Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

"Rest assured, esteemed immortals, I cultivate in a proper manner and do not harm anyone."

Hongyu didn't understand what "love-struck" meant. Since the other party directly pointed out her identity as a fox spirit, there was no point in her saying that she was just the girl next door.

It's a pity. She originally wanted to use this identity to get close to Feng Xiangru, but before she could use it, she was exposed by others. There are so many neighbors around, and it's impossible for them to know each other. Unmarried young women rarely go out, so her identity should have been flawless.

If Liu Qingyuan knew what Hongyu was thinking, he might sigh that this fox spirit's daily life was really not close to the people. The girls who are incarnations of fox spirits have one thing in common, which is beauty. Including the woman named Hongyu in front of him, the original description of her is "pure and beautiful". With the conditions of most farming families, they simply cannot raise such a girl.

A beautiful woman, clearly unaccustomed to manual labor, dressed in elegant clothes and with exquisite makeup, walked beside a poor man's house, claiming to be the neighbor's daughter. Who would believe such a thing... Oh, Feng Xiangru would believe it... Alright.

"It's true, both immortals believe me, Hongyu was just looking around casually!"

Before they met, the two didn't react much. Hongyu thought the other person didn't trust her, and she became a little anxious. She knew that it was unreasonable for her to hide behind the tree and spy, and that she felt guilty. She wanted to go over directly, but there were many people around in broad daylight, and she wouldn't be able to explain if someone saw her.

"We didn't say you were going to harm anyone."

Liu Qingyuan felt helpless. Given the other party's guilty look, if she didn't explain, no one would suspect anything.

“I know other fox spirits, so I know you won’t harm people. I’m just curious why you’re hiding here and spying.”

He knew the reason, but knowing the reason didn't mean he could understand Hongyu's actions.

"..."

Hongyu really didn't know how to answer. She couldn't very well say that she had taken a liking to Feng Xiangru and was planning how to get close to him as an opening, could she?

Are you two acquainted with the Feng family now?

Both father and son were scholars. Although they were poor, their talent and integrity were well-known in the village. Hongyu knew all this, but she didn't remember that the Feng family had a connection with immortals.

Why did Hongyu immediately think the two people in front of her were immortals? The first glance told her they weren't human. Before she could even run away, she was grabbed and nearly reverted to her original form. Not only did they lack any demonic aura, but judging from their appearance, people would believe they were mortals.

Hongyu asked this question with a glimmer of hope in her heart. If the Feng family truly had a connection to the immortals, it might be easier for her to approach them.

However, in reality, Hongyu was just overthinking things.

"We just met, we bumped into each other by the river... The girl seems quite disappointed?"

"It's nothing, Immortal Master, you don't need to worry about it."

"Alas... young lady, it's rare for a fox spirit and a mortal to fall in love."

"!"

Hongyu, who was originally planning to leave in small steps, suddenly turned around.

"How did you figure that out?!"

She hasn't said anything yet!

Liu Qingyuan's gaze shifted. Although there was the original novel's plot device involved, the main reason was the girl's intense stare at the Feng family. If the sun hadn't been so bright and the Feng family's walls weren't so low and couldn't block anything out, Hongyu might have climbed right up to the top of the wall.

"After all, I've lived for so many years, so I do have some experience in judging people."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shimingdeng couldn't help but speak up.

"And the friends you've made..."

"At least Long Su and Fo Jian are pretty good, right? And of course, there's Ci Lang, you too."

Liu Qingyuan wanted to prove the closeness between her friends, so she reached out to put her hand on Zhao Shimingdeng's shoulder, but the other person stepped back and dodged it.

"..."

Well, Cilang, you've really gone astray.

Anyway, the two of them spent the whole day wandering around outside the city. They not only met Feng Xiangru and the fox spirit Hongyu who seemed to be a bit love-struck, but also encountered a female ghost at night. The ghost seemed to be afraid of them, and after only exchanging a few glances from a distance, she ran away.

