Start practicing from Mr. Fox

Chapter 40: Fox in the Dream

Lu Panhu narrowed his eyes slightly, revealing a hint of curiosity.

"I don't know what you want to ask?"

"Let's start with this underworld restaurant and tavern, okay? I'm curious about the lives of ordinary ghosts in the underworld."

"I can tell you about these."

Lu Pan said slowly.

He pointed at a few things with his fingertips, but didn't rush to speak. He thought for a while.

"Strange! We've all lived in the underworld for hundreds of years, but when it comes time to introduce ourselves, I don't know how to begin."

"Why?"

"I'm usually busy, and when I have some free time I practice cultivation. It's been a long time since I've been able to discuss and chat like this."

Lu Pan shook his head.

"Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore. Since you want to hear about the underworld, I'll tell you about it. But first, I have a question for you."

"President Lu, please ask."

"What do you think the underworld is, fellow Daoist?"

Chen Ji frowned, not knowing what to say. His knowledge of the underworld was almost entirely from what he had read in novels and operas.

After thinking about it, he said.

"It's probably where people go after they die. There are the Ten Courts of Hell, the Ox-Headed and Horse-Faced Demons, the Eighteen Levels of Hell, as well as the Ghost Gate, the Terrace of Homecoming, Mengpo Soup... I don't know about the rest."

Chen Ji's voice gradually faded away.

"It's good to know this. It does exist. It's normal for other people not to know about it."

"Most opera novels don't write about these things."

"Please give me some advice, Pan Lu."

Lu Pan nodded.

"You're right about one thing you just said."

"The biggest difference between the underworld and the living world is the life of the living and the life of the ghosts. There is really no other difference."

"Heaven is divided into yin and yang. The underworld and the world of the living are essentially two sides of a bronze mirror."

"There are towns in the human world, and there are towns in the underworld."

"There are evil spirits roaming outside the town, preying on ordinary ghosts, just like monsters in the human world. Inside the town, there are also restaurants, wine shops, markets, and various craftsmen... It's closer to the human world."

“It’s truly amazing.”

Chen Ji sighed.

"So the Yin-yang thing is also true?"

"nature."

"But is it a magical method, or some other ability?"

"Can the real body of a living person also enter the underworld?"

Lu Pan laughed out loud.

"That's possible, but ordinary people can't do it, unless they have special magic or protection. I can't explain this in detail."

"Ordinary people who enter the underworld usually do so in dreams."

"For example, my fellow judge, Judge Cui, handles matters of the living during the day and resolves grievances in the underworld at night. He can also be considered as walking in the underworld."

"You are like this now, so it counts!"

"Now I am? In the underworld?"

Chen Ji's whole body trembled, and he even broke out in a cold sweat.

"How is it, fellow Daoist, are you scary?"

A hint of teasing flashed across Lu Pan's eyes.

Chen Ji calmed himself down, looked around, and didn't sense any scary aura, so he shook his head.

"It seems no different from the last time I came."

"There's really no difference. They're all in the same place."

"Last time I heard Lu Pan talk about the underworld of a thought, I was a little curious. Can this thought also become reality?"

"You said this."

Lu Pan laughed.

"This is a matter of personal understanding. There is Zhuangzi in the world, who can transform into a butterfly in a dream and fly thousands of miles, enlightening the dream. There is also the dream of the yellow millet, and when people wake up, they don't know whether it was a dream or reality."

"There's often only a fine line between dreams and reality. Fellow Daoist, how do you tell the difference between truth and falsehood?"

Chen Ji was silent.

He was not familiar with dream interpretation and was completely unable to comprehend these things. He only felt that he vaguely understood something, but he couldn't grasp it.

After thinking it over carefully, he shook his head.

"I really don't understand. Maybe I can understand it after I practice dream magic."

"In that case, I will give you a dream technique. If you fail to refine the elixir, please allow me to make another one next time."

Lu Pan raised his finger and pointed at Chen Ji's forehead.

I felt as if there was something extra in my mind, but I couldn't remember clearly what it was.

"Things in a dream can only be remembered after waking up. You will know when you return."

After chatting for a few more words, Yan Chixia finally woke up.

He covered his head with his hands and looked bitter. Noticing that Chen Ji and Lu Pan had suddenly come to their senses, he quickly bowed and apologized.

"The cold poison kicked in today, and I drank a few extra glasses of wine. I didn't expect to be so drunk until now. I missed the banquet between Lu Pan and fellow Taoists. I deserve to be punished!"

"Cold poison? Come up and let me take a look."

Lu Pan raised his hand, placed it on Yan Chixia's wrist and began to take her pulse.

He let go of my hand after just a few breaths.

"On nights approaching the full moon, excessive Yin energy can trigger cold poisons. It's not a serious problem. Drinking a glass of this wine can alleviate the symptoms."

Chen Ji couldn't help but be shocked.

Can the judge of the underworld actually feel the pulse of the soul to infer the body's condition?
"The soul can indeed see some situations, but Fellow Daoist Yan's situation is special. I, an ordinary person, do not have this ability."

