Becoming a Fox Spirit from Under One Person

Chapter 89 The Fox, This Love Tribulation Has a Different Solution

After Chen Ruoan finished off the old macaque, he immediately returned to Yuhuangou.

Deep within the dense forest where the monkey troop resides, there lies a hidden stone cave.

The old macaque hated humans to the core, and the cave contained only items looted from the world, including several Buddhist scriptures and martial arts manuals lost after the Shaolin Temple fire.

"Let's do each other a favor."

Chen Ruoan scoffed lightly, opened his mouth and swallowed, taking several large wooden boxes filled with books into his belly.

Upon exiting Yuhuanggou, the monk Jiekong was sitting cross-legged in the forest, performing a ritual to pray for the souls of a group of wild monkeys.

Those vicious monkeys that devoured flesh and blood and were filled with malice were all killed, leaving only a few ignorant and stupid monkeys huddled together, trembling and filled with fear.

Despite committing murder, Jie Kong remained calm and composed, nodding slightly to Chen Ruoan.

"Since you seem so pleased with yourself, it seems you've already dealt with that wicked beast in the mountains."

"It was a macaque that was skilled at creating clones and escaping. I buried it in the ground."

"9

Chen Ruoan exhaled a puff of mist, the wooden box fell to the ground, and then another figure, unconscious, appeared.

He pushed the items forward and said calmly, "I'll leave these things and this person to Master Jiekong."

"This is!?"

Upon seeing the recovered Buddhist scriptures, Jie Kong's eyes lit up with joy. He clasped his hands together, bowed, and said, "On behalf of Shaolin Temple, this humble monk thanks Benefactor Hu."

After saying this, he looked back at the mountain path, stacked the wooden boxes in order, put the unconscious man on the top, and carried them toward Shaolin Temple.

"Fox Benefactor, why don't you come with me to the temple to rest?"

"Alright." Chen Ruoan followed slowly.

After passing through a landscape of broken walls and ruins, with charred and peeling murals, broken sculptures lying on the ground, and ancient cypress and locust trees mostly burned to ashes, the fox truly understood the cultural catastrophe brought about by war.

Jie Kong carefully hid the scriptures and sat cross-legged under an old tree.

Chen Ruoan stood to one side, the lingering smell of burnt smoke filling his nostrils. The place was dilapidated, and even the air smelled terrible.

Glug glug~

A soft sound came from Jie Kong's empty stomach.

The monk's cheeks immediately flushed slightly, his brows lowered, and his clasped hands tightened slightly.

Chen Ruoan watched, took out an egg and handed it over: "Want some?"

The monks of the future will certainly not have many Buddhist precepts, but I wonder if eating eggs counts as eating meat for monks of this time.

The monk Jiekong looked ashamed and sighed with his palms together, "This humble monk has failed to fulfill his duty as host, and instead has troubled Benefactor Hu with his generosity. I am truly ashamed."

"So that means it's edible."

Chen Ruoan lightly touched the egg with her paw, and a round egg rolled to the monk's front with a "gurgle".

Jie Kong picked it up, peeled it open, gently squeezed it, and then opened his mouth to bite the whole egg in one go.

"The chaotic universe is contained within a single shell, without skin, bones, or hair. This humble monk will take you to the Western Paradise, so you can avoid suffering a cut in the mortal world," he muttered.

"What delicious eggs!"

Jie Kong sighed, but the fox dared not reply, fearing that the egg's magic would take effect. If a monk followed behind calling for his mother, the scene would be too beautiful to imagine.

Having barely satisfied his hunger, the monk Jiekong asked the fox about his experiences and observations on his journey of cultivation, and the fox gave a few words in response.

This trip ended in Qinghe Miao Village, partly to test the legendary love potion, and partly to fulfill a promise and get to know Shufen better.

However, after mentioning the tribulations of love, the monk Jiekong had a different understanding.

"Fox Benefactor, this humble monk believes that this love tribulation has another explanation."

Jie Kong twirled his prayer beads and explained, "Fox Benefactor, in this world there is affection. Some say there is great love and small love. But in my humble opinion, whether one spends a lifetime saving all the people in the world or a lifetime saving only one person, the original intention is no different."

"Emotion, as it is, is the deepest emotion, yet it is not limited to romantic love between men and women; it also includes familial affection and friendship between close friends. The word 'emotion' encompasses countless things, so profound that it is difficult to write it down."

"The feelings in my heart are not some narrow-minded obsession. I think the emotional tribulation that Benefactor Fox speaks of is certainly not a simple matter of romantic love. There must be a deeper spiritual practice behind it."

"As for where good results ultimately come from, the principles of cause and effect are mysterious and cannot be explained in Zen, so it is not something that this humble monk can easily explain."

"Hey... Master, that's quite a profound statement," Chen Ruoan casually remarked.

Fortune tellers and monks always seem to beat around the bush for ages, only to end with a vague statement like "Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed" or "Zen enlightenment is for you to discover," and then nothing more.

Why not just say it outright? Is it really that satisfying to be a riddle teller?

Despite her complaints, Chen Ruoan secretly pondered Jie Kong's words.

The idea that foxes must overcome the tribulations of love to become immortals is merely a legend and a record in ancient texts. No fox has ever been certain that it must rely on romantic love to attain enlightenment.

But where will this "deepest affection" ultimately land?

The fox pondered for a long time without finding a solution, so it simply threw its question back at the fox: "Master Jiekong, have you ever experienced a truly unforgettable love?"

Upon hearing this, Jie Kong was suddenly startled, his thoughts drifting back to the small town with its gentle mountains and soft waters before he received his vows.

He recalled the swaying reeds, the tender lotus pods and bitter lotus seeds, the series of footprints of varying depths on the mudflats, and a pair of small feet with crescent-shaped arches, gently stepping on his insteps through the cool, slippery mud.

The monk stared blankly for a long time before slowly shaking his head and chuckling softly, "Never."

Jie Kong lowered his eyes, tightened his grip on the prayer beads, and let out a soft sigh that dissipated in the wind.

Today, I finally broke my vow.

This spiritual practice is like drinking water; only the person drinking knows whether it's hot or cold. No matter how much you say, it's just a principle that you realize yourself. I'm ashamed, truly ashamed... I know very well that "emotion" is not a narrow thing, but when I talked about deep emotions just now, all that surged in my heart was that small town, and that innocent and carefree old time with the girl next door.

Seeing Kong's flustered expression, Chen Ruoan unconsciously curled her lips upwards.

Something's fishy.

It seems like digging up dirt on people is quite enjoyable; after all this time, the fox has really picked up a whole host of wicked tastes.

He stopped pressuring Master Jiekong, his fox tail swaying gently: "If it's not there, it's not there. Monks are free from worldly desires, so naturally it's not there."

"No, no, no, you are wrong, Fox Benefactor. Purity of the six senses is not the same as being emotionless. Emotionlessness is like withered wood and dead ashes, devoid of joy, sorrow, feeling, and thought; but purity of the six senses means being aware without being confused, and being moved without being attached."

"Um."

Chen Ruoan nodded in agreement, turned around, narrowed his long, narrow eyes, and examined the Prayer Tree in his mind.

A pale blue precious certificate hangs on a branch, engraved with the name of the monk Jiekong before he converted to Buddhism—Wang Minghai.

It was a chance encounter, and we only spent a short day together. For it to be of such high quality, that's quite remarkable.

"Should we take our time and deepen the depth a bit more?"