Before long, a fine drizzle began to fall from the sky.
When he arrived at the front hall, Li Chu was surprised to find that an early pilgrim was already prostrating there.
It had a slender body and snow-white fur. Lying there, it looked like a fluffy snowball. Its forepaws were pressed together beneath its head, its eyes tightly shut as though praying for something.
The one kneeling before the Three Pure Ancestors in the hall was actually a wild fox.
Li Chu did not disturb it.
Beasts possessed spirit too; they ought to be treated equally.
After a long while, the White Fox opened its eyes. Its large, gentle, shining eyes looked toward Li Chu, revealing a trace of gratitude.
Li Chu nodded to it.
Seeing that Li Chu did not mind its presence, the White Fox seemed to relax. It rose, reverently spread its two paws, then solemnly lowered itself and knocked its head against the ground.
Again and again, it performed three bows and nine kowtows.
Once it had finished worshiping, it gave Li Chu another deep look before turning to leave. Its thick tail trailed behind it, yet it moved with extraordinary agility. In just a few bounds, it vanished like a streak of white light.
Rain had fallen in the courtyard, making it somewhat muddy. Yet it passed through lightly, without getting even a speck of mud on its body.
Though Li Chu found it novel, he had witnessed quite a few strange and bizarre things lately, so he was not overly surprised.
At lunch, he mentioned it to Yu Qi'an.
"Wild Fox Worshiping at the Temple. It seems it is on the verge of taking human form and has come to seek the Three Pure Ancestors' blessing. We may see it every day from now on," Yu Qi'an said leisurely.
For demons, taking human form was the first great threshold on the path of cultivation. Without transforming, they would forever remain mountain spirits and wild monsters, trapped in the bodies of wild beasts and without Heaven's favor.
They had to endure the cleansing of Heavenly Tribulation and successfully take human form before they could conceal their Demonic Qi and assume human bodies.
Humans were the spiritual leaders of all things; cultivating in a human body brought many benefits.
"Is that all right?"
"If it dares come worship the Three Pure Ones, that means it is a righteous demon and has never committed any wicked act of harming people. Let it be. If it succeeds in taking human form one day and treats people kindly, that will be a good deed for us as well."
"It is far from easy for demons to take human form." Yu Qi'an sighed.
Some demons were born lacking spiritual intelligence, such as plants, trees, mountains, and stones that became spirits. It might take them several thousand years before they encountered an opportunity to transform.
The Fox Clan, however, was naturally spiritually aware and could take human form after a little over a hundred years.
But likewise, the danger they faced from Heavenly Tribulation increased greatly.
At least half of all demons died in the Heavenly Tribulation that came with taking human form.
Thus, the wilderness had never lacked demons that had lived for many years while still retaining their original bodies. They simply did not dare undergo the Thunder Tribulation. Yet if they did not transform, their cultivation would be obstructed, and they would likewise be unable to extend their lives.
Those who accepted Heavenly Tribulation would usually seek out certain avenues to improve their odds of success.
Worshiping Buddha in temples or gods in Daoist temples were ordinary methods. They might add a trace of good fortune, but they could not play a decisive role.
Some demons, in order to successfully take human form, would join immortal sects or follow great masters of divine powers.
Demons protected by a sect or powerful cultivator received much support when crossing Heavenly Tribulation, and their chances of success increased greatly.
As the saying went, with a great tree at your back, you could enjoy its shade.
Among the Twelve Immortal Sects, there was a Bestowal Sect that specifically recruited demons through the Ancient Inheritance of the bestowal method.
Demons bestowed by Qi Refiners had as high as an eighty percent chance of succeeding in their tribulations.
But the Bestowal Sect's terms were extremely harsh. Any demon wishing to receive bestowal had to sign a blood pact and serve as a slave in the sect for a hundred years after taking human form. Only after a century could it be free.
Most demons were born of Heaven and raised by Earth, fond of unfettered lives. Yet in order to survive Heavenly Tribulation, countless demons went to the Bestowal Sect to become slaves. This showed just how great the allure of taking human form was to demons.
