Fox Marriage Oath

As the saying went, spring snow was coldest when it melted. It was growing ever colder in the middle of the night. Even while moving about, the servants were nearly frozen stiff. When they spotted a Divine Shrine ahead, they immediately reported to the carriage, "Madam, Miss, there is a Divine Shrine ahead. Shall we rest there for a while? Linhua County is not far now, but the city gates have not opened yet. Even if we hurry there, we will only have to wait at the gates."

"Go see whether the shrine has an owner. If so, ask whether we may enter and rest." A woman's voice came from within the carriage. Though deliberately kept calm, it still stirred the steward's heart.

He hastily lowered his head, not daring even to glance at the jade hand lifting the carriage curtain. "Yes, Madam."

"Wait. Have Xingzhu ask." For some reason, the person inside suddenly changed her mind. Then a maid descended from the carriage. Though she was a maid and still quite young, her brows and eyes were picturesque. Especially her bright eyes, which carried an unprovoked hint of seduction. She had been granted the surname Hu by her mistress. She was Madam's chief maid, Hu Xingzhu.

The steward had only recently been promoted. Though he did not understand why the Madam of the Hu Family's second branch dared to keep such a beautiful maid—after all, most female masters disliked such beauty around them—he was a servant, and not as close to Madam as she was. He did not dare reveal the slightest hint of his thoughts and could only keep a smiling face.

Hu Xingzhu worked briskly and went straight over to knock on the door. Su Ziji heard her from inside and asked, "Who is it?"

Hu Xingzhu saw the youth reading beside the bonfire turn around. His heroic air was striking, and her face abruptly reddened. She curtsied. "We are relatives of the Hu Family. We have traveled through the night to reach this place, but the city gates are not open, and there is wind and snow. May we come in to rest and shelter from the snow?"

People traveling through the night were rare, so Su Ziji gave her a few extra looks. The maid's face reddened further.

"Come in. It is a Divine Shrine to begin with. I am only staying here temporarily myself," Su Ziji replied.

Hu Xingzhu returned to report to Madam, and the carriage spoke again. "Then let us go rest there."

The carriages slowly approached and formed a circle in the open space outside the Divine Shrine. A few entered the main hall, while most temporarily sheltered from the wind and snow in the side rooms. A female guard watched Su Ziji vigilantly. Young, handsome, a scholar—highly dangerous!

Then the women got out. The young matron and young girl at their center both wore veils and were surrounded by maids and old servants. Mindful of propriety, they sat far away in the opposite corner, lit another fire, and took out food to roast. As they passed him, Su Ziji observed etiquette and lowered his head without looking, though he caught a faint, secluded fragrance.

Though I do not know what the two women look like, one glance is enough to see that they possess fine bearing and good birth. But that has nothing to do with me. Better to keep reading. Experience points are what truly belong to me.

Thinking this, Su Ziji began reading aloud once more, failing to notice that both the young matron and the girl suddenly frowned and sniffed lightly.

"Let all beneath Heaven cleanse themselves and don splendid robes, to receive the sacrifices. Vast and overflowing, as if It were above them, as if It were at their left and right."

"Was not Shun greatly filial! In virtue, a sage; in honor, Son of Heaven; in wealth, possessing all within the four seas. The ancestral Divine Shrine enjoyed offerings, and his descendants preserved them."

Hearing this, the young matron and the girl swept their gazes around and fixed them on a patch of blood. The others saw the cooked pheasant and assumed it was chicken blood, but the two women exchanged a look, and strange expressions immediately crossed their faces.

Before long, Hu Xingzhu came over carrying a plate of pastries. "My Madam wishes to express her thanks by sending you some pastries. Please do not refuse."

She smiled outwardly, but inwardly she was somewhat startled. Her Madam and Miss would not normally do such a thing. Looking at Su Ziji, she wondered, Could it be his charm?

Su Ziji did not know what she was thinking. After refusing a few times and seeing that she insisted on giving them to him, he could only accept them with thanks and continue reading.

For a while, no one spoke. The young matron closed her eyes in satisfaction to rest. Repaying this small karmic debt would be enough. She did not wish to have any connection with this youth.

Meanwhile, the girl quietly took out a block of wood and carved it. Su Ziji glanced over and saw that it seemed to be a carriage. She was striving for perfection with every detail.

Seemingly noticing Su Ziji's gaze, the girl turned slightly and asked softly, "Are you a Cultivated Talent?"

"No. I am only preparing for the County Examination. It is in two days."

The girl studied the youth a few times. She did not react as the maid had, merely shaking her head. "I see a cloud of baleful stars shrouding you lately. You will not pass."

Su Ziji did not believe in such things, but the wild Daoist's words came to mind, stirring something within him. He deliberately said, "We scholars hold that learning and talent can triumph over fate. One need only strive."

"Talent may be able to, but your little bit of literary aura is not enough." The girl suddenly felt she had said too much. Covering her mouth, she spoke no further. Then the young matron opened her eyes and glanced at her. "Have you finished carving?"

"Yes, Mother."

After resting for a while, the group went back out. As they left, he heard the rumbling of carriage wheels.

"No, I still need to ask what she meant by that!" Su Ziji hesitated briefly, but still chased after them.

Yet to his astonishment, though they had only left the shrine a moment before him, by the time he rushed through its doors, there was nothing outside. Let alone the carriage procession—there was not even a human shadow.

"How strange. Could they fly?" A sense of absurdity welled up in Su Ziji. He turned to go back, only to look again and find that the Divine Shrine where he had just rested had vanished too!

In the wind and snow, only a pile of firewood still crackled and burned. Off to one side lay the book he had casually set down, now fallen into the snow.

