Jiufeng dined at Lu Qingjiu's house before reluctantly leaving. Seeing how reluctant she seemed, it's likely she would have stayed at Lu Qingjiu's residence for quite some time if she weren't afraid of the White Moon Fox. Lu Qingjiu slept soundly, but when he awoke the next day, Jiufeng was gone. The glaring white outside was still there, making him miss the scorching heat of Jiufeng's residence.

After feeding two mouths at home, Lu Qingjiu made some chicken noodle soup with the chicken broth she'd reserved from the previous day's snake stew. Seeing the nice weather outside, she let the animals into the yard to roam freely. After all, they'd been cooped up inside since the beginning of winter, and it was getting a bit suffocating.

Little Black and Little Flower, wearing the little cotton-padded jackets Lu Qingjiu had made for them, dashed into the snow, leaving behind a trail of adorable little footprints. The little fox, a bit more delicate than the others, clung to Lu Qingjiu's arms for a long time, refusing to move. It wasn't until Baiyue Fox reached out to Lu Qingjiu, wanting to embrace him, that it chirped twice and cautiously leaped onto the thick snow, its furry paws curled up from the cold.

After the snow stopped, the wind died down, and the sun shone brightly in the sky. Lu Qingjiu, dressed in thick clothes, ran through the snow, soon breaking into a sweat, but he didn't feel the cold. Seeing the little ones having fun, he took a stuffed ball he often used from the house and played with the little fox. They played like walking a dog: he threw the ball, and the little fox happily retrieved it.

The family is having a great time together and the atmosphere is very harmonious.

Because few people were active outdoors in the winter, Lu Qingjiu let them out of the yard and told them to stay within the compound but not to stray too far, or they would be killed and eaten if taken away. He also told them to be home for dinner before dark. After giving them these instructions, Lu Qingjiu let them play on their own and went to make dinner.

Yin Xun found it funny and said that Lu Qingjiu was just like a mother. Lu Qingjiu: "Is that how you talk to your father?"

Yin Xun: “…” You are cruel!

Most winter meals are bland, and after eating too much, you might crave something a little more exciting. Lu Qingjiu also felt his palate was a bit bland, so he decided to make pickled pepper chicken feet. The chicken feet were frozen in the freezer, so they just needed to be thawed. Lu Qingjiu picked the pickled peppers from a jar at home. Put the cooked chicken feet and pickled peppers in the same glass jar, add the appropriate amount of salt and some wine, and after a day, the chicken feet will be seasoned. In the evening, you can nibble on a few while reading or chatting on the kang. Not only is it delicious, but it's also a great way to while away the time.

Lu Qingjiu made steamed pork ribs with glutinous rice for lunch, and also cooked a pot of cabbage and pork soup. When the rice was almost cooked, Lu Qingjiu asked Yin Xun to go out and call the birds back home, saying that it was time to eat.

Yin Xun went out for a while and brought back three little guys. He said, "I called back the little fox cubs Xiaohua, Xiaohei, and Xiaohei, but I didn't see the White Moon Fox."

"Oh, he has something to do and won't be home for lunch today." Lu Qingjiu said, "Let's eat first."

After Jiufeng came to their house to eat and drink yesterday, Bai Yuehu has been in a bad mood and seemed to be thinking about something. Today, he went out early in the morning and told Lu Qingjiu that he didn't need to cook his lunch and dinner before leaving.

This is a rare thing. Since Bai Yuehu moved into the old house, there is almost no record of him going out for more than a day. No one knows what he is busy with.

Xiaohua, Xiaohei, and the little fox were already sitting obediently in the living room, tilting their heads back and waiting for Lu Qingjiu to feed them. The three of them were very well behaved. Before entering the house, they wiped the snow water off their paws on the doormat. When they saw Lu Qingjiu coming, they raised their little hooves to him, indicating that they had washed their hands thoroughly.

They usually ate with Lu Qingjiu, and they ate whatever Lu Qingjiu cooked. Lu Qingjiu was a little worried about whether Xiao Hei and Xiao Hua could eat pork, but after Xiao Hua strongly stated that she really had no racial relationship with pigs, she fed them pork.

