The Little Fox's Immortal Cultivation Encyclopedia

Five days ago.

As the sunset painted the fields, the artisans, draped in twilight and covered in dust, returned to their hometown of peach orchards.

The township head had already prepared food and lodging, and people gathered in small groups to watch the excitement, discussing the matter animatedly.

The Pu residence was completely silent.

The unfortunate titmouse, confined to the eaves, was preening its feathers, its eyes reflecting a fox and two other birds.

Caiyu, who had been speaking clearly and without any sign of unease, immediately had tears welling up in her eyes upon seeing her father. Her small mouth trembled, and she burst into sobs.

Pu Shunnian, who never showed his emotions in front of his son, could no longer restrain himself and hugged his son tightly.

No one disturbed the tender moment between the father and son. Master Qingzhu stared solemnly at the man before him.

"In short, that's the situation." Duan Mianli's mouth was dry from talking. He picked up his teacup and drank it all in one gulp before continuing, "We'll set off back to the county tonight."

After listening, the Taoist priest looked up at the sky and gently shook his head: "It's getting late. Let me inform my master first."

He pulled a palm-sized piece of hemp paper from his pocket, picked up his pen, and began to write, the characters as thin as mosquito legs. Once the paper was full, he didn't take out a new sheet, but continued writing without stopping. The characters overlapped, the ink crisscrossing and blurring into a single mass.

"How can you see that clearly?" Duan Mianli's eyes twitched as he looked at it, and he felt a strong urge to remind him, but he held back.

The Taoist priest seemed not to hear. After finishing the last stroke, he folded the hemp paper into a ball the size of a fingertip, then flicked his sleeve, and a talisman slid straight down.

"Come!"

The titmouse on the eaves paused, then flew over involuntarily, raising its neck to swallow the paper ball.

"That's it! That's it! I just couldn't control myself!" the messenger tit hurriedly said, trying to prove himself.

Master Qingzhu then picked up a bag about the size of a sparrow's claw, filled it with grain, and tied it to the sparrow's back. He then bowed respectfully.

"Brother Sparrow, thank you for your trouble."

The titmouse nodded, flapped its wings, and flew away, turning into a gray shadow.

"You agreed to it yourself!" The leader of the mountain sparrows immediately seized on this as leverage.

"Well, that means they were being controlled!"

The two tits were chattering noisily, but the fox ignored them and continued to watch with curiosity and envy.

This was the first time the fox had looked down upon the world from high above. The village nestled at the foot of the mountain and receded into the distance, while streams flowed down from the green hills and merged into the river, reflecting the sunlight.

The fields stretch out across the plains, and farmers return to their villages with hoes on their backs. An ancient path winds its way along, where peddlers carrying loads and travelers leading donkeys walk unhurriedly.

A feeling of joy welled up in his heart, and magical power was released from his inner core. The fox explored and gradually reinforced the illusion.

A gentle evening breeze blew, and the sparrow's feathers trembled slightly in the wind.

As the illusion intensified, the soft touch of the evening breeze on the tips of the feathers and the expansive flow of air as the wingtips parted were all absorbed into the fox's senses. The fox comfortably squinted its eyes, as if it too were flapping its wings in the wind.

"I, the fox, will definitely learn to fly someday." The fox made up its mind, its eyes suddenly widening.

As you look further into the distance, the outline of Tao County becomes clear.

The city walls stand tall, white walls and black tiles lined up one after another, the night gradually enveloping the city, and lights lighting up one after another, as if falling into a city full of stars.

Although it was already night, pedestrians still streamed through the city, and the noisy voices drifted on the evening breeze.

The food stalls in the city were packed together, the iron pots of the soup noodle stall were bubbling, the bamboo trays of the wonton stall next door were steaming, and rice cakes and sugar cakes were displayed on the steaming rack, sweet and soft, with white steam rising straight into the air.

