Fox in the Forest
Yes, the fox did nothing.
The red fox in the camera licked its paws lazily and stretched out in the sun, looking completely innocent.
But if you think about it carefully, it seems to be true...
The two scholars might not have been able to see clearly because it was dark, but the audience in the live broadcast room clearly saw that the little fox followed Scholar Wu all the way last night, and when he rolled down the hillside, it lay on him and groped for a long time, and finally took away the cloth bag in his arms.
The camera followed the fox, and when it was untied in a safe place, it revealed half a roast chicken.
Audience: …
They dried up the silence.
So, the little fox who looked like the big boss behind the scenes and had a terrifying and weird aura just now just wanted to eat a chicken?
hiss.
Is it still possible? ?
But now looking again, the red fox that looked a little scary at night is not scary at all during the day.
The fiery red fur gleams with golden light in the sun, the slender black limbs, and the delicate and beautiful fox face. If it were really a fox demon, it would definitely be a great beauty if it transformed into a human form.
What's more, it really is a little fox.
The audience gradually understood everything, came back to their senses from the subtle fear of the previous night's events, and began to boldly sniff the fox from a distance.
[What's wrong with Fox? It just wants to eat chicken...]
[Oh, so it was this fox that woke Xiao Wu up, right? I thought the fox was used to set the mood, but I didn't expect it to be the protagonist. I was forced to take the supporting role's perspective, which was hilarious.]
[If that's the case, then the fox saved the scholar's life! If it weren't for the fact that the scholar Meng was frightened by the fox and stopped wanting to kill, I guess the unlucky guy wouldn't have been able to stay. ]
【Fox: (Smiling) Saving your life means eating your chicken, right~】
[Not too much, not too much! Now that I think about it, the fox was just laughing because he was happy to find food. He was obviously a cute little fox! ]
[It’s all right, everything makes sense… I just don’t know what those two will say when they go back. I’m really worried about sending someone to catch the fox.]
The audience's concerns are justified.
Because the narration also predicted this:
"Although this incident has nothing to do with him, the person involved seems to blame him."
"Come on, he doesn't have any magical power to control people's minds, and he doesn't have any motive for committing a crime. How can you just blame him?"
"I'm just passing by!"
"But unfortunately, other people can't hear his inner complaints. They only want to avenge the dead."
[Damn it! They actually put the blame on the fox! How unfair! ]
[Ah? Then the man surnamed Meng won't be punished? He killed the person himself!]
[What should I do? The little fox is indeed an ordinary fox. Will anything happen to it? ]
[The little fox is the protagonist, so he should be fine. I'm just curious about what kind of coincidences will be needed to resolve this crisis.]
Just when the audience was worried, the camera suddenly changed the scene and froze at the entrance of a village.
The two scholars Wang and Yang had returned home earlier.
They parted unhappily in the forest, and neither of them had any intention of going back, so they walked slowly back to the village at night.
When the relatives of the other scholars learned that the group had a conflict, they waited at the village gate early the next morning, fearing that something might happen to their children.
After waiting for a long time, some figures finally appeared in the distance, but they only saw two people.
broken!
An ominous premonition hung over their hearts, and when they saw the faces of the two men clearly, they hurried forward and asked about the whereabouts of the other one.
The two looked depressed: "Dead."
"Dead?! How could he die just by going out for no reason?!"
The villagers were extremely panicked, and Li Shusheng's old mother was breathing rapidly and almost fainted.
"It was done by the fox demon."
The two men informed the villagers that there was a fox demon appearing near the ruined temple.
People were confused and couldn't stop asking:
"Monster? Monster? How can there be monsters in this barren place like ours?"
"It's absolutely true. At that time, I saw it with my own eyes coming out of your chest, and it was glowing blue. It must be a fox demon!"
"Why are you covered in wounds? Why are your clothes torn?"
"Being chased by it, rolling down the hillside..."
After everyone else had finished asking, the trembling mother of the Li family asked:
"I, my son, he..."
"We collected his remains... This is what he had."
