Hua Yuanshi felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach.
Her eyes darted wildly around the room, searching for her younger brother, Hua Ergu.
"Where's my brother?" she shouted, lunging at the man standing beside the masked cultivator. She grabbed his robe with shaking hands. "What have you done with him?!"
Across the room, Yuexi stood frozen, her entire body trembling.
The fox-masked man watched them calmly, as if their panic amused him.
"You will behave," he said lazily, "if you want to see your brother again."
Yuanshi's fingers loosened. Slowly, reluctantly, she released the man's robe.
The fox-masked man tilted his head slightly.
"I must say," he continued with mild interest, "I'm rather impressed by your guts."
Before Yuanshi could speak again, a terrifying pressure suddenly filled the room.
It descended like an invisible mountain.
Yuanshi and Yuexi were forced to their knees instantly.
"—!"
Yuanshi felt her bones creak as if they were about to snap. The air itself seemed to crush her chest, making it impossible to breathe. Blood rushed up her throat and spilled from her mouth.
Beside her, Yuexi collapsed as well, vomiting blood onto the floor.
Yuanshi's body shook violently.
What kind of monster had she offended?
How had she managed to provoke such a terrifying cultivator?
Yuexi clutched her chest, gasping in pain. Meanwhile, Yuanshi felt something even worse happening to her. It was as if an invisible force was digging into her mind, prying it open.
Her head throbbed violently.
It felt like her skull was about to split apart.
The fox-masked man waved his hand casually, letting out a low, chilling laugh.
Yuanshi's vision blurred.
She felt like she was about to die.
"Lady Feng Min," he said slowly, his voice dripping with amusement. "Even if you were poisoned, I expected a little more resistance from a fellow cultivator… and her rather talkative assistant."
Yuanshi spat another mouthful of blood onto the floor.
"I—I have no idea who that is," she said desperately. "My siblings and I are just beggars. We have no cultivation at all. I truly don't know what you mean… please have mercy!"
The fox-masked man chuckled.
"Fang Wu."
At his command, a figure suddenly appeared in the room.
It was a boy who looked no older than twelve.
His eyes glowed an unnatural crimson, and flames flickered around his small hands as if they were alive.
In his grasp was a tiny figure.
Hua Ergu.
The child was still asleep, completely unaware of the danger. The flames in the boy's hands licked dangerously close to him.
Yuanshi's vision went black for a moment.
The moment she saw the red-eyed boy, her heart nearly stopped.
It was him.
The boy she had stolen the green jade seal from.
The fox-masked man glanced at the sleeping child.
"It would be very tragic," he said lightly, "to bury a five-year-old."
Yuexi, who had been shaking silently the entire time, suddenly spoke up.
"Please have mercy!" she cried. "We.... we were pretending! She was pretending to be Lady Feng Min, and I was only her attendant! We never meant to offend you, my lord!"
By now, tears were streaming down Yuanshi's face.
"Please don't hurt Ergu," she begged hoarsely. "Please… I'm begging you."
The fox-masked man rose to his feet.
"You took something from Little Thirteen here," he said casually.
The red-eyed boy stepped forward, flames dancing violently in his hands.
His voice sounded strange—ancient and distorted, completely out of place in such a young body.
"Let me burn them," he said.
The fox-masked man gently tapped the boy's flaming hair.
"Not yet," he replied calmly. "I still have a use for them."
The boy's crimson eyes locked onto Yuanshi.
"Where is it?" he screamed.
Yuanshi coughed violently, another mouthful of blood spilling from her lips.
With trembling hands, she pulled out the green jade seal.
Crawling forward on her knees, she held it out with both hands.
"I'm very sorry… I'm very sorry…"
Her forehead hit the ground in a deep bow as she repeated the words over and over.
The fox-masked man returned to his seat.
"We're not finished yet," he said.
Yuexi hurriedly spoke again. "We're truly sorry! We didn't mean to court death by offending you!"
The fox-masked man laughed softly.
"That's adorable."
He adjusted the fox mask on his face and slowly stood up.
Then he walked toward Yuanshi.
His long black robe billowed slightly as he circled her once.
Finally, he stopped in front of her and crouched down.
The hem of his robe spread around him like dark ink.
He reached out and touched Yuanshi's face, brushing his fingers over the red lotus-shaped birthmark beneath her right eye.
Then he gently swept the messy strands of hair away from her face.
Finally, he lifted her chin.
"Now tell me," he said softly,
"Lady Feng… how do you intend to repay your debt?"