"Th-this... could this be a world with ghosts and gods?" Su Ziji was utterly dumbfounded. This was simply horrifying. He hurriedly picked up his book, looked around in all directions, and stood there stunned for a long while.

The meat buns were still inside!

Fine, he would treat it as feeding a dog. After adjusting his mindset, Su Ziji stood dazed for a long time before his expression gradually darkened. "If this is truly a world with ghosts and gods, then it really is possible that my Lineage's ancestral graves were damaged and their feng shui ruined... Damn those tomb robbers. Killing them would indeed be no crime."

"According to that girl, even if I have bad luck, sufficient literary aura can suppress it. It just needs to be greater than normal—but there are only two days left before the examination. What should I do?" Su Ziji pondered deeply. Four Books and Five Classics, Level 3, might not be enough insurance!

He had to think of something.

Linhua County · City Gate

In ancient times, city gates generally opened at the hour of Mao and closed at the hour of You. When the time came, the gates creaked and slowly opened. Snow began to drift once more from the gloomy sky. In the biting wind, pedestrians hurried inside, among them a procession of understated yet luxurious carriages.

No one saw when they had appeared outside the city, nor did anyone notice anything unusual about the convoy. The occasional passerby who looked over only saw that the servants escorting the carriages were strong and solemn. Even the horses pulling the carriages were exceptionally sturdy. At a glance, they were clearly no ordinary household.

The carriage curtains fluttered faintly in the morning breeze. Inside one carriage, warm fragrance curled through the air, and the interior was lavishly furnished, vastly different from its understated exterior.

Two lovely figures sat quietly inside. If Su Ziji had seen them at that moment, he would certainly have recognized them as the women he had encountered in the Divine Shrine.

At that moment, the young matron looked at the girl, her brows faintly furrowed as she asked with some displeasure, "What was wrong with you just now? Why did you say so much?"

At her words, the girl's hand holding the book paused slightly.

In truth, she herself was somewhat puzzled. Those words had slipped out of her mouth. In the past, she would never have said them, for this counted as revealing a Heavenly Secret. Though it was only a small matter, it could easily bring trouble upon them.

But she could not explain that to her aunt, lest her aunt start overthinking again.

"Perhaps I saw that he meant well and thought I would offer him a word of advice." Beneath her veil, the girl's expression was tranquil, while her voice carried a chill.

Seeing her like this, the young matron secretly breathed a sigh of relief instead. The youth was handsome and extraordinary in bearing. If the girl had truly developed romantic feelings for him, that would have been a dreadful problem. This was best.

But since they were about to reach their destination, the young matron naturally took the chance to offer a few reminders.

"Let this not happen again. You must understand that when we walk among mortals, we must act with utmost care and never let down our guard."

"To establish ourselves among mortals, we must use human aura to conceal our alien aura. Thus, we bestow favors upon people, adopt orphans, raise them into the Hu Family, and blend among them."

"Even among this group newly relocated here, only one or two are tribespeople. If they were all tribespeople, how could we possibly live among mortals? We would have been exposed long ago."

"Especially those alchemists. They use our tribe as spiritual medicine. None are more vicious, and their noses are keen as well."

"Besides, that youth is not simple either."

"The Divine Shrine allowed him inside, which alone is extraordinary. And if I was not mistaken, that was human blood on the ground. The bloodstains had not dried, and a resentful soul was still wandering nearby. Even if ordinary people could not see or hear it, they would still feel something."

"But he sat upright and recited aloud, allowing the resentful aura to coil around him, every sound clear and ringing. If he was not the one who killed them, then so be it. But if he was, and he still bore himself like that..." The young matron shook her head. Such people were all terrifying. "Most of them are born bearing fortune. Even if it is baleful fortune, you absolutely must not become entangled with him at this time."

Reminded again and again to act carefully, even the girl's cool temperament could not help producing a trace of irritation. It was not irritation at her elder's instruction, but at the agreement she had come to fulfill this time.

"Third Aunt, is the one bound to me by the marriage pact truly here?" The girl changed the subject.

"Back then, the Fox Marriage Oath was made, with the Rosewood Pendant as proof. One word formed karma that could not be worn away even over centuries. Now that your half of the Rosewood Pendant has stirred, the fated person must have descended." This matter was more important, and the young matron was immediately drawn away.

"Third Aunt, what was the name of the person who named a fox as his wife back then? Why has such immense karma remained after hundreds of years, worthy of such importance within the tribe?"

"It cannot be spoken."

The young matron seemed to have some misgivings, as though something in the unseen prevented that name from being uttered. She gave a quiet sigh. "You need only know that the matter of the Rosewood Pendant is an enormous opportunity, one that may even stir the Heavenly Secret."

"Generation after generation, our Fox Tribe cultivates, but also reads human books and studies human rites, all to answer this matter." Her eyes held indescribable envy and fear. "If it had happened decades earlier, it would have been me."

"You have such fortune. We all envy you. But once the Rosewood Pendant moves, the Heavenly Secret changes, and calamities may arise in accordance with fate to throw your heart into disorder. You must be careful... From now on, anyone who approaches you is a lecher. There is no need to give them a pleasant face."

"As for the Hu Family, they are merely borrowed to conceal our tribe's identity. We do not depend on them for food or necessities. Our tribe established shops in Linhua County long ago. After entering the city, we will first inspect the shops, then go to the Hu Family."

"I understand, Third Aunt." Having received the instruction, the girl did not ask further. She only gripped her half of the Rosewood Pendant within her sleeve and gazed into the distance.

Outside the carriage, snowflakes whirled through the air, and the cold pierced to the bone. Slanting winds and heavy snow made the road ahead increasingly difficult to see.

"Third Aunt always prepared for a rainy day. I only wonder whether this Hu Family knows its proper limits."

As for that youth from before, the slight ripple he had caused settled in the blink of an eye.