Start practicing from Mr. Fox

Chapter 4 Mr. Su

Since he has traveled through time, Chen Ji doesn't think it's outrageous to have an extra golden finger.

He was just very curious about the contents of the book.

If this is your own experience, what does the last part about being able to speak bird and animal language mean?
He had only seen Miss Bai use this spell on the road, and he himself didn't know how to use it...

Was it a mistake in the book? Or had this "Strange Stories" already given me this ability?

Chen Ji couldn't make up his mind.

I wanted to try to speak the language of birds and animals, but when I opened my mouth, I found that I didn't know how to do it.

Moreover, this matter was too bizarre, so he didn't dare to ask Miss Bai.

After a moment's silence, Chen Ji gave up on delving into the matter and planned to ask the foxes indirectly about the bookshelf and the books when he had the chance. He would talk about it later.

At this time, there were whispers of voices coming from the passage.

"Mr. Chen is such a good man!"

"You must learn from Mr. Chen in the future."

"sure."

"He speaks better than Mr. Su. I like listening to him."

The foxes have arrived.

There are the big foxes from earlier, and some little foxes that have not yet shed their animal nature.

Seeing Chen Ji, he did not forget to salute. He half stood up straight, bowed and held his paws: "Hello, Mr. Chen!"

"you……"

Chen Ji was halfway through his reply when he suddenly froze.

It's okay that the big fox speaks with a poor accent, but how come he can even understand the voice of the little fox that could only whimper before?

Swallowing his saliva, Chen Ji was still not sure whether he had really heard it just now, and looked at the little fox again.

"Why are you here to help?"

"Miss Bai said that we are not young anymore and should learn to help the tribe. We can also learn some knowledge by setting up bookshelves."

The little fox chirped, and Chen Ji heard it clearly this time. It turned out that it could understand animal language.

He even felt certain that if he spoke at this moment, he would be able to make a sound like a fox's cry.

I stood there, feeling mixed emotions.

Miss Bai said this was a skill gained through cultivation, so I guess I'm on the path of cultivation too...

It seems a little different from what she said?
The big fox saw that Chen Ji was dazed and thought that he couldn't understand what the little fox said, so he helped to explain it.

"Miss Bai has taught you very well. You will definitely become good fox fairies in the future."

Chen Ji nodded in approval.

The little foxes rolled over on the ground with joy after hearing Chen Ji's praise.

"Did you hear that? The master said I'll be a good fox fairy in the future."

"You're talking about me too. You're such a nice guy, sir."

"Have you forgotten what Miss Bai said again? You are so dishonest!"

The big fox scolded with a stern face, but he couldn't hide the smile on his lips, which brought out a hint of joy.

Chen Ji is the gentleman invited by Miss Bai. He said that these little foxes have the potential to become fox fairies, so he must be very optimistic about them.

"Thank you, Mr. Chen."

The big fox taught.

"Thank you Mr. Chen!"

The little foxes chirped and bowed, then asked Chen Ji how to organize the bookshelf.

"I just checked these books, and it seems they weren't purchased and collected in the same batch, right?"

Chen Ji did not answer the little fox's question first, but talked about his own discovery, which was a good opportunity to find out the origin of the Strange Stories.

"Indeed not, these are all collected from different places..."

The big fox answered embarrassedly.

As the fox continued to speak, Chen Ji also understood.

Foxes do not practice cultivation entirely in the mountains and jungles. They also need to go to the human world to experience life and make good connections, and during this period they are bound to interact with humans.

But the foxes were not experienced enough and dared not stay in the big city for a long time, so they could only choose some small places.

But the world is not peaceful, and demons and evil spirits like to cause trouble in places like this.

Foxes are naturally not afraid, but people are.

Many families or even entire clans moved away, and before leaving, they would sell off their property. The foxes picked out books to buy, and some were left behind by people, so they also moved all of them back here.

