Becoming a Fox Spirit from Under One Person

Chapter 98 has finally arrived, a life-or-death question.

After a crisp, loud slap, a series of "slap slap slap" sounds followed.

"Is he... addicted to it?"

Chen Ruoan didn't know what Liu Zhixing had done, but he used his oil-paper umbrella to cast a shading spell and slowly stepped into the cave.

Inside the dark and damp cave, the stone walls were covered with moss. A man and a woman looked at each other, their cheeks stained with red marks. The girl bit her lower lip, her eyes were red and glistening with tears, and she stared blankly at Liu Zhixing.

The corpse driver wasn't in much better shape; his right cheek was swollen and he stood there dumbfounded, at a loss for what to do.

"Are you two having a slapping contest?" Chen Ruoan complained.

Liu Zhixing couldn't see the fox, so he explained to the air, "I had no choice! I talked to this girl for a long time but she wouldn't listen, so I had to be a little forceful."

Believe it or not, a slap is quite effective; at least it makes the girl obey.

But seeing the girl crying with tears streaming down her face, this tough guy, who loved to travel all over the country and bury and transport corpses after war, suddenly couldn't bear it anymore.

To make amends and apologize, he slapped himself in the face several times.

The sound, unseen and like the whisper of wind through a cave, reached the girl's ears.

Her eyes lit up, timid yet brimming with burning anticipation: "Cave God, has it been you who came to take me away?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ruoan quickly put away the oil-paper umbrella in his hand, and with a sway of his body, he concealed his handsome human form and transformed into a fox with lustrous fur.

To avoid frightening the girl, he crawled into the vines hanging from the cave and stood guard in the deep green shadows.

"Not a god, just a kind-hearted fox passing by."

"Isn't that a god?" To the local girls, there was no difference between a fox and a god.

This beautiful and quiet girl was named Miao Xiang. She deeply believed that she was favored by God and that she would waste her beautiful life in her love affair and die weakly.

Chen Ruoan's eyes gazed intently into the cave: "Is this how all girls from western Hunan think?"

The fox pictured her beautiful figure by the stream, and heard a soft, lyrical tune playing in his ears. He thought that if Wei Shufen hadn't had the courage and decisiveness to face her feelings, she might have also possessed the qualities of someone who would fall into a burrow.

With that thought in mind, Miao Xiang opened her arms and embraced the fox.

In a place where "all things have spirits," Chen Ruoan's identity can only have a negative effect.

Miao Xiang moved forward, but the fox was attracted by the unusual activity outside the cave. A person was rapidly approaching, looking anxious, but without any murderous intent or hostility. Along with the commotion came the familiar scent of freshly ground medicinal powder.

Chen Ruoan peeked out from among the vines, about to greet them, when the person unceremoniously picked him up and held him tightly in their arms.

They were hugging a little too tightly, and the atmosphere was a bit heavy.

"You don't return the incense offerings, you don't listen to the prayers, so you've run off to Jidong to become a cave god? There are clearly girls in Qinghe who could be loved, why did you choose to come here? What am I lacking?" Wei Shufen's eyes were filled with a deathly darkness as she stared at Miao Xiang with a sinister gaze.

There is a fundamental difference between a fifteen-year-old's body and an eighteen-year-old's body.

And those differences are often very obvious, and they are most likely to touch a girl's sensitive spots and self-esteem.

Wei Shufen held the fox to her chest and weighed it in her arms; her imposing manner instantly vanished.

hateful.

Lost.

"You like big ones?"

"What's so big?" Chen Ruoan had expected to say something like "Long time no see" or "What brings you to Jidong?" but Wei Shufen didn't follow the script at all.

The atmosphere froze, and Chen Ruoan, not being one to be oblivious, immediately realized what was happening.

"There are still three years left."

As a former model youth of the new era, I should of course have positive and progressive values.

Rejecting childish aesthetics starts with you and others. Those who engage in pedophilia should be punished severely. Minors are also a sensitive area. Let alone breaking the law in real life, even writing a story online will be severely punished by the censors. "I'm not talking about age," Wei Shufen argued.