The old woman took it with trembling hands, stared at it for a few seconds, and suddenly beat her chest, wailing and falling down: "Monster! That damn monster! My good son whom I have raised for more than ten years..."
The villagers quickly caught her, helped her to calm down by rubbing her back, and kept saying words of comfort such as "I am sorry".
Seeing this, Meng Shusheng stopped talking and just silently took a few steps back. He looked at Wu Shusheng who was hesitant to speak and nodded slightly at him.
Wu Shusheng froze a little after being looked at by this, but in the end he said nothing and lowered his eyes silently.
Audiences who know everything: ? ?
No, you guys even changed your testimony at the last minute?
[Didn't we infer when we left that the fox demon leaned over Wu Shusheng and then bewitched Meng Shusheng to kill someone? How come now it has become that the fox demon directly killed people? Are you two okay if you change a little? ? ]
[Tsk tsk, you're totally putting the blame on the fox, good fellow.]
[Ah, this old man is so pitiful. He is being comforted by the culprit hypocritically, and he even wants to thank him for helping to collect the body... Ugh, I am so angry. ]
[What's going on? You can't say such nonsense. Foxes are scary, but you are even scarier!]
The dead are gone, and coupled with an instinctive fear of evil spirits, the villagers discussed the matter for a short while before dispersing, warning their relatives and friends to avoid that ominous place.
But Meng Shusheng did not leave immediately. Instead, he stopped Wu Shusheng and led him to a secluded place before speaking slowly:
"It's all right, brother. I won't tell the villagers that you attracted the fox demon. We can just keep saying this."
Audience:?
Wait, what do you mean?
Wu Shusheng reluctantly pulled the corners of his mouth, with deep fear in his eyes, but he still spoke with hope: "If you tell the truth..."
"You can't run away if you tell the truth!"
Meng Shusheng interrupted him, frowned, and said sternly: "If you weren't greedy and stole the chicken, how could the fox be led to the ruined temple by you, and how could it target us?!"
Wu Shusheng's eyes wandered.
Meng Shusheng continued, "Besides, the fox demon possessed you and told you to lead us out of the temple at midnight. It also used tricks to provoke us, which led to this tragedy..."
Wu Shusheng hesitated and lowered his head.
"Even if it wasn't me, Wang and Yang might have been bewitched and turned against each other. So all this is not because of me, but because of you."
Scholar Wu was so frightened that he dared not speak.
Ever since he told Meng Shusheng on the way that he had a chicken in his arms, and guessed that the fox demon let him go because of the chicken, he has been accused of a series of sins.
But, if you think about it carefully, what Brother Meng said is not wrong.
At that time, he was sleeping in a dilapidated temple, and saw a fox in a half-awake state. Perhaps it was at that moment that he was possessed by the fox, which was why he asked everyone to go out together, and why he said that rebuttal and asked them to disperse...
It was indeed him.
The back of his head was aching slightly from the impact of rolling down the hillside, and coupled with the mental confusion caused by last night's stimulation, Wu Shusheng had already lost the ability to distinguish between black and white.
After a while, he spoke weakly: "Yes, yes. Thank you Brother Meng for covering up for me. I will repay you in the future... But, I probably need to rest for a few days first."
Shusheng Meng paused and looked at the expression on Shusheng Wu's face. He didn't say anything to stop him, but instead comforted him gently with a few words, just like the honest and caring elder brother he was at the beginning.
But before parting, he gave one last reminder: "I hope you will remember what I said."
"Um……"
Wu Shusheng stayed where he was and responded a few times in a daze.
He walked home alone with difficulty. As soon as he stepped through the door, his body went limp and he fell down. When he was last conscious, all he could hear was his mother's panicked cries.
The audience was amazed at what they saw.
[Wow, this guy named Meng, I thought he looked quite honest at first, but I didn’t expect that he would be this kind of person when he started to scheme…]
[This Xiao Wu was deceived badly. The man was killed by Meng himself! You saw him dump the body with your own eyes, so why do you still think it is your fault? ! ]
[I guess he believed in the fox demon's bewitching tricks... Although there were conflicts between them, I always feel that even if the little fox didn't appear, they would have had friction along the way, and then it escalated into a murder.]
