The Little Fox's Immortal Cultivation Encyclopedia

Chapter 90 Old Friends of the Pu Family

As the sun rose higher, Shatiao lay on its back, belly up, sprawled out. The fox lay to one side, its ears twitching slightly, taking in the conversation from the cliff.

The Monkey King stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze fixed on the fox cake by the pool, his brow furrowed slightly: "I thought it was a great demon, but it turns out it's just a cub that's recently been weaned. Old man, is it really as extraordinary as you say?"

The old man chuckled: "How long does it take for an ordinary fox cub to develop sentience? You—"

Before he could finish speaking, a series of urgent whistles came from the valley entrance, one after another. The monkeys that had been lying haphazardly by the pool all jumped up in unison.

A gray figure darted out from below the cliff, scrambling and crawling towards them: "My lord! Old man! Someone's come to the valley entrance!"

The Monkey King frowned: "Who is it?"

"There's only one. He looks like a herb gatherer."

The old man tapped his bamboo cane lightly on the ground: "What a lucky timing! Let's go take a look."

Taniguchi.

Pu Shunnian was surrounded by dozens of monkeys.

After waking from his dream yesterday, he went to find the county magistrate and successfully left the city. He then traveled through the night, walking for nearly a day and a night, and finally followed the path pointed out by the fox spirit and entered the city.

He was used to traversing mountain paths his whole life, and he believed he had conquered even the most treacherous forests. Yet, he was still terrified by the treacherous terrain along the way. Thankfully, the fox spirit was there to protect him.

The man was completely unaware that the fox spirit he was so fond of was having a great time playing in the water and hadn't come to see him at all.

What made his heart tremble even more was the scene before him. The fox spirit had said that there were spirit monkeys in the valley, but he had not expected them to be so intelligent. The monkeys blocking his way were all agile, and their encirclement looked like they had been trained for a long time, almost like strong men protecting a village.

He took a deep breath, took the bamboo basket off his back, showed the herbs inside to the monkeys, and gave a simple, honest smile: "I went up the mountain to collect herbs and accidentally stumbled into the Monkey Immortal's Secret Realm. I'm leaving now, I'm leaving now."

The monkeys wouldn't budge, squeaking and squeaking, refusing to let him leave.

The fox, hiding behind the monkey troop, suddenly became serious: "Speaking of which, can monkeys speak human language? Were we going to need a fox to translate?"

The monkeys parted to make way, and the old man, leaning on his cane, slowly approached. Under the fox's expectant gaze, he spoke slowly: "Where are you from? Why have you come into the mountains to gather herbs?"

The fox breathed a sigh of relief, then turned its gaze to Pu Shunnian. Seeing the man's astonished expression, it nodded inwardly: "He's putting on quite a convincing act."

Pu Shunnian was genuinely startled and hurriedly revealed the excuse he had been preparing all along: "My child is studying in the county town and is in poor health, so I wanted to find some medicinal herbs to help him recover. All the herbs at the foot of the mountain have been picked clean, so I kept walking deeper and deeper, and before I knew it, I had wandered too far and somehow ended up here."

The old man nodded, but his gaze remained fixed on Pu Shunnian's face, making the man uneasy.

"What's your last name?"

Caught off guard, Pu Shunnian instinctively replied, "My surname is Pu—"

"Is that the mountain god temple you're guarding?"

Pu Shunnian was greatly alarmed, never expecting that the monkey would see through his identity so easily. He hesitated, unsure of what to say, but fortunately, the fox spirit's voice came just in time: "Just tell the truth."

"Yes, has the Monkey Immortal seen me before?"

The old man did not answer, but simply waved his hand to disperse the monkeys: "Since you are honored guests, please come in."

The man hesitated for a moment, then followed.

The fox watched this scene, its tail tip swaying slightly. Then it turned and walked back, leaving the fox lying there, sleeping as if it were dead.

The fox slapped the ground with its paw: "Get up! Your wine is going to be drunk up!"

She jolted awake and sat bolt upright: "What?!"

"Just now, a man came into the valley. The old man said he was a distinguished guest and personally welcomed him in."

Shuai Shuai was bewildered: "What does that have to do with alcohol?"

"Since you are honored guests, we must treat you well. I've heard that everyone here is a heavy drinker, able to drink a whole pool of wine in one go to feel full. Do you have that much wine?"

It tumbled and jumped up, then ran towards the old man's cave, with the fox following leisurely behind.

"Grandpa—Grandpa—" It plunged into the cave, but then froze. There was no smell of alcohol in the cave. The old man sat cross-legged, silent. Pu Shunnian sat opposite him, saw the fox following behind, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Shuai Shuai shrank back, wanting to back away, but heard the old man sigh: "Shuai Shuai, come here."

The little monkey obediently sidled up to them.

"Shuai Shuai, how long have you been living in this valley?"

"It's always been here." Shuai Shuai didn't understand what the old man meant.

The old man nodded: "What do you think of this place?"

Shuai Shuai blinked: "It's great. There's fruit to eat, water to drink, it's warm, and no one bothers us."

"Nobody bothers you?" the old man repeated. "Do you know why nobody bothers you?"

He paused, his gaze fixed on the cave entrance, as if speaking to the little monkey, or perhaps to Pu Shunnian: "At first, the monkey troop lived outside, not hiding in this valley. Initially, things were peaceful. But I don't know when it started, people appeared everywhere at the foot of the mountain."

"More and more people are going into the mountains every day, and the monkeys are being chased and are constantly hiding, running all over the mountains. They have to change their homes several times a year, and many times, the monkeys have almost died."

Considering Shuai Shuai's age, he swallowed back what he was about to say.

"Later, the monkey troop encountered a white ape, who led us to this valley and taught us to dig caves for shelter and brew fruit into wine. From then on, the monkey troop was able to live here peacefully for generations."

"Now this valley is peaceful, but you must remember how that peace came about."

Shuai Shuai didn't understand why the old man was suddenly saying all this, but she nodded seriously and asked, "And then?"

"The white ape doesn't crave our gratitude, nor does it cherish the comfort of this valley. It's naturally mischievous and playful, often mingling with humans and venturing into the mortal world." The old man's gaze fell on the fox, his eyes filled with memories. "Later, it came back to us and said it had gained a proper status. Someone had sculpted a golden statue for it and helped it receive incense offerings. It was going to become a mountain god and would protect us and the people below the mountain from now on."

The old man looked around and saw that everyone was deep in thought, so he stopped talking and just waited quietly.

Pu Shunnian realized that the person who worshipped the white ape must be his great-grandfather.

The little monkey suddenly realized why his grandfather favored the fox so much; he must have poured all his gratitude and longing for the mountain god into the fox.

The fox was puzzled. Since the mountain god was a monkey, how could he have carved a human figure? The craftsman's skills must have been terrible.

"Grandpa, I've been to that mountain god temple, and there's a person sitting inside."

The little monkey is indeed able to play with the fox; their thinking is so compatible.