Becoming a Fox Spirit from Under One Person

Chapter 84 Kun Kun, how did you end up dying?

Wei Shufen tiptoed to pick the herbs on the cliff face, but her fingers couldn't reach them after several attempts. She jumped up a few times, and the delicate stem and leaves of the herb slowly bowed and rested on the girl's slender wrist.

Looking up, the fox pendant, receiving a wisp of divine intent, leaped and landed in the bamboo basket behind Wei Shufen.

Besides herbs, the basket also contained wintersweet, pine branches, peach blossoms, and wisteria. Shufen said that once the chickens and ducks on the altar got tired of the food, she could add some fresh and elegant flowers to cleanse the palate and reduce the greasiness.

With nothing else to do in Qinghe Miao Village, Wei Shufen strolled along the mountain path, humming a lyrical tune.

The fox nestled in the bamboo basket, watching her long, flowing hair flutter in the mountain breeze, the orchids swaying green and the wild berries dotting the roadside red, and the bluestone path winding around the bamboo house towards the depths of the clouds.

"Grandma said she wants to see you," Wei Shufen said.

Chen Ruoan knew that the "grandmother" the girl mentioned was the Grand Gu Master's prized disciple, who was about to take over the position of "Grand Gu Master".

"Yes," the fox replied. "What do you want? You haven't been neglecting your duties lately, have you?"

Chen Ruoan had the illusion that his teachers were cracking down on early romance, but Wei Shufen had not neglected her cultivation. On the contrary, she had become more thorough in her research on Gu. For this reason, he really couldn't figure out why she was called "office".

"We'll find out when we meet. If it's bad news, we'll grit our teeth and deny it no matter what."

Got it!

This increasingly suggests a pre-sanction collusion, thankfully the fox has no parent to call upon.

Chen Ruoan sat in a small bamboo basket and swayed as she arrived at a bamboo house. The "grandmother" that Shufen mentioned was a woman who was not yet forty years old and was dealing with the ancient books that she had found in the box.

"Grandma!" Wei Shufen called out.

"I've already told you not to call me grandma, call me master."

"Yes, Grandma. What do you want with us, Grandma?"

"I'm looking for this fox friend." The old woman raised her hand to urge her disobedient apprentice to leave as soon as possible.

Wei Shufen pouted unhappily, placed the bamboo basket in front of the door, and carefully retreated to the side of the street.

"Don't bully him."

"Stupid girl!" the old woman cursed under her breath. Judging from the fox's skill in using Gu poison these past few days, no one in Qinghe could surpass him except for the Grand Gu Master. And how many people in the village could bully him?

Chen Ruoan, clinging to the fox pendant, sat upright in front of the door: "Grandma."

"Sigh—" The old woman slapped her face in annoyance and said helplessly, "Never mind, call me whatever you want."

"What advice does the old lady have for me?"

boom! boom! boom!

The old woman brushed off the dust covering the wooden box and pulled out several crumpled books. The pages were yellowed and tattered, many stuck together and impossible to separate.

"Among the three sisters, Shufen possesses the most outstanding talent and is the most likely to succeed as the Grand Gu Master. However, this girl has always been too obsessed with Gu and too competitive."

"I was afraid she would go to some extreme in the future, but since you came, Shufen has changed. Last year, she asked me for the legendary method of making Gu, but I didn't tell her the truth. Perhaps now is a good time."

The old woman tidied up the books, wrapped them in blue cloth, and handed them over with both hands.

Chen Ruoan glanced at it and complained, "You guys seem to have a bit of disrespect for tradition."

"It's been hundreds of years since anyone has successfully crafted this, so it's been left unused and forgotten. But I feel that you have a chance to bring the legend back to life."

The old woman wanted to pat Chen Ruoan on the shoulder as a sign of encouragement.

But it was difficult to pat a fox's shoulder, so she took the opportunity to stroke the fox's fur.

The fox flipped through the book, which contained a detailed description of the legendary Gu, but like some classic plot devices in detective novels, the most crucial part was missing.

The love potion used in Qinghe today retains the original name of the legendary potion, which is "Sincerity," but its effectiveness has been greatly reduced.

The legendary Cheng Gu is a type of Gu that evolves over time, transforming at a crucial juncture to unleash astonishingly powerful abilities.

"Has Shufen cultivated the Love Gu of Sincerity, so she's started being direct now?"

This kind of Gu, the "Demon Core," is indeed difficult to defend against.

The ancient texts of Qinghe Miao Village were so poorly preserved that they were almost unrecognizable. Chen Ruoan engraved the barely identifiable parts of the books onto the precious records of the wishing tree.

The divine power carried by the fox pendant and the divine tablet is far less than that of the original body, which greatly limits the research on Gu. Chen Ruoan is struggling with whether to return to Qinghe, but he has not been back to his hometown of Taishan for more than a year. He wonders what the Yaoyue Tower Mansion looks like now.

"It's alright, you go back first. I still have three years," Wei Shufen said. "If I can't comprehend this mere Love Gu in three years, then I'm not worthy of taking over the position of Grand Gu Master."

"Alright then."

"But you can write to me on your way."

"Aren't there divine cards that can be used for communication?"

"write a letter."

"Road transportation is cut off, so mail will be very slow."

"It's okay."

Chen Ruoan shrugged and compromised, disliking the quick and easy "video call" method; she really was a girl in line with the times.

After all, life was slower back then; carriages, horses, and mail were all slower.

In May, the fighting around Tai'an had just ended, and the smoke of battle had not yet dissipated.

The Bixia Temple on the summit of Mount Tai was affected, with bullet holes riddled with marks on its walls. The Taoist priests who remained at the temple have had an even harder time lately, often having to dig up wild vegetables to fill their stomachs.

The area around the Inviting Moon Pavilion was shrouded in mist and was almost untouched by the war. However, the peach blossom forest outside Aolai Peak had been bombarded by artillery fire. The land was scorched and pitted, and the peach blossoms had long since withered and fallen, withered petals covering the forest paths.

Chen Ruoan stood beside a charred chicken carcass, unable to help but sigh with emotion.

He was used to killing villains on the road, but he had never faced the death of a close friend.

What exactly is death?

That once beautiful pheasant is now nothing but a blackened, charred body, devoid of any aesthetic appeal. With a gentle touch of the fox's paw, the outer charred shell crumbles off.

How did a golden pheasant, which feeds itself eggs, die?

With a gentle nudge of the claw, the burnt smell dissipated.

Damn it, it smells so good when it's roasted.

"Fox, are you sad for me?" A breeze rustled through the forest, causing the bare branches to tremble, and a golden shadow leaped out gracefully.

The little phoenix perched on a charred peach branch, its red eyes slightly narrowed, gazing at Chen Ruoan squatting beside the chicken carcass in the distance.

The fox's paws were covered in black charcoal dust, and its eyes looked up in confusion: "This isn't you."

The little phoenix folded its wings and said calmly, "That's just an ordinary golden pheasant."

Chickens have short lifespans and are destroyed by war, their vital energy dissipated and their spirit vanished, so foxes naturally do not recognize them.

"Fox, were you just feeling sad for me?" the pheasant asked again.

"I feel that there are few spiritual creatures in the mountains, and it is rare to have you as my neighbor."

And your eggs are indeed quite delicious.

The peach grove was dilapidated. The fox and the pheasant stood silently facing each other, both gazing at the charred chicken carcass.

"Um..." the two elves said in unison.

"I'll bury it."

"You can eat it."