Married the Second Generation Fox Demon with a Baby in a Flash Marriage - Chapter 34

“Sister, please… I’m in so much pain. Please don’t put that yellow paper on me, I beg you…” From the living room came Tao Tao’s trembling pleas, soft and pitiable.

Hu Mengmeng’s heart ached. She couldn’t tell who was in control of the voice—the girl or the monster—but she knew Tao Tao was in agony.

“You have such a sweet, pitiful look, it’s a shame. But I don’t fall for that!” Gu Yiying said as she slapped a few more talismans onto Tao Tao. Tao Tao could no longer speak; she struggled on the rug, black mist churning around her.

“That’s three sets of talismans wasted! Good heavens, this is literally burning money!” Gu Yiying looked at Tao Tao with a massive headache.

“Hello, Ye Xinyu is unwell and resting. I’m Hu Mengmeng. What can I do to help?” Hu Mengmeng walked over to Gu Yiying.

“Hu Mengmeng? That name doesn’t quite suit your look. Once she drains the spiritual energy from these talismans, you can help me pin her down. You’re a demon, so using your spiritual power would only make things worse. We’ll have to wait for Aunt Lan anyway,” Gu Yiying said, glancing at her.

“Aunt Lan? She’s a normal human. What can she do?”

“Come here and talk.” Gu Yiying beckoned her to a corner of the living room. “Ye Xinyu sent Aunt Lan back to the Ye ancestral home to get a Contracting Artifact. Given this little one’s current state, she’s fused with the demon. Killing the demon would severely injure your friend. We brainstormed and came up with a plan: someone needs to form a Master-Servant contract with the demon. Then, with just a thought, the master can control its life and death and easily wipe out its consciousness.”

“A contracting artifact? You need a medium for that? And you said Tao Tao is almost one with the demon—how can you fix a contract to that?” Hu Mengmeng had never considered contracts could be used this way, but she was confused about the mechanics.

“Tsk, such a rookie. Let me give you a quick lesson,” Gu Yiying chuckled.

She explained that there is a set of rules for forming bonds between humans and demons, developed by Taoist practitioners. There are several types:

Master-Servant Contract: The master can command the servant. One thought can decide the servant’s life or death. The servant’s death doesn’t affect the master, but if the master dies, the servant dies too. This can be forced if the demon is weak and the human is strong.

Life-and-Death Contract: Their lives are tied; if one dies, the other follows. This must be voluntary, and one can only have one such bond in a lifetime.

Equality Contract: No direct control, but their minds are linked. They can sense each other regardless of distance. This is the most flexible and can be terminated for a price.

Transfer/Summoning Contracts: Rare or nearly extinct types used to transfer pain/damage to a demon or to summon them across space.

These contracts require a special Contract Seal and the blood of both parties. The seal can be formed on the spot or pre-engraved onto an artifact. Pre-engraved artifacts have a higher success rate. The Ye family has artifacts prepared by the old master specifically for Ye Xinyu. As long as Tao Tao’s consciousness hasn’t been completely consumed, the master can use the contract to target and erase the demon’s mind specifically.

Hu Mengmeng listened, remembering when Ye Xinyu asked her to be her contracted demon. She had been furious, but Ye Xinyu had told her she “only knew about Master-Servant contracts.”

Did Ye Xinyu want an Equality Contract? A Life-and-Death one? She hadn’t believed her back then. If Ye Xinyu had truly wanted to enslave her, she could have used an artifact to force it easily once she had Hu Mengmeng’s blood.

“She’s tired for now; the thrashing has stopped,” Gu Yiying said, snapping her out of her thoughts. “Hey, if you aren’t Ye Xinyu’s contracted demon, why not be mine? We’ll sign an Equality Contract. My sect is very rich. You just protect me, and I’ll pay you 500,000 a month. What do you say?”

“I won’t be anyone’s contracted demon,” Hu Mengmeng replied firmly.

“A million?”

“If you have a commission, I’ll help for a fee. But I won’t sign a contract. Protective services are extra.”

“A shrewd one, aren’t you! Fine, add me on WeChat.”

As they exchanged numbers, Aunt Lan arrived, rushing in with a small box. She gave Hu Mengmeng a disapproving look but said nothing, heading straight for Ye Xinyu’s room.

Inside the bedroom, Aunt Lan opened the box. “Xinyu, I brought them. Which one is best?” The box contained various items: collars, rings, bracelets. Most were blank, but some were pre-engraved.

“The bracelet. Put the rest in the drawer,” Ye Xinyu said, taking a bitter brown pill from her nightstand and swallowing it. The taste was vile, making her already poor stomach turn.

“You shouldn’t push yourself. Let Hu Mengmeng do it,” Aunt Lan worried.

“I won’t be reckless. She’s a demon; even with human blood, she hasn’t trained. There are things she simply cannot do,” Ye Xinyu exhaled.

When they emerged, Ye Xinyu spoke to Gu Yiying. “You do it. My spirit is drained; I’ll assist from the side.” She handed over the bracelet.

The Human-Faced Parasite was rare but weak on its own, surviving only by parasitizing others. It had little value to them.

