Another Tale of the Scholar and the White Fox

What happened next?

Lu Changsheng asked curiously.

"Later?"

The alluring woman listened for a moment, then smiled and said...

"Later, the fox fur was given to the princess, but the emperor broke his promise and did not make the Scholar emperor. In a fit of rage, the Scholar killed the princess. The emperor was furious and ordered him to be executed by slow slicing, but he escaped and wandered the world alone, and became insane."

"Hehehehe! Hahahaha, do you think this story is funny?"

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

"Amitabha, excellent, excellent!"

The old monk spoke again, shaking his head repeatedly.

The alluring woman turned to the old monk and asked, "Monk, let me ask you, if you encountered this situation, how would you handle it?"

She asked the question.

The old monk pondered for a moment, then said, "When will the cycle of revenge end? Everything is a matter of cause and effect, a karmic debt. The White Fox's fate was tragic, and the Scholar ended up impoverished for life. Since that's the case, let the cycle of cause and effect pass away with the wind."

He said this to persuade people to let go of their hatred and not to cling to it so bitterly.

But the alluring woman smiled.

"That's how you monks are. You always tell others to let go of their obsessions and attachments. After all, the knife isn't stuck in your body, so you naturally don't feel the pain."

After she finished speaking, she looked at the Bearded Man and said...

"And you?"

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

He was being unreasonable, so in the end, he stopped talking.

"Hehehe, the cause and effect of heaven and earth, in your eyes, are demons destined to die? All things have spirits, and everything that is born has a reason for being born. You Daoist priest, you have cultivated in vain."

She chuckled lightly, her eyes filled with sarcasm.

Then, she looked at Lu Changsheng and asked calmly, "What is your opinion on this matter, young master?"

Lu Changsheng stared at the campfire. Through the wooden mask, only a pair of crystal-clear eyes could be seen, but his face was not visible. Yet, even just a pair of eyes could make people lose their senses.

Throw a piece of firewood into the fire.

Lu Changsheng took a deep breath and then spoke slowly.

"Kill his entire family, destroy his country, and spare no one who is tainted by sin."

Eight words, a simple and straightforward answer.

This answer surprised everyone.

Even the alluring woman was surprised.

The main surprise came from Lu Changsheng's answer.

"What a sin, what a sin, benefactor! Why create more karmic debt by doing this?"

The old monk shook his head and repeatedly apologized.

But Lu Changsheng just smiled.

"Everything comes from a cause, and everything has an effect. Sow a cause, reap an effect. The Scholar sowed a cause for his own selfish desires, and the White Fox died at Scholar hands. But someone will always end it all."

"Even if you escape in this life, you will have to pay for it in the next. You have to pay back your debts and you have to pay for your life if you kill someone."

"Buddha is persistent in making people let go of everything, while Daoism is persistent in making people forget everything."

"Every cause has its effect. Why should we let it go? We will have to bear the consequences of our actions."

"This is cause and effect!"

Lu Changsheng said calmly.

Anyone can advise you to be magnanimous, but when it comes to your own situation, how many people will listen to your advice?

No one is perfect; revenge should be taken for revenge.

But just then, a hoarse voice slowly rang out.

"Gentlemen, would you be interested in hearing a story from me?"

The sound rang out, and for a moment everyone was curious before they realized that in the corner lay a beggar covered in filth.

The beggar sat up. He was very old, with disheveled hair that smelled bad, and his filthy clothes were stained with oil.

The crowd fell silent, wondering what story this beggar would tell next.

Leaning against the wall, the beggar's eyes were vacant. He spoke slowly, and his voice sounded very hoarse, perhaps because he hadn't drunk much water and his throat was dry.

"Many years ago, there was a Scholar who came from a family of Scholar, but due to the decline of his family, he understood very well that studying hard was the only way out."

He studied day and night, without regard to day or night, hoping to pass the imperial examination next year. But there is no such thing as hard work being rewarded by Heavenly Dao. Sometimes hard work does not necessarily bring results.

