Becoming a Fox Spirit from Under One Person.

By absorbing a certain amount of wish power, Chen Ruoan can enhance his magical power and at the same time assume the responsibility of "fulfilling the wish power".

Karma is the causal connection created by the act of offering. When a person and a fox sign a spiritual contract, they establish a shared karmic relationship, with fortune and misfortune intertwined.

Beings that are neither human nor divine are most susceptible to entanglement with incense offerings and are easily entangled in karmic debts. This is also a point that Chen Ruoan is most concerned about. If the people of Jinxi Village become wicked and go astray in the future, he will need to personally sever their karmic ties.

"Among the Five Immortals beliefs in Northeast China, there is the immortal's famous path of becoming a spirit medium. I suppose I'm about to achieve that as well."

Chen Ruoan looked at Zhang Zhiwei, but unfortunately this guy was a Taoist priest, not a shaman.

If they could find a powerful wizard to cooperate with, the elves and wizards could complement each other and perhaps forge a new path forward.

Among the notorious practitioners of supernatural arts are the Liangshan shamans, Northeast shamans, practitioners of witchcraft and sorcery, witch doctors, and even those from the Henan region who sell water and carry banners...

There seem to be many choices, but those closely related to spirits formed from animals are nothing more than the first two. The latter are either stealing divine faith or supporting low-class ghosts, which are hardly the best choices.

"The only place that can be chosen for a spiritual abode is indeed Changbai Mountain in the Northeast."

But Northeast China, Changbai Mountain...

As Chen Ruoan thought about what would happen a few years from now, a gloomy feeling descended upon him, as somber as the rain clouds that seemed to form from its breath on the horizon.

The fox was getting sleepy and decided to spend the night in the mountains, so it dug a hole in a dead tree and settled in comfortably.

Zhang Zhiwei looked up at the rain clouds on the horizon and felt that it was an unusual celestial phenomenon. He knew what had happened without even thinking.

He might not understand Gu poison, but having seen so many incense offerings in Longhu Mountain, he could discern the aspirations of the people in some of the beliefs. It seemed that this fox spirit had won the devout faith of the believers with his kind heart, and his supernatural powers had advanced another step.

The act of sending clouds and rain together is romantic enough.

"that is···"

The wind was still blowing westward, and the rain and mist were lingering and ambiguous, damp and sticky. Zhang Zhiwei couldn't hide in a hole like a fox, and besides, even if he hid in a tree hole, wouldn't the spring night rain make him feel damp?

Zhang Zhiwei raised his hand and sent a ray of golden light across the branches of the withered tree, slowly spreading out. The golden umbrella enveloped the withered tree, shielding this small area from the wind and rain. He then rested his arms behind his head and lay down on the clean ground that had not yet been wet by the rain.

As the night passed, the east gradually turned a pale white, and the sunlight began to peek through the trees.

Chen Ruoan climbed out of the tree hole, tidied his hair which was covered in wood chips, and saw that the Taoist was meditating, so he did not make a sound to disturb him. He simply unpacked his bag and used the two eggs given to him by Jinxi Village for breakfast.

After finishing his morning class, Zhang Zhiwei was about to get up and leave.

Upon officially entering Anhui, passing through bustling areas, one can see Hui-style architecture with white walls, black tiles, and horse-head gables everywhere. Under the arched bridges of Andong City, there are even many extraordinary performers and street vendors, creating a lively atmosphere.

Soon, Zhang Zhiwei also secured a place among them.

"You really set up a fortune-telling stall?" Chen Ruoan asked.

Later, when Zhang Zhiwei chased Zhang Lingyu down the mountain, Lingyu Zhenren also went to the bottom of a bridge to tell fortunes. It just goes to show that a great teacher produces a great student.

"You know what, with a fox by my side, passersby look at me with more respect."

Zhang Zhiwei discovered that even the most skilled beast-masters who made monkeys beat drums and gongs were nothing compared to the Taoist priests who brought foxes to tell fortunes. Compared to the black fox, cloth banners and signs were utterly insignificant.

