Chapter 128: Celestial God

It was the demon fox. It had actually come back! Apparently, it had not gone far at all. It had merely intended to use these two men to kill me, and only now, seeing its cub captured, had it risked rushing back.

Woodenhead had obviously spotted the demon fox as well. He quickly handed the little fox to Woods, snatched the dagger from Woods’s hand, and advanced toward the demon fox. Before he had even reached it, the dagger had already left his hand, shooting through the air with a sharp whistle. It was about to strike the fox demon, and I watched in terror. The speed and force of that attack made me reassess Woodenhead entirely.

The demon fox might have been guilty of countless evils, but no matter how many wrongs it had committed, I could not let it die. It still had a child. If it died, the little fox would certainly die as well.

There was no guarantee that its child would not grow into a good demon, just like Spirit, who had never taken a life. My master had warned me that all things possessed feelings. One must not kill indiscriminately, nor stand by while another died. I was just about to use my revolver to knock the dagger away when the demon fox suddenly vanished on the spot.

It seemed I had still underestimated its abilities. So long as it could evade the attack, that was enough!

For a long while, the demon fox did not appear. I wondered whether it had fled. But that made no sense. If it had intended to escape, why had it come back?

Woodenhead seemed to have anticipated that the strike would not injure the demon fox. The moment he threw the dagger, he had already hurried to Woods’s side. Yet, unexpectedly, the demon fox suddenly appeared behind Woods and swiftly climbed up his leg. Clearly, it intended to rescue its cub.

By then, Woodenhead had spotted it. He threw a punch, and his fist roared toward the demon fox. I no longer cared whether the blow would hurt Woodenhead himself.

The demon fox was about to die on the spot when, all at once, it extended its claws to meet Woodenhead’s fist. Unable to bear watching, I closed my eyes, afraid that the fox demon would perish then and there.

It was obvious that the demon fox had made this move to protect its child. It could still have escaped before the punch landed, but it had not fled.

All things truly did possess feelings. My master had been right.

A tremendous crash rang out. When I opened my eyes, I saw that the demon fox was still alive. It had actually caught that devastating punch with its tiny paws. Blood trickled from the corner of its mouth, and its slender forelegs trembled violently. It was clear how much strength it had needed to withstand that blow.

Seeing that the demon fox had been gravely wounded, Woodenhead reached out with his other hand, seized it, and lifted it into the air.

“Hahaha! Go on, run now! So this is the Blue-Eyed Demon Fox? You’re nothing special after all. Bah!”

Woodenhead spat onto the ground and beckoned to Woods before walking over to me.

I thought that this time, not even the gods could save me. If Woods acted, I might still have a chance of surviving. But if Woodenhead did it…

Before I could finish the thought, Woodenhead clenched his fist and brought it down toward the crown of my head. I was just about to fight back when a streak of white light shot across the air and struck his fist.

With a sharp crack, Woodenhead immediately withdrew his hand, bent over, and clutched his right arm, crying out in agony.

In the distance, a figure was rushing toward us at astonishing speed. The silhouette looked somewhat familiar.

It was Pomegranate!

What was he doing here at a time like this? That man really did appear and disappear without a trace.

A moment later, Pomegranate arrived before us.

“Foolish humans! You dared to steal my Heavenly Silkworm Divine Net!”

As he spoke, Pomegranate struck Woodenhead with a wave of force from his palm. A pillar of white light rapidly spread from his hand.

Woodenhead saw what was happening, took a step forward, and fled without even looking back. Perhaps he was moving too quickly, and perhaps his injured right hand could no longer hold on. The Blue-Eyed Demon Fox and its cub both fell from his arms.

Woodenhead turned back as if he wanted to retrieve the wounded fox, but when he saw Pomegranate, he hesitated before turning around and running away again.

Pomegranate had no intention of pursuing him. He came over to me and touched me with one finger. The divine net that had bound me for half a day quickly shrank into a thin cord, then slipped into the opening of his sleeve like a slender snake.

“I’m finally free! I thought I was going to suffocate in that wretched net. Pomegranate, what are you doing here?”

I stretched my limbs. The net had bound me so tightly that every joint in my body had become painfully stiff.

Pomegranate placed his palm against my chest. A warm current flowed into my body, and the discomfort vanished at once.

“These two humans took advantage of my distraction and stole my Heavenly Silkworm Divine Net. Fortunately, I discovered it in time. Otherwise, they might have caused a catastrophe!”

Pomegranate pointed toward the young man named Woods. Woods seemed to have been frightened senseless. He stared blankly at the two of us, then suddenly dropped to his knees.

“Great god, spare me! Great god, please spare me!”

His reaction left me bewildered. Why was he so terrified of Pomegranate?

Earlier, Pomegranate had called the two men humans. The men had also said that they had stolen the Heavenly Silkworm Divine Net while two divine beings were battling one another. Could it be that Pomegranate was a god?

“Pomegranate, are you…”

“That’s right. I am a god.”

Although I had already guessed as much, hearing Pomegranate admit it still shocked me somewhat. No wonder he had been able to release such overwhelming pressure at the Demon Spirit Cult last time!

“I was disrespectful!”

I hurriedly clasped my hands and bowed to Pomegranate. I had not known before, but now that I knew he was a god, how could I dare behave rudely toward him? Besides, he had already saved me from danger twice.

Pomegranate smiled and patted my shoulder.

“There is no need to stand on ceremony. You and I are connected by fate. From now on, you need not perform that ritual.”

With that, Pomegranate walked toward Woods, who was still kneeling on the ground. He raised his palm and was about to strike the top of Woods’s head when I hurriedly called out to stop him.

A single palm strike from a god—how could an ordinary mortal withstand it?

“Pomegranate, what are you doing?”

Pomegranate turned his head toward me.

“This human stole my treasure. I am merely going to punish him.”

“It is true that he stole your possession, but you have recovered it now. Besides, his crime does not deserve death. Please let him go!”

For some reason, I had actually begun pleading for a mortal. I did not know whether my words carried enough weight. Ever since meeting my master, the murderous fury in my heart seemed to have lessened considerably.

But I would never forget Xu Qinghuan’s death.

The High Priest had to die!

“Who said I was going to kill him? I only intended to turn him into an idiot.”

Pomegranate withdrew his hand and turned to face me.

“But that would still be unfair. Woodenhead was the one who came up with the idea. Justice demands that the guilty party be punished. You should punish Woodenhead instead.”

Pomegranate smiled.

“Fairness? Is there still such a thing as fairness in this world? Brother Li, you are far too naive. Since you insist on defending him, very well. I will do as you ask and spare him for now.”

Pomegranate had just turned to leave when he suddenly noticed the Blue-Eyed Demon Fox lying on the ground and let out a startled cry.