Because Mo Xie had gone mad and wanted to slaughter all foxes, the foxes and fox spirits set a trap, toying with him before their deaths and biting off his tongue to take his life.
That is why he harbored such deep hatred for foxes, his lingering resentment never dissipating, ultimately transforming him into an evil spirit.
The logic here was now largely coherent, forming a perfect thread.
"The difference between a marten spirit and a fox spirit isn't significant, so Hu Po was merely an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire." Chi Xue was quite pleased when drawing this conclusion.
"Perhaps so." Xuan Ye sighed. "But where is he? Even if we've uncovered his origins, we may not necessarily find him."
"What will you do with him?" Li Luo spoke up at this point, his expression somewhat hesitant.
Ban Xia quickly pressed down on Xuan Ye's arm and said seriously, "We will help him find release."
Li Luo then began gritting his teeth, as if having made a great resolve, before speaking anxiously, "Actually... Uncle returns every year. Every year on my aunt's death anniversary, at least one fox head appears at her grave, and in his old house, another character for 'hatred' appears. That character... might be the only word Uncle knows how to write."
"When is your aunt's death anniversary?"
"September twelfth, five days from now." Li Luo raised his head, answering clearly and definitively.
Since no one in the entire village, including Li Luo, seemed willing to let them stay overnight, Ban Xia and the others had to leave the mountains, returning four days later.
Xuan Ye insisted on setting out in the middle of the night, telling Ban Xia to sleep at the inn, but she refused. With a sullen face, taking two steps and resting once, she was practically dragged up the mountain by Xuan Ye.
The mountain forest's morning was cold and damp. Xuan Ye found a stone for Ban Xia, took out the fur coat he had bought earlier, and spread it over the stone for her.
"This lifetime's Elegant Confinement is different from the previous one's." Chi Xue smiled, watching Xuan Ye and Ban Xia.
"I've heard you say that before - the previous Elegant Confinement was a woman. Your clan's reincarnation is truly strange, even switching from female to male." Ban Xia sat on the stone, idly beginning to swing her feet.
"Our clan's Elegant Confinement has reincarnated thirteen times total, half female and half male. I met the previous Elegant Confinement - very powerful but somewhat aloof, not as gentle as this Elegant Confinement."
"Sometimes he is indeed gentle, other times he's as stubborn as stone. This person is hard to figure out." Ban Xia lowered her head, lost in thought, then suddenly remembered something and turned to Chi Xue: "You said you met the previous Elegant Confinement. Didn't your Elegant Confinement pass away twenty or thirty years ago? How old are you this year..."
"I'm thirty-eight this year. When the Elegant Confinement passed away, I was already nine." Chi Xue remained smiling.
Ban Xia stared in astonishment, her jaw nearly dropping, quickly reaching out to pinch his face: "Damn, you're thirty-eight? Do you think I'm stupid? I..."
Before she could finish speaking, Xuan Ye, who had been silent all along, raised a finger in a gesture for silence.
"He's coming." Xuan Ye whispered, bending over and slowly moving forward: "I'll go over. You all stay here."
September twelfth - this was a day Mo Xie would never forget.
It was on this day that, following Bi Xi's suggestion, he went to the capital to sell that fur. After getting the money, homesick and unable to wait, he rushed back immediately, even buying Bi Xi a beautiful hairpin, fully expecting to surprise her.When he returned and pushed the door open, all he saw was Bi Xi leaning limply against the shabby armchair in the house, her face deathly pale and devoid of life.
"I will keep my promise." Someone was actually speaking in the room—no, it was a fox, actually talking to a snow-white sable: "I reveal my true form and swear by the honor of my fox clan that I will abide by the agreement."
The sable mumbled, whether in response or not, and tilted its head, nestling at Bi Xi's feet.
"Who are you?!" Mo Xie was furious at the time, immediately drawing his bow and sword without another word.
The fox didn't linger to fight. Hearing the commotion, it darted out the window. The white sable, however, lingered by Bi Xi's feet for a moment longer before bolting out the door.
Both were highly skilled demons. His sword hadn't even grazed the fur of either.
Left in the room were only him and Bi Xi.
His legs felt weak then, and he stumbled step by step to embrace his Bi Xi.
Without a doubt, Bi Xi was dead—no breath, no heartbeat, no pulse.
Her clothes were also unfastened.
So Mo Xie reached out to fasten her buttons. With a slight movement, something fell out from within Bi Xi's body.
