Returning from the lakeside, Hu Po found her cave, transformed back to her original form, and rested her head on her front paws. The warm, fluffy sensation finally made her feel somewhat comfortable.
If her sister Bi Xi were still beside her, grooming her fur, it would have been even better.
At this thought, Hu Po felt a pang of sorrow and couldn't help letting out a low whimper.
"Sister, Sister Hu Po!" someone suddenly called out from within the cave, rushing over with hurried footsteps. "It's Li Luo! What's wrong? What happened to your shoulder?"
It was a young marten from their marten clan—a highly spirited male marten who was wholeheartedly determined to cultivate into a woman, the very "cross-dressing freak" the fox spirit had gossiped about.
Hu Po chuckled, nudged him with her head, and mumbled a few words in Beast Speech, roughly scolding him for sneaking out and being naughty.
"Is that male ghost still chasing you?" Li Luo seemed very anxious, circling around her frantically. "Sister, don't be afraid. I'll protect you. One day, I'll shatter his soul!"
Hu Po lifted her head urgently and quickly shook it.
"Why? Just because he was once Sister Bi Xi's man, you’re willing to tolerate him like this?"
Hu Po shook her head again and whispered to him, saying he didn’t understand. After exchanging a few pleasantries, she suddenly remembered something and spoke to him urgently again.
"Alright!" Li Luo agreed without a second thought. "Whatever Sister says, I'll do. I listen to you. Even if you asked me to die, I wouldn’t hesitate!"
The next day, Li Luo went out. Following Hu Po’s instructions, he wore a short jacket, smeared some dust on his face, cleared his throat, and walked into the fur shop.
The bald shopkeeper had been sighing earlier, lamenting the poor business this year. When Li Luo entered, he paid little attention. But as soon as Li Luo opened the bundle, the shopkeeper’s eyes lit up, and he held his breath.
"Fox fur, huh? Not many people are buying it this year, with times being tough." Suppressing his excitement, the shopkeeper began speaking formally.
"But this is a Silver-tipped Black Fox!"
"Silver and white fox furs are in demand. This pelt is also quite old. How about this—ten taels. You won’t find a better price anywhere."
Li Luo said nothing and began packing up the bundle.
"Fine, fine. It’s not easy for you hunters. I’ll add two more taels."
"One hundred taels!" Li Luo lifted his delicate little face, speaking resolutely.
The shopkeeper’s face darkened, then flushed red. Gritting his teeth, he finally stamped his foot. "Fine, one hundred taels it is. You’re really ruthless—stealing or robbing someone’s goods and still having the nerve to ask such a high price."
"How dare you say I stole or robbed it!"
"With your small frame, did you hunt it yourself?" The shopkeeper snorted. "I bought a pelt like this ten years ago, almost identical to this one. Clearly, they’re a pair."
"This was a gift from Uncle Mo! He gave it to me for my ninth birthday. Now he’s dead—don’t talk nonsense."
"Your Uncle Mo?" The shopkeeper paused, then leaned in closer. "Young man, where are you from? This pelt is quite nice. I’d like to visit your area for more goods next time.""Pizhou County, Yang County, Mo Family Village. Our village has a small population, but everyone is an excellent hunter. Boss, are you serious? If you're serious, I'll draw you a map. Our place is really hard to find," said Li Luo, growing somewhat excited as his goal was achieved. A mesmerizing green glow gradually appeared in his eyes, leaving the bald boss staring in a daze for quite some time.
Mo Family Village in Yang County, Pizhou, was deep in the Junyin Mountains. Although the journey wasn't particularly long, it was indeed difficult to locate.
After winding along mountain paths for an entire day, Xuan Ye and the others finally caught a glimpse of the pointed roofs of a few wooden houses.
Chi Xue, always diligent, was the first to run up and knock on the door. He knocked for a while, and though there was clearly someone inside, they stubbornly refused to open, only speaking from within: "Who are you?"
"I'm Chi Xue," replied the blockheaded Chi Xue. "Could you please open the door?"
"We are cultivators who have come here to inquire about Mo Xie. I imagine things haven't been peaceful around here either. Please open the door, we mean no harm," interjected the ever-eloquent Ban Xia.
"The men have all gone hunting, so it's really not convenient to receive male guests," the person inside hesitated for a long time before finally speaking. "As for Mo Xie... you should go ask Xiao Luo. He lives just ahead, the third house to the north."
Having waited for many days, someone finally came knocking. Li Luo quickly cleared his throat and asked in a feigned tone, "Who is it?"
Ban Xia then repeated the same explanation.