[That’s right. Xiao Wu needs to understand the difference between the root cause and the fuse, uh ah ah ah…]
[But there is no way, the scene last night was too confusing, especially for ancient scholars who have never studied mathematics, physics and chemistry ()]
【Ah, sigh. 】
After Wu Shusheng came back, he was seriously ill for several days.
He was already overly frightened, and had the pain of rolling down the cliff, plus the uneasiness lingering in his heart all the time, so it was normal for him to have such a stress reaction.
But the old mother didn't understand.
She was so worried that she finally asked a doctor to come and see her.
The white-bearded doctor felt the patient's pulse and looked into the patient's eyes. He shook his head and said it was a heart disease, and that unclean things had contaminated the soul.
The old mother lay beside Wu Shusheng's bed and cried in pain.
Her son seemed to be of a gentle nature, who would forget his worries quickly and behave well on weekdays, so how could he have any mental illness?
"Can you please tell Mom? What are you thinking about?"
The person on the bed opened his eyes slightly, with a deep depression in his eyes. When he met his mother's tearful gaze, he was moved for a moment and struggled to move his mouth, but still said nothing.
The audience fell in love.
[It’s miserable. It’s so miserable.]
[That guy surnamed Meng even came to visit us very naturally... Wow, he has a very strong mentality. ]
[Remembering the scene of dumping the body before, I am afraid that he will kill again to silence the witnesses ()]
[That shouldn’t be the case… They’ve all gone home.]
"Brother, why are you doing this?"
Meng Shusheng sat beside the bed, looking at the drowsy person, feeling helpless.
To be honest, he was still very frightened that night, especially when he saw the fox.
But later, as he gradually sorted out his thoughts, he no longer had that feeling.
After all, people who speak without restraint and poke others in the face really deserve to die.
I heard that the Li family hired a wandering Taoist priest at a high price to help them get rid of the demon and avenge their crime. If he could really get rid of the fox, then his only worry would be gone.
In fact, he knew in his heart that he killed his colleague out of his own conscience.
But how could he admit it?
In the past few days, he has been explaining to people in the village again and again that "it was a fox who did it", adding all kinds of details in his mind. Unconsciously, he has become more and more convinced of this fact.
only……
But if the fox really remembered this incident and was dissatisfied, it would be bad if he sought revenge on him.
Now he could only hope that the Taoist priest had some real talent and killed the fox.
In this way, he felt completely at ease.
"You continue to rest."
After chatting with Mr. Wu for a few more words, Mr. Meng stood up, opened the door and left.
But before leaving, he turned around and looked at the weak Wu Shusheng lying on the bed, and an idea flashed through his mind.
...However, even if the fox is gone, I can't say that I am completely at peace.
After all, who knows whether my brother will tell the truth?
A faint murderous intent flashed across his face, and Meng Shusheng tightened his grip, but he quickly left.
At least, wait until the Taoist priest finishes his work...
"Son, is it that fox demon that is haunting you?"
The old mother twisted the handkerchief and wiped Wu Shusheng's face, muttering to herself: "It's okay, my worthless life won't last long, so I might as well take this punishment for you."
She asked everywhere and begged everywhere, and finally learned a possibility from the Taoist priest.
Perhaps the fox demon he met that day did not let his eldest son go, and was clinging to him and refusing to leave.
She soaked the handkerchief and put it on Wu Shusheng's forehead. Finally, she touched his head reluctantly, and then walked out of the house resolutely.
She wanted to go to the dilapidated temple and beg the fox demon to spare her son's life. She would give anything, as long as she could give it, even if she had to exchange her life for another.
The audience sighed.
[Oops, I am so confused!!]
[There's nothing I can do... In that era, you either wait for death or believe in superstition. ]
[It's just a fever. People with better physical constitutions can get better by sweating, but the scholar is still ill. It's probably because he feels guilty for lying.]