The rain went on and on, and no one was likely to visit the Daoist temple—though, in truth, not many came even on sunny days.
So Yu Qi'an told Li Chu more about it.
With the scattered patter of rain as accompaniment, Li Chu listened with great interest.
"Every year, the Bestowal Sect sends demons to Zhao Ge City as tribute for the imperial court's nobles, exchanging them for privileges unavailable to other immortal sects. That is why their power has grown larger and larger in recent years, why they have taken in more and more disciples, and why more and more demons have come to join them. They are flourishing day by day." Yu Qi'an gazed into the distance, stroking his beard as he said with disdain, "No idea how their cultivation is, but they certainly know how to do business."
"Send demons?" Li Chu tilted his head, puzzled.
"Heh heh." Yu Qi'an laughed. "What treasure have the great figures of Zhao Ge City not seen? But... they still cannot resist."
A gust of wind blew rain into the kitchen. It was cool and comfortable.
"Cat-eared girls, fox spirits, mermaids..." Yu Qi'an muttered. "Who could fail to be tempted?"
Li Chu blinked. "Cats, foxes, fish?"
"And Rabbit Girls, butterfly fairies. One trend after another—recently, it seems wings are in fashion. When I traveled there in my youth, femme fatales with serpent bodies were all the rage. In those years, which noble household in Chaoge did not keep a Snake Spirit? They would have been too embarrassed to leave home otherwise."
"Eugh—" Li Chu shook the rainwater from himself.
He had always thought keeping snakes as pets was rather perverse.
Yu Qi'an seemed to see what he was thinking and made a wave-like motion in the air with his arm.
"Not snakes—snakes that had transformed into human form. Their bodies were soft and slick, as though they had no bones, and their tongues stretched eight inches long." He explained, then added, "And forked, too."
At that moment, through the wind and rain of the backyard, Li Chu heard footsteps in the front courtyard and stood up.
Yu Qi'an had not heard the footsteps. He only realized someone had arrived when he saw his disciple rise.
But he did hear Li Chu mutter as he left, "A snake tongue is forked anyway, isn't it?"
The meaning was probably that there was nothing remarkable about that.
"A forked tongue inside a snake's mouth is nothing unusual, but after it takes human form, if it is still forked... ah."
Watching Li Chu's retreating back, Yu Qi'an sighed faintly.
His disciple was good in every way—respectful, filial, polite, and even looked like him.
It was just that something was a little strange with his head.
It had not been this serious when he was little. Yu Qi'an had thought it would improve when he grew older, but who knew it had only worsened these past two years.
Daoist Yu pondered, "Should I find him a marriage match?"
It was only across one courtyard, so Li Chu could not be bothered to take an umbrella. The stitching of his Daoist robe was tight and the cloth was stiff; by the time he reached the front hall, barely any droplets had landed on him, and a shake sent them all falling away.
Only the yellow earth paving the backyard had dirtied his shoes somewhat.
He lowered his head for a look, and the visiting pilgrim saw it too. Smiling, he said, "Later, I'll pay to have your backyard paved with blue bricks as well."
Li Chu raised his eyes to look at him and nodded.
The visitor sat on a prayer cushion, dressed in a dark brocade robe with a jade-inlaid belt patterned with clustered flowers and gold thread embroidered around the collar. He was not bad-looking either, with thick brows, large eyes, fair skin, and a rather heroic face.
This man was the Wang Family's Seventh Young Master of Yuhang Town, named Wang Longqi. He was also an old acquaintance of Li Chu's.
Among the local second generation rich, Wang Longqi was considered one of the kinder ones. Though unambitious, he was not unruly. With his family background and looks, he had always been quite popular with young ladies.
He had come to know Li Chu because of young ladies as well.
Thanks to Feng Weimian for the 200 reward.
Today's chapter ended up too long, so it was split into two chapters...
Before you continue