The courtyard was still in chaos.
A violent wind howled through the ruins.
Burning talismans scattered through the air like the ashes of a cursed snowstorm.
The formation had completely lost control.
Daoist Huang stood in the center, forcing himself to remain upright.
His hands moved rapidly, forming seals.
His talismans fluttered wildly in the air.
But his face had gone deathly pale.
Cold sweat rolled down his temples.
He was reaching his limit.
"This can't continue…"
he murmured, his voice trembling.
His fingers moved faster, trying to redirect the out-of-control energy.
But—
Too late.
A blinding golden light detonated from the core.
The entire courtyard was swallowed.
I pulled Ah Li tighter into my arms.
Closed my eyes.
And let the power crash through me.
"Lin Han…"
A whisper brushed against my ear.
Soft.
Familiar.
Warm.
I froze.
Slowly…
I opened my eyes.
The light was fading.
And in my arms—
She was changing.
White fur… was disappearing.
Her frame was stretching.
Her limbs lengthening.
Her body reshaped.
Until—
She became human again.
Ah Li.
Fully human.
Breathing.
Alive.
"Ah Li!"
My voice broke.
"You're awake!"
She slowly sat up.
Her expression filled with confusion.
"What… happened?"
But before I could answer—
A choked scream echoed nearby.
I turned.
Lin Guodong and Li Ya were both on the ground.
Convulsing.
Shrieking.
Their bodies… were shrinking.
Skin twisting.
Bones shifting.
Fur burst through their flesh.
Their hands warped into paws.
Their feet into claws.
Their screams twisted into desperate animal cries.
In seconds—
They weren't human anymore.
Two foxes… writhing on the ground.
"What is this?!"
Lin Guodong's voice… came out thin and distorted from his fox throat.
His eyes filled with horror.
"I… I can't…"
Li Ya collapsed into madness.
She clawed at herself, screaming hysterically.
"No! This is impossible!"
"Why me?!"
"How could this happen to ME?!"
But no matter how they screamed…
The transformation was complete.
There was no turning back.
Nearby—
Liu Qiang, who had witnessed everything, suddenly snapped.
His face drained of color.
He released a broken scream—
And fled.
Crawling on the ground.
Sobbing like a lunatic.
Daoist Huang looked at the two foxes in silence.
Then he sighed.
Slowly.
Heavy.
"Karma…" he muttered.
"All things return to their cause."
He turned toward us.
His gaze on Ah Li.
Then on me.
"I spent decades hunting demons…"
"And yet, today… you two overturned the laws of cause and effect."
He shook his head.
A bitter smile touched his lips.
"Love between human and demon… rewriting fate itself."
"Ridiculous…"
"But also…"
"…unbelievable."
He adjusted his robes.
Brushed the dust from his sleeves.
Then began walking away.
Only one sentence remained behind him.
Drifting through the ruined courtyard.
"Young ones…
Treasure what you have… before fate asks for its price."