Chapter 12: The Formation Activated, the Fox Spirit Appears

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“Mm, sorry.”

Cang Ye said softly, then asked, “Don’t want your mother to be exposed?”

Su Wan furrowed his brow and said, “No, I like foxes. Foxes are so cute. Why should they be captured?”

“Hehe~ Alright, I’ll spoil you then. Be good.”

Cang Ye ruffled Su Wan’s head again, earning a glare and a sidelong look from Su Wan, but he didn’t struggle free.

“It’s nothing.”

Cang Ye said in a low voice.

“Hm?” Su Wan was confused.

And before him, cries of shock rang out from the maidservants and house servants.

One servant shouted, “It’s burning! It’s burning! The master is truly skilled! This is spontaneous combustion with no wind! This is immortal magic! Immortal magic!”

“The master is worthy of being a master. One look and you can tell he’s an enlightened elder monk. That fox fur actually burned on its own.” A maidservant added with a smile.

“We should be safe now. We’re saved!”

“Hm?!”

Amid the crowd’s exclamations and delight, the old monk reached out toward the spot where the burning fox fur had been, but grabbed nothing.

He muttered.

“It’s gone?! Just now, something made a move. There was a fluctuation of demonic energy?”

Suddenly, the old monk turned his gaze toward Cang Ye, furrowing his brow at him.

“Master, has something unexpected happened?” Cang Ye only smiled gently, then rose and led Su Wan closer.

The old monk looked at Cang Ye, then at Su Wan, and said with a frown.

“Indeed, that strand of fox fur just now… demonic energy suddenly surged from within. It seems the fox demon is nearby. She has already made her move.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Cang Ye said with a smile. “It seems that was the fox demon’s last resort.”

The old monk furrowed his brow and thought to himself.

‘A last resort might indeed be a last resort, but whose last resort is it? The tree demon’s? Or the fox demon’s?’

‘Sigh~ I hope the sect can send reinforcements quickly. There are demons all around. Too difficult to handle.’

The old monk continued.

“Indeed. Fortunately, although the medium is gone, the formation’s effect remains. As long as the fox demon is still in the residence, within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, we will surely be able to find her.”

Su Wan: ‘Hm?? That’s bad, isn’t it?’

Su Wan quickly looked toward Cang Ye.

The old monk noticed Su Wan’s movement.

Cang Ye said, “That’s wonderful. Master, please cast the spell quickly. If it works well, why not also search for the cat demon?”

The old monk shook his head and said, “As for the cat demon, I chased it all the way from outside. I’m afraid it isn’t hiding within the residence.”

“I see.” Cang Ye nodded in understanding.

Suddenly, another maidservant couldn’t help but ask, “What about the tree demon?”

“Tree demon?” Cang Ye muttered once, glancing at that maidservant.

“Mm-hm, the tree demon. The two masters only mentioned the cat demon and the fox demon, but didn’t mention the tree demon.” The maidservant reminded the two demon hunters.

Cang Ye and the monk exchanged a glance, then fell silent for a moment before both looking away at once.

The old monk reassured, “As for the tree demon, when the time comes, this humble monk and fellow Daoist will handle it together. I must ask fellow Daoist for your generous assistance.”

The old monk bowed and smiled at Cang Ye.

“Easy to say. Naturally, it’s all for the human race. We must of course eradicate all demonic evil at the root!” Cang Ye explained with a smile.

Su Wan secretly glanced at Cang Ye, then quickly averted his gaze, thinking to himself.

‘You’re really good at putting on an act. Maybe you’re the tree demon yourself.’

“Then let’s continue.” Cang Ye suggested to the old monk, letting him continue casting the spell.

“Mm, alright.” The old monk nodded, then glanced at Su Wan beside him. He saw Su Wan raise his head in surprise toward Cang Ye.

The old monk ignored Su Wan and continued casting the spell.

Suddenly, the old monk frowned and said, “This is wrong. The formation has been destroyed by the demon.”

“Destroyed?!” Surprise appeared on Cang Ye’s face.

Su Wan quietly muttered to himself, glancing at the posturing Cang Ye as he did.

