When Xing Yuan opened her eyes, she saw her own fluffy tail and the quadrupedal limbs of a beast that she hadn't seen in a long time. She leaped lightly, then observed her surroundings.
Green mountains and clear waters, filled with spiritual energy—a good place.
Xing Yuan began to sift through her memories.
She was a little fox with grand ambitions.
While her kin spent their days seeking out men to absorb their vital essence, she dreamed of achieving immortality.
Though it was an unrealistic dream, there were successful precedents in the history of foxes.
However, she was born with a weak constitution, making even shapeshifting extremely difficult, let alone achieving immortality.
But one day, she learned of another method to become immortal.
Legend had it that if someone devoutly believed in her, built a temple for her at home, and offered her incense daily, she could achieve immortality once the offerings were sufficient.
Therefore, even though her kin told her it was impractical, she resolutely chose this path.
She descended the mountain, but unlike other foxes, she didn't seek lovers. Instead, she did good deeds, hoping people would build temples for her and worship her.
However, people's perception of foxes was largely fixed. "Fox spirit" and "seductive vixen" were common labels for foxes. It was incredibly difficult to make mortals see her as a fox immortal.
She diligently performed good deeds, yet she had few believers.
Where there were fox spirits, there were naturally also Taoist priests.
She was merely a young fox with low cultivation. To achieve immortality, she needed mortals to believe in her wholeheartedly, so she could not use her charm arts.
Consequently, those who couldn't stand it invited Taoist priests from the mountains to subdue the demon.
The little fox couldn't win, so she could only flee. But later, for some unknown reason, more and more people heard about a fox causing chaos in the human world. Thus, Taoist priests, with the intention of subduing demons and eliminating evil, captured her.
Her demon core was refined into a pill by a Taoist priest. Without her demon core, she soon died.
But after her death, her resentment surged to the heavens!
Her hands were not stained with a single drop of blood; she had even done so many good deeds. Yet, these people hunted her down simply because she was a demon.
Those who had once vowed to believe in her forever dismantled the fox immortal temple she had painstakingly built the moment she became a "demon."
But clearly, they knew she was a demon from the very beginning!
They did not refuse her favors when they received them, yet they were the first to abandon her in her time of need. How could this not enrage her?
Her intense resentment, formed at the moment of her death, hid itself. After the Taoist priest left, it swept through the human world with hatred.
They had imposed baseless charges upon her. She never suffered losses, and since these charges were made, she would see them through.
Her power was limited. To maximize the disaster, she brought plague to the human world. This plague killed many people, and her resentment was finally extinguished.
Xing Yuan licked her paw, her eyes momentarily vacant. What was so good about achieving immortality? She preferred the methods of other foxes.
However, her current obsession was no longer immortality. She declared: From now on, she would become a vengeful fox, a true fox spirit.
This wish coincided perfectly with Xing Yuan's own thoughts. Xing Yuan stated that she would definitely fulfill it.
A brown-furred fox pounced over, her voice urgent, "Fox Xiao Yuan! I heard you're going down the mountain."
"Mm, probably," Xing Yuan replied ambiguously.
"What do you mean 'probably'?" Fox Xiao Jing grumbled, swatting her with a paw.
Xing Yuan immediately swatted back, then adopted a solemn expression and said slowly, "I suddenly feel that achieving immortality doesn't seem very interesting."
"Really? You've finally come to your senses. I'm so touched." Fox Xiao Jing, overjoyed, transformed into the form of a human girl.
Xing Yuan lay on the ground with a look of deep suffering. Too many tears had been shed. She didn't even have the cultivation to shapeshift yet.
"How do I look? Am I beautiful? Why don't we go down the mountain together! Once I find a handsome young man, and considering our good relationship, I can share him with you for a couple of days." Fox Xiao Jing said with eager anticipation.
Xing Yuan: ﾞ━=͟͟͞͞(Ŏ◊Ŏ‧̣̥̇)
"Are you serious?" Xing Yuan looked up at Fox Xiao Jing, her eyes full of suspicion.
Foxes were very possessive of their mates. Why was this fox so generous?
"Of course! There are so many handsome young men in the human world. If I give you one, I'll still have..." Fox Xiao Jing counted on her fingers, "I'll still have plenty!"
"Mm," Xing Yuan nodded with a complex expression.
