The Little Fox's Immortal Cultivation Encyclopedia

The man squatted on the ground, slowly picking up copper coins, and casually tossed the shriveled fruit to the group of turtles who were watching eagerly.

After tidying up, he straightened up and noticed a young man standing beside him, who had arrived at some point and was silently observing him.

The man smiled and waved his hand, "Sir, the show's over for today. If you want to see more, come back another day."

"I have a few questions for you," the fox-turned-young man said bluntly.

The man's smile didn't fade, and he showed no impatience: "What do you want to ask, sir? Just say it."

"Do you know Shen Erlang? He's a snake charmer."

"Oh dear, you've asked the right question, but you haven't quite gotten the answer," he laughed. "To make a living, I'm always traveling around. Everyone here is dealing with fish and insects; those who make a living this way naturally know what I'm talking about."

He pointed north: "But I just came back from Mangyuan Prefecture. We were just strangers who met by chance and helped each other out a bit. It's been a long time since we last saw each other. If you want to ask me where he is now, I really can't answer."

He scrutinized the fox from head to toe, and couldn't help but ask, "Look at you, sir, so handsome. What brings you to that snake charmer? Perhaps you'd like to learn a few tricks yourself?"

The fox continued, following the man's words: "I found a snake; it's dull-witted but very good at dancing."

The fox removed the covering from the willow tree and pushed it out.

"Oh my, look at that scale, that spirit, it's got potential, sir, you've got some skill." The man flattered, "But let me just say this, these acrobatic performances may look exciting, but they're actually tough work, out in the wind and rain, it's not a good place."

The fox thought for a moment and replied, "It's fun to show off."

"You're hardworking and have great ambition." The man clasped his hands in a smile and praised, "As the saying goes, when you're out in the world, having more friends means having more options; meeting someone is fate."

"If you're not in a hurry, sir, how about we talk as we walk after I've finished getting ready?"

The fox nodded, and the man scooped a few spoonfuls of water from the pond and poured them into the jar containing the toad. He did the same to the turtle, putting it into the bamboo basket and then placing them all on the cart.

He pushed the cart and walked side by side with the fox toward the county town: "My unique method of taming insects and beasts is forbidden to be told due to ancestral teachings, but the principles of animal taming are all similar. If you are really interested, I will tell you a few words."

"It's nothing more than using food as bait and having clear rewards and punishments," he said bluntly. "Snakes prefer quiet and dislike being startled. You might as well prepare a small box, put the snake in it, and slowly feed it some food every day so that it gets used to your scent. Once it's no longer timid, you can let it coil up on your arm and keep it close to your skin."

"Once you get more familiar with it, you can switch to your waist and abdomen, or even your neck. When the snake can smoothly coil around your body without being agitated or noisy, you've mastered it. I've heard that this move is called 'Snake Coiling Around the Body'."

The fox pondered to itself that this body was entirely formed from its own magic. For convenience, the fox allowed its magic to flow through its body, mimicking the fox's behavior to conjure a human-like appearance. But it was merely an illusion, easily broken; how could it allow a snake to coil around it?

If a fox were to spare a thought, it wouldn't be difficult for it to conjure up a snake. But would that be considered playing with a snake, playing with a fox, or playing with a person?

The fox turned to stare at the snake and discovered that the creature had somehow already climbed onto the cart with practiced ease and found a comfortable spot to settle down.

"I've heard that some skilled snake charmers can even make snakes crawl through all seven orifices, and as for snakes carrying copper coins, that's a piece of cake," the man said. Seeing that the young man remained silent for a while, he guessed that the young man was not interested in this method, so he quickly changed the subject.

"Wow, this snake of mine is really clever. It even looks a bit like Erlang's." He paused for a moment after saying that, then looked at it carefully and shook his head. "If you look closely, it really does look a bit like it, but Erlang's is much smaller, only about a foot long, and it's very delicate."

