Chapter 1

My name is Du Hongyi, a very ordinary office worker.

I’m almost thirty, and I have a girlfriend I’ve been with for seven years.

It’s time to get married.

The days ahead will be filled with the mundane necessities of life, but things have been pretty much the same anyway, in this world.

Taking advantage of one last chance, I applied for a business trip to Guanwai, in Shenzhou (China), planning to use this opportunity to climb Changbai Mountain.

Back in my university mountaineering club days, I always wanted to climb this mountain.

Maybe it was to bid farewell to a life of freedom and enter a world that truly represents responsibility. This time, I was very careful to look at the scenery of this mountain, just like when I first climbed a mountain in school. Unknowingly, I actually strayed from the main group.

Relying on my past experience and navigation, I barely managed to find my way back on the mountain road.

But this damn navigation.

Actually led me to the most remote location.

I looked back, and the sun was setting. The entire Changbai Mountain was dark and oppressive, like a giant beast. I was a little scared, and hurriedly turned back, but I saw something I never dared to believe before…

…

“Do you think I look like a human?”

The voice hidden in the shadows asked this.

I felt my hands and feet turn cold, and I trembled constantly.

Did it look like a human? It didn’t look like one at all!

A huge tail, a furry body.

Sharp teeth and claws!

But when I came here, I heard the stories about the fox and huang daxian (weasel spirit) in Guanwai asking for their true form to be acknowledged.

If you deny them, they will hunt you down. This is a demon.

I’m getting married soon. My fiancée and I have a deep relationship. My parents are old. I can’t die here.

So I heard myself answer, trembling:

“Yes, you are a human.”

The shadow laughed and disappeared.

I collapsed to the ground. Only then did I realize that my hands and feet were cold. It took me a while to recover. I was worried about something happening on the road, but I finally made it down the mountain safely. I bought a ticket that night and left, constantly worried until I returned home and finally felt at ease.

My fiancée and I have been living together for two years.

When I returned, she had already prepared a table full of delicious dishes. She was always so considerate, and home could always soothe the weariness in a modern person’s heart. My fear and tension slowly dissipated. She poured me a glass of wine, and I, slightly drunk, drunkenly told her about this thrilling experience in the candlelight.

She lowered her head and suddenly asked curiously, “Did you see what the demon looked like?”

While pouring wine, I shook my head and said, “No, I just vaguely saw fur on its face, with sharp teeth and a pointed mouth, like a fox.”

She suddenly laughed and pointed to her face:

“Oh, look up and see, is it like this?”

My heart skipped a beat.

I suddenly remembered that I hadn’t told anyone about buying the ticket early because of fear.

My fiancée didn’t know I was coming back today, so it was impossible for her to prepare the dishes in advance.

Then who is she…?

…

In the Qingqiu Kingdom, Wei Yuan looked at the group of beautiful and refined young women, but felt a little overwhelmed and his scalp tingling.

The young women surrounded him in several circles.

Their eyes were shining as they chattered and asked, “It’s a human, a living human.”

“And he’s very young.”

“Hey, what’s your name? Ahem, I mean, this little lady doesn’t know the honorable name of this young gentleman.”

A delicate and refined young woman stared at Wei Yuan, with a refined smile, but her eyes boldly stared at him:

“Do you like to read? Do you aspire to take the imperial examinations?”

Wei Yuan gave his name and then shook his head strangely:

“I have read books, but I don’t plan to take the imperial examinations, um, for fame.”

Another woman, who looked plump and amiable, had bright eyes: “Then is Young Master Wei from a poor family, but has the knowledge of Wen Qu (a star in Chinese mythology associated with literature and scholarship) descending to earth? Is your writing very good?”

“Do you have older brothers and sisters? Are they treating you badly?”

“Young Master Wei, I have a few short poems here. I wonder if I can discuss them with you?”

Wei Yuan roughly understood what was going on. Poor family, likes to read, oppressed by older siblings, but also has the knowledge of Wen Qu descending to earth. These elements combined together seemed somewhat familiar. After thinking about it, isn’t this the image of those scholars who meet fox spirits in various legendary tales of ancient times?

Looking at the young women’s eager appearance, it was as if they had seen some rare item.

Wei Yuan cast a look of help towards the celestial maiden.

But she took two steps back, just smiling as she watched Wei Yuan being surrounded by these young women.

Delighted to see it happen.

The young woman’s lips moved silently.

‘Which one do you like? I’ll help you ask for her.’

Wei Yuan let out a breath and turned to look at these interested fox women.

Suddenly, he raised his hand and patted the eight-sided Han sword behind him, and said loudly:

“I don’t like writing and playing with ink. I only like swords in my life.”

The group of fox women instantly fell silent.

Wei Yuan held the sword in its sheath in his hand, then took another step forward and smiled:

“I don’t have any official position, but I am just an idler who runs a small shop in the city.”

“I haven’t read many books, and I don’t like writing those articles. I don’t know anything about poetry. If it’s about sparring with swords, I’d be happy to accompany you…”

The group of young women all took a step back, looking surprised, and then somewhat disappointed.

This soldier only chose words and deeds that were the opposite of those who were said to be on good terms with fox women in legends. The young women were no longer so enthusiastic, but instead looked a little embarrassed, as if they regarded him as one of those rough and bold knights from the lands of Qin, Han, Yan, and Zhao. Such men were not to the fox women's liking, and so in a little while these young women lost the joy they had felt.

After a while, more of them left because a voice was heard.

Wei Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and carried the sword on his back.

He turned his head and looked helplessly at the surprised celestial maiden.

The black cat on his shoulder chuckled.

At this time, there was still one fox woman left, looking about sixteen years old, dressed in white, holding a large book, and still looking Wei Yuan up and down. Suddenly, she smiled and said, “Young Master, you are much more interesting than the dull scholars in ancient tales.”

