The Little Fox's Immortal Cultivation Encyclopedia

Chapter 94 Night Talk

The chubby boy held the book high and boasted, "I bought this from a storyteller. He said it's the most authentic version, much better than those made-up ones out there."

Pu Caiyu pouted: "Those are all fake."

"Hmph, you don't believe it, but plenty of others do." The chubby boy glanced at the little monkey's expectant eyes, smiled smugly, and opened the book to read aloud.

Shuai Shuai initially thought it was about a fox, and listened intently for a long time, but the more it listened, the more confused it became, feeling that nothing made sense. It glanced back at the silent fox and pondered deeply.

Could it be that I don't understand human speech and have misunderstood? Or are there other fox spirits here?

The chubby boy read with great enthusiasm for a while, then got a little tired and simply tossed the book to the little monkey: "I can't read anymore, you can read it yourself."

She was stunned for a moment.

The chubby boy, still not satisfied, turned to Caiyu and asked, "Hey, didn't you see a ghost? Tell me about it."

Caiyu shook her head: "No, my father won't let me say it, and I don't want to say it either."

The chubby boy lay on the edge of the bed: "Tell me, I've asked you so many times, it's not like it'll cost you anything."

Caiyu remained silent.

"How boring. Everyone says there were ghosts before, but I haven't encountered any even once." He lay back down dejectedly, then suddenly said, "Do you think you've ever seen a ghost, sir? How about we pretend to be a ghost and scare you?"

"Are you crazy?"

The chubby boy had clearly forgotten the beating he received when testing Da Huang's literacy skills, and he started making plans again. He talked with Caiyu for a while, and the topic became more and more off-topic.

"Did you say that the gentleman passed the imperial examination before? What does his wife look like? Does he have any children?"

"The food in the kitchen was too salty today; it was so salty I couldn't eat it."

"And you're telling me, who stole the last bowl of hot soup?"

"That is—"

The little monkey listened silently, squatting in the small academy, much more reserved than when it was in the mountains. It couldn't wait to go back to the mountains, but listening to the conversation between the two little ones, a curiosity it had never felt before suddenly arose in its heart, and it wanted to stay a little longer to see what the human world was like.

Suddenly, light footsteps came from outside the door. Caiyu coughed heavily, and the muttering inside the room stopped abruptly.

The little monkey, not having heard enough, instinctively urged, "Squeak—"

The creaking of the door and the squeaking of the monkeys overlapped, and a lantern peeked in, its dim light illuminating a serious face.

He froze there, still holding the pen in his hand.

Zhaifu strolled in slowly, took out a notebook, and wrote with charcoal: "Disorder at 9 PM, one demerit."

The little monkey stared blankly as the monk left, then looked around. The two children were already pretending to be asleep, and the fox was covered tightly with its blanket, so that not a single hair could be seen.

I want to go back to the mountains!

The moonlight was cold and clear. A fox had already been crouching on the courtyard wall outside the window, its two tails hanging down and swaying gently.

A person had appeared beside the fox at some point, wearing a black robe and with ordinary features.

"What a coincidence, to encounter a fox spirit here." Su Yinchai greeted her with a grin, "Is the fox spirit admiring the moon?"

The fox ignored him.

"I was just about to go to the Fox Fairy Temple to look for the Fox Fairy, but I didn't expect to run into her here."

"Speaking of which, it seems the fox spirit found quite a few good things this time she went into the mountains," Su Yinchai said, half-jokingly and half-probingly. "As expected of Qingling, it truly is a place of outstanding people and abundant resources."

"What do you want with the fox now?"

"The fox spirit is incredibly insightful." Su Yin didn't put on airs at all, and squatted down to be at eye level with the fox: "Three things."

"First, the punishments for those wandering spirits have come down. Most of them have entered various hells, where they are tortured every day, suffering the torment of being boiled in boiling oil and having their heads separated from their bodies. A small number of those whose sins were less serious have also received their punishments."

Su Yincha glanced at it, noticing that the fox tail's swaying hadn't changed and it seemed uninterested, so he skipped over the details and went straight to the point: "All the credit is attributed to the fox spirit."

"And what about the fox's reward?"

"Fox spirit, don't rush, let's talk about the second thing first."

"Recently, we were ordered to investigate Tao County and its surrounding areas, and we have searched and subdued all the evil spirits within the county. Using Tao County as a base, we also wiped out all kinds of evil spirits in the surrounding villages. Now that the task is completed, we will set off to return to the prefecture to report back soon." Su, the underworld official, seemed to be reporting his mission to his superior.

"Hmm? Is the fox seeing things? How come the fox also saw a ghost?" The fox stretched out its paw and pointed at the lecture hall.

There was a dark figure crouching by the window.

"This relates to the third thing."

"Among these wandering spirits, there are several promising individuals of excellent character and profound virtue. Tao County has been without a City God for many years; it's time to fill the vacancy." Su, the underworld official, took out a document from his robes and handed it to the fox. "According to the rules, the City God's Office should conduct the assessment, but—"

He looked at the fox, a smirk playing on his lips: "The government has decreed that the fox spirit has rendered great service this time, and as the local earth deity, he understands the local conditions best. Therefore, the fox spirit may personally preside over this City God's examination."

"These are the candidates for the position. As long as they are from above, the Fox Fairy can decide how to conduct the tests and who to select."

The fox stopped tailing, turned its head to look at Su Yinchai, and remained silent.

Su Yinchai said calmly, "Why is the fox spirit looking at me like that? Does the fox spirit have someone she likes? That's simple. Just take me there to see her, and I can immediately draft a document for her and submit it to the palace for review."

The fox let the words go in one ear and out the other, ignoring the rambling nonsense and starting to seriously plan ahead.

It must be said that although this sounds like Su Yinchai is pushing his work onto Hu, if what he said is true, then it has indeed tempted Hu.

"So that wandering spirit is the one chosen to take the City God's exam this time?"

"Exactly."

Why are you squatting here?

"Perhaps the assessment is approaching, and he's desperately seeking help in his old age."

"This is a place to teach children."

"The fox spirit is joking. We have never taken those mortal things like essays and exam-oriented learning seriously."

When selecting City Gods, we do not consider literary talent or eloquence, but only moral character and integrity; we look for those who are just, protect the people, and are dedicated to their duties. Ironically, this place, which teaches children reason and kindness, aligns perfectly with the fundamental principles of our underworld's selection of officials.

"His ambition is too strong; the fox doesn't like that."

"It's all up to the fox spirit." Su Yinchai took the document from the fox's hand again and crossed out a name.

The fox remained silent for a while, then suddenly asked, "Do you have some kind of trick up your sleeve for me again?"

Su Yinchai smiled without changing his expression: "There aren't that many twists and turns. It's just that once the City God of Tao County is chosen, he will have to deal with fox spirits in the future. Rather than slowly working things out, it's better to go straight to the point and choose one that pleases the fox spirits, saving a lot of trouble."

"We are just taking precautions."

"Heh, I don't believe it." This is the power of Mount Tai Prefecture, are you just going to hand it over to a fox like that? Aren't you afraid the fox will take over the mountain and become king?

"If you're deceiving the fox spirit, then make me sit in the office every day with a candle burning, without rest even on my days off!"

The fox believed it now.

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