Becoming a Fox Spirit from Under One Person

Chapter 97 A Tragedy Equal to Beauty

Chen Ruoan used his golden eyes to observe the subtle energy in the mountains and fields, which slowly opened up. This place was beautiful with clear waters and lush mountains, but there were no spirits that could achieve any real power.

After circling back to the mountainside, the elderly couple changed their burning method to burning paper money. When they saw Chen Ruoan return, they did not show any expectation on their faces and simply nodded.

"Young man, if you're hungry, come to our house for lunch today. It's just some ordinary food, please don't mind."

The fox wasn't initially too disappointed, but the old couple's kindness stirred up a deep sense of frustration.

The smoke from the sacrificial ceremony dissipated, and the embers turned into fine ashes. Chen Ruoan followed behind the two elders, shamelessly returning home together.

The old man's house was next to a clear stream. Before the fox even stepped into the house, he saw a beautiful figure by the stream.

She was a girl of seventeen or eighteen, with bright eyes and a quiet demeanor like a flower just beginning to bloom in the mountains.

She held a wooden comb, carefully tidying her long, flowing hair. Her gaze was fixed on the babbling brook, and a faint, dreamy smile played on her lips. She was clean and gentle.

This scene felt strangely familiar.

As Chen Ruoan approached with the two elders, the young woman slowly raised her head and gave them a sweet and charming smile.

The dappled shadows cast by the branches and leaves along the stream gently covered her cheeks, and a layer of unyielding sadness spread across her sweet smile.

Chen Ruoan lowered her head and asked softly, "The girl in your family seems quite happy."

"Yes...she fell in love with the Cave God."

"The god of the cave?"

A strange name.

Chen Ruoan asked, "What would it be like to love God?"

"I will die inside the cave, and then all the flowers outside will wither and die," the old woman sobbed.

The fox was certain that there was nothing unusual in the mountains, and the story of fallen flowers outside the cave was probably embellished in the legend.

Why?

"Is there anything wrong with the girl herself?" Chen Ruoan asked again.

"I don't know."

Deep down, the two elderly people hoped their granddaughter would get well; illness can be treated, but loving God truly means there's no turning back.

In fact, there was also a woman in a neighboring village who was favored by the cave god. Her parents thought it was a man-made disaster, so they went to Qinghe Miao Village to invite a great sorcerer, but more than three days have passed and they still haven't received a reply.

After listening to the village's story, Chen Ruoan tilted his head in confusion and took out the demon core from his stomach.

The demon core glowed and shone, carrying a cluster of clear foxfire that was gently sent forward. This foxfire could burn away filth and cleanse hidden poisons, but it was powerless against the girl's abnormality.

That's really strange.

Chen Ruoan ate something simple and returned to the mountains to reorganize his thoughts. After noon, Liu Zhixing woke up and was eating a yellow pancake under a tree.

The fox remembered that he was from western Hunan and was familiar with the landscape, so it casually asked him another question.

"You mean the woman from the Fallen Flower Cave?" Liu Zhixing chewed on something, his words muffled. "Come to think of it, she has indeed arrived in a place where this belief exists."

"Is it a very rare and unusual school of thought?"

"Let's not get off topic. It's definitely not that. It's more like a disease." Liu Zhixing admitted that he was somewhat unorthodox and had no respect for the local beliefs.

However, after listening to the corpse driver's account, Chen Ruoan felt there was no need to be in awe, because the Falling Flower Cave Woman was simply a feudal superstition.

In some local customs, the extreme suppression of women's sexuality by feudal ethics is regarded as the highest morality. Some intelligent women who love beauty and cleanliness, are literate, and are full of emotions suffer even more from the persecution of emotional suppression and are prone to becoming pathological.

Alongside this custom is the belief that "all things have a spirit."

Trees, caves, rocks—everywhere is imbued with spirit.

Foxes, tigers, snakes, turtles—there's nothing that isn't strange.

The caves in the mountains are the dwelling places of the gods.

When a young girl falls in love with a human, she clashes with the shackles of morality and falls in love with gods and monsters. In the girl's fantasy, the gods who love them are either statues in temples or snakes, tigers, and foxes in the mountains and fields. Chen Ruoan raised her head and gazed at the mountains and fields.

I inexplicably felt a sense of empathy:

Thinking back to my past life, even those "legendary pilots" and "gold miners" could suppress their emotions when they had a way to cope, let alone the moral persecution in this confined environment.

Chen Ruoan, Liu Zhixing, and Zhang Huaiyi returned to the clear stream in front of the old couple's house, where the young girl was still doing her hair by the stream.

Chen Ruoan could imagine that she was calm and collected, and fantasizing about love. Perhaps one day, she would accidentally pass by a cave and believe that the gods in the cave would catch a glimpse of her and fall in love with her at first sight.

Therefore, she loved being alone even more, loved sitting quietly, and loved keeping herself clean and flawless, always believing that the cave god would ride the clouds and rainbows, crossing mountains and fields to see her.

In her mind, it didn't matter whether the deity was human or a strange beast.

She felt a mix of shyness and fear, as well as intense excitement. She experienced a kind of distorted self-desecration, like a fox opening its mouth to eat a rabbit, which would then willingly crawl into its mouth.

"Wait, what am I thinking?"

Chen Ruoan was slightly lost in thought when she heard a soft humming in her ear: "The red silk robe she's wearing on her upper body, hehe~ and the water-wicker skirt she's wearing at her waist~ she looks like a fairy descending to earth~"

The fox turned to look at Liu Zhixing: "This song is very famous in western Hunan. Do all the women know how to sing it?"

"What song is it?"

"The song this girl sings."

"She didn't open her mouth or make a sound, Brother Fox, are you sure you heard correctly?" Liu Zhixing looked forward.

Didn't sing?

Weird.

The girl slowly got up and walked towards the cave in the mountain.

Chen Ruoan followed behind and went together.

Liu Zhixing continued, "I've heard that these women who have fallen into the cave fantasize that the cave god will send someone to greet them, or that he himself will change into new clothes and ride a white horse across the mountain."

"It is said that they heard the sound of flutes and drums playing in their ears, their eyes shone, their cheeks flushed, and then a strange fragrance wafted from their bodies before they left with smiles."

They died with clear minds and radiant beauty.

Chen Ruoan listened while frowning.

Why do some people like to drape tragedy in a beautiful guise?

That person has found release through death, how could he not be "clear-headed and refreshed"?

Chen Ruoan and the other two stood outside the cave, discussing their next move, but it was always too difficult for three bachelors to find the right way to rescue them.

Needless to say, the fox is still learning.

Not to mention Zhang Huaiyi, at this moment, after hearing the legend of the Falling Flower Cave Girl, Chen Ruoan just felt inexplicably sorry for Zhang Chulan!

The Taoist priest and the fox turned their gazes to Liu Zhixing.

The corpse driver was taken aback. It seemed that among the people present, the fox and the Taoist priest really didn't have much experience. Come to think of it, he was the only "person" who had traveled all over the country and had some knowledge of matters of the heart.

"Stop talking, I understand what you mean."

"I'll go and try to persuade them."

"I've rescued countless corpses, but this is the first time I've ever rescued a human being!"

Liu Zhixing hurriedly ran to the cave, while Chen Ruoan and Zhang Huaiyi waited expectantly. However, about ten minutes later, the man and the fox heard a crisp slap.

Snapped!