My Evil Wife Is a Nine-Tailed Fox

Waiting for the spirit to lower its guard was painstakingly taking too long, in Lu Anqi's opinion. Even the lack of update from Jiang Chen's end was enough to drive her insane.

Meanwhile, Li Fei'er leaned her back on the trunk of the tree behind her, and she rested her head on Shen Minyao's arm as she took a nap. It had only been an hour, but her slow and steady breathing was the only thing the fox woman and the grim reaper could hear… aside from the sloppy eating and drinking sounds Lu Anqi's body was doing from afar. 

"How long will it take before he gets drunk?" Lu Anqi asked in a low voice, not wanting to wake up Li Fei'er too soon. She understood how important it was for Li Fei'er to get a decent rest before the exorcism would start. 

Shen Minyao blinked. "Who knows." 

Lu Anqi nibbled at her lower lip. This long wait was already killing her. She had been away from her own body for over twenty-four hours now, and the longer she remained as a spirit, the more her body would assume that it was dying. 

Was there anything else they could do for now, aside from waiting? 

This prompted Lu Anqi to contemplate instead. At first, she couldn't believe Shen Minyao claimed that she was a demon. However, the more Lu Anqi interacted with her, the more the human felt that this might be the reason why Shen Minyao was capable of doing things a human cannot. 

What kind of human could leap so high—to the branch of a tree—like Shen Minyao? If Shen Minyao was a human with such great feats, she would be able to win all the gold medals in the Olympics! 

"I know it's hard to remain still and calm, but we really can't do anything but wait," Shen Minyao said, giving her an annoyed look. "If Jiang Chen failed to find the spirit's body on time, then we would have no other choice but force him out of your body ourselves, unless you are willing to cease living now." 

The scent of anxiousness coming from Lu Anqi was so strong that it was starting to affect her senses, and the fox woman didn't like it. It was understandable that Lu Anqi was anxious to get back to her body, but at this rate, it was hard to know how much control the spirit had over it. 

Unlike him, the fox woman was able to have absolute control of Shen Minyao's body. After all, she was able to possess it the moment Shen Minyao's human soul naturally separated from her body, only leaving fragments of her memories for the fox woman to utilize as she lived amongst the mortals. 

However, in Lu Anqi's case, Mu Qing confirmed to Shen Minyao that the young woman's life wasn't up yet. In short, it wasn't time for Lu Anqi to leave for the afterlife. This meant that her soul still had a lingering connection with her body that she could use to reconnect her spirit unto it. 

It also depended on the kind of entity or spirit that possessed her body. If it was a demon, obviously, Li Fei'er would have a hard time dealing with it, and it might leave some injuries on Lu Anqi as well. However, since it was a wandering spirit that occupied her body, the only factor they had to consider was the strength of his willpower to possess her body. 

Alcohol could weaken the grasp of his control, but if he was decisive enough to take over her body, it would be hard for Li Fei'er to expel him from the flesh. 

As the night deepened, Shen Minyao could only rely on her senses to check on the changes in Lu Anqi's body. Thankfully, it wasn't a demon who took over, or else it wouldn't be easy to stalk the unsuspecting spirit like this. 

The hour of the tiger was about to start when Shen Minyao started to notice that Lu Anqi's body was now reeking with the scent of alcohol. Moreover, the spirit had started blabbering things as if he was really drunk. 

She gently nudged Li Fei'er to wake up, and she whispered in the shaman's ear: it was almost time. 

Li Fei'er cracked her eyes open and rubbed one with her knuckle. She blinked a few more times to adjust her sight before accepting Shen Minyao's help to stand up on the branch where they were seated. 

"He's drunk. I'm not sure if we should wait for Jiang Chen or do it ourselves," Shen Minyao informed her of the situation. 

"I could manage to expel his spirit with one shot, but Lu Anqi should get her body back at once. We need to keep the other spirits in the area away from her body," Li Fei'er replied. 

"I think I could set up barriers to keep her body in place and forbid any spirit to reach her, but Lady Lu's spirit should also be inside the barrier along with her body," Mu Qing finally suggested. 

"Well, I don't think the spirit is able to see Lu Anqi while he's inside her body." Shen Minyao glanced in Lu Anqi's direction and reminded the young woman. "You should be able to get close to your body… and stay close as much as possible, but be careful not to get repelled by other spirits in the process of exorcism. The crucial part depends on you." 

"Okay." Lu Anqi nodded in agreement. No matter how afraid she grew, against other ghosts and wandering spirits, she needed to muster all the courage she could to face her fears just to get inside her body. 

As they were talking about what to do, Li Fei'er's phone vibrated. A call from Jiang Chen just came. Shen Minyao was the one to answer his call, regardless. 

"How was it?" She asked, not bothering to greet him. 

"We are able to identify the man as Han Song. He was part of the robbery group that targeted smaller banks that not many people visited. However, according to records, his remains had been cremated a long time ago, so there's nothing for me to burn anymore," Jiang Chen explained over the phone. 

"Then, did you manage to find something else that he owned? Any trinkets he valued when he was still alive?" Shen Minyao questioned, as her eyes followed the movement of Lu Anqi's body. It had stood up from its seated position with wobbly legs. 

"An expensive luxury watch that he obtained after his group robbed a luxury brand store a year before his death. It seemed that he had some attachment to it since he refused to sell it nor give it up to others when he was still alive. I saw the photos of his body when it was found dead; this watch was even drenched in his blood. I'm on my way back to meet you there. Is he still on the move?" 

"En. Stupid man just got Lu Anqi's body drunk, which is good in our opinion. Li Fei'er and Mu Qing are planning to set up a barrier to keep her body from being exposed to other spirits during the exorcism, but it's critical that Lu Anqi is able to get hold of control of her body before anything bad happens." 

"I understand. I'm on my way now. Keep me posted if anything happens. I'll leave Lu Anqi in your care." 

Shen Minyao chuckled at that. She found it amusing that Jiang Chen was willing to reach a compromise with her when it came to Lu Anqi's welfare. 

"Are you sure about that, Mr. Jiang?  Do you really think it's a good idea to leave the life of your precious assistant to me?" 

Jiang Chen wasn't able to respond immediately, as he was trying to come up with the right words to express himself towards this dangerous nine-tailed fox demon. 

"Look, I know you have a reason why you killed so many humans in your past life, and I'm not saying that you shouldn't be held accountable for it." He started. "But I believe that an arrogant and prideful demon like you wouldn't do such a rash action, had nothing triggered you to do it. Shen Minyao, if there's a chance, after this case… could you tell me what happened to you in the past and why the Li family was forced to confine your spirit at the Qingqiu Mountain for eternity rather than exorcising you for good?" 

It was Shen Minyao's turn to fall silent upon hearing his request. Not many, never a human, had questioned her about what happened in the past and why she acted the way that she did in her previous life as Su Daji. 

"Fine. I will tell you, but first, let's see if you are a capable psychic and if you are strong enough to protect Lu Anqi. I'll be waiting for your return, Mr.. Jiang."