The Crazy Fox Demon Devours My Heart - Chapter 3

The day to depart for the demon clan soon arrived.

Qingyu wore golden hairpins and dangling ornaments, her lips painted a bright vermilion. Dressed in luxurious red bridal robes, she was escorted beyond the city gates by a hundred officials.

The common folk all came to watch, crowds surging like waves.

In their eyes, she was going to the demon clan for the sake of peace between nations, for the safety of the human race. She was the princess who sacrificed herself for the world.

Everywhere, people knelt and bowed, their voices crying out for the Eldest Princess, thanking her for her great righteousness.

For a moment, her prestige reached its peak.

Listening to their chants, Qingyu felt only bitterness in her heart. She let out a self-mocking laugh.

For over ten years in the Cold Palace, no one had cared whether she lived or died. Yet today, she was suddenly exalted as the noble Eldest Princess. Her honor and disgrace—all at the whim of one man’s decree.

Her imperial father, standing high upon the city wall, looked down at her with cold indifference.

Qingyu tilted her head back, gazing up at him—just as she had as a child.

That man was selfish to the extreme, cold-hearted and unfeeling.

As a child, she had not thought so. Before her mother’s death, this man had seemed so towering, so great in her young heart.

He and her mother had been deeply affectionate, admired as the model couple by both ministers and the common people.

As a little girl, she had idolized him, striving to do everything perfectly in hopes of his praise. And back then, he and her mother would smile warmly, always praising her.

Until that day.

A monster broke into the palace, charging straight toward him.

Without hesitation, he pulled her mother in front of him as a shield against the claws, fleeing in panic without a backward glance.

And so, right before her eyes, her mother’s heart was ripped out. She died with her eyes wide open.

The creature was swiftly captured and slain. Yet her father only clutched his chest, pale and shaken, without sparing so much as a glance at the woman who had died in his stead.

That day, her mother died. And so did her heart.

She could not comprehend her father’s actions. She clung to him, screaming, weeping, begging, shaking him in despair.

But her father, irritated by her madness, declared her insane and locked her in the Cold Palace.

There, no matter how she shouted and wailed, she would never again disturb his peace.

Soon after, he installed a new empress. Once more, he lived with deep affection—toward another woman, toward new children.

That was what it meant to be an emperor. To play his role, appearing passionate yet truly heartless.

Perhaps her gaze was too piercing, for a flicker of disgust passed through his eyes atop the wall. With a wave of his hand, he urged them to depart quickly.

The great carriage wheels began to turn, carrying the princess with a deadened heart away into the distance.

The demon clan resided in the far north, at the border where the two races met.

A great barrier separated the two territories. To enter the demon lands, one required a special token.

Qingyu quietly studied the furry ball in her palm. It was pitch-black, smooth to the touch, almost like an ornament. The texture was exquisite, soft and sleek, though she had never seen fur like this before, nor could she tell what beast it came from.

But knowing it was sent by the demon clan filled her only with loathing.

She tossed it aside and took out a handkerchief, wiping her hands clean again and again.

The journey was long and arduous. After traveling for hours, the party finally reached a relay station before nightfall, exhausted.

Fuyin helped the princess down from the carriage. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the black ball discarded on the floor of the carriage. Wasn’t this the demon clan’s token? How could the princess cast it away so carelessly?

Thinking a moment, she bent to pick it up.

After entering the post station, everyone ate supper and settled down to rest.

Weary from the road, Qingyu hardly touched her food.

Fuyin fussed anxiously beside her.
“Princess, please eat a little more. Your body won’t endure if you don’t.”

Qingyu rubbed her brow, her gaze falling on the object in Fuyin’s hand. Her tone grew sharp.
“Why did you bring that thing back?”

Fuyin was puzzled.
“Isn’t this the token from the demon clan? Don’t we need it to pass into their lands?”

Qingyu’s eyes lingered on the fur ball. Her slender fingers tapped the table, and she smiled coldly.
“This thing? I won’t be needing it.”

Fuyin tilted her head, baffled.
“Ah?”

At that silly look, Qingyu couldn’t help but reach out, pinching the girl’s round cheek.
“Do you really think I’d obediently go to the demon clan to die?”

Fuyin shook her head like a rattle drum.
“Of course not! Everyone says demons are terrifying—hideous, monstrous, and they eat people alive. Just the sight of them could scare someone to death.”

The more she thought about it, the more frightened she became. Hugging her arms, she trembled. Then she let out a deep sigh.
“But… if we don’t go, won’t that mean defying the imperial decree? Either way, we can’t escape. What else can we do?”

Qingyu tapped her lightly on the head.
“Silly girl. Why do you think we have legs? So we can run.”

Fuyin’s eyes went wide.
“Run?!”

“That’s right. Run.”

Inside the palace, layer upon layer of guards had made escape impossible.

But now that they were outside, how could she still let herself be led to slaughter?

The world was vast. Once they slipped away, they could go anywhere they pleased.

Fuyin’s face scrunched like a bitter gourd.
“But Princess… how do we escape?”

Qingyu glanced around. The post station was remote, with a dense mountain forest behind it.

If they could only slip past their attendants’ sight and hide in the woods, it would be nearly impossible to track them down.

“I have a plan. Just do as I say.”

Fuyin still looked worried. Could they really pull it off?

The next morning, after breakfast, the group prepared to depart.

But before they could leave the inn, everyone was suddenly struck with stomach pains, vomiting and suffering from diarrhea.

The post station fell into chaos.

Meanwhile, Qingyu returned to her room, changed clothes with Fuyin, and climbed out the window.

While the others were doubled over in misery, the two of them ran with all their might toward the forest.

The towering trees loomed ahead, dense and near. Fuyin’s heart leapt with joy.
“Princess, we really escaped!”

Wiping sweat from her brow, Qingyu’s eyes also shone with a smile.

They were but a single step from vanishing into the forest when the sound of horse hooves thundered behind them.

“Your Highness, please stay.”

Qingyu’s heart sank. She turned her head. It was Lin Gugu, one of the attendants, pursuing them.

This Lin Gugu was a trusted servant of the empress, sent to watch over her. Clearly, she had been wary from the start and had not eaten the tainted food.

But the forest was so close. If they just made it inside, what could one old woman do to stop them?

Qingyu tightened her grip on Fuyin’s hand and rushed forward.

“Does the princess truly not care for her own wet nurse?”

Qingyu froze mid-step, her back rigid.

A triumphant smile spread across Lin Gugu’s face as she tossed something forward.

Fuyin glanced back and gasped.
“That’s… that’s Nanny’s pouch! Why do you have it?”

“The Empress commanded me to take good care of your nursemaid,” Lin Gugu sneered. “So the princess may set her mind at ease and marry with no regrets.”

Qingyu stood silently, her eyes fixed on the towering trees ahead, her thoughts a storm.

When she had first been imprisoned in the Cold Palace, her nurse and Fuyin had chosen to accompany her. They had long since become her truest family.

But her nurse was old, too frail to travel. So Qingyu had begged for a decree to release her once the princess set off, allowing her to live out her final years in peace.

She had arranged for everything, believing she had accounted for every detail. When she escaped, someone would pick up her nurse, and the three of them could be reunited again someday.

But she had miscalculated.

The empress had never trusted her. She would not release the nurse until she saw with her own eyes the princess enter the demon clan’s lands.

And now, just as Qingyu was about to seize her freedom, all her plans crumbled to dust.

She was nothing more than an ant in their palm—trapped, manipulated, never able to break free.

Expressionless, Qingyu picked up the pouch and walked up to Lin Gugu. Her voice was cold.
“Then I must thank you, Gugu.”