Becoming a Fox Spirit from Under One Person.

"I was deeply impressed by her because she said she was going to use a Gu on the fox spirit, so we suspected she was some kind of villain or an enemy of the fox spirit. But then she said she would use time and sincerity to nurture the Gu, and we realized that she was a girl who was full of fantasies about love and a little obsessive."

insanity···

Gu masters in Miao villages of western Hunan.

A member of the "Quanxing" sect had half a tile blown off the ancestral hall in the mountains of western Hunan, so the entire sect was wiped out by foxes.

Xia He was a little dazed. In fact, the ancestral hall in the mountains of western Hunan was something that she and the fox never talked about. The two of them were extremely tacit about this matter.

"I can choose not to ask, but the memories of the past cannot be erased."

"Mother-in-law, did she succeed?"

The old man shook his head: "I don't know, but it probably worked. She traveled more than two thousand miles to get here, and she's going to walk another two thousand miles to Mount Tai. Her sincerity will surely bring good results, there's no reason why it shouldn't have succeeded."

"Phew—" Xia He couldn't tell whether she was happy or sad, and let out a long breath.

Thinking about it carefully, it's good that it's a success. What she feared most was leaving behind some terrible regret.

"Thank you for telling me these things, Grandma."

The old man didn't reply and suddenly became motionless.

She stood frozen in place as if struck by lightning, her gray hair trembling slightly in the wind, her lips quivering several times, unable to utter a single word.

Xia He saw that her eyes were filled with tears, and a familiar figure was reflected in her cloudy eyes—the same as she remembered, unchanged in the slightest.

The old man stared intently, afraid to blink, as if he feared that if he did, the person before him would vanish like a dream.

"Fox...Fox Spirit?"

After finishing the offerings, Chen Ruoan walked out of the clean streets and alleys, glanced at the old man, and asked, "Have you found someone who needs help?"

"Fox Spirit!" the old man shouted. "Is it the Fox Spirit?"

Every time the fox came to Jinxi Village, he would draw prayers and then perform tasks such as summoning clouds and rain and regulating droughts and floods. It was just routine business. With so many people in the village and so many weddings, he really couldn't remember who the old man was.

"It's me, it's Ximei, Sanxi's daughter, back then... cough cough cough!" The old man was so excited that he started coughing violently. Xia He hurriedly ran over to pat the old man's back.

“Sanxi, Sanxi, Sanxi…” Chen Ruoan thought for a long time before finally remembering, “The little girl who used to chase me all over the yard when I was little.”

"Hehehe, it was me. I was young and ignorant back then."

"Then you must be ninety-six years old, but you look quite healthy."

"thanks to you."

How is the village?

"all good."

"What about at home?"

"Alright."

"Descendants?"

"Okay, okay." The old woman said, her voice choked with emotion. She too had struggled through those difficult years and knew all too well how hard-won her current life was.

"That's good." Chen Ruoan smiled with relief, while Xia He beside her was looking at her with a smug grin.

Anyone with eyes can see what evil intentions they're harboring.

What are you going to do?

"It's nothing." Xia He was still unaware that she had guessed wrong.

Chapter 232 Old Ma, Oh Old Ma

A woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea; if you manage to catch it, it will prick you.

Sunlight slanted down on Xia He, making the tips of her pink hair glow softly. Chen Ruoan stared at her for a long time, still unable to figure out what the girl was thinking.

After the fox had eaten its fill, it declined Ximei's invitation to a feast. The old man then went home and brought back three bowls of tea, and the three of them sat down at the stone table.

The tea is wild mountain tea; a few new leaves float in the white porcelain bowl, emitting a delicate fragrance.

Grandma Ximei recounted what happened back then.

It tells the story of how Jinxi Village transformed from a few dilapidated mud-brick houses into what it is today. It recounts how the first village secretary traveled throughout the county seeking help to build roads; how during a severe drought, when the wells ran dry, the entire village knelt before the Fox Fairy Temple and kowtowed; and how later, with the arrival of favorable policies, young people went out to work, earned money, and returned to rebuild the village brick by brick…

Xia He tilted her head, a strand of pink hair slipping from her shoulder. She thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "It seems you only intervene during natural disasters?"

Chen Ruoan placed the teacup on the stone table and replied, "I'm not a nanny. Most of the time, the people of Jinxi rely on their own efforts—whether it's building roads, setting up factories, farming, or doing business, they all achieve it step by step. I'm just there to lend a hand when they can't reach it."

"Therefore, I prefer to respond to the prayers of the villagers. They worship me because they believe they can succeed; I respond to them because I believe they can succeed. This is how Jinxi has prospered."

Chen Ruoan's lips curled into a very faint smile: "Isn't this cooperation very good?"

"I need to work hard..." Xia He murmured softly.

She remained silent for a long time after listening to Chen Ruoan and Granny Xi's words.

Several baskets of red chili peppers were drying in the square. The sunlight steamed the spiciness, making her eyes slightly sore.

Suddenly, Xia He realized something: the world had changed.