A clump of straw, about the size of two fists, had dropped from her waist.
Mo Xie was astonished and slowly opened Bi Xi's clothing before him.
Then, he witnessed a scene he would never forget for the rest of his life.
His graceful, noble, and perfect Bi Xi, who seemed like a goddess, had an empty belly.
No flesh, no intestines, no organs—just a hollow cavity stained with blood and... the clump of straw that had fallen earlier.
What had happened here while he was away?!
What exchange had those two demons made with his Bi Xi's organs, and what heinous agreement had they reached?!
This thought set his blood ablaze, robbing him of reason and sanity. Until his death, his hatred burned fiercely, never to be extinguished.
"I'm sorry."
Before Bi Xi's grave, these were the only words Mo Xie truly wanted to say.
But when he opened his mouth, all that flowed out was blood—disgustingly thick, seemingly endless blood.
Ten years had passed, and he still hadn't hunted down that sable and fox.
Whether as a human or a ghost, he was a failure.
Thinking of this, Mo Xie's hand tracing the engraved characters on the tombstone grew weak, slowly passing over Bi Xi's birth date and name, stroke by stroke, every groove filled with powerlessness.
"If you truly loved her, you should have been loyal to her and grown old with her, not here leaning on her tombstone in repentance."
Someone suddenly spoke from behind, the voice tinged with suppressed disdain.
Mo Xie turned to look at Xuan Ye, completely baffled by his words.
"So you didn't love her, or at least not enough," Xuan Ye added.
This conclusion drove Mo Xie to madness. For a moment, he forgot himself and opened his mouth again, mumbling as blood dripped down his chin.
"I'm here to take you. Of course, you can resist."
Xuan Ye spoke again, flicking his finger lightly against the back of his blade, unsheathing Moon Glow and pointing it decisively at Mo Xie.
"Are you really thirty-eight?" On a nearby round rock, Comrade Ban Xia, with absolute confidence in Xuan Ye's abilities, was still fixated on this: "How do you maintain yourself? I don't believe it. At most, you're eighteen.""What do you mean by maintenance?" Chi Xue tilted her head, still looking dazed. "I really am thirty-eight. Master said people from our clan age slower."
"Nonsense, you Elegant Confinements don't even look young."
"The Elegant Confinement is an exception. Every generation's Elegant Confinement has to bear many burdens, exhausting their lifeblood for the clan, yet none have ever lived past thirty." Chi Xue said, becoming somewhat troubled when mentioning this. "Master said this is the Elegant Confinement's destiny.Destiny - such a cold word momentarily left both speechless.
Ban Xia swung her legs, also becoming preoccupied.
Meanwhile, Chi Xue crouched on the ground, initially only feeling numbness in her feet, but after a while, she actually began feeling heartache - throbbing with a rhythm that seemed to belong to someone else.
Heartache, remorse, and a hint of resolve - these feelings definitely shouldn't belong to her, Chi Xue.
Following this inexplicable emotion, Chi Xue stood up and walked toward an unknown direction.
The closer she got, the more pronounced this emotion became, her heartbeat slowing with each thump, each beat seemingly carrying a heavy past.
Finally, in some dark corner of the coniferous forest, this feeling reached its peak.
Goodbye.
She heard these two words echoing in her heart, almost slipping from her lips.
It wasn't her, but she could sense that just beyond, in the forest shadows, someone was saying farewell.
The sky gradually lightened, slowly, as rays pierced through the dense forest, outlining that person's silhouette.
A sharp, thin face, slightly slumped shoulders, a figure not particularly tall but delicately proportioned.
This person was Hu Po.
"He'll be cast into the River of Rebirth, starting everything anew. That might be for the best."
Standing beside Hu Po, Chi Xue clearly heard her heart.
"He won't be reborn." After a dazed moment, Chi Xue spoke somewhat hesitantly, unsure if she should say it. "Evil spirits subdued by us Elegant Confinements will all be cast into our clan's Wheel Well, imprisoned for all eternity."
Hu Po froze, reacting strongly to these words, immediately turning to stare at Chi Xue in horror.
"He won't be reborn, he'll be imprisoned for all eternity." Chi Xue swallowed and repeated.
Afterward, she could clearly feel Hu Po's heart suddenly sink, sinking to the jagged, thorny bottom of a lake.
"No!" After a moment, Hu Po actually spoke, then dashed out through the pine forest, her voice terrified and mournful, clear as day, echoing throughout the entire mountain forest.
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