"For thirteen years, he stayed in his humble abode. Spring came and autumn went, and snow fell heavily. That year, he had failed the imperial examination for thirteen years and had become the laughing stock of the surrounding villages."

"But in that year, a White Fox wandered into his home, and at first sight, he fell in love with the White Fox, because no one liked to be with a poor Scholar like him."

"He took good care of the White Fox, giving White Fox everything good he could, because this White Fox was the only one who didn't despise him."

"Later, the White Fox recovered from her injuries and left. The Scholar was heartbroken for a long time. But soon, a woman came to his house, and the Scholar knew at a glance that it was the White Fox."

"He was not afraid, but joyful. He was very happy, and then the man and the fox fell in love. They spent the most beautiful three years together in a small, humble abode."

"Until one day, the White Fox sent the Scholar to take the imperial examination, because White Fox knew that the imperial examination was the Scholar's greatest wish, and she supported Scholar."

"In the end, the Scholar was persuaded by the White Fox. He went to take the imperial examination and became the top Number One Scholar. In an instant, he became the object of desire for countless forces."

"However, the Scholar always remembered that in his humble home, there was a White Fox waiting for the good news of his passing the imperial examination with top Number One Scholar."

"However, at this moment, the Scholar caught the eye of the princess of the court. The princess was willful and extremely selfish. The Scholar knew that if he rejected the princess's love, wealth and honor would be nothing, and according to the princess's personality, she would not let the White Fox go."

"So the Scholar stayed. He became the emperor's Imperial Son-in-Law, but he was never happy. Day and night he stood in the princess's mansion, gazing at the starry sky. He knew that there was someone who loved him and was waiting for him to return."

"But the Scholar understood even more clearly that this love violated the laws of nature, and he also knew that if he went back, it would only bring harm to the White Fox. He remained silent and melancholy."

"However, secrets don't stay hidden forever. When the princess found out about the White Fox, she was furious, but she didn't tell the Scholar. Instead, she conspired with the emperor to pretend to be sick and said that she needed the White Fox's Essence Blood to cure her."

"Because the princess knew that if Demon Race lacked its Essence Blood, it would not live more than three years, so she ordered the people of the world to search for the white White Fox, in order to capture White Fox."

"The Scholar was unaware of all this. He was just afraid that someone would find the White Fox and harm White Fox for their own selfish desires. So the Scholar volunteered to lead the troops back to my humble abode."

"Three years have passed since we parted! The White Fox is still the same White Fox. The Scholar and the White Fox looked at each other. In that one look, the Scholar understood that the White Fox loved him deeply. However, the White Fox also understood that the Scholar had never forgotten her in these three years."

"The White Fox understood everything about the Scholar, so she gave her own Essence Blood in the hope that the Scholar could live a better life."

"She understood that she was a demon! The Scholar was a human, and a love between a human and a demon had always been against the laws of nature."

"The White Fox chose to let go of everything, but the Scholar did not understand the White Fox. In order to make the White Fox give up, he asked the White Fox to hand over its Essence Blood. He did not know how much harm this would cause to the White Fox."

"He just wanted to sever all feelings with ruthlessness."

"The White Fox retrieved the Essence Blood, and the Scholar resolutely left. But after that day of parting, no one knew that the Scholar cried silently all night."

"But after the White Fox blood was extracted, the princess told the Scholar everything. That day, the Scholar was furious and left the princess's residence."

"The princess was even more furious. She directly ordered people to hunt down the White Fox, and even had a sorcerer disguise himself as Scholar to kill the White Fox and skin it alive."

"And so, when the blood-stained White Fox fur appeared before 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 my humble abode."

"In the messy, humble dwelling, the Scholar found an envelope that had been burned to the point of being only half intact."

"Do you know what's written inside the envelope?"

The beggar paused for a moment after saying this.

Inside the Mountain God Temple, everyone fell silent.