"These books were probably moved from the home of a tribute student, but I can't remember the exact details."

The big fox imitated the old man and twirled his beard, which was quite funny.

Chen Ji nodded without further investigation. It would be great if he could find the origin, but if he couldn't, it would not affect the abilities he had already acquired.

I just don't know what the conditions are for recording experiences in this "Record of Strange Stories". The locust tree monster didn't appear in it when I saw it just now.

After witnessing the ability to speak bird and animal language, Chen Ji couldn't wait to acquire other abilities.

But I have something else to do right now, so I can only study it in detail later.

Chen Ji looked at the bookshelf.

"Let's sort out the books first. Move all the bookshelves to the wall, and then sort out the books. Don't let it affect your classes in the evening."

"Yes!"

The foxes acted one by one according to Chen Ji's instructions.

The big fox carries the bookshelf, and the little fox carries the books.

At first, Chen Ji was still wondering how these foxes could move such a large bookshelf, but now he saw it with his own eyes.

The big foxes first dug a hole and crawled under the bookshelf, then turned into a cart and carried the bookshelf.

However, the art of transformation was not very proficient. There was a furry fox tail hanging behind the car board, with a few whiskers sticking out from the side, and other parts of the body also had the characteristics of a fox.

"Come on, come on!"

The big fox called the little foxes to come forward and help.

The little foxes rushed up, biting the big fox's tail and limbs and dragging the cart forward.

"Ouch, be gentle, you stepped on my beard!"

The big fox barked and the little fox giggled, and Chen Ji also found it interesting.

Soon, hundreds of bookshelves were put in place.

Chen Ji began to organize the books according to the classification method of classics, history, philosophy and literature.

Just now he was only focused on studying "Records of Strange Stories" and did not look closely at other books.

Now that I have sorted them out, I find that the foxes have collected quite a few books, including classics of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, historical books of previous dynasties, treatises of various schools of thought, novels and plays, agriculture, water conservancy, forging and smelting, and even some cultivation techniques.

It is placed in a fine wooden or jade box, with labels such as "The Diagram of Qi Circulation for Longevity" and "The General Method of Qi Circulation for Mysterious Water".

There are scrolls and books in it, with different forms, but similar contents. They all have pictures of human tendons and veins, and some slightly obscure texts.
"Can foxes also practice these techniques?"

Chen Ji asked the big fox.

The big fox had finished moving the bookshelf and turned back into a fox, but his body was still covered in mud, making it difficult for him to put his clothes back on, so he walked on all fours like a little fox.

Hearing Chen Ji's question, he raised his head and shook it. "These are human cultivation techniques. Naturally, we can't practice them. But Miss Bai couldn't bear to see them scattered around, so she asked us to keep them safe."

"Then can I watch it too?"

"Of course, Miss Bai asked you to come here so that you can read these books. If you don't understand anything, you can ask Senior Huai and Mr. Su."

"Oh? They also understand human cultivation?"

Chen Ji was a little curious.

Senior Huai was right above them, a tree demon.

Trees are long-lived, so tree spirits should live longer, see more, and understand some human cultivation.

But Mr. Su?

Chen Ji had heard this name several times since he came here, and he only knew that this was the gentleman the foxes had invited before.

I know nothing else.

Now when he heard the big fox say this name, he couldn't help but ask.

"Who is Mr. Su?"

"it's me."

A gentle voice sounded behind Chen Ji, but when he turned around, there was no one there.

"Who is there!"

"I am sorry for being rude. I forgot you are an ordinary person and you can't see me. Please allow me to show myself."

As soon as he finished speaking, a translucent figure in a long gown slowly emerged in the air in front of Chen Ji. He looked to be about thirty or forty years old, floating in the air, staring at Chen Ji with a smile.

"I am Su Yu, the Mr. Su mentioned by the fox."

"Hello Mr. Su!"

When the foxes saw the shadow in the sky, they all bowed and greeted it.