Without the chaos of war or widespread famine, the people of Jinxi Village live in peace and tranquility, thanks to policies, their own hard work, and their daily toil.

For her, a disciple of a shaman, achieving success in this peaceful year is actually more difficult than in the past.

Xia He's heart clenched as soon as the thought crossed her mind, perhaps because she had been choked by the chili peppers.

She was afraid that if she kept trying to stick to Chen Ruoan, she would eventually be left behind.

As the fox had said before, the difference in cultivation between the two was too great, as great as a bottomless, boundless chasm, with her on one side and him on the other.

But what should we do?

"The new era demands new achievements."

Xia He recalled that during her university years, an old professor wearing glasses in her Marxist philosophy class slowly said this while adjusting his lenses.

At the time, she thought it was just official jargon and platitudes, something to be taken with a grain of salt. But now, for some reason, those words resurfaced from the depths of her memory.

She gave a thoughtful "hmm" and nodded slowly.

Xia He tentatively asked, "On our way back to Tai'an, you won't suddenly have an epiphany and then ascend to heaven, will you?"

"Probably not." Chen Ruoan's tone was calm, but carried a hint of uncertainty.

Fate is a wonderful thing; who knows when it might suddenly happen?

Xia He's unease surged up like a flame doused with oil.

This was her original idea—to travel and enjoy the scenery, like a couple of immortals, and to step in and stop any wrongdoing if she encountered anything bad. How carefree that would be!

But now it seems there's no chance left.

She scratched her head, her fingertips messing up the stray hairs on her forehead, and a single stray hair stubbornly stuck up.

"I heard that Master Zhang Chulan of Longhu Mountain has returned to secular life after the competition and is now focusing on preparing for civil service exams. There are indeed still impoverished areas, and the gap between the rich and poor is huge... Should I also try to find a way to participate in the fight against poverty?"

The moment the thought crossed her mind, she found it absurd.

But in today's world, everything about "becoming famous" is tied to politics. Having power and wealth means having the ability to change the status quo of society.

"Hmm~" She tilted her head, her gaze drifting into the distance. "Am I thinking too far ahead?"

Chen Ruoan noticed the slight disappointment in her mood and comforted her, "Don't be anxious, and don't treat accumulating good karma as a task. Just let things take their course."

"What we do cannot determine when we will ascend to immortality. What we can determine is only how far we can go on the path of cultivation."

Xia He didn't ask any more questions, just hummed in agreement, pressed down the sticking-up ahoge (cowlick) and it bounced back.

It's getting late.

Chen Ruoan stood up and said goodbye to Ximei.

The old woman stood in the square, her white hair ruffled by the wind. She didn't say anything more, but simply bowed deeply.

The two continued heading north.

The mountains and fields recede, and the population gradually increases.

Halfway there, Chen Ruoan suddenly stopped.

A faint, ethereal prayer drifted from the north, like an invisible thread, gently landing before me.

The memorial tablet is enshrined at Jishetang, a century-old brand on Henan Medicine Street.

"Eiko?"

Chen Ruoan murmured the name, her brows furrowing slightly.

When Prince Zhong passed away in his early years, Duanmu Ying fulfilled her husband's wishes in accordance with his will, handling each matter properly and thoroughly.

Several years later, Yingzi reached the end of her life. Fortunately, she and her husband eventually returned to their roots. At the end of her life, she still had one wish: to see the fox spirit she had worshipped since childhood again.

Chen Ruoan remained silent for a moment.

"We changed our route and went to Jishetang in Henan."

Xia He didn't ask any more questions, she just nodded.

Chen Ruoan quickened his pace, and after only a few steps, he carried Xia He on a whirlwind, afraid that if he slowed down, he would miss something.

The fox's old friends are now all at an age where every meeting is one less. Having experienced so much separation and death, they can face it calmly, but the layer of sorrow in their hearts is another matter entirely, thin as autumn frost on the tiles.

The medicine cabinet of Jishetang stood against the wall, and sunlight filtered in through the carved window lattice, drawing long, slanted grids on the blue brick floor.

When Chen Ruoan stepped across the threshold and arrived in the backyard, Duanmu Ying was lying on the bed, the quilt reaching her chest, her hands folded over her abdomen.

Her silver hair was neatly combed and spread out on the plain pillow. Her face showed no signs of illness or sallowness; in fact, it had a thin layer of color on it.

If it weren't for the fact that her chest was barely rising and falling, people would have thought she was just asleep. Perhaps when tomorrow came, she would open her eyes on her own, put on her clothes, get out of bed, and then stubbornly go to sit in the courtyard.

She heard footsteps, slowly opened her eyes, and saw who it was.

Duanmu Ying did not try to sit up, but simply turned her head slightly to look at the person beside the bed.

After a few moments, she smiled and said, "I'm going to see my little master now."

"Fox Spirit, will we have a next life?"

“Yes.” Chen Ruoan sat down by the bed. “I have made a good karmic connection for your next life. Your appearances will change, but the thread of fate will bring you together.”