Chapter 3 Sister Fox

Chapter 3 Sister Fox

Chapter Summary: "It's me, sister-in-law! I'm Songsong!"

"Brother, congratulations!"

"Come on, come on! Let's drink!"

"Grandma Sun, if it weren't for your intervention today..."

At the corner of Qianyan Street in Qinghe County, in a two-story building facing south, bathed in the slanting sunlight of spring, a little fox crouched loosely at the dim stairwell, its ten fingers clumsily fiddling with the red silk hanging from the beam. With its ears perked up, it listened to the occasional clinking of glasses and laughter coming from below. Its thoughts had already followed the bursts of laughter and merriment, winding up the stairs and stopping outside the tightly closed door of the bridal chamber.

He had noticed at the street corner that Sister Fox had a faint, elegant scent of grass, much like the delicate fragrance emanating from the vast expanse of green grass stretching freely on the eastern slope of Jingyang Ridge after a spring rain.

What troubled him now was not the scent of grass on his sister, but the increasingly strong smell of blood mixed in with it.

The little fox's ears drooped and then perked up again, and it clenched and unclenched the red silk in its hands.

Another burst of laughter came from below the hall. No one was paying attention, so he darted up the stairs, slipped into a secluded corner, and before he could catch his breath, he quickly knocked on the door of the bridal chamber.

"Knock knock!"

"It's me, sister-in-law! I'm Songsong!"

There was a clanging and banging sound from inside the door, like someone hurriedly putting away bottles and jars.

Her ears twitched slightly, and before she could listen carefully, footsteps sounded from inside the door.

A short while later, with a creak, the fox sister's cautious eyes appeared as she pushed open a crack in the door. Recognizing the person who entered, a strange glint flashed in her eyes, her beautiful brows furrowed, and she spoke in a deep voice, "It's you?"

She opened the door a crack, glanced past Wu Song, and looked down at the noisy hall below, asking with a puzzled expression, "Why did Erlang come up here instead of drinking downstairs?"

"Just now at the street corner, I noticed that my sister-in-law seemed to have an injury on her wrist!"

Songsong braced himself against the door, glanced at her right hand hidden behind her back, and said uneasily, "Bandaging with one hand is always inconvenient. If you don't mind, sister-in-law, Songsong can help!"

Pan Yue's eyes suddenly hardened with wariness. She scrutinized him from head to toe for a long time until a sharp pain returned to her right wrist. She turned and opened the door, walking inside while saying in a low voice, "Don't call me sister-in-law!"

"good!"

The little fox's eyes lit up suddenly, and it nodded like a chick pecking at rice. It closed the door and quickly followed Pan Yue, saying, "My name is Songsong. What is your name, sister? How should I address Songsong?"

Loose?

Pan Yue paused slightly, a look of confusion flashing in her eyes.

Such a majestic and imposing Wu Erlang, yet he calls himself Songsong?

She glanced down at Wu Song, their eyes met, and she quickly looked away, sitting down on the couch. Looking up at the drifting clouds outside the window, she pondered for a moment and softly said, "Clouds. Pan Yun!"

"cloud?"

Songsong followed her gaze out the window, and upon seeing something, her bright, fox-like eyes immediately curved downwards. Without waiting for a greeting, she sat down next to Pan Yue, leaning her left shoulder against her, and said cheerfully, "Songsong will remember, Yunyun!"

"what you do?!"

Startled by his sudden approach, Pan Yue's expression changed abruptly. She stood up abruptly, facing Wu Song with her back against the windowsill, her eyes full of defensiveness.

Songsong, who was sitting in front of the couch, lost her balance. She supported herself on the couch with one hand and clutched her clothes with the other. She looked up at Pan Yue with a puzzled expression.

"Yunyun, you?"

Before he could finish speaking, a whiff of blood, carried by the spring breeze flowing in through the window, brushed past his nose. He glanced down and saw the crimson stain that had reappeared on her wrist as she leaned against the windowsill. Songsong's eyes flashed, and he rushed over with a furrowed brow.

"The wound has reopened?!"

