"Come in."
Elder Lanli put the bamboo basket in her hand on the table and said to Su Man who followed her in.
Although Shi Lanli is an elder of the fox clan, there are no valuable items in her residence. There is only a simple wooden table and cotton bed curtains. Only the painting on the wall has a touch of elegance.
On the table below the painting was a lifelike wooden sculpture of a nine-tailed fox.
Unlike ordinary fox totems, this fox was carved with a naive look. Su Man couldn't help but take a closer look. "Was this carved by the elder?"
"This belongs to Qingwu Diao."
Elder Lanli's voice was soft, with a subtle hint of sadness.
"Elder, do you have a good relationship with your mother?" Su Man asked tentatively.
Elder Lan Li sighed, "Your mother and I are from the same mother and grew up together..."
She didn't say anything else, but looked at Suman with loving eyes, "You can call me aunt."
Elder Lan Li's recognition of her kinship was obviously much more sincere than Qing Li's. Su Man readily agreed, "Aunt."
"Why."
Elder Lan Li's smile became even gentler. "Come, sit down."
The two of them sat on two bamboo chairs by the window. On the low table in the middle were fresh fruits and vegetables. The breeze blew by, bringing with it bursts of fruity fragrance.
Su Man was considering how to start her conversation when Elder Lan Li spoke before her, "You came to me because you have something to ask, right?"
"I can't hide anything from you."
Su Man paused, "Now I have more doubts than before I came here."
There was no surprise on Elder Lan Li's face, as if he had known she would come.
"Then ask them one by one."
Su Man thought for a moment, "Just now, that flowery fox said that the Nine-tailed Fox lineage was cursed because of their mother. What's going on?"
"This is just a rumor and has no basis."
Elder Lan Li explained, "I believe you have heard about the decline of the Nine-Tailed Fox lineage during the past two days since you came here."
"Yes, but I don't know the reason."
"Although we, the Nine-Tailed Fox lineage, are of the same ancestry as the Fox Clan, our bloodlines are different. We can only leave Nine-Tailed Fox descendants by marrying within our own lineage. Otherwise, our descendants will lose their Nine-Tailed Fox nature and become no different from ordinary Foxes."
Su Man hesitated, "Then if we marry someone from the same clan, we won't have to worry about this, right?"
"Yes, but right now, Qingli is the only nine-tailed male fox left in our Nine-tailed Fox Clan with pure bloodline."
Su Man was surprised, "How could this be?"
Elder Lan Li's gaze drifted off into the distance. "From a certain point on, any male Nine-tailed Fox born would not live past their full age. Gradually, only females remained in our Nine-tailed Fox lineage. By the time of Hongyu's generation, she was the only Nine-tailed Fox of pure blood left."
She looked at Su Man and said quietly, "All of this happened right after Qingwu married into the ghost tribe. So there's a rumor among the fox tribe that Qingwu's union with the ghost tribe was unacceptable, and that's why it was a punishment from heaven."
Hearing this, Su Man pondered for a moment and raised her own question, "Then where did the adult nine-tailed fox go?"
"them..."
Elder Lan Li lowered his eyes, "They all died in the melee among the Celestial Clan."
Su Man understood.
Yes, it was precisely because of that melee within the Celestial Clan that Zi Xiangli ascended to the position of clan leader.
Looking at the sad Elder Lanli, Su Man suddenly thought of something.
Since Master Hongyu is from the Nine-tailed Fox lineage, then Elder Lanli's husband should also be a Nine-tailed Fox, so her husband must also be...
Elder Lan Li's next words confirmed her suspicions, "Hongyu's father also died in that battle."
...
Back then, when the Emperor of Heaven had just ascended the throne, the six realms were not as peaceful as they are now. There was no hierarchy, and everyone spoke with their fists.
It was also because of this that there were constant conflicts and wars among all walks of life and ethnic groups at that time.
The current peaceful scene in the six realms is thanks to one person, the ancient god, Nan Ming.
Different from other ancient gods who either passed away or flew away to the outer heaven, Nan Ming has always stayed in the six realms, fighting battles in the south and the north, and created a peaceful and prosperous era with the Emperor of Heaven, who is also an ancient god.
His efforts were not in vain. The six realms finally stopped fighting and all submitted to the Celestial Clan.
The Emperor of Heaven ascended the throne and appointed Nan Ming as a divine general, second only to the emperor and above all others.
But Nan Ming was dissatisfied with the fact that he had gone through life and death, but in the end it was the Emperor of Heaven who remained on the high throne. He often complained that the brothers who had fought side by side with him in the past were becoming increasingly distant.
Finally, on the birthday of the Emperor of Heaven, Nan Ming rebelled.
He took advantage of the fact that the tribes from the six realms came to celebrate the birthday of the Emperor of Heaven to gather his subordinates and triggered an unprecedented war.
Almost no one, whether immortal or demon, survived that great battle. Corpses were scattered all over the ground, and blood flowed like a river.
The Emperor of Heaven narrowly won and defeated Nan Ming.
Too many gods and demons fell, and the world rained blood for a month. I don’t know whose souls are restless.
...
Speaking of this, Elder Lanli's eyes turned slightly red, and she looked at the painting on the wall.
It was a landscape painting, with towering mountains and misty rain. In the gaps between the peaks, there were two little men, each the length of a thumb, holding umbrellas and strolling between heaven and earth.
Needless to say, this painting must have been created by Shi Hongyu's father. Elder Lan Li placed this painting alongside the wood carvings made by Shi Qingwu as a remembrance.
Seeing Elder Lan Li immersed in sorrow, Su Man whispered to comfort her, "Aunt, take care of yourself and don't be too sad."
Elder Lan Li wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and forced a smile. "Auntie is old and easily saddened by the sight of things. Child, I'm sorry to have embarrassed you."
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