Chapter 38: Raising a Fox Immortal

In the previous magical confrontation, both the Taoist from Longhu Mountain and Bai Juan suffered severe backlash. However, the lingering sense of unease in my heart remained unsettled. On my way home that evening, I ran into Hu Rui, a childhood friend who grew up with Bai Juan and me.

Hu Rui’s parents divorced when she was young, and she had moved away for work, so we hadn't seen each other in several years. The joy of our reunion felt like a gentle spring breeze, dispelling some of the gloom that had been weighing on me. As we chatted, the conversation naturally turned to our mutual childhood friend, Bai Juan.

Thinking of everything Bai Juan had done made me furious, but I didn't dare go into too much detail. I simply suggested that Hu Rui should try to keep her distance from Bai Juan, as she was no longer the person we knew in our youth.

Hu Rui pressed me repeatedly, asking, "What exactly is going on?"

I omitted the parts regarding Teacher Xing and the Taoist from Longhu Mountain, saying only, "Bai Juan is practicing *Kuman Thong* (spirit child) rituals and has become very extreme. She is no longer the righteous and generous Bai Juan we once knew."

Upon hearing this, a strange look flashed in Hu Rui’s eyes, yet she replied, "Perhaps it’s a misunderstanding. I suspect many people around you have told you to communicate more with your family to avoid letting your imagination run wild. Anyway, my grandmother is urging me to get home early, so I must be going."

With that, Hu Rui turned and hurried away with an unsteady gait.

It was nearly dark, and as I watched her retreating figure, I suddenly shuddered for no apparent reason, a sense of foreboding washing over me. Teacher Xing had once told me that many people appearing in my life would try to harm me. Since Bai Juan was problematic, what about Hu Rui?

After returning home, I unlocked my phone and scrolled through Hu Rui’s social media feed. She loved taking selfies and had posted many photos. I took a screenshot of one and sent it to Teacher Yang, telling her about our encounter and my suspicion that something was wrong with her.

Teacher Yang looked at the photos and sent a voice message, her voice clear yet laced with surprise: "This is clearly a fox. Her face and eyes are exactly like a fox’s; how could you not notice?"

I replied, stunned, "I’ve seen her face since we were children; why would I ever think about whether she looks like a fox?"

Teacher Yang sent another message, her tone stern and beyond doubt: "I just sensed it—Hu Rui’s face is trying to mimic yours."

I hesitated, "But I look nothing like her!"

"I am talking about the primordial spirit. Her human appearance is indeed completely different from yours, but her primordial spirit shares thirty to forty percent of your likeness."

I then shared the photo in the Kunlun group chat created by Wang Xinyue.

Wang Xinyue exclaimed, [Oh my god, oh my god, that really is one massive fox spirit!]

I have to admit, Wang Xinyue’s psychic sensitivity remained as sharp as ever. Before I could even explain, she had already identified Hu Rui’s true nature.

Zhong Yang realized, [I remember who her primordial spirit is! It’s that fox from Mount Li, Xiao Wei, who came looking for you before!]

Ding Yuan asked, [The fox spirit Xiao Wei?]

Zhong Yang explained the entanglement between Yang Yuhuan of the Tang Dynasty and the Mount Li fox spirit, Xiao Wei.

Ding Yuan was curious, [Is that the same fox spirit Xiao Wei from the movie 'Painted Skin'?]

***

Ding Yuan’s mention caught me off guard; I had never thought of it that way. Looking back, Hu Rui’s human appearance did indeed share a certain resemblance to the actress who played Xiao Wei in "Painted Skin," especially in her mannerisms. However, the human version of Hu Rui was quite plain, nowhere near as beautiful as the actress.

I mentioned in the group that I had inadvertently revealed the secret of Bai Juan’s *Kuman Thong* to Hu Rui, and that her reaction had been strange.

Wang Xinyue quickly replied, [Of course it was strange! Hu Rui is harboring a fox immortal in her own home; she was feeling guilty!]

Yu'er: [Harboring a fox immortal?]

Wang Xinyue: [Yes, she only started a few days ago. She invited the fox immortal from someone else’s altar, had it consecrated and offered incense, and now she’s lost her mind bringing that thing home!]

Yu'er: [Why would she want to harbor something like that?]

Wang Xinyue: [Why did Bai Juan keep a *Kuman Thong*? It’s always for profit. Hu Rui is quite plain-looking; of course, she did it to become beautiful! Before they were reincarnated, Hu Rui and Bai Juan were in the same pack.]

I sighed, realizing that among the three of us who grew up together, I was the only outsider.

That night, I was home alone. In the middle of the night, a subtle, abrupt sound jolted me awake. The bedroom door handle was quietly turned, and the door was pushed open.

My heart began to race, beating so hard I thought it would burst. I forced myself to remain calm, opening my eyes just a sliver to peek at who had entered. Yet, I saw nothing; the room was empty.

Just then, I heard a light footstep. The "person" was already at my bedside. Instinctively, I closed my eyes tightly, my heart pounding so loudly I felt I could hear my own blood rushing. A strange aura brushed over me—a faint, musty smell like that of a distant mountain forest. It carried an inexplicable magic that made my ears ring, my thoughts became muddled, and my body felt as if it were pinned down by a thousand-pound stone, causing me to lose consciousness.

The next day, I woke from a dream, and my face began to itch intensely. I looked in the mirror and saw that my cheeks were covered in shocking red rashes. As I lifted my arm, a wave of fox odor hit me, pungent enough to choke me—and I had never suffered from body odor in my life!

