Becoming a Fox Spirit from Under One Person

The poison dissipated, the living poison died, and the itinerant doctor who had been setting up schemes to swindle money slumped to his chest, utterly lifeless.

"Just like that, he was slapped to death?" Chen Ruoan couldn't help but marvel at Zhang Zhiwei's swift and ruthless actions.

"I can't give a decent living to such a vile and wicked person. At first, I really thought he was a kind-hearted wandering monk who helped the world, but I never imagined he was a villain who poisoned the villagers. I was almost dragged over to do odd jobs..."

Chen Ruoan saw that Zhang Zhiwei at this time could not yet be connected with the highly respected old Celestial Master of later generations.

As the current Celestial Master Zhang Jingqing said, Zhang Zhiwei is now a foolish lion, arrogant and conceited, looking down on everyone and completely indifferent to the conspiracies and schemes in the hearts of some people.

But his madness is different from madness in the traditional sense.

How to be a person and how to cultivate oneself are all that Zhang Zhiwei is currently considering. He has no distracting thoughts and focuses solely on doing one thing. With no distractions, he naturally becomes "oblivious to others".

However, what Longhu Mountain has passed down from generation to generation, besides the skills of the Golden Light Mantra and Thunder Magic, is the admonition of "discipline oneself like a saint, tolerate others like an ordinary person, and deal with things with truth."

This is also what Master Jingqing was worried about—

Zhang Zhixiu's success was too smooth, and his arrogance prevented him from seeing the "truth." Zhang Huaiyi was cautious and timid, and although he saw the truth, he dared not "seek the truth." Both brothers were qualified to become Celestial Masters, but in the end, they were both just a little bit short.

Zhang Zhiwei is even more special. Rather than becoming the leader of the entire Zhengyi sect, he is more like a simple seeker of the Dao. That's why Zhang Zhiwei later told Zhang Chulan that if the "Thirty-Six Thieves" hadn't sworn brotherhood, the position of Celestial Master would have belonged to Zhang Huaiyi sooner or later.

"What's wrong, fox? What are you thinking about?"

"It's nothing."

Chen Ruoan is not one to play the role of a know-it-all.

Whether it's to curb his arrogance or to calm his mind during his travels, Zhang Zhiwei has his own adventures. There's no need for An Fox to pretend to be profound and insist on giving him pointers. Besides, didn't the Celestial Master Jingqing say enough on Mount Longhu?

"So, this is the big thing we're going to do?"

Zhang Zhiwei pointed to the corpse embedded in the wall. The difficulty of passing this level was not even as great as the bandits encountered along the way.

"Taoist priest, aren't you short of travel money?"

"Hmm—you mean looting a corpse?"

The fox nodded.

After defeating monsters, you get gold coins and equipment; isn't that common sense?

Why didn't we try to destroy the bandits' hideout back then?

Chen Ruoan used his paws to untie the medicine pouch and rummaged through the cloth bag. Inside, besides money, there were several kinds of medicinal herbs, as well as several account books covered in ink stains.

"This guy really treats drug fraud as a career. He keeps a very clear record of where the stolen money came from. After returning some of the money to the suffering villagers, the few extra copper coins were enough for us to get to the next town."

"fine."

Zhang Zhiwei felt that compared to the "greater good" in the hearts of those who practiced Buddhism, money was not important.

"Taoist priest, let's go back."

"Do you want me to carry you? You've been through so much today, is your Qi Sea still holding up?"

"I choose to lie on top of your head."

···

Cleaning up the remnants of the Gu poison from the bell doctor required a lot of effort and time. Chen Ruoan rested for a few days at the temple in Jinxi Village. While the villagers were tending to their fields and repairing their houses, Zhang Zhiwei was also able to contribute and "earn" a few meals.

Chen Ruoan received treatment in the morning and rested in the afternoon, unknowingly staying in the village for seven days.

At noon on the seventh day, Zhang Zhiwei was helping to repair the roof. While taking a break, he noticed that the village square was crowded with people, and his gaze fell on the black fox surrounded by the crowd.

Upon calming down and thinking about it, if it weren't for this fox, he might still be grinding medicine for the itinerant doctor, who, after swindling money, might go to the next village to continue committing evil deeds.

"Human hearts are unpredictable; I should pay more attention to the things around me in the future."

Just then, a woman carrying a basket slowly passed by and called out to the roof, "Taoist priest, I have a few wild vegetable buns here, I've put them down for you."

"There are two eggs in the basket, which are prepared for the Fox Deity."

"Thank you." Zhang Zhiwei waved his dirty hand.

Laughter erupted from near the well. Looking in the direction of the sound, a little girl was chasing after Chen Ruoan, repeatedly calling out, "Fox, fox!"

Chen Ruoan shouted from the front, "Whose kid is this? Is nobody taking care of him?"

The father, Sanxi, chased after the little girl, shouting, "Little girl, don't chase after the fox spirit!"

