The Little Fox's Immortal Cultivation Encyclopedia

Chapter 108 Monster Survey

The mother shrew held her head in her claws, looking at the scene before her with a worried expression.

There was a dark mass of rats in front of me, big and small, gray and black. I stepped on them one by one, completely blocking the burrow that could have housed a fox.

"The eldest brother"

"Boss—"

"

"Mom, I'm going to be crushed to death!"

"Since when have we had so many rats under our command?"

The mother shrew sighed, pushed aside the swarm of rats, crawled out of the tunnel, glanced outside, and seeing that the fox was not there, directed the rats to crawl onto the ground. The old man in plain clothes' house was quite spacious, and the rats covered the ground completely, at least they could stretch out comfortably.

"Ahem, those who think they're some kind of genius, step forward," Mu Yun commanded, sitting up straight.

The swarm of rats took a step forward in unison.

"You idiots, all you do is eat and sleep all day long. You can get chased for three blocks for stealing a piece of cured meat. What kind of genius have you become!"

""

The mother shrew cursed, then patiently explained, "What we mean is, those who can understand human speech will come out."

The mice moved forward in unison.

"Boss, we can all understand what you're saying."

"Yeah, yeah, boss, we've really become sentient!"

"This isn't the rat language we speak now, it's human language!"

Half of the mice retreated dejectedly, while the other half stood tall and proud, their eyes gleaming.

"Are there that many?"

The shrew didn't believe it and spoke in human language: "Those who can understand, nod."

All the mice were nodding, but half of them nodded immediately, while the rest were just imitating.

Just as he was about to start cursing, a sudden thought struck him, and he tentatively said, "Damn rat, don't let it get away!"

Now all the mice were scrambling and jumping around. The mice in the front row immediately darted backward, knocking those behind them off balance, while the mice at the back darted forward, stepping on the ones in front to jump onto the roof beams. The mice in the middle didn't move, not because they didn't want to, but because they were stuck in their positions and powerless to do anything.

"Run!"

"Where do you run? Where do you run?"

"Mom, I'm going to be crushed to death!"

"Quiet down—" It took Mu Yun a long time to finally quiet the rats down.

"All other rats step back, you come up here."

The mother glanced at it; there were still too many.

"He can remember the locations of all the tunnels."

"Can you remember what you ate yesterday?"

"Can you recount everything we said before?"

The mother counted her paws and said a lot, until finally there were less than two paws left in front of her.

"Very good, from now on you will be the heads of my men, in charge of this bunch of stupid rats."

"Our family is going to name you."

The mice below squeaked and squealed, their eyes gleaming.

"Your name is Mouse One." It continued in order, and just as it was about to speak, the two mice below it started arguing.

"Boss, I'm bigger than it, I want to be called Rat Two Squeaks!"

"No, no, I'm stronger than it, I should be called Rat Two-Squeak!"

"Stop arguing." The mother shrew paused for a few moments, then said, "Your name is Rat Two, and its name is Rat Two. It's settled then."

The mother shrew didn't give the remaining mice a chance to argue, and after ordering them all out in one breath, she added, "Very well, you will all come with us to the City God Temple to find the Fox Spirit immediately."

"Everyone else, disperse!"

The rats scattered with a whoosh, turning and burrowing into the tunnels. Those who had been huddled together just moments before recovered, shook off the dirt, and joined the flow of rats into the tunnels.

Nodding in satisfaction, he suddenly caught sight of a familiar figure stuck in the ground.

"Hey, eldest child, what are you doing here? Where are the other dolls?"

The older child struggled to get up, revealing the two smaller ones that were protecting him underneath.

Su An, not in his official robes, sat upright at his desk, a thick booklet spread out on it. A fox lay on another desk, its tail outstretched, engrossed in something.

"Greetings, City God." Bao and his henchmen bowed to the ground.

"No need for formalities, is this all you have?"

"Your Majesty, we carefully selected these eight animals; they are the most intelligent and law-abiding."

Su An nodded, picked up his pen and wrote: "The Rat Clan has eight stewards, named — Pure-hearted and respectful."

After writing, he took a small plaque from the table and handed it to Yun: "This is a certificate for spirits. Whoever holds this plaque can be considered a registered spirit and is subject to the laws of Yin and Yang."

"Thank you, City God." Mu Yun respectfully took it.

"The rats are skilled at burrowing and are familiar with the city's environment, able to see clearly inside and out. You and the bee clan are now part of the same group. Report any evil spirits sneaking in or monsters disturbing people immediately."

"We'll do as the City God says." Hearing that the bees also had to work, the mother shrew felt a sense of relief. Once she relaxed, she couldn't stop talking. "City God, if I may be so bold as to ask, why go through all this trouble?"

Su An smiled and explained, "In Tao County, Yin and Yang are one, and the people and spirits are inherently symbiotic. In the past, the city god was without a master, the mountain god was gone, and the spirits were unrestrained. Some were deceived by evil spirits and harmed the people, disrupting their spiritual practice, while others, out of ignorance, violated the laws of Yang and were condemned by everyone. All of this is truly a pity."

"This survey of all the spirits in the city will provide you with a way to live in peace. Furthermore, it is truly difficult for me and Judge Lu to take care of everything in Tao County on our own. With your help, we can maintain order between Yin and Yang."

"What does the fox spirit think?"

The fox casually replied, "Very good, I trust you completely. I'll head to Yunxi County first thing tomorrow morning. You can handle things here in Tao County."

Su An cupped his hands in greeting: "I will certainly do my utmost. However, the matter of the City God has only just been resolved, and the area is likely in chaos. The Fox Fairy is currently traveling alone to Yunxi County; would she need my assistance and that of Judge Lu?"

"That's why Fox has to go right away, just because it just ended."

The fox stretched out its tail and shook out a bunch of random things: half-eaten pastries, a few fragrant leaves, and a tightly packed ball of fur.

Oh, this is fox fur that the fox specially kept. We can't throw it away; we'll save it to make a new Plain Moon Silk later.

Although the fox's ability to store energy is improving every day, it can't keep up with the amount of stuffing it in. Now its tail is getting heavier and heavier; it's time to clean it up.

Of course, there was an even more important purpose: to make room for the City God's valuable items.

That wicked thing has been running rampant in Yunxi County for so long. Yunxi County is also the seat of the prefecture, so there must be a lot of good things hidden there. I need to hurry up and search around. Maybe I can find one or two magical artifacts.

The ritual implements take up a lot of space. They don't look big, but once you stuff them into the fox's tail, they become quite a large lump.

Su An looked at the once magnificent City God Hall turned into a storage room with a wry smile, and added, "With the City God of the prefecture brought to justice and Judge Ding confessing, and with everyone implicating each other, that place is probably already deserted, with nothing left."

The fox was optimistic: "It's alright, I'm just giving it a try. I haven't always been successful when I hunted before."