy drew one conclusion: this fox didn't truly wish to exterminate humanity entirely. Compared to outright killing humans, she far preferred seeing them suffer and endure hardship, as it brought her pleasure.
She was a thoroughly anti-human 'pleasure-seeker'!
Though Roy had also incinerated human order before, that had been a choice made when there were no other options. Moreover, the human order he burned was only a portion—like a wildfire that couldn't consume everything, that part of human order would eventually recover on its own.
Roy had killed many humans, but he had never taken pleasure in torturing or slaughtering them.
Daji, however, was different. She genuinely derived joy from tormenting, abusing, humiliating, and bullying others—it was the very meaning behind her actions. Countless humans in the past had suffered tragic lives because of her, their fates toyed with by her whims. The despair and agony they endured were worse than death itself. Given the magnitude of her sins, even flaying her alive would be insufficient punishment—let alone ten times that.
"Fusang Tree."
Suddenly, Daji spoke up.
"Hmm?"
Roy was momentarily taken aback by the name she abruptly mentioned.
Daji narrowed her fox-like eyes, revealing a cunning and unsettling smile. "...You are human. The First Emperor is also human. Whether you ruin his plans or he thwarts yours, both scenarios are sources of joy for me!"
"...Humans, go ahead and do what you do best—kill each other!!"