I am a wandering immortal in the mortal realm.

The Taoist's expression changed so quickly that it terrified Sister Hu. She clung to Little Sister Hu, trembling, and said, "Taoist...Taoist Master, what are you saying? I...I don't understand!"

Shen Yuan coughed lightly, feigning seriousness, and said, "Simply put, I would like to invite you two fellow Daoists to join my Yiyuan Temple!"

"Join...join?" Sister Hu was taken aback, glancing at the Taoist priest, wondering what trick he was up to now. She timidly asked, "Didn't you just mention labor reform, Taoist Master? Don't worry, though we're foxes, we understand the meaning of trust and honor. Having promised you, we would never go back on our word!"

"Hey, stop talking about labor camps, it makes us seem too distant!" The Taoist slapped her hard, pulled Sister Hu up, and said earnestly.

Confused, Sister Hu timidly began, "But...but this is the first time we've met Master Dao..."

The Taoist choked, then coughed lightly, sighing somewhat awkwardly, "Have you ever heard the saying 'No fight, no friendship'? This is all fate between us!"

Sister Hu felt like crying for no reason. She didn't want this kind of fate at all; it was too scary.

The Taoist then added, "Does my friend have any objections to what I just said?"

Sister Hu sighed with self-pity, "Now we are all defeated by the Taoist priest. It's a luxury to be alive, let alone have any other thoughts..."

"Hey!" the Taoist priest disagreed. He retorted, "Our Yiyuan Temple's consistent policy towards comrades is 'learn from past mistakes to avoid future ones, cure the disease to save the patient.' Although you two are facing labor reform, your basic fox rights can certainly still be guaranteed!"

Sister Hu gave a bitter smile, then fell silent.

Seeing this, the Taoist priest resorted to emotional appeal: "As you have probably seen, the Yiyuan Temple has been in ruins for many years, and now only a Taoist priest and an ox remain in the hall. Unfortunately, the ox is dull-witted and doesn't understand worldly affairs. I wish to recruit talented people, and only with the strong support of you two can I dare to talk about truly revitalizing the Taoist tradition!"

Sister Hu's eyes darted around, and her tail, which had been cowering, flicked slightly, clearly as she pondered the truth of the Taoist's words.

"Our magical powers are weak, we don't know what you need us to do, Master?" Sister Hu suddenly asked cautiously.

Shen Yuan smiled slightly, then said in a profound and enigmatic tone, "The Taoist temple is dilapidated and in dire need of reconstruction. Once you enter the temple, you must contribute to its rebuilding. Naturally, you should do whatever is appropriate. Even I, a humble Taoist, am not exempt from this custom!"

"This..." Sister Hu hesitated for a moment before mustering her courage and saying, "Master Daoist, we would never do anything that violates heaven and reason!"

The Taoist glanced at it, speechless, and said, "Then why did you come to me asking for the title of Fox Immortal?"

Knowing she was in the wrong and afraid of angering the Taoist priest, Sister Hu quickly explained, "This immortal is not that immortal; he is a wild fox spirit. Besides, you, sir, are destined to be immortal. Even if you enlighten me to become a fox spirit, there won't be any problems. At most, I'll just be unlucky for a year or two..."

"Bah! So you think you're right?" the Taoist spat. "Besides, I hate bad luck the most, not even for a single day!"

"I...I will protect you!" Sister Hu obediently shrank her neck and muttered a sentence in a voice that only she could hear.

"Of course, I am a disciple of the orthodox Xuanmen sect, not a heretical or evil one. Naturally, I understand the principles of upholding righteousness better than you do. I will never allow you to do such heinous things!"

Sister Hu breathed a sigh of relief. As long as her cultivation level wasn't damaged, she would eventually defeat the demons and rescue her grandmother.

If one defiles the pure energy above one's head, it will be difficult to attain enlightenment, and all things will be in vain.