After saying that, he poured Yan Chixia a glass of moon wine.

"Please try this wine."

Yan Chixia raised his head and drank it, spitting out a cloud of alcohol.

"Good wine!"

Then he shook his head, a gleam in his eyes.

"It's a pity that the cup is too small. It's not satisfying. I should use a gourd." "Why don't I punish myself by drinking three cups first!"

"Playing tricks again!"

Lu Pan stopped Yan Chixia with a smile and scolding.

"We only have this little bit of good wine. Fellow Daoist Chen and I are reluctant to drink it, so we're waiting for you to join us. You still want to use the gourd!"

"Hurry up and take your seat!"

Then Yan Chixia was invited to take his seat and the banquet officially began.

After three rounds of five flavors, they talked about recent events.

Yan Chixia just started to study the art of swordsmanship.

Pan Lu was investigating the previous case of the Shadowless Ghost.

"Well, I forgot to tell you."

Lu Pan said seriously.

"Last time we parted, I sent my men to check for the souls that had mysteriously disappeared in recent years, and there were indeed some that didn't match."

"We sent ghost messengers to chase after souls, and we did find a few groups of evil spirits that were harming people, but we didn't find the people who created the beasts that devoured souls."

"President Lu, is my place of origin listed in the Book of Life and Death?"

Chen Ji suddenly thought of this.

When Lu Pan mentioned life span before, he was only thinking about not revealing the secret of his soul and forgot to ask about this matter.

If there is a place of origin, we can trace it from there.

I seem to know the origin of this world.

Having been reborn and affected by karma, I should indeed do something for my original family.

"Yes, but the clues have been cut off."

Lu Pan replied.

"Why?"

"The demons have massacred the village. No one is left alive in the entire village."

Lu Pan waved his hand, and a light screen appeared in front of him, showing the situation of the village.

Blood seeped through the brick walls, bones were exposed in the wild, and skulls became a rat's nest...

Although a long time has passed, the tragic scene can still be seen.

"..."

Chen Ji swallowed his saliva and felt a chill on his body, truly feeling the uneasy side of this world.

After staying in Xiantai Mountain for a long time, I just feel that the years are peaceful.

Even though I caught a ghost on the roadside a few days ago, I thought it was a trivial matter, but now I truly understand what hell on earth is.

"My fellow Taoist, please accept my condolences."

Lu Pan sighed and consoled him.

"Demons are wreaking havoc on the world, and many tragedies have occurred. You may have escaped by chance, but you were once again targeted by this evil group. However, you are fortunate to have a long life, and you were saved by the fox demon."

"This is something that only those with great luck can experience. Perhaps it's a good thing that you can't remember it."

"If you can't let it go, then kill a few more blood-eating monsters in the future to avenge your family."

"I understand. Thank you both."

Chen Ji nodded.

He was not sad because of this loss, but he thought it was too much of a coincidence.

Unfortunately, it was not appropriate to continue talking about this, so he suppressed his thoughts and only asked Lu Pan for the address, intending to go over and take a look after he had achieved success in his cultivation to see if he could find anything else.

"what?"

Chen Ji was still thinking about something, but Lu Pan raised his eyebrows and looked at Chen Ji.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, you seem to be in some trouble? Do you need my help?"

"What trouble?"

"A fox wants to enter your dream."

"This is my student, Bai Shijiu. He originally wanted to use me to try out the Dream Marrying technique, but he didn't expect Lu Pan to invite me, so he didn't notify her."

Chen Ji hurriedly explained.

"Why don't I wake up first and talk to her before coming back."

"Why bother?"

Lu Pan waved his hand.

"Since she is your student, it is also her destiny. I will open the door and let her in."

"But she hasn't fallen asleep yet, how can she..."

Before Chen Ji finished speaking, he heard Lu Pan laughing.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, you are so confused! If you didn't enter the dream, how could you knock on the door in the dream?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he stretched out his hand towards the void.

Then the huge image of Lu Pan that Chen Ji had seen in his memory appeared again.

The giant hand moved across the clouds, exploring something, and after a moment it grabbed something and took it back.

"Hey!"

With a scream, a red fox appeared in front of the three people.

Bai Shijiu did not fall asleep. He was in a daze for a moment, then opened his eyes and looked at Chen Ji. Then he looked around and raised his finger in shock.

"Sir! What's going on? Why are there other people and ghosts in your dream?"

Chen Ji's eyelids twitched, and he felt that this statement was quite ambiguous.

This Bai Shijiu doesn't seem to be here to test his magic, but rather to catch someone committing adultery.

He waved his hand to signal her to be quiet, and then introduced her to the identities of Lu Pan and Yan Chixia, a ghost and a man.

"President Lu of the Underworld?"

"Sword cultivator Yan Chixia?"

Bai Shijiu stared at the two of them with his fox eyes wide open, and suddenly his whole body trembled and he fainted.

After a long while, he slowly woke up.

The first sentence made the three of them burst into laughter.

"Sir, your dream is really scary!"

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(End of this chapter)