The Little Fox's Immortal Cultivation Encyclopedia

A corner of Liuya Lane in the north of the city.

The alley here is not deep, with only five or six households scattered around. It was already late at night, and most of the families had already gone to bed.

The fox and Su Yinchai had been squatting on the wall for a while, waiting to see what would happen.

Perhaps influenced by the fox's words, the old man in plain clothes moved away from his original location and rented a courtyard here. He no longer received guests and seemed to be living a secluded life away from the world. Unfortunately, with the fox around, he could not continue his quiet cultivation.

The fox gestured towards the courtyard gate with its lip: "Here they come."

At the alley entrance, two figures turned in.

Lu Zhi walked in front, stood at the alley entrance for a moment, and He Ying had already placed her hand on the hilt of her sword. After a short while, Shen Guan came around from the other end of the alley.

There was no ambush.

Lu Zhi nodded: "Let's go."

They arrived at the third house and knocked gently. The ethereal knocking echoed, and lights came on inside.

After a few moments, footsteps came from inside and walked all the way to the door.

"Who is it?"

Lu Zhi's voice was calm: "An old friend."

The door opened a crack, and a face peeked out. His hair and beard were half-white, but his eyes were clear and bright.

Lu Zhi's pupils constricted slightly.

The old man in plain clothes looked at the three people, his gaze lingering on each of them for a few moments, his brows furrowing slightly: "And who are the three of you?"

Shen Guan's eyes darkened, and he pushed the door open and stepped inside.

Lu Zhi followed him into the room and said, word by word, "Ten years ago, at the Linjiang Ferry, you killed someone."

He Ying turned around and closed the door. The latch fell, and the old man in plain clothes was stunned for a moment, and the unease in his heart also subsided.

"So it was the original owner's karma."

He sighed, cupped his hands, and said, "You've mistaken me for someone else. I'm not the person you know."

Lu Zhi didn't reply, but simply took a step forward.

"To be honest, I am a wandering soul of heaven and earth who unintentionally possessed this body and knows nothing about the original owner."

"Yeah?"

Lu Zhi placed his hand on the hilt of the knife.

The old man in plain clothes opened his mouth, but before he could speak...

"Swoosh—" Lu Zhi's knife was already drawn, but even faster was Shen Guan, whose breathing was unstable and who could no longer control his emotions.

The fox on the wall's head lit up: "Wow, they've really started fighting!"

At the same time, Su Yinchai's voice rang out: "Why did they start fighting right away?"

The fox and the ghost exchanged a glance, and the fox casually looked away: "Yeah, why did they start fighting? Fighting is bad. I hope they stop fighting."

Helpless, Su Yinchai didn't expose the fox, but instead stared at the old man in plain clothes, examining him carefully for a while: "There are indeed signs of possession, and..."

For some reason, he felt a vague sense of familiarity with the old man in plain clothes.

Unaware that someone was watching, the people in the courtyard were engaged in a fierce battle. He Ying had also drawn her sword and, together with Shen Guan, attacked the old man in white.

The old man in plain clothes dodged Shen Guan's palm by turning his body to the side. At the same time, he flipped his hand, holding a few copper coins between his fingers. With a flick of his wrist, the copper coins shot out and hit He Ying's sword.

He Ying flicked the copper coin aside with the tip of his sword, then attacked from the side, the tip of his sword aimed straight for his waist and ribs.

Lu Zhi did not step forward. He carefully watched the steps of the old man in plain clothes and observed the old man's moves, his brows furrowing more and more.

The old man in plain clothes turned around, and the tip of the sword cut a gash in his clothes. He barely managed to avoid it, but He Ying's second sword was already upon him.

This sword strike was faster and more ruthless than the first. Moonlight peeked through the clouds, falling on He Ying's sword and illuminating the face of the old man in plain clothes. The courtyard was bathed in light, and every movement of everyone was clearly visible.

"Hmm?" Su Yincha was taken aback and turned to look at the fox, whose tail was outstretched, drawing in the moonlight.

"What's this, a fox spirit?"

"Oh, I was afraid you couldn't see them fighting clearly, so I'm providing you with light."

"...The fox spirit is kind, but I am a ghost, so I can see clearly." Su Yinchai shook his head and asked again, "Does the fox spirit seem so relaxed because it believes they will eventually stop?"

"Of course." From the three of them searching for it in the teahouse and standing up for Chen Atang, the fox had a slight understanding of their character. "Besides, a fake is a fake. No matter what grudges they had, it's all in the past."

"It's just that the old man in plain clothes might suffer more, but who can blame him for taking over someone else's body?" The fox had its own unique judgment.

Su Yincha shook his head and chuckled, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and continued to look around the courtyard.

The fight grew increasingly fierce. The old man in plain clothes had several more wounds on his body, but he kept throwing copper coins as he retreated. He Ying swung his sword to parry, and the clanging of the coins filled the air, sparks flying everywhere.

Shen Guan's eyes flickered, and he leaped out. He Ying understood and closed in. The two of them, one in front and one behind, compressed the old man in plain clothes' space to maneuver to the minimum.

"Sigh." The old man in plain clothes had nowhere to avoid it, so he stood still, catching his breath. "May I know what grudge you have against the original owner of this body?"

Shen Guan didn't speak, and was about to kill him with one palm when he heard Lu Zhi's voice from behind: "Stop."

Shen Guan remained silent for a moment, then did not make another move.

Lu Zhi looked at that face. Compared to seven years ago, his appearance had not changed at all, but the look in his eyes was completely different.

"Can you read faces and tell fortunes?" Lu Zhi stepped forward slowly.

"Of course I can," the old man in plain clothes said with a wry smile. "After I possessed the body, I found a book that I carried with me, and all these techniques are written in the book."

"And when did you possess this body?"

"More than six years."

Lu Zhi nodded: "Our martial arts are all passed down orally and never written down. Ten years ago you harmed our master, and three years later you were killed by me. Now only the three of us, my fellow disciples and I, know our martial arts, so naturally you have no way to learn them. This book is your family heirloom. Now that you are dead, according to our rules, all past grievances are wiped clean, and I will collect the book and your body together."

The old man in plain clothes listened quietly.

"In that case, what you said does match the facts. However, you are cunning by nature, and without substantial evidence, I cannot let you go."

"So be it." The old man in plain clothes said helplessly and closed his eyes. A few breaths later, the old man's body suddenly went limp and he collapsed to the ground, and a dark shadow slowly emerged from above his head.

That soul was as transparent as paper, as if it would dissipate if a gust of wind blew by.

Su Yinchai suddenly stood up: "Wait, I know him!"

Seven years ago, a young underworld official from the Bureau of Swift Reports disappeared while on official business. The entire bureau searched for him for a long time, but he was nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead. In the end, they could only assume that his soul had dissipated and canceled his registration.

He paused, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

"So he was just shirking his duties here!"

The fox shrank its neck, becoming even more determined not to go to Mount Tai.

When encountering a colleague who has long since passed away, the first reaction is not the joy of seeing an old friend still alive, but to accuse him of being lazy.

Isn't the workload in your Taishan Prefecture a bit too heavy?