Due to the distance, neither Liu Qingyuan nor Zhao Shimingdeng could clearly see what the female ghost looked like, only that she was a young woman heading towards the city.

Since the other party didn't seem like a vengeful ghost, and upon closer inspection, it bore some resemblance to Yingning's foster mother, suggesting it might be a ghost immortal, they ignored it and returned directly to the Realm of Enlightenment.

For the next few days, the two wandered back and forth like this. Although they did not enter the town, there were many villages around the town, and they would encounter many people every time they walked around. News and speculation about them began to circulate in various villages, but it would take some time for the rumors from there to reach them.

Feng Xiangru is, after all, one of the main characters in the story, and the scholar's future experiences are indeed quite tragic. Liu Qingyuan, adhering to the principle of helping if she can, has more contact with him.

As for Hongyu, she ultimately used the identity of "the girl next door," which was full of loopholes in Liu Qingyuan's eyes, but Feng Xiangru actually believed it, to get close to her.

Being a scholar is a privileged position with many flatterers, but unfortunately, the Feng family was too poor. While others of the same age were out having fun or organizing poetry and drinking parties at night, Feng Xiangru couldn't afford to participate. His only entertainment at night was sitting in the courtyard, looking at the starry sky above.

Hongyu chose such a quiet evening to appear over the somewhat dilapidated low wall of the Feng family home. Feng Xiangru had never seen such a beautiful girl before. He was captivated at first sight, and Hongyu had already secretly harbored feelings for him. Before long, the two became a couple.

It could be said that it was a deal, but it was only an agreement between Feng Xiangru and Hongyu. Feng Xiangru knew his father's stubbornness. His father required him to study hard and focus on passing the imperial examinations. He was not allowed to do anything else, not even to get married.

Hongyu and Feng Xiangru were using a false identity to get along, and since they couldn't be open about it, they started meeting at night without telling anyone around them.

To put it nicely, their relationship was a free love affair; to put it bluntly, it was a "secret rendezvous." In an era where everyone valued arranged marriages, their secret engagement was very dangerous.

Of course, Hongyu wasn't afraid of the consequences. After all, he was a fox spirit. Even if he couldn't harm mortals, couldn't he just run away? With a little trickery, as long as Hongyu didn't want to, no one could find him.

The main concern is Feng Xiangru. Feng's father, who is nearly sixty years old, still works in the fields and manages the household affairs, all in the hope that his son will pass the imperial examination and become an official so that the Feng family can get out of their predicament.

Mr. Feng was known for his integrity, but as a scholar who had been a model student for decades, he was also known for his stubbornness. If he found out that his son was not studying at night but hiding girls in the house to have fun, either Feng Xiangru's leg or his father's blood pressure would have to be sacrificed.

During this process, Liu Qingyuan also asked Hongyu which of Feng Xiangru she had her eye on.

In terms of appearance, Feng Xiangru was merely decent-looking, far from being dignified; Liu Qingyuan thought Wang Zifu from his town was much better looking. In terms of family background, if the Feng family had a distinguished lineage, they wouldn't have been so poor when both father and son were scholars. In terms of cause and effect, there was no life-saving grace between Feng Xiangru and Hongyu, and Hongyu didn't seem to be there to repay a debt of gratitude.

Hongyu's response was classic; she said she admired Feng Xiangru's talent and integrity.

Liu Qingyuan: ...Fine, he has nothing to say.

"That's strange, it's the Air Force again."

Liu Qingyuan's main activity here is fishing wherever he can, but whether it's bad luck or limited skill, he rarely catches fish, though he does encounter quite a few passersby.

Even just yesterday, they encountered a man surnamed Song, who seemed to be very powerful. He saw Liu Qingyuan and Zhao Shimingdeng fishing by the river and thought they looked strange. He wanted to capture them, but Liu Qingyuan swept them, along with their horse and entourage, away with a flick of his whisk and fled in disarray.

