Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

Huang Jiulang rushed off to act as matchmaker for He Zixiao, and Wulang also left without delay after learning that the other party wanted to trick his third sister into becoming someone else's concubine. Now, only Ling Ziling and Shiyilang, a fox and a human, are left here idly.

"How did you know Cousin Jiulang's purpose?"

Shiyilang still couldn't understand. Lingziling had only met them for the first time today and had just heard about Huang Jiulang's affairs. The other party only asked where Sanniang was, and she already knew about the scheme behind it.

"I am a descendant of Zhang Tianshi, and I am very skilled in divination."

Although this time it was because of a system cheat.

"Your calculations are incredibly accurate."

"You haven't seen anything more precise yet."

She is the Daoist Lingling, who can ambush villains halfway through their journey, foresee a great calamity for the sect in the future, and lead everyone to avoid death.

"Our families have been on good terms for generations, why would my cousin betray my third aunt and cousin..."

Even if one believes in the power of spirits, Huang Jiulang's actions are still absurd. He's finding a wife for his lover, and to make matters worse, his own cousin. How despicable!

"I don't know, maybe it's just love-struck thinking."

"Uh, what brain?"

Shiyilang didn't understand.

"It's okay if you don't understand. Just think of it as your cousin being mentally unstable."

Ling Ziling got up, patted off imaginary dust from her clothes, and turned to walk out of the alley. Seeing her about to leave, Shiyilang quickly followed.

"Where are you going? My cousin told us to wait for him here."

"Didn't you say before that Huang Jiulang has a high cultivation level and his words carry a lot of weight in the family? What if he's good with words and manages to persuade your elders?"

Although Goro can also transform into human form, that's all he can do. He and Juro are just minor demons, and their biggest enemy is the hunter's dog. They probably don't have much presence at home.

Huang Jiulang has managed to stay in the capital for so long without being discovered, and he's even managed to mingle with the scholars and be intimate with He Zixiao for so long without revealing his fox demon identity. He must have quite a silver tongue and cultivation level. Wu Lang definitely won't be able to argue with him when he goes back.

"Impossible. That man surnamed He is just an ordinary person. My eldest cousin and aunt would never agree to it. Besides, my third cousin is focused on cultivation and has never thought about getting married."

Seeing that Ling Ziling hadn't stopped walking while she was speaking, Shiyilang quickly followed, jumped onto Ling Ziling's shoulder in a few swift movements, and saw what she was up to.

"So He Zixiao is gay? It's one thing for my cousin to associate with ordinary people, but what's the point of dragging others down with him?"

There are many stories of fox spirits marrying mortals, and there are all sorts of ready-made examples. But first of all, in these cases, the women are willing to do it themselves, and most of them are to repay a debt of gratitude and fulfill their destiny. Even if there is a matchmaker, at most it is a mother marrying off her daughter, which is still part of repaying a debt of gratitude. How can a cousin step in to act as a matchmaker and marry off his cousin to his homosexual lover?

Shiyilang didn't understand what "love brain" meant, but he agreed with Ling Ziling's later addition that Huang Jiulang had a problem with his brain, and a very big problem at that.

"My cousin went to the capital to study like the scholars, how did he end up ruining his brain... Why did you end up here?"

Amidst sighs and lamentations, Shiyilang discovered that Ling Ziling had come directly to He Zixiao's house. The matter of possession and resurrection was bizarre, but only one person had suddenly come back to life. The other family members of the original owner of the body had all committed suicide. Most people dared not approach such a house, so although the matter was a bit strange, no one came to visit out of curiosity.

Therefore, Ling Ziling's knocking on the door seemed particularly abrupt.

“Goro is definitely no match for your cousin, so of course we have to get to the root of the problem… What’s with that expression? I’m not trying to kill anyone.”

Previously, Ling Ziling had a good relationship with Xiao Cui, and she could already tell what the fox was thinking by observing the changes in the fox's expression.

She said she wanted to solve the root problem, meaning she wanted to talk to He Zixiao. It seems that Shiyilang misunderstood, thinking that she wanted to solve the root physical problem.

"Jiulang...and who is this young lady?"

He Zixiao, who was in the courtyard, was still thinking about Huang Jiulang. Hearing a knock on the door, he thought it was Huang Jiulang returning and immediately ran to open it. He found that it was not Huang Jiulang, but a girl in pink whom he had never seen before.

He Zixiao died of illness inexplicably and was resurrected in someone else's body. The first thing he thought of after being resurrected was to run back to the He family. But unlike before, his body belonged to an official, who had offended an even higher official and was suspected of being framed. The matter of being resurrected in another's body was mysterious to begin with. The original servants here wouldn't let him leave, and the people above him were afraid that he would lie and wouldn't let him leave either. He Zixiao couldn't move an inch.

Fortunately, Huang Jiulang was no ordinary person. He followed He Zixiao's aura and found that the man had died and come back to life. However, the original owner's wife and family had committed suicide, and He Zixiao could no longer return to the He family. He was truly all alone.

