Strange Stories

Chapter 493 A Dark Cloud

The Taoist priest was sitting on the mountain, with clouds and mist rolling down the mountain. Houses could be vaguely seen where the clouds met the terraces, and it was unknown how many layers of terraces there were below.

It has been mostly sunny and warm lately.

Sometimes there are clouds, sometimes not.

Sometimes the clouds are in the sky, sometimes in the mountains. Sometimes they are so high that you have to fly for a long time to reach them, and sometimes they are so low that they are level with the mushroom houses at the foot of the mountain, rising and falling like the tide.

It rains occasionally, but only in bursts. When the rain stops, the sky clears up, but then it suddenly starts raining again.

Lin Jue just sat here, not going anywhere, just looking at the scenery that seemed like a paradise on earth, and he felt very happy every day basking in the sun.

Sleep when you want to, no matter when you wake up.

Just be in a daze whenever you want, letting time pass by and the sun and the moon rotate above your head.

At other times, I read books to gain understanding of the Dharma.

What surprised Lin Jue was that although the ancient book recorded "discontinuation" and also mentioned "dispersion and reunion" when recording "discontinuation and reunion", the book actually did not record "dispersion and reunion". When Lin Jue learned "dispersion and reunion" with difficulty from Teacher Fuyao, the ancient book did not respond.

When the ancient book finally responded, Lin Jue turned it over and saw a blank page with golden light, waiting for him to fill it in. At this time, two months had passed since he came to Yunzhou, from the winter before the New Year to the New Year after the New Year. Teacher Fuyao was not a competent teacher at all, but Lin Jue also realized the essence of "dispersion and reunion" from it.

As Lin Jue had thought before,

In comparison, it is more difficult for him to learn "breaking and resuming", while "dispersing and gathering again" is more suitable for a Taoist like him who practices spiritual magic, and it is also much easier to comprehend.

At the same time, this also confirms some of Lin Jue’s ideas——

The first owner of the ancient book, "Lin Zhongxian", was a real person. The subsequent owners probably only went so far, and they might not even have achieved enlightenment. For them, even if they searched for magic in the world, they had their own limitations. As for the abilities of the real gods, immortals, and even the emperors, they were both profound and unfathomable, and not so common. It was even possible that only one person in the three realms could do it, so it was naturally difficult for the owners of the ancient book to search for them and record them.

This dispersion and reunion was like this, and it was also the same when Goddess Yaohua displayed her great magical power in Dangshan, Huizhou.

"It doesn't matter..."

Lin Jue looked at the blank page in the ancient book, holding a pen in his hand: "I'll write it for you."

There are two more lines of words on it:

Dispersing and gathering again is a magic method to nourish the spirit.

As the name suggests, the soul flies back and the spirit is scattered and reunited again.

This is the introduction written by Lin Jue, which is not finished yet.

As for the previous page, the "Soul-Destroying Technique" has been completely written and all the contents have been recorded in detail.

After a little thought, Lin Jue started writing again.

At this moment, a figure came from below.

Lin Jue turned his head and saw a dark and thin girl of about fifteen or sixteen. She looked like a local and was wearing local clothes. She was holding a rough earthen bowl in one hand and walking towards him carefully on the narrow ridge of the terraced field below, like a folk magician walking on a balance beam.

"Terrace fish! Stewed beef!"

The girl walked down with the bowl in her hand, and suddenly she jumped lightly, as if she was weightless, and leaped to the top of the mountain.

She stretched out her hands and handed him two bowls.

In one of the bowls was a bent fish that had been fried and then boiled. The fish skin had become browned and wrinkled like a tiger skin, with soup on it, and it looked very tasty.

The other bowl contained stewed beef, which included beef with skin, offal, tendons and everything else. It looked very soft and tender, soaked in a slightly brown, shiny soup. In it, one could see ginger, onions and some condiments not commonly seen in the Central Plains region, and it smelled very fragrant.

Lin Jue looked at what she was holding, then looked at her:
"How did you become like this?"

"I went downstairs to play, and I saw someone who looked like this! I became like her!" the girl said seriously, "others won't think I'm a monster!"

Once you open your mouth, everything is exposed.

However, Lin Jue did not expose her. He just nodded and looked at her a few more times.

He discovered last year that his fox could transform, but the fox had mastered this skill even earlier than that.

I don't know whether this is a transformation or a change.

Because it is obviously different from other monsters in their transformations—

Other monsters have a fixed image when they transform, but it does not. Instead, it changes randomly, often transforming into the appearance of whoever it meets. It has no other taste preferences except for its relative preference for women. Even so, it has transformed into an old man at the foot of the mountain and a middle-aged herbalist.

And it doesn't often turn into a human, it only turns into a human when there is a specific need.

Lin Jue believes that the key may not lie in one’s ability but in one’s heart.

Lin Jue has studied it specifically.

When other monsters transform, their levels of Taoism also vary. Generally speaking, if their Taoism is too shallow, they will definitely not be able to transform, but if their Taoism is too deep, they will definitely be able to transform. Most of them have a process of "opening up".

There are also many different processes for monsters to transform.

Some monsters are rarely seen by people. One day, if they see someone who matches some impression in their mind, they will suddenly "be enlightened" and change into another form. After the change, their appearance will be at least 70% to 80% similar to that person.

