My Evil Wife Is a Nine-Tailed Fox

The next school day, Li Fei'er wasn't in her usual cheery mood, which Shen Minyao noticed as soon as she took a seat next to the shaman. 

"What's up? Did something happen last weekend?" The fox woman asked. 

"It's nothing." Li Fei'er sighed, knowing keeping a secret would mean she could protect Shen Minyao and Qin Zhi from being exorcised by her own family.

"By the way, do you have a plan for this coming semester break?" Shen Minyao asked. Li Fei'er's expertise in exorcism and purification would be a great help for them if she decided to come with them to the North. 

"Nothing so far. Why?" Li Fei'er replied, blinking in surprise, as Shen Minyao never initiated asking her about something like this. 

"Lord Hell and I are planning to go up north to hunt demons. We got a tip that Peng Weijin was recently spotted there."

Li Fei'er's eyes lit up, her mood changing in an instant. Demon hunting? Of course, she was in! How could she miss such an opportunity to hunt other demons, along with Shen Minyao and Mu Qing? 

"Only the two of you?" She then asked Shen Minyao in surprise. "Is Lord Qin not going with you?" 

Shen Minyao arched a slender brow at the younger woman. She didn't think that Li Fei'er would be attached to her brother like this too soon, but… what if they suffered from the same fate as they had centuries ago? 

"No. I don't think he would be able to leave Jiang City, especially now that more demons are appearing out of nowhere" she said in response. 

"Ohh…" Li Fei'er's smile slightly faltered upon hearing it, but she understood that Qin Zhi had a responsibility here, that he could not just leave without enough preparation ahead of time. 

"Are you disappointed? Do you want me to convince him to join us instead?" Shen Minyao cupped her chin, her tone teasing Li Fei'er. 

"No, no. There's no need for that. If Lord Qin is busy, then we don't need to disturb him." Li Fei'er waved her hands, wondering why Shen Minyao was teasing her like this. There's certainly nothing between her and Qin Zhi, after all. 

The fox woman chuckled. It didn't matter if Li Fei'er tried to deny it because her scent had already given her away. The young shaman was already attracted to the Southern Demon Lord. 

"Well, I don't mind joining you and Lord Hell, but I would need to ask for my dad's permission. Of course, I wouldn't tell him the reason why we're going there," Li Fei'er said. 

"Li Fei'er, you don't need to strain your relationship towards your family just because of us," the fox woman said nonchalantly, looking straight into Li Fei'er's eyes. "Also, you have to know that this trip is extremely dangerous. The demons you have encountered so far were way weaker than the demons that await us in the North."

Li Fei'er sighed in resignation and shook her head before resting it on her folded arms on top of her desk. Of course, she knew that! 

"Even if I don't want to lie to my family, there's no other way but to keep it a secret. Dad won't approve of me being acquainted with demons. He would assume I have been bewitched by you if he found out." 

Also, Li Fei'er felt this inkling that her family was also hiding something important from her. Whenever she looked at them, they had this look of mutual understanding, making her feel like she was left out. 

She also found it suspicious that her grandfather and Dad wouldn't allow her to read the scriptures and records about the nine-tailed fox demoness that their ancestors trapped at the Qingqiu Mountain. 

"So… you don't think you are bewitched by us?" The fox woman questioned her. Well, it's not like she wasn't able to do it. However, because Li Fei'er had a strong innate spiritual power, it was hard even for a strong demon like Shen Minyao to break the young shaman's willpower. 

"No. I don't think so. It's not in your character to do such an underhanded trick to anyone. Your pride wouldn't allow you to do so," Li Fei'er said with all honesty, catching Shen Minyao off-guard. 

"I suppose you are right." Shen Minyao nodded in agreement. At least, Li Fei'er didn't think she was bewitched by them. 

Li Fei'er shut her eyes and took a nap, knowing that she wouldn't have to worry about their next class. After all, it was already canceled by their teacher to give way to the preparation of the upcoming school festival. 

Shen Minyao wasn't interested in such festivities, although it was obvious that most of their classmates were excited about it. They had already gone to the auditorium to attend the planning ceremony of the school festival before the semester break. 

While the two were spending their spare time taking a much-needed rest after dealing with pesky demons for the past week, Mu Qing appeared in their classroom. His black robe looked so out of place in the modern world they currently lived in. 

Shen Minyao raised her gaze from her phone to give him a quick glance, while Li Fei'er remained oblivious to his arrival as she continued to nap peacefully on her desk. Li Fei'er must have really been exhausted from her demon hunting with Qin Zhi these past weeks, the fox woman thought. 

'I just received news from the North. A large group of demons was spotted making their way towards Lord Lang's territory,' Mu Qing told the fox woman through telepathy, not wanting to disturb Li Fei'er's peaceful nap. 

'It's probably Xuan Yanrui's people,' Shen Minyao replied, piercing her strawberry yogurt drink with a straw. 'Did you know what rank they are in?' 

'Most are low-ranking demons, but according to the report, thirteen high-ranking demons are leading smaller groups like they have formed factions.' 

Shen Minyao hummed. That's certainly Xuan Yanrui's way, so she wasn't surprised at all. It seemed that the wretched man was truly serious about conquering the demon world this time. 

'How annoying,' she mumbled to herself. Even to this day, Xuan Yanrui was able to annoy her to this extent without exerting too much effort. 

'How about the news about Lord Lang?' She asked Mu Qing. If the other demons knew that Long Lang was already weak, this would also pose a problem. After all, other demon lords—aside from Xuan Yanrui's group—might take this chance to start a war and invade his territory. 

'It's not good.' The grim reaper sighed. 'It seems the news about his weakened state has already spread throughout the country, and his eldest son is now taking the front line to protect their territory.' 

'I see.' The fox woman wasn't surprised at all. There would be no smoke if there wasn't a fire in the first place. 

No matter how hard the North tried to keep Lord Lang's condition a secret, it would eventually be known to everyone as time went by. They had enemies waiting for the right time to strike them at their lowest point. 

'Do you think they would lose to Xuan Yanrui?' 

'There's no doubt about it. There are only a couple of high-ranking demons in the North, and I'm not sure if they would manage to take on the demons Xuan Yanrui brought with him,' Shen Minyao replied truthfully. It was no wonder that the young lord of the North was seeking Qin Zhi's assistance to help them deal with the invasion of Xuan Yanrui's troops. 

'It would take Xuan Yanrui's men at least two weeks to arrive at their camp.' Mu Qing informed her. 'We will be late by then."

'Then, we could only wait and see how the young lord of the North could protect his tribe on his own,' The fox woman replied, tapping her fingers silently on her desk. She then considered the young lord's options to fend off the invaders before her arrival with Mu Qing and Li Fei'er at their side. 

Ah, this was why she never believed that demons should group themselves and rely on each other. Even in her past life as Su Daji, her strength was comparable to the other demon lords. However, she never took anyone under her wing except for two demons and a fragile human which was Feng Jiu. 

She didn't want to be responsible for the protection and welfare of another person. That's why she mostly left Feng Jiu to fend on her own and find her own food and supplies, allowing the girl to make her own choices and decisions in life. 

'Is Lady Li going to join us for this trip then?' Mu Qing asked. He and the fox woman had been doing some training these days, and it wouldn't hurt if Li Fei'er could join them one of these days. 

'En, but she would need to deal with her own family first,' Shen Minyao answered.