Start practicing from Mr. Fox

Chapter 3: Strange Stories

"Miss Bai is back!"

The slightly older fox saw the fox demon beside Chen Ji and hurriedly stood up and saluted.

But he didn't have the fox demon's transformation skills, and it was quite funny to wear an ill-fitting gown with a fox body.

The smaller ones were in fox form, without even any clothes. They simply dropped their books and ran over, chirping and circling around the fox demon, behaving just like an ordinary fox.

"You've all received elementary education, why are you still running around like this?"

The fox demon lowered its head and scolded the little fox that was on all fours.

The little foxes lowered their heads and whimpered, as if admitting their mistake.

"Don't be so rude next time. Go and have some rest. I'll introduce you to a new gentleman later."

The fox demon waved his hands to disperse the little foxes, then looked at the big foxes that had just saluted.

"Did you study well today?"

"Miss Bai, we studied the Analects today, but there's a sentence I don't understand. I was thinking of asking Mr. Su tonight."

"Which sentence?"

"The child is silent, and the strange power confuses the spirit."

When one fox spoke, the other foxes followed suit.

"This sentence is from the sage who said he doesn't talk about strange things, bravery, rebellion, or ghosts and gods, but there are sentences in the Analects that talk about sacrifices and ghosts and gods."

"If you can't serve people, how can you serve ghosts?"

“Respect ghosts and gods but keep them at a distance.”

"Isn't this a betrayal of the Saint?"

"We don't understand, please help us, Miss Bai."

The big foxes all had different accents, and they hunched over to ask the fox demon for advice. At first glance, it really looked like a college.

The fox demon named Bai Girl also frowned, obviously not expecting this question.

When he turned around and saw Chen Ji, he suddenly smiled.

"Just right!"

"Mr. Chen, I've asked you to be a mentor to the younger generation, so it's time to test your knowledge. How about you answer this question for the students?"

All the foxes looked at Chen Ji with shining eyes.

"Alright."

Chen Ji looked at the foxes, big and small, around him and thought that interviews were indeed necessary for any job.

Fortunately, he had prepared for the civil service exam and answered after a little thought.

"The sage's words were about humans, not foxes."

"People who like ghosts and gods tend to lose their self, so we should talk less about ghosts and gods to avoid confusing our minds."

"Foxes are different. Foxes exist between humans and demons, and between the living and the dead. They are part of it, so how can we not talk about them?"

"The sages advocated teaching without distinction, so studying the Analects is very useful for broadening one's horizons."

"But since you are studying the Analects, you should know what the sage said: 'Learning without reflection is useless; thinking without learning is dangerous.'"

After hearing a few words, Miss Bai's eyes lit up and she called the other foxes to come and listen to Chen Ji's explanation.

Many foxes obediently gathered around Chen Ji and sat down, looking forward to it.

"The fox's main purpose in learning from people is to understand human nature. It doesn't necessarily mean to learn everything in the book. One must study and think dialectically and learn selectively. Otherwise, one will fall into danger..."

At first, Chen Ji was a little hesitant looking at the circle of foxes, but as he spoke, he calmed down and had no distractions. He earnestly talked about his understanding of the Analects.

After the explanation, not only did the big foxes suddenly understand, but even Miss Bai seemed to be thinking about something.

"Thank you sir for clarifying my doubts."

"Mr. Su didn't explain it so clearly before, but this gentleman did it better!"

"When the teacher gives the lecture, I will listen carefully."

The foxes stood up, held their paws in front of them, bowed and thanked him, and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute!"

Miss Bai called them and looked at Chen Ji and asked again.

"Sir, as you said, we should understand the words of the sage from the perspective of a fox. So how do we interpret this? For example, what did you just say?"

The eyes of the foxes all lit up.

Chen Ji's words opened up new ideas for them, but they still didn't know how to think about these things from the fox's perspective.

"The child is silent and has strange power and chaos..."

Chen Ji muttered a few words, and suddenly thought of something. Since it was a monster, he would be more monster-like, so he spoke slowly.

"When dealing with unreasonable people, you should use your powerful fists to beat them until they lose their minds."

"Haw?"

The foxes stood there with their beaks open.

Miss Bai was also stunned for a moment, but quickly came to her senses.

……

"You are indeed extraordinary. I have never heard this explanation before."

There was a smile in Miss Bai's eyes, and she was obviously very satisfied with this interpretation.

"When the fox was taking the test earlier, the queen said that the fox's writing and knowledge were too human-like and not good. I didn't know why. After hearing what you said, I feel much better."