Just now, he had been the one begging Cang Ye to cause the destruction, and now he was acting like an innocent who knew nothing at all.

‘You old fox!’ Su Wan cursed inwardly. His understanding of Cang Ye deepened even more.

“Yes.” The old monk frowned, glanced at Cang Ye, then looked at Su Wan again, and explained.

“A key part of the formation has been damaged by a person or a demon. But…”

“Hm?!” Su Wan let out a puzzled sound, his gaze fixed on the old monk.

The old monk said with a smile.

“But it can be repaired. There are spare materials. In less than the time it takes to burn one stick of incense, I can set up the altar and cast the spell again.”

“This time, without the fox fur, the fox demon will find it difficult to destroy it—unless she appears in person… and then there would be no need to search for her.”

“Excellent. Then Master, please begin preparing the altar.” Cang Ye said.

“Well said.” The old monk added, “For the safety of the altar, this humble monk wishes to clear the area. Only fellow Daoist will remain… and Young Master Su.”

“Me?” Su Wan’s brother, standing behind the old monk, asked in confusion, raising his finger to point at his own nose.

“No.” The old monk smiled and said, “Children are more attuned to spiritual nature. So only fellow Daoist Cang, who is also a cultivator, will remain… and that young master, Su Wan.”

The old monk finally remembered Su Wan’s name. He had carefully inquired about Su Wan’s name earlier.

“Me?” Su Wan asked in confusion, glancing at the brother beside him whose status he didn’t know, then said, “But I’m the one hosting…”

Su Wan looked toward Cang Ye, then nodded, saying, “Alright. Then brother and the others…”

The brother across from Su Wan frowned and said, “All of you, follow me down!”

The brother then smiled and explained to the old monk, “Master, if you have further instructions afterward, just call out loudly—no, call out softly, and this junior will come out immediately!”

“Well said!” The old monk smiled and nodded, making a bow to Su Wan’s brother, then watched as Su Wan’s brother led the others away.

Cang Ye suddenly spoke up, explaining with a smile, “In this way, with no outsiders here, no accidents can possibly occur.”

The old monk glanced at Cang Ye and said, “Indeed. With the two of us cultivators keeping watch, negligence is impossible.”

“Negligence?” Cang Ye chuckled and said, “If there truly were negligence, then it would be the failure of the two of us… or even… the two of us causing trouble ourselves? Hahaha, how amusing. Truly interesting.”

The old monk looked at Cang Ye and Su Wan, nodded, then silently tidied the items on his table.

Right beside the altar, Su Wan quietly patted Cang Ye’s right arm, his eyes asking, “What do we do now?”

Cang Ye glanced at Su Wan and said with a soundless smile, “That depends on your mother.”

“Hm?!” Su Wan was confused. He couldn’t read minds and had no idea what Cang Ye meant.

About ten minutes later.

The altars around the Su Family had all been set up, and the old monk had also completed the initial spellcasting.

The old monk turned his gaze to Cang Ye, then to Su Wan, and explained.

“The entire Su Family has completed the formation’s arrangement. All demons—including those with demon blood in their veins—will be suppressed and forced to reveal their true forms.”

After hearing the old monk’s explanation, Su Wan immediately looked toward Cang Ye.

He watched Cang Ye stand calmly beside the altar, within the formation, showing no sign of any problem at all.

Instead, it was Cang Ye holding his left hand, from which a slight chill seemed to flow.

It roamed all over his body.

Cang Ye wore a full smile, secretly shielding Su Wan from danger, preventing him—as a half-demon—from having traces detected by the formation.

At the same time, he was guarding the treasure while stealing it, quietly verifying Su Wan’s bloodline condition.

The old monk stared at Cang Ye with a frown, ready to make his move, but thought to himself.

‘Could it be… that he isn’t merely a great demon, but something higher—a demon lord, a demon king? That would be extremely troublesome. And in the rear courtyard of the Su Family…’

The old monk turned his gaze toward the rear courtyard where Su Wan’s father’s various concubines resided.

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The scene shifted to the rear courtyard of the Su Family, where the formation’s effects soon reached Su Wan’s mother.

The supernatural disturbance caused her true nature to begin revealing itself.