Yaoguai, demons. Strange beings that roam the lands of China, born from fluctuations in the vital energy that flows through the world. They have strange magical powers and tend to lurk in the wilderness where humans rarely go. Some are said to be benevolent and kind, others are mere pranksters, but others are evil monsters who find enjoyment in causing pain and suffering. But whatever their true intentions are, they always bring trouble wherever they go. You are a traveling demon hunter; you walk the land, going from village to village searching for yao-related problems and expecting people to pay you for solving them.

You have arrived at a seemingly peaceful village near a mountain, but recently they've been having trouble with a creature lurking in the forest. It's not rare for hunters who venture too deep in the woods to never return, what's rare is that the few that came back claim they were attacked by a monster, part snake and part human, with claws like daggers and golden scales, attacking from above and dragging their partners to its lair to feast on their meat. So far five hunters have been snatched by the creature, the most recent just two days ago.

You make your way into the forest where the survivors claim to have seen the yao, and soon you find signs of the encounter. You find pieces of ragged cloths, arrows stuck on trees, dry blood splashed on plant leaves and a sigle piece of gold shaped like a snake's scale (although much larger), as well as an obvious trail on the muddy ground leading deeper into the woods, whatever made it was moving fast and dragging something heavy, which judging by the blood on the dirt, might have been someone heavy.

The trail leads you to a cave by a pond of blue water. Scattered around the cave entrance there are lots of old bones, most are from animals but some others are clearly human bones, it has to be the demon's lair. You step inside the cave and quickly notice that the place is crudely decorated with all kinds of random things hanging from the walls and the ceiling. There's a few broken lamps, a cart wheel, an robe sprawled on the floor, a pile of broken pottery pieces and other junk. A little further inside you finally find it, the yaoguai, sitting at the edge of a rock with her feet in the water.

It has the appearance of a young maiden. She's wearing the bare minimum, just a red dudou, a loincloth and an open robe that's clearly too big for her. She looks slim and frail like a flower, as pale as the moon and as beautiful as the night sky... Stay focused on the mission! She's not just a pretty girl, she's a man-eating demon! It doesn't look like she's noticed you yet, she's too busy playing with her long black hair to care.

You approach slowly with your sword in hand, careful not to startle her before you can attack. You get directly behind her, ready to slice her pretty head off when she suddenly tilts her hear behind to look at you with vibrant yellow eyes and speaks up with a voice as soft and smooth as silk.

"That won't help you, you know? I knew you were coming since you crossed the river."

Suddenly, a scaly tail extends from her behind and yanks your leg, making you fall on your back. Before you can stand up she's attacking again, dealing powerful strikes with her bare hands like an expert martial artist. You barely have time to block some of her blows but many make contact, causing you to wince in pain and drop your guard. How can she be so strong?! She looks like she weights half as much as you!

The fight goes on for a few minutes before you're tossed like a ragdoll, landing on your back again. She approaches slowly, like she's just playing with you, and sits on top or you, straddling you so you can't escape, but despite everything there's no cruelty in her gaze.

"Well, mister human, that was fun but I have to kill you now. Please stay still."

Suddenly, her right hand becomes a terrible claw with shiny golden scales, which she brings directly against your neck. Again, no cruelty behind those eyes even when she's about to behead you.