[Damn it, that Meng guy is really strong-willed, making this family so anxious. I hope there will be a good outcome in the end.]
[Well, I feel like, if nothing unexpected happens, it will be a double death... Oh! Xiao Wu stood up! ]
Yes.
Wu Shusheng, who had been lying in bed sick for several days and had no strength in his body, suddenly forced himself to get up from the bed.
In fact, when Wu Shusheng heard his mother's goodbye words, his hands had been moving.
"Don't……"
Now he managed to stand up. Although his eyes were still blurry and he was dizzy from the fever of the past few days, he still tried to speak word by word:
"It's fine."
The room was silent and no one answered him.
Mother is gone.
He was in a panic, fearing that his mother, who depended on him for everything, would never come back. He didn't even bother to put on his shoes. He ran out of the house quickly, stumbling onto the road leading to the ruined temple.
The audience sighed.
[How miserable! It turns out that people with conscience are tortured the most. ]
[Are you leaving now? If you leave now, it will be night time when you get there. Don’t get scared again.]
[Hiss, why is there no one on the road? What are those talismans on both sides? Could it be that the Taoist priest hired by the Li family has also set off at this time? ]
[Wow, that's such a coincidence! ! Hey, how come Xiao Wu couldn't find anyone even though she ran so hard? Can a woman run so fast? ]
[I smell the scent of coincidence. This is the essence of Dihua style——]
There seems to be something special in the village today.
Every house in the village was closed, yellow paper talismans were scattered on the streets, and no one was outside.
Obviously, Wu's mother couldn't go out either.
But Wu Shusheng was so groggy that he could not notice anything unusual and was only focused on trying to stop his mother.
In a hurry, he subconsciously did not take the main road to the village gate, but chose a small road that could lead him out of the village as quickly as possible.
If he wasn't so anxious, maybe he could see his mother at the village gate -
The old mother was stopped by several people at this time. They advised her kindly, saying that the Taoist priest was outside exorcising demons and asked the villagers to stay safe and hide.
The old mother, knowing that the Taoist had taken action, felt temporarily relieved and returned with trepidation.
Unfortunately, Mr. Wu didn’t see it.
So, he still rushed to the dilapidated temple where foxes lurked.
Ruined temple.
It was already night, and young Taoist priests in Taoist robes were standing in formation in an orderly manner, sketching symbols that ordinary people could not understand inside the ruined temple.
He has regular features, a determined gaze, and seems to be quite skilled in his various gestures.
There were several people around him.
"Please, Taoist priest, make the decision for my son!"
"I must grind that fox demon to dust, only then can I relieve the hatred in my heart!"
"Please, Taoist Priest!"
The camera moved here, and the audience looked out curiously.
[Oh wow, a Taoist priest really came? ? ]
[This should be the person who avenges the dead in the original work? A Taoist priest controls a fox demon. Hmm, that makes sense.]
[Although this world doesn't have that kind of element, what does this Taoist priest make? ]
The camera turned, and the red fox hiding behind the Buddha statue was also quite confused. He tilted his head and looked at so many people in the dilapidated temple. For a moment, he became much more vigilant and just watched them from a distance.
"break--!"
The Taoist priest pointed at the drawn formation with very fancy gestures and shouted.
In an instant, thunder sounded out of nowhere and a loud bang exploded.
“Woo!”
The red fox shook its ears, as if frightened. Seeing that these people were coming with ill intentions, it quickly went around the back of the ruined temple and ran into the woods.
"Hey! Where are you running to!"
The Taoist saw it at a glance, and before anyone could react, he shouted loudly and chased it into the forest.
The rest of the people waited obediently within the talisman circle drawn by the Taoist priest, praying silently for a successful revenge.
Da Da——
Da Da——
The fox ran very fast and had a strong ability to hide. Not long after it escaped into the forest, the Taoist lost it.
Although he lost the fox, he didn't seem to be in a hurry.
