At this time, Xu Liang was still an ordinary person who had never seen much of the world. He had heard many rumors about mountain spirits and monsters, but this was the first time he had ever seen one.
Seeing that the one speaking was indeed a demon, and that it kept talking about eating people, they were so frightened that their faces turned pale.
Seeing that he was frightened, Hu Dayu thought for a moment, then, adopting the human etiquette he had secretly learned when he went down the mountain, softened his tone and introduced himself in a low voice: "I am Hu Dayu, and I have been cultivating on the mountain for over six hundred years. I have a wife and three young children. I have no bad habits, except for eating chicken and cultivating. I wish to cultivate into human form so that I may one day attain immortality. I humbly request your permission, sir."
Xu Liang was somewhat surprised by his explanation, but his fear lessened slightly. After a moment's hesitation, he tentatively asked, "You really haven't done anything wrong?"
Upon hearing that there was hope, Hu Dayu quickly replied, "Heaven and earth bear witness, I have no chance."
Xu Liang stared at him for a long time before finally managing to utter a sentence: "You're like a human being."
Hu Dayu was overjoyed and bowed repeatedly. When he stood up, he had already transformed into human form.
Fox spirits are always exceptional at transforming into human form. Hu Dayu, dressed in the same style of yellow robe as Xu Liang, bowed again and said happily, "Thank you for your kindness. I will repay you in the future."
After saying that, he left in a flash, eager to return to the mountains, where he bragged about it everywhere. As his neighbor, Di Xiu couldn't help but listen to his boasting.
A humanoid demon appeared in the mountains, and the mountain goblins rarely appeared. They rewarded Hu Dayu with a piece of emerald green stone imbued with spiritual energy, and then returned to their lair to hide.
Hu Dayu was so fond of that stone that he kept it close to his body and spent several days with his wife and children, but he still felt he had to repay the kindness.
He ran to the next mountain and dug up some herbs to give to Xu Liang, but then he remembered that he hadn't asked his benefactor's name. Fortunately, he remembered his scent and still managed to find his way there.
Xu Liang wasn't home; he had gone to school. The money his father had left behind had long been used up, and the schoolteacher, admiring his intelligence, allowed him to pay his tuition by copying books.
Xu Jinshi sat at the doorway, basking in the sun and weaving a bamboo basket. Her keen ears caught the sound of unfamiliar footsteps, the toes touching the ground first, then the heels, which sounded very furtive.
She wasn't in a hurry. Even if she were blind now, she knew exactly how many grains of rice were in the house. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the house was completely bare. Why would anyone want to steal from it, especially in broad daylight?
With that thought in mind, she said, "Guests are always welcome. The gate isn't locked. Would you like to come in and have some water?"
Hu Dayu hesitated for a moment, then pushed open the courtyard gate and went inside. He noticed the clothes hanging in the yard, and his eyes lit up immediately.
He bowed to Madam Xu Jin, quite politely, and said, "I dare not trouble you, Madam. I was fortunate to receive your help recently, and I have come today to repay your kindness. I have brought some Ganoderma lucidum and ginseng as a small token of my appreciation, and I hope you can help me pass them on."
The Xu family couldn't even afford medicine for a cold, so when they suddenly heard such noble names as Ganoderma lucidum and ginseng, Xu Jinshi was startled. Her finger was cut by the bamboo strip, but she didn't even realize it.
“This… my son did not mention this to me, you must have mistaken me for someone else.”
"The clothes you wore that day are still hanging in the courtyard. I did not mistake you for someone else."
After a long silence, Madam Xu lowered her head, licked her fingers, and then stood up, leaning on the door frame: "If you have nothing else to say, please come in and sit down. My son will understand when he returns."
Hu Dayu quickly agreed, only then noticing that her eyes were lifeless, staring blankly ahead with little movement, as if she had an eye ailment. Perhaps because she was in her familiar home, she didn't need a cane to walk, but she walked slowly and deliberately, as if she was afraid of falling or bumping into something.
Hu Dayu half-closed the courtyard gate and quickly went over to help her. Xu Jinshi smiled and said that she knew what was in front of her and wouldn't fall. She gently pulled her hand away from his.
She walked straight to the dining table, fumbled for a cup, and picked up the kettle in the middle. Hu Dayu waved his hand repeatedly and said, "I'm not thirsty."
"Then you can drink when you're thirsty. There's not much tea at home, so I hope you won't find it offensive."
"I don't mind at all."
Hu Dayu couldn't sit still. Seeing that Xu Jinshi was about to go back to weave bamboo baskets, he hurriedly went over to help. However, he had only recently taken human form and was clumsy. He couldn't even follow the instructions to weave properly.
Xu Jinshi had poor eyesight, but her hearing was very sharp. She seemed to be able to imagine what was happening around her. She smiled, and her nimble fingers wove a grasshopper out of grass leaves and gave it to him to play with.
Less than an hour later, Xu Liang heard that someone had come to his house. Worried that something had happened to his mother, he rushed back, only to find that the atmosphere among them was quite harmonious, which relieved him.
"Mother, who is this guest?"
Before Xu Jinshi could speak, Hu Dayu jumped up with joy and rushed over, excitedly saying, "My benefactor, it's me, Hu Dayu, I've come to repay your kindness."
The weather was indeed not good that day, and Xu Liang didn't see it clearly. There were no abnormalities for several days, so he thought that what happened that day was all an illusion.
Upon hearing the voice and the name, he felt no joy whatsoever. He immediately grabbed the broom by the door and told his mother to go inside first.
Xu Jinshi was puzzled, but thinking that it was time to cook, she rubbed her waist and legs and went to the kitchen.
What are you doing here?
Hu Dayu pointed to a pile of things he had placed next to the bamboo basket and said, "I've come to repay your kindness. The other day I saw that you seemed to have injured your leg, and I didn't know what medicine would work, so I specially found some Ganoderma lucidum and ginseng, which I heard are all very nourishing."
Xu Liang was taken aback. He looked at the things that were still fresh and covered in mud. Even someone who had never seen them in person could recognize them at a glance. But weren't these Ganoderma lucidum mushrooms a bit too big? They were as long as his arm.
"You really came here to repay a debt of gratitude?"
Hu Dayu nodded repeatedly: "What is your wish, my benefactor? I will do my best to fulfill it for you."
Xu Liang lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then called him out of the courtyard. He shook his head and said in a low voice, "That day I helped you transform into a human, and today you help me hold my head high and be a person. That's all settled. I only hope that you will do more good deeds in the future and not do evil, so as not to implicate me and my mother."
His eyes held a hint of wariness and caution, as if he was still particularly uneasy about the vixen in front of him.
Hu Dayu scratched his head, still unwilling to give up, and asked, "You really don't have any other wishes?"
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