Chapter 1 What Happened Afterwards?

Lu Changsheng asked curiously.

"Afterwards?"

The enchanting woman listened, then smiled.

"Afterwards, the fox pelt was given to the princess, but the emperor went back on his word and didn't let the scholar become emperor. In a fit of rage, the scholar killed the princess. The emperor was furious and wanted to execute him by slicing him to pieces, but he escaped and wandered the world alone, a raving lunatic."

"Hehehehehe! Hahahahaha, do you find this story funny?"

The enchanting woman laughed as she spoke, poking at the campfire, lost in thought.

"Amitabha, well done, well done!"

The old monk spoke again, shaking his head repeatedly.

The enchanting woman looked at the old monk and asked, "Monk, this humble one asks you, if you encountered this matter, how would you handle it?"

She asked.

The old monk pondered for a moment, then said, "An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. Everything is caused by karma and grievances. The white fox's fate was tragic, and the scholar ended up impoverished his entire life. Since that is the case, arising and passing away, let it go with the wind."

He spoke in this way, advising people to let go of hatred in their hearts and not to cling to it.

But the enchanting woman smiled.

"You monks are all like this, always telling others to let go of their attachments and obsessions, but after all, the knife isn't stuck in your body, so you naturally don't feel the pain."

After saying this, she looked at the burly man with the bushy beard.

"What about you?"

The burly man took a sip of wine, took a deep breath, and then said, "A demon is a demon, and the relationship between humans and demons is inherently a karmic entanglement. One dies, and the other loses everything. In the end, the bond is severed."

He was somewhat sophistical, so in the end, he didn't say anything.

"Hehehe, the karma of heaven and earth, in your eyes, are demons destined to die? All things have a spirit, and everything that is born has a reason for being born. You, a Taoist, have cultivated in vain."

She chuckled, her eyes filled with sarcasm.

Then, she looked at Lu Changsheng and asked indifferently, "How does this young master view this matter?"

Lu Changsheng stared at the campfire. Through the wooden mask, only a pair of clear eyes could be seen, but his appearance was hidden. Yet even just those eyes were enough to make people lose themselves.

He threw a piece of firewood into the fire.

Lu Changsheng took a deep breath, then slowly said.

"Kill his entire family, destroy his country, and don't let a single person who is tainted by sin escape."

Eight words, a simple and direct answer.

This answer surprised everyone.

Even the enchanting woman was taken aback.

The main reason was that Lu Changsheng's answer was unexpected.

"Sin, sin, benefactor, doing so would only create more grievances. What good would that do?"

The old monk shook his head, repeatedly chanting "sin."

But Lu Changsheng smiled.

"Everything comes from a cause, and everything has a result. Plant a cause, get a result. The scholar planted the cause for his own selfish desires, and the white fox died at the scholar's hands, but someone will always end it all."

"Even if he escapes in this life, he will have to repay it in the next. Owe a debt, pay the money; take a life, give a life."

"The Buddha stubbornly tells people to let go of everything, and the Tao stubbornly tells people to forget everything."

"But if there is a cause, there must be a result. Why should we let go? Bad fruit must be eaten by oneself."

"That is karma!"

Lu Changsheng said calmly.

Anyone can advise you to be generous, but when things happen to you, how many people can listen to advice?

People are not sages; repay hatred with hatred and grievances with grievances.

Just then, a hoarse voice slowly sounded.

"Everyone, are you interested in hearing a story from me?"

The voice sounded, and for a moment, everyone was curious, and then they realized that in the corner, there was still a beggar lying there, covered in dirt.

The beggar sat up. He was very old, his hair disheveled, emitting a foul odor, and his dirty clothes were covered in oil stains.

Everyone was silent, wondering what kind of story this beggar could tell.

Leaning against the wall, the beggar's eyes were dull. He slowly opened his mouth, perhaps because he hadn't had any water, his throat was dry, so his voice sounded very hoarse.

"Many years ago, there was a scholar. He was originally from a scholarly family, but because his family had fallen on hard times, he understood very well that studying hard was the only way out."

