My Evil Wife Is a Nine-Tailed Fox

"Alright, but if you want my allegiance, you will need to break the contract that binds me to my owner." The young white-haired boy agreed. "You should already know what to do and what could happen if you choose to do it." 

"Of course. You don't need to worry about me, but if you must know… if you dare to betray your pact with me, I will kill you myself." 

As the fox woman said this, the young white snake demon felt sudden murderous intent wafting around him. It was suffocating and threatening at the same time, promising him indescribable pain and suffering if he truly decided to break the rules he had assented. 

"You have my word," he conceded. "Please bestow me a name." 

"Are you sure?" Shen Minyao asked. "A name is a powerful tool for demons like us. This is why most demons decide to keep their name to themselves… because anyone who knows and uses their real name could force them into servitude." 

The young hatchling snake fell silent at that. It took him a moment before he responded to Shen Minyao's words. 

"It's fine. With you being my master, there can't possibly be another demon that could defeat you, right?" 

He could sense that this fox demon's spiritual energy had not reached its true potential yet. This fox woman was way stronger than the demons he encountered so far. She was already this strong; what could possibly happen once she reached the pinnacle of her potential? 

"There are many demons that are way stronger than me now, but they would need to defeat me first before they would dare to take you away." Shen Minyao didn't dare to lie to him. 

Compared to her older brother's strength, hers was still lacking. She still had a long way to go before regaining her previous status as one of the strongest demons in the world. Even now, if she came face to face with Xuan Yanrui, Shen Minyao knew that she had no chance of winning against him. 

'Damn him,' she thought. Just when she thought she could lead a peaceful and carefree life in this era, her ex-husband had come to terrorize the world again. 

"Alright. I will leave the contract in your care," the white demon snake replied before expelling Shen Minyao out of his dimension. 

The next thing Shen Minyao saw… she was standing inside the office of Zhao Yichen's grandfather, and in front of her was the vase that trapped the Gu demon. She smirked to herself, a little impressed that the white snake demon dared to trick her into dealing with his owner herself. 

To be honest, the Gu demon could easily revoke the contract between him and his human owner if he demanded more compensation in return. The hatchling snake demon must be testing her, wanting to see how strong she really was. 

'I'm going to break the pot now,' she told her old brother through telepathy, knowing that everyone was waiting for her next actions. 

'Okay. We'll get ready then,' Qin Zhi replied. 

There weren't many demons who accepted being a shikigami and in the servitude of a higher or more powerful demon… as their power would be connected to the spiritual force of their masters. This was why Li Fei'er herself was having a hard time keeping her control over her own shikigamis while she was in a battle with demons. 

Qin Zhi had no doubts about his sister's capability. More than once, his sister was able to make the impossible possible, leaving everyone speechless; which led to them viewing her as a threat not only to humanity but also to the demons. 

Aside from this, demon shikigamis were harder to please and control than their spirit counterparts that were bound to humans. Shen Minyao should know that a Gu demon would demand her to provide stronger spiritual powers and compensation to fulfill its contract with her as her shikigami. 

"Mu Qing, I know you can hear me," Shen Minyao spoke in a low voice, her eyes never leaving the cursed vase in front of her. 

"En," the grim reaper responded. 

"I'm about to reverse the curse of the Gu demon. I'm planning to set him free from the cursed pot. Do you think you can help me keep the miasma from going out of this room?" 

"Are you asking me to set up a barrier again?" Mu Qing asked. 

"Yes. The same one you used during the invasion of the demons last time." The fox demon affirmed. 

"Fine, but what do you plan to do with the miasma?" He asked, knowing that there was no way Shen Minyao would be able to purify it. 

"Don't worry about it. I have one of Li Fei'er's talismans with me. I figured this could happen." Shen Minyao then pulled out the talismans she received earlier from Li Fei'er. 

"Then… I'm ready when you are." Mu Qing then started his incantations, trapping Shen Minyao and the Gu demon in a barrier that no demon could easily break. Since his defeat in their last joint battle against the crow demon, he had been working hard to strengthen his power as a grim reaper. His pride would never allow him to experience such humiliation again. 

The other grim reapers thought that he was quite obsessed with dealing with demons… when their only purpose in the mortal realm was to collect the souls of the departed ones. However, after meeting the fox demoness and getting acquainted with Li Fei'er, Mu Qing realized that the issues with the demons directly affected their job as grim reapers. 

For one, Mu Qing hated doing overtime at work. Unless he was notified by his superiors, he wouldn't move past his working hours. He had only worked as a grim reaper for centuries, so what's the need for him to collect souls more than the asked requirement for his input? 

The moment Shen Minyao sensed the barrier set by Mu Qing, she used her demonic powers to break the cursed pot. It immediately reacted to her power, trying to repel her influence at once. 

It emitted such a strong demonic aura that caused a ripple, and it shook the whole company building, not only startling Shen Minyao's companions but also the humans that were still inside. 

"Mr. Qin! What's happening?!" Li Fei'er blurted out as she looked at Qin Zhi with widened eyes. She was still kneeling on the circle she set up earlier to keep the binding talismans in place. 

The sudden surge of great demonic power made her and Zhao Yichen shiver in fear, but not Qin Zhi. Li Fei'er couldn't tell if it was Shen Minyao or the Gu demon that she was trying to oppress. Since her apprenticeship as a shaman, she had never sensed such a strong demonic presence… until now. 

"Shen Minyao is fine. It is just that the curse itself is reacting to her demonic influence." The demon lord assured her, but he also couldn't help but worry about his sister. Shen Minyao wasn't trying to break the curse… she was trying to overrule its rules to transfer the ownership of the Gu demon to her. 

If she succeeded, the human bound to the contract with the Gu curse would immediately die from poisoning and multiple organ failure. After all, each of the organs would swell and burst from inside out. 

However, if she failed, Shen Minyao would be left with life-threatening injuries that could lead to her death. The curse was unforgiving to those who would dare to challenge its rules. It didn't matter if the demon was powerful… because the curse would only stick to its rules and protect itself from other potential threats. 

"She could make it, right?" Zhao Yichen looked at the older fox demon, now aware of the danger Shen Minyao was facing because of him. He took a glance at Shen Minyao's guardians, but they were both silent and focused on helping strengthen the barriers Li Fei'er set earlier.

*** 

Shen Minyao sucked in a deep breath as she continued to inject more of her demonic powers into the cursed pot, forcing it to repel the previous ownership for her to overtake the role. A thick amount of miasma permeated inside the room, a sign that the white snake demon was about to break out from its confinements. 

Her eyes turned red, forcing more of her power to overrule the ownership of the Gu curse. She vomited blood, but Shen Minyao remained unfazed. She needed to establish her dominance on the contract now that she had proven that she was way stronger than the remaining demon inside the Gu curse. 

The whole building continued to shake at its foundation, making the surrounding humans wonder if there was an earthquake. Zhao Yichen braced himself as the tremors were quite strong and couldn't be easily ignored.. Li Fei'er was glad that Qin Zhi was standing near her and giving her the stability she needed.