Soon, people began to gather around.

"Young Taoist priest, this fox seems quite spiritual. You must have some skills of your own. What are you compared to it?"

"Feng shui can also be considered for things like marriage, career advancement and wealth, moving to a new house, and decoration."

"How about counting people?"

"who?"

"Many children have gone missing in Andong City, including the eldest son of Master Xu in the south of the city. If you can calculate this, why don't you go and pay a visit? If you find the young master of the Xu family, Master Xu will surely reward you with a fortune!"

Zhang Zhiwei crossed his arms and looked at the person in front of him: "Why are you so concerned about the old man's family affairs?"

"Because I'm going to introduce someone to Master Xu!" the man said without any hesitation. If he could find an extraordinary person to solve Master Xu's family's troubles, he, as the introducer, would naturally reap a lot of benefits.

After hearing the explanation from the visitor, Zhang Zhiwei accepted it.

Chen Ruoan, who was listening nearby, didn't have any good thoughts. In today's turbulent society, human traffickers are rampant. With so many children missing and no one coming to extort them, they are probably in grave danger.

It still stood in front of the vermilion gate of the Xu family. A woman dressed in rich clothes came to greet it. It was clear that she was anxious, and her eyes were red and swollen like a goldfish from crying.

"Master, please do your best. If you can find the child, my Xu family will reward you handsomely!"

The woman glanced at the fox and added, "The Xu family can also prepare Fuxinzhai's famous roast chicken for the Taoist priest's spirit pet, as much as you want!"

Chen Ruoan felt that the woman was not very polite.

Forget about spirit pets...

Wait, there are countless roast chickens to eat?

Damn it, Chen Ruoan suddenly felt that after becoming a fox, some of his life pursuits had become lower. He wasn't so easily satisfied before. Could it be that he was reborn just for those sizzling roast chickens?

"Taoist priest, are you sure you can do it? If not, I'll do it." Chen Ruoan opened his mouth and carefully blew out a gust of demonic wind.

"Are you sure you can do it?" Zhang Zhiwei asked rhetorically.

"A male fox cannot say no."

In one's life, one becomes entangled with countless people through fate. Familiar encounters are easily severed, but deep-seated grudges and hatreds are not so easily resolved. Chen Ruoan could follow the black thread on the woman's body to find out the direction of the murderer.

"I'm asking you, do you hate it?" Chen Ruoan asked, startling Madam Xu.

She staggered a few steps, quickly regaining her senses, and gritted her teeth: "Someone has taken away my own flesh and blood, which I carried for ten months! How can I not hate them?!"

very good!

Chen Ruoan looked up and saw that as Madam Xu's resentment deepened, one of the many tangled threads in her life, a dark line, grew increasingly intense.

Snapped!

The black fox leaped lightly and landed on the octagonal table in front of the hall: "Human, you may now make a wish to me."

Chapter 10: The Value of Being Number One in the National Server

"I...am praying to you?"

Madam Xu looked at the fox, then turned to look at Zhang Zhiwei. Seeing the Taoist nod, she realized she had misunderstood the relationship between the fox and the Taoist.

Before marrying into the Xu family, Madam Xu was also a young lady from a prestigious family. She had read books and had read some strange tales and legends. She knew what it meant when a fox spoke. Disregarding the Xu family's reputation, she immediately knelt down in front of the table.

"Fox spirit, Taoist priest, I want to find my child, at any cost."

"I have heard your wish. However, this time the situation is special, and you will have to come with me."

The karmic entanglement is incredibly accurate in its direction, but the exact location it falls on requires the person involved to go there in person.

Chen Ruoan had no choice but to use Madam Xu as a "compass".

"I'll go, I'll go!" Madam Xu waved towards the door and immediately summoned four strong men.

Four people were waiting in the courtyard, carrying two small bamboo and wooden sedan chairs.

Zhang Zhiwei glanced at it and laughed, "Is there still a share for this humble Taoist?"

