"How could your exorcism talismans possibly work on a fox spirit like me?"
The Great Fox Fairy chuckled and pulled Nan Yuanman closer, her slender fingers gradually transforming into a fox paw: "Be good and become my offering. I won't let you suffer."
Nan Yuanman struggled to breathe, her face turning bluish-purple. She gritted her teeth and retorted, "You...lie...to...me!"
Don't insult immortals! How could immortals harm people at will?
But now, neither Little Red nor Little Grass is a match for her, and she's been captured too. Could it be...?
Nan Yuanman felt a little scared. Was she going to die today?
No!
Nan Yuanman gripped the fox spirit's wrist tightly, her small face turning purplish-blue as she rapidly circulated her spiritual energy. Yuanman hadn't healed her grandfather yet, nor had she restored her mother's innocence; she couldn't die!
She! Cannot! Die!
The golden merit that had been peacefully residing in the spiritual platform suddenly stirred, transforming into wisps of golden light that flowed into her body along with the spiritual energy circulating in Nan Yuanman.
The Great Fox Fairy licked his lips excitedly, raised his hand which had transformed into a fox paw, and suddenly stabbed it into Nan Yuanman's heart.
At the critical moment, Little Red flew to Nan Yuanman's side, grew larger, and blocked her claws.
The fox's paw landed on the coffin with a dull thud, followed by a crisp crack, and a crack suddenly appeared in the coffin.
Fox Immortal: "!!!"
Before she could even swing the coffin away, a furious shout rang out: "You beast! Die!"
The next moment, a plaque suddenly appeared behind Nan Yuanman and slammed down heavily on the hand that was gripping her neck.
The fox spirit's arm was instantly broken by the plaque, and the fingers that were gripping Nan Yuanman's neck loosened instantly.
Nan Yuanman fell to the ground with a thud, clutching her neck and coughing violently. Through her teary eyes, she looked up and saw the short figure suddenly appear in front of her. Somewhat surprised, she murmured in a hoarse voice, "Grandpa Hu..."
Grandpa Hu gripped a worn-out plaque tightly in his hand, standing taut in front of Nan Yuanman, staring intently at the fox spirit before him, his facial muscles twitching.
The fox spirit slowly fixed her gaze on Grandpa Hu. Her already scarlet fox eyes turned even redder. She gritted her teeth and said, word by word, "It is...you!"
"You're still alive... How dare you even live?!"
As she spoke, wisps of black and red malevolent energy emanated from the Fox Fairy, revealing that her mind was not at peace.
“It is I, Fox Immortal. I know the sins committed by our ancestors are enough for you to destroy the entire Hundred Fox Village, but... these three children are innocent.”
Grandpa Hu's voice was heavy: "You can't lay a hand on them."
"You ungrateful wretch, what right do you have to negotiate with me?!" The Fox Immortal's voice was shrill. "You were lucky enough to escape a hundred years ago because we couldn't find you. This time... you won't be so lucky!"
"If you won't kill them, then I'll kill you!"
Without giving Grandpa Hu a chance to negotiate, the fox spirit attacked him directly.
Grandpa Hu's legs trembled slightly. Nan Yuanman scrambled to his feet, grabbed Xiao Hong, and pulled out his copper coin sword to make a move, but then saw him forcefully plant the plaque in his hand into the ground.
In a daze, Nan Yuanman saw the words "Hundred Fox Village Ancestral Hall" engraved on the plaque in his hand, but soon, as the plaque was inserted into the ground, the scene in front of her changed instantly.
The riverbank had been transformed into a village ancestral hall. At that time, Nan Yuanman was standing at the entrance of the ancestral hall, surrounded by adults who were extremely busy and had happy expressions on their faces.
"I hunted a roe deer on the mountain this time. I wonder if Lord Baihu will like it."
"Are you stupid! Lady Hundred Fox doesn't like to eat these things. Her favorite food is chicken! We might as well make the chicken more fragrant and offer it to her!"
"Hehe, I'm just a rough guy, how could I know how to cook? I'll trouble you to cook for me, Auntie..."
"..."
The people around seemed oblivious to Nan Yuanman, chatting and busy with their own things. But Nan Yuanman could see clearly that besides the ancestral tablets, there was something else enshrined in the village shrine.
