My Evil Wife Is a Nine-Tailed Fox

Zhao Yichen didn't manage to focus at work ever since Shen Minyao and Mu Qing informed him about the cursed Gu in his grandfather's possession. How could he not worry when it's his grandfather's life at stake. Who could have done something vicious towards his grandfather? 

Whoever it was, not only it would end his grandfather's life, but the culprit would also receive a great amount of wealth from the demon. Just the thought of it was enough to leave Zhao Yichen distraught over the fact that his grandfather needed to die to fulfill someone's greedy wish. 

"Can I see it? I mean, this Gu that you are talking about?" He asked Shen Minyao. 

"You can, but I won't assure you that you can sense the demon inside. It hasn't received sufficient feeding from its owner, so it is luring wandering spirits and low-level demons to this area. No wonder most demons within the vicinity are avoiding this place. They must have known what awaits them if they decide to come and see what has summoned them to your grandfather's office." 

"Is it possible to break this curse? Is there a way for me to save my grandfather's life?" 

By now, it was obvious that Zhao Yichen was frantically raking his head to think about how he could help his grandfather. 

Mu Qing remained silent. Since this was a spiritual Gu, it would also affect the human spirits that grim reapers like him had yet to collect. These malevolent spirits obviously were giving them a headache by resisting crossing the borders of two realms willingly. These spirits would leave the reapers with no other choice but to consider exorcising their souls, forbidding them to be reincarnated. 

'I need to report this and ask our superiors for advice,' he thought. 

"There are ways to break it, but all methods pose a certain risk," Shen Minyao answered. "One could purify it, killing the growing demon in the process. For humans like you, you would need to offer compensation to break the curse." 

"Compensation? What kind of compensation?" 

If Zhao Yichen could do it, then he would willingly give anything to save his grandfather's life. 

"That is to kill fellow humans and offer their souls to the surviving demon. Can you do this?" Shen Minyao eyed him with curiosity. 

Zhao Yichen fell silent at that and clenched his fists at his sides. No… of course, he couldn't do it. 

Shen Minyao wasn't surprised at all. She knew Zhao Yichen could do such a terrible thing in his books. It wasn't in his personality to harm innocent people just to get what he wanted. 

"There's another way." She offered, not sure if she should be telling this to Zhao Yichen and Mu Qing. 

"And that is?" 

"Hmm… what do humans like you call it?" Shen Minyao pondered. "It's like overriding the curse, forcing it to change its owner. The curse was created by placing a large number of spirits and demons in a pot-like tool and were made to kill each other until the last one remaining grew the strongest. The surviving demon is used to perform the curse, namely the sacrifice to serve as the vessel. By infusing it with the magical energy of the curse—that is to say the spiritual power of negative emotions and resentment; it would become a shikigami." 

"Wait, would this mean that you would try to infuse your magical power with it and force the surviving demon to become your shikigami?" Mu Qing could clearly see why the fox woman would consider such a solution. Not only would it be beneficial to Zhao Yichen, but she would also gain a powerful shikigami that would do her bidding. 

The grim reaper narrowed his eyes and fell into deep thought. Shen Minyao already had a demonic sword that could devour the spirits of other demons, and now, she was considering taking a Gu demon to become her shikigami? 

If that happened, the fox woman's power would surely escalate, and she would become more dangerous and formidable as an opponent in the future. Such a thing… Mu Qing wasn't sure if he should allow it to happen under his watch. 

Alas, with Xuan Yanrui's growing influence within the demon world, Shen Minyao had no other choice but to get stronger for her to protect not only herself but also those people dear to her. 

"Can you do it?" Zhao Yichen asked, but he was worried that Shen Minyao might get hurt in the process. 

"Milady, you know how dangerous this would be," Yu Yan reminded her mistress, which startled Zhao Yichen. 

"But, Yu Yan, I think it is a good opportunity for our mistress to gain a useful shikigami she could utilize in the future." Xiao Bai argued with his partner. 

"I am merely concerned about our mistress's safety. I know how valuable a shikigami might be… but not at our mistress's expense," the black cat explained. 

Hearing the two guardians' opinions, how could Zhao Yichen ask Shen Minyao to deal with the Gu demon herself? Shen Minyao was already making sure that he would be safe from the threat of other demons; he didn't think he had the heart to ask her to help him with this problem, regardless if it would be beneficial for the two of them. 

Shen Minyao eyed him, waiting for Zhao Yichen to make a decision. 

"The choice is in your hands. As for me dealing with the Gu demon… of course, I'm more than willing to have it in my possession." 

Ah, if she would be able to override the rule and turn herself into its owner, wouldn't that mean that the Gu would also give her an enormous amount of wealth, giving her an advantage in the human world. 

"If you choose to do it, does it mean that you would also need to curse another person to death?" Zhao Yichen asked. 

"Not necessarily," Shen Minyao replied. "It only applies when the owner of the Gu gifted the vase to its intended target. If one performed the Gu curse and sent the pot or vase to someone they hate, along with some gold or silver—I suppose humans of this era could use money instead… 

"Regardless, the receiver won't understand what it means, failing to feed the bug… which would lead to them getting chewed to death." The fox woman also found it weird that someone had made this Gu curse using demons and spirits, instead of using the usual venomous insects to perform the curse. 

"…but you said that the surviving demon is still attracting demons and spirits nearby, right?" Zhao Yichen was clearly agitated with the current situation. 

"It's still growing. Of course, it needs nourishment first before it could grant the owner's wish." 

The fox woman could only surmise that the vase was gifted to the old man not so long ago. Perhaps, it had been with him for only about three months now. No wonder that the old man's health continued to deteriorate every time she met him. 

The room became silent as Shen Minyao gave Zhao Yichen some time on his own to sort out his thoughts before making a decision. Since he couldn't bring himself to kill humans to break the curse, obviously, he could only rely on the fox woman's help this time. 

"Shen Minyao, I ask of you… please help me this time. I would be indebted to you if you could help me," he said in a low voice, but it was enough for the fox woman and the grim reaper to hear his decision. 

"Your life has also been in my hands for some time now, don't you agree, Zhao Yichen?" Shen Minyao crossed her legs and cupped her chin, looking at Zhao Yichen's worried reaction. He must really like—no, love his grandfather for him to seek her assistance desperately like this. 

"I know that. I also know that I could only rely on you to survive. So if you could… please…" His words trailed off, but he needed not to explain more. The bond between him and Shen Minyao was enough for the fox demon to know what he was feeling right now. 

'Such an annoying bond,' Shen Minyao thought to herself. She briefly wondered if Zhao Yichen was aware of the existence of the bond between them created by their contract. 

"Fine. Since you ask nicely, how could I deny my contractor his first wish?" She replied. 

"But, Milady…" Yu Yan still thought that this was a bad idea. If only her mistress was already in a high-ranking level as a demon, she wouldn't bother to stop Shen Minyao like this. 

"It's fine, Yu Yan. I will ask Li Fei'er's assistance to purify the accumulated miasma. This should also put restraints on the Gu demon, forbidding him to escape using its master's order," the fox woman explained… before eyeing Mu Qing. 

"Lord Hell, do you have something on your mind?" 

"Nothing.. Do as you wish."