Enough, enough, it's just enduring humiliation and bearing heavy burdens. Master said that Goujian even licked Fuchai's butt. I'll just consider it selling myself to a Taoist priest for a few years. What's the big deal?

Besides, the Taoist's magical power is unfathomable. When that sword struck, it felt as if the soul would be torn apart. With such ability, he could certainly protect me and my little sister from the pursuit of that demon.

Its mind raced, and it realized that joining the Taoist temple wasn't as scary as it had initially thought. When facing the Taoist priests again, its emotions became much more stable.

However, foxes are fickle and prone to taking advantage. Seeing Shen Yuan's suddenly amiable attitude, Sister Hu immediately harbored ulterior motives and tentatively asked, "Master...Master Dao, what's the difference between joining a Daoist temple and being sent to a labor camp?"

Shen Yuan's gaze was sharp and insightful; he simply smiled and shook his head: "There's no difference!"

"Then...then why did you say it so seriously?" Sister Hu was furious, her tone somewhat dejected.

"It sounds better to say it out loud!" Shen Yuan added with a smile, "Even prisoners deserve the necessary respect!"

"But..."

Just as Sister Hu was feeling disheartened, Shen Yuan's tone suddenly took an abrupt turn.

Sister Hu straightened up slightly as she listened intently, and heard Shen Yuan say, "I won't really make you work like slaves, but the cleaning, sweeping, and welcoming of worshippers in the hall will all be your tasks..."

Sister Hu almost burst out laughing. She knew how to do this; she used to do it every day when she was a maid at the Shan Jun Mansion, so she was very familiar with it.

"...Master Dao, but we are foxes. Can you really trust us to have contact with humans?"

Shen Yuan said, "What's a few strange things happening in a mountain temple? As long as you don't speak human language and frighten the worshippers, it's fine. In the future, you will be the spirit foxes under the command of my Yiyuan Temple. Perhaps because of you, the temple's incense offerings will flourish again. This... is called the GG effect!"

The Taoist priest spoke at length, but Sister Hu listened in a daze. She didn't understand anything about "GG effect," "salary and benefits," or "five insurances and one fund." She only knew that she had been moved to a different cave to become a servant.

However, compared to the fear of being on the verge of death before, now that it has turned the corner and escaped a great disaster, the emptiness in its heart is much greater than the relief.

"What's your decision?"

"I...I'm willing!"

The fox lowered its head and stretched its ears back, turning them into airplane ears like a dog. This, along with exposing its belly, is a sign of animal submission.

This back-and-forth, a combination of kindness and severity, finally dispelled any remaining hope the other party had.

Shen Yuan was secretly delighted. He was afraid that these two foxes would be outwardly loyal but inwardly disloyal, and that they would only go through the motions. He couldn't just kill them and be done with it, that would be a waste of talent.

"By the way, you said you studied housekeeping, do you know how to do accounts?"

Sister Hu honestly replied, "Little Fox knows how to use an abacus; Grandma taught her!"

"Excellent, excellent, excellent!" Shen Yuan exclaimed, thinking to himself that this old woman was truly talented, but it was a pity he couldn't witness it in person. So he said, "From now on, you will be the steward of my Yiyuan Temple!"

Sister Hu was startled, thinking she was hallucinating, and stammered, "Master...Master Dao, you want me to manage the household?"

"yes!"

Why?

"There are only two or three of us in the temple, big and small. If you don't take care of these worldly affairs, who will?" Shen Yuan said matter-of-factly. "Besides, I have the magnanimity to trust those I employ and not employ those I don't trust!"

"But we're foxes!"

"What difference is there between a human and a fox if one has talent?"

"Master Dao..."

Sister Hu's heart trembled. She had been terrified of the Taoist priest when he was being threatened with death, but after those few words, she felt a sudden urge to die for him.

The fox, unlike the others, immediately adopted the role and said, "If the Daoist Master requires a steward, I will certainly do my best. But I wonder how much savings the temple currently has?"

