Jiāng Zǐyá.
You are too kind for your own good.
Not every soul can be saved. You have already saved so many.
Rest easy. We will take it from here.
Daji thrust her palm out, striking one of her would-be assailants in the chest and shoving him against a wall. She gripped his shirt and swung him around, hitting another person approaching her. With the brief window of opportunity, she bit into the man's face and tore out a chunk of flesh, grinning as the taste of blood reinvigorated her.
Perhaps she shouldn't have made a habit of devouring humans and gods, but the time for mercy had long passed. And in her defense, they came to her cave. Uninvited.
An assassin's ribbon shot at her. She allowed it to wrap around her, letting them pull her towards them, and met them with a kick to the ribs. With a claw, she sliced the ribbon, and brought her arm up in time to meet the sword of her next opponent.
Daji bit the blade and jerked her head, yanking the weapon out of their hands. Without pause, she avoided the person's follow-up attack by sweeping the floor with her legs, not only dodging but kicking up a cloud of dust and stones that blinded them.
By the time they blinked out the debris, all that met them was a sword to the face.
She gave the other assassin no rest, knocking a table over and kicking it forward, forcing two attackers more to get out of the way. She charged forward, unfazed by the knives, bullets, and arrows peppering her body. Not even the xiānimmortals could survive so many injuries that bled their divine blood dry.
But Daji was no mere xiān.
She reached the group of enemies still aiming at her and grinned.
And then, Daji screamed.
Fire burst out from her wounds, the very element that once tortured her now searing the assailants. Daji became a star, a demon spirit who could outshine the Jade Emperor himself. The explosion incinerated those closest to her, what those slightly more fortunate found themselves reeling on the ground.
She kicked away a screaming person, smacked away an axe with her right hand, yanked out a gun with her left. Daji wasted not a moment — she thrust to her left, delivered a flaming kick to someone in the temple, snapped an arm a few seconds later, and headbutted someone who tried to sneak up on her.
She truly fought like a wild animal.
Her fangs extended as the battlelust consumed her, xiān blood tinging the air with iron. She tore into a fallen xiān's neck, relishing as the divine flesh healed her wounds, sealing away the fire at last.
She spun with claws at the ready, waiting for the next attack, but only silence met her. Her attackers were panting and and bleeding out on the floor, if not outright dead. A few tried to get up but fell over, vomiting blood as the weight of their injuries set in. Immortals they may be, none could easily get back up after getting bitten by the JiǔwěihúNine-Tailed Fox.
She loomed over a still-conscious assailant. He glared at her with eyes clouded by blood and tears.
"Foul animal," he hissed. "They'll string your entrails across the stars for this."
She licked her lips. "Then I'll be sure to enjoy this meal."
Daji's form shimmered, and her face began shifting. Her tails fanned out behind her to impossible lengths, grabbing the bodies of the fallen xiān around the necks. She got on all fours as her fur clothes began merging into her body and slowly crawled towards the fallen.
"Get back!" he screamed, looking away. He tried to get up but stumbled — one of his legs had been broken by her explosion. "Get away from me!"
"Little xiān," cooed Daji. "Surely you must have known if you came to my home to kill me."
She took a claw and forced him to look at her — the once beautiful face of Su Dájǐ replaced with the terrifying visage of the Jiǔwěihú. Behind her, his comrades hung limp in the air, having been suffocated by the tails.
"No matter how long a fox lives, it will always be a fox."
Jiāng Zǐyá.
Humanity is a vengeful beast.
What will they think, when they suffered so much while all of our foes were forgiven?
They need an enemy to unite against. JiǔwěiNine-Tailed knew the risks associated with her role. She ended an empire in search of immortality.
Let us immortalize her in history then — the terrifying woman who ended the Shāng dynasty.
Flaming arrows whizzed past Daji, singeing the fur on her face. War drums thundered in the distance, chants of soldiers storming the palace grew louder. That mattered not to her.
She had to get to Xǐmèi.
Her sister's screams rang through the air. Daji gritted her teeth and ran forward, snarling as she snatched a halberd out of a dead soldier.
