The Little Fox's Immortal Cultivation Encyclopedia

"Shen Guan, you and your husband should go and take a look."

"Alright." The man with thin eyebrows and narrow eyes walked side by side with the storyteller toward the private room.

The storyteller knocked on the door, and when no one answered, he pushed it open, peeked inside, and shook his head. "It seems unfortunate, the young master has already left."

"We're stuck right here, and he just vanished?" the woman frowned.

Shen Guan said, "I looked closely, and the windows inside were wide open. They probably left through the windows."

"There's definitely something wrong with not using the main entrance in broad daylight!"

"Alright, He Ying, there will be other opportunities in the future, no need to rush." ​​Lu Zhi advised, then cupped his hands to the storyteller, "If you have any news about extraordinary people or people, please let me know."

Lu Zhi took out a silver coin and handed it over. The storyteller immediately beamed with joy: "It's fine, but if you want me to monitor Young Master Qing's whereabouts, that won't do. I just happened to run into him today. If you have something to ask of him, I'll have to ask for his opinion first."

"Thank you very much, sir. I only ask for a chance to meet you."

Lu Zhi cupped his hands in greeting, led his companions out, and headed north to the square.

A new offering table has been set up in front of the peach tree, with offerings laid out on it and many prayer cushions placed in front of it. People are already worshipping here. The surrounding vendors have consciously moved a few steps away, making room for each other in the center.

"How could Peach Goddess be born like this..." He Ying muttered to herself, but didn't say it aloud. Her eyes darted around, and she pointed ahead, "Hey, look at that person."

Following the direction, a figure completely covered in a black robe, even with a black cloth wrapped around his head, knelt before the table, kowtowing repeatedly.

"Why are you dressed like this in broad daylight? There must be something fishy going on," He Ying said, and was about to step forward.

"Don't rush, let's take another look." Lu Zhi blocked her way.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the man got up, glanced around furtively, and walked with his head down and a stoop. The three men immediately stepped forward and blocked his way.

"My name is Lu Zhi. May I ask your honorable name, brother?" Lu Zhi cupped his hands in greeting.

"What's it to you?"

"No offense intended, but we're in a hurry to find someone. May we take a look at what you look like?"

The man in black paused, making a move to untie himself, but suddenly crouched down, about to crawl under Lu Zhi's armpit.

Lu Zhi grabbed the hem of the black-robed man's robe, but felt his hand lighten. He only managed to tear off a piece of black cloth. The man ran away in a flash, still wrapped in a black robe.

"Stop!" He Ying immediately took off after her.

The man in black robes ran extremely fast, was very familiar with the terrain, and deliberately chose to slip into crowded areas, disappearing far away in just a few breaths.

"Split the road." Lu Zhi called out in a low voice, and Shen Guan immediately understood, turning around and turning into the alley on the left.

He Ying was skilled in light footwork and chased the closest. She closed the distance in a few steps and reached out to grab the back of the black-robed man's collar. But with a forceful pull, she only tore off one layer of the black robe.

He Ying retorted angrily, "How many pieces of clothing do you even have?!"

The man glanced back, then scrambled into a side alley. He was about to run when he saw Shen Guan emerge from the side. He hurriedly turned right and saw Lu Zhi walking slowly towards him.

The three people formed a triangle, surrounding the person in the middle.

"Brother, it's just a question, there's no need for this."

Without a word, He Ying stepped forward and ripped off the cover, her pupils suddenly contracting.

"ah!"

The skin on the man's face was no longer visible, covered with fine, snow-white down. Looking down, his neck and shoulders were also covered with soft feathers.

Lu Zhi frowned, stepped forward and grabbed the man's hand, rolled up his sleeve, and as expected, his arm was also covered with white down.

Shen Guan examined it closely and said, "It looks like goose down."

The man abruptly pulled his arm back, his face contorted with anger: "Satisfied now?"

"It was my fault, Lu. I acted rashly in my haste, without first asking your permission," Lu Zhi said, bowing. "I apologize to you."

"Hmph." The man's face was still unpleasant. "You blocked my way as soon as you came up, and you wanted to judge me by my appearance. Who wouldn't run away? If I didn't have an urgent matter, I would definitely argue with you."

He turned to leave, but after glancing at the three men's attire, he pulled back his foot: "Are you people from the martial arts world?"

"Exactly."

"Where did it come from?"

"Mangyuan Prefecture".

"Oh, from out of state, no less." The man's expression softened, and he asked with hope in his eyes, "Have you ever seen such a strange illness while traveling all over the country?"

"Please tell me in detail, sir, was this something you were born with, or did you acquire it recently?"

"Anyone born with goose feathers would be a monster. It only started happening a few days ago."

Have you had any contact with geese before, brother?

"Oh dear, I raise geese, I handle these things every day."

Do you have any enemies?

"I……"

"Why do you keep asking questions and then giving only brief answers? Can't you just say it all at once?" He Ying couldn't help but say.

He was taken aback: "Fine, fine, my name is Chen Atang. I'm just a goose farmer. Every day, besides herding geese in the ponds outside the city, I stay at home figuring out how to fatten them up so I can show them off. I don't go out much, and I don't even have many friends. Where would I get enemies?"

"Did you cheat others by shortchanging them or selling inferior goods in your business?"

"You're joking. Everyone knows that the geese I, Chen Atang, raise are the best. Not to mention the goose meat and down, even just in terms of guarding the house, they are better than dogs."

"Not long ago, even that scholar Xu ordered a goose from me as a betrothal gift."

He Ying pressed on, "So you've done something wrong."

"Who, who did something wrong!"

"If you haven't done anything wrong, why are you worshipping any gods? Shouldn't you be going to see a doctor?"

"Could this mean I've turned to God because I couldn't find a cure?"

"Alright," Lu Zhi said with a smile, trying to smooth things over. "Although my junior sister is a bit impulsive, she is also very perceptive and meticulous. Since you've asked us for a favor, there's no need to hide anything. Besides, we're new here and this is our first time meeting, so you don't need to worry about us spreading this around."

Chen Atang's expression changed, he sighed, and began to explain in detail:

"I participate in the pig and goose race every year, and I always lose by a narrow margin. But this year I won a special goose. It was bigger than the other geese from birth, and it was also gentle and obedient to me."

"The other day there was another autumn festival, so I planned to kill it and try to get a ranking..."

"How could you bear to kill such an obedient goose?"

"Oh dear, I hesitated too, but I've raised geese for many years, and I can more or less sense what the geese are thinking. That goose clearly willingly let me kill it; it didn't resist when I killed it."

"That's really strange. All things have a spirit, and the desire to live is human nature. You're probably just trying to comfort yourself."

"Ugh, you're so annoying. Stop interrupting me. Anyway, I'll go and help everyone deal with the geese later."

"But then I suddenly saw that a family's goose was even fatter than mine. This was my ninth time participating in the event, and it was the most exciting one yet. So, I just... I was momentarily bewitched and switched geese."