Becoming a Fox Spirit from Under One Person

Chapter 146 The Fox's "Years" Ambition

"Why did you change your name to Xia Gexiao?"

The name wasn't very appealing; in Xia He's heart, "Gexiao" was far inferior to the "He" in Xiao He Miao's name.

"I remembered something from the past." The apprentice and the "sister" are truly two completely different kinds of beings.

Tell me.

"next time."

"Mmm," Xia He pressed harder with both hands until Chen Ruoan's hands pressed her lips into a pout: "Wouldn't we be considered drifters in a foreign land, relying on each other for survival?"

"And there's a housekeeper too."

"I paid her, so she doesn't count." Xia He let go of her hand. "You can tell me if you have something on your mind. The book says that it's important to talk about it, but of course, listening is also very important."

These days, some of these pink-haired girls are quite precocious. Chen Ruoan threw the question back at her: "Did you tell me what was on your mind?"

"I have nothing on my mind."

"Feeling wronged?"

"No!" Xia He raised her voice. All she could imagine was sitting alone in the corner of the classroom, holding an umbrella, with the students around her like ordinary light brown clusters of fungi, while she was a bright and beautiful poisonous mushroom.

The lessons taught by the teachers were very interesting. During breaks, we could hide in the classroom's book corner, read the teen books and elementary school student essay collections that the school had bought, and immerse ourselves in a story. Time always seemed to fly by.

Xia He wouldn't feel wronged. When she opened the umbrella, she tilted her head back, and above her head were peonies outlined with needle and thread. She tilted the umbrella behind her, and the clear sky spread out before her eyes.

Sometimes it might be a rainy day with overcast skies, but it wouldn't affect her mood at all. When it rains, everyone is holding up umbrellas.

"The only thing I care about is what activating the exotic scent means to me. What kind of person am I, who can control the lust of others?"

A fundamental question about humanity was posed to Chen Ruoan.

Xia He had done her homework in private and could even share her insights with Fox without any reservations. She was in a hazy stage of awakening sexual awareness and was not yet able to fully experience everything that puberty brought her.

"I really don't know what will happen when I grow up, whether I will become like the prophecy of awakening..." Xia He was also unwilling to utter any vulgarities.

"She'll be a fox spirit who doesn't go against her true nature," Chen Ruoan chimed in.

"Same as you?"

The fox fell into deep thought. Thinking of Xiao Zizai, whom it had just met, it was easier to recall Master Jiekong, whom it had met during the Shaolin Temple fire. The little monk spoke of the principle of "knowing without being confused, feeling without being attached." Had the fox lived up to that principle?

"Xiao He Miao, come with me for a moment." Chen Ruoan stood up and led Xia He to the balcony.

Pushing open the window, a refreshing breeze wafts in, and the small balcony is teeming with life. Several rare herbs from the mountain are planted haphazardly, their tender white and light green buds timidly peeking out from the thin layer of soil. On the other side, the flowers are in full bloom, their petals delicate and vibrant, with shimmering light clinging to their stamens, trembling gently in the breeze.

"You've been growing flowers and plants for a while now. What's your take on the cycle of flowers and plants withering in autumn and reviving in spring?"

"That's how they grow," Xia He replied.

"Who made the decision?"

"It must be time, you said it was the Spring and Autumn Period!" Xia He answered without much thought.

"This is what's on my mind." Chen Ruoan pulled out the weeds from the flowerpot and explained, "At first, I thought so too, but then I realized that the rising and setting of the sun and moon, the withering and flourishing of flowers and plants, the changing of the seasons—these alternating and cyclical changes—existed long before time... no, in the words of the ancient sages, it was the years. Long before the years were defined."

"It's not that flowers and plants wither and flourish because of the passage of time, but rather that the many changes in flowers and plants themselves lead people to define the passage of time. I've tried my best to understand the 'Tao' through the lens of time, but even now, I'm still a little short."

Xia He seemed to understand but not quite, and asked, "Do you want to control the passage of time?"

"This is my ambition, but it's very difficult to achieve."

In the world where An Fox lives, the upper limit seems to be somewhat locked.

"How far have you progressed?"