Chen Ruoan pressed further, "What is that?"

"I'll stay here then." The girl showed no intention of letting go.

The fox's limbs dangled in the air, unable to touch the ground, and its paws didn't feel like they were soaring through the clouds; it just swayed in mid-air.

Seeing this, Miao Xiang dared not go forward.

Wei Shufen said, "If you want something, go out and find it yourself. What's the point of hiding in a cave and waiting to die? I thought I had encountered some novel symptom that I could try to find a Gu to save people, but it turns out to be a mental illness."

"But the Cave God..." Miao Xiang said stubbornly.

Wei Shufen leaned close to Miao Xiang's ear and said coldly, "There's no cave spirit here, only foxes. Besides, if there really were a spirit in this cave, I'd kill it for you, believe me?"

Miao Xiang dared not utter another word, staggered a few steps, and pressed her back against the cold stone wall.

"But...but I don't know what to do?"

"Why not ask this magical fox?" Wei Shufen shook Chen Ruoan. "Pray to the fox spirit, and keep striving towards your vision. Perhaps one day your wish will come true."

The fox nodded, and announced something in his heart: if he were to preach in the future, Shufen would be the chief.

Miao Xiang stammered, unable to express what she truly wanted.

This was also the norm for some girls at the time: they couldn't figure out the root cause of their persecution and blamed their own emotions for the mistakes of local feudal shackles.

"Fine, I heard your prayer."

Since she was just interfering, it would be a disgrace to the fox spirit's reputation as a "matchmaker" if she didn't take full responsibility.

The group of people and a fox persuaded Miao Xiang to go home, and then they stood by the boulder by the stream, discussing their next move.

Wei Shufen stroked the fox's fur and sighed, "The most appropriate treatment I can think of is marriage. She should have a normal outlet for her emotions, or simply escape this miserable life."

But the latter is clearly not an option; the two elderly people dote on their granddaughter and there is no need to encourage separation.

Chen Ruoan didn't reply, but kept an eye on the passersby. It seemed that after Miao Xiang was brought back, the way some people looked at them had changed.

No one dared to take the woman, who was favored by the gods, home. All her relatives could do was say goodbye with tears in their eyes. To outsiders, the actions of Chen Ruoan and her group were clearly outrageous.

It was only because Chen Ruoan was a fox that she enjoyed the same reverence as the Cave God.

thump!

thump!

Water splashed up in front of Chen Ruoan and Wei Shufen, and Liu Zhixing was dejectedly throwing pebbles into the stream.

"Brother Liu, why do you look so gloomy?" the fox asked.

"It's nothing. Maybe I just felt a little bad after slapping Miao Xiang. Besides, this girl is just too pitiful." Liu Zhixing squatted down, head down in thought, his mind filled with the image of Miao Xiang crying in a daze.

"What are your thoughts?" Wei Shufen asked.

Liu Zhixing muttered in reply, "What ideas? I already said it's an illness, taking advantage of someone in distress is not something a man should do."

The corpse-driver's awkward manner was quite different from his usual self.

Chen Ruoan focused his mind and used his golden eyes to see the thread of fate between the two people, to see if they could form a good relationship.

Swish!

Two intertwined red lines appeared, their paths crossing gently, but halfway through, one of the lines broke cleanly, leaving no trace.

Chen Ruoan was used to guessing the future based on fate, and couldn't help but feel a little worried about Liu Zhixing's future.

I told you not to make any unfounded predictions, and this is about to come true.

The purpose of transporting corpses is to lead the deceased "back to their roots." Liu Zhixing has done so many good deeds; will he die soon?

"A brief period of good fortune..." The fox shook its head.

Wei Shufen stopped what she was doing, remembering the fox's ability to see the connections of fate, and suddenly realized something.

"It seems like I've never asked you about the fate between us all this time."

"How was your innate talent determined? Since you didn't refuse my request, does that mean there's some kind of karmic connection between us?"