Demon Mask of Blood

Genbao gifts Qiaoyun a blood-oozing fox mask found near a grave. She shudders: ""These grooves fit a human face!" " Grandma recognizes the skin-flayed Nuo artifact—worn by non-herders, it eats flesh. When Genbao defiantly dons it, his reflection warps into a red-robed woman with bleeding eyes. Visions haunt him; blisters peel his cheek.

After he spits on the mask at the grave, cyclone winds scream talismans as the red demon blocks his path. Three days later, his right cheek rots off. Qiaoyun's rice bowl bleeds crimson. The woman in red watches from shadows—the mask's hunger never dies.