The land of Kyushu is vast, and the underworld is expansive. If towns are where humans gather, then deep mountains and ancient forests, old and dilapidated temples are the domain of mountain spirits and wild monsters.
Mountain spirits mostly feed on grass and trees, and some of them are extremely ferocious. They also tend to avoid living with humans. Most of the spirits are not as extremely vicious as those in the folk tales, and they do not take people's lives without reason.
Most of the spirits in Chang'an City abandon their original forms, put on human skin, and honestly imitate the behavior and speech of "humans". Some even follow humans to have children, do business and study like humans. Over time, they really become no different from humans.
On the contrary, the mountain spirits, whose wild nature has not been extinguished, can be recognized at a glance even if they transform into human form.
It is common knowledge that foxes roam the deep mountains.
Old Hu's family's banquets are always lively:
Sitting outdoors, with the ground as a bed, accompanied by beautiful fox spirits playing music and handsome young men, surrounded by lush grass and clear ponds, fish maidens pouring wine and ginseng boys serving dishes.
A dozen or so foxes, not yet fully transformed, wrestled and played on the grass, their clumsy antics endearing. Occasionally, little devils would carry heavy wine jars to the table, pouring wine for each guest.
—I don’t know where Old Hu bought such good wine. As soon as the jar was opened, the aroma of the wine filled the air, and I was already a little drunk without even drinking it.
The guests and hosts enjoyed themselves immensely, and many foxes got so drunk that they didn't even realize when they would revert to their original forms, simply sleeping soundly while hugging their tails.
Xu Milu sat in the seat of honor, with two small tables in front of her, on which were laid out various dishes:
The restaurant offers a wide variety of mountain delicacies, including ginseng stewed chicken, fried quail, roasted goat leg, honey-glazed jerky, honey-roasted chicken, cold shredded chicken, chicken oil stewed eggs, chicken cooked with dogwood, stir-fried wild mushrooms in vegetable oil, pheasant mushroom soup, tofu and wood ear fungus, loquat and apricot, wild walnuts and red mountain fruits.
With her childlike nature, Dai Zi ran to the grass early in the morning to wrestle and play with the little fox.
Ah Qing and Chen Xiang sat on either side of her, looking like her guardians to anyone who didn't know better.
Despite the fine wine and delicacies before her, Xu Milu couldn't taste them; she just kept staring at the agarwood.
Where is my junior brother?
Where is my fair-skinned, delicate, and adorable baby-faced junior brother?!
Xu Milu's face went numb, and her eyes glazed over.
Chenxiang, who was sitting to her right eating a snack, seemed to sense something, obediently looked up, her baby face full of confusion.
—But his muscular physique, which he couldn't hide no matter what, his honey-colored skin, and his robust build that resembled a tiger or bear, nearly two meters tall, all seemed incongruous with his baby face.
Xu Milu's vision went black.
Although she had long known that Chenxiang was no ordinary person, and that her uncle, Erlang Shen, was exceptionally tall, she was still somewhat shocked when she saw Chenxiang suddenly grow to such a large size after only half a year.
The only word to describe it is "shocking".
Xu Milu is not short for a woman, but sitting next to Chen Xiang, she looks like a Chihuahua sitting next to a Tibetan Mastiff.
One wrong move and you could get stomped on and killed.
There's a huge piece of agarwood in front of me. How did it grow in the last six months?
Even chemical fertilizers wouldn't have such a powerful effect, would they?
Are all celestial fetuses like this?
Xu Milu began to question the meaning of life once again.
"Senior sister doesn't know."
Chenxiang swallowed the pastry in her mouth before explaining to Xu Milu:
"My mother was an immortal and the mountain goddess of Mount Hua. She was already quite tall. When my father saw her, he was captivated by her figure, and that's how I came to be."
These days, I followed my senior sister's advice and planted white berries on the estate. After they ripened, I sold them cheaply in Chang'an and received a lot of merit and incense offerings.
My uncle said I'll grow taller, but I won't ever reach more than ten feet tall, which is less than half the height of my mother.
More than 13 meters tall, but less than half the height of the Holy Mother of the Three Kingdoms?
Did your dad date a giant back then?
Are all love stories between gods and humans this wild?
It seems like I've gained some strange new knowledge.
Seeing the child's expectant look, as if seeking praise, Xu Milu quickly patted the child's waist and praised:
"You've done a good job. You've promoted cotton seeds and helped many poor families have a warm winter."
Master knows about this and even asked me to bring you a gift. I'll give it to you when I get back.
But you can't grow any taller, or I bet you'll have to keep your neck craned all the time.
"That's easy."
Chenxiang bowed slightly and said earnestly:
"When I talk to my senior sister, I can just lower my head, right? When I get stronger, you can sit on my shoulders and I'll go wherever you go."
That way, even if my senior sister turns into a bird again due to the cultivation technique, I won't be afraid.
—These words sounded innocent, but they were misunderstood by Aqing.
She raised an eyebrow, her gaze shifting suggestively between the two of them, before finally whispering in Xu Milu's ear:
“Milu, your junior brother is quite handsome. You must keep a close eye on him. You know, mountain demons love this kind of well-dressed and handsome young man. Be careful that your junior brother doesn't get bewitched by a demon and have his life force drained…”
Xu Milu looked up and saw that many fox spirits around her were openly and secretly flirting with Chen Xiang, their beautiful eyes darting around as if they wanted to devour him whole.
Oh no, how could she forget? Fairies love strong, muscular men. When Chenxiang came to visit Old Hu, it was like a sheep entering a fox's mouth—no, a Tibetan mastiff entering a fox's mouth!
Xu Milu's mind raced, and she immediately raised her wine glass, saying to Old Man Hu:
"Thank you very much for your hospitality today, Mr. Hu."
My junior brother is somewhat extraordinary by nature. He has been born for less than three years and still has a naive and childlike mentality.
I just heard from Chenxiang that his father-in-law's family took good care of him while I was away, and he is truly grateful.
"Alas, soon we two will be on a long journey at our master's behest. We don't know when we'll be able to return to Chang'an, nor when we'll be able to drink your fine wine again."
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