The three little ones buried their faces in the small bowl and ate their lunch happily.

Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun were sitting at the table eating steamed pork ribs with glutinous rice. While they were eating, Lu Qingjiu suddenly noticed something and said, "Hey, where did the straw doll come from?"

At Xiao Hei's feet lay a doll made of straw, the size of a palm, and looked very rough.

"Straw doll?" Yin Xun thought for a moment and said, "It seems that Xiao Hei brought it in."

"My sister found it in the snow." Xiaohua answered for her sister who was still obsessed with food. "She dug in the snow for a long time and suddenly found this doll.

Lu Qingjiu walked over and picked up the doll. He found that the doll's eyes were sewn with red beans, and it also had a mouth and nose. It was wearing a colorful coat, and it looked like a simple toy. At first glance, the doll looked very rough, but after taking a closer look, Lu Qingjiu felt that the doll was actually well made, and the facial features were vivid and lifelike, which was quite interesting.

"Where did it come from?" Yin Xun took the doll from Lu Qingjiu, looked at it for a few times, and then lost interest. "Is it a child in the village who lost his doll?"

Living conditions here are poor, and they don't have much extra money to buy expensive dolls in the city, so when children ask for toys, their parents usually make them. This straw doll is most likely a toy for children in the village.

"Maybe." Lu Qingjiu returned the doll to Xiao Hei, "You can play with it first. I'll ask the villagers in the spring. If no one wants it, it will be yours."

Xiao Hei hummed with joy, hugged the doll with her two front hooves, and rubbed it with her face. She was much later than her brother Xiao Hua to open up. Although she can talk, she is still a child at heart. It is natural that she is very happy to have such a toy to play with.

After Lu Qingjiu finished her meal, she went to take a nap as usual. Yin Xun asked Lu Qingjiu to go to sleep, saying that he wanted to take advantage of the good weather to clear the snow in the yard. There might be a blizzard in the next few days, so it would be best to make preparations in advance to avoid heavy snow that would even block the door.

As a mountain god, Yin Xun's weather forecast was quite accurate. Lu Qingjiu nodded, turned, went into the house, and went to sleep.

Lu Qingjiu slept very deeply. Usually he would wake up naturally after more than an hour, but today he slept the entire afternoon. When he woke up, it was completely dark outside. Lu Qingjiu opened his eyes in the warm quilt, feeling a little dazed. He felt weak all over. Because he had slept for too long, his mind became fuzzy. It took him a while to recover.

After recovering, Lu Qingjiu felt something was wrong. He had slept for so long, Yin Xun would definitely come to wake him up, but now there was silence outside the house. He called Yin Xun several times but no one responded.

"Yin Xun, Yin Xun, are you there?" Lu Qingjiu called her friend's name while putting on her clothes, but still no one answered.

Lu Qingjiu put on her thick down jacket, opened the door, and felt the biting cold wind blowing in her face. There was no moon in the sky, and the yard was pitch black and eerily quiet.

"Yin Xun? Where are you?" Lu Qingjiu's bad premonition began to grow. He knew that something must have happened. If Yin Xun wanted to leave, he would definitely tell him in advance, but now he just disappeared.

Lu Qingjiu hurried back to the house to find a flashlight. As he passed through the living room, he saw Yin Xun's coat on the sofa and his phone on the table. Clearly, Yin Xun hadn't left voluntarily; he hadn't even had time to put on his coat. Also missing with him were Xiaohua and Xiaohei, who had been playing in the yard during the day.

"Yin Xun, Yin Xun?" Lu Qingjiu, flashlight in hand, returned to the courtyard. He called out Yin Xun, Xiaohua, and Xiaohei's names and headed towards the backyard, wanting to see if they were there. But just as Lu Qingjiu passed the withered grapevine trellis at the junction of the front and back yards, he suddenly tripped over something.

Lu Qingjiu stumbled and almost fell to the ground. He shone the flashlight into the snow. After seeing what was in the snow clearly, his expression froze for a moment.

