"What?!" The grim reaper was surprised when an invisible force hit him, constricting his torso tightly while forbidding him to use his sword to break free. He struggled to loosen the hold, but even with his remarkable strength as a grim reaper, he couldn't escape from his constraints.

"What's happening? What is it?" He asked Shen Minyao whose smile wiped off from her pretty face.

"It's a black spider thread this time." She informed him. It was obvious that this thread was stronger and thicker than the silver spider thread they cut earlier.

Xiao Bai, who had been watching the interaction between the two in silence, decided to join their conversation. He'd only been away from his mistress for two weeks, but why did he feel like he missed a lot of things between the two. Since when did they become amiable to each other?

"Lord Hell, you better not resist too much, or it would constrict tight enough to crush you." Xiao Bai's words stopped Mu Qing from moving too much.

"And?" Mu Qing arched a brow and glared at Shen Minyao. "So what if it was a black spider thread?"

"Ah, I see. You don't really don't know much about spider demons." Shen Minyao was reminded of his questions earlier. "They can use three kinds of spider webs. The first one is the most common, the one we've seen earlier. The second one is the black thread which is stronger than the first one. The spider demons also use this to bind their targets into puppets."

That sounded bad in Mu Qing's opinion if Shen Minyao put it that way. As if proving his assumption, the black thread around him loosened its hold and attached itself to different parts of his body, forcing him to step away from Shen Minyao and Xiao Bai.

"Crap." He hissed as he realized what was happening. The spider demon had successfully controlled him. He couldn't move his body at will at all! His arms and legs moved on their own, assuming a fighting stance in front of Shen Minyao.

"Mu Qing, you fool! What were you thinking by walking ahead of me?" Shen Minyao narrowed her eyes at Mu Qing. This was why she insisted on going first earlier! If Mu Qing had remained behind her, he wouldn't have fallen into the spider demon's trap. historical

Xiao Bai jumped from her shoulder, intending to keep himself safe. Even though he knew that the grim reaper was being manipulated, one hit of his sword could injure him and Shen Minyao.

Insidious laughter resounded from somewhere, giving away the spider demon's proximity to the fox woman.

"Oh? You'd rather see us kill each other than fight us yourself?" Shen Minyao snorted, which was so unladylike of her. "I can't wait to see you die as I step on your filthy body, eight-legged monkey."

The spider demon chuckled darkly. "Why would I waste my energy fighting you when I got a better doll to defeat you, fox?"

That caught Mu Qing's attention. Did it say Shen Minyao was a fox? As in fox demon?

However, weren't the fox demons rare to find these days? There weren't many fox demons because most of them were easily killed by humans even before they reached their first one hundred years. They were hunted and had the tendency to fail breaking through and attaining a perfect human form.

He gave Shen Minyao a good look. If she was really a fox demon, she should have a part that was distinctly belonging to the fox demons. However, there was none. Everything about her looks and scent screamed 'human', except when she willingly transformed into her demon form with sharp long claws and beautiful, silky white hair.

"You speak too much, spider. Wait for me to slash your disgusting mouth myself." Shen Minyao sneered as she blocked the first assault coming from Mu Qing. He could only watch helplessly as the spider demon forced his body to move and attack Shen Minyao.

"Lord Hell, if I accidentally ruined your pretty face, you wouldn't blame me, right?" The fox woman said as she used her fan to deflect the blade of his sword.

"You dare?" He glared at her. There was no hope for this demoness, he thought. Shen Minyao didn't know how to read the atmosphere between them. How could she say that so casually, while he was being manipulated by that spider demon?

"Calm down, you already lost one of your eyes. Why would I want to add more flaws to your face?" She chuckled in response, forcing the grim reaper to step back from her. This proximity between them was starting to bother her. She never liked anyone getting too close to her, except her human ward.

"I didn't know you were concerned about me." He grumbled. "But can you please release me from these binds already? It's starting to get painful."

Because he was trying to fight the binds forcing him to attack Shen Minyao, the black threads on his body were starting to dig painfully against his skin.

"Say it like you mean it." Shen Minyao laughed and stepped to her right, dodging the blade attempting to cut her head clean.

"Shen Minyao!" The grim reaper felt like this demon was testing his patience today. Were all fox demons as irritating as her?

Even Xiao Bai sweat-dropped because of his mistress's attitude. She could easily free Lord Hell, but why was she wasting time fighting against him like this?

"Aiya? You wanted to die by my hands?" The fox woman's expression was one filled with amusement. "You should have told me earlier."

She then unfolded her fan and swished it midair, summoning her wind blades to cut the black threads on Mu Qing's body before her eyes flashed with the brightest golden color. Bursting into a sprint, she followed the black threads summoned back by the spider demon.

Sensing her intention, Mu Qing and Xiao Bai followed her.