Before Pan Yue could even see how he slipped off the bed and arrived in front of her, she came to her senses and her hand, which had been resting on the windowsill, was gently held by Song Qiao, who was breathing on it as if he were looking at her with heartache.

"what you do?!"

Upon seeing his suddenly protruding tongue, Pan Yue jerked her hand back as if burned, staring in disbelief at his still-protruding tongue, then at the wound on her wrist, her eyes wide with astonishment, and exclaimed, "You... what do you want to do?!"

"What are you doing?"

Songsong looked down at the empty space in front of her, her eyes filled with confusion. As she reached for Pan Yue's right hand, which she had hidden behind her back, she looked into her eyes and said matter-of-factly, "Yunyun's wrist is injured. Songsong will lick it for Yunyun!"

"Lick, lick, lick?!"

Whether startled by his serious tone or bewildered by the increasingly illogical scene before her, Pan Yue's eyes widened, and she felt as if every gust of wind brushing against her back was like kindling being added to a fire, scorching her with rage and pushing her to the brink of despair.

Without waiting for further explanation, she strode forward, grabbed Wu Song's loosely draped front, and dragged him toward the door while muttering curses under her breath: "What a tiger-slaying hero, a Water Margin hero... truly an eye-opener!"

"Yunyun? Yunyun!"

Startled by her sudden outburst of anger, Song Song staggered forward, his outstretched hands instinctively reaching out to hold hers, yet fearing further injury, his brow furrowed, his expression growing increasingly bewildered and innocent.

"Why is Yunyun angry? Yunyun?"

"go out!"

Before long, she reached the door. Ignoring his innocent face and the tears welling up in his eyes, Pan Yue opened the door with one hand and pushed him out with the other. Then she glared at him fiercely and slammed the door shut!

"cloud……"

Songsong gripped the door frame with one hand and reached out to the other person with the other.

"Bang!"

The large red "囍" character in the center of the door was only inches away from his nose, and dust and cobwebs cascaded down from the beams, instantly soaking him.

Song Song's hand, which was raised halfway in the air, paused. She stared blankly at the closed door right in front of her, her expression bewildered, and an innocent sense of grievance surfaced in her eyes.

Why did Yunyun suddenly get angry?

Why turn him out?

For the fox clan, exchanging names already signifies becoming close friends and relatives.

It's perfectly normal for foxes to stroke each other's fur and lick each other's wounds among friends and family. Why then did Yunyun react so violently?

Don't you want to be friends with him? Then why give your name?

Or perhaps she has stayed in the human world for too long and has forgotten the nature of the fox clan?

He slowly turned around, his back against the door, his spine sliding down the doorway until he collapsed to the ground. He hugged his knees, buried his head between them, his ears drooping, looking dejected.

After an unknown amount of time, the light slanting into the west window grew increasingly dim and yellow.

The revelry below gradually subsided, and the guests dispersed.

The snoring of Wu Dalang and his two or three guests, slightly drunk, drifted from below the hall.

The little fox's droopy ears twitched slightly. He looked up at the dusty hall below, then turned back to look at the still tightly closed door of the bridal chamber.

After racking his brains for a long time without success, the little fox hung his head and got up sheepishly.

Until he reached the window on the side of the corridor, he turned back for one last, deep look, then pushed open the window and leaped out into the evening breeze.

The world is chaotic and people's hearts are complicated; the human realm is the most boring place.

Even the fox spirits, having mingled in the human world for too long, have become too tainted by human affairs and have become complicated and difficult to understand!

Songsong, draped in the cool of the approaching night, muttered to herself as she walked through the long river at dusk, until she reached the village entrance where the stream murmured, and stood beneath a lush sycamore tree.

He leaned against the paulownia tree, gazing at the flowing water and the spirits, when suddenly he remembered something. He took out a pine mirror from his pocket, which was slightly warm, and stroked the ancient and intricate patterns on the mirror with his fingertips. He pouted and spoke in a pitiful tone.

"Grandma Song!"

As the moonlight swept across, a layer of crystal-clear, light green light suddenly appeared on the pine mirror.

