The vast, boundless lake was as calm as a mirror, without a single ripple.
Where the water met the sky, a figure approached.
“Young man, you’ve come again.”
The Goddess of Santu reclined lazily, a sly smile in her narrow eyes. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
She looked him up and down.
In her heart, she marveled at the transformation. Compared to last time, it was like night and day.
Then, he had worn a brilliant red wedding robe, his spirit soaring.
Now, his features held only exhaustion and neglect, a weariness with the world, as if only a thread of obsession held his hollow shell together.
Wu Li spoke vaguely, “You know why I’ve come?”
“Of course I do,” the Goddess of Santu said, tilting her head toward the tree behind her. At the highest crown, the little daisy was nowhere to be seen. “You’re searching for your wife.”
The greatest pain in life is separation by death or parting.
He had tasted the bitterness of death and suffered the agony of living apart.
He had tried to trade his immortal body for his beloved, but when he awoke, his love had vanished without a trace.
Wu Li followed her gaze upward.
He stared at the empty branch where the flower had been, just like the empty space in his heart.
“What can I offer to be reunited with her?”
“I hear that among the Miao-Witch tribes, there is a revered ten-thousand-year sacred tree that can divine the past and future,” the Goddess of Santu said with a cunning smile. “Perhaps there, you’ll find the answer you seek.”
A flicker of light finally appeared in his defeated, hollow eyes.
“Thank you,” Wu Li said, his throat tightening. “Ask whatever price you want. Name it.”
Hearing this, the Goddess of Santu couldn’t help but laugh. Resting her chin on her hand, she eyed him with amusement. “I merely offered a word of advice. I haven’t truly given you anything, so why should I demand payment?”
“Although I am an Evil God, I don’t do corrupt deals for no reason.”
Beneath her mist-like flowing robes, her hand seemed to be gently kneading something fluffy.
Without another question, Wu Li departed, his retreating figure filled with urgency.
Soon, he melted into the line where water and sky merged, as if swallowed by the vast lake.
Only then did the Goddess of Santu slowly lift her robes.
From within, a tiny fiery red head emerged—a little fox with round, glistening eyes, its nose dusted with incense ash. Clearly annoyed at being stifled for so long, it shook its ears in protest.
“Hehehe, you mischievous little thing,” the Goddess of Santu said, cradling it in her arms. “That man just now—did he seem familiar to you?”
The little fox blinked, thought hard for a moment, and honestly shook its head.
“He could be considered an old friend of yours,” she said, her smile deepening. “Do you know why I didn’t ask him for a price?”
The little fox tilted its head and honestly shook its head again.
In the past two days following this divine lady, it had seen clearly.
Her deals were the most crooked of all!
The day before, when a gambler came to beg for gold and silver, she demanded years of his life in exchange. The day before that, a woman hoping for her husband’s return sought her guidance, and she took half her memories.
Every transaction, she showed no mercy.
Yet today, with this young man, she pointed the way for free, taking nothing at all.
Could it be because he was handsome?
The little fox couldn’t figure it out, so it scratched her palm with its paw, confusion plain on its face.
The Goddess of Santu gazed into its watery eyes, which reminded her of a pair of clear, determined black-and-white almond eyes from her memory.
“Because once, a young woman came to pray for her husband’s peace and happiness. So how could I ever take anything from the man she loved?”
She remembered that day. The girl had come in a hurry.
She burst into the Temple of Santu like a gust of wind, dropping to her knees before the statue with a thud. The stone steps on the mountain path were covered in moss; she must have tripled on the run, her skirt stained with mud. But she didn’t seem to notice, brushing off her hands and kowtowing three times earnestly.
“You’re the Goddess of Santu, right?”
She spoke rapidly. “I’m in a hurry—my boat is about to leave. Forgive me if I talk fast!”
The Goddess of Santu, within the statue, was stunned. In all her years at the temple, she’d never had anyone apologize to her statue for speaking too fast.
“My husband has endured so much suffering—so much that even I think the heavens are unfair. But it’s fine; I’ve already tasted every sweetness the world has to offer. So, I am willing to trade all my future happiness for him. All of it, not leaving a single bit. I wish him from now on peace, joy, and a face always ready to smile.”
