Chapter 1 That Thing Needs You Too

"That vixen hasn't been seen since she went back to the temple to serve the Fox Immortal, right?" I stated Little Fox's conjecture directly.

"Yes, never seen her again. Could it be?"

Little Fox didn't dare to continue, so I could only finish for it: "Don't doubt it. All foxes who complete their tasks have the same ending. They never reappear after returning to report, because that thing in the temple needs more than just what you bring back; it needs you."

"Then, that fox auntie, was, was she eaten by the immortal in the temple?" Little Fox asked tremulously.

I said, "Pretty much. Although I don't know how that thing in the temple digests you poor foxes, it definitely digests you, skin, bones, and soul, all together. So, you don't need to think about that fox auntie anymore. She won't leave any trace of herself in this world."

Little Fox's tears fell. It said that its mother had died in a trap when it was very young, and it had grown up with that fox auntie. Although the fox auntie wasn't its mother, she was closer than its own mother. Now, not only had she died, but she couldn't even be reincarnated. It was truly pitiful.

I didn't have time to listen to Little Fox's lamentations. I told the landlord that his wife and children were fine and that he should go back to whatever he was doing. As for this Little Fox, he should keep it at his house for two days and then release it.

Then I left the landlord's house and took the No-Face Woman to a slightly more open area in the urban village. I inserted incense sticks in several directions, set up a simple magic circle to temporarily suppress the foxes' magic in this village, preventing them from harming people so easily. Then, I sent the No-Face Woman back to my shop for Jasmine to take good care of her. After that, I went alone up the mountain to find the temple that Little Fox had mentioned.

Little Fox wasn't white; it was the most common yellow. Its fox aunt should also be a yellow fox, not the white fox that Miss Ba had mentioned.

A white fox is qualified to have a feud with Miss Ba, so its cultivation years should be quite long. It wouldn't be so easy to deal with. This time, going into the mountain, I had to prepare for a fight.

The location of the ancient temple wasn't easy to find. I followed the location that Little Fox had described and wandered around that mountain forest several times. Not only did I not find the ancient temple, I didn't even see a single fox.

This place was very suitable for foxes to live in, and it was already deep in the mountains. There were few traces of human activity, and the hunting traps were all from many years ago. I even found several fox dens.

There should have been many foxes here, but now I couldn't see a single one. Why? Because the foxes had been bewitched to work for the immortal.

Foxes are good at bewitching. Many people have heard stories of people being bewitched by foxes. In fact, foxes can also be bewitched. Except for those who have cultivated their Dao, ordinary foxes don't have a firm mind at all. And for foxes with Dao, bewitching foxes is easier than bewitching people. After all, the same kind understands the same kind better.

Since I hadn't made a mistake in the location, the temple that Little Fox mentioned should be nearby, but how could I see that dilapidated temple?

According to Little Fox, although they had lived in this area for several generations, they had only discovered the dilapidated temple after hearing the chanting sounds. Before the chanting sounds appeared, they had never even heard of the temple.

The chanting sounds should be specifically for foxes. I'm not a fox, so I can't hear the sounds that Little Fox mentioned. Then, how could I find that ancient temple?

Wandering around blindly like this definitely wouldn't work. Since I knew that the temple was nearby, I had to use some technical means.

I took out two yellow papers from my backpack, snipped them into the shape of a fox with a few snips of the scissors, and drew some complex talisman on the paper foxes. Then, I burned the paper foxes directly.

Then, I sat down cross-legged on the spot, focused my mind, and tried to hide my aura as much as possible.

Slowly, I felt that I was no longer myself, but a little fox, running happily in the mountains, seemingly wanting to find a pheasant or a hare, or to find out if there were any little female foxes of similar age nearby.

I was so happy, so carefree, curious about everything, interested in everything, and had no vigilance against anything.

I saw a fox den not far ahead. I walked towards the fox den with light steps, wanting to see if there were any warm and hospitable little foxes inside.

But the result disappointed me. There wasn't a single fox in the den. I left in disappointment and soon found a rabbit lying in the grass. So, I tiptoed and prepared to catch the rabbit, but unfortunately, my luck wasn't good today. The rabbit quickly ran away and went straight into the hole.

With a little emotion, I continued to stroll in the mountains, trying to find something that could make me happy.

Just when I saw a pheasant and wanted to ambush it, my feet suddenly couldn't move. Strange sounds appeared in my ears, as if something was calling, and as if something was laughing, vaguely, the sound in my ears was very strange.

Because I didn't know what this sound was, I pricked up my ears and listened carefully. I felt as if it was a little familiar, so I listened even more carefully. In order to hear more clearly, I couldn't help but stretch my head in that direction, then stood up and slowly walked in that direction.

I was wide awake; I could see the road under my feet, but I couldn't see it clearly. I seemed to be walking in a void, my whole body floating in the clouds. Now, there was only that sound in my head.

Although I used the Paper Doll Technique to disguise myself as a fox, I wasn't a fox after all. The chanting sound that Little Fox heard didn't sound auspicious to me at all; it was even very terrifying.

But even if I thought the sound was terrifying, even if I knew that the sound was mixed with too much pain and struggle, I still couldn't get rid of the control of this sound.

Now, I had two choices: either continue to disguise myself as a fox and continue to be controlled by this sound, or immediately withdraw my spiritual consciousness and use the memory from the time I disguised myself as a fox to find the possible location of the temple.

The first option was definitely dangerous. I didn't bring my physical body, only a strand of spiritual consciousness followed the paper fox. Many of the Dao techniques on my body couldn't be used, and weapons and talismans couldn't be brought over either. Although my physical body was protected by a protective magic circle, and my mind was hidden, so that ordinary things couldn't detect my existence, my spiritual consciousness was still very dangerous without the protection of my physical body.