It was as if the endless pine breeze began on the hillside, flowed across the bright Yang Valley, passed through the gentle Qing River, lingered by the shimmering water, and then softly blew on the little fox's disheveled sideburns from running.

"Songsong?"

Grandma Sun's voice was gentle and kind, just as it always was.

"Mother-in-law!"

Recognizing Granny Song's voice, Songsong felt even more aggrieved. Clutching the edge of her pine mirror, her ears drooping, she said sullenly, "Why won't Yunyun acknowledge me? Why won't she let me lick my wounds? Could it be that after being in the human world for so long, she'd rather be human than a fox?"

As if she had anticipated this question, Granny Song did not delve into the cause and effect, but simply chuckled and let the evening breeze sway the paulownia trees, ripple the river, brush past the roads and paths, and then casually blow towards the brightly lit distance.

Songsong subconsciously raised her head and could just make out the lights of Qinghe Town under the starry sky. In the evening breeze that brushed past her ears, she heard Grandma Song's soft voice again.

"Songsong, have you ever thought that there are hundreds of foxes and deer, thousands of plants and trees on Jingyang Ridge, and you have only been intelligent for twenty-five years? Songsong already feels lonely, but you, Sister Yunyun..."

"She has cultivated her intelligence for a thousand years, and she firmly believes that she is the only fox in the world who has achieved such a spiritual state... Songsong, if you were in her shoes, how would you feel if you were a lone fox gazing at the lights of thousands of homes below the mountain every day?"

Songsong's clear eyes reflected the vast expanse of light. She gripped the pine mirror slightly tighter, pondered for a moment, and murmured softly, "If it weren't for Jingyang Ridge, if it weren't for Granny... Songsong would probably have already risked coming to the human world when she first learned to transform."

"That's exactly right!"

"But this human world, though seemingly prosperous and peaceful on the surface, is actually..."

The sycamore trees overhead rustled in the breeze, reminiscent of the ancient pines of Jingyanggang in the past, where a fox and a pine tree enjoyed the sunset together.

“Songsong doesn’t know that most people are shallow. They believe in gods and Buddhas, but hate monsters. Whether they are actually human or demon, if they are identified as monsters, they will be banished and drowned at best, and at worst they will be skinned, dismembered, and have their hearts dug out. They will not stop until they are dead.”

The little fox shuddered, its ears perked up, and stared at the pine mirror with a horrified expression. "Grandma, Yunyun, she?"

“How could she dare to take such a risk,” Granny Song interrupted softly, “to reveal even the slightest bit of her fox-like nature in front of others?”

The wind rustles through the pines along the riverbank, the paulownia trees whisper in the breeze, and the ripples on the water recede into the distance.

After an unknown amount of time, Granny Song's rustling voice rang out again on the evening breeze: "Songsong, you two foxes are the only two foxes here who have cultivated into spirits. Instead of forcing her to admit her true form, Songsong, you should do your best to help her cover up her identity."

"Mother-in-law is right!"

A hint of annoyance flashed across Songsong's eyes. His soft fox tail swept away the fallen leaves under his feet. He lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then suddenly raised his head, his eyes bright, and said, "I once heard the doctors who went into the mountains to collect herbs mention that there is a kind of grass in the ravines to the west called 'Shengluo,' which has a miraculous effect on stopping bleeding and healing sores! Yunyun's wrist injury just won't heal... I'll go and collect some!"

"loose……"

Before her mother-in-law could respond, Songsong grabbed the pine mirror and ran off towards Jingyanggang.

When I returned to Qinghe, the sun had already risen.

Song Song put down the dandelion in his mouth, turned his head and licked his dew-covered lower back, tail and limbs. Just as he was hesitating whether to transform back into human form, a familiar scent of grass and leaves suddenly appeared in the breeze that brushed against his face.

Yes, that's right!

With a slight twitch of its nose, the fox's ears perked up, and its slender eyes, reflecting the shimmering spring sunshine, craned its neck to look upstream.

The water is clear, the grass is lush; the spring breeze caresses both banks, and people in light silk robes are enjoying the spring.

It really is true!

The clouds under the morning sun are even more beautiful than the most beautiful spring flowers on Jingyang Ridge!

