Chapter 52
The Human Emperor ascends the throne and the whole world celebrates.
The world is peaceful and all things are blessed.
Dulian Mountain has existed for a hundred years.
The spirits migrated to the mountains and lived in harmony with humans. The villages at the foot of the mountain prospered, while the monsters on the mountain purified their hearts, supported goodness, and practiced every day to achieve the right result.
After the spring rain, grass and trees grow.
Mushrooms and fungi grow all over the hillsides, and mosses and flowers bloom all over the mountains.
The mushroom pickers went into the mountains, carrying a backpack and with a hunched back.
After the rain, the mountain road was slippery. The mushroom picker was old and her vision was not clear. Suddenly, gravel rolled down under her feet and she slipped and fell off the cliff.
Fortunately, there was a yew tree at the bottom of the cliff to cushion the impact, so she survived and fell under the tree, breaking her legs.
The mountains were silent, and my backpack contained only half a basket of wild mushrooms I had picked. The surrounding vegetation was lush and there was no path to follow.
Tears welled up in the mushroom picker's gray eyes. In despair, he stopped shouting and just fell to the ground, waiting to die.
Suddenly, there was a strange fragrance. The mushroom pickers looked carefully and saw a white figure floating in the distance.
Getting closer and closer, the mushroom picker finally saw her clearly. It was a woman with a fox tail.
The mushroom pickers were horrified and trembling with fear, not daring to open their eyes.
The woman came close, but did not eat her. Instead, she squatted down, palm facing down, and wiped her injured legs and feet.
The pain quickly disappeared. The mushroom picker covered his eyes for a while before quietly lowering his hands and opening his eyes.
The woman was still beside him, her face as beautiful as a flower, laughing at the mushroom pickers.
"Ah! Don't eat me, don't eat me..." The mushroom picker shouted anxiously, but saw that the woman just looked at her and did not take any other action.
She gradually quieted down, lowered her guard, and retreated while asking the monster, "Girl, girl... We want to go home. Do you know which way is it?"
Her voice was trembling, still filled with fear. But the woman stood up, approached her, and said, "There's no way out here, but I can take you out."
Seeing that the mushroom picker was still retreating, the woman realized it and stopped, standing still. She looked at the mushroom picker and blew a breath at her.
Then the cold touch stayed in the mushroom picker's eyes, and her vision gradually became clear and bright.
The mushroom picker was stunned, then she saw eight white fox tails gently sweeping behind the woman in front of her. The surrounding grass and trees transformed and opened up a path.
Eye-catching flowers bloom along the path, reminding mushroom pickers how to walk.
The woman smiled and waved, saying, "Be more careful next time and don't go up the mountain on rainy days."
After saying that, her body turned into a butterfly and flew towards the treetops.
There was a rainbow hanging down, which made the mushroom pickers' hearts tremble.
She knelt down quickly, placed her hands on her forehead reverently, and muttered, "Thank you, Fox Fairy Goddess, thank you, Fox Fairy Goddess."
The mushroom pickers followed the flower-filled path and soon returned to the foot of the mountain.
The lights in the village at the foot of the mountain came on, and the mushroom pickers returned home amid the aroma of rice.
Her eighteen-year-old daughter opened the door for her, took the backpack from behind her, and muttered words to persuade her mother not to go up the mountain again. From then on, the old mushroom picker became a young mushroom picker.
A temple was soon built in the village to worship a fox goddess.
For many years afterwards, the village was peaceful and prosperous, the villagers relied on the mountain for their livelihood, and many people received help from this fox fairy.
Everyone loved her, respected her, worshipped her as a deity, and burned incense to offer sacrifices to her.
Thunder roared one night in the early autumn.
The mushroom picker was sleeping and was awakened by the deafening thunder.
She got up in the middle of the night, opened the door and saw heavy rain outside, so she put on a straw hat and went out.
She walked to the cowshed behind the house to see if the cows were frightened.
I looked towards the mountain and saw a flash of lightning splitting the sky.
Then there was thunder again, which made a ringing sound in my ears.
The mushroom picker comforted the cow, but he felt nervous.
Finally, he started to go into the mountains with a worried look on his face.
The sound of rain was getting louder and louder, crackling on the leaves.
The mushroom pickers walked through the mud and went up the mountain to collect the mushrooms. The journey was unusually smooth.
The thunder died down and the lightning disappeared.
She walked on the ground all the way up, and finally saw a woman in a pit that was charred by lightning.
The woman was covered in blood, her tail scorched and curled up in a ball. Her skin had almost rotted away, appearing charred and black.
Thirty thunder tribulations have passed, but the fox failed to survive.
The mushroom pickers were frightened when they saw her body half-dead from lightning.
Later, braving the rain, she didn't think too much, picked up the monster and went home at the foot of the mountain.
They lit the stove, prepared herbs and boiled medicine. She woke her mother up, and the two of them took care of the girl day and night. Finally, after three days, she opened her eyes.
The first thing the woman said when she saw them was, "It's you... Are you injured again?"
The mother's eyes were filled with tears. She held the woman's hand and shook her head: "Fox Fairy, Fox Fairy, it wasn't us. This time, let us repay your kindness."
With day and night care, the monster that was struck beyond recognition by lightning actually began to recover miraculously.
The mushroom picker frequently went into the mountains, but no longer picked mushrooms. She collected herbs, boiled them, and fed them to the woman mouthful by mouthful.
