My Evil Wife Is a Nine-Tailed Fox

"You are clearly trying to bully that young woman," Mu Qing commented behind Shen Minyao as they wandered around the building of Zhao Corporation. They were trying to see if they could find more demons that were lurking in the shadows. 

"So what if I am? What would you or Zhao Yichen do?" The fox woman scoffed. They met other humans in the hallway, but those humans couldn't see the two because of Shen Minyao's concealment spell. 

"It's her fault for coming here unannounced, anyway… so why shouldn't I be impolite?" She added. 

Mu Qing shook his head, thinking that it was one of her wicked ways to amuse herself at the expense of another person. This shouldn't be surprising, knowing the fox woman's attitude. 

"What?" Shen Minyao asked once she sensed that Mu Qing was not impressed by her recent actions. 

"Nothing," the grim reaper murmured, knowing that he wouldn't win against the fox woman if he decided to continue this conversation. 

From the level where Zhao Yichen's office was, they decided to take the stairs to get to the next floor. What greeted them was a cold and eerie atmosphere that startled both the fox woman and the grim reaper. It wasn't a demon that they could sense… but a curse. 

"Do you know what this is?" Mu Qing questioned her. 

"No, I'm not sure what this is and what it is doing here, but there's something familiar about its scent," Shen Minyao admitted. She swore she had smelled that scent before, but she couldn't remember where she encountered it. 

"Let's take a look. It seems like wandering spirits are being attracted to this presence," the grim reaper suggested. 

Shen Minyao didn't say a word, but she followed Mu Qing's lead nevertheless. Just what kind of curse could easily attract such malevolent, wandering spirits to this level, and why didn't they sense it earlier? 

They ended up standing right outside the Chairman's office. It was only by then did it come to the fox woman… the source of the familiar scent that she caught before. There was a lingering scent of it on Zhao Yichen's grandfather. 

Mu Qing lifted a hand, intending to open the door in front of them. However,  something invisible repelled him from touching the knob. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, while Shen Minyao cupped her chin and gave it a good thought. 

"What kind of curse is this, that it can protect itself from possible threats?" Mu Qing retrieved his slightly burned hand. Such a strong barrier that even a grim reaper like him couldn't bypass. 

"Step aside and let me see what it is," Shen Minyao said. 

Mu Qing did what was told and allowed the fox woman to see if she could identify it. 

This time, Shen Minyao reached out her hand and touched the door. However, unlike the grim reaper, the barrier didn't repel her. In fact, it was like the curse was luring her inside the room. Shen Minyao realized that her hand even went through the door, indicating that she didn't have to use the door for entry. 

"Wait here," she told Mu Qing before she stepped inside the room. It didn't surprise her that it was filled with a nauseating scent of miasma and the screams of pain from the spirits that were trapped in the room. 

Shen Minyao held her breath as she now had an idea about the kind of curse they were dealing with at the moment. She looked around, trying to find the source of the nauseating miasma… until her gaze landed on a seemingly antique vase at the corner of the room. 

When she came back outside, Mu Qing was waiting for her at the same spot where she left him. 

"So? Did you figure out what it is?" He asked, seeing that she managed to come out unscathed. "Wait… is that miasma?" 

"Well, there are many names for that, but for immortals like us, it's known as the poisonous magic," Shen Minyao answered his question. She heaved a breath, disliking how the scent of miasma tried to permeate through her skin. 

"You mean the Gu poison?" He grimaced. 

"Gu poison, kodoku, black magic… whatever you want to call it. I don't need to explain what kind of black magic is this, right?" 

Mu Qing nodded. The Gu poison involved sealing several venomous creatures, but the recipe could also make use of demons like Shen Minyao. It made sense why the Gu repelled him earlier… as it only wanted to take creatures with strong yin energy, such as demons and wandering spirits who couldn't let go of their grievances. 

In making the common Gu poison, the sorcerers would mix several insects in a jar; in this case, they went for demons and spirits. This practice would force the creatures to kill one another until only one survived. The remaining demon or spirit would then grant its owner a wish… which was to curse someone to death.

The remaining demon could also be used as some sort of 'luck charm', granting great wealth to the one who performed the ritual. 

In return, the owner was supposed to feed the demon. Neglecting to do so would enrage it. Moreover, if the owner did not equivalently repay the demon by placing all his or her riches beside a road, plus interest in gold and silver; the demon would devour the homeowner. Therefore, this ritual could also be used as a death curse by giving the cursed riches to an ignorant individual. 

As to why there was such a Gu inside the Zhao Corporation, wouldn't this mean that someone was trying to curse the old man to death while granting the owner great wealth later? 

"You don't want to be part of the Gu?" Mu Qing asked Shen Minyao who immediately shot him a scathing look as if he had offended her. 

"And then what? Kill the other demons and spirits inside that old pot and grant a greedy human massive fortune? No way." 

The fox woman would never lower herself into serving a human, a greedy one on top of that. She was curious though… how strong the demon inside that Gu pot was. She even wondered if she had a chance to defeat it herself. Alas, she also knew that Qin Zhi wouldn't allow her to do such a reckless thing without knowing the kind of demon that would come out of it later. 

"Also, it's too late now. I could sense that the fight inside that pot was already done, and the owner only intended to feed it with spirits before it could grant him his wish," Shen Minyao explained. 

"So, it's still in the feeding stage?" Mu Qing asked, only to hurriedly follow Shen Minyao as she turned to leave the place. 

"En, the demons and spirits being summoned here are nothing but food to the winning demon. If I were to get stuck inside the pot, there's no telling if I would come out victorious… or alive," the fox woman admitted. 

However, she had no doubt that the demon inside was growing stronger each day. The more the demon got stronger, the more dangerous it would be for Zhao Yichen's grandfather. 

When they returned to his office, Zhao Yichen was alone, and Xia Mei was nowhere to be found. He gave Shen Minyao and Mu Qing a confused look when they came back too soon. 

"I thought you said we are to meet later." 

"Change of plans. Lord Hell and I found something that needs your cooperation." The fox woman crossed her legs and allowed Yu Yan to curl on her lap. 

"And that is?" 

"We found a demon… well, to be exact, a curse on your grandfather's office. I want you to find out the details of where he got the blue vase ." 

"A what?" Zhao Yichen was beyond shocked. How come Xiao Bai and Yu Yan didn't sense it, considering the two had been with him for over a week now? 

Shen Minyao then proceeded to explain the kind of curse she had found inside the chairman's office and why his grandfather's health continued to deteriorate, despite having the best healthcare one could receive in this era. 

Zhao Yichen curled his hands into fists, wondering who would dare to do such a vicious thing to his grandfather. It now made sense why Elder Zhao's health wasn't improving at all. 

"So you mean to say that once the demon has been fed with enough spirits, it will grant the owner their wish and immeasurable fortune?" He questioned the fox woman. 

"En." Shen Minyao nodded. "Zhao Yichen, you also need to understand that your life is also at stake here. Whoever owned that Gu… once it killed your grandfather, surely, you would be the next one." 

Zhao Yichen fell silent at that. He wasn't worried about himself… but about his grandfather's wellbeing.. If the owner of the Gu was one of his relatives, then he would never forgive them for plotting against his grandfather.