The Little Fox's Immortal Cultivation Encyclopedia

The fox stared at the yellow dog and demanded, "You knew the fox was looking for someone, so why didn't you say anything?"

Big Yellow paused for a moment, its ears drooped, and its head was lowered, only daring to steal glances at the fox's face out of the corner of its eye.

The fox said irritably, "Fine, I'm a big-hearted fox, I won't bother with you, you stupid dog. I have something to discuss with your master, so take me there quickly."

"Woof?"

The fox raised its paw: "Are you pretending not to understand again?"

Startled, Big Yellow quickly covered its nose with both paws and looked at the fox ingratiatingly, barking, "Woof!"

"This time is this time, last time is last time. It doesn't matter if you don't know where Li Lang is, you can also look for his mother."

Big Yellow whimpered and rolled over, exposing its belly.

The fox remained silent, then took off several strings of soapberry beads from its body and, against the grain, put them around the yellow dog's neck: "You damn dog, you know nothing. I'm busy right now, so give these beads to that child. I'll deal with you next time I come."

The fox ran away in a flash, leaving only Big Yellow, who was bound like a lion.

"Woof?"

The fox darted to the entrance of the county government office, then transformed into a dashing young man and approached him: "Where is the magistrate? I need to speak with him."

Hearing the commotion, the gatekeeper approached, glanced at the fox's attire, lingered on its face for a few moments, and held out his hand: "Alright, bring the complaint. What's the matter? Is it a broken marriage contract, abandoning your wife to remarry, or a fight over love?"

"What complaint?" The fox was stunned.

The bailiff pointed ahead: "Look, walk straight ahead for fifty steps, and you'll see a shop that sells legal documents. Write your complaint there and come back."

The fox understood that this complaint was similar to a legal document, so it quietly picked up a fallen leaf, cast an illusion spell, and transformed it into a written complaint, which it then handed over.

"Wow, so it turns out he broke off the engagement, abandoned his wife, and remarried, and then they fought over it." The bailiff looked up, clicked his tongue twice, and put the complaint away.

The fox lifted its leg and went inside.

"Hey, wait a minute, what's the rush? Go home and wait patiently until the permit is issued. By the way, where do you live?"

"Why so much trouble? I should have just sneaked in." The fox was a little annoyed and asked, "I'm in a hurry. Oh, by the way, I have money, it's all yours."

"Hey, what are you talking about? This isn't like before. I wouldn't dare show favoritism." The constable took a step back, carefully looked back, and pointed to the petition drum next to him.

"If it's urgent, just knock on it. As soon as the drum sounds, the magistrate will hold court. Let me tell you, this is..."

The fox strode forward and, without using a wooden stick, struck dozens of times in a single breath, making the constables' ears ring.

Inside the courtroom.

Magistrate Zhang stroked his beard and slowly spoke, "There's some truth to that encouragement. Guijian, think carefully again. What was the situation in the county during the time the previous magistrate disappeared?"

"Reporting to the magistrate, during that period, the people of the county... were in a state of panic." He Guijian almost blurted out that everyone was celebrating, but he said with a stern face, "The people were all afraid of meeting with misfortune, and stayed indoors all day long. I investigated day and night, but I really didn't find anything."

"I am already a scapegoat, and now I only ask to atone for my crimes through meritorious service. There is absolutely no need for me to conceal anything!"

He Guijian helped the county magistrate falsely report losses and conceal income, aiding and abetting evil. Although he was not a good person, he did not actually do anything to bully men or women.

He had long ago transferred the money he had embezzled over the years to a private warehouse, which he had arranged for his trusted confidants to guard. He hadn't spent a single penny of it, and now it had all been handed over to the county.

The previous magistrate's records of corruption were all kept in secret ledgers.

He Guijian had been preparing for a moment, his eyes already brimming with tears. Just as he was about to continue his lament, he heard a series of thunderous drumbeats coming from outside the door, which made the beams and pillars of the courtroom tremble slightly.

My goodness, that's incredibly strong! What a terrible injustice this must be!

He Guijian's heart tightened, and he almost bit his tongue. He could only pray that it was related to him, as he had been terrified of being sued lately.

In just a few moments, the yamen runner who had been guarding the gate led in a handsome young man.

Zhang Enhuai asked calmly, "Who is here? Do you have a grievance to voice?"

"What injustice?"

He Guijian breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, it wasn't a false accusation.

The fox said frankly, "I'm here to tell you that there's a large amount of malevolent energy buried under the peach tree. If we don't deal with it soon, it will explode and destroy the entire county."

He Guijian let out a hoarse gasp, barely managing to catch his breath.

Zhang Enhuai stopped Duan Mianli from speaking and continued, "Yin Sha Qi?"

"If it's a small amount, it will deplete the body's yang energy, leading to chronic illnesses with chills and fever, and restlessness. If it's a large amount, it will cause physical decay and mental madness." The fox added, "Now it's an extremely large amount."

"Who exactly are you?"

The fox stopped pretending and dispelled its illusion.

Its white belly is like snow, its black claws like ink, and its red fur like fire.

"The fox is a fox spirit."

The courtroom erupted in a clamor for a moment, then fell into dead silence. Duan Mianli turned stiffly, looked at the magistrate, and slowly nodded.

……

As the sun set and night fell, the hall was silent except for the crackling of the flickering candlelight.

The fox sat upright in the main seat, its gaze sweeping over the faces of everyone present.

"Say something!"

Zhang Enhuai gave a wry smile: "I hope the fox spirit will forgive us. We are just ordinary mortals, and when we first heard about such things as gods and ghosts, we were so frightened that we didn't know how to respond."

He asked earnestly, "Does the fox spirit have a good solution?"

"No, why would I need to contact you if I did?" the fox said matter-of-factly.

"Thank you for coming to inform me personally, Fox Fairy. I am ashamed to say that I have not yet been able to repay the life-saving grace last time, and this time I am grateful for the Fox Fairy's kindness. I am sorry to trouble the Fox Fairy with her troubles." Zhang Enhuai bowed with his hands clasped. "In the end, I still disturbed the tranquility of the mountain."

"It's alright, just give Fox some more roasted chicken rice cakes."

The fox looked around, then suddenly stared straight ahead: "Taoist, do you know anything?"

"Master Yun took his disciples back to the Taoist temple earlier, and we don't know when they will return." Magistrate Zhang said halfway through his sentence, then suddenly realized something and looked behind him.

"I was unaware that the fox spirit was here; I am late." A man with clear features strode over, followed closely by the Taoist Qingzhu.

"Thanks to the fox spirit, I actually managed to find some clues during my return visit."

"Following the aura of the ghosts, I caught many more wandering ghosts. After questioning them, they all said that they had eaten peaches before they died."

"I suddenly remembered the legend of the escaped soul that I had heard in my childhood, so I carefully checked the records in the temple in order to find the origin of this legend."

"Although Qingling Temple has experienced many ups and downs, and many old files have been lost or damaged, the remaining records are still quite considerable. I have repeatedly searched through all the relevant old files, but I have not found any record of the escaped souls."

"In the end, it was my disciple who found the record." Abbot Yun's expression was solemn. "But that record was actually written by my own hand, mixed in with discarded manuscripts, and it's only been four years!"