A fox, a baby, and an adult ran around the well curb, while the villagers watching laughed.

Zhang Zhiwei also smiled. His master said that one must temper one's heart in the mortal world and perfect one's state of mind by experiencing the warmth and coldness of human relationships. He thinks he can grasp a little bit of the idea.

Chen Ruoan was at his wits' end with the child, so he dashed to the east entrance of the village. With the last bit of poison cleaned up, it was almost time to set off.

The fox blew a gust of demonic wind, carrying a message to Zhang Zhiwei.

"Taoist priest, let's go!"

Zhang Zhiwei jumped off the roof, stuffed the vegetable bag and eggs into his pocket, and leaped to the village entrance in a few steps, leaving a group of villagers stunned on the spot, unable to come to their senses for a long time.

"Anhuli, don't you want your roast chicken anymore?"

"Didn't you already eat one? One is enough. You have wild vegetable buns now."

A roast chicken was nothing in Chen Ruoan's previous life, but now it can be considered a delicacy.

In this era, chickens are considered an economic resource rather than a staple food. Eating chicken is a rare and expensive affair, so there's no need to cause trouble for the villagers.

Chen Ruoan stopped at the village entrance, hopped a few steps, and looked up at the sky with a puzzled expression.

It's strange, given that we have a great affinity with Jinxi Village, why hasn't the Wishing Tree made any progress so far? Could something have gone wrong?

Never mind, never mind.

Anhuli thought to himself that he had enjoyed the past seven days quite well. The purpose of cultivating immortality and seeking the Dao is to do as one pleases and have one's heart's desire. If one is fixated on any opportunity or reward, it would only put one at a disadvantage. It is enough to be happy and have everything go smoothly.

Chen Ruoan and Zhang Zhiwei left, and the villagers looked at each other in bewilderment in the square.

"Has the fox spirit left?"

"Where can we go? The fox spirit temple at the village entrance is still there. Didn't it used to enshrine the fox spirit?"

···

Several elderly villagers still remember that it was a local earth god temple, and it did not enshrine any fox at all. After spending seven days with it, the villagers realized that they had encountered a passing fox spirit, not some kind of fox deity.

But none of that matters. It saved most of the village, so it must be a fox spirit.

"Let's move the Earth God's seat and then set up a new memorial tablet to worship the Fox Spirit."

The elderly man in charge of village affairs spoke up.

The villagers naturally had no objections.

But the villagers were still poor, so they found a flat wooden board, mixed soot with water to use as ink, wrote Chen Ruoan's honorific title, wrapped it with red paper to complete the memorial tablet, and sincerely offered it to the gods to place it in their place.

In just one afternoon, the temple was renovated. The relocated local earth god, along with a passing fox, were placed before the memorial tablets. There was no incense burning, but instead, a lot of simple dried fruit was laid out. There was no roast chicken, just several eggs.

"Your Excellency Fox Spirit, we villagers sincerely worship you! May your cultivation be smooth, may you ascend to the ranks of immortals soon, and attain the Great Dao."

"We also pray that you will bless our village with favorable weather, abundant harvests, peace for the young and old, and that our lives will become increasingly prosperous!"

···

Well!

The fox had long since left Jinxi Village and settled on the mountainside of a small hill. There was no human voice to be heard there, and one could see the drifting clouds when looking up.

Suddenly, it smelled a clear and sweet scent drifting from the foot of the mountain. The scent was untouched by the spiritual energy of plants and trees, and carried the devout faith of humankind. It was gentle and soothing, making its dantian feel slightly warm.

Chen Ruoan narrowed his eyes and followed the scent. Wisps of ethereal smoke came from the direction of Jinxi Village and landed directly around it.

It's incense.

The incense smoke was rich and lingering, and Chen Ruoan couldn't help but open his mouth and inhale. A warm feeling flowed from his throat into his dantian, and every pore on his body relaxed.

It smells so good!

It's even more tempting than the roast chicken I had a few days ago.

Before long, the fox was so overwhelmed by the warm and cozy atmosphere that it became drowsy and even the aura around it became hazy.

In a daze, Chen Ruoan saw the treasure tree in his mind light up, and a treasure tablet suddenly flashed with purple light, engraved with the three words "Jinxi Village".

Along with the scent of incense came the villagers' heartfelt prayers.

Chen Ruoan stared at the red line hanging in front of her, pondered for a moment, and finally pulled the line and shook it.

Seeing that the fox looked slightly tipsy, Zhang Zhiwei then leaped away and disappeared into the forest.

Not long after, Chen Ruoan jumped back.

The sun was already quite dark, and a small dark cloud gathered on the horizon. The wind gradually became damp, and fine, hair-like rain began to fall, pattering softly on the pine needles and the parched ridges of the fields below.

The rain was light, but it was persistent.

Zhang Zhiwei gazed at the cloud, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said, "Fox, it's going to rain."

Exhausted, Chen Ruoan curled up under the tree and whispered, "Mmm."

Good rain knows its season.