Becoming a Fox Spirit from Under One Person.

"Is this golden eye a more sophisticated method of discernment than ordinary observation methods?"

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle. The clearer you see things, the more secure your path will be.

"May everything go smoothly and may we continue our journey."

···

As autumn deepened, the north winds grew stronger, but they lacked the dry, crisp crispness of typical northern winds. It wasn't until the fox arrived in Hunan that it realized some of the online rumors from its previous life were true.

In some regions, there are only summer and winter, and no spring or autumn.

Ghost Xiao Wu Zhou Kang's hometown is far away in western Hunan, and it takes a long time to cross the entire Hunan region. The fox waited until mid-November before it finally saw the Miao village nestled in the folds of the green mountains.

Large numbers of wooden buildings are built against the mountain, with indigo cloth drying on the windowsills, and warm smoke from the hearths wafting out of the bamboo windows, mixed with the faint fragrance of grass, wood and tea oil.

Miao women sit under the eaves, men step across the blue planks, children run around, the jingling of silver necklaces fills the stone steps, and the mountain breeze sweeps across the ancient maple trees at the village entrance, scattering dappled sunlight.

If life used to be slower, now the remote and secluded village moves even slower, peaceful and gentle.

Chen Ruoan asked Zhou Kang, but this Xiao Wu didn't even remember his own home address.

Miao villages have unique scenery, with buildings constructed along streams and houses built against mountains, but finding a former residence is not easy.

"If we're going to look for you, someone needs to know about you. Are you considered a celebrity in your hometown?"

"I... am a craftsman with some reputation."

"That works."

Chen Ruoan lowered the altitude and moved forward along the gap between the two mountains.

Before long, the sharp-eyed fox spotted a figure lying on the ground at the bottom of the mountain, so it changed its route and ran over.

She was a young girl, dressed in a neat indigo dress, with long, beautiful black hair. She was covered in wounds and barely clothed. Beside her were a deformed bamboo basket and herbs, suggesting that she had fallen while gathering herbs.

"Master, there are so many poisonous insects here!" Jiang Gui cried out in fright.

Chen Ruoan looked in the direction of the sound and saw a broken pottery jar next to the girl. It was crawling with centipedes, scorpions, and unidentifiable ring-shaped worms. Because the poisonous insects had to hibernate for the winter, they all looked sickly.

The fox opened its mouth, spat out its demon core, and healed the girl's injuries.

But after the girl woke up, she only glanced at the fox before going back to collecting poisonous insects.

"Man, what's the name of the nearby village?" the fox asked.

"Qinghe Village".

"Okay, thanks."

"It's alright, thank you for saving me."

Chen Ruoan bypassed the girl and ran straight into the village, while Zhou Kang clapped his hands as if he had just realized something and started nagging in the fox's ear.

"This is Qinghe!"

“Some extraordinary people here are called Gu Masters or Gu Poets, and they are very respected. That girl just now must also know how to make Gu. We outsiders generally don’t deal with Gu Masters. We only ask a great Gu Master for help when we are sick.”

The women of Qinghe Village are mostly skilled in Gu magic, and the most accomplished ones are revered as "Grand Gu Masters," responsible for the inheritance of Gu magic and handling certain village affairs.

Knowing who is in charge of the village makes it easier to ask questions.

The Grand Gu Master is always a person of both virtue and talent. When they met, there was no dislike because Chen Ruoan was a fox. The old woman said that the Zhou family was all in the southeast of Qinghe, and that they might be able to find some of Zhou Kang's old acquaintances there.

Chen Ruoan went to look for him and found a boy by the stream.

"Excuse me, sir, is there anyone around here named Zhou Ming?"

"Uncle Ming?" The boy turned around and saw a fox.

Chen Ruoan explained in the dialect he had learned from "Tongyu" that the boy's concerns had been dispelled, but then he heard that Zhou Ming had already gone far away with a group of armed men.

"This... went to war." Yin Gui Zhou Kang was stunned. "He's more courageous than his father."

"Before Uncle Ming left, the leader said that a letter would be sent back, but he didn't say exactly how many days. You can probably wait for it."

Zhou Kang looked at Chen Ruoan, waiting for his master to make up his mind.

The fox leaped onto a rock in the stream, glanced at the fish in the water, and said, "There's food and lodging here. Let's wait a few days and see."

Chen Ruoan was used to the mountains and wanted to find a sheltered place to rest. Before he could leave, the girl he had saved before, carrying a bamboo basket, ran lightly past him along the path.

She smiled and nodded at the fox, then smiled at the boy and said, "Brother Zhou!"

"Shufen, where have you been?"

“These are the bugs I caught.” Wei Shufen shook the bamboo basket on her back, shaking out the bewildered poisonous insects inside.

"Tsk..." Zhou Quan shook his head and sighed, went back into the house and closed the door, cleanly and decisively giving the customer a "closed door" treatment.

"Huh?"

Wei Shufen lowered her raised hand listlessly, grabbed the rope of the bamboo basket, and walked back dejectedly.

She glanced at Chen Ruoan and noticed that the fox had a strange expression on its face, as if it had just gotten its share of gossip.