The Taoist priest calmly held up two fingers.

"Two hundred taels?"

Sister Hu nodded silently, then glanced at the dilapidated Taoist temple. She thought to herself that it was definitely not enough to repair it, but if they took their time, it should be able to be built in a year or two.

Just as he was pondering this, he heard the Taoist priest slowly speak: "Twenty taels!"

"Twenty...twenty taels?" Sister Hu was shocked. How could the Taoist priest be so poor?

Shen Yuan scratched his head, a hint of embarrassment on his face: "Hey, so our key task right now is still to make money!"

"What do we do?"

Sister Hu was filled with worry, feeling as if she had fallen into a deep pit.

Although they are demons, they are completely ignorant of economics and have no clue how to make money.

"Heavenly secrets must not be revealed!"

The Taoist priest gave a casual reply, then squatted down and tenderly stroked the weak Hu Xiaomei a few times. He turned and glared at the takin: "Brother Takin, look at you, you didn't even know to go easy on her!"

"Woof!"

The takin innocently shook its ears and turned to bite a blade of grass that was sprouting from a crack in the brickwork.

At this moment, Sister Hu seemed to remember something and suddenly said, "Master, although we have now entered the Yiyuan Temple, there is something we need to tell you first."

"explain!"

After a moment's hesitation, Sister Hu finally spoke: "Master, you should know that we came down the mountain to escape the pursuit of demons and ghosts, right?"

The Taoist nodded: "You already said that before."

Sister Hu nodded and continued, "Master, I think that demon is a bit strange. We ordinary spirits all eat pure dew and cultivate ourselves day by day, but it seems to have achieved its power overnight."

Moreover, this demon is violent, ruthless, and cunning, unlike the other Daoist practitioners in the mountains who are more refined. The fear is that it may become restless and cause trouble when it descends the mountain.

The Taoist's heart skipped a beat, and his grip on the wooden sword tightened involuntarily.

"Compared to you, whose cultivation is superior?"

Sister Hu was speechless: "Master, aren't you asking a question you already know the answer to?"

The Taoist priest smirked and asked again, "How does it compare to my ox?"

Sister Hu gave a dry laugh, but still spoke the truth: "Master, your ox has only had a fortuitous encounter and some good fortune, but it is still untamed by its wild nature, and I'm afraid it can't really be considered a demon!"

The Taoist glanced at the takin and thought to himself, "I didn't realize you were such a loser!"

"Then why can't you beat my bull?"

Sister Hu earnestly explained: "Master, you must know that Taoist cultivation is Taoist cultivation, cultivation level is cultivation level, supernatural power is supernatural power, and magical power is magical power. These things cannot be generalized. For demons like us, there is even the concept of natural enemies that counteract each other. Having Taoist cultivation does not mean you can defeat ordinary beasts."

Your ox is naturally strong and possesses the ability to breathe fire. Aside from the mountain king, perhaps only a beast as powerful as General Bear, who has attained enlightenment, could rival it head-on. Of course, if we want to defeat it, it's actually quite simple; we just need wisdom, not brute force!

Shen Yuan suddenly realized what was going on, and then he heard Sister Hu say with some worry, "Master Daoist, that demon loves to suck life essence. If it comes down the mountain, will you protect us?"

The Taoist priest pondered for a moment and said, "Once you've joined Yiyuan Temple, you've become part of the temple, and it's our duty to protect you. Besides, if that demon is truly as you say, even if it abandons you, Yiyuan Temple certainly won't escape unscathed. I understand the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold' better than you do..."

Of course, what he didn't say was that whether they could actually protect them was another matter entirely.

Sister Hu breathed a sigh of relief. She had benefited from the misfortune, and looking at the Taoist temple again, she felt a strange sense of belonging. She even had the leisure to survey her surroundings, considering where she could make a nest.

