The Little Fox's Immortal Cultivation Encyclopedia

The sky was a golden red, and the afterglow shone through layers of clouds, falling on every smiling face.

Xu Sheng had just finished bathing, his hair still wet and hanging over his shoulders. Today, he was no longer dressed as a scholar, but instead wore a bright red wedding robe and sat calmly in the courtyard.

Xu's mother came out of the house, holding a wooden comb. She stood behind Xu Sheng and combed his hair, stroke by stroke.

She moved very slowly, combing her hair one strand at a time from root to tip.

After finishing her hair combing and tying it up, Mrs. Xu couldn't help but speak:

"My son, my mother..."

"It's alright, Mother, I understand." Xu Sheng raised his hand to wipe away the tears from his mother's eyes, bowed to her, and looked out into the courtyard. "I'm going now."

Outside the gate, the wedding procession had already arrived.

A white horse adorned with red silk stood at the head of the procession. Beside the horse was an exquisitely decorated sedan chair, its surface covered in red paper and decorated with gold paper flowers. Each of the four corners of the chair's roof had a small lantern hanging from it, making it look quite grand. Four sedan chair bearers stood beside the chair, three men and one woman.

At the front of the sedan chair stood a handsome young man dressed in red, with a red belt and a flower in his hair. Beside him stood a lean man holding a gong, and next to him a burly man holding a drumstick with the drum tied to his waist. At the very back followed three young girls in yellow skirts.

Xu Sheng only recognized Chen Atang, who carried the sedan chair, and Zhu the butcher, who played the drum. Although he did not know why the master had arranged for these people to come to fetch the bride, he did not care or ask any questions. He believed that every arrangement made by the master was meaningful.

Xu Sheng walked up to the white horse, and the handsome young man handed him the reins. Xu Sheng mounted the horse, settled in, and nodded to the handsome young man.

The fox waved the flag in its hand.

The team started moving.

Liu Guishou mustered all his strength and slammed the gong: "May the newlyweds be welcomed into the home, and may all evil spirits give way!"

He casually turned the gong sideways and handed it to the onlookers on both sides, striking a pose as if to receive tips.

Seeing the passersby looking at him with suspicion, he realized what was happening, awkwardly put away the gong, and pretended to be nonchalant as he continued to strike it.

Zhu the butcher struck the drum with the air of someone slaughtering a pig and chopping meat. He didn't know how to play the drum, but he had a lot of strength in his hands.

As the gongs and drums sounded, three young girls began to sing:

"Flowers bloom in pairs, reflecting each other's crimson beauty; phoenixes sing in harmony, lasting a hundred years."

Xiang'er sang the most energetically, but her tune was the longest. However, her voice was clear and crisp, and it didn't seem out of place among her sisters' melodious singing.

He Ying held onto the sedan chair poles, her movements unusually careful, as she was afraid of crushing the paper sedan chair with any force, yet she dared not be too slack, lest a gust of wind blow it away. She could only bend slightly, her fingers loosely supporting the poles, making it even more tiring than carrying a real sedan chair.

She glanced at Brother Lu and Shen Guan beside her, then secretly glanced at the fox at the head of the group, keeping her murmurs to herself.

The fox wasn't paying attention to them; it was focused solely on the suona in its hands, its expression serious: 'Suona, you'd better live up to expectations.'

The fox took a deep breath and blew hard.

The suona let out a sharp, long cry, high-pitched and bright.

The fox took a shallow breath and blew it out slowly.

The suona emitted a muffled sound, almost inaudible.

The fox remained silent for a few moments. He cleared his throat, placed the suona to his lips, and without blowing on it, slowly opened his mouth.

Accompanied by a clear and melodious tune, a series of chirping and twittering birdsongs came out of the fox's mouth, fast and crisp, like a hundred birds singing in the forest.

The fox is speaking birdsong, the fox is singing.

At that moment, it seemed as if a thousand sparrows were chirping in unison, rising and falling, weaving together a tapestry of sounds. The clear, ethereal songs swirled in the air, drifting in all directions.

The onlookers stared wide-eyed. An old man squinted and murmured, "Is this... a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix?"

The people next to him didn't answer, but just looked up and saw a few birds flying through the sunset, circling above the group.

Mi'er untied the cloth bag in her hand, reached inside and grabbed a handful, then scattered it into the crowd, the candied fruit falling to both sides like rain.

Caught up in the atmosphere, the surrounding people no longer cared about what kind of auspicious item it was for a ghost marriage, nor did they care about whether it was tainted with yin energy. They all bent down to pick it up, chanting auspicious words.

The procession continued forward, the drums still beating, the songs still being sung. As dusk fell, the autumn wind carried a chill, and Xu Sheng, mounted on his horse, gazed through the crowd, looking ahead.

He was enveloped in the blessings of the entire city, and shrouded in the warmth of the mortal world, as he went to welcome his bride who was no longer in this world.

The Cheng family's gates were already wide open. Cheng's father stood at the front, watching the grand wedding procession approach, his face showing both joy and sorrow.

The procession stopped at the gate. Xu Sheng dismounted, knelt before Cheng's father, and presented the letter of welcome, each word spoken with conviction.

"Father-in-law, today I, your son-in-law, am marrying your daughter, Xue'e..."

E Niang sat in the wedding hall in the courtyard, dressed in her wedding gown, her radiant glow flickering in the candlelight.

She stroked her wedding dress again and again. After becoming a ghost, she could not change her clothes, but this wedding dress was different. Cheng's mother began embroidering the dress for E'niang when she came of age. E'niang watched her mother embroider it, and every stitch was imprinted in her mind.

So she imagined herself wearing a wedding dress, and the wedding dress grew out of her body.

"...In this life and the next, I will treat her with all my heart, follow her through life and death, never leave her, and never betray her in the slightest. If I break this vow, may I be struck down by heaven and earth, and forsaken by gods and men."

Xu Sheng's vow rushed into the hall on the wind. Cheng's mother, standing to the side, spoke with a sob in her voice, but her face was smiling: "You little rascal, you've never been obedient since you were little."

"I've told you so many times that a young lady should be reserved and proper. But you, the first time you met Xu Sheng, you came back and told me you wouldn't marry anyone but him. I never imagined that you would be willing to die to marry him."

"Alright, you've finally gotten married."

"mother……"

"Don't say anything more, go ahead, he's still waiting for you."

E'niang walked towards the door, her steps silent, but Xu Sheng, who was kneeling, seemed to hear her and raised his head at the same time.

Eniang stood on the threshold, in the shadows where the setting sun could not reach.

Xu Sheng stood up, stepped over the threshold, and into the shadows, pulling E Niang out.

As the sun sank below the horizon, the last rays of its light shone at their feet, flowing all the way to the sedan chair. Xu Sheng, holding E Niang's hand, followed the light step by step, helping her into the sedan chair.

The sedan curtains were lowered, and the fox nodded in satisfaction, pleased that his choice of this time had not been in vain.

"Lift the sedan chair, let's head back!"

The procession turned around and, accompanied by the sound of gongs and drums, headed back.

As Xu Sheng rode his horse, he suddenly sensed something was amiss. The birdsong had stopped sometime earlier, and when he turned around, the handsome man was nowhere to be seen.