Chapter 18

What a pity—even though it struggled desperately to escape and made it here, it probably still won’t survive in the end. Emily Bennett used a twig to poke at the little wolf’s slender white foreleg. The leg feebly turned over, and at the furry tip were several plump little paw pads. The tiny bloodstained paw trembled slightly as the twig nudged it.

So it’s still alive after all.

Emily Bennett reached out and gently stroked the little wolf’s head, discovering that its fine, downy ears quivered slightly in her palm, then quivered again.

Then the little wolf opened its eyes a crack. Almost the moment it opened its eyes, it tried to prop itself up on its forelegs and stand.

Behind the shadowy forest trees all around, between the gaps in the leaves, pairs upon pairs of eyes lit up, accompanied by the low growls of beasts. In the darkness, all sorts of little demons from the jungle gathered, seemingly coveting the flesh and blood of this wounded wolf cub, but perhaps hesitating to come out because of some fear.

The little wolf was too badly injured. It arched its back, letting out a low growl, its forelegs trembling as it used all its strength to support its body, but in the end, it couldn’t hold on and collapsed to the ground moments later. The demons lurking in the shadows seemed to grow excited at once.

This was no place to linger, but she knew that the moment she stood up and left, the little wolf would be torn to pieces and devoured by the lurking little demons around.

Emily Bennett looked at the wolf demon on the ground, its eyes still open, and felt a bit of sorrow for him. He was so small, yet could only wait here for death. Of course, the lifespans of demons and humans are different—some young beasts that look small may have already lived through hundreds of springs and autumns.

Might as well take him—bring him back, treat his wounds, make a contract as an apostle, and keep him in the courtyard.

Emily Bennett was the type to act as soon as she had an idea. She cleared out the things in her basket, carefully picked up the injured wolf, and placed him inside. This not-yet-adult wolf was so thin that he fit perfectly into her basket.

The demons lurking in the shadows grew restless, letting out one low growl after another.

“Human, this is none of your business.”

“Do you know what you’re taking away?”

Emily Bennett ignored them, hoisted the basket onto her back, and strode away. She could sense that those hiding in the darkness were all low-level little demons; if she didn’t leave quickly and happened to attract a passing greater demon, that would be trouble.

A demon resembling a porcupine couldn’t hold back any longer and leapt out from its hiding place. Two sharp tusks gleamed coldly as it lunged straight at Emily Bennett.

Emily Bennett swiftly turned, fingers together, and cast a yellow talisman. The cinnabar-drawn runes left the talisman paper in midair, transforming into a dazzling fire phoenix. The fire phoenix let out a clear cry and spat a huge ball of flame, engulfing the massive demon. The pig demon fell from the air, rolling frantically on the ground with a howl, and fled back into the dense forest with its tail still ablaze.

The little demons scattered in panic. Emily Bennett had already taken advantage of the chaos to run all the way out of the Tianlang Mountains and returned to Queqiu Town.

Chapter 8

Emily Bennett hurried through the courtyard, the bamboo basket on her back already soaked with the wolf demon’s blood, dripping all the way and leaving a shocking trail. She carefully took off the basket and set it on the floor by the eaves. The little wolf demon was curled up inside, its fur a tangled mess.

On the way, Emily Bennett had already given him emergency treatment, using talismans for external wounds, but it didn’t seem to be enough. Emily Bennett thought for a moment, took out some cinnabar, and drew a circular spirit-gathering array right on the wooden floor of the veranda. She then fetched a few pieces of glowing jade from the storeroom and placed them at the array’s focal points.

Demons naturally have strong self-healing abilities, but now that the world’s spiritual energy is so thin, it’s hard for them to recover. The spirit-gathering array Emily Bennett drew could slightly gather the world’s spiritual energy, which should help this wounded demon a little.

The pieces of jade pressed at the corners of the array looked exquisite and radiant, of excellent quality—any one of them would be a priceless treasure on the market.

But in the eyes of a cultivator like Emily Bennett, these stones barely contained a trace of spiritual energy, hardly enough for an array. Unfortunately, she had no better materials and could only make do with them to slightly boost the array’s effect.

Emily Bennett placed a soft cushion at the center of the spirit-gathering array, carefully lifted the blood-soaked little wolf out, settled him on the cushion, and gently stroked him.

The courtyard was usually full of free-range poultry, their constant clucking and quacking filling the air. But ever since Emily Bennett brought out the little wolf demon, they had all suddenly fallen silent. The chickens, ducks, and geese huddled together in their coops, trembling in fear. Even the big black dog, who usually ran up to greet people, tucked its tail and darted back to its kennel.

Emily Bennett didn’t notice these changes in the courtyard; she was preoccupied with how to treat the little wolf demon’s severe injuries.

The wounds on his body were clearly caused by more than one demon. Tears, scratches, and all sorts of spell-inflicted injuries covered his small body. The wounds on his hind legs and abdomen were especially serious—his right leg bone had been completely crushed, barely held together by skin and bone, and looked as if it could break off at any moment.