The people of Baihu Village also worship a white fox deity.
Nan Yuanman frowned as she looked at the adults coming and going, trying hard to make out that these people should be villagers from Hundred Fox Village three hundred years ago.
To express their gratitude to the fox that saved them, they erected a statue in its honor, named it Hundred Foxes, and would come to offer sacrifices and make wishes to the statue on the first and fifteenth of each month.
She witnessed firsthand how the originally ordinary statues of deities gradually developed sentience through the villagers' persistent worship.
The statue truly believed that it was a fox, and not only protected the villagers of Hundred Fox Village, but also took special care of the foxes in the mountains. It even enlightened several foxes with considerable intelligence, giving them the opportunity to cultivate into spirits.
As time passed, the first batch of villagers of Hundred Fox Village gradually died out, and their descendants, the second, third, fourth, and countless others, gradually lost faith in the idols.
They didn't believe that a deity could truly protect them and kept them safe. They even mocked the older generation: "What era are we living in? Still believing in these things? If this so-called Hundred Fox Goddess were really effective, wouldn't our village have become a wealthy village long ago? How could we still be worrying about not having enough rice to cook every day?"
The idol couldn't speak; it simply waited silently for its followers, but the number of followers dwindled until two hundred years later...
With frequent wars and the Xia Kingdom facing invasion by enemy forces, the villagers of Baihu Village suddenly began to believe in Baihu Niangniang again.
The village chief of Hundred Fox Village believed the words of a master who happened to pass by and asked for a drink of water. He thought that as long as they ate the fox heart, they would become servants under the Hundred Fox Goddess and share the cultivation and lifespan of the foxes.
So... they bared their fangs at the foxes who trusted them.
Deception, imprisonment, heartbreak...
Nan Yuanman, who was watching from the sidelines, suddenly realized that the red fox that had appeared in her dream was being captured and had its heart ripped out by the villagers. She instantly realized that what she was having was not a dream, but something that had happened in the past in Baihu Village.
In front of the Hundred Fox Goddess, the villagers of Hundred Fox Village skinned and gutted her people, and even ate their hearts in her presence.
He was angry, he was devastated, but there was nothing He could do.
Because He was created by the villagers of Hundred Fox Village... an immortal.
He cannot harm the villagers of Hundred Fox Village.
Perhaps because too many foxes had been killed, the resentment they generated quickly permeated the statue. The statue absorbed the foxes' resentment and slowly began to change...
"Later, the villagers who ate the fox's heart died one after another for unknown reasons, and the village was filled with panic. The village chief was afraid that he would also die, so he went to the city to find the old Taoist priest he had met before." Grandpa Hu's hoarse voice suddenly came from behind Nan Yuanman.
When Nan Yuanman looked back, he saw that Grandpa Hu's hat was gone, and his exposed face was still intact on one side and covered with fox fur on the other.
Nan Yuanman looked at the fox fur on his face and suddenly realized, "So, Grandpa Hu, you're one of the villagers who survived after eating the fox's heart?"
She still remembered the old man who had been eating fox hearts in the village shrine last night; his face was also covered in fox fur.
"Yes." Grandpa Hu nodded, looking up at the ancient house in front of him: "The village shrine is where she was born. In order to save himself, the old village chief listened to the old Taoist priest and blew up the village shrine along with the statue. He also asked the old Taoist priest to perform a ritual to seal away the newly formed Hundred Fox Goddess."
"The plaque I brought has suppression runes left by the old Taoist priest."
“Perfect.” Grandpa Hu turned to look at Nan Yuanman, pursed his lips, and said, “I know you are not an ordinary person. The old Taoist priest also left a prophecy, saying that in the future, a capable person will help us to completely solve her problem.”
"Now... I've weakened her power with the runes left by the old Taoist priest. Now it's up to you. You can definitely kill her, right?"
Nan Yuanman looked at Grandpa Hu, blinked her round eyes, and a sly glint flashed in them: "Of course I can handle her, but..."
Nan Yuanman suddenly raised his hand, and the copper coin sword in his hand stabbed fiercely towards Grandpa Hu's waist!
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