He saw a bunch of straw buried in the snow. Their family did not grow rice, so naturally there was no straw. Moreover, Lu Qingjiu had walked this road during the day and remembered clearly that there was no such thing here before.

Lu Qingjiu slowly approached the place and reached out to push away the snow buried on the straw. The snow became less and less, and the thing buried under the snow finally revealed its true appearance.

It was a huge scarecrow, about 1.7 meters tall, buried in the snow in a crawling posture, but this was not a reason for Lu Qingjiu to lose his composure... What made Lu Qingjiu despair was that he saw the clothes that Yin Xun wore during the day on this huge scarecrow.

Yin Xun turned into a scarecrow.

Lu Qingjiu's skin broke out in goosebumps, and he used all his self-control to calm himself down. He took a deep breath and continued digging. Soon, under the scarecrow, he found three other small straw dolls: two pigs and a fox. They were all his missing children.

Seeing this, Lu Qingjiu immediately realized that there was a serious problem with the straw doll that Xiao Hei brought back during the day, but it seemed too late to react now, as Yin Xun had already become the absurd appearance in front of him.

Lu Qingjiu wiped his face, dug Yin Xun out of the snow, and carried him and the other three into the house. He was afraid that Yin Xun would be ignited by the fire, so he deliberately moved the charcoal basin away from Yin Xun.

In the dim light, Lu Qingjiu and Yin Xun stared at each other with their red eyes wide open. After a long while, they sighed helplessly, took out their phones from their pockets, and dialed a number.

After the heavy snow closed the mountain, the mobile phone signal was intermittent and sometimes non-existent. Lu Qingjiu didn't know if he could get through.

Fortunately, he was lucky and the call was successfully made. After ringing more than ten times, someone picked up the phone.

"Moon Fox." Lu Qingjiu called his tenant's name.

"Lu Qingjiu." Bai Yuehu responded.

"Um..." This was the first time Lu Qingjiu called Bai Yuehu. He didn't expect it to be for such a reason. Bai Yuehu had only been gone for a day, and the naughty kid at home had already made a fool of himself. "Something happened at home."

"What's going on?" Bai Yuehu asked. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Lu Qingjiu said, "It's Yin Xun... He turned into a straw doll."

White Moon Fox: "..."

The conversation between the two of them lasted for more than twenty seconds. Just when Lu Qingjiu thought Bai Yuehu had hung up the phone, Bai Yuehu's voice came from the other end: "What's going on?"

Lu Qingjiu simply told Bai Yuehu about Xiao Hei picking up the straw doll and Yin Xun's changes.

After listening to this, Bai Yuehu thought for a moment, seemed to understand what happened, and said: "Don't worry, it's not a big deal."

"It's not a big deal, is it?" Lu Qingjiu looked at the scarecrow that looked like Yin Xun and still felt a little scared. "Is Yin Xun okay?"

"It's okay." Bai Yuehu said, "He's not in danger. Wait for me to come back and I'll explain it to you slowly. I'll be there tomorrow afternoon, and we might have a guest at home later. Just hide Yin Xun's scarecrow."

"Oh." Lu Qingjiu was confused, but since Bai Yuehu said Yin Xun's life was not in danger, he felt relieved. But what about the guest Bai Yuehu mentioned? Could it be that person who turned Yin Xun and the three little guys into scarecrows?

"Then come back early." Lu Qingjiu felt that Bai Yuehu was the most reliable person at home, so he said, "Let's stew mutton tomorrow."

"Okay." Bai Yuehu's voice also became warmer.

After hanging up the phone, Lu Qingjiu hid Yin Xun's scarecrow as Bai Yuehu had instructed. There were many empty rooms in the house, so he found one and stuffed Yin Xun and the little ones in. To prevent them from getting cold, Lu Qingjiu also covered them with a thick blanket.

After finishing, Lu Qingjiu had a quick dinner and found a book in the living room to read. It had to be said that the house felt rather lonely without the talkative Yin Xun and the noisy Xiaohua and Xiaohei. Especially at night when the temperature began to drop, the wind howled outside, rustling the glass and sounding like ghosts and wolves howling.