So, Huang Jiulang brought up the matter of finding a wife for He Zixiao again. In fact, he had mentioned this before He Zixiao died. At that time, He Zixiao was completely devoted to Huang Jiulang, but now he said he wanted to meet this cousin.

Yes, even earlier, Huang Jiulang had been planning to marry his cousin to He Zixiao.

"Do you know Huang Jiulang?"

Faced with He Zixiao's doubts, Ling Ziling got straight to the point.

"Of course I know you. But who is this young lady?"

These words aroused He Zixiao's suspicion. Not many people in the He family knew about his relationship with Huang Jiulang. Because he had a penchant for homosexuality, his family was used to it and didn't say anything when they saw a handsome young man being brought back. No one cared about Huang Jiulang coming and going.

Upon arriving here, he resurrected himself in another body and only told those around him about his origins. He said that Huang Jiulang had come to him on his own merits and had not told anyone.

He looked at the things on Ling Ziling's body that were clearly related to Taoism, and there was a fox perched on her shoulder. Huang Jiulang used to say that he was a fox, but he didn't believe it. Now that he had been resurrected, Huang Jiulang's identity as a fox demon was clear.

This strange girl seems to have some connection with Taoism. Could she be here to exorcise demons?

“I don’t have much of a relationship with Huang Jiulang, but…”

Ling Ziling poked Shiyi Lang on the shoulder with her whisk, urging him to speak.

"Huang Jiulang is my cousin."

The fox on his shoulder not only spoke human language but also claimed to be a relative of Huang Jiulang. Then what about this girl…?

"To clarify, I am not a fox. I just feel that Huang Jiulang acted unfairly in a certain matter, so I came to talk to you."

Seeing He Zixiao's shocked expression, Ling Ziling walked into the courtyard. Standing at the door and speaking would be too conspicuous.

"...What did Jiulang do?"

Speaking of which, Huang Jiulang was just chatting and laughing with me a moment ago, but suddenly he said he had to go out for a while, and he hasn't come back yet.

"Huang Jiulang wants to be your matchmaker, right?"

Yes, that is true.

"You agreed?"

"I plan to take a look first..."

"If they're good-looking, I'll say yes; if they're not, I'll say no?"

"..."

He Zixiao remained silent, seemingly genuinely intending to do so. Ling Ziling and Shiyilang exchanged a glance. Ling Ziling clearly saw that Shiyilang rolled his eyes in He Zixiao's direction, his speechless expression evident.

"You already know that Huang Jiulang is a fox demon, so the cousin he recommended to you must also be a fox demon. A fox and a human getting married, and you just agreed to it like that?"

The reason this guy died so young is because he should have spent all his time with Huang Jiulang. It's one thing for him not to learn his lesson, but why does he still want to look for someone else? After Sang Xiao learned the reason, at least she knew to listen to Lianxiang.

Oh wait, this guy is quite obedient too. When Huang Jiulang said he wanted to marry his cousin to him, he actually agreed.

"My cousin hasn't agreed yet!"

Shichiro stated that as his cousin, he did not agree to the marriage, and Goro, as his younger brother, would absolutely not agree either.

"This... settling down and starting a family is..."

"You're now, possessing a corpse to return to life, right?"

Ling interrupted the other person and asked another question.

"indeed so."

He Zixiao was completely bewildered by the other party's actions, as they kept pulling strings. After all, the other party had Huang Jiulang's cousin, and their relationship was closer than his own with Huang Jiulang.

"In your current situation, you are He Zixiao, but your body is not He Zixiao. If you start a family in this state, whose family are you starting? Whose wife are you marrying? If you have a child, whose child will it be?"

"..."

He Zixiao: Brain not responding.

The He family is based in the capital and is considered a prominent family. Such families value lineage and reputation above all else. In the eyes of the He family, He Zixiao is now dead, the seven-day mourning period has passed, and he has been buried. Meanwhile, the original owner's wife committed suicide, leaving him all alone.

According to the original owner's idea, he and his wife committed suicide, and he no longer needed to care about those he had offended in the past or those who were about to frame him. All grudges and resentments would be settled with death.

But now that He Zixiao has taken over this body, the story of resurrection is too bizarre, and very few people actually believe it. In the eyes of outsiders, he is just someone who was lucky enough to survive and made up this story to avoid retaliation, so they have been blocking He Zixiao from leaving.

Therefore, He Zixiao's desire to start a new family and career was indeed what he thought, but in the eyes of others, it was simply that his original wife had died and he had married a new one.

Ling Ziling: You think you've been reborn, married, and had children, but in other people's eyes, you're just the original owner remarrying and continuing your life. Whose children are they? Whose family business is it?

Does it seem complicated? If it is, that's fine, figure it out yourself.

After Ling Ziling left He Zixiao with a mental blank, she took the equally mentally blank Shiyilang and left, leaving He Zixiao alone at home scratching his head in frustration.