Chen Ji looked at the shadow and swallowed his saliva.

"Are you a demon too?"

"No, I'm a ghost."

Mr. Su smiled.

"hiss……"

Chen Ji took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down.

He thought that Mr. Su might be a monster or a human, but he never thought that he was actually a ghost. He didn't know what to say for a moment.

After being stunned for a while, he suddenly thought of Su Yu's class.

A ghost was floating in the air, and dozens of foxes below were looking up and listening. They found it extremely interesting and couldn't help laughing out loud.

"Why is Mr. Chen laughing?"

Chen Ji was embarrassed to express his thoughts and quickly changed the subject.

"Can ghosts teach?"

"nature."

Su Yu said proudly.

"I'm a scholar who has been a student for five years. I wouldn't claim to be a master of cosmic knowledge, but at least I'm well-read and have even served as a tutor in a family of a successful candidate. How could I not teach a fox?"

"I heard Miss Bai asked you to teach Fox. I wonder what book you are going to teach?"

Chen Ji pursed his lips, feeling a little guilty.

He didn't know when the fifth year of Dadu was, but he might have passed the examination to become a scholar. Mr. Su's knowledge must be extraordinary.

My half-baked skills might be easily exposed, so why not ask Fox about his current learning progress first?

"Mr. Su is..."

Chen Ji was about to ask when Su Yu's eyes suddenly became clear and he looked at Chen Ji again.

"I am Su Yu, the Mr. Su mentioned by the fox."

"Ok?"

Chen Ji was stunned for a moment. Did he seem to have heard this before? He subconsciously asked again.

"Are you a demon?"

"No, I'm a ghost."

Su Yu's expression remained unchanged as he floated in the air and looked at Chen Ji.

"I see Mr. Chen doesn't look well. Is there something wrong?"

"Mr. Su?"

Chen Ji looked at the big fox, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Fortunately, the big fox knew what he wanted to ask, so he came forward, opened his beak and explained in a low voice.

"Miss Bai said that ghosts' memories will be damaged if they stay in the human world for too long. Mr. Su has been here for hundreds of years, and his memory has been damaged quite a bit. Sometimes they suddenly lose their memories for a period of time like this. Fortunately, Senior Huai has protected him, otherwise it would be even worse."

"I see."

Chen Ji nodded, and gained some more knowledge.

Sophora japonica trees are yin in nature and can nourish the soul. He had heard this from the elderly before, but now he has a deeper understanding of it.

Looking at Mr. Su again, you will understand why Miss Bai wants to find a new teacher and why he cannot lead the foxes to organize the bookshelves.

Soon, after a few polite words, Su Yu said that it was inconvenient for him to show up in the daytime and disappeared into the library.

Chen Ji then looked at the big fox.

"Did he only teach you the Analects?"

"Yes."

"Then I understand. Starting today, let's forget about the Analects and start studying... rhyme books."

Chen Ji thought for a moment before speaking.

When he was tidying up the bookshelf just now, he saw more than ten copies of "Lisheng Duiyun".

This book does not contain many great principles on governing a country and saving the world, but it does contain many natural laws of the world, common knowledge of literature from past dynasties, and can also cultivate awareness of words.

It is suitable for children to learn, and should also be suitable for foxes.

The Analects is a work written by a sage, and it is still a bit profound and cannot be understood by the foxes today.

"It's all up to you, sir. I'll arrange for the foxes to copy the books so they can attend classes later."

The little foxes happily went out with the books selected by Chen Ji, while the big fox asked Chen Ji what he planned to do next.

What to do?

Chen Ji still wanted to try out his new abilities.

It's a bit boring that he can speak the language of birds and animals but can only understand what foxes say. The real skill is to talk to birds and animals like Miss Bai.

Maybe you will be able to speak it after listening to it more?

Chen Ji thought about it and spoke.

"Then let's go to the mountain and take a look."

(End of this chapter)