"The previous teacher's lectures were very good, but he always insisted on asking the fox to be tolerant and yielding, which is really not in line with the demon's temperament."

"When monsters encounter problems, they really should use their fists in addition to reason! Having you as their master is fantastic!"

"Thank you, Fox Fairy."

"Go down and remember to review what Mr. Chen said."

Miss Bai drove away the big and small foxes and looked at Chen Ji again.

"Since Mr. Chen has agreed to teach the younger generation of my clan, we are now one of our own. You can just call me Miss Bai."

Then a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he shook his head. The fox head disappeared and turned into a girl with bright eyes and white teeth, who was even brighter and more beautiful than the fox face.

"Is this the white lady's transformed appearance?"

Chen Ji asked curiously.

He had read books before that said foxes could transform into handsome men and beautiful women, but this was the first time he had seen a real fox demon transform into a human.

"Of course not."

Miss Bai shook her head and turned back into her previous experienced self.

"The fox's transformation into a human form isn't restricted by appearance; it's whatever's convenient. I became this way before for cultivation, and now I can change at will."

"For cultivation?"

"Yes."

The white girl explained with a smile.

"My people's cultivation relies on forming connections, absorbing moonlight, and practicing techniques. I practice forming connections, which requires me to enter the world and get close to humans. Naturally, I have to disguise myself as a human to practice."

"Then why is it the old Taoist?"

"The first time I told fortunes, I transformed into a young girl and was teased. The next day, I transformed into a young man, but people didn't believe I could tell fortunes. Then, when I transformed into an experienced person, they were convinced, and I've been using that image ever since."

"That does fit most people's stereotype. Did Miss Bai also learn her fortune-telling skills on her own?"

"of course not."

The white girl shook her head.

"The art of divination requires a very high level of cultivation, and I haven't mastered it yet."

"So they say you are very accurate?"

"That's determined by observing the qi. Black qi brings bad luck, red qi brings good fortune, purple qi brings benefactors, and wood qi brings disasters and illnesses..."

"Once you understand this, it won't be difficult to tell what you're asking for."

"I see."

The image of Master Hu in Chen Ji's mind gradually shattered and turned into the slightly lively girl in front of him.

"Goo!"

He was about to say something when his stomach started to make noises. Chen Ji finally remembered that he hadn't eaten in two days.

"Ah! I forgot you hadn't eaten yet. I'll go get you some food, but it's only what the little foxes and I usually eat. You don't mind, do you?"

"probably not."

Chen Ji was also curious about what the practicing fox would eat.

After a while, Miss Bai brought a bowl and a plate. On the plate was a five or six-inch long piece of black dried meat, and in the bowl was a thick porridge made from yellow rice, pine nuts and red dates.

There was another big red fox squatting nearby, holding a shivering rabbit in its mouth.

"This is a porridge made from wild polygonatum that's been steamed and dried nine times in the sun, along with local specialties. After transforming into a human, the fox no longer eats raw blood, so I usually only eat this. If you're not used to it, I've also prepared a rabbit that you can roast and eat."

It turned out to be Polygonatum.

Chen Ji was secretly shocked.

It still has this length after nine steaming and nine drying. I don’t know if it is made from wild Polygonatum that is hundreds of years old. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is a treasure from heaven.

"It's okay, these are good enough."

After eating one piece, Chen Ji felt his stomach was full, as if he was almost full.

After drinking another mouthful of porridge, my spirits began to improve, as if all the losses of the past few days had been made up.

"It really is immortal food."

Chen Ji sighed.

"Sir, you're joking. It's just something the younger generation found while playing in the mountains and made themselves. It's not really anything special."

"Only wild foxes like us are interested in it. I heard that famous Taoists and noble families dislike the residue left after taking it, and only use it to burn firewood and extract its essence."

"..."

Chen Ji fell silent, not knowing what to say.

It turns out that I am too ignorant. I never thought of using Polygonatum odoratum as firewood. These wise people are really extravagant.

"Miss Bai, I wonder what book Mr. Chen is going to talk about? We should prepare in advance."

Just as he was sighing with emotion, a big fox came over and asked.

"What does Mr. Chen say?"

Miss Bai looked at Chen Ji.

"I just heard from the foxes that there's another gentleman. I wonder what book he's talking about right now? Why don't we ask him and then decide?"

Chen Ji asked back.

"Are you talking about Mr. Su?"

