My Evil Wife Is a Nine-Tailed Fox

"Then, what do I need to do?" She asked Jiang Chen. "Why did you blindfold her? What's happening?"

"There's something we need to confirm first, Miss Bai." Shen Minyao's voice surprised Bai Xinran. 

As she looked in Shen Minyao's direction, it was only by then did she realize how dangerous this place was right now. This unknown woman was looking at her with the pair of eyes of a predator. She flinched under Shen Minyao's gaze and stepped back, but the salt forbade her to escape. 

"You… what do you want? Please stay away from me," Bai Xinran said in fear. Her instincts were telling her to get away from this person as fast as possible, but she didn't know the reason why. 

"We just want to confirm that you didn't curse your novel that caused the massive mortality of your readers. You didn't curse them to death, right?" Shen Minyao knew why Bai Xinran was wary of her, but that was pretty normal for a demon like her. Because Bai Xinran was already dead, she was now more sensitive to the presence of the other spirits and demons around her. 

"What curse? I would never do such a thing to my readers, no matter how mean they were to me." Bai Xinran furrowed her brows in confusion. 

What curse was this woman talking about? Were they also aware of the attacks and mean comments she was receiving over her book? 

"Schoolmate Bai, since you don't seem to be aware, after your death; there are rumors circulating around that you have cursed your readers to death. Several of them were reported to either die from an accident or be stricken with a serious illness after reading your book," Li Fei'er explained. 

"H-how… how could that be?!" Bai Xinran exclaimed. "I know those authors only targeted me because I didn't share their views. Those mean comments left for me were ridiculous and borderline insane. I know for a fact that they are just fake accounts intended to slander me!" 

"Is Liang Sisi involved with this group of authors you are talking about?" Shen Minyao questioned her. 

Bai Xinran's expression changed, and she fell silent for a moment before she nodded her head in affirmation. 

"At first, I couldn't believe that she was part of that group because I was very vocal about how I disagreed with their ways." Her tone was filled with disappointment. "As it turned out, Liang Sisi was the one who ratted me out and threw the first stone to persecute me. If I hadn't met that man who informed me that Sisi was part of it, I would be oblivious of what she had done against me."

Although she was still mad at her friend, a part of Bai Xinran wanted to know why her friend betrayed her. 

"I confronted her over the phone, but she kept on denying that she was part of it. Of course, I couldn't believe her… because the man I met before presented some evidence to me. He told me things that made me angry towards Liang Sisi." 

"This man you are talking about… who is he?" Shen Minyao asked. She had a bad feeling about this. She found it suspicious that someone would seek Bai Xinran, sowing discord between her and Liang Sisi that led to the author's death. 

"I don't know his name. He refused to give me one. I'm not sure how, but he was able to sway me easily with words to hate Liang Sisi. He told me things I could do to get even with her, but I didn't do any. He looked creepy and suspicious at the same time, so I decided to leave and never met him again." 

Shen Minyao glanced at Jiang Chen, who knew that they also needed to check Bai Xinran's claim later. It was suspicious indeed. 

"I see. I believe you, then," the fox woman replied. 

"You do?" Bai Xinran was surprised at how easily this woman trusted her words. If it was in the past, she would have a hard time convincing anyone. 

"I've read your book," Shen Minyao said with a straight face, "Although there were some mistakes on the technicality of how you've written it, it's not a bad book like everyone claimed it to be. How could I call it a trash when all I've seen is how you put your heart and soul into writing it?" 

Bai Xinran would have cried right then and there—if she was still alive. It's been a while since she heard someone praise her work and respect it despite the massive flaws it had. Before she died, her book was flooded with hateful comments, demeaning not only her work but also her as a person. 

"So I believe you when you say you didn't," Shen Minyao added. 

Bai Xinran would be lying if she said that she wasn't moved by this stranger's words. 

"Thank you." For the first time since she died, Bai Xinran felt overwhelming happiness, dispelling the heavy atmosphere within the room. "It's reassuring to know that you've liked my work." 

Meanwhile, Li Fei'er couldn't believe what she was hearing. Although they were certain that the curse about Yu Lai's webnovel was just a baseless rumor, she didn't expect that Shen Minyao would read the said work, considering she once claimed that the webnovel wasn't her cup of tea. 

"Now that the issue is clear, Miss Bai, would you like to talk to your mother? She wants a word with you before you transcend to another realm," Jiang Chen reminded them of their purpose for this visit. 

"Is that true? You'll allow me to bid goodbye to my mother?" Bai Xinran asked in surprise. She thought that she had completely lost her chance to apologize to her mother, for all the mean and foolish things she had said in the past. 

"En," Li Fei'er said, "She wouldn't be able to see you, but please use this time to free yourself this time."