Chapter Nine: The Transformation of the Shadow Bone

After running along the muddy road for a while, Xu Wenshan’s pace gradually slowed. He glanced back but saw no sign of the temple maiden. He eased his speed, continuing forward at a brisk walk. By the pale moonlight, Xu Wenshan suddenly noticed a figure standing in the middle of the road ahead. His heart tightened; whoever lingered outside at this hour was unlikely to be of good character.

Approaching a little closer, he saw clearly—it was indeed the temple maiden. Xu Wenshan spun around and took off in the opposite direction.

He repeated this back-and-forth two or three times before realizing the effort was futile. No matter which way he ran, the temple maiden always managed to get ahead of him, waiting on the road before him every time.

Panting heavily, clutching his stomach, Xu Wenshan finally slumped down by the roadside. Even though his body was in fairly good shape from training, he could not endure such exertion.

Seeing him give up the chase, Lu Ze approached slowly and said, “Young Master Xu, you need not be afraid. You possess the innate Yin Bone, a rare gift. Becoming a demon will not bring you any pain.”

Innate Yin Bone? This was the second time he’d heard those words. The first had been during a conversation with a Taoist, who had changed the subject before Xu Wenshan could pursue it. Now, the phrase returned again.

“What is the innate Yin Bone?” Xu Wenshan asked.

“It is the highest talent among demon cultivators,” the temple maiden replied.

Demon cultivator? Xu Wenshan was at a loss. It seemed he still understood little of this world.

Regret now, however, came too late.

The temple maiden reached his side, gently placing a hand on his abdomen. She smiled lightly. “The demon power of the wine bug has already dissolved within you—it’s taken up residence. Truly worthy of the Yin Bone.”

She proceeded to tap several acupoints on his body. Xu Wenshan’s limbs instantly turned to jelly—he could only watch helplessly as she began her ritual.

She closed her eyes, murmuring, “Lu Ze, no pain, Lu Ze, no pain.” Her face twisted with agony, and from her mouth she spat out a luminous pearl.

The pearl floated upward, hovering in the air like a tiny, translucent moon, radiating dazzling light.

Xu Wenshan stared at it, swallowing hard.

Looking pale, the temple maiden wiped sweat from her brow. “This is my life’s blood essence.”

After a pause, she continued, “With this, I’ll catalyze your Yin Bone so it matures swiftly. Then, you can become a demon.”

Now Xu Wenshan understood: the temple maiden meant him no harm—she simply wished to transform him so they could be together.

Her intentions might be good, but she had never asked his opinion! Whether ambushing him at night or turning him into a demon, she never once consulted him. This lack of agency wounded Xu Wenshan deeply.

“Wait a moment, my friend,” he said, raising a hand to stop her. “You say you want to be with me, so you wish to turn me into a demon, yes?”

Lu Ze nodded. “That’s right.”

“Let’s consider this: you want to be with me, not the other way around. So why should I change? Why not become human yourself?”

Lu Ze looked stunned, as if she had never encountered anyone bargaining with a demon before. “Lu Ze cannot become human…”

Xu Wenshan seized the opening. “Since you can’t become human, you want me to sacrifice myself, to become a demon. Have you no conscience? Did you ever consider how I might feel?”

Lu Ze opened her mouth but no words came.

Shamelessly, Xu Wenshan pressed on. “Let’s put it this way—you love me, don’t you?”

He knew full well how brazen this was. Having uttered the words, he felt like a scoundrel, irredeemably so.

Lu Ze’s face flushed crimson. After a long hesitation, she murmured, “Lu Ze… does love you.”

She emphasized her own name as she spoke.

Xu Wenshan, undeterred, continued, “Liking someone is wanton, but loving is restraint. Liking is to take, but loving is to sacrifice. Since you love me, the one who should change, the one who should make sacrifices, is you—not me.”

He concluded his shameless speech with, “After all, it’s you who loves me. What’s that got to do with me?”

Having delivered this scoundrel’s manifesto, even Xu Wenshan felt a twinge of shame. If not for his thick skin, Lu Ze would surely have seen him blush.

Yet, as self-serving as his words were, Xu Wenshan could offer himself some defense. In his youth, he had believed that holding hands was a promise, but now, after years in the city and approaching thirty, he was a seasoned old hand. Physical intimacy, he thought, was no longer a pledge—just a form of deep communication, like how Naruto and Sasuke could only bare their hearts after a brawl… Wait, what was he even thinking?

Suddenly, without warning, Lu Ze began to cry.

“But Lu Ze loves you so much. Can you really bear to let her be alone? You’re colder than the serpent folk…”

Xu Wenshan panicked, fumbling for words. “Uh… I mean, we could spend some time together first, you know… start with Plato and move on to Ximen Qing…”

Perhaps his awkward comfort worked, for Lu Ze wiped her tears and nodded, as if speaking to herself: “Mmm. Before I came, I’d already decided. I’d make sure you and Lu Ze were together. If Young Master Xu is willing, that’s best. If not, so be it—I won’t care anymore.”

She cupped the luminous pearl in her hands, chanting softly. The pearl began to spin rapidly, its brilliance making Xu Wenshan’s heart pound with anxiety.

His bones crackled; as he stared at the pearl in Lu Ze’s hands, a strange excitement crept over him, as if a million invading ants were crawling through his mind and burrowing into his core.

Yet something about his transformation differed from the method the great demon had taught Lu Ze. She, however, noticed nothing amiss.

His bones now revealed what it meant to possess the Yin Bone—greedily absorbing the demon energy from her life’s blood essence, with no trace of rejection.

Cold. Xu Wenshan felt only bone-deep cold, as if he had swallowed an iceberg and his organs had frozen into iron.

He quickly lost consciousness.

Lu Ze watched, helpless, as Xu Wenshan’s transformation took its course. She muttered, “Why is it different from what I was told?”

The changes in Xu Wenshan’s body were certainly not normal for demonification. At the rate he was absorbing Yin energy, his mortal body would collapse before he could become a demon, and his soul would be scattered.

Lu Ze could not accept that outcome.

To save Xu Wenshan, she had only two options: either purge the excess Yin energy from within him, or hasten his transformation. In this critical moment, she could think of no way to speed up his demonification.

To expel the Yin energy, she had only two choices—erase Xu Wenshan’s soul, making him her thrall; or become his thrall herself, absorbing the Yin energy for him.

The former would reduce him to a mindless monster; the latter would bind her to him forever as his slave.

And, it would make Xu Wenshan into a legendary demon cultivator.

Lu Ze gazed at the unconscious Xu Wenshan, biting her lower lip so hard she nearly drew blood.