Chen Ruoan gently twirled a tender petal between her fingertips. As she released her grip, the delicate flower, glistening with dew, slipped from her fingertip. Instead of falling to the ground, it floated lightly in mid-air, motionless.

Not only the fallen flowers froze, but even the breeze that brushed past the window with rare and exotic plants, the dust floating in the air, and the pale golden halo woven by sunlight filtering through the leaves all stopped in an instant. Light and shadow were frozen, plants and trees stood still, and nothing moved.

"Wow, it's really stopped." Xia He felt as if she were in an ice sculpture world sealed off by the apocalypse, but the path outside the window still had a pedestrian crossing, and butterflies and moths were swirling and dancing in the grass.

"You feel very weak, right?"

The fox has not yet witnessed the grand spectacle after entering the "Tao". If we use change to understand the passage of time, the so-called return to the past is nothing more than forcibly reversing all matter, energy and state back to the past in reality.

The fox doesn't yet have the imagination, or rather, the ability, to imagine spacetime as a complete four-dimensional structure and find the channels to the past, present, and future.

Of course, in the eyes of the ancient sages who ascended to heaven, time was by no means a rigid existence like physical time.

"Do you want to go back to the past?" Xia He asked.

"Don't you want to go back to before the awakening ceremony at Fujiyama Herbal Bath? That way you can still have a normal school life, and you won't have to disguise yourself as a clumsy fat penguin to fight against 'Skin Rest'."

Xia He clutched Chen Ruoan's sleeve and argued, "I don't want to, otherwise I wouldn't be able to meet you."

The fox didn't look at her; its gaze was fixed on the ever-changing world outside the window.

All the pink-haired little girls these days are the same, which really makes the fox "scared".

Snapped!

Xia He hugged the fox tightly from behind: "It's okay, it would be nice if time could slow down like this."

"Don't be afraid. Even if you grow up to be a young woman, you won't live the way others see you." An Fox patted Xia He's hand to comfort her.

"That's not what I meant. Slow down, I can spend more time with you," Xia He argued again. Her brother had a pair of beautiful, bright golden eyes that never looked at her with any strange light, but would occasionally flash a hint of melancholy.

"You looked so lonely in the living room. Just think, even with me here, you still look at me like that. I wonder how lonely you'll be when I'm no longer here."

After listening, Chen Ruoan looked out the window and chuckled.

That pink-haired girl is terrifying.

In this small world where the flow of time suddenly stops, a gentle warmth seeps into the skin through the fox's thin clothes.

Xia He gently closed her eyes, the crisp fragrance of the flowers and plants on the balcony lingering around her nose, mixed with a faint, indescribable, calming scent.

Before the wishing tree deep within her heart, the fox stirred the thread of destiny. A half-golden scroll, shimmering with light, emitted a halo of gentle spiritual light that spread outwards.

"I've never seen a way to achieve a semi-finished product before, and it's unlikely to be perfect. But that's fine too; starting from an imperfect beginning, let's work together towards the future."

Once the fox had made its wish, it prayed that countless streams of light would shoot from the branches of the tree, overflowing from its mind and consciousness, and falling directly onto the old book in the plastic bag in the living room.

The comic book and paperback edition of "Journey to the West" were stitched together to form a brand new book, adding a completely new plot and content to the original story.

Chen Ruoan and Xia He sat back down on the sofa side by side, flipping through the books.

After glancing at it a few times, the fox understood. This was a book that combined the original meaning of Journey to the West, cultivation of life and nature, internal alchemy, and many other essential elements.

Righteousness is a cultivation method tailored for young girls.

This is how the wish of the unfinished treasure disc is fulfilled.

Chen Ruoan looked at the old clock on the wall. The time showed 5:16, which was still a long time before the time he had agreed to meet with Xiao Zizai.

"Okay~" Xia He cupped her cheeks in her hands, looked at the illustrations in the book, and then secretly glanced at Chen Ruoan.

The wind outside the window started to stir again, and the petals hanging in mid-air gently sank and silently fell onto the clean floor.

"Um?"

The fox, having forgotten to conceal its true nature, looked towards the balcony. "The frozen moment seems to have become longer."

Whether it's the wind, the floating dust, or the halo of light on the ground, many things have begun to flow again.

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