Although he felt that the surname Song was somewhat familiar, judging from the other party's demeanor, he knew that he was definitely not a protagonist in a Liaozhai story. Judging from the way the other party acted as if he was powerful and domineering, he seemed more like the one who bullied the protagonist in the story.

If that's the case, then his whisk could be considered a service to the people. Although after he fell flat on his face, the other party ran away while threatening to teach them a lesson, Liu Qingyuan wasn't worried at all. The other party didn't even know their names, let alone teach them a lesson. He couldn't even find out their whereabouts by asking around.

"You haven't given up at all during all those air force missions, have you?"

Zhao Shimingdeng saw it clearly: the other party had made good use of the angler's persistence. Despite having missed so many times, he would still cast his line twice when passing by the river.

"Anyway, we're not in a hurry. If we actually catch a fish, we can have a treat."

Liu Qingyuan figured that Feng Xiangru and Hongyu's affair would soon be impossible to keep secret. The two of them were inseparable every night, and it was impossible for Feng's father to go to bed early and sleep through the night every day. He estimated that it would be discovered soon.

Once this matter is discovered, Liu Qingyuan will need to observe Hongyu's choice. If Hongyu's choice is identical to the original plot, the suffering that the Feng family will endure in the future will also occur exactly as before. In that case, he will need to be more careful and leave the Feng family with some means to save their lives.

As for the initial illegal travelers? Honestly, there's not a trace of them. Are they counting mice? They've disappeared like they've dug holes and are nowhere to be found.

In this regard, Liu Qingyuan had the right to suspect that they were not even within the normal map area. The world of Liaozhai was so big, what if they had run into Aolai Country... no, into the territory of Luosha Country?

"The Rakshasa Kingdom is far overseas, which is perfect for the Heavenly Fan... That girl over there seems to be no ordinary person."

Liu Qingyuan was facing Zhao Shimingdeng. His gaze was elsewhere until a blurry figure appeared in a certain direction behind Zhao Shimingdeng. Upon closer inspection, he discovered it was a girl wearing a brightly colored dress.

This place can't be called a desolate wilderness, but very few people come here. Usually, it's just passersby heading to the neighboring village. Young girls never come this way. The woman in the brightly colored long dress moved freely, and her skills were definitely not those of an ordinary girl.

The other party seemed to be looking for something. They were still quite far away from Liu Qingyuan, so she didn't pay much attention to them. But the girl over there had already noticed them.

"Fox spirit... no, fox demon."

Zhao Shiming turned his head and saw a girl coming from afar. This time, the beautiful girl was no longer a fox fairy, but a simple fox demon.

Xiao Cui had previously said that fox spirits and fox demons differed in many ways, except that they were both originally foxes. Because Liu Qingyuan had encountered fox spirits repeatedly, he didn't know what the difference was. Now, upon seeing it, he realized that they were indeed different.

The most obvious sign is their demonic aura. Fox spirits have very clean auras; they are aiming to become immortals, and their cultivation path is more like that of Taoists. They live among people and not only do not harm them, but even Taoists with insufficient cultivation may not be able to tell that they are not human.

The fox demon in front of me is different. It exudes demonic energy, mixed with some yin energy, but it doesn't smell of blood. It should be a good fox spirit, but demonic energy and yin energy will clash with the yang energy of ordinary people and harm their health.

A representative example is Wang Sheng, who was so frightened by the painted skin ghost that he was bedridden. A normal person wouldn't be frightened like that. His illness was caused not only by the fright but also by the fact that he had spent many days with the painted skin ghost, and his yang energy was damaged by the clash with the yin energy.

Having seen so many fox spirits, this was the first time Liu Qingyuan had encountered a fox demon. He put away his fishing rod to see what the other party wanted to do.

