The old fox wanted to dodge, but its speed was no match for the Yin-Yang Railway Wood Ruler, which I had not imbued with the Heavenly Speed Seal. The Yin-Iron Wood Ruler flashed like lightning. The old fox only managed to utter a "No" before the ruler pierced its skull and pinned it to the wall behind it.
Watching the old fox's body collapse softly to the ground, its breath gone, I also felt my legs weaken, and I slumped onto the ground. It wasn't just the lingering injury on my leg, but also the fact that this was the very first time I had defeated an evil spirit with my own strength.
My heart was filled with both excitement and a touch of fear. The excitement stemmed from winning through my own abilities without external help, which held significant meaning for my future cultivation and battles. The fear was also real; if the old fox hadn't been arrogant enough to believe I was too weak to fight on, thinking it had me cornered, and had given me a chance to catch my breath, the outcome might have been uncertain.
"Young Master Song... you dealt with it?"
I turned my head to see Huang San peeking out from the turn of the stairs, looking at me with excitement. Behind him followed the pale-faced, trembling Boss Chen. I didn't know how long they had been watching.
I spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground and replied, "What do you think? If I didn't kill it, did you?"
Hearing that the three-tailed fox was indeed dead, Huang San rushed to my side in three quick strides. He first glanced at the injury on my leg and, seeing it wasn't too serious, breathed a sigh of relief. He gave me a thumbs-up and said, "Young Master Song, you're truly amazing. That was a three-tailed fox spirit, and you dealt with it so easily. Truly worthy of being a land deity under Grand Immortal Zhang. One word: awesome."
Although he was speaking to me, Huang San's eyes were gleaming with shrewdness, constantly darting towards the old fox's corpse, as if he were about to drool.
I had experienced Huang San's flattery many times before. This guy wouldn't flatter without a reason; unless he needed something from you.
"Alright, enough with the pleasantries. Speak your mind."
Huang San chuckled and got straight to the point. "Young Master Song, this three-tailed fox is dead, and it's of no use to you. Leaving its body at the inn isn't appropriate. How about I dispose of it for you?"
I nodded in agreement. I had originally planned to take its fox skin to make a hat! But the skin was riddled with cuts and holes, like a tattered rag. It would be useless for making a hat, and if I were to wear such a hat, my future would likely be difficult.
Seeing my agreement, Huang San quickly walked to the old fox's corpse and pointed a finger at the gaping wound on its head. A small, bean-sized object emitting a golden glow flashed and disappeared into Huang San's mouth. Immediately after, Huang San opened his mouth and spewed a stream of strange blue fire onto the fox corpse. Within moments, the body was completely incinerated, leaving behind only a burnt smell, without even a speck of dust.
After finishing, Huang San clapped his hands with satisfaction. Seeing me staring at him, waiting for an explanation of what he had just eaten, which looked like some kind of treasure, he smiled awkwardly and explained, "That was its life essence. It benefits me, but it's useless to humans."
I snorted coldly and replied irritably, "Useless to humans, perhaps, but if that thing were sold on the black market, it would fetch at least several hundred thousand. Do you take me for a fool?"
When I saw Huang San retrieve the life essence from the old fox's body, I immediately regretted it. The life essence was the core of a wild spirit's essence, and it could be used in medicine to increase lifespan. Such a thing was a rare treasure.
Firstly, very few wild spirits could cultivate a life essence. Secondly, before their final moments, wild spirits would always detonate their life essence to take their enemies with them. In this battle with the old fox, if it hadn't been for the element of surprise and the fox's own carelessness, I wouldn't have been able to kill it. Huang San had just swallowed hundreds of thousands of yuan.
Seeing my gaze lingering on him, Huang San shivered slightly. "Young Master Song, please don't look at me like that. It makes me uneasy. Besides, if my strength increases, won't that benefit you too? Don't forget, we're in this together!"
Seeing Huang San back down, I sighed inwardly. What else could I do? It was already eaten. Should I force him to regurgitate it? Or disembowel him?
"Forget it, eat it if you must! But you'll have to take the blame for killing the three-tailed fox spirit?" I looked at Huang San with a sly smile.
Hearing this, Huang San's face turned pale, and he muttered, "You're not serious, are you? If the Hu family finds out, they'll skin me alive!"
"What else can we do? Can you spit it out? Even if I tell them I killed it, do you think the Hu family will believe me? I don't have the aura of the three-tailed fox spirit on me!"
Huang San, hearing this, started slapping his own mouth in anger, muttering, "Serves you right for being greedy, serves you right. Now you've taken on a huge burden."
I ignored Huang San as he continued to hit himself and turned my attention to Boss Chen, who was staring blankly from the corner.
"Boss Chen, I've resolved the problem for you. However, the room is quite severely damaged. Regarding the payment..."
Hearing me call him, Boss Chen shivered and quickly replied, "No need for payment, sir. These are minor issues. Thank you, Mr. Song, for solving my big problem."
At this moment, Boss Chen was no longer thinking about compensation. The three-tailed fox spirit's corpse had been incinerated by Huang San, and knowing that Huang San was a Grand Immortal, he dared not complain. He didn't want to provoke the Grand Immortal after dealing with the fox. It was known that weasels were much more troublesome than foxes.
Seeing his sensible attitude, I abandoned the idea of scaring him. However, I still said earnestly, "Boss Chen, I know you are a smart person. You must be very clear about what should be said and what should not be said, right?"
"This... I know, I understand. I'll say what I see, and I won't say anything I haven't seen."
Getting the answer I wanted, I was secretly pleased. It wasn't that I necessarily wanted Huang San to take the blame, but I couldn't afford to fall out with the Hu family at this stage. After all, I still had a message to deliver from the old monk. It was better for Huang San to bear this burden.
After all, the two families already had a feud. Being killed by a Grand Immortal was much better than being killed by an outsider like me, and it would cause fewer troubles.
"Huang San, stop lamenting there. Quickly find other branches of the Hu family before the news spreads."
Huang San looked at me listlessly and said, "No need to look. The Hu family will come looking for me. What kind of life is this!"
Huang San's words amused me. While he was truly afraid of death, he shouldn't be this terrified. Otherwise, he wouldn't have so readily eaten the three-tailed fox's life essence.
"Alright, next time there's a life essence, I'll let you eat it."
"Deal?"
"Deal."