Lu Qingjiu warmed a cup of tea for himself and held it in his palm to keep warm. He was reading "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio". Ever since Bai Yuehu moved into his house, Lu Qingjiu had taken the initiative to learn about various ancient Chinese legends. Reading this was a kind of entertainment on a boring winter day.

As Yin Xun had said, there was a snowstorm tonight. It was around ten o'clock in the evening, and Lu Qingjiu still hadn't waited for the guest that Bai Yuehu had mentioned. He thought that no one would come again. He closed the book and was about to go to bed, but he heard two crisp knocks on the door.

The sound was particularly faint amidst the howling wind and snow. If Lu Qingjiu had not been paying attention, he would definitely not have heard it.

Lu Qingjiu walked to the door with a lamp in hand and asked through the black iron door: "Who is outside?"

"I am passing by here and would like to stay overnight at your house. Is that possible?" A young man's voice came from outside.

Lu Qingjiu: “…” Why the hell does this sound like the beginning of a horror story?

If Bai Yuehu hadn't told him in advance that a guest was coming, Lu Qingjiu might have decisively refused. It wasn't that he was afraid of trouble, but he couldn't tell whether the person outside the door was a human or a ghost. If he really invited something unclean in, wouldn't he be courting death? Besides, Shuifu Village had long been closed to the snow. How could a monk show up in such a blizzard...

However, since Bai Yuehu called this person a guest, he should not be a bad person.

Lu Qingjiu opened the door and saw a monk wearing a gray monk's robe and a bamboo hat. The light was too dim, and he couldn't see the monk's face clearly. He said, "Little Master, come in."

The young monk bowed to Lu Qingjiu and carefully stepped over the threshold.

Lu Qingjiu led the way with a lantern in hand, leading the monk to the living room. In the warm living room, the monk took off his bamboo hat, revealing a very young face. His face was not particularly handsome, but it had a strange charm that made people feel calm when they looked into his eyes.

"Little Master, why are you in Shuifu Village?" Lu Qingjiu poured him a cup of hot tea. "The mountains are already snowed in. It's very dangerous for you to walk in the blizzard like this."

After the young monk took the tea, he put his hands together, bowed to Lu Qingjiu again, and said, "It was the Buddha who asked me to come here."

Lu Qingjiu smiled and said, “Did the Buddha also ask you to knock on my door?”

"Every bite and every drink is caused by fate," the young master replied.

Although Lu Qingjiu did not believe in Buddhism, it did not prevent him from having a good impression of monks. Although the young monk in front of him came suddenly, his attitude was respectful and polite, which made him very likable. He asked, "Young Master, have you had your vegetarian meal?"

The young master shook his head and said, "You can just call me Xuanyu."

Lu Qingjiu didn't respond, but smiled and said, "Then I'll make you something to eat. Little Master, just drink some tea here to warm yourself up."

After that, he went to the kitchen and made some simple vegetarian dishes. It was cold, and vegetables were not easy to preserve. Fortunately, there were still a lot of sweet potatoes and cabbages in the cellar. Lu Qingjiu made sweet potato rice for the young master and also stir-fried some sweet and sour cabbage.

After finishing the meal, he brought it to the young master and said, "These are the only vegetarian dishes we have at home. I'm really sorry."

Xuan Yu smiled: "It is more than enough, thank you for the donation."

Lu Qingjiu poured him another cup of tea.

While Xuan Yu was eating, Lu Qingjiu observed the monk in front of him. He vaguely felt that the monk's identity seemed unusual. After all, how could an ordinary person appear in the night of a snowstorm?

After finishing the meal, Xuan Yu thanked Lu Qingjiu again.

Lu Qingjiu said: "I have prepared a room for the young master, you can rest there tonight."

Xuan Yu said: "Thank you, benefactor."

Lu Qingjiu led him to the door of the room and watched him go in before turning around and going to sleep. He was still a little worried about Yin Xun, so he found a time to drag Yin Xun to his room. Because straw is afraid of fire, Lu Qingjiu did not dare to light the kang, for fear that his stupid son would be burned as fuel...

Lu Qingjiu slept well that night. When he woke up, he saw Xuanyu standing in the yard, seemingly observing something.