Some monsters have seen many people, and have their own image in their mind. When the time is right, they will naturally show up. Because this image is born from the heart, it is very likely that while in human form, it also has some characteristics of the monster's original form, as well as the monster's own perception of itself. Therefore, when some monsters transform into humans, not only can you tell at a glance that they are not human, but you can also tell at a glance what their original form is, and you can also see some of their personality.

Of course, there are also misjudgments.

There are also some monsters who are familiar with the human world and are particularly concerned about their image. Before and after transforming, they will spend a lot of effort to sculpt their appearance.

The reason why monsters often appear in human form after transforming, and maintain their human form even when they are not interacting with humans, must be an important reason. It is that they respect humans, believe that humans are the smartest, believe that humans are the primates of all things in the world, and believe that this world is dominated by humans. Therefore, they are eager to transform while maintaining their human form and actively learn human language, writing, clothing and etiquette.

It is obvious that the nine-tailed fox does not respect humans.

At least the fox in our house doesn't have this awareness.

And it hasn't gotten the hang of it yet.

He just mastered the ability to transform into a human being.

Today she must have gone out to deal with the people in the mountains. As for the purpose of the deal, it was obviously in the two bowls in her hands.

"Where did you get it?"

Lin Jue asked as he took it.

"The fox paid for it!"

"Where did you buy it? Is there a restaurant in this mountain?" "Someone died! He hasn't been buried yet! A lot of people went there! I saw them paying to eat, and I thought you hadn't eaten for a long time, so I paid to buy food too!" The girl said to him, "I took out the money! They asked me to sit over there and eat, but I didn't sit down. I picked two dishes on the table and brought them back to you!"

"Ok?"

It is not a good habit to pack up before the meal starts.

What's more...

Lin Jue looked at the two bowls of dishes.

The world is in turmoil right now, and although it may not necessarily affect this secluded place deep in the mountains, the people in the mountains should not be rich either, and she may have taken away the two best dishes on someone's table.

"Where did you get the money?"

"Gold I found while digging a hole!"

"Gold..."

Then there is no need to pursue it.

"and this!"

As she spoke, she suddenly opened her mouth.

Her whole face immediately turned into that of a fox, with her mouth wide open. Then she actually put her hand into her mouth. The hand suddenly stretched out very long, and she actually took out another rough bowl from her stomach, with another rough bowl on top of it.

“Red rice!”

When I opened the rough bowl on top, I found it was filled with red rice that was piled up in points.

It is not the kind of red rice that is so red that it is almost black, nor is it bright red. Overall, it is not much different from white rice, except that it has a little bit of red on it. It is loose and each grain is distinct, and is served in this bowl.

"eat!"

The girl with the fox head handed him the bowl.

"This……"

"this?"

"Thank you." Lin Jue took the bowl and found that there was no saliva or anything like that on it. He breathed a sigh of relief and taught her earnestly, "In the future, don't just put this kind of food into your mouth casually. It's better to put it in a food box or bamboo tube, jar or something like that. It's best not to put it into your mouth."

"Why?" The fox girl was puzzled. "It's meant to be eaten!"

“But that’s what I eat.”

"You're eating the pills that ghosts vomited!"

"……rational."

"Forget it if you don't want to eat it!" The fox girl took the stewed steak from his bowl and returned it to him. "You are a Taoist priest, you don't eat beef!"

"Who said that?"

"My junior sister said so!"

"She's just talking nonsense." Lin Jue said, "Besides, I've already become an immortal."

"If you become an immortal, you are no longer a Taoist priest?"

"I am also a Taoist priest. But the rules made up by others cannot constrain me."

Lin Jue took it back from her hand.

A bowl of terraced fish, with crispy skin and tasty soup. A bowl of stewed steak, with rich aroma and delicious soup. Take a little soup and put it in the slightly red and loose rice. Use chopsticks to dig it into your mouth. It seems that it will run into your mouth by itself. Even an immortal will feel very comfortable eating it.

"Canopy..."

The girl turned back into a white fox and ate with him.

The clouds roll overhead, filling the air with evening light, while the terraces below also reflect the blue sky, sunset and colorful clouds, adding a riot of colour.

"You said, did Xu Yi plant all the flowers in the mountain?"

"I don't know!" the fox said vaguely, "but when I went out to play today and passed by the mushroom village, I saw that the fruit tree planted next to the mushroom house had already bloomed!"

“The flowers here bloom early.”

"why?"

“Maybe they are more diligent.”

"The fox is also hardworking!"

"Yes……"

“When will you find the clouds?”

"That depends on waiting. It depends on fate. It also depends on whether it suits my taste." Lin Jue said, pointing to the golden clouds in the sky and the terraced fields below, "What do you think about us picking a colorful cloud to take back?"

"After a while it's not colorful anymore! It turns gray!"

"That's true..."

"eat fast!"

The fox urged him.

As they were talking, the man and the fox glanced inadvertently and saw that in the terraced fields below, there was clearly the reflection of the dusk sky, golden and pink clouds, but suddenly a dark cloud seemed to pass by quickly.

The man and the fox first lowered their heads and looked at the terraced fields that were filled with water like a mirror, then turned their heads in the direction it had left, and then both looked up at the sky.

But by this time, it had almost disappeared.

It's so fast that it can be described as elusive.

"It is going to rain!"

"what is that?"

The sun has set, the sky is gradually changing, the mirror in the mountains is reflecting the red color, and the man and the fox sitting on the top of the mountain are both confused.

(End of this chapter)