Chapter Two: The Mark of Magic

The seductive power belonging to the fox spirit was fully unleashed, and most of the people had already fallen completely under its spell, turning their attacks toward Master Lei. Seeing this, Master Lei shouted loudly, “Wake up at once, all of you!”

Xu Cheng, who had been staring fixedly at Young Master Lu's corpse, was on the verge of succumbing as well. Were it not for that terrifying sight constantly jolting his nerves, he would have ended up no different from the other servants. It was only thanks to Master Lei’s thunderous shout that he finally regained his senses.

“Demon, cease your beguilement!” Master Lei’s voice rang with the pure force of righteous Daoist power, thoroughly sweeping away the fox spirit’s bewitching arts.

“Ox-nosed priest!” the fox spirit spat, having only performed her previous series of movements in order to break free from Master Lei’s spell. The delay had bought her enough time—she broke free at last.

The fox spirit, with her ferocity unleashed, lunged at the nearest person and bit his chest before he could dodge. Before their eyes, wrinkles crept over the man’s face, his hair turned white, then to bone, until finally, all that remained was a pile of white ash.

“Heaven and Earth without limit, Five Thunders Righteous Law!” At this sudden calamity, Master Lei formed a seal with his hands and, in a flash of thunder, appeared behind the fox spirit. Lightning from the surrounding air danced onto his body, culminating in a single palm strike upon the fox’s back. The Five Thunders Righteous Law, imbued with pure yang, blasted the fox spirit into charred fragments on the spot.

“Whew—The demon has been vanquished!” He exhaled, dusted off his Daoist robe, and brushed away the ashes.

Fueled by curiosity, Xu Cheng approached the charred remains of the fox spirit and nudged it gently with his foot. There was no response.

He turned to the servants and announced, “It’s dead, it’s—” But before he could finish, a wisp of black smoke seeped from the fox’s remains and shot straight toward him. Liao Zhen, just catching sight of it, managed to cry out, “Watch out!”

But it was too late. The black mist burrowed into Xu Cheng’s body, and he felt darkness descend over his vision as he collapsed to the ground.

“Even in death, it leaves such a trick behind! Let’s see what has become of him first!” Master Lei turned Xu Cheng over; the young man’s face was ghastly pale, streaked with lines of black.

“Master, is this what the ancient books called ‘demonic energy invading the body’?” Liao Zhen recalled what he’d read on the mountain.

“Exactly, and this demonic energy is of no low caliber! All of you, stand back—let me perform a spell!” At his command, those who had clustered around Xu Cheng, eager to see what had happened, scattered uneasily.

A spark of lightning appeared at Master Lei’s fingertip and connected with Xu Cheng’s back. The unconscious youth began to shudder violently.

Within him, demonic energy and orthodox Daoist qi were tearing at one another, turning his body into a battlefield. Fortunately, the demonic energy had no reinforcements, while Daoist qi flowed ceaselessly. Otherwise, the outcome would have been uncertain.

Even so, Master Lei could not fully purify the demonic energy; all he could do was suppress it in Xu Cheng’s palm, where it formed a black lotus-shaped mark.

“Liao Zhen, take a look at the mark on his palm!” Master Lei, drenched in sweat, instructed his young disciple.

Liao Zhen pried open Xu Cheng’s hand and studied it closely. After a moment, he replied, “Master, it’s shaped like a black lotus!”

“A black lotus! So that fox actually consumed a demonic seed—no wonder it was so vicious! The situation has changed; we must report back to the sect at once,” Master Lei said gravely.

“Master, and what about him?” Liao Zhen indicated the still-unconscious Xu Cheng.

“He comes with us to the sect!”

With the demon vanquished, the servants naturally sent word to the Lu family. The first to arrive was Steward Wang, who, upon seeing Young Master Lu’s corpse, threw himself upon the body, wailing louder than anyone, as if the young master were his own son.

Next came Master Lu. “Please accept my condolences, Master Lu,” Master Lei offered.