Anxious, I immediately contacted Zhong Yang. She had just woken up; before I could speak, she stared in astonishment. "Good heavens, what a strong fox stench! Xiao Qian, what happened to you?"

I recounted last night’s events. Zhong Yang’s eyes glowed with a greenish light as she focused. "Oh no, someone has planted many corpse worms on your face. No wonder you have such strange rashes—your primordial face has been stolen again."

"Who did this?"

Zhong Yang slowly closed her eyes, sensing for a long time before opening them in shock. "It’s Xiao Wei again. She returned from the Kunlun Mountains. The fox aura and the corpse worms are her doing, an act of revenge."

I suddenly remembered the historical rumor that Yang Yuhuan suffered from body odor. It seemed that Xiao Wei, out of jealousy, had secretly cast that fox aura upon Yang Yuhuan in the past.

Zhong Yang waved her jade gourd, and a gentle green light swept over me. The corpse worms and the lingering fox aura were instantly sucked into the gourd and vanished. However, only Teacher Xing could truly resolve the matter of Xiao Wei.

I contacted Teacher Xing for help. On the video call, he looked extremely weary. "How many times do I have to retrieve your face? Your face is just too prone to trouble. I sent that fox spirit Xiao Wei to the Kunlun Mountains, and she traveled thousands of miles just to steal your face again."

Despite his words, his eyes narrowed. With a thought and a flick of his hand, he reached into thin air, and the fox spirit Xiao Wei, wearing my primordial face, was gripped by the throat. He placed his palm over her face, and amidst her desperate screams, a thin layer of skin peeled away and landed in his palm.

Teacher Xing looked at the thin layer of skin with bewilderment, wondering what it was about it that made so many women fight for it.

He reattached my primordial face. The fox spirit Xiao Wei huddled on the floor of the dojo, her eyes vacant, muttering, "I am the most beautiful woman in the world, I am Yang Yuhuan..."

Teacher Xing’s gaze was as sharp as a hawk’s, his tone cold and piercing. "Stop playing the fool. Did I not tell you last time that if you dare to trouble Xu Xiaoqian again, I will not only strip you of your cultivation but cast you into the Kunlun dungeon? Do you think I was just joking?"

The fox spirit Xiao Wei trembled. "No, please don't strip me of my cultivation. I practiced for a long time to become a spirit. I won't do it again, I really won't..."

No matter what she said, a powerful force erupted from Teacher Xing’s palm. Xiao Wei tried to turn and flee, but there was nowhere to run. A powerful golden light enveloped and restrained her. Soon, she could no longer maintain her human form. With a sound like a balloon popping, she reverted into a small brown fox.

***

The small fox, now back in its original form, had tears in its eyes, yet it still could not escape the imprisonment of the Kunlun Mountains.

The matter of the fox spirit Xiao Wei was resolved, but the aftereffects remained. My appetite became ravenous, and I gained three pounds in just a few days. Although the rashes from the corpse worms had healed, a faint, deep red mark appeared on my cheek that would not fade, and my skin felt incredibly dry.

I later realized this red mark was unusual and asked Wang Xinyue to sense it.

Wang Xinyue closed her eyes and saw a brown fox landing gracefully on her songwriting desk. She suddenly shouted, "Fu Qin!"

Fu Qin’s reincarnation in the human world was Wang Xinyue’s former girlfriend, Wang Jing. The red mark on my face had been placed there by her.

Wang Xinyue questioned, "Fu Qin, why did you use black magic on Xu Xiaoqian’s face?"

Fu Qin raised her head and said, "She caused my sister Xiao Wei to be locked up in the Kunlun dungeon! I want to avenge my sister!" Xiao Wei was actually Fu Qin’s biological sister.

Wang Xinyue: "You are not allowed to touch Xu Xiaoqian!"

Fu Qin: "I am just avenging my sister; she is my own blood sister."

Wang Xinyue: "Then what am I to you?"

Fu Qin: "Why should I care about you?"

Wang Xinyue: "You ruined my life in this reincarnation so miserably; I have been so wronged."

Fu Qin: "I am a primordial spirit; the primordial spirit does not care about the affairs of this life."

Wang Xinyue: "Don't forget, your human reincarnation, Wang Jing, owes me over 100,000 yuan. Since your primordial spirit is coming to me, I can also go after your human self for the debt. Let’s just cause each other pain."

Fu Qin panicked. "You... when will this cycle of vengeance end?" She brought up many old memories, but Wang Xinyue remained unmoved, determined to make Fu Qin’s human reincarnation repay the debt.

After a while, Fu Qin conceded. "Fine, I won't interfere anymore. But my grandmother will not let Xu Xiaoqian go."

Wang Xinyue asked, "Who is your grandmother?"

Fu Qin: "The fox immortal that Hu Rui is worshiping is our primordial spirit’s grandmother. My grandmother already knows that Xiao Wei was stripped of her form and imprisoned in Kunlun; she is coming for revenge against Xu Xiaoqian."

My ravenous appetite over the past few days was because Xiao Wei’s grandmother had been meddling with my body. She had even planted a "thread" on my cheek, the other end tied to Hu Rui’s face. Xiao Wei’s grandmother knew that if she attempted a direct face-swapping ritual, I would notice immediately, so she used this subtle, gradual method to slowly transform my features without detection. The reason my skin had become so dry was that she was draining its moisture.

In the end, I had to rely on Teacher Xing again. He captured the fox immortal grandmother that Hu Rui was worshiping and threw her into the Kunlun dungeon to keep her granddaughter, Xiao Wei, company.