Although I couldn't recognize all the characters on the white fox hide, I could still make out a few. Combined with the accompanying human figures and the black and white lines above, I had a general idea.
If my judgment was correct, the fox hide recorded a cultivation method. It's worth noting that during the Yin-Shang Dynasty, there were Qi Refiners, even immortals and gods. As for why they are no longer present now, that's unknown.
The lines on the human figures should be the Qi cultivation methods. As for which sect they belonged to, I would need to translate the text above first. Otherwise, practicing it randomly could lead to qi deviation.
The text above, I could recognize one character, "截" (Jié), which was quite good. When my master forced me to learn the "Wen Wang Yin Shen Zhen" (文王阴神阵), it was in vernacular Chinese. As for those crooked ancient characters, I couldn't learn any of them.
Even when my master whipped me with bamboo strips, I learned one and forgot the previous one. The tragic experience was simply indescribable.
"Remember..."
Seeing me staring at the fox hide without zoning out, Zhang Pingliang, after a long deliberation, uttered another word from his mouth. His voice was slightly hurried and filled with anger, his two scarlet eyes nearly bleeding.
I felt a splitting headache. Although my master forced me to develop a photographic memory, this ability only applied to current texts. I couldn't remember the Yin-Shang Dynasty script on the white fox hide even if you flayed me.
Moreover, just looking at these characters, which resembled tadpoles or ghost talismans, made me feel dizzy, as if a large mouthful of fermented herring had been shoved into my mouth. It was utterly disgusting.
I really wanted to tell Zhang Pingliang that I couldn't remember or learn this thing, but before the words left my mouth, I noticed the red fur on his body fading, and his Yin energy decreasing. The only thing unchanged was his scarlet eyes, which, besides carrying a sense of deathly stillness, also held a trace of anxiety.
He looked like a dying elder, wanting his descendants to remember the only treasure he left behind.
Needless to say, this item had been coveted by the old fox for many years. Zhang Pingliang, even in death, was unwilling to let the old fox obtain it. It must be a rare treasure, and I had to remember its contents no matter what.
Remembering it was impossible for me, but that didn't mean I had no way to preserve it. I took out my phone, silently praying that it wouldn't completely shut down. As long as there was a little power left, I just needed to take a photo.
Perhaps heaven heard my plea, or perhaps it was because shutting down the phone earlier had consumed less power. When I turned it on, the displayed battery level was still ten percent.
*Click, click—*
I took over a dozen photos, covering every corner of the white fox hide before stopping. Then, I carefully aimed the screen at Zhang Pingliang. "Uncle Zhang, look, I can't remember this, but I've saved it. Don't worry, it definitely won't be lost."
I didn't know if he understood. After a long while, I felt a gust of wind swirl around me, and heard the sound of branches and trees breaking behind me. Zhang Pingliang had disappeared from where he was, and the white fox hide placed on the ground had also vanished with him.
Looking back, the dense air roots behind me had been broken through by him, creating a hole in their formation. The surrounding area looked as if it had been corroded by sulfuric acid, with red viscous liquid dripping down. In the far distance, a light the size of a human head appeared.
"It's a shame he's not participating in the world sprint with this speed."
I said that, but my heart thought otherwise. Because I knew what he was going to do – likely to save Zhang Dabiao.
Given his sensitivity to blood qi, he should have discovered Zhang Dabiao on the periphery much earlier. However, due to the importance of the white fox hide, he stopped to wait for me to remember its contents before taking the hide and leaving himself.
By the time I rushed out of the vampire vine, the sun had already set. Everywhere my eyes could see were fox corpses, but I didn't find the old fox's body. Instead, I saw Zhang Dabiao curled up nearby, his life or death uncertain.
Seeing this, I hurried over and touched the artery on his neck, finding that he wasn't dead. He should not have woken up from the old fox's charm technique yet. Not far from him was Zhang Pingliang's corpse, already split into two halves. Sudan Novel Network.
The lower half had turned into ice crystals, while the upper half was preserved intact. It had even crawled a short distance towards Zhang Dabiao's location before finally lying powerlessly on the ground.
Although I didn't witness the scene firsthand, judging by the evidence, it seemed Zhang Pingliang had fought a fierce battle with the old fox to save his son. The outcome, as expected, was a failure.
Looking at Zhang Dabiao lying on the ground with a pained expression, I sighed, wondering how he would face this outcome when he woke up.
I didn't know how to break the old fox's fox charm technique, but generally, such troublesome arts were broken in similar ways – by startling the person awake from their nightmare.
I took out a bottle of water from Zhang Dabiao's backpack and poured it all over him. Only after the entire bottle was emptied did Zhang Dabiao show any reaction.
First, he opened his eyes in confusion, his gaze unfocused, slowly waking from his sleep like an infant. I waved my hands in front of him a couple of times, calling out, "Brother Zhang."
After a while, he finally reacted, "Little brother, are you dead too?"
I almost choked to death with his words. Who would want to die if they could live! It seemed he had experienced a scene akin to death.
"Brother Zhang, I'm not dead, and you're not dead either. We both survived."
"I'm still alive?" Zhang Dabiao's eyeballs rolled a couple of times as he looked around, until he saw the half of his father's corpse. He felt his body stiffen.
Then, he let out a mournful cry.
"No..."
Zhang Dabiao scrambled over to Zhang Pingliang, picked up the half corpse, and cried loudly. His voice was filled with immense grief, which also brought tears to my eyes. I could understand his emotions; anyone would find it unbearable to see their closest relative in such a state.
But whether one accepted it or not, it couldn't change the current outcome. I wanted to persuade him, but my throat felt tight, and I couldn't utter the words I wanted to say. He had experienced what I had gone through years ago; the feeling of losing one's loved ones before one's eyes was simply inexpressible.
Although I couldn't speak, it didn't mean I wouldn't act. I emptied the contents of Zhang Dabiao's backpack and then collected all the ice crystals on the ground into it. This was his father's lower half, and even if it was melted by fox fire, it had to be buried in a coffin.
After I finished, Zhang Dabiao stopped crying. He just sat there blankly, holding his father's corpse, as if he had lost his soul. I called out to him twice, but he didn't respond, just staring straight ahead with wide eyes.
"Brother Zhang, Uncle Zhang has been gone for a long time. Why can't you let go after so many years?"
Zhang Dabiao didn't react, as if my words were spoken to the air. Seeing this, I couldn't help but frown. This was not a good sign.
"If Uncle Zhang were still conscious, he definitely wouldn't want to see you like this. Don't forget the old fox who damaged Uncle Zhang's body..."
Upon hearing the words "old fox," a spark of spirit appeared in Zhang Dabiao's eyes. He then roared to the sky, "Old fox, in this life, I, Zhang Dabiao, will do nothing else but tear you to pieces! All foxes deserve to die! Ah..."