Although there was the strangeness of being resurrected, he was, after all, an ordinary person who had lived in secular society for more than twenty years. His thinking had not broken out of the old framework, and a few words broke his defenses.

He didn't even realize another point: the cousin Huang Jiulang introduced was also a fox spirit. He didn't even know if humans and fox spirits could have children, yet he was still agonizing over whether the child would be his own.

"Wake up, snap out of it."

Ling Ziling patted the fox's head in her arms, restarting Shiyilang, who was also caught up in these questions.

"...So, does that mean he has a child?"

"How would I know if it counts or not? I'm not that child."

"Then ask those..."

"I just felt I couldn't let him have his way."

First, make He Zixiao somewhat resistant to this matter, so that it will be easier to talk about it later.

"Fox demons can also mutate, so why didn't your cousin just turn into a woman and marry her? Why did you have to find someone else?"

"But it won't last long either."

This is an evaluation from Shiyilang, who wanted to become a beautiful woman to scam money for drinks, but was exposed on the spot and fled in panic because his cultivation was not up to par.

"It will probably take a while for your cousin to get back, let's go look around somewhere else."

Last time I wanted to go into town, but I forgot I was undocumented. Now I've finally managed to sneak in, and I'm going to have a good look around. Luckily, there's a local resident named Shichiro here who can be my guide.

"Let's go for a drink..."

"No."

She only said she was going for a stroll, but Shiyilang immediately wanted to go drinking. Wulang was right; this fox really was a drunkard.

"But all I know is where the wine is good."

"...Do you only come to the city for alcohol? Don't you have any other interests?"

"No."

Well, this drunkard is beyond saving.

Eleven Lang couldn't be a tour guide anymore, so Ling Ziling could only wander around aimlessly on her own. Along the way, she heard all sorts of rumors: besides the local stories of resurrection and haunted mass graves outside the city, she also heard about a mountain god with a lantern appearing on a certain mountain, an immortal from the East Sea slaying a snake, a sword immortal from the capital exorcising a demon, the Golden and Silver Immortals, a county magistrate being ousted for abusing the people, the White Lotus Sect summoning demons to help them when fighting against the government troops, and a Taoist priest who looked exactly like Han Xiangzi battling a White Lotus Sect sorcerer...

Ling Ziling: ...The more I hear it, the more familiar it sounds; it seems to have a high percentage of its own people involved.

The text doesn't explicitly mention innate beings, but it seems like their presence is felt everywhere.

"Why are they all acquaintances..."

Ling Ziling was biting into the candied hawthorn in her hand. She really couldn't listen to any of the gossip; it was all her own gossip.

"...You know them?"

These messages came from all directions, some true and some false. Shiyilang would hear them and then forget them, but now that Lingziling said there were acquaintances among them, he became interested again.

"The haunted mass grave might be Wild Dog, which I've already killed; the mountain god carrying the lantern is most likely Illuminating Lamp; the one breaking the snake is Heavenly Fan, and the giant snake is Young Master Sea; the sword immortal in the capital is Senior Swordsman, and he's also somewhat involved in the county magistrate's affair; the combination of gold and silver immediately suggests Shuangxiu; the deserter I met earlier who didn't want to fight the White Lotus Sect was someone who ran away from this battle; as for the last one, Han Xiangzi..."

After finishing the candied hawthorn, Lingziling casually threw away the wooden skewer.

"The one in the light blue Taoist robe, carrying a transparent flute, good-looking, and skilled in thunder magic, must be Ah Zhen, my fellow disciple."

Ren Yunzong sounds quite reasonable at first glance. His appearance is based on Han Xiangzi. The legend of the Eight Immortals is well-known among the people, so it is not surprising that it was directly linked to Han Xiangzi as the story was passed down.

Hey, why doesn't anyone connect Juan Shou Tian with Lü Dongbin? Local monsters and immortals guess that Juan Shou Tian is the Golden Crow but don't associate him with Lü Dongbin. Is it because Bei Da Fangxiu looks too dazzling?

"……Wow."

Shiyilang couldn't understand. He was greatly shocked and his ears popped out of their sockets. They were all familiar faces from Lingziling. This girl who had pulled him out of the river must be someone with a very powerful background.

"Don't even mention being a descendant of Zhang Tianshi, I'd believe you if you said you were a descendant of Laozi."

"If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have forgotten. There were two white-robed sword immortals who went to the capital. The other one is called Jian Feidao, who is the direct descendant of Laozi."

"...There really is one?!"

The fox was so frightened that it jumped up and down. Luckily, Ling Ziling used a little magic around the human-fox to make it easier to communicate, so that others could not see or hear what the fox was saying. Otherwise, with the commotion just now, the fox that was speaking human language and screaming would have scared an innocent passerby to death.

No wonder he was able to return unscathed from his trip to the underworld. Nine out of ten of the supernatural phenomena people talk about are related to the girl in pink in front of us. Cousin Wulang, come back quickly! We've really met a deity this time!