Miss Bai smiled sweetly and thought of something.

"Okay, it's not too late to talk about it after you meet tonight."

"But you can go to our clan's library first. There are many books on human cultivation in there. Maybe there are some that you can use."

"Thank you Miss Bai."

Chen Ji followed the big fox who brought the news to the library.

Walk south from where I was giving the lecture for a few dozen steps and you will see a big locust tree that takes three people to hug.

The fox stopped.

"Sir, we are here."

"Where is the library?"

Chen Ji looked around but didn't see any house in sight.

"In the tree."

The big fox raised its paw and knocked on the tree trunk like knocking on a door.

"Senior Huai, I'm here to take the new teacher to read."

"Wait a moment."

The big locust tree shook as if it came alive, and a huge human face appeared on the trunk, looking at the man and the fox, speaking in human language.

Chen Ji opened his eyes wide.

A talking tree, it must be a tree demon.

I didn't expect that I would see a tree demon right after seeing a fox demon. There are indeed a lot of monsters in this world.

I just can't figure out what this has to do with the library.

"Is this the new guy, sir? The last one almost fainted when he saw me, but this one is pretty good."

The tree demon looked at Chen Ji, his facial features scattered.

"You look calm and composed, and indeed you look like a scholar. Please go in."

As he spoke, the whole tree began to shake, a crack appeared in the middle of the trunk, and then a door appeared.

The big fox skillfully opened the door, revealing a downward passage, and invited Chen Ji to go in together.

"Mr. Chen, the library is inside."

Out of curiosity, Chen Ji entered the locust tree and discovered a different world here.

I don’t know how the foxes did it, but they dug out a hole several dozen feet in radius under the tree, and placed bookshelves, tables and chairs in it, with torches on the wall and candlesticks on the table.

The bookshelves were made of stone, wood, and bamboo, and the ages of the materials varied. The books on them were also varied, ranging from tortoise shells and bamboo slips to silk and paper books. Chen Ji even saw a few dragon scale volumes in them.

A closer look revealed that the books on each bookshelf were arranged differently. Most of the categories were in a mess, with medical books, scriptures, and Confucian classics mixed together. Occasionally, there were a few that were neatly arranged, but it was obvious that they were not arranged by one person.

"These books are quite complete. Is it Mr. Su who usually organizes them?"

Chen Ji looked at the big fox.

"To be honest, Mr. Chen, we sorted these books ourselves. However, we don't recognize many words and have read few books, so they are in a mess and difficult to read."

The big fox was actually a red fox. Although his voice sounded awkward, he didn't look blushing at all. Instead, he was so honest that Chen Ji didn't know what to say.

If the fox explains it, it will be understandable.

But he still has problems.

"Mr. Su taught you classics and how to recognize characters, but didn't he teach you how to organize these?"

"He...is not very convenient."

The big fox murmured.

Chen Ji didn't ask any more questions.

Mr. Su was the teacher invited by Miss Bai to teach the foxes, so he was naturally recognized by the foxes.

He said it was inconvenient, and he must have his own reasons.

But I happened to be looking for books on cultivation, so I could teach the foxes how to organize the bookshelves.

Chen Ji looked at the big fox and explained his thoughts.

"Excellent, excellent! Mr. Chen, please wait a moment. I'll go find the other foxes!"

The big fox excitedly went out to find a fox to help

Chen Ji picked up a book and started reading it.

The material of the book cover could not be seen, it was covered with dust. After wiping it clean, one could only vaguely make out the title: "Yiwenlu".

Probably these were books that recorded some legendary and strange stories. Chen Ji was also curious about what kind of strange stories this world would record.

But when I opened it, I found that the paper was snow-white, just like new.

When I was about to turn the pages, the book suddenly disappeared, as if it had never appeared.

Chen Ji hurriedly looked around, trying to see if Miss Bai was deliberately playing a trick on him.

But there was no one else in such a huge library, only flickering lights.

Just as he was shocked, a book suddenly appeared in Chen Ji's mind, which was exactly the same as the one that had just disappeared.

And neat text also appeared on the first page.

"River Fox"

"Mr. Chen, a man from an unknown place, was about to die when he was rescued by a fox from Hejian. He wanted to cultivate himself, but after realizing his shortcomings, he became Mr. Fox and learned to speak the language of birds and beasts."

Chen Ji looked at the words in the book for a long time without coming back to his senses.

This was exactly what he had experienced before, so how did it suddenly appear in this book?

Could this be his golden finger?
(End of this chapter)