“I wasn’t disliked,” Wei Shufen stubbornly argued.

"I didn't say you were disliked." Chen Ruoan spread her fox paws, still smiling, and a sense of naivety inexplicably emanated from her.

Golden hairpins and budding flowers mark the beginning of budding romance.

As a young girl sheds her childishness and begins to have vague curiosity and affection for the opposite sex, she is still in a naive and tentative stage, without any clear expression of feelings. This is the beginning of what is described in ancient times as "first encountering romance".

How wonderful.

"You're still laughing!"

"You're so stubborn, you're nothing like your brother Zhou. Don't forget I'm the one who saved your life."

"Ugh!" Wei Shufen, suppressing her anger, strode forward, took out some poisonous insects from the bamboo basket, and placed them in front of Chen Ruoan. "Thank you for saving me, please eat!"

Um--

Foxes do eat insects.

With the demon core protecting him, Chen Ruoan was not afraid of any poison, but since he began cultivating, he rarely tried eating raw food.

At the very least, you should sprinkle some cumin on it after frying.

Wei Shufen glared at the fox for a long time, then squatted down beside the stream stone, hugging her knees: "Fox, if you're not in a hurry to eat, can I ask you a few questions?"

Could it be relationship counseling?

Chen Ruoan thought to herself, after waiting for so long and hearing so many prayers for peace, finally there is a matchmaker's service available.

A story about a young girl's budding romance, drawing upon her past life's experiences with love...

Ok?

The fox, with its paws clasped together, sat on a rock by the stream and suddenly realized a sad truth.

It's okay. Just like how only authors with experience in romance can write sweet love stories, those without romantic experience are better at imagining the sweetness of "love".

Chen Ruoan comforted himself in this way, gazing at the girl's sweet face, as if he had overlooked something very important.

Qinghe Miao Village, the Great Gu Master... wait, which Shufen'er are you referring to?

Chapter 60 Childhood Sweethearts No Match for Unexpected Talent: An Age-Old Theorem

Wei Shufen, one of the "Thirty-Six Thieves"?

Is the boy who just came back inside Zhou Quan?

Chen Ruoan recalled carefully that, according to the original storyline, Wei Shufen and Zhou Quan were childhood sweethearts. In Wei Shufen's view, since they grew up together, they might naturally become husband and wife.

But it was all just Wei Shufen's wishful thinking.

Zhou Quan, an ordinary person, could sense Wei Shufen's abnormality and found it difficult to tolerate the dull atmosphere when they were together.

When Wei Shufen was twenty-five, Zhou Quan disregarded his family's objections and resolutely left Qinghe Village. Wei Shufen never gave up on the idea and, after many days of wandering, embarked on a journey to try and win back their relationship.

By the time he found Zhou Quan, he already had someone else in his heart, and they soon got married and had children.

Upon learning the truth, the usually stubborn and devoted Wei Shufen immediately went mad, and after returning to Qinghe Miao Village, a terrifying and wicked idea took root in her mind—

May future generations never find peace.

So she stole the sacred artifact of the Gu Master and used her skills to create a poison called "Thousand-Day Red," which she then tricked Zhou Quan's son into consuming.

From then on, all of Zhou Quan's descendants contracted a terminal illness that caused them to age rapidly after the age of thirty and die within three years due to the failure of all their organs.

After the poisoning, the list of "Thirty-Six Thieves" was leaked. As a traitor to Qinghe Miao Village, Wei Shufen could not escape her fate. During the pursuit, she fell off a cliff along with the sacred Gu Gu, and her fate is unknown.

···

"Thinking back on this story now, the saying 'the green plum is no match for the unexpected' truly is an age-old truth. Besides, the idea of ​​destroying what you can't have is far too morbid."

Chen Ruoan discerned the threads of fate; indeed, Wei Shufen had some dark threads connecting her to Zhou Quan in the room.

"If it's not a good match, it's not a good match. Even the God of Love can't just change the matchmaking list."

The fox sighed and replied, "Go ahead and ask."

"Enhu, do you know how to concoct poisons?"

Ok?

The fox's ears perked up. That's all?

Could it be that young girls these days are still unmoved by love, or that foxes are suffering from "love-struck" tendencies, seeing the word "love" in everything they see?

Wei Shufen explained, "When I rolled down the mountain, I was bitten by a notorious poisonous creature. Later, you treated my injuries, and the remaining poison accumulated in my body was cleared away."

"If you can detoxify, you must be able to make and administer poison," that's what the old woman said.

Detoxification is the effect of the demon core. As for refining poison, the fox currently only has a secret manual from the Medicine Immortal Society.

Besides the evil method of cultivating "Gu-bodied Saint Children," it also records many strange and unusual "poisons."

Despite the ruthless nature of the Medicine Immortal Society, their research achievements are indeed remarkable. Their "Primitive Gu," which can be transformed into any kind of Gu poison, is enough to make Gu masters flock to them.

Chen Ruoan replied, "Refining poisons is not my specialty; I only know a little about it."

"As for detoxification, to what extent can it be effective?"

"A little bit of poison is more than enough."