Chapter 17: The Gate

All sounds blended together—the frantic thoughts clashing with the last fragments of the silver fox’s sanity. Yu Sheng heard the pained whimper of Huli beside him, but his mind roared with even more maddening and chaotic voices—there was the fox’s nearly uncontrollable hunger, a piercing, heart-wrenching starvation, the seductive whispers of darkness and chaos, and... a desperate urge urging him to flee.

Yu Sheng inhaled sharply, crouched low, and darted toward a gap between the fox and the monstrous creature. Yet, contrary to Huli’s urging to run, he snatched a broken slate from the ground and, clutching it, charged toward the beast’s side.

He knew well he probably couldn’t defeat the monster, but he understood even more that running on human legs alone was utterly impossible here. The ruins and debris blocked every path, and the only open exit from the dilapidated temple was completely sealed by the creature’s massive body. In such a dire situation, reckless flight would only hasten death.

Better to grit his teeth and make a desperate strike. Though he couldn’t win, since he feared no death, he might at least claim some victory before dying—and if by chance he distracted the monster, perhaps Huli could break free from that dreadful binding. She was still barely holding onto her sanity; if there was any chance to free her, there might even be a shot at turning the tables...

All these thoughts flashed through Yu Sheng’s mind in an instant. He knew his reasoning was flawed, but with no other options, he steeled himself. His body erupted with a strength that even surprised him as he hurled the heavy slate like a cannonball at the flesh-and-blood monstrosity.

The next moment, he had no time to gauge the effectiveness of his blow. A terrifying warning surged from his heart; a second before the monster could retaliate, Yu Sheng leapt sharply aside.

A whip-like black shadow struck fiercely at the spot where he had stood—a serpent tail suddenly split from the monster’s body. Dirt and stone scattered as the sturdy slate and shattered bricks were pulverized to dust. Yu Sheng felt a powerful impact in midair, as if struck by bullets of gravel, the metallic clang of stone hitting stone ringing in his ears.

Ignoring the pain coursing through his body, Yu Sheng rolled swiftly upon landing, evading the pursuing tail. Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed Huli’s direction.

The silver-white fox struggled violently amid countless black spikes and bone shards. Around her tail blazed a flickering eerie blue flame, as if ready to explode at any second.

Yet she remained trapped—those bindings seemed tailor-made for her. Yu Sheng’s attempts to interfere had no effect.

In fact, Yu Sheng could tell at a glance that the fox was far stronger than himself, yet utterly powerless before the monster. Between them lay a stark mutual restraint.

But at the very beginning, on the open ground outside the ruined temple, she had recklessly charged over to “rescue” him—though the attempt failed, she truly had meant to help.

The memory flashed briefly. Gritting his teeth, Yu Sheng prepared to charge again, hoping to use the age-old gambit of risking his life to chip away at the monster’s flesh.

He didn’t know where the sudden surge of strength and healing in his body came from, but he recalled biting a chunk from the monster before these changes appeared.

Unsure if the two were connected, he had no other choice. Fearless of death, he would test all the bold guesses swirling in his mind.

“Stop worrying about me!” Huli’s voice came again. “It can’t kill... me or you—run, now!”

“It’s alright. It can’t kill me either,” Yu Sheng spat out a mouthful of blood, wounded when debris struck his chin. He glanced at the silver fox and smiled cheerfully, “I may die soon, but don’t worry—I’ll come back for you.”

Huli’s struggling faltered, confusion momentarily clouding her.

Yu Sheng said nothing in reply. He stepped forward toward the monster, his gait light and his smile growing broader.

That smile carried the joy of one heading to a feast.

---

“You like convincing people to eat, don’t you?” he murmured to the flesh-and-blood beast before him. “Well then, I’m coming to eat!”

He leapt like a starving wolf, lunging toward the monstrous banquet.

The creature’s dozens of eyes trembled violently. For the first time, within that chaotic, wild gaze flickered a trace of hesitation and... fear.

Its many giant mouths roared indistinctly, then several tentacle-like tails covered in black scales split from its body, striking upward at Yu Sheng.

He felt his body pierced—fatal wounds in unknown numbers. Life began to slip away, warm blood draining vitality.

But an indescribable hunger surged from his core. Ignoring pain and fear of death, he bit down on one of the tails impaling his abdomen, lips curling into a grim smile.

The monster emitted a strange, sharp howl and violently whipped the tail, attempting to shake off the deadly parasite clinging to its body.

Yet Yu Sheng held fast, refusing to release the tail no matter how violently it thrashed. He was slammed to the ground, crashing into a broken wall nearby. His resilient body suffered no injury from the deadly impact, instead sharpening his clarity amid the pain.

At that moment, the tail was raised again, swung toward a collapsing hole in the temple wall.

A strange golden light flashed at the edge of his vision.

Through the roaring wind at his ears, Yu Sheng struggled to lift his head and saw the golden glow rapidly approaching. Before he could discern what it was, he instinctively reached out to block.

His hand grasped something—a handle.

“...?”

A faint creaking sound mingled with the wind. A door suddenly appeared in his mind—a plain, ordinary door leading somewhere, somewhere...

As the thought formed, the door swung open.

In the next moment, Yu Sheng and the black-scaled tail plunged through the doorway, which slammed shut behind them with a deafening creak.

The monster’s tail was severed by the door’s sudden appearance and disappearance. A maddening, chaotic howl echoed through the valley, as if the wound drove it insane. The creature rampaged and roared amid the ruined temple, viciously gnawing on everything in sight—even its own body. After an unknown time, it gradually calmed, its form melting away into shadow and darkness, dissolving into the night.

The black spikes and bone shards vanished silently. The battered silver fox fell to the ground, motionless as if dead.

Minutes passed before Huli slowly opened her eyes. She looked around blankly, her golden-red gaze seeming to have lost all human spark.

After a while longer, her gaze fixed on a certain spot within the ruins.

---

It was the steps where she and her “benefactor” had sat before.

Dragging her massive fox body, she slowly moved there. Seeing scattered plastic bags and leftover rotten food beneath the steps, she lowered her head, emitting soft whimpers as she swallowed everything.

But she was still hungry.

That seductive voice seemed an unyielding demon, whispering deep within her hunger—

“Eat. You know where else there’s food to fill your belly...

“You buried them in the forest...

“Bones, flesh, and blood...

“Go, eat. Once you eat, you won’t be hungry...”

The fox hung her head low, crying softly. Then she curled beneath the steps, stretched her neck, and bit at nearby broken bricks and tiles. She dug through the earth and rotting wood beneath the ruins, stuffing it slowly into her mouth, gnawing on it again and again.

“I’m not hungry... I’m not hungry... Someone gave me food... He’ll bring me more soon... I’m not hungry...”

She gnawed on like that until, as in many years past, she slowly faded into unconsciousness.

---

The sensation of falling jolted Yu Sheng awake from his haze. His hand still tingled with the memory of gripping the door handle, but the next moment, he realized he had crossed some boundary.

Staring wide-eyed, he found himself lying by the roadside, familiar streetlights and utility poles in sight, along with the low, old houses lining Wutong Road.

Number 66 Wutong Road loomed ahead, its worn facade and gate standing in the faint dawn light.

He turned his head with effort and caught sight of the door’s fading silhouette. Beyond it, he could faintly see the valley cloaked by night, the ruined temple, and...

The white fox struggling to move within the ruins.

Yu Sheng reached out toward the white fox.

But before his fingertips could touch her, the last shadow vanished.