"He studied day and night, regardless of the time, only hoping to pass the imperial examination next year, but there was never any saying that hard work is always rewarded. Sometimes effort doesn't necessarily bring returns."

"For thirteen years, he stayed in his humble home for a full thirteen years. Spring passed and autumn came, and heavy snow fell. That year, he had failed the imperial examination for thirteen years and had become the laughingstock of the surrounding villages."

"But in that year, a white fox broke into his home. With just one glance, he fell in love with this white fox, because no one liked to stay with a poor scholar like him."

"He took care of the white fox with great care, giving it whatever good things he had, because this white fox was the only one who didn't dislike everything about him."

"Later, the white fox's injuries healed, and she left. The scholar was sad for a long time, but soon, a woman came to his home. The scholar knew at a glance that this was the white fox."

"He wasn't afraid, but joyful. He was very happy, and the two of them, one human and one fox, spent the best three years in a small, humble home."

"Until one day, the white fox told the scholar to participate in the imperial examination, because the white fox knew that the imperial examination was the scholar's greatest wish, and she supported the scholar."

"In the end, the scholar was persuaded by the white fox, and he went to participate in the imperial examination, and then he became the top scholar. In an instant, he became the object of contention for countless forces."

"However, the scholar always remembered that in his humble home, there was still a white fox waiting for the good news of his success."

"However, just at this time, the current princess took a fancy to the scholar. That princess was willful and extremely selfish. The scholar understood that if he rejected the princess's love, not only would he lose his wealth and status, but according to the princess's character, she wouldn't let the white fox go."

"So the scholar stayed. He became the imperial son-in-law, but he wasn't happy for a single day. He stood in the princess's mansion day and night, gazing at the starry sky. He knew that there was someone who loved him waiting for him to return."

"But the scholar understood even more that this relationship violated heavenly principles, and he also knew that if he went back, he would only bring harm to the white fox. He was silent and unhappy."

"However, there are no walls that don't let wind through. The princess found out about the white fox. She was furious, but she didn't tell the scholar. Instead, she colluded with the emperor and pretended to be sick, needing the white fox's essence blood to be cured."

"Because the princess knew that if a demon lost its essence blood, it wouldn't live for more than three years, so she ordered the world to search for the white fox, wanting to capture the white fox."

"The scholar didn't know all of this. He was just afraid that someone would find the white fox and harm her for their own selfish desires, so the scholar took the initiative to request to lead troops back to his humble home."

"Three years apart! The white fox was still the same white fox as before. The scholar and the white fox looked at each other. In that glance, the scholar understood that the white fox deeply loved him, but the white fox also understood that in these three years, the scholar had never forgotten her."

"The white fox understood everything about the scholar, so she took her own essence blood, hoping that the scholar could live a better life."

"She understood that she was a demon! The scholar was a human. The love between humans and demons had violated heavenly principles since ancient times."

"The white fox chose to let go of everything, but the scholar didn't understand the white fox. In order to make the white fox give up, he made the white fox hand over her essence blood. He didn't know how much harm this would cause to the white fox."

"He just wanted to use ruthlessness to cut off affection."

"The white fox took out her essence blood, and the scholar left resolutely, but after that day of parting, no one knew that this scholar cried silently for a night."

"But after the white fox's blood was taken out, the princess told the scholar everything. That day, the scholar was furious and left the princess's mansion."

"The princess was even more angry because of this. She directly ordered people to hunt down the white fox, and even had a sorcerer transform into the scholar's appearance and personally kill the white fox and skin her."

"Just like that, when the white fox pelt stained with blood appeared in front of the scholar."

"At that moment, the scholar was stunned."

"Finally, the scholar drew his sword and killed the princess."

"He left the imperial capital and came to his humble home."

"In the messy, humble home, the scholar found a letter that was burned, leaving only half of it."

"Do you know what was written in the letter?"

The beggar stopped talking here.

And in the mountain god temple, everyone was silent.