The fox skipped over the question: "Where does Erlang usually hang out?"

"I'll go wherever there are lots of people and it's lively." The man said without hesitation, "Tomorrow is the Autumn Equinox, and Tao County has a custom of moon worship. If Erlang is nearby, he will definitely come."

The fox asked curiously, "A moon-worshiping festival?"

"Yes, sir, you're going to Taoyuan County, right?"

"I'm going to Tao County to see the magistrate."

The man raised an eyebrow and laughed, "So you were after the immortal peaches, sir. What a lucky man!"

"What kind of fairy peach?"

The man was taken aback and asked in confusion, "Every autumn equinox, the magistrate sells a batch of immortal peaches from ancient trees. Those are highly sought-after items, only high-ranking officials and nobles can obtain them. How could you not know that, sir?"

"That peach tree didn't bear any fruit. And didn't this magistrate just come from the other side of the mountain?" the fox asked in surprise. "There are other magistrates?"

The man didn't follow the fox's train of thought, thinking it was just nonsense: "Hey, newcomers and old farewells, aren't they all the same to us commoners? With such a huge money tree, who could resist reaching out and grabbing some benefits? The previous one..."

He suddenly realized what was happening, stopped talking in time, and felt a chill run down his spine.

Strange, even though it was the first time I met this young man, I unconsciously let my guard down and let things slip out.

"What happened before? Why didn't you tell me?" The fox, oblivious to social niceties, continued to press.

The man stammered, "Sir, please don't ask. These are just rumors circulating in the streets; I'm just repeating what I've heard."

The fox became even more curious. With a thought, it used its magic to guide the small bottle containing honey, which flew out of the bag on its own. In the man's eyes, it appeared as if the fox had taken the small bottle out of the bag and held it in front of him.

"Pop—" The fingertip pushed open the bottle stopper, and honey-like aroma gushed out.

"Pop—" The stopper of the earthenware jar was pushed open, and several toads poked their heads out, puffing out their cheeks, and staring longingly at the fox.

Tell me, and I'll give you the whole bottle.

"This is..." The man swallowed hard, seeing his tortoises' impatient looks, he hesitated for only a moment before finally sighing, "Alas, there's really nothing that can't be said, it's all old news. The previous magistrate only cared about accumulating wealth and didn't care about anything else. When the people encountered problems, they had nowhere to turn for help and suffered terribly."

"Have you ever heard of a wandering soul? If you ask me, it's when people lose their loved ones, their hearts are full of sorrow and they have nowhere to vent. They look for the cause within themselves, but they can't find it, so they can only blame it on gods and ghosts."

"But in the end, this corrupt official himself disappeared. It's true that evil deeds get their just deserts."

The fox understood; it seemed that just as there are black birds and tits, and white foxes and red foxes, people are also divided into different kinds.

So the fox objected: "Since there are many county magistrates, each one must have a different personality. I think this one is quite good."

"What you're saying, sir..." The man stared at the fox, unsure whether it was mockery or praise. Unable to reply, he could only give a vague response.

"Here you go." The fox used its magic to stuff a bottle of honey into the man's hand.

The man happily stuffed it into his arms, flattering, "Thank you for the generous reward, sir!"

Overjoyed, a strange sense of relaxation washed over him again, and the man couldn't stop talking. He chuckled and said, "If the new magistrate is really an upright and just official, those monkey show-offs will probably be both happy and worried."

"Um?"

"When they encounter corrupt or incompetent officials, they have monkeys imitate the behavior of those corrupt officials and put on a show of monkeys interrogating corrupt officials. The people feel relieved watching it, and naturally they receive more rewards. But if honest officials are in power, life is better, and there is no reason to put on this show, so they are naturally worried."

The fox found it amusing and chatted with the man as they walked. The man walked slowly, resting occasionally to drink water. The fox was in no hurry either.

By mid-morning, the outline of Tao County could already be seen in the distance.