By the time Zhao Yichen and Shen Minyao arrived at the funeral home where the remains of Zhao Fang lay, people were already crowding at the reception area. It seemed that his uncle's sudden passing was big news. Tons of people had arrived to give their condolences to the Zhao family, filling the hall even if it was already evening.
"Stay close. I can sense a demon nearby. I repeat, do not leave my side whatever happens." Shen Minyao held onto her human contractor's arm and whispered slowly to him.
Zhao Yichen broke into a cold sweat, realizing that the fox woman's assumptions earlier were right. There was definitely a demon involved in the Gu cursing of his grandfather, and it came tonight.
The guests who'd seen the two arriving together were intrigued by the identity of the young woman next to Zhao Yichen. They had never seen the fourth young master of the Zhao family bringing a woman along with him before.
"Do you know who that girl is?" Someone asked in the crowd.
"Never seen her. She looks like she's from a well-off family, too," another one responded.
"Well, what do we know? I guess we could only wait and see until they announce the engagement between the two."
Zhao Yichen and Shen Minyao gave their customary greetings to their elders and then their condolences. The fox woman remained silent and allowed Zhao Yichen to speak on their behalf while keeping her defenses up, trying to figure out where the scent of the demon was coming from.
"Did you find it?" Zhao Yichen lowered his head to ask Shen Minyao.
"No, not yet," Shen Minyao replied. Her eyes swept around the crowd, but the scent of the demon mingling around them was faint, and its source was hard to pinpoint.
'Darn. Such a sneaky demon." The fox woman gritted her teeth, hands clenching on her sides. There was something familiar about this demon, and that somewhat annoyed her.
Ah, if it was connected to Xuan Yanrui, then she could think of several demons that would convene with that wretched excuse of a man.
The two remained with the guests at the receiving area, while the Zhao family entertained the other guests that had just arrived. Shen Minyao played her role well as Zhao Yichen's well-mannered girlfriend. She also took this chance to let the public know that she wasn't involved with the second young master of the Su family anymore.
This would only mean that she wasn't giving Su Yin and the rest of the Su family any face by showing up in public next to Zhao Yichen. Of course, who else would they blame for this but Shen Qing herself? If Shen Qing hadn't gotten involved with Su Yin, they wouldn't have lost such a valuable chance to get close with the Shen family.
From this moment onward, Shen Qing would face their ire and wouldn't have time to look for Shen Minyao to cause trouble. She might be able to get Su Yin dancing to the palm of her hands, but she wouldn't be able to change the fact that their union was nothing to the Su family. She would be disregarded for the rest of her life.
Shen Minyao grew still when she noticed the scent getting strong as if it was luring her to come after the source.
'Stupid, really stupid.' The fox woman chuckled inwardly. It was a mistake for the other demon to think that she could be easily lured out away from her human contractor… since they couldn't lure him instead.
From the very beginning, she had already placed a spell to protect Zhao Yichen from any demonic influence. It would be hard for the other demon to put him under their control and make him leave her behind.
'It's close. Don't look around, or it would know that you are aware of its existence.' The sudden voice that resounded in Zhao Yichen's head startled him a bit, but he recovered easily. This was the first time that Shen Minyao had talked to him through telepathy.
'Then, is there something we should do?' He asked, hoping that his words would reach the fox woman.
'Nothing, but be careful not to be touched by anyone, especially women at this point,' Shen Minyao replied. It would be bad if a demon touched Zhao Yichen directly, as it could easily challenge her influence on her human contractor. The worst scenario was him falling under a spell and doing the other demon's bidding.
Zhao Yichen agreed, already aware of what Shen Minyao meant. Yu Yan had once given him a lesson on how demons affect the human mind in different ways. Touching a human was one of the methods to put them under a spell or a curse.
The demon's presence became apparent the more it got closer to Zhao Yichen and Shen Minyao. The fox woman's eyes slightly widened when she caught a good scent of it. Familiar indeed.
She would have forgotten about it had she not smelled that disgusting scent of iron coming from the demon. A blood-sucking demon, even one that was on the verge of attaining a high rank. If she appeared a month or two earlier, Shen Minyao had no doubt that she would lose to this demon. However, it was different now.
Shen Minyao's eyes darkened as she remained seated on Zhao Yichen's side. It was similar to the scent of Consort Yan, a demoness that joined Xuan Yanrui's harem before her. During her time at the imperial harem as Su Daji, Consort Yan wasn't one of the emperor's favorites, and she usually spent her time torturing the poor humans that were serving in her palace.
However, the fox woman was certain that she had already killed that blood-sucking demoness with her own blade. Consort Yan was the first mid-rank demon that she had fed to her Hellreaver, and there was no way that her sword—with such a huge appetite—would allow Consort Yan to survive.
Who was this demon, then? A demon that had the same scent as Consort Yan, huh.
For another demon to have an almost identical scent with another meant they were close kin, but this one was almost identical… as if she and the Consort Yan that the fox woman killed were the same demon.
'A twin.' The fox demon concluded. This was the only possible reason Shen Minyao could think of to explain the oddity of the situation. If they were merely siblings, like her and Qin Zhi; then their scents would have a common base but different intensities.
'Ah, would that mean that she came here knowing who I am?' Shen Minyao placed her chin on the back of her hand and gave it a good thought.
If this demon was really Consort Yan's twin, then the chances of her coming here to seek revenge for her deceased sister were high. Well, would she be capable enough to kill the fox demon at her current level?
Shen Minyao might be a mid-rank level demon right now, but it still didn't change the fact that she was once the strongest demoness in history. Even if the other demoness was in a bottleneck, she couldn't rely on her powers alone to defeat the nine-tailed fox demoness.
Zhao Yichen remained seated with her, conversing with other guests. He kept on answering trivial questions about his studies abroad and if he was aware if Zhao Fang had an incurable disease that he had not disclosed to anyone.
"No." He shook his head. "Uncle and I haven't talked much since my return. Perhaps my cousins would know the answers to your questions."
That forced them to shut their mouths and ask him no more about his uncle's sudden death.
Shen Minyao then spotted a beautiful woman entering the reception area, and immediately, the corner of her lips curled up.
The woman who just stepped in was a perfect replica of Consort Yan, albeit wearing a modern skimpy dress that left human males drooling over the sight. As for attending a funeral, this woman surely didn't know propriety and respect for the dead.
"Ah, I didn't know Yan Lin, my goddess, would be here!"
"I didn't even know she was acquainted with the Zhao family."
The conversation kept going, giving the fox woman enough information as to what kind of facade the other demoness was playing.
Apparently, Consort Yan's twin was a popular actress these days, something Shen Minyao felt was a little bold.
Not many demons liked to be put on the center stage and at the receiving end of everyone's attention. For Yan Lin to parade amongst the humans as an actress, the fox demon could only surmise that it only gave the blood-sucking demon an advantage to sleep with many men.. Those foolish men who only think with their smaller heads would throw themselves willingly to Yan Lin, only to end up dead or severely ill from her intense feeding.
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