The weapon whirled, knocking down those that attempted to surround her, but their fallen bodies were a nuisance all the same, the corpse-laden floor impeding her advance. Frustrated by the lack of speed, she hurled the halberd, the heavy weapon skewering an unfortunate soul.
She blocked a spear with her left claw, grabbing the opponent and using him to shield against an arrow. With her right hand, she made a gesture.
"Flames of Samadhi," she recited. "Clear my way!"
She thrust her palm forward, and a pillar of mystic fire shot out. Men screamed as they dissolved, the flames devouring their souls, and she ran forward, tossing away the corpse and grabbing a sword.
In hindsight, perhaps this only sealed her fate — the fear she embedded in the hearts of Man as she rampaged through the Zhōu army. Armed with only mortal steel, she matched blow for blow with immortals and their legendary weapons. A woman that powerful could not be allowed to live, least of all in the soon-to-be Zhōu dynasty. To have given a woman so much control over administration could only lead to ruin, and a defined hierarchy needed to be clear: never again would another Daji be allowed to bring ruin to the people.
But for Daji, whose only thought was rescuing Hú Xǐmèi, she did not care what lesser men thought of her.
Her eyes glowed and flying immortals screamed, clutching their faces as their sight was replaced with visions of damnation and torture. She ran past them as they crashed into the ground, unable to maintain the focus needed to stay in the sky.
The blood in the air sapped at her concentration, but the gnawing sensation disappeared as quickly as it arrived once her sister screamed again. She didn't have time to waste on feeding when she had to get to Xǐmèi.
And if Daji wanted to present her case to Zǐyá and the other damn immortals, she was better off not feeding on human flesh while she was still a servant of the gods.
Her fur tingled. She brought up her sword in time to intercept a spear. She faced her opponent with a murderous gaze — it was the Third Prince. Hero of the Zhōu.
"Nézhā," she hissed. "Leave, little one, I don't have time to deal with you."
"Dare you look down on me?" retorted Nézhā, standing on his flaming wheels. "Die for your crimes, fox demon!"
Nézhā thrust his spear again while Daji parried away. She knocked his wheels away as they spun towards her, kicking them aside.
She blocked a punch with one arm and the spear with her other, but a third arm caught her off guard, hitting her in the gut, and another fist nailed her across the temple. She staggered at the force of the god before glaring at Nézhā. Instead of a little child, he had taken the form of a man with three faces and eight arms.
"Little brat!" sneered Daji, flaring her tails behind her. In the distance, she heard Xǐmèi scream again, fainter this time. "Don't think you're the only xiān with multiple limbs."
Nézhā charged at her again, but this time, she was ready. Each of his fists was met with a tail as solid as iron, each kick blocked with her own legs. Her sword whistled through the air it clashed against the Third Prince's innumerable treasures. Trying to flank the god with his three faces was impossible.
But it didn't mean he was invincible.
Her face morphed, becoming vulpine for just a second, but enough for her to take a bite out of Nézhā's main face. Stunned, he could offer no resistance as Daji gripped her sword with both arms and swung down, cutting off two of his arms.
Unbothered by the screaming god, she took his spear and skewered him into the ground. She knew he would not die — and though she did not know it at the time, the gods would allow Jiāng Zǐyá to resurrect the fallen gods anyway — she only needed to stop him from following her.
She ran towards the wails of her sister, and her stomach curled. Xǐmèi's human guise had been shattered, and her true form, a nine-headed pheasant, was pinned to the ground. Four of her heads had been skewered, unmoving, and the men holding her down were cheering on her executioner.
The Thunderbolt himself.
"Léizhènzǐ!" howled Daji. She raced towards the god, shedding any traces of her humanity and assuming her true form of the fox demon. He was only barely able to get his rod up in time before she slammed through the crowd surrounding her sister and knocked him aside. She assumed a defensive stance around Xǐmèi and glared at her attackers.
Léizhènzǐ stood back and glared at her. She could see the uncertainty and hate in his eyes through his mask.