Li Luo promptly began his act, pretending to hesitate, opening the door just a crack, and scrutinizing Ban Xia and the others for a long time before slowly, reluctantly opening the door fully.
"You're Mo Xie's nephew?" Ban Xia spoke after seeing him, comparing him to the boss's description and confirming they matched.
"Yes," Li Luo nodded. "Mo Xie was my uncle."
"Didn't you say all the men in the village went hunting? Why are you at home?"
"I've been frail since childhood. I'm the most useless man in the village," Li Luo sighed.
With narrow eyes and a slender waist, he possessed an enchanting, feminine face, yet unfortunately had no breasts and one extra appendage.
Actually, there was no need to lie - Li Luo genuinely believed he was the most useless man. Or rather, the most useless male marten who desperately wanted to cultivate into a woman but hadn't succeeded.
"But my uncle was very capable. He once hunted a leopard alone, and even a bear. It's a pity he died," he quickly added, remembering the main purpose of their visit.
"How did your uncle die?"
"I'm not really sure how he died. They found his body in the forest, and discovered his tongue was missing."
"Why did he hate foxes so much?"
Li Luo fell silent, wearing an expression of someone who found it difficult to speak.
"Has his ghost appeared in the village? If you don't tell the truth, he'll never find peace."
"I've only heard..." Li Luo hesitated. "After one hunting trip, my uncle became infatuated with a woman. This woman... one day came to see my aunt. I don't know what was said, but the next day my aunt..."
"Committed suicide?"
"My aunt was reclusive by nature, usually never spoke much with any of us. She was the type to easily get stuck in her thoughts."
"Was that woman... a marten spirit?""Marten spirit? How could it be, that was a fox spirit." Li Luo widened his eyes, looking utterly confused. "Uncle and aunt originally had deep feelings for each other. After aunt died, he became extremely agitated. One day we saw him chasing a woman outside the village with a bow. The woman couldn't escape and was pierced through the heart by an arrow. After death, she revealed her true form, actually... actually... it was a gray fox!"
"That woman is already dead?" Ban Xia was shocked, then quickly turned disdainful: "Because that woman came and caused his wife's death, he killed her?"
"Uncle and aunt grew up together since childhood, their relationship was extremely close."
"If their relationship was so good, why did he go looking for another woman!"
Li Luo lowered his head, pursed his lips, hesitating to speak.
"Are you trying to say he made a mistake that all men in the world would make?!" Ban Xia flew into a rage, cursed under her breath, and retreated to Xuan Ye's side: "Fine, this man deserves to be captured. You deal with him, I have no objections."
"What happened after he killed that woman?" Xuan Ye asked in a serious tone.
"He became half-mad, rushing into the forest, saying he would kill all fox spirits. Soon after, everyone found his corpse in the woods."
That was the whole story - so vulgar, so simple.
"Can you take me to see the place where his body was originally found?"
After a while, Xuan Ye finally spoke.
Ten years had passed. The original trap had long been filled in, overgrown with creeping vines covering the ground.
"An evil spirit, when dying, must have extremely strong resentment. And this resentment often lingers in the same place for decades without dispersing." Xuan Ye said, slowly bending down, closing his eyes as if sensing something.
"The resentment remains." He spoke after a moment, "And it's still very deep. Chi Xue, come here and feel what's mixed within this resentment."
"Me? Elegant Confinement, are you talking about me?" Chi Xue blinked, pointing at his own nose.
"Resentment often contains the final memories before death. You're the Seer of the semi-divine tribe, you should be able to sense it."
Chi Xue trembled slightly, sat down, and began reciting the heart-calming mantra.
At first, besides the damp ground and numerous ants, he couldn't sense anything.
After a while, the heart-calming mantra took effect. Everything around became silent. He calmed his breathing and gradually felt noise beneath his feet - the marching ants seemed to be communicating something.
"The ants are storing food, preparing for winter." He said happily, delighted.
Ban Xia immediately shot him a glare, saying angrily: "We all know that, big brother! Now we need you to sense how Mo Xie died!"
Chi Xue looked embarrassed, hung his head, and after struggling for a long time, his face turned bright red.
"Forget it, let's go." Ban Xia patted his clothes.
"Foxes..." Chi Xue's potential always burst forth at the last moment. In just an instant, it seemed his soul had become enlightened.
"Beside the big pit, there are foxes everywhere." He said. Because of his pure nature, he couldn't adapt to the resentment, and blood slowly seeped from the corners of his eyes: "In the pit... there's a woman, naked, with large breasts. It was her... who bit off Mo Xie's tongue in one bite!"
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