Illusion

That was when I asked the little fox if there were any way to break that contract. It was also a fox demon and should know.

Once that contract was broken, Harper would be completely safe.

Generally speaking, creatures that had attained spiritual essence wouldn't dare kill indiscriminately, or they would be hunted down by the Erebus Profiteer who acted on behalf of the heavens. But this three-tailed fox's scheme could be described as a heaven-defying trick—with that willingly signed contract, it could harm people openly without repercussions.

So our first priority was to destroy that contract. Of course, the alternative was to kill the fox, but it had escaped.

The little fox looked at me fearfully, then answered with trepidation, "That kind of contract between a human and a demon can't be broken. If it were broken, even if the Three-Tailed Fox didn't come to take her life after seven days, she'd die from bodily decay. The Three-Tailed Fox is only worried her body will rot, so it's trying to devour her before it's too late."

The pact was actually that vicious. There was no way out—the only solution to save Harper was to kill the three-tailed fox.

"Tomorrow you'll take us to that three-tailed fox's den, understand? Or I'll slaughter you for fondue." Stella stomped on the cage, the thumping sound scaring the little fox into shrinking into the corner before it nodded fearfully.

Fortunately, we'd caught this little fox. Otherwise, I truly wouldn't know where to find that three-tailed fox. The bar owner was dead, and I doubted the place would reopen anytime soon. I wondered if my dad's associates—those shady characters—would still return. The so-called Fox Immortal was just their whole operation to harm people.

Just then, sudden commotion erupted outside, as if a crowd had arrived. I went to check and found dozens of people blocking the alley's entrance. Leading them was a tall, skinny man, and beside him stood a middle-aged man—the very one I'd beaten in the bar.

This middle-aged man should actually thank me. If not for my intervention, he would have already killed Harper and fed her blood to the fox. I hadn't expected this scoundrel to still hold a grudge and bring people for revenge. He must have some connections to track us down here—it clearly took considerable effort, meaning he really hated me.

"This guy's name is Piatti, a local hoodlum. I'll handle him." Seeing trouble again, Antonio stepped forward.

Harper also recognized the middle-aged man and grew uneasy. She suggested letting her handle it—since this was all her fault, maybe if she apologized... These people were just ruffians, after all. Best not to provoke them.

Harper had chosen him precisely because he seemed like a bad person—that's why she'd been motivated to kill him.

I gave a bitter laugh and shook my head. Harper was so naive—a true sheltered college student.

This man had publicly beaten me—he wouldn't let this go. Even if we reported it to the police now, it would probably be useless. Even if we avoided them tonight, they'd be back tomorrow night. These kinds of thugs loved using these tactics. To deal with them, you had to scare them witless—make them tremble at the very thought of this place. Only then would they never dare cause trouble here again.

I had originally planned to let Antonio beat them mercilessly, but now I had a different idea.

"Hey, little fox," I said, kicking the cage. "What kind of sorcery do you know?"

The little fox rubbed its tiny paws together and replied, "Demons must first take human form before they can learn demonic arts. I only recently gained human form, so I don't know much—just a bit of illusion magic."

"Illusion magic? What does that do?" I frowned.

"It just creates false visions—nothing real," the little fox explained.

Perfect. Raise a fox for a thousand days, and it might prove useful once. Not that I'd ever raised one, but tonight, it could actually come in handy. A plan formed in my mind, and I quickly instructed the little fox, "Then create some terrifying illusions—scare the hell out of them."

The little fox hesitated, saying the talismans on the cage prevented it from using its magic.

I peeled off the yellow Taoist charm and moved the cage outside. "There. Now you can, right? Don't screw this up, or I won't let you off easy."

The little fox didn't dare disobey. Suddenly, all its fur stood on end, its tail bristling. Its eyes glowed an eerie green, a ghostly hue that looked especially sinister in the darkness.

The gang of men advanced, cursing and grinning, weapons in hand. They looked ready to tear apart both my people and the shop. Every one of them was vicious, especially that middle-aged man—his face twisted with arrogance, as if he'd finally gotten his chance for revenge.

Then, without warning, a female ghost in red appeared atop the alley wall. She stood there, draped in shadow, a gloomy wind lifting her tattered crimson dress. The flesh on her legs rotted away in chunks. She plucked out one of her own eyes and rolled it playfully in her palm before letting out a low, chilling laugh.

The group froze. A horrified murmur spread from the back as, one by one, they sensed something wrong and turned to look above them.

At the sight of the ghost, the burly men pissed themselves in terror. They huddled together in a panicked mass, scrambling toward the alley's entrance—desperate to run but unable to move. All they could do was scream. Some cried for their mothers, some shrieked "Ghost!", and others could only wail, "Ahhh!"

To be honest, even I felt a little shaken seeing the female ghost—it was far too realistic, and the specter looked utterly terrifying. If an ordinary person saw something like that at night, they'd probably be scared stiff.

But that wasn't all. Suddenly, a thick white mist rolled in, and with a series of heavy thud, thud, thud sounds, a jiangshi—a hopping corpse—emerged from the fog.

The creature was dressed in a Qing Dynasty official's uniform, its face ashen and caked with dust. Its two fangs were long and jagged, and its fingernails were sharp as knife blades. It lurched forward in stiff hops, letting out a guttural "Wooo!" before exhaling a puff of corpse breath. Then, it began advancing toward the crowd.

A female ghost and a jiangshi? The group was utterly terrified. Dark puddles spread across the ground—some had genuinely pissed themselves in fear. They wailed for their mothers, crawling on all fours like frightened dogs.

The middle-aged man was even worse off. He stood frozen in place, legs trembling uncontrollably, his face deathly pale. A large wet stain darkened his pants.

The others, at least, could still scramble away despite their terror. But him? He couldn't move at all.

Finally, a few men managed to claw their way toward the alley's exit, clearing a path. The rest fled in a chaotic stampede. The middle-aged man, as if mustering every last ounce of strength and courage, suddenly shrieked, slapped himself across the face several times, and then bolted after the others.

We couldn't help but laugh bitterly. After a scare like that, I doubted they'd ever dare come back here again. Typical hoodlums—no real guts. Without their numbers, they were probably useless in a real fight.

"Good job, little fox," I praised the creature in the cage.

"Heh heh..." It let out a dry chuckle before collapsing back into its fox form. The illusions vanished along with it.