"Little Master." Lu Qingjiu called him.

"Donor." Xuan Yu returned the greeting.

"Did you sleep well last night? What would you like for breakfast?" Lu Qingjiu asked, "I'll make you a pancake. It's snowing heavily outside, so please don't stand outside."

A night passed, and the blizzard continued unabated. But the monk stood amidst the wind and snow. Though frail, he gave the illusion of being as solid as a stone sculpture. It seemed as if no matter how strong the wind blew, he wouldn't budge an inch.

Xuan Yu didn't move. He said, "Donor, have you heard the story of the Buddha giving his body to feed a tiger?"

Lu Qingjiu was stunned. He said, “I… have heard of it.”

This story is about how the Buddha used his own body to feed the tigress and saved the tigress and her cubs. The implication is that the Buddha has compassion for all living beings and that all beings are equal.

"What do you think?" Xuan Yu asked.

Lu Qingjiu frowned: “I don’t believe in Buddhism.”

Xuan Yu smiled and said, "I know you don't believe in Buddhism, but I just want to know if you would also feed the tiger with your own body?"

Lu Qingjiu didn't say anything. In his heart, he actually disagreed, but saying so would be a bit rude to Xuanyu, so he changed the subject: "Little Master, please come in and have your vegetarian meal."

This was considered an answer, and Xuan Yu understood Lu Qingjiu's intention. He sighed slightly and said, "Did you see a small scarecrow yesterday?"

Lu Qingjiu instantly became nervous when he heard this. He said, "That scarecrow is yours?! My pet accidentally brought it into the house, and then an afternoon later, I found that my pet had also turned into a straw." Poor Yin Xun had no idea that his status had been reduced from son to pet...

"It belongs to me," Xuanyu said. "It's just my scarecrow. It's not a bad thing."

Lu Qingjiu said: “Isn’t it a bad thing?!”

Xuan Yu said, "Can you distinguish between the people and ghosts around you?"

Lu Qingjiu was stunned.

Xuan Yu said, "Some people can't tell the difference, so I help them to make it clear." He looked at Lu Qingjiu, his black eyes filled with compassion and mercy. "But since you have already made up your mind, I can't say much."

Lu Qingjiu said: "You mean, that scarecrow is here to distinguish between humans and non-humans?"

Xuan Yu nodded.

"Okay." Lu Qingjiu said, "I already knew these things... How can they change back?"

Xuan Yu said: "You will be able to recover in three days."

Lu Qingjiu thought of something and frowned: "What if they were burned when they turned into scarecrows?"

Xuan Yu smiled and said, "Since you care about them so much, how could you bear to see them burned?"

Lu Qingjiu said: "There must be someone willing to give it up, right?"

Xuan Yu said, "Then why don't you ask those people why they are willing to give so much?"

Lu Qingjiu understood the meaning of Xuanyu's scarecrow. He was actually giving humans a choice. They could choose to continue or end the relationship. Non-humans who touched the scarecrow would also become scarecrows. If humans decided to end it at this time, they could burn the scarecrow directly.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

But I don’t know whether the burned scarecrow is still conscious or aware of what is happening around him.

Of course, Lu Qingjiu also understood that not every non-human was as friendly as his own family, and their relationships with humans were even more varied, ranging from friends to lovers, to coercion, and parasitism.

No wonder Bai Yuehu said Xuanyu was a guest, because Xuanyu handed the power of choice to Lu Qingjiu. He was a compassionate monk.

Lu Qingjiu laughed.

Xuan Yu asked, "Why are you laughing, benefactor?"

Lu Qingjiu asked, "I wonder if my young master has ever heard of the name Fahai?"

Xuan Yu blinked his eyes: "Do you know why my master lived to be a hundred years old?"

Lu Qingjiu asked: "Why?"

Xuan Yu said, "Because he doesn't mind his own business."

Lu Qingjiu burst into laughter.

The author has something to say: Lu Qingjiu: If Xuanyu is Fahai...

Bai Yuehu: What a coincidence, my last name is Bai too.

Lu Qingjiu: ???