"If ordinary bandits kidnapped children and wanted money, they would have already come knocking on the door. Since no one is asking for money, it's most likely some extraordinary person from the martial arts world who wants the child..."

Waaaaah...

Madam Xu choked up halfway through her sentence.

These words were heard from the strange man under the overpass. If the perpetrator wasn't after money, then he probably wanted to use infants to practice evil magic.

"Taoist Master, you should save your energy to deal with the bad guys."

Zhang Zhiwei's stamina far surpassed that of ordinary people, but he couldn't let the delicate Madam Xu travel with him, so he sat comfortably in the bamboo sedan chair.

The path led to the southwest, so the group headed in that direction.

Taking advantage of a break in their journey, Chen Ruoan asked Madam Xu a few more questions.

According to the woman, Mr. Xu was a well-known local tycoon who had married several wives and had several daughters, but he only had one son, which caused him to spend a lot of time and effort on the disappearance case.

Despite using his wealth and power, and leveraging all the connections the Xu family patriarch could, including police stations, government offices, community organizations, and chambers of commerce, he still had no clue whatsoever and was still running around begging for help these past few days.

The Xu family's young master went missing the day before yesterday. He was an infant in swaddling clothes. He disappeared without a sound, right before everyone's eyes.

If there were any clues, the only thing left was traces of something crawling by the bed.

It looks as if it was stolen by a snake.

However, there are folk tales about wolves stealing children, so this is the first time a snake spirit has entered a house to steal a person.

"Beast taming techniques, Beast Master?"

Zhang Zhiwei glanced to the side and saw that Chen Ruoan, that black fox, was not riding in the same sedan chair as him, but instead nestled in the arms of the beautiful woman.

Chen Ruoan ignored Zhang Zhiwei's strange gaze and, without any attempt to conceal it from Madam Xu and the sedan chair bearers beside him, simply replied, "Witches and Gu masters also have similar methods."

Wizards ride spirits, and sorcerers manipulate living poisons; both are inextricably linked to living beings.

"Witches are blessed by Heaven, and most of them consider themselves superior, arrogant and disdainful of doing such things. As for Gu masters, what would a Gu master want a child for? To refine Gu?"

"I must say you're still quite naive, young Taoist. Never define an individual by their profession."

Among the sorcerers, there were also arrogant and domineering playboys like Wang Bing; moreover, there were precedents for using infants to refine poisons.

The Medicine Immortal Society, which has been practiced in the Miao region for nearly a hundred years, worships "Gu" and carefully selects forty-nine infants, raising them using extreme methods to create "Gu-bodied Holy Children".

The Medicine Immortal Society was bought off during the Xinhai Revolution more than a decade ago, becoming a counterattack force of the old regime, and was subsequently targeted by the new government. To prevent the church from being destroyed, some believers scattered throughout the country, and their activities were no longer limited to Miao territory.

"The ghost infant of a sorcerer, or the Gu child of a Gu master..."

"We'll have to wait until we see it to find out the specifics."

Chen Ruoan sensed that the group of people who stole the babies had not gone far. The dark line hanging in the sky became increasingly clear and discernible, landing in a deep mountain forest on the outskirts of Andong City.

Hearing the conversation between the fox and Zhang Zhiwei, the sedan bearers were so frightened that they dared not breathe and unconsciously slowed their pace.

Once outside the city, traversing the rugged mountain road, the sedan chair carriers were somewhat worried.

"Madam, we can't go any further, or Master will get angry."

The mountains now are not the same as they used to be; who knows what kind of monsters and demons you might encounter?

"It's all for finding the young master, so there's no reason for the master to be angry."

Madam Xu was stubborn and insisted that the sedan chair bearers continue on their way, their faces full of bitterness as they hurried on in silence.

"That's all for now, you can go back."

When they reached the halfway point of the mountain, Chen Ruoan's words were like a pardon to the four of them. Madam Xu didn't dare to say anything more and had no choice but to return to the city with her servants for the time being.