My Evil Wife Is a Nine-Tailed Fox

Chapter 17 - Soulless Creature (1)

The scent of death and despair within the ICU was so strong; it almost made Shen Minyao back out from what she intended to do. It wasn't like she disliked this scent, but it surely attracted creatures tempted by the negative life force accumulating around the place. She disliked being surrounded by fellow demons because it only brought her trouble. 

'So much for deciding to keep a low profile…' 

"Should we go back, or do you want to proceed, milady?" Xiao Bai asked, knowing the dangers these demons posed to them. It wasn't like he wasn't capable of protecting Shen Minyao, but they had no idea what they were dealing with right now. 

Several mid-level demons were haunting the place, but none of them were able to enter the room where Zhao Yichen was. Yu Yan was strong enough to claim her territory, not allowing anyone to get close to the fox woman's human contractor. 

The light in the hallway flickered, and the nurses on duty stopped whatever they were doing, wondering if there was another power shortage again. It wasn't the first time it happened anyway, and so they didn't suspect anything was wrong. They were more concerned about the power outage as the ICU had patients that relied on the machines attached to them to keep them alive. 

With Xiao Bai's concealing enchantment, not only were they invisible to the CCTVs, but they also remained unnoticed by the humans that come and go. They were oblivious of the danger looming around them if they continued to stay within the ICU. Sooner or later, these nurses would eventually fall sick one by one without knowing what had hit them. 

"We're already here. Don't tell me you're afraid, Xiao Pang?" The fox woman scoffed.

A vein almost popped in the white cat's head. 

"Who are you calling fatty here?" This woman only knew how to annoy people around her. It was no wonder many humans and demons alike hated her in her past life! 

"Who else but you? Why would I call myself a fatty?" Shen Minyao said in return. 

Shrugging off the angry cat, Shen Minyao had to think of ways to reach the room where Zhao Yichen was without taking the attention of the demons haunting the place. Like Yu Yan, Xiao Bai's spiritual presence wasn't easily ignored by the lower demons. 

Amongst the supernatural entities inside the ICU, something piqued the fox woman's curiosity. It was something she never expected to encounter in her second life as a human. Inside one of the ICU rooms was a ghost-like figure that was almost like a black smoke hovering over one of the patients in a vegetative state. 

It appeared as a sinister, spectral figure robed in darkness. It had no facial features or appendages, except for its glowing red eyes.

This entity wasn't particularly a demon but acted like one. It was one of the most annoying creatures the fox woman encountered so far. The other demons obviously stay out of its way, just like how they avoid Yu Yan who was currently protecting Zhao Yichen. 

"Can't this day get any better?" Shen Minyao groaned upon realizing what it was.

In the shadows of the night, a creature emerged. The temperature dropped, the atmosphere darkened, and an eerie chill descended over the place. It was then followed by an overwhelming feeling of despair and hatred. This only meant that a wraith1 was nearby.

First, they encountered a rotten blade that possessed humans to be able to feed on infants; now, they needed to deal with a Wraith? The fox woman had encountered one of these creatures in her past life once, and she knew that this creature was almost invincible and had only a few weaknesses… aside from sunlight. She didn't forget that it could only be defeated by a holy presence. 

It was rare to find these creatures here as locals of this country had forbidden the practice of black magic and alchemy for hundreds of years. That's why there hadn't been a lot of sightings of these creatures until today. Perhaps humans in this era held grudges and hatred more compared to their ancestors who were wise enough to let it go. 

"The man is obviously half-dead, but why does his spirit immediately turn into a wraith?" Xiao Bai commented, which made the fox woman aware of the situation. 

"Did he have such intense hatred and anger that he couldn't let go even in death? How foolish," the fox woman said, "Imagine being angered to death by your enemy, only for your soul to turn into a wraith. Humans surely knew how to ruin themselves. He rather chose to hold onto that anger than allow himself to move on to the Underworld and be judged for his soul's reincarnation." 

Wraiths were known to be human in their past lives before they turned into these nefarious, soulless creatures that only feel devastating emotions like hatred and despair. The fox woman knew there could only be two scenarios why a human spirit would turn into a wraith. 

One, the old man lying on the bed had been practicing black magic. He tried to defy the law of life by trying to extend his life and miserably failed. It was a tragic end, but he should know better that no one could cheat death. 

In some weird way, the wish of those who did had been fulfilled. They had turned into immortal beings with incredible powers. It was just too bad that they had to pay it with their humanity and their ticket to the spirit realm where they could get a chance to be reincarnated in their next lives. They were condemned to stay like this for eternity and were forced to wander aimlessly in the mortal world. 

The other scenario could be the possibility that this man had intense hatred or anger that eventually corrupted his soul. These grudges he held onto dearly had become his sole purpose to exist. 

Wraiths on this novel shared some similarities with Dementors from the Harry Potter Series.