The Little Fox's Immortal Cultivation Encyclopedia

"You pig..."

Butcher Zhu came out of the shop, patted the black pig's head, and tapped its back. The black pig neither dodged nor flinched, but just watched quietly.

"How's the pig?" the farmer asked after looking around. "Judging from your posture, you don't seem like you're here to buy meat. How about Old Zhu slaughters the pig for me first, and then you can chat?"

"Something's strange," He Ying whispered to Lu Zhi.

"Hmm, let's see. The butcher has already noticed."

Butcher Zhu circled the black pig, his tone puzzled: "You pig, why are you so dull-witted? You smell my blood but don't react at all?"

He had been a butcher for over twenty years, and the bloodthirstiness on his body was indelible. Just one glance from him was enough to terrify ordinary livestock.

"Hey, yes, this is exactly the same as my goose." Chen Atang glanced at it, suddenly realized, and quickly went to pull the farmer away.

"Oh dear, don't kill it! Be careful, or pigskin will grow out."

"What pigskin? What are you doing? My pigs are already reserved, and people are waiting to buy the meat." The farmer, startled by his black robe, took a step back and forcefully pulled his sleeve back. "I was afraid it would make noise, so I gave it some calming medicine. What's so strange about that? Old Zhu, you're being too suspicious. Isn't it good that the pig is well-behaved? Do you have to kick and stomp on it to be satisfied?"

"Alright, let's go to the backyard first." Zhu the butcher was speechless and had no choice but to lead everyone to the backyard.

The small slaughterhouse in the backyard was not large, with a large wooden slaughtering bench in the middle. It was kept fairly clean, but over the years, there were still many traces of blood.

The farmer led the pig ahead, while Lu Zhi and the others followed behind, watching quietly. Even though they smelled blood, the pig didn't react.

"Yes, it is." Shen Guan said succinctly.

Butcher Zhu took a bundle of hemp rope from the corner of the wall and bent down to tie the front hooves. The black pig raised its head slightly and its eyes met his.

It remained as calm and undisturbed as ever.

"Hurry up and do it!"

Zhu the Butcher's heart tightened, and he suddenly recalled the scene from his dream. He leaned down, his lips moved, and his voice was so low it was almost inaudible: "Are you a human in disguise?"

"What are you dawdling for? Hurry up and tie it up!" the farmer urged.

The pig didn't answer. Butcher Zhu stood up, feeling a tightness in his chest that he had never felt before. He was unsure of what to do and looked to the crowd for help.

"Brother, is this pig yours?" Lu Zhi stepped forward and bowed to the farmer.

"Of course it's mine, what are you trying to do?"

"To be honest, I have some knowledge of animal husbandry. May I take a closer look at this pig?"

"Pig judging?" The farmer was dumbfounded. "There are pig judging services?"

"Exactly." Lu Zhi smiled slightly. "If a pig is too quiet, its blood and energy will stagnate after it's killed, which will actually damage the meat. Why not feed it some water to alleviate the effects of the medicine?"

The farmer looked at Lu Zhi, then at Butcher Zhu. Seeing that the butcher also nodded, he hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright, feed it. Honestly, even slaughtering a pig has caused so much trouble."

Lu Zhi untied the water bag, poured it into a bowl beside him, and held it to the black pig's mouth. The black pig raised its head, and its eyes changed slightly.

"Why does this pig look a little resentful to me?" He Ying frowned slightly, wondering if she was seeing things.

Before the words were even finished, the black pig, which had been looking dazed, gulped down all the water in the bowl in two big gulps. Then, it leaped up and pounced onto the slaughtering bench, lying down obediently.

A moment of silence fell over everyone, except for Chen Atang, who exclaimed in surprise, "Your pig is more self-disciplined than my goose! My goose didn't resist, but it's already covered in feathers. If I were to kill your pig, you'd probably end up with a pig's head."

"It looks like a human, but it's not created in the same way as animals. If it really is a human, why would it willingly go to its death? There are so many strange things happening in Tao County." He Ying sighed.

Butcher Zhu suddenly said, "I won't kill this pig."

"What?" The farmer thought he had misheard.

"I said, sell this pig to me."

The farmers looked at him like he was a fool. Butcher Zhu didn't waste any words and directly took out his money bag: "How much? Name your price."

"Old Zhu, are you alright? This pig weighs 120 jin (60 kg), at market price..."

"I won't weigh it anymore, I'll just give you the price for 150 catties, is that enough?" Butcher Zhu interrupted him.

The farmer opened his mouth, but swallowed the words back. He reached out and took the money bag, looked at the butcher, then at the pig, then at the few江湖人 (jianghu ren, people of the martial arts world) beside him, his heart filled with unease.

"You've all confused me too. Is there really something wrong with this pig?"

"I don't know either. I'm just keeping an eye on it and observing for a few days. If there's really no problem, then I can take advantage of it later."

The farmer walked away, turning back every few steps.

The black pig remained lying still, its eyes fixed on Butcher Zhu.

Zhu the butcher ignored it and turned to look at the crowd: "Now we need to talk about what really happened. Honestly, this is the first time in all my years of butchering pigs that I'm too scared to butcher one."

"This matter might be related to the fox spirit..." Chen Atang quickly stepped forward to explain, recounting the events that had transpired.

"...Then we went to the tofu shop, asked around carefully, but found nothing, so we had to come back to you."

The group chatted in the courtyard. The black pig hesitated to make a move, then let out a soft grunt, pushed off with its four legs, and leaped down.

"According to you..." Before Butcher Zhu could finish speaking, he felt a strong force hit his lower back. Caught off guard, he was sent flying and crashed to the ground, his vision going black.

The yard suddenly became lively, with black pigs running around and butting people they caught.

Chen Atang was chased around the yard, shouting as he ran, "Why are you butting me? If it weren't for me, you would have been killed long ago!"

The black pig butted it even more enthusiastically.

Butcher Zhu scrambled to his feet, rubbing his lower back, and angrily cursed, "You beast! I paid to save you, and you still talk back to me!"

The black pig suddenly turned around and charged straight at him.

"Ouch—"

No one noticed that a bee perched on the eaves had seen everything. It took flight and flew straight to the honey shop.

It slipped through the pre-made window crack, landed on the queen bee's hand, and gently fluttered its wings, conveying the message in detail.

The queen bee listened in silence for a long time, then nodded, walked into the house, and knelt before the offering table.

"By the Fox Spirit, something strange has happened at the butcher shop... there's a pig..."

She prayed fervently for a while before slowly getting up and waiting patiently.

Before she could finish a cup of tea, she saw a crimson streak leap into the room, its beard bristling with anger.

"Who's talking badly about the fox behind its back! Bring the fox there, and the fox will bite him to death!"