Soon there was another person in the hut, a man.
The clumsy bat flew in late one night.
He stayed by the woman's bed, unwilling to leave for a long time.
The woman told the mushroom pickers that this was a companion she met while practicing in the mountains, and she recognized him as her brother.
With the magic medicine brought by her brother, the woman was able to get out of bed soon.
She wanted to thank the mushroom pickers, mother and daughter, and asked them what they wanted.
They don't want money or power.
My mother said she hoped the fox fairy would bless the village with peace.
My daughter said she hopes the Fox Fairy will be healthy and happy.
The fox who had lived in the mountains for a long time was touched.
She persuaded her good brother and stayed in the village alone.
Five years later, the mushroom picker asked her if she was willing to marry him.
She said to her, "Let's live in this mountain, away from the world, and live a simple life."
She said to her, "It's a pity that I am also a woman. If you don't want to, I won't force you."
The fox looked into the mushroom picker's eyes, without hesitation, and said yes with a smile.
That day, the sky was blue and the sunlight was soft.
It was clearing up when it suddenly started to rain.
The mother made two wedding dresses, one for her daughter and one for the fox.
The goblins in Dulian Mountain were all congratulating, and they were all saying that the sun was raining and the fox was getting married.
There was no extravagant ceremony, just bowing to heaven and earth and to the mother.
They became partners and swore to each other to stay together for the rest of their lives.
That day, the monsters who came to watch the ceremony brought her rare objects from the mountains, and her brother brought her a handful of spring water from the fairy pond.
He held Fox's hand, feeling extremely reluctant and nostalgic. But in the end, he let go and congratulated them on their happy marriage.
The spring water in the fairy pool was given to his brother by an immortal when he passed by Guolian Mountain.
The fox and the mushroom picker drank from each other's cups on their wedding night, then kissed and cuddled together until the lights went out.
The fox discovered she was pregnant a month later.
The spring water from the Immortal Pond had crystallized them. Just as she was telling the mushroom pickers the news, before her joy could even begin to grow, someone from Mingjing arrived.
There was a rumor among the people that a fox demon was wreaking havoc in this area, so the emperor specially ordered people to exorcise the demon.
Dozens of monks and Taoists stood beside the old eunuch.
After he finished talking to the village chief, without even listening to his explanation, he ordered people to overturn the fox fairy's ancestral hall.
Taoist priests put talismans on the doors of every household, and monks moved into the villagers' homes, chanting scriptures and mantras, causing unrest in the village.
This continued for a month, but seeing no effect, the old eunuch came again to read the imperial edict:
"The people of Linggu Village have been bewitched by the fox demon. They deserve to be exterminated along with their entire clan to ward off disaster."
The villagers were terrified, and the army arrived soon. The soldiers forced the villagers to the center of the village, set up rockets, and were ready to fire.
Finally, despite the mushroom pickers' attempts to stop her, the fox stood up and said, "I am the troublemaker you are talking about. As long as you don't harm the village, I will let you do whatever you want to me."
The mushroom pickers cried out, but she didn't respond. The villagers covered her, preventing her from moving forward, so she stretched out her fox tail and pushed everyone away.
The mother wept bitterly. The old mushroom picker, whom she had saved before, had now saved her again. She felt that she should repay the favor and not put the lives of others to the sword.
When she was recuperating, her mother was the one who changed her dressings most frequently, so she was always nagging in her ears.
My mother said that after she met the fox fairy, she followed the path and saw a willow forest.
Willow branches hang over the stream, and the shimmering water looks like a fairyland. My mother said that the fox fairy is like the people who live in the fairyland among the willows.
The mother called her "Niangniang", but the fox always felt strange.
So she followed her mother's advice and named herself Liu Rujian.
The mother cried when she knew her name, but the fox also achieved his goal.
From then on, her mother changed her address to "good girl" when she called her, which was even worse than calling her own daughter "girl".
——
The woman who did not look like an ordinary girl was the fox's wife.
She struggled and yelled, but was held back by the people around her and could not move forward.
Liu Rujian turned around and looked at her with affection.
He touched his belly again, feeling her and her flesh and blood.
The child who was named "Zhi'er" before he was born.
A mushroom picker once stroked the fox's belly and whispered to her, "The Ganoderma lucidum in the mountains is precious, and so are their children. They must live their lives with all their might."
"Calling her Zhier doesn't mean she should follow my path." The mushroom picker said jokingly to Liu Rujian.
——
The surrounding villagers are simple and kind.
When she saw Liu Rujian being taken away, she cried, wiped her tears, and was reluctant to leave for a long time.
Liu Rujian loves them.
She fell into the mortal world and no longer wanted to become an immortal.
She walked up to the old eunuch and asked him to swear.
He swore not to harm the village in the slightest.
The old eunuch smiled slyly and answered yes.
The Taoist monk left with Liu Rujian.
Most of the troops also withdrew.
The eunuch was the last to leave.
Before leaving, he waved his sleeves and never glanced back at this secluded village again.
Rockets rained down, burning everything in the village.
The old eunuch sat in the carriage and headed towards the Ming Palace.
He leaned against the car window and took a last look at the flames in the village.
He showed his gold-studded teeth in satisfaction.
After all, eunuchs are just useless things and not gentlemen.
How can the promise of a villain take effect?
But just a casual remark scared the fox demon.
Why not?
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