“He was my only son! And now he’s dead!” Master Lu’s eyes brimmed with tears, though he did not wail. He surveyed the scene—the door of the house where the struggle took place had a gaping hole, through which the fox spirit had burst. The house belonged to his ninth concubine, so it was clear that the fox spirit had been Master Lu’s ninth wife.

The other eight concubines had all arrived by now, but the ninth was absent.

“Master, it seems your ninth wife was a fox spirit,” Steward Wang had finally stopped crying. After hearing his own servant’s analysis, he grasped the general situation. As for why the young master had been in the ninth concubine’s chambers in the middle of the night, while not explicitly stated, it was not difficult to guess. Master Lei mused privately, “What a tangled family.”

“I must have been blind to marry a fox spirit! Please forgive the embarrassment, Daoist. Steward Wang, fetch one hundred taels of gold for Master Lei!” Master Lu spoke with formal courtesy. The gold was both a reward for the exorcism and a bribe to keep Master Lei’s mouth shut.

Master Lei nodded in understanding.

Steward Wang fetched the silver, but upon discovering that the treasury had been robbed, he whispered to Master Lu, “Master, the treasury has been burgled—three hundred taels of gold are missing!”

Master Lu stifled his anger; he could hardly suspect the Daoist before him. He handed over one hundred taels and prepared to let the servants rest.

Master Lei accepted the gold and said, “This servant of yours has been tainted by demonic energy. If he remains here, there’s no telling when he might turn and slaughter your entire household. I will take him with me.”

“Demonic energy?” At the mere mention of demons and spirits, Master Lu trembled. Hearing that a servant could become a monster, he agreed at once and ordered Steward Wang to burn Xu Cheng’s indenture.

“Very good! Master Lu, I must return to the sect tonight to seek a method to expel the demonic energy from his body!”

Once Master Lu had finished these arrangements, Master Lei spoke at once. He had never before encountered demonic energy he could not expel.

“Won’t you rest here for the night, Master?” Master Lu tried to persuade him to stay.

“Aren’t you worried the demonic energy might manifest?” Master Lei smiled faintly.

That smile rattled Master Lu’s nerves. He waved his hands frantically and said, “As you wish, Daoist, as you wish!”

“Liao Zhen, let’s go!” Master Lei grabbed Xu Cheng in one hand and scooped up Liao Zhen, who was holding the rooster, in the other. He blew out a breath, which became a cloud beneath their feet, and with a step, they soared into the sky.

Watching the immortal depart on a cloud, Master Lu flew into a rage and ordered Steward Wang to hunt for the thief at once. To think someone would dare steal from the Lu residence! But the culprit would never be found.

After flying all night, Master Lei was exhausted. Upon reaching the sect, he dropped the two youths off and went straight to his quarters to rest.

Xu Cheng did not awaken until noon the next day. He opened his eyes to see a small face staring intently at him, which startled him into stumbling back several steps. “You scared me!”

“Hmph! You’re no fun at all! This rooster is far more obedient!” Liao Zhen gently stroked the rooster’s back, eliciting a pleased clucking.

“You ungrateful bird! Are you not coming to me?” Xu Cheng called irritably.

“Do you think it’ll listen to you? Not a chance! From now on, Purple Crest belongs to me!” Liao Zhen declared, hugging the rooster as he left.

“Ah! After I raised you for years—heartless fowl!” Tears welled in Xu Cheng’s eyes as he gave his best performance, but the rooster simply luxuriated in Liao Zhen’s arms, caring little for its former master.

“You seem quite spirited, young man! Let me see if there’s been any change in your palm,” Master Lei, hearing the commotion, emerged from his room and opened Xu Cheng’s hand. In his palm blossomed a jet-black lotus.

“What is that?” Xu Cheng had never seen such a bizarre mark.

“That’s a demonic seed. Had I not saved you last night, you’d be no different from that fox spirit—devouring humans with relish!” Master Lei stroked his beard, radiating an air of profound mystery.

Xu Cheng stood dazed, shock and fear filling his heart.