After speaking, she kowtowed three more times, lifting her head with crescent-shaped eyes, as if she’d fulfilled a long-held wish. “My lady, you must promise me!”
She stood up, brushed the dust off her skirt, and had already turned to leave when she suddenly ran back, put her hands together before the statue, and added, “And may I wish you thriving business, abundant incense, and happiness every day!”
Then, she ran off.
The Goddess of Santu remembered sitting behind the statue for a long time before letting out a soft laugh.
That child.
Who ever prayed like that?
The little fox listened intently as the Goddess of Santu told the story of the young man and woman each praying for the other.
In the end, the Goddess asked, “Don’t you think these two were foolish? Doing things that brought no benefit to themselves.”
The little fox shook its head.
It shook with all its might, its little head wobbling like a rattle drum, because it thought both of them had done exactly right.
The Goddess of Santu sighed helplessly, reaching out to tap its nose. “You silly fox, still not learning to be clever. Truly, only those who are alike can play together.”
“And your playful nature hasn’t changed—you can’t stay put in Mount Tu, so you slip out to see the human world again.”
“Well, your tribulation of love is over. The ill-fated ties have been severed, and your true fate is near.”
“Follow the direction that young man left. And don’t dawdle too much on the way.”
Not dawdling? Impossible.
The little fox had left Mount Tu precisely to see the world.
It didn’t want to be trapped in a tiny corner of existence; it wanted to cultivate human form, witness all aspects of life, and taste every bittersweet Joy.
It trotted after the young man’s direction, disappearing into a vast, deep mountain.
The mountain was lush with flowers and grasses, many of rare species it had never seen. Overjoyed, it sniffed and smelled everything, sprinting wildly through the forest like a mad thing.
Suddenly, its little paw stepped on something.
“Swoosh!” A mighty force yanked it upward. Its limbs were bound tight, and its entire body dangled in mid-air, swinging back and forth.
It was caught in a hemp rope net, struggling to free itself, letting out a series of panicked “ow-ow” sounds.
Two Dong tribesmen hunters lurking in the shadows rushed out, their faces beaming with glee.
“Whoa! A rare prize! Look at that—a fiery red fox, worth way more than those orange ones. With this pelt sold, don’t worry about a year’s supply of food for the whole family!”
"Someone said before that the Wugu tribe's territory was haunted by evil spirits, and overnight, the entire clan died. They told us to stay away from this cursed land. Who would've thought there were such rare beasts hiding here! Brother, our trip today was totally worth it!"
The two men rubbed their polished, gleaming knives and were about to untie the rope hanging from the tree.
Suddenly, a deep, mighty roar echoed from above.
A massive demonic beast was charging straight toward them!
Its body was covered in crimson scales, with fierce, jagged horns on its head. It looked like a dragon yet not a dragon, like a snake yet not a snake, radiating an overwhelming, suffocating aura of brutality.
"Ahhh—Run! An evil spirit, there really is an evil spirit here!"
The two hunters were so terrified they flung their knives away, scrambling and stumbling down the mountain, not even bothering to pick up a shoe that fell off.
The little fox inside the burlap sack wasn't much better off.
It wanted to scream "Ahhh" too, but its tiny throat couldn't produce human sounds. All that came out were pitiful little "Eee eee eee" whimpers.
It pressed its tiny paws tightly over its eyes, curling its whole body into a ball.
It remembered what the older foxes at Tushan had described: this kind of beast was the legendary flood dragon, one of the most terrifying demonic creatures. It could swallow little monsters whole with a single bite—crunch, crunch, crunch—without even spitting out the bones! If you ever saw one, you had to run for your life!
The little fox could feel a surge of foul wind rushing toward it. Then, the sack dropped with her, landing on soft fallen leaves.
She trembled even harder.
Her paws stayed clamped over her eyes, and her long fox tail flipped up to cover her head, as if she could roll herself into a tiny fur ball invisible to everyone.
Can't see me, can't see me, can't see me...
She chanted frantically in her mind, praying that the terrifying beast would never notice her.
A moment of silence.
There was no gaping, bloodthirsty maw. No crunchy, crispy ending.
The little fox held her breath and gradually realized that the chilling, sinister aura in front of her had vanished without a trace.
"Hongxiao?"
Someone was speaking, very close to her.
The voice was clear and bright, laced with a hint of barely contained joy.