She stretched out her hand in an inviting gesture and said generously, “It’s rare for guests to come to Qingqiu. Those sisters are naturally innocent and a little impolite. Please forgive us, both of you.”

Wei Yuan said, “I am the one who is being impolite. May I ask how to address you?”

The white-clothed fox woman smiled and said, “My surname is Su, and my name is Su Yuer.”

…

Wei Yuan and the celestial maiden explained their purpose to Su Yuer.

The Qingqiu Kingdom is not small, and there are many residents, but the Qingqiu fox clan has a high status, so they quickly found Hu Ming’s third brother. When he heard that his brother was injured outside, he was first surprised, and then hurriedly sorted out the elixir, complaining, “He hasn’t returned for six years, and the first news I get is this.”

“I really can’t say anything about him.”

“Thank you three for telling me about this. I will go find him now. The Qingqiu Kingdom is different from the outside world. Please enjoy your stay here.”

After saying that, he hurriedly left to go to the human world.

After that, the celestial maiden said that she was going to find an old friend and elder, and also left. The black cat also left a message, saying that it had to do some serious business tonight to find Bo Qi’s trail, and didn’t know where it went, leaving only Su Yuer to take Wei Yuan to visit the Qingqiu land, which was really different from the outside world, and let him see it all.

In the city, they saw a large mansion.

Unlike other places, which used stone lions to guard the house, this mansion had two stone sculptures of nine-tailed foxes in front of it.

The stone sculptures were steady, and the nine tails behind them were raised, which could actually make people feel that the statues had a trace of divinity.

The gate was tightly closed, heavily guarded, and many of the previous fox women had entered here. Vaguely, crying and arguing could still be heard from inside. Wei Yuan was a little surprised, but didn’t ask much. Su Yuer saw the curiosity in Wei Yuan’s eyes and said softly:

“This is a branch of our Qingqiu fox clan. A daughter in the clan secretly ran out, wanting to elope with a man from the mortal world, but was captured and locked up here.”

“Elope…?”

Su Yuer said, “That mortal man was poor and sick. Several elders of this branch were worried that the clan’s daughter would be deceived, so they secretly went to find out. It was heard that if they hadn’t arrived in time, she would have forced out her inner core to give to that man to consume.”

“Thousands of years ago, there was a lesson of an external fox demon whose inner core was tricked away by a ghost, causing her cultivation to be completely lost, while that ghost returned to the yang world, relying on his cultivation to gain wealth and glory. That is why the clan reacted so strongly. Young Master Wei, please come this way…”

The girl’s expression was somewhat dismissive and nonchalant.

Since it was someone else’s clan matter, Wei Yuan naturally had no intention of interfering, and nodded, following Su Yuer to tour the Qingqiu Kingdom.

…

Crack!

A cat’s paw slammed heavily and unwillingly on the computer screen.

Outside the Qingqiu Kingdom, in a city in the human world, in a certain internet cafe.

The black cat, who had cast an illusion, was angrily rubbing the keyboard with its paws.

After all, it wasn’t easy to leave home to go to an internet cafe when it was at Wei Yuan’s house. It hadn’t been online for so long, and it was already a little itchy. It was a strange beast with five hundred years of cultivation, and after remembering the location of the Qingqiu Kingdom, it could come and go freely. After going online, it actually matched with that red embroidered shoe again.

The other party also seemed to have not been online for several days.

It was immediately angered and applied for a solo match.

Now it was in a situation of frantically trash-talking.

Just as it was enjoying the trash talk, it suddenly realized that the sky was slowly darkening. It seemed that being any later would affect today’s serious business, so it had no choice but to send a friend request with lingering interest. The cat licked its paw, and quite admired the opponent who could be evenly matched with it, and agreed to fight again next time.

Without looking to see if it was accepted, it jumped off the seat, its tail erect, and lazily walked past the boss. At the same time, in the Quanzhou Museum, the water ghost’s eyes widened, water spurted from its eyeballs, and it slapped the table, angrily saying:

“This grandson dares to provoke us?! And wants to come again next time?!”

“If the boss wasn’t at home and it wasn’t convenient to play on the computer, wouldn’t we have beaten him to death?!”

“Come on, accept it!”

Two paper figures carried the mouse with heaving-ho’s and then jumped up and heavily stepped on the left mouse button.

Click.

‘You and Cat Master have become game friends’

‘You and Fishing Bar Boss have become game friends’

The cat didn’t know what happened afterwards, nor did it know that the internet cafe boss here, after staring at the cat claw marks on the screen, silently smoked three cigarettes, and then searched for urban legends, and successfully joined a three-hundred-person group by proving it through photos, which was full of internet cafe bosses.

It just quietly sneaked back to the Qingqiu Kingdom.

Then it slowly waited while lying on the tree. Finally, it saw a bird like a turtledove come down to rest, and it called out like a young person being amused, with a “hehe” sound. Then, while the bird was tidying its feathers, it suddenly pounced on it and landed heavily on the ground with a thud.

The black cat shook its head and stood up.

That kind of bird had already flown away in a panic.

But the cat had successfully bitten off a feather.

It followed the scent and found Wei Yuan, bit the feather and placed it in Wei Yuan’s hand, and looked at the surprised young man, saying, “This is a feather from a bird in the Qingqiu Kingdom. That guy is called guanguan (a mythical bird). If mortals wear its feathers, they will no longer be confused. You wear this on your body, and then enter your dream, and you won’t forget who you are.”

“Bo Qi is a great demon in dreams. If you want to find it, you can only start from the dream.”

“Zhang Ruosu asked me to come here, but it wasn’t just to guard you.”

ps: Thanks to Lone Wanderer for the ten thousand reward, thank you very much~