Chapter 185 - 183: Xiao Ya

Chapter 185: Chapter 183: Xiao Ya

The Beast Clan of Luoxi Town were mostly members of the Eagle Clan. Decades ago, they had been nearly wiped out by a group from the Fox Clan.

Thus, what should have been a peaceful river festival had devolved into a siege against a fox.

Bai Chaosi was jolted awake by a searing, stinging pain.

His ears were filled with a clamorous uproar:

"Chief, why don’t we just drive a spear through his heart? That’ll make sure he’s dead for good!"

"No, letting him die like that would be too easy on him. We should torture him slowly."

"That’s right! Why don’t we destroy his spiritual power first, then break his arms and legs?"

"Great idea! Chief, torture him just like that!"

As Bai Chaosi’s eyelids slowly fluttered open, he found himself tied to a barren tree.

Hearing those words, his consciousness returned bit by bit.

Pain.

So much pain.

"Where is this?"

He asked this instinctively before he could even get a clear look at his surroundings.

Muto and the other Beastman of Luoxi Town, who stood before him, grew agitated at the sound of his voice.

"Chief, he’s awake!"

"Chief, do it now!"

"Destroy his spiritual power! Otherwise, he’ll definitely never let us go once he recovers!"

Muto clutched a long whip in his hand. He looked at the fox tied to the tree, its fur stained red with blood, his eyes filled with mockery.

"What’s the panic? He’s grievously injured and can’t even shift into his human form. He’s not far from death. You think he can threaten us?"

As he spoke, Muto brutally swung the whip in his hand.

CRACK!

It struck Bai Chaosi’s body.

Because it was infused with spiritual power, the lash tore away a piece of Bai Chaosi’s flesh.

Blood dripped down from the ghastly, deep gash, a shocking sight to behold.

Just looking at it was enough to make one ache in sympathy.

Bai Chaosi shuddered violently, his limbs trembling uncontrollably.

Muto saw this and a vicious look crossed his face.

’He can still move. Looks like it’s not painful enough!’

With that, he whipped him again, his hand never stopping.

After a few more lashes, there wasn’t a single patch of undamaged fur left on Bai Chaosi’s body.

Blood dripped endlessly from the corner of his mouth.

The man who was once as immaculate as an Immortal now seemed to have been dragged from the heavens and thrown into the filth.

Gone was his former aloofness and nobility.

Who, upon seeing him now, would recognize him as the most esteemed Young Master Chaoxi of the Snow Ridge Nine-tailed Fox Clan, the one known for his fastidiousness?

The legendary genius Young Master of the Nine-tailed Fox Clan?

Yet, all the Beastman of Luoxi Town still seemed unsatisfied.

"Chief, how is just whipping him enough?"

"Right! Everyone knows the Fox Clan are High level Beastman. They’re born a cut above us, with extraordinary spiritual power. A little pain like this is just a scratch to them."

"Exactly! We have to make him pay dearly to return the suffering the Fox Clan inflicted on our Wangxi Town a hundred times over!"

Bai Chaosi listened to their hate-filled words. Though his head was still heavy and muddled, he instinctively managed to ask:

"Who... are you? Why... are you doing this to me?"

His voice, so faint it was barely audible, revealed his current weakness.

It was as if he were hanging on by a single thread.

But Muto was unwilling to let him go.

"You can only blame yourself for being born into the wrong clan! Don’t blame us for being ruthless! Anyone from the Fox Clan shares an irreconcilable blood feud with our Luoxi Town."

Tied to the tree, Bai Chaosi was not only whipped but was also tortured by the Beastman of Luoxi Town in every way they could imagine.

Even the children threw stones at him, spat on him, and cursed him.

Bai Chaosi lost count of how many times he woke up only to pass out again.

It wasn’t until night fell and the spectating Beastman had vented their frustrations and returned home that he was cut down and abandoned on the ground.

Having long since lost consciousness, he had no idea where he was or why he had suffered such a fate.

The physical pain had long since overwhelmed him.

But in his mind, within the bottomless sea of his consciousness, there had always been only one figure.

Though that figure was far away, always just beyond his grasp no matter how he reached for it.

He knew that figure was vitally important to him.

She was the one person he was unwilling to forget or give up on, even as his body and mind were savaged, his soul plunged into an endless Purgatory.

But he couldn’t remember who she was.

He only knew that she must be very important to him.

Since Bai Chaosi fell from the cliff, A Cheng had been burning with anxiety. He had jumped down in pursuit but was still a step too slow.

He could only watch helplessly as Bai Chaosi was swept away by the rushing river, unable to catch up.

He followed the river for three days.

Finally, he found a faint trace of Bai Chaosi’s scent outside a town.

But when he arrived at the tree in the town and stood before a pool of blood, he found only Bai Chaosi’s bloodstains, not Bai Chaosi himself.

A Cheng panicked once more.

’Such a large pool of blood on the ground... that’s clearly the Young Master’s blood! Who? Who could have been so cruel to the Young Master?’

’What exactly did the Young Master go through?’

’Why could I sense the Young Master’s presence just a moment ago, but now there’s nothing at all?’

A Cheng didn’t dare to imagine what had become of his Young Master.

He was so scared he could barely breathe. If something had truly happened to the Young Master, he would never be able to forgive himself.

So, he pushed his spiritual power to its limit, searching the surroundings for any sign of Bai Chaosi.

He absolutely could not let anything happen to the Young Master.

But despite searching the entire town, A Cheng couldn’t find Bai Chaosi.

Bai Chaosi didn’t know who had saved him.

He only sensed that someone was taking care of him with gentle care. Even though his consciousness was lost in darkness, he felt certain of this.

He instinctively resisted anyone else’s approach. It was an innate fastidiousness, ingrained in his very bones, that compelled him to push away anyone who tried to get close, even in his delirious state.

So, when he unintentionally used his paw to shy away from Xiao Ya’s care for the third time, the girl who had risked her life to carry him away from Luoxi Town froze.

Xiao Ya looked at the battered fox before her, not understanding why he was so resistant to her approach.

She had only wanted to save him.

The way the entire town had settled Luoxi Town’s old score on this gravely injured Nine-tailed Fox, indiscriminately, without asking for a reason or his origin—it was simply too cruel.

She truly couldn’t bear to watch any longer.

That was why she had risked being discovered to secretly rescue the fox after dark.

But she never imagined that after going to great lengths to carry the fox out of Luoxi Town, bringing him to a stone hut a dozen or so li away, using herbs to mask his scent, cleaning his wounds, stopping his bleeding, and feeding him medicine, the fox would still refuse to let her get close, even in his unconscious state.

She couldn’t help but be curious. What kind of person was this fox? To be so particular, even at death’s door.

’Just who is he keeping himself pure for?’

The more he acted this way, the more determined Xiao Ya became. She had to heal him, to save his life.

’A man like this... I can’t let him die!’