As he got closer, he noticed something different about this fox girl. Although Hongyu and Xiaocui looked different, perhaps due to the fox spirit's preferences, they both had a kind of "cleanliness" about them. It was this "cleanliness" that made others not suspect that they were not human at first glance.

Liu Qingyuan had his suspicions. Perhaps it was this very aura that made Feng Xiangru believe Hongyu's words. After all, a fairy-like girl suddenly appeared late at night. Not only had he never seen this girl before, but she also claimed to be the neighbor's daughter. He really couldn't understand how Feng Xiangru, with his brain capable of passing the imperial examinations, could so easily believe such a thing.

Bah, I digress. Now look at this woman in front of me, her clothes are bright and she's stunningly beautiful. She's also a young woman, but she seems more flamboyant. Even if it's unintentional, you can still see the difference in her appearance.

Since they are not fox spirits but ordinary fox spirits, they should run away when they see these two people who look like Taoist priests. Like the female ghost mentioned a few days ago... Is it just my imagination? Why do I feel that there are so many women among these non-human creatures?

So far, apart from Ma Jiepu and Lu Pan, all the non-human creatures encountered have been female, perhaps because of the nature of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio?

"This humble woman, Lianxiang, greets the two immortal masters."

Even from a distance, Lianxiang could tell that the two were no ordinary people. She had heard before that immortals had appeared outside the city, but she never expected to actually encounter them.

Two months ago, her lover became infatuated with a female ghost. Although Lianxiang was a fox spirit, she was not a monster that sucked people's yang energy and harmed them. She was knowledgeable in medicine and knew the harm that demonic energy could cause to the human body.

Lianxiang's lover was a scholar, an ordinary man. So when she noticed that his health was deteriorating, she thought it was because of the demonic energy in her body that was harming him. She made an agreement with him to meet again in ten days. However, not only did he not get better, but his health became even more weak.

At this moment, Lianxiang realized that it wasn't her problem. Her body was so weak not because of her demonic energy, but because of the ghost's yin energy. The other person had encountered a ghost!

After several days of questioning, Lianxiang finally learned that her lover knew a girl named Li, who was about fifteen or sixteen years old. Every night when they met, the girl would hide outside and watch her, thus discovering Lianxiang's identity as a fox demon.

Ordinary girls couldn't tell her true form. Lianxiang followed this method and hid outside to observe. She discovered that the Li family girl was indeed a ghost. Ghosts have too much yin energy, and no matter how they interact with people, their yin energy will harm them.

Lianxiang told the man to break off his relationship with Miss Li, but the boy was bewitched and wouldn't listen to anything she said. Seeing his health deteriorating, Lianxiang knew she had to find a way, otherwise she would be unable to defend herself if he died.

So she made a pact with the other party not to see each other for 100 days, planning to use these three months to collect medicinal herbs and prepare medicine to treat her body.

Today, she encountered immortals by chance. Thinking that the two people in front of her were more capable than herself, they might have better methods. She also heard that they had no prejudice against demons and would not drive away minor demons when they encountered them. So she mustered up the courage to come and pay her respects.

After listening to Lianxiang's account, Liu Qingyuan felt complicated. Could the distribution of these towns be related to the types of stories in the world of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio? The stories that happened in the two towns were of different types.

Thinking back to the town where he first landed, it was either a place where people were harmed by charlatans or where county magistrates committed evil deeds. Not to mention Yingning's situation, which hadn't even happened yet, Zhuerdan's situation, although not dangerous, was bound to be bloody.

Unexpectedly, the atmosphere changed drastically after I arrived here. Hongyu, who was eager to give money and gifts, had her eye on the same person, and both Lianxiang and Miss Li were offering gifts to him. Lianxiang even came to seek medicine for her lover. Seriously, does this town even have the right to combine similar items?

"Following this pattern, wouldn't those with skewed values ​​and outrageous views also gather in one city?"

If that's the case, could you tell him which city it is first, so he can avoid it?