"N-kʷəәʔ-s gʷˤa,"1 he muttered. "ŋˤaŋ s<r>at naʔ."2
Daji bared her teeth in response. "Just try it, you useless bird."
She assumed her mortal shell again. Gently, she took off her robes and laid them on Xǐmèi's body, taking care to cover as much of her sister's body as possible. She pointed a finger at Léizhènzǐ.
"Come then, Thunderbolt."
To the mortal army watching, it was as though they were staring at a painting — two unmoving figures. An imposing masked warrior, the Thunderbolt himself, whose celestial rod could shatter mountains. And facing him was Daji, that terrifying, beautiful, nude goddess who had rended their known world asunder.
After an infinitely long second, the two leapt at one another.
She drew first blood, a scratch of her claws that tore through his scaled skin. Unperturbed, he kicked her aside and slammed down his rod. She twirled out of it easily but grimly noted how the raw force of the blow cratered the earth.
Having left behind her mystical fur to protect Xǐmèi, she doubted she could survive one of his hits.
Léizhènzǐ did not let up, running up to her and thrusting the rod at her head. Daji was no fool to try and take the weapon head-on, opting instead to duck under it and land a clean slash on his chest.
Though his armor protected him from the worst of the blows, the strength of the foxqueen made itself clear at how easily the metal was cut through. Unfortunately for her, the fight would not be concluded so easily.
Nézhā came flying in - bloodied and missing some limbs, but absolutely murderous.
"I hope you enjoyed that bite," he growled. "Tonight, I'll repay the favor with fox and pheasant stew."
"Big words for a little boy," sneered Daji. "Are you sure you're not still teething on those wheels of yours?"
"Then perhaps you'll find a proper challenge in me, húlijīngfox spirit."
Daji looked up, and her heart sank at the sight of a man in front of the entire Chan heavenly host. She could handle one Zhōu hero. Two was still manageable.
But three heroes, and the loathsome, peerless Èrláng Shén at that. Even Daji had her limits.
She felt a wing on her. She looked at Xǐmèi, who rested her remaining good heads on the ground.
"Don't worry about me. Go and find Nüwa. She will surely explain to them."
Daji gritted her teeth. She hadn't the heart to tell her sister that the goddess had abandoned them to their fates, that they would never see Wáng Guìrén again. For the gods had chosen them to be their ultimate scapegoats. Monsters that would unite mortals and immortals alike in their hatred.
Unable to answer, she could only scream as the three attacked.
Jiāng Zǐyá.
Perhaps I have been mistaken. You are not fit to lead Yùxū Palace and its immortals.
You would damn millions to eternal conflict for the sake of one soul. I had believed you knew how to see the bigger picture, that you had the vision to govern the world in harmony.
Léizhènzǐ. Remove them from my sight.
"Double cheeseburger. Large meal." Daji paused for a moment. "Please."
The worker nodded. "That'll be 23 dollars and 76 cents. Will that be cash or card, ma'am?"
"Hang on," muttered the foxqueen. She took out her coin purse, measured out the total, and cursed quietly. She didn't have a penny to make a clean purchase.
"Don't worry about it, ma'am," the worker said, having noticed the issue. "The manager won't care about a missing penny… probably."
Daji flashed her a grateful smile and handed over the exact amount in quarters. She picked up the receipt and walked over to her table.
After the effort expended earlier in getting rid of the assassins, she deserved to treat herself.
They were foxhunters, assuredly, but to what sect they belonged to, she didn't know.
Her meal arrived sooner than expected, though she noted how the restaurant was mostly empty. She had spent most of the day cleaning up the mess in her house. Not to mention all the hours spent grooming her fur and throwing out her broken furniture…
She winced, thinking of her little fireball that had obliterated her table and chairs. No amount of illusions could convince herself that she would be sitting on anything but rocks for the foreseeable future.
"Perhaps I should learn how to cut wood," she muttered. The sooner she could become independent, the less she needed to enter hubs of public activity. Except in the case of luxury, like her food.