The Taoist felt a sense of urgency. After thinking it over, he realized that he couldn't shoulder this responsibility alone. So he lit incense and told the patriarch about the matter.

The patriarch was thoroughly annoyed by him, always causing trouble, but he still sent down boundless spiritual responses to the Taoist.

The fox saw the red dots on the three incense sticks fall at a visible speed, as if someone were sucking on them. The wisps of smoke even condensed into a ball, rising straight to the roof of the hall before returning to the azure void.

The fox's fur stood on end; the overwhelming spiritual pressure was even more terrifying than directly facing the manifestation of a mountain lord.

However, it soon noticed the difference.

The hidden injuries to his soul caused by the forced changes of the Heavenly Dao were gradually healing, and he even felt a slight loosening of his cultivation level.

Even his own sister stopped groaning in pain and fell into a peaceful sleep.

"This...this..."

Before the fox could even rejoice, a force seemed to press down on its soul from the shadows, like a tight band being forcibly put on, locking it firmly.

Its expression changed drastically, realizing that this was the work of the founder of the Yiyuan Temple, acknowledging that it was a member of the Yiyuan Temple. Not only had it been given benefits, but a restriction had also been placed on it—if it dared to break its promise in the future, it would be beset with boundless calamities.

The fox was on the verge of tears, staring at the two characters "Heaven and Earth" on the altar, and the last bit of hope in its heart vanished in an instant.

……

The working foxes officially started their jobs, and they were quick and efficient. The very next day, they had set up their den under the osmanthus tree in the backyard.

Since the foxes arrived, the number of rats in the temple has decreased significantly. In fact, due to their agility, they are even better at cleaning than most people.

They can clean up many corners that Taoist priests couldn't reach in the past in just a few seconds.

In less than three days, the entire Taoist temple looked brand new.

The takin used to like sticking to the Taoist priest, but now it prefers to hide under the osmanthus tree.

Perhaps because everyone was lonely, the new companions brought life back to the temple, and everything was thriving.

"Even though the Taoist temple is dilapidated, it should still open its doors to welcome guests and not deter the sincere faith of believers from all directions!"

The Taoist priest spent three days drawing talismans before finally deciding to open for business briefly for one day.

After finishing his morning work, he said to Sister Hu, "Fellow Daoist, could you please keep an eye on the main hall and prevent Brother Niu from causing trouble? I'm going to change my clothes before I come out."

"Go ahead, Daoist Master, I'll keep an eye on things!" Sister Hu's shrill voice rang out in the main hall.

The Taoist priest chuckled softly, turned and went to the backyard, while the fox jumped onto the prayer mat and sat there like a statue.

Just then, the door of the Taoist temple was pushed open forcefully from the outside. Hearing the noise, the fox turned its head to look.

Zhuang Ping had nightmares for three days straight and barely slept a wink. He heard that the ritual hadn't been performed properly and had disturbed the peace of the ancestors, so he shamelessly ran over early in the morning, intending to settle accounts with the Taoist priest.

Then he witnessed an extremely terrifying scene—

In the dilapidated Taoist temple, the light was dim, and the main hall appeared eerily sinister. A crimson fox sat upright before the hall. Hearing the sound, it turned its head, a tuft of white fur on its forehead fluttering. Suddenly, it smiled like a human, and the green light in its eyes intensified...

Zhuang Ping felt a chill rush to his head and almost died on the spot!

"This Taoist priest is indeed a heretic."

A thought flashed through his mind, and he dared not mention settling accounts again. His legs trembled, and he ran away with a "howl," as if afraid that the fox would chase after him.

"What's wrong? Did someone just come by?"

The fox remained silent, only gazing outside, before replying, seemingly unrelated, "Master Daoist, I think I smell a very familiar scent..."

"What is it?"

The fox shook its head, a hint of confusion in its eyes.

The Taoist priest followed its gaze and saw Zheng Baozhu rush in, asking immediately, "Taoist priest, are you alright?"