historical

Shen Minyao glanced around. She could sense several demons of the same rank as her hiding in the darkness. By now, the drizzle had finally stopped, but neither the fox woman nor her brother was soaking wet—not even damp or moist.

"Don't worry about them. They are my people," Qin Zhi said as if he knew what was going on in her mind.

"And I am the wanted nine-tailed fox everyone is wary about. Are you sure they won't betray you?" Shen Minyao challenged.

"They swore absolute allegiance to me. If they dare to betray me, a single word or thought was enough to kill them on the spot," her brother replied nonchalantly.

Shen Minyao chuckled, sensing the disturbance caused by her brother's reminder to other demons.

.

"How frightening~" she sang out, "but I like it."

Ruthless, but it would sure save her brother some headaches in the future. It was good that he knew how to deal with his subordinates. Unlike her who used her enchantment spell to force other demons and humans to do her bidding, Qin Zhi's way was still gentle in comparison.

"Stop spouting nonsense. Don't tell me you are bored, so you decided to come along?"

"Elder Brother knows me well." Shen Minyao grinned. "I have enough of wasting time, studying human relations and their ways."

"It's important that you study well if you are planning to live with these humans. Be careful not to make them suspicious of you," Qin Zhi reminded her.

"Ah, you are worrying too much, dear brother. I can simply alter their memory if that happens."

"You can do such a thing now?" The man, walking alongside her, raised a slender brow.

"I might not have recovered fully, but I am able to do a few things now. Of course, there are still some side effects later."

Qin Zhi nodded, but he didn't say more. Such ability was even rare for high-ranking demons like them. To alter and remove someone's memories was a dangerous spell a demon could cast on others. One would need high willpower and magic to successfully pull off such an intricate yet deadly skill.

For Shen Minyao to be able to use such a spell, Qin Zhi wasn't certain what kind of side effects she was talking about. He might need to speak about this later with his sister's guardians.

"Do you usually do ocular inspections like this on your own?" Shen Minyao asked as she noticed some traces of demonic activity around the area.

"No. My people have already cleared the scene to make sure no humans would be able to witness our activity," Qin Zhi replied.

"Then, you finish the demons by taking their orbs on your own?"

The elder fox demon hummed and said no more. There were things that needed not to be voiced out, as they understood each other's silence well. As such, the two fox demons just proceeded to check the school premises to see if the traces could lead them to where the demon was hiding.

Half an hour later, the two siblings met in the front yard of the school.

"What do you think?" Qin Zhi asked as they stared at the dark kindergarten that was usually filled with energy and joy during the daytime.

"It's hard to tell what kind of demon it is." Shen Minyao shrugged, "But I can think of a couple of demons that feed on toddlers and young children."

Many demons like to feed on infants' and children's livers and life energy, due to the fact that their essences were pure and untainted by human frailties. Shen Minyao could only surmise that this demon was able to infiltrate the school premises by posing as a staff to take care of children.

A demon needed sufficient time to imprint themselves on their human prey, but this depended on how strong the demon was. For instances, Shen Minyao and Qin Zhi were able to imprint a small part of their energy on Zhao Yichen and Feng Jiu—when she was still alive—to find out their whereabouts and sense if they were in danger.

This was also the same method that flower fairy did on Gu Liuxian, which allowed Yulan to sense Shen Minyao's presence when she visited Zhao Yichen's home before.

"Then, we should see and check the conditions of the victims. Who knows, whoever that demon is, it will show up to drain the children's life essences," Qin Zhi suggested.

"Very well." The fox woman easily yielded to her brother's suggestion. "But I will not run to the hospital this time."

Hey, Qin Zhi could have picked her up from the Shen Estate, but he made her run to this location without offering a ride!

Qin Zhi scoffed and motioned to his people to prepare the car. His sister might be a hundred years in age, but sometimes, he thought that she was acting like a spoiled teenage woman.

As they sat in the backseat of the car Qin Zhi brought in, Shen Minyao couldn't help but look at the high buildings and flashy billboards along the way. Human lives surely evolved a lot from the last time she mingled along with their kind centuries ago.

There was no more war, and if there was, it was for the same reason as those of their ancestors. The resources and wealth could be obtained through righteous and humanitarian reasons; this was still ingrained deeply amongst the humans.

Yet that human.. even though he was subjected to torture and suffered grievances, she couldn't understand why he was able to keep his soul unmarred.

"What are you thinking about?" Qin Zhi suddenly asked, breaking the silence between them.

"Nothing important," Shen Minyao replied as she rested her chin at the back of her hand. "Just curious as to what kind of demon we are dealing with."

Qin Zhi eyed her from the corner of his eyes. It didn't matter if she wouldn't tell him; one way or another, he would find out what bothered her.