While the audience was still guessing what abilities this Taoist priest had, he suddenly patted his shoulders, sat down, and began to talk to himself:
"Phew—I'm so tired from running."
"Luckily I didn't ask that family to follow me, otherwise we would have been exposed if we ran here."
Audience:?
ah?
no?
They watched in bewilderment as the Taoist priest sat down, took out a few fox tails from his bag, and gestured critically:
"It's said to be as red as cinnabar? And with a hint of blue?"
"Tsk, forget it, just pick up a red tail and say that it lost its magic power when it was cut off..."
"Luckily it's not a white fox, otherwise where would I find it?"
Audience: ? ?
[You kid, you’re a money swindler (angry)]
[What the hell? I was worried about the little fox, but now seeing this series of fox tails, I am really shocked. ]
[Master of fooling around, I am convinced. Which Taoist priest brings his own spoils when he goes out to exorcise demons? ! ]
[It turns out he is a fake Taoist priest. My worldview has not collapsed. I am satisfied. 】
[Okay, then the little fox will be fine. 】
"call--"
The Taoist took out the meat from his bag and was about to eat it and rest for the night, but suddenly a strange wind blew up in the woods, whistling violently and putting out the fire he had lit.
Taoist: Huh?!
He was shocked and confused, but forced himself to calm down and started the fire again.
But after a while, the fire went out again.
"Tsk, where does the wind come from?"
To seek peace of mind, the Taoist priest stood up and observed the terrain, muttering to himself, "The terrain here is flat, there is a small hill not far away, so it is normal to have wind..."
"As for the will-o'-the-wisp you might see later, they are all phosphorous fire, no different from ordinary flames. Although they are often seen on graves, they have nothing to do with death."
"It is easy to hear strange noises at night. It is because your mind is not clear, not because of ghosts."
After mumbling a lot, his mind became clear and he turned around confidently: "There are no ghosts in the world..."
As he turned around, his words got stuck in his throat.
This was because a strange beast whose outline could not be seen clearly was squatting under the tree, holding his bag in its mouth and staring at him with a pair of strange fluorescent eyes.
Red Fox: Stare——
It tilted its head.
"Well?!"
After a brief shock, the Taoist priest immediately reacted and tried to convince himself again:
"The beast's eyes can indeed glow. Although, although I don't understand why for the time being, they will be normal as long as they are under the moonlight."
"That's right. Also, during a standoff, as long as the person doesn't move, they won't act rashly, unless... ah?!"
Red Fox: Hey.
Luo Li said nothing and left.
The fox had no patience to listen to the man's self-consolation, so he turned around and ran straight into the woods.
"Wait! My stuff!"
Now the Taoist priest had to chase after him.
During the chase, the moonlight shone on the figure in front of him, and he finally recognized what kind of creature this strange beast was.
It turned out to be the red fox.
Such a subtle coincidence caused the Taoist's heart to stir, but it only lasted for a moment.
There are no monsters in the world, he has always believed this.
Since this fox has made him waver, he might as well catch it to prevent it from disturbing his mood...
The Taoist priest took it seriously and tried to catch the fox based on his experience.
But for some reason, is this fox too cunning?
Without even turning its head, it perfectly avoided all his moves.
Under the cover of the intertwined tree trunks in the forest, the fox's body was looming in the moonlight, just like -
It's almost like it's about to change shape!
Just as he had this thought, the Taoist's eyes flashed and he suddenly lost the fox.
When he heard some noise, he ran in that direction, but suddenly collided with a burning body.
Who would have such a temperature in the middle of the night?!
He was horrified and leaned back quickly.
Looking again, the man he met was pale, with a heavy gaze as if his soul had been taken away. He did not react after being hit, but just stared at him blankly.
"fox."
The man's pronunciation was dry and his sentences were slow, with pauses and stutters, like a monster who had just learned to speak.
Taoist priest:……
In an instant, he took three steps back.
Oh no, he ran into a real monster!
The red fox hiding in the cave: watching the show.jpg
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