Songsong raised its fluffy fox tail, stood up its fox ears, picked up a wild goose from the ground, and ran quickly upstream.

"...Look at that seductive look, not even wearing a jacket, who is she trying to seduce so early in the morning!"

"Who else could it be? Didn't you see yesterday? The moment she arrived, Wu Er didn't even recognize his own brother..."

As they approached upstream, Songsong subconsciously slowed down, only to discover that besides Yunyun, there were several other women washing rice and clothes on the bank upstream, but they were all several feet away from Yunyun.

They gathered in small groups, pointing and whispering, their expressions not very friendly.

"If she weren't so indecent, why would the head of the household's mother-in-law, who is so stingy, have provided a dowry for her to marry off?"

"I heard from the people in that mansion that she was the one who seduced that Mr. Qian..."

Foxes have a keen sense of hearing, far surpassing that of ordinary humans.

Listening to the whispers in the breeze, Songsong felt that she had run too fast on the way back, and her heart was pounding uncontrollably in her chest.

With a buzzing sound in her mind, before she could even discern the source of the burning anger in her chest, the little fox had already dashed to Pan Yue like an arrow released from a bow. It lowered its upper body, stared at the several hideous women not far away, bared its teeth, and barked wildly!

"Aww!!"

Hearing the barking of a dog, Pan Yue, who was washing clothes, instinctively turned around and saw a dirty little white fox that had appeared on the shore at some unknown time. She was stunned and her eyes followed his gaze to several women not far away.

Several women stood up, seemingly terrified by the uninvited little beast. Their faces paled, and they began to hurl insults at each other.

"Where did this beast come from?!"

"Like attracts like!"

A woman with a mean-looking face picked up a stone and threw it at the little fox with all her might.

"careful!"

Pan Yue's eyes flashed, and disregarding the wooden basin in her hands, she instinctively opened her arms and pounced forward, shielding the little fox of unknown origin that was protecting her in her arms.

"hiss!"

As she braced herself with her right hand, a sharp rock struck her back. Pan Yue instinctively gasped, then, clutching the dirty little fox, lay flat on the ground, baring her teeth.

"What...what is she doing?!"

"It wasn't me! You all saw it, she threw herself at me!"

"Never mind that! Let's go!"

"..."

Seeing her pale face and roll on the ground, the women pushed and shoved each other, picked up their wooden basins and buckets, and scattered in all directions.

The little fox, nestled in her arms, was equally alarmed by her trembling and baring teeth. It rested its chin on her chest, gently wagging its tail, too afraid to move.

"Were you scared?"

Pan Yue seemed oblivious to the harsh words spoken by the others. After the pain subsided, she looked down at the little fox on her chest, its eyes wide with shock, and burst out laughing.

"I'm fine! But you, look at the color of your chest, you were clearly a little white fox, where did you go rolling in the mud and turn into a little gray fox?"

She sat up by the scruff of the fox's neck, then held the little fox in one hand and gently rubbed its soft little head with the other, talking to herself.

"There are no woods nearby, how did we end up in a village... Could we be lost? Not knowing the way and daring to wander around like this, aren't we afraid of getting caught... Wealthy families in this dynasty love fox fur coats the most!"

Songsong leaned against her soft arms, letting her rub his head and touch his chin. He subconsciously tilted his head back, feeling that the spring breeze was really pleasant today. He was so comfortable that he was drowsy and didn't want to open his eyes.

When the word "lost" reached his ears, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Yunyun with a puzzled expression.

What does Yunyun mean by this?

Could it be...? He looked down at himself. Vines hung on his left side, the right side was covered in the fragrance of flowers, and his left foot had been cut by the careless vines in the ditch.

He really did turn into a dusty little gray fox! No wonder Yunyun didn't recognize him.

Songsong looked up shyly.

Just then, a gust of wind blew by, stirring the green willows on both banks and causing peach blossoms to fall like rain. The slanting spring sunshine surrounded the willows, creating shimmering patterns of varying shades that trembled in the wind.

A bright and beautiful face came into view, and the little fox in the morning light was stunned. In an instant, she felt her heart pounding like thunder.