"Right! I've asked you many times before, why did you want to achieve immortality?" Fox Xiao Jing asked curiously.
"This!" Xing Yuan searched her memories, her expression becoming even more complicated.
"What if I said it was for handsome young men like you?"
"Huh?" Fox Xiao Jing's face was full of disbelief. "But whether you're a fox or an immortal, you can have handsome young men!"
"Yes! Perhaps one is chasing after them, and the other is having them chase after you!"
In Xing Yuan's memory, that was indeed what she thought.
Going out to find them one by one was too troublesome! Once she became a fox immortal, she wouldn't need to search; handsome young men would line up, presenting themselves before her.
Fox Xiao Jing's expression was complicated. After some deliberation, she told the truth, "But we foxes are always renowned for our beauty. As long as we display our beauty, they will naturally line up, one by one, begging for our favor."
Therefore, achieving immortality had no effect in this regard.
"Yes," Xing Yuan nodded gently, her gaze slightly wistful.
And this action of hers was met with apprehension by those people, which ultimately led to her demise.
Otherwise, she was just a little fox with shallow cultivation; how could she have been pursued by so many people?
Fox Xiao Jing's face was full of excitement. "Let's not talk about that anymore! I've packed my things. Let's go down the mountain now!"
"Together?" Xing Yuan asked, puzzled.
"Of course!" Fox Xiao Jing nodded. "You can't shapeshift yet, so it'll be safer with me. Otherwise, you might be captured by any Taoist priest you encounter."
"I heard from the elders that the Taoist priests down the mountain are very fierce. As soon as they discover we're demons, they'll attack us," Fox Xiao Jing chattered on. Although she felt some worry, her anticipation for the human world outweighed it.
The place they were in was called Fox Mountain. Almost all foxes grew up here. There were elders guarding the clan, and as long as they didn't descend the mountain, the Taoist priests wouldn't dare to come up and subdue demons.
But once they descended the mountain, the mountain would no longer protect them; their fate would be in their own hands.
Fox Xiao Jing's face was full of the excitement of her first descent from the mountain, and she didn't mind Xing Yuan jumping onto her shoulder.
She whispered, "Xiao Yuan, stay close to me later. I heard there are a few Taoist priests guarding the foot of the mountain, but their cultivation isn't high. As long as we're careful, we won't be discovered."
Xing Yuan nodded. She was aware of the layout below but couldn't reveal it directly.
After successfully passing through the village where the Taoist priests resided, Fox Xiao Jing finally relaxed and transformed into a brown-furred fox.
One brown and one white fox ran through the silent, deserted forest, much like children venturing out for the first time, except without their parents.
"There's a dilapidated temple ahead!" Fox Xiao Jing exclaimed excitedly.
Xing Yuan glanced at it and scoffed, "What's so exciting about a dilapidated temple? There's no one there!"
"There's a scholar in the dilapidated temple! Xiao Yuan, haven't you heard that story? A scholar and a fox met in a dilapidated temple. They relied on each other, poured out their hearts to each other, and finally, the scholar fell at the fox's feet." Fox Xiao Jing's face was full of longing, believing wholeheartedly in stories that had been mythologized by their elders countless times.
Xing Yuan sneered, but her weak body couldn't resist Fox Xiao Jing's insistence.
The dilapidated temple was empty.
Fox Xiao Jing's head drooped instantly, her eyes full of disappointment. But she was still not discouraged. She started a fire and sat by it, patiently waiting for her destined love to arrive.
Starting a fire on a hot day—do you believe that's romantic?
Xing Yuan certainly didn't. She looked at Fox Xiao Jing haughtily, cleared out a corner of the dilapidated temple, and lay down to doze off.
Fox Xiao Jing waited alone for her destined love all night, only to be met by the wind blowing open the door. Outside, there was no one.
She finally gave up!
So the stories were all lies. She wasn't the beautiful fox demon from the stories, and her scholar hadn't traveled thousands of miles to find her.
Fox Xiao Jing continued on her journey, weeping. The entire fox was dejected.
They traveled intermittently, and it was only as they neared the capital that Fox Xiao Jing regained her usual spirit.
"This time I guarantee it's real! I have an aunt in the capital who found a suitable husband. We can go and seek refuge with her. And!"
Fox Xiao Jing leaned closer to Xing Yuan and whispered, "I heard there are many small inns in the capital. We can go and take a look."