My Evil Wife Is a Nine-Tailed Fox

It was just the first day of work for Zhao Yichen, but he didn't expect to feel exhausted so soon. The clock indicated that there was still an hour left before it was time to clock out. However, considering how many files and reports that needed to be reviewed by him were on his desk, there was no doubt that he wouldn't be able to finish everything today. 

At least, Assistant Han was ready to help him with his tasks for today, making sure the files were sorted out based on urgency and importance. 

After being idle for weeks, this was the first time that Zhao Yichen had been busy with something else aside from worrying about Shen Minyao's whereabouts. It was enough to keep him preoccupied, from overthinking things. 

He continued to work, while Xiao Bai left his office to wander around and make sure there was no demon nearby. Yu Yan chose to stare at the nothingness outside the window, but upon seeing her eyes glowing, Zhao Yichen figured she was also surveying the area, like Xiao Bai. 

Yu Yan was the stark contrast of Xiao Bai. She was silent and gentle, but she knew when to take action. She was also very caring towards Zhao Yichen, something that he didn't observe from the white cat. 

It seemed that the white cat guardian preferred the fox woman's company to his, but that was fine with Zhao Yichen. With Xiao Bai's chatty personality, Zhao Yichen was afraid that he might say things that he shouldn't. 

When Xiao Bai came back, he went to curl on the couch and dozed off, which surprised neither Zhao Yichen nor Yu Yan. 

"There are so many demons and wandering spirits outside." Zhao Yichen heard Yu Yan say. 

"I'm not hearing about the spirits, but it's hard to believe that humans weren't the only ones who live in this city," Zhao Yichen admitted. 

"That's because humans like you won't readily believe that demons indeed exist." 

"That's true. If I hadn't met your mistress that fateful night, I wouldn't believe that demons are among us." 

"But, Milord, you have to be careful. I sense great demonic energy five hundred meters from where we are." The black cat warned him. 

"Do you know what kind of demon it is?" 

Yu Yan shook her head in response. It was hard for her to know the kind of demon it was based on their spiritual presence alone. If Shen Minyao were here, perhaps the fox woman would be able to identify that powerful demon Yu Yan sensed earlier. 

Zhao Yichen hummed and placed down his pen on his desk before twining his fingers together. With the continuous attacks launched by demons these days, he wondered if there was something bigger that humans were about to face. Shen Minyao wasn't telling him anything, but he could vaguely sense something was happening on the side of the demons… as if there was a conflict he had yet to discover. 

"Do not fret, Milord. So long as you stay away from that demon, your life won't be in danger." Yu Yan's voice reached his ears, but oddly, this time, it wasn't able to calm his nerves. 

Zhao Yichen felt something was wrong, but he couldn't pinpoint what it was. If only the fox woman could confide to him about what was happening, he could better understand the situation. Alas, asking Shen Minyao to explain things wasn't something Zhao Yichen deemed to be fruitful, given how she reacted the last time they had a heated argument about Yulan. 

Finally, the working hours were done, allowing Zhao Yichen to relax in his seat. By then, Assistant Han collated the files that he managed to finish on time. Tomorrow, another set of paperwork was waiting for him to be worked on, and Zhao Yichen wasn't looking forward to it. 

"Director Zhao, would you be able to join us tonight? We are planning to give you a welcome party." Zhao Yichen's new secretary emerged from the door and beamed a wide smile at him. 

"Well…" Zhao Yichen hesitated. Yu Yan had warned him about the demons in the vicinity. On the other hand, he should not distance himself from his colleagues, or else they might suspect him of something. 

"Please?" His secretary persisted. 

Zhao Yichen glanced at the two cat guardians who were seated next to each other on the couch, looking at him blankly. 

"You can go," Xiao Bai said. 

"En. We are with you, but I suggest that you don't stay out late tonight—just to be sure," Yu Yan agreed with her partner.

"Fine." He conceded, facing his secretary. "But only this time. I don't want any of you getting drunk tonight, or it might affect your performance at work tomorrow." 

"Great! I will inform the others, then." The woman hurriedly left his office in glee. 

An hour later, Zhao Yichen found himself inside a private booth of a popular club in Jiang City. His subordinates were having a good time, talking and drinking together. He politely answered all of their questions and grew relieved when he noticed something. None of them was aware of the kidnapping that happened to him as soon as he came back from abroad. 

Perhaps, the Zhao family was keeping it a secret. If other people knew that there was a feud inside the Zhao family, someone might take advantage of it and use it to snatch the company from the Zhao family. 

"It must be nice living and studying in a foreign place. I'm envious of you, Director Zhao," one of them commented. 

"I would rather live and study here. The places might be nice overseas, but I suffered from severe homesickness when I was living there," Zhao Yichen replied with a small smile. People might envy him, but they had no idea about the kind of problems he was dealing with privately. He briefly wondered if being oblivious to the truth was better than facing the dangers it brought every single day. 

"Well, didn't that man from the finance department also studied abroad? He only came back three months ago, and now, he's dead." Another one of his subordinates raised the issue that Zhao Yichen had heard last weekend. 

Xiao Bai and Yu Yan were now seated on top of the table. They were next to Zhao Yichen, listening to the humans' conversation. They eyed each other and nodded, not hinting Zhao Yichen anything about what they were even thinking. 

"Indeed." Assistant Han, who was seated next to Zhao Yichen, nodded. "It's truly a pity that he suddenly died. I heard that his manager was considering giving him a promotion before his death." 

Others nodded their heads in agreement. Right now, the smiles on their faces had vanished and been replaced with curiosity. 

"Do you think that woman he'd taken home last time was the killer? Police have been looking around for that woman, but they couldn't seem to identify her and find her whereabouts." 

"Urgh, don't speak anymore. Just the thought of how the police found him dead in his apartment is horrifying enough." 

The office worker that they were talking about was one of the victims in the series of deaths the news reported recently. Apparently, this young man met an extremely seductive woman during one of the night outs he had with his colleagues.

The young man was found splayed naked on his bed, his skin shrunk and clung to his bones. All the while, his muscles, internal organs, and eyeballs were found missing. He was the third victim of the said woman preying on young professional males working in the business district of Jiang City. 

"Can you sense that demon around?" Zhao Yichen asked in a low voice, aware that the two cats would be able to hear him clearly nevertheless. 

"En, but not so close. She might be able to sense Yu Yan's and my barrier, but she isn't doing anything to step inside the territory," Xiao Bai answered. 

Zhao Yichen fell silent at that. If that was the case, he and his colleagues at work should be better off not meeting like this in the meantime… for their safety. He also needed to stay away from places like this, in hopes that whoever that demon was wouldn't come after him while Shen Minyao wasn't around. 

Their small party finally ended, much to Zhao Yichen's relief. As he sat in the backseat of the car, the cats started talking.

"A woman and a blood-sucking demon at that. Why do I feel like we already encountered something like this in the past?" Xiao Bai asked his partner. 

"You don't remember Consort Yan? Wasn't she also a demoness who joined the harem before Milady did?" Yu Yan replied. 

"Oh! Now, I remember! Humans had grown terrified when maids and guards started disappearing in her courtyard one by one.. If Milady hadn't shown up and killed the demoness herself, the whole imperial harem would be fed on by her." 

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