Volume One, Chapter 15: Cruelty Beyond Measure!
“Li Yan, whether you want to kill me or tear me apart, just give me a swift end!”
Li Yan’s smile was wicked and alluring as he picked up a bucket and poured water into a large basin. “Don’t you think torturing someone is far more entertaining than simply killing them?”
Bai Ziye’s expression flickered with uncertainty.
Li Yan had clearly caught him!
Yet he neither killed him nor set him free!
What exactly was he trying to do?
Bai Ziye prided himself on his cunning, but Li Yan’s mind was as deep and unfathomable as the Abyss of Demons.
He simply couldn’t see through what this bastard intended.
And the fact that this man showed up here, deliberately drawing close to this woman—could it be that he had also discovered something extraordinary about her?
Lost in thought, Bai Ziye suddenly felt a sharp tug at his neck.
He hastily turned his head to see that Li Yan had unfastened the dog leash tied to the door and was now pulling it in his hand.
Bai Ziye stumbled, confused. “What are you doing?”
Li Yan gave a couple of tugs on the leash. “From today onwards, I will personally train you.”
Bai Ziye’s pupils shrank violently. “Li Yan, don’t push the dog too far, you...”
His words faltered as his expression suddenly stiffened.
Li Yan chuckled twice, his tone teasing. “I never said anything!”
Bai Ziye bristled in fury!
Lately, those humans kept calling him “dog.”
They called him that so often he almost forgot—he was a fox!
More than that, he was the only nine-tailed fox emperor in the world!
“Li Yan, I’ll fight you to the death!”
As Bai Ziye leapt up, Li Yan raised his hand and pressed the tip of his finger to Bai Ziye’s forehead, sealing away all his cultivation. “If you want to fight me, you’ll need to train for thousands of years first!”
Bai Ziye landed, attempting to shift into human form, but failed.
His spiritual power was completely sealed!
“You’ve sealed my cultivation!”
Li Yan’s gaze swept the room as he picked up a wooden stick about the length of his forearm from the floor, lightly swinging it a few times. “If you cooperate obediently, I might let you live a bit longer.”
Bai Ziye stared at the stick in Li Yan’s hand, sensing danger. “What do you intend to do?”
Li Yan tugged the leash, dragging Bai Ziye to his feet. “I promised her I’d train you. If you agree to cooperate, it’ll benefit both of us. If you don’t...”
“Li Yan, you dare!”
Bai Ziye refused to yield!
To him, Li Yan was deliberately humiliating him!
He was the Qingqiu Fox Emperor, a being of noble rank!
Was this bastard trying to shame him in this way?
Bai Ziye flopped onto the ground, staring at Li Yan with lifeless eyes, embodying the spirit of a beaten dog unafraid of boiling water.
Want him to submit? Dream on!
“Why bother?” Li Yan sighed.
***
Bai Ziye sneered.
He truly didn’t believe Li Yan could kill him with a mere wooden stick!
There were things Bai Ziye simply refused to do!
Even if the Heavenly King himself came, he wouldn’t compromise!
“Smack!”
The stick struck Bai Ziye’s bare backside.
Bai Ziye yelped in pain and leapt up from the ground.
“Li Yan!”
Li Yan feigned deafness, swinging the stick again and again.
“You bastard!”
“You have no honor in combat!”
“Wuwuwu!”
Bai Ziye darted wildly, the stick causing little harm but immense humiliation!
What was worse, the leash around his neck left him nowhere to hide.
The stick seemed to have eyes, striking precisely on both cheeks of his behind.
His freshly grown downy tail had turned a rosy pink after the beating.
Qingyi, who was in the midst of brewing some medicinal soup, heard the commotion. With a soot-stained face, she rushed out. “What’s going on?”
Bai Ziye looked at Qingyi like she was a savior.
“Wuu...”
Seeing Wangcai’s teary, pleading eyes, Qingyi’s heart softened. Forgetting the simmering soup, she hurried over. “Wangcai, what’s wrong?”
Li Yan raised the stick to block Qingyi, not allowing her closer. “Do you want it to become a competent watchdog or a spoiled pet that lives off handouts?”
“Well... I...” Qingyi hesitated. She naturally wanted Wangcai to be stronger.
Even if he couldn’t protect himself, at least he shouldn’t push his owner into danger!
Seeing her hesitation, Bai Ziye tried to act cute, hoping she would refuse Li Yan.
Though it was somewhat beneath the dignity of an imperial fox to act so, it was far better than enduring Li Yan’s cruel torment.
“Wuwuwu...”
Bai Ziye lifted his rear in humiliation, wagging his tail at Qingyi.
Qingyi’s heart melted. “Could you please be a little gentler? It seems to hurt a lot!”
Bai Ziye blinked, puzzled.
“Fine!” Li Yan agreed readily.
Qingyi bent down, stroking Bai Ziye’s head comfortingly. “Wangcai, if you behave, we won’t have to be beaten. He’s helping you.”
Bai Ziye’s anger nearly made him spit up old blood.
What did she mean by that?
He’d just been spanked on the backside!
And now he was supposed to say thanks?
If Bai Ziye weren’t certain this human had no ties to the demon clan, he might even suspect this woman and Li Yan were in cahoots!
“Don’t worry. I promised to train him properly and I won’t break my word,” Li Yan said, his eyes gleaming with amusement as he looked at Bai Ziye.
An imperial fox acting cute was indeed interesting.
He was even beginning to look forward to it.
If he could truly train the Fox Emperor into a proper watchdog,
he wondered what expression the other foxes of Qingqiu would wear upon hearing it.
Bai Ziye couldn’t fathom Li Yan’s intentions, but the chill from his gaze ran down his spine.
“Thank you!” Qingyi expressed her gratitude, then clenched her fists in encouragement before turning away quickly.
She feared she might regret moving too slowly.
Li Yan’s smile deepened. The wooden stick in his hand sliced through the air with a whispering sound. “Now that no one’s interrupting us, we can continue.”
Bai Ziye’s scream echoed pitifully, from daylight into the fall of night.
Qingyi’s medicine had burned through the prolonged tumult.
Yet, thinking of how timid Wangcai was, if he ever wandered outside again, he might be caught or even devoured by wild beasts.
If she softened now, she wouldn’t be helping him—she’d be endangering him.
She wondered how he was now...
In the small courtyard, Bai Ziye lay exhausted on the ground.
His rear, recently scratched raw by a hen, had just healed, only to be battered again.
“Is Wangcai alright?”
Qingyi’s heart ached.
For a moment, she even entertained the thought of giving up on training him.
At worst, she could just keep Wangcai as a pet.
That thought wasn’t so hard to accept after all.
Li Yan tossed aside the bloodstained stick. “Just some scratches. He’ll be lively and kicking by tomorrow.”
His strikes had been measured.
Bai Ziye looked pitiful, but was actually unharmed!
Moreover, Bai Ziye was the Qingqiu Fox Emperor.
The only nine-tailed white fox in the world—he was not so easily killed.