My Evil Wife Is a Nine-Tailed Fox

The wraith seemingly noticed their presence just outside the door and made a loud wailing sound that resonated in the ICU. Not only did it distract the demons that infested the place, but it also sent the humans on such turbulence of despair and hatred out of nowhere. 

"He's mad." Shen Minyao knitted her brows as Xiao Bai cast a protective spell around them, effectively dispelling the attack of the wraith. "You think you can vanquish it?" 

If they wanted to reach where Zhao Yichen and Yu Yan were, they needed to get past these demons first and then deal with this wraith that obstructed their way. One fact that annoyed Shen Minyao was that wraiths could also feed on demons and ghosts who harbored strong negative forces. She would be doomed if the wraith targeted her. 

Xiao Bai frowned. Although he and Yu Yan were a pair of mythical and powerful creatures that could ward off evil spirits and resist both demons and ghosts, it wouldn't be easy for them to deal with a wraith. 

"Move." A voice of a man reached their ears, and a blinding light almost hit them. However, Shen Minyao managed to jump to the side to avoid it, barely missing by a beat. It immediately killed the low-level demons that weren't able to run away from the attack, while the wraith wailed again and fled in fright. 

"Ah, it ran away," the man said in disappointment. 

The fox woman frowned in annoyance. The grim reaper they sensed earlier had revealed himself, launching a sneak attack from behind them. However, his miscalculation not only chased the wraith away, but it also harmed the fox woman in the process. Xiao Bai might survive the blast with just a scratch, but the nine-tailed fox would surely perish if she was hit by that light. 

"What the hell was that?" She asked Xiao Bai. 

"How should I know?" He said in response. It was a bright light but not sacred or holy enough to kill the wraith—that's for sure. 

Shen Minyao turned her attention to the grim reaper who appeared out of nowhere. It was a young, tall man with a fair, extremely handsome in a devilish way and a countenance that reminded the fox woman of fine jade. He had skin as white as snow and hair as black as ink that reached his waist. 

Unlike the other grim reapers in this modern era that were wearing modern black suits, he was wearing a traditional black robe with a white shirt and pants underneath, completed with black boots. His long hair was loosely braided on the right side of his head, while a black eye patch was covering his right eye, giving him a more mysterious look. 

This grim reaper looked proud and composed at the same time, but his facial expression was too stiff, not giving anyone an idea of what he was even thinking about. Well, this characteristic was universal to grim reapers, making all of them look the same in the fox woman's eyes. 

Despite his young appearance, the fox woman was sure that he was at least over three hundred years old in human years. Grim reapers like him needed at least a hundred years in training before they were allowed to roam around the earth to collect the souls of the departed humans. 

Before they became grim reapers, they were humans like the wraith in their past lives. Humans who had committed grave sins and had tarnished their human souls were forbidden to stay in the spirit realm and get reincarnated. 

However, unlike the wraiths that were destined to roam for eternity, grim reapers were given a chance to redeem for their sins by working under the lord of the netherworld. Once they did enough good deeds and collected souls from the mortal world, they would eventually be awarded with another reincarnation at the end of their service. 

"What was that for?" Shen Minyao asked him with a frown on her face, wondering why he had chosen to reveal himself at that moment when he obviously chose to keep his distance from her earlier. He didn't come here to kill her, right? Grim reapers didn't have any obligation to send demons like her to the spirit realm.

The grim reaper eyed her for a moment and put his sword with a dragon handle back to its scabbard that was tied firmly on his waist. His movements told Shen Minyao that he might have been a swordmaster in his past life as a human, for his mannerisms showed great respect and discipline while holding his sword. 

"Who are you?" He asked in return, "What are you doing here?" 

"I should be the one asking you that, Mr. Grim Reaper? Were you planning to kill me just now?" Shen Minyao didn't bother to hide her annoyance towards the grim reaper. 

Who cared if he was powerful? What he did earlier was a reckless move! She could have died without being able to protect herself or retrieve her fox orb if she didn't manage to evade his attack earlier! 

"A demon with a human shell. You should be thanking me for not killing you on the spot." He then proceeded and entered the room where the old man and the wraith were. 

"Oh, thank you very much, Sir Grim Reaper. I appreciate your kindness towards this subject of yours." Shen Minyao spat venomously but followed him inside, seeing the traces of the wraith left within the room. 

"He'll be back," the grim reaper said before checking outside the window of the room. 

"Well, good luck on your wraith-hunting then." Shen Minyao waved a hand to bid goodbye. Since she wouldn't be able to beat the wraith on her own, might as well allow this arrogant grim reaper to deal with it himself. 

"I think you are mistaken here, demoness.. The wraith wouldn't come back for its source but to you… to collect your soul as its first prey."