A White Fox Came to Steal a Book

Chapter 29: A White Fox Came to Steal a Book

A thief?

Zi Bofeng pretended to be asleep, but slipped one hand beneath his pillow, where he kept a sharpened chisel with a triangular, razor-sharp edge.

The next second, Zi Bofeng froze. What squeezed in through the window wasn't a person, but a small creature covered in snow-white fur.

It was the White Fox—the one the village brats had once chased all over the place.

These past few days, while Zi Bofeng was teaching beside Blue Rock, he often saw the White Fox lying in the grass by the stream. The village brats had chased it a few times, but couldn't catch it, so they eventually gave up. Yan Lao Wu and the others had set traps several times, but not one had been triggered. After several rounds of wits and daring, they'd come away empty-handed. Even Yan Lao Wu had been forced to shake his head and sigh, saying he'd seen plenty of cunning foxes, but never one this cunning.

Yet now the fox stood right in front of Zi Bofeng. What surprised him most was that it was actually holding a book in its mouth.

It was one of the picture books Zi Bofeng had written, illustrated, and bound to teach Little Stone and the others.

Hounds and foxes were natural enemies. The moment Little Fox came in, Xitui leaped out of the box, lowered its body, and let out a low growl.

The White Fox looked small and slight, nowhere near as tall or long-legged as Xitui, but it wasn't afraid in the least. It stepped forward and charged straight at Xitui. Just as Xitui rushed to meet it, the fox swerved and slipped beneath Xitui, making a beeline for the wooden box.

"Don't!" Zi Bofeng cried out. The White Fox leaped onto the box and glanced down at the eight puppies sleeping soundly inside. Then it turned and gave a soft, delicate yip. As if it understood what the fox meant, Xitui stopped, though it continued to growl a warning.

The fox sprang onto Zi Bofeng's desk, let the picture book drop from its mouth, then picked up another one and looked back at him.

Xitui hurried back into the box, no longer daring to leave its puppies. Its eyes stayed fixed on the White Fox.

"Fine, take it. Just don't steal next time. I'll lend it to you," Zi Bofeng said.

These past few days, while teaching, he'd been silently circulating the first art of the Monster Raising Art, Unity Transformation. It wasn't as effective for Uncle Blue Rock as writing directly on the stone, but it had one advantage: speaking was faster than writing, so the difference wasn't great.

For the White Fox, which always secretly came to listen to Zi Bofeng's lessons, it was a form of preaching. His Monster Raising Art had nourished it too, and helped awaken its intelligence.

Zi Bofeng had wondered whether the White Fox might become a monster, but he'd never imagined it would be able to read picture books.

The White Fox raised its front paws in a little bow, gripped the book in its mouth, and turned to leap off the desk.

In the blink of an eye, Xitui sprang out of the box and snapped at the White Fox's back.

The White Fox yelped and rolled beneath Zi Bofeng's bed. The space under the bed was piled with odds and ends, and now it was trapped in a dead end. Xitui seemed to have planned this all along. It shifted its paws, crouched low, and blocked the way out. The White Fox tried several times to dash past, but Xitui drove it back each time.

Xitui was pretty cunning too! And it knew Sunzi's Art of War well. It had clearly been pretending to be weak just now, only to catch the fox in the jar.

"Don't fight!" Zi Bofeng hurriedly got out of bed, grabbed Xitui, and pulled it back to the wooden box. Then he called to the White Fox beneath the bed, which still refused to let go of the book in its mouth, "Go on. Next time, remember to knock."

Xitui struggled, letting out two resentful whines. It had just been threatened with its own puppies, and it was furious. But Zi Bofeng wouldn't let go, so all it could do was growl threateningly. The White Fox yipped back a few times, then turned, leaped through the window, and ran off.

"Okay, okay, don't be angry." Zi Bofeng stroked Xitui's back until it finally calmed down. Worried that some large beast might show up, he went out to check. The front gate was firmly shut, and it was quiet all around. The little fox was already gone. When he reached the east wing, he heard his father snoring like thunder in the next room. Even all the commotion hadn't woken him. Zi Bofeng wondered how much he'd drunk.

He pushed the door open and took a look. His father reeked of alcohol, and the empty bowl beside the bed showed he'd drunk it all. Zi Bofeng nudged him, but his father only grunted twice, rolled over, and went back to snoring. Helpless, Zi Bofeng poured him some water, wet a towel, and wiped his face before returning to his own room.

Inside, Xitui was still keeping watch as if facing a great enemy. When it saw Zi Bofeng come in, it gave him a couple of aggrieved whines.

"Okay, okay, don't be angry." Zi Bofeng went over and soothed it again, rubbing its ears. Xitui ignored him, lowered itself around the puppies, and closed its eyes.

"Fine, Uncle Zhuzi hates me, and now you hate me too." Zi Bofeng shrugged helplessly. He really didn't know what to do with this family.

Xitui opened one eye and whined a few times, seemingly scolding him again. Then it closed its eyes, licked one restless puppy back beneath its body, and shot Zi Bofeng another look before shutting its eyes once more.

"Women..." With a temper like that, it hardly seemed like a dog. It was just like a capricious little girl. "You're already a mother, and you're still acting like this."

Xitui whined as if protesting: Just because I'm a mother, does that mean I can't be capricious?