The door opened, and a man walked in. He spoke with the worker at the counter for several seconds, got his receipt, and took a seat. Right next to Daji.
"Mankind proposes, but Heaven disposes," he said, sighing. "How we must toil so much, yet in the end, our efforts are meaningless to those who have power over us."
Daji said nothing, dipping her fries in honey mustard.
The man continued. "We who are at the whim of overlords, doomed to be scapegoated and cast away at a moment's notice. Why should our sincerity be repaid with indignity?"
She closed her eyes, marveling at the burst of flavor in the burger. A bite of food got lodged in her throat, forcing her to drink some soda to wash it down.
"Wouldn't you agree, JiǔwěihúNine-Tailed Fox?"
Daji's eyes stayed closed. She took another sip of soda before gently setting down her drink. With a quiet sigh, she finished off her meal without exchanging a word with the man.
She got up to leave but he placed a hand on her arm. "A moment of your time, Daji."
Her left eye twitched, and she looked at him properly. He wore a large hat, sunglasses, and a facemask with a dragon and white tiger design on it.
The White Tiger was a sign of the West. Along with the dragon…
"Áo Rùn," said Daji. Her eyes narrowed. "If you want to keep your hand, then I suggest you release me and forget we ever met."
She could see his smile from behind his mask. "So it is you!" he exclaimed. "I must confess, I heard the rumors, but it pales in comparison to seeing you in the flesh."
"Last chance before I gouge your eyes out," she growled, and her nails extended to claws. "What will it be, xiǎolónglittle dragon?"
The smile lines disappeared from his face, and he let go. "So be it then. But before you leave, a warning, old fox."
He pointed at his receipt. "Don't you think it's odd for a restaurant to be this empty, and yet I have not received my food?"
"Get to the point?" snapped Daji.
"The answer is simple." He took off his mask, and she could see his all-too-white teeth, lips curled back into a smile.
"You reek, jiǔwěihú." She watched as his tongue, unnaturally long and forked, licked his lips. "You reek of blood, and death, and hate. You do not belong here, with how unnatural you feel, and the humans, they can sense it. They want you gone, and they want me here as long as possible to bother you until you leave."
"Then why," she snarled. "Are you wasting my time here?"
Áo Rùn grinned. "Because I have no interest in giving humans what they want."
Instinct screamed at Daji, and she ducked just as the Dragon King shot out a powerful shot of water from his mouth, blasting a hole through the wall.
She heard the panic and screams of mortals and gritted her teeth as she watched Áo Rùn laugh and fly into the sky.
"You should have stayed dead, foxqueen!" howled the dragon. Daji braced herself and locked her arms just in time to match the Dragon King in his true, massive form smashing down on her. Although it barely injured her, the restaurant around them was completely destroyed.
Daji's fangs and claws extended, and she bit down on Áo Rùn's left hand, ripping it off easily. He aimed another water beam at her, but she ran up his back and stomped his head down with enough force to knock out a tooth.
"Idiot," she hissed. She took another bite of him, savoring the dragon blood and flesh. "What are you doing?"
"They didn't believe me!" laughed the dragon beneath her foot. "But now they'll have to believe me! I warned them that you would return, that you did return, but no one wanted to accept it! They wanted to consign you to a memory, forget that you ever existed. They wanted-"
"Shut up." She punched into his eye and ripped it out of his skull. Another punch, and she got to his brains.
And the dragon spoke no more.
Around her were the screams and chatter of humans. Daji gritted her teeth again. Too much attention. The authorities would be here soon. Or worse, the Jailors.
Already, she could see mortals stopping by and taking pictures. Soon, she would be all over the news. Perhaps this was the last time she would ever step into human civilization.
But those were concerns of the future, and Daji, as she weaved a massive illusion to disorient the mortals, knowing fully well that they did nothing to their cameras and phones, only cared about getting away now.
A few minutes after she had left, a man stepped out of a nearby cafe. He looked at the body of
Áo Rùn and sighed. He picked up his walkie-talkie.
"Break's over, guys, we have a dragon corpse to cover up."