People and Foxes

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Hu Qiuyan was at the Hong residence. Upon asking Uncle Wen, she learned that Li Xintian had gone out early in the morning with Hong Tianyun to take care of some matters. They hadn’t called for her, and now the little fox was in a terrible mood, wandering aimlessly through the streets.

As fate would have it, she ran straight into an old bald monk who, upon seeing her, immediately declared he would subdue the demon and slay evil, intending to capture her and imprison her in Yunxiang Temple.

“Brazen demon! How dare you wreak havoc and endanger the world of men? Now you even dare walk openly in broad daylight. Today I, Pudu, will make sure to take you in,” the monk Pudu said, his eyebrows and beard snowy white, his eyes bright and piercing as he fixed his gaze on Hu Qiuyan.

The moment the people in the street heard the word “demon,” they quickly scattered and hid.

“I’m in a foul mood right now—don’t bother me,” snapped Hu Qiuyan, who had been walking along lost in memories of her times with Li Xintian. Now, out of nowhere, this old bald monk Pudu had appeared, and she was furious.

She turned and strode off, not wanting to waste breath on the monk.

“Demon! Where do you think you’re going?” Pudu took the prayer beads from his neck, channeled his Buddhist power, and sent the beads spinning swiftly through the air toward Hu Qiuyan.

She turned, called forth her demonic energy into her feet, and kicked the prayer beads straight back at Pudu.

He caught them, Buddhist power swirling around his palms.

“You old bald monk! You dare attack me from behind? How despicable!” Hu Qiuyan glared at Pudu in rage.

“What’s the point of reasoning with the likes of you demons?” said Pudu, his voice brimming with righteous indignation. “I will rid the world of your kind!”

“Enough! Every other word from your mouth is ‘demon, demon.’ I have never harmed anyone! Do you think you can do as you please just because you’re a so-called enlightened monk?” Hu Qiuyan shouted back furiously.

Pudu wasted no more words. He wielded his Buddhist powers, and the prayer beads transformed into a streak of light that shot toward her.

Hu Qiuyan leaped nimbly into the air, the beads missing her and returning to Pudu’s hand.

Seeing how powerful Pudu’s beads were, Hu Qiuyan dared not linger and fled in the direction of the Hong residence.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Pudu, seeing the beads were ineffective, produced a golden alms bowl, tossing it at her and infusing it with Buddhist energy.

The golden bowl appeared above Hu Qiuyan, bathing her in its holy light, immobilizing her without causing harm.

“You old bald monk! Let me go!” Hu Qiuyan resisted the Buddhist force with her own demonic energy, shouting at Pudu.

“Demon, today I will capture you. I won’t let you bring further harm to the world. Surrender now and save your strength. No demon has ever escaped my golden bowl. Show your true form!” With that, Pudu intensified his power.

The golden bowl blazed with light, suppressing Hu Qiuyan’s demonic energy.

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“Aaah!” Bathed in the golden light, pain seared through Hu Qiuyan’s body. Gritting her teeth, she cried out, “Xintian, why aren’t you here to save me?”

The golden light forced her to drop her human guise, revealing her true form—a white fox.

“Ah, so you have accomplices! I’ll round you all up!” Pudu, hearing her cry, assumed she had called to her fellow demons.

Just then, a jacket was draped over Hu Qiuyan’s body. The golden light instantly vanished, the bowl returning to Pudu’s hand.

“Xintian, you’re finally here! I was in agony,” Hu Qiuyan, her whole body flushed red, threw herself into Li Xintian’s arms.

“It’s all right now. Didn’t I tell you to wear my jacket when you go out where there are people?” Li Xintian scolded gently, producing his Righteous Brush. He wrote the character for ‘dispel’ in the air, plucked it, and pressed it into Hu Qiuyan’s body.

Her flushed skin faded, returning to a healthy white.

Hu Qiuyan knew then that Li Xintian truly cared for her, and clung to him closely.

“Amitabha. Sir, you are a man, yet she is a demon—why do you prevent me, Pudu, from subduing her?” Pudu could perceive nothing unusual about Li Xintian—he was no royal or noble, and yet an ordinary jacket had severed the golden bowl’s hold. Now, even Hu Qiuyan appeared entirely human to him.

“Who are you to obstruct a monk from eradicating demons?”

“Yes! Demons like these bring harm to people, and she’s a fox spirit as well!”

“Hurry and leave, or don’t blame us for what happens!”

A crowd had gathered, some cursing, others urging Li Xintian not to get involved.

“I’ll deal with you later,” Li Xintian murmured to Hu Qiuyan, ignoring the others and casting her a glance.

Hu Qiuyan realized her identity was now exposed.

“Master Pudu, greetings. She is with me—she has never harmed anyone. We only arrived here yesterday. If there’s any harm, it’s caused by other demons. Allow me to advise you, Master: not all demons are evil. Do not blindly kill without cause. I do not oppose the destruction of demons and evil spirits,” Li Xintian said, having discerned that Pudu was a virtuous monk from Yunxiang Temple.

Hu Qiuyan was overjoyed. By speaking so, Li Xintian acknowledged her as his, not merely a fox demon.

“Sir, as long as she is a demon, I cannot stand idly by. Please step aside, lest you come to harm,” Pudu replied, hands pressed together in a Buddhist salute.

“Xintian!” Hu Qiuyan grew nervous, wanting him to step aside; she was no match for Pudu.

“Master Pudu, it seems you have not listened to a word I said. If you wish to harm her, then come at me—unless you step over my dead body, I will not let you lay a finger on her!” Li Xintian reassured Hu Qiuyan with a glance.

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“Sir, since you are so obstinate, then forgive me for offending you!” Pudu, now eager to test Li Xintian’s true strength, prepared to act.

The crowd scattered in panic.

Pudu summoned his Buddhist power, his prayer beads glimmering gold as they shot toward Li Xintian like a stream of light.

Li Xintian pulled Hu Qiuyan back, wielding his Righteous Brush, its tip gathering pure, righteous energy to block the beads.

“Righteous energy!” Pudu exclaimed, recalling his beads, eyes wide with shock.

“My apologies, sir. Since she is yours, take care.” Pudu realized he could not contend with someone wielding such righteous power. No wonder his control had been severed earlier. With Li Xintian protecting Hu Qiuyan, it was impossible to capture her.

“Master Pudu, wait! You capture demons indiscriminately, blind to right and wrong. Do you really think that will make you a Buddha? Let me make it clear—such a path is impossible. Consider how many innocent demons you’ve destroyed!” Li Xintian sought to shatter Pudu’s spiritual resolve.

“Sir, I do not subdue demons merely to become a Buddha. There’s no need for mockery.” With that, Pudu departed.

“Come, let’s go home,” Li Xintian said, taking Hu Qiuyan’s hand and leading her away without a word of reproach.

At the Hong residence.

“Remember this in the future—never take off my jacket!” Li Xintian admonished Hu Qiuyan.

She acted as if she hadn’t heard, gazing intently at him.

“When you said I was yours, did you mean it?” she asked, looking up at him.

Without waiting for his answer, she stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his.

Li Xintian was caught completely off guard; his mind went blank—this was, after all, his first kiss since arriving in this world.

Her lips were soft and warm, the two pressed close together, human and fox intertwined.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Li Xintian, coming to his senses, pushed Hu Qiuyan away.