The leader of the mountain sparrows smugly approached and boasted, "A country fox, never seen one before, have you? Longing for one, aren't you?"

The fox nodded earnestly without hesitation: "Never seen it before, I'd love to go!"

The titmouse was speechless; all the words she had prepared stuck in her throat.

"Humans are so lucky. They don't have to hunt to have so much food," the fox thought enviously.

"Hmph, people have to pay too."

"money?"

"Those flat, round stones in their hands."

The fox examined them closely and indeed found those things: "I've never seen pebbles like these before!"

"Those are all man-made," the titmouse leader explained. "Look at those people, busy all day long, all for these things. If you ask me, people are not as free as us. At least we can eat whatever we hunt. Many people catch their own prey but never eat it; they just give it away in exchange for these stones."

During the conversation, the messenger tit continued its journey without slowing down, crossing the northern part of the city and arriving at the city center.

That century-old peach tree had gnarled branches that stretched out, its trunk so thick that it would take five people to encircle it, and its branches and leaves were lush and abundant.

"Huh?" The sparrow leader realized something was wrong.

"The fox knows this. People have said it was born from an immortal," the fox kindly explained.

"That's not what I meant. I'm curious why it doesn't have any peaches." The titmouse stared intently at the tree crown. "The peaches here bloom and bear fruit all year round, but this old peach tree only bears fruit once a year. Now is the time for it to bear fruit."

"Perhaps this peach tree is old."

It's just a memory, separated by an illusion; neither the fox nor the bird can explore it further.

As the view gradually descended, passing through the city center, the bustle diminished considerably, and the area was more orderly compared to the northern part of the city. The messenger sparrow darted into a courtyard with palace lanterns hanging from the eaves and stone lions standing in front of the door.

We've arrived at the county government office.

Inside the main hall, the lights were on. The man known as the Master of Yun Temple sat cross-legged on the ground with his eyes closed.

A sparrow flew across the courtyard, its path blocked by the hall door. As if sensing this, Abbot Yun raised his hand and gave a slight push. There was no strong wind in the hall, yet the heavy door opened a few inches on its own.

The titmouse landed directly on the man's shoulder, spitting out a crumpled piece of paper which fell into his palm.

The paper ball unfurled in the air, and the writing arranged itself neatly.

Zhang Enhuai, still in the middle of his business, was startled by the noise and asked in confusion, "Master Yun?"

"It's a letter from my disciple." Abbot Yun glanced at it, having already taken in all the contents of the letter. A slight smile appeared on his lips as he handed the letter to the magistrate.

Magistrate Zhang accepted the document with both hands, examined it carefully, first frowning deeply, then letting out a long sigh: "The child has been found, and everyone else is safe. Otherwise, it would be my fault."

"In your opinion, Master, is that mountain god really that fox?"

Master Yun pondered for a moment, then said, "The fox was born with the essence of heaven and earth and is naturally gifted with wisdom. If given the opportunity to receive offerings, it is not impossible for it to become a minor deity."

"But this mountain god is probably not a fox." He changed the subject, his tone hesitant. "Before my master passed away, I heard him mention that there was a mountain god in Qingling. But I have little affinity with him and have never seen him. According to the records in the temple, the mountain god last appeared in the third year of Qianhe."

"It is now the twenty-first year of Jinghe, which is forty-three years ago, isn't it?" Magistrate Zhang did some calculations and secretly recalled, "At that time, the court structure was already established, the people's hearts were with the court, and it seems that no major events that shook the world had occurred."

Master Yun chuckled, "This place is just a small county, and that mountain god isn't the mountain god of the entire Qingling Mountains, but rather the mountain god of a small peak. Even if the imperial court is shaken, how could it possibly affect this place?"

"I was young at the time and don't remember anything. The magistrate might as well check the old files of the county government and maybe find some clues."

Magistrate Zhang also realized his mistake, cupped his hands and smiled wryly, "I was overthinking it."