Zi Bofeng went over to the desk and looked through the picture book the fox had stolen.

The book was bound with coarse straw paper, and there were two faint bite marks, one at the front and one at the back. Seeing them reminded Zi Bofeng that he'd noticed similar marks on other books before. He'd assumed the village brats weren't taking care of the books and had even scolded them for it.

The title on this picture book read Legend of the White Snake IV. Zi Bofeng had drawn it based on the Legend of the White Snake from his previous life. Looking closely, he saw that the other books with bite marks were Legend of the White Snake II and III. Legend of the White Snake I had been borrowed and not returned yet, while Legend of the White Snake V was the one the little White Fox had taken.

So this little thing really was borrowing books, and it hadn't mixed up the order at all. It had clearly learned to read.

They said foxes were full of spiritual insight and easily became spirits. In the tales of monsters in books, eight out of ten were fox spirits. Now Zi Bofeng had seen it for himself.

As the saying went, "You can plant flowers with all your heart, yet they refuse to bloom; you casually stick a willow branch in the ground, and it takes root." Abacus Lord, on whom Zi Bofeng had painstakingly written the abacus口诀 every day, was still at the first stage of monsterhood, Ink Trace Stage. Nudge him, and he moved; leave him alone, and he didn't. Even when he occasionally did something out of the ordinary, it felt like a mere "stimulus response," much like a single-celled organism, reacting passively to the outside world.

Zi Bofeng understood now. For things born without spiritual roots, however much you put in would simply dissipate. Even if you put in a hundred or a thousand times the effort, it might not be enough to get them past that first hurdle, Ink Trace Stage, and gather even a little spiritual nature within them.

Uncle Blue Rock had been raised through ten years of Zi Bofeng writing on him with complete focus, day after day. Ten years to raise one monster—so even if it lived a hundred years, Zi Bofeng could raise only ten monsters like Uncle Blue Rock. The efficiency was pitifully low. And how could there be anyone else in this world who, like Zi Bofeng, would spend ten years practicing his calligraphy on a blue rock?

Living creatures, however, didn't have that problem. They could be said to be born at the early phase of the second stage of monsterhood, Enlightening the Stubborn Stone. Zi Bofeng's Monster Raising Art was still at its first stage, Unity Transformation. It worked remarkably well on inanimate things without life, such as stone statues, paper, and abacuses. But for living creatures at the second stage, Enlightening the Stubborn Stone, it could only serve as a supplement to their spiritual energy and nature; its other effects were negligible. That was why he could command stone statues to seize Si Gou and order the Galloping Horse Stone to race dozens of miles, yet couldn't persuade Xitui not to be angry with him.

Still, Unity Transformation was a remarkable technique within the Monster Raising Art. Compared with the second stage, Yin-Yang Genesis, it was like a penny compared to a tael of silver. Save up enough pennies, and you could still exchange them for a tael of silver. With enough time, Unity Transformation could benefit even higher-level monsters, just as it had helped Uncle Blue Rock.

Zi Bofeng crouched down again and stroked Xitui's back, coaxing it with "good girl" and "good puppy" for a long while. At last, Xitui gently licked the back of his hand. That meant it had forgiven him.

"That's a good girl. I'll work hard on the Monster Raising Art and turn you into a monster too. Then you can transform into a stunning beauty and go seduce Uncle Zhuzi. Heh heh..." Zi Bofeng looked down at Xitui. Though it was so thin its bones showed, it had a long, slender body and a well-proportioned face. By human standards, it was a pretty dog. If such a pretty dog became a monster, it would surely be a pretty dog spirit. Then she could charm Uncle Zhuzi until he was completely besotted, only to tell him in the end that the one he loved was actually his own dog—and a dog that had given birth to eight puppies, no less...

Thinking about it, Zi Bofeng suddenly felt he was far too despicable and wicked. He hurriedly shook his head to get rid of the thought. Xitui shook its head too, then lay back down, resting its head on its front paws and staring into space, lost in thought.

"Good girl, go to sleep. Tomorrow we'll find a few more pieces of jade, and then you'll have plenty of good food and drink." Zi Bofeng patted Xitui again. He liked dogs very much, and back when Lower Yan Village had flourished, the jade workers had treasured their Jade-Seeking Dogs, feeding them well. It was only now, when people couldn't even afford to eat, that these creatures who'd rendered such outstanding service to Lower Yan Village were suffering.

Early the next morning, Zi Bofeng heard a commotion outside, then Zhuzi knocked on the door. "Big brother, big brother, are you up?"

"I'm up!" Zi Jian went to open the door. Xitui, who'd been lying in the wooden box, darted out too, racing straight outside.

"Humph, what an ungrateful wretch!" Zi Bofeng grumbled inwardly. After all the times I used the Monster Raising Art on you.

He went over to the wooden box and saw the eight puppies huddled together, sleeping soundly. His heart softened again.

As soon as Zi Jian opened the door, Xitui rushed out, excitedly panting and circling around Zhuzi's legs. Zhuzi crouched down and vigorously rubbed its neck.

Zi Jian froze. Outside stood a crowd of at least thirty or fifty people, each holding a Jade-Seeking Dog so thin its skin clung to its bones. Every face was lit with excitement.

Record of Raising Monsters