“This is high risk, so the fee is extra!” Gu Yiying noted.

Hu Mengmeng watched as Ye Xinyu began to form hand seals, golden spiritual energy churning. “Is there anything I can do? You’re going to be in pain; your body hasn’t recovered.”

“Your energy would only feed the parasite,” Ye Xinyu replied, her hands never stopping.

Hu Mengmeng could only watch as fine beads of sweat broke out on Ye Xinyu’s forehead. She hated her own uselessness.

Tao Tao thrashed and screamed, black mist roiling as the two hunters worked to suppress the demon. It took over half an hour before the room finally went silent.

“Done!” Gu Yiying exhaled. As she spoke, Ye Xinyu stumbled. Hu Mengmeng, who had been watching her every move, caught her instantly.

Ye Xinyu straightened her back, took a breath, and gently brushed Hu Mengmeng’s hand away. Hu Mengmeng’s eyes dimmed as she retracted her hand.

“Old Ye, you’re really in bad shape. You’re way too weak,” Gu Yiying remarked, looking at Ye Xinyu’s pallor.

“An old injury. How is she?”

“The girl’s body is severely depleted; she’s in a coma for now. I’ve suppressed the demon’s consciousness—it’s completely dormant. I caught some of its memories, though. Interesting stuff.” Gu Yiying smiled and reached into Tao Tao’s clothes, pulling out a white silk cloth. “This was the key to its evolution—expanding the parasitism to her entire body.”

Hu Mengmeng’s heart stopped. That was the cloth Su Mingli had given her. It had gone missing from her table weeks ago. Tao Tao took it?

The cloth was now covered in dark grey spiritual lines—a diagram for sealing a bloodline. Hu Mengmeng realized it was a sophisticated array that could run itself once activated. It was the legacy left by her fox mother.

“Can I see that?” Hu Mengmeng asked. She studied it and realized her previous method of wrapping her bloodline was primitive “brute force.” This was a far more elegant solution.

“Gu Yiying, you should head back and rest. Aunt Lan will settle the account,” Ye Xinyu said. “I’m unwell and need to lie down.”

After Gu Yiying left, Hu Mengmeng carried the unconscious Tao Tao to the sofa and covered her. Then she went to check on Ye Xinyu.

“Xinyu? How are you?” She knocked softly. Aunt Lan opened the door.

“She’s asleep,” Aunt Lan said. She let Hu Mengmeng in to check on her. Hu Mengmeng felt the “little thing” in the belly fluctuating and transferred some energy to soothe it. Ye Xinyu’s body seemed to reflexively reject Hu Mengmeng’s demonic energy in her sleep, so Hu Mengmeng stopped.

Outside the room, Aunt Lan spoke to her. “Mengmeng, I know you’re young, but Xinyu is suffering so much to carry this child. She spent all day at the Taoist doctor’s today and barely stayed upright with medication. Even if you have no feelings for her, please… for the sake of the child, be better to her.”

Hu Mengmeng felt a wave of guilt. She hadn’t known Ye Xinyu had gone to the doctor. She realized she had been acting like a petulant child, getting angry and running off while Ye Xinyu was physically collapsing.

Su Mingli arrived at the villa later that evening. Hu Mengmeng explained the situation with Tao Tao.

“That poor girl,” Su Mingli sighed. “Go study that silk cloth, Mengmeng. I’ll look after Tao Tao.”

Hu Mengmeng retreated to her room. The method on the cloth worked like a charm. She only needed 10% of the energy she used before to seal her bloodline, and it didn’t require constant focus. It was a perfect, self-sustaining loop.

However, she realized a catch: while her human body could now hold a full charge of spiritual energy, that energy was “fox-flavored.” It made her human body flushed and restless. She understood now why Ye Xinyu had reacted so strongly to her touch—the energy itself was seductive.

She was interrupted by a knock. It was Su Mingli.

“Mengmeng, what is this?” Her mother held a bell on a red string. “I told you to stop carrying this thing. If you want to throw it away, throw it away. Why did you leave it here for Xinyu to see? Aunt Lan said Xinyu was in a terrible mood today—you should be more considerate!”

Hu Mengmeng stared at the bell. The red string was worn and dark—it was the one Tao Tao had braided for her. It was the bell she had lost at this very villa on the night of the gala.

Wait… if this is here…

“Mom, where did you find this?”

“On the windowsill by the pool while I was cleaning. I’m throwing it out for you!”

“No, give it to me!” Hu Mengmeng grabbed it and bolted out of the house.

She ran back to the campus book cafe, reaching it just as they were closing at 9:00 PM. She found a staff member. “I left something here today. It looks like this. Did anyone see it?”

The clerk checked the lost and found. “Oh, this? Here.”

Hu Mengmeng’s hands shook as she took the second bell. This one had a brand-new red string with a different braid.

There were two bells. One was hers. The other belonged to Ye Xinyu.

The pieces finally clicked in her head. Ye Xinyu had been in a terrible mood today because she asked about a bell, and Hu Mengmeng told her she had “thrown it away” because she “didn’t even remember who gave it to her.”

The answer she had been looking for was staring her in the face.