Chapter 54: Fox City 04

Chapter 54: Fox City 04

With uneasy hearts, everyone returned to the bus, back to Fox City, and had lunch before heading to Black Mother's Residence.

At the entrance of the residence was a sign:

[Black Mother's Residence Open Hours: 14:00-17:00]

The so-called residence was actually a mansion of a wealthy family from the Republic of China era, featuring Ming and Qing Dynasty furniture, a Jiangnan-style courtyard, and various plants and birds. The residence wasn’t very large; it took roughly twenty minutes to tour.

An audio guide at the entrance detailed Black Mother's life.

It narrated the story of a girl from the Liang family in Fox City who was simple-minded and chubby since childhood. She was fierce in nature and remained unmarried until her mid-teens. Desperate, her family sought a Taoist priest who performed a ritual to change her fortune.

After that, the girl changed completely, becoming slim, intelligent, and beautiful—she was skilled in medicine, saving many from an epidemic in Fox City; enterprising in business, she expanded her family's dyeing business, with her fabrics being exported overseas.

Her reputation gradually spread from there.

The girl later married a handsome and wealthy young man. The couple lived harmoniously. Due to her darker complexion, she was nicknamed Black Mother.

Later in life, Liang Huiyun and her husband returned to their hometown and developed it into a tourist town.

Red Nine exclaimed, “Wow, this sounds like a fantastic uplifting story, from a foolish child to an inspirational goddess!”

White Seven agreed, “Yes, it's impressive.”

After listening to the introduction, they wandered inside, visiting Black Mother’s former boudoir and study, places of her youthful endeavors. The study was filled with medical and dyeing books, as well as precious photographs. In the photos, Black Mother wore period clothing and looked dignified and virtuous, perfectly matched with her husband.

They strolled to a loft in the backyard. A few meters away from the loft was a sign that read [No Entry].

Peering inside the dim loft, they saw a disheveled woman sitting there. Her pair of desolate, cold, and bottomlessly black eyes were visible to Pei Yi and the others.

Just as they were about to look inside, two staff members approached, "Hey, you can't go in there,"

"What was that about the woman just now?"

"Her? She's a lunatic here, once tried to kill Black Mama. Out of pity, our mayor confined her here."

With uneasy hearts, the group left the old residence. It was already four o'clock when they returned to Fox Village, planning to dine out in the evening. Pei Yi went back to his room to rest, jotting down a crucial keyword in his notebook: Black Mama.

At dinner time, as Pei Yi was about to leave his room, he noticed a piece of paper on the ground. Picking it up,

he read: "They are not human." Without any reaction, Pei Yi pocketed the note.

They chose the same restaurant as before, as the food was genuinely good. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Even if he didn't feel like eating, it was necessary, and the food was indeed safe.

The group ate with chatter and laughter.

Pei Yi was still pondering the message on the note. Who had thrown it to him? Was 'they' referring to his teammates? But they seemed fine to him.

"Brother Pei, what are you thinking about?" Zhou You asked.

"Nothing much."

Lu Zai Chuan interjected, "Instead of keeping it to yourself, why not share with us? Keeping secrets might make us think you're suspicious of us."

Hearing this, Pei Yi glanced at Lu Zai Chuan, impressed by his sharp remark.

"First, the order of our visits: cliff first, then the old house. Is there a hidden meaning? Next, there's the story of Black Mama and the woman in the attic. Aren't you all curious?"

Lu Zai Chuan crossed his arms, "I don't find it strange. The cliff is the most interesting, so of course it's first. As for Black Mama, many old houses have such motivational stories. And that woman in the attic... looking all crazy, should we really trust her?"

"You asked me to bring it up for discussion, and now you're dismissing everything I say."

"Because the points you're making don't quite add up."

Pei Yi: “…” It seemed like this person was targeting him.

Hong Jiu also said, “Yeah. Why discuss this while we're all happily eating? I think this copy is really interesting and relaxing.”

Seeing a potential argument brewing, Xing Guang interjected, “Let’s just continue eating.”

Pei Yi remained silent, glancing again at Lu Zai Chun. He had a feeling that this person was somehow out of touch.

After the meal, Lu Zai Chun approached him, “Don't take what I said to heart. We should all work together to find the key.”

He still remembers the mission. “Where do you think the key is?” Pei Yi asked.

“We don’t have enough clues yet.”

“Not enough?”

Lu Zai Chun said, “Let's see, first we'll watch the play tonight,” he continued walking ahead.

Pei Yi lagged behind, glancing back at the dimly lit street. Maybe because he hadn’t drunk the fox juice, his mind was exceptionally clear. It seemed like the others were somewhat immersed in this world.

They arrived at Fox Plaza, which was crowded. Everyone wore fox masks, revealing only half of their faces, dressed in similar colored garments. If not for the differences in height and build, they all looked quite similar.

In the center of the plaza stood a group dressed in exotic costumes, adorned with fox headgear. Some held clappers, others drummed, and some performed peculiar dances – cradling their heads in both hands and emitting loud howls.

Surrounding them were the low murmurs of prayers from the crowd.

What was happening here?

The lead ceremonial dancer shouted loudly, “Ah! May the Fox Deity grant us immortality! Immortality!”

“Immortality! Immortality!” the crowd echoed.

“Ah! May the Fox Deity grant us beauty! Beauty!”

“Beauty! Beauty!”

"Today's visitors to our town, you are new here. We, under the command of the Fox Deity, have come to demonstrate. One of you, step forward to receive the blessing of the Fox Deity! The Fox Deity will grant you beauty and immortality!"

Pei Yi and Lu Zai Chun, among others, stood still, but then Hong Jiu raised her hand, drawing everyone's attention. They all thought, this girl is really bold.

Beside her, Bai Qi was terrified, "Hong Jiu!"

Pushing Bai Qi's hand away, Hong Jiu declared, “I want to try and see if the Fox Deity truly blesses me with beauty.”

“Please come forward, young lady.”

The man wearing the fox mask extended his hand, and Hong Jiu walked to the center.

“Let the ceremony begin!”

The group of witches began to dance around Hong Jiu, singing and dancing fervently. Hong Jiu was covered with a blue cloth over her head. After the dance, they spun her around several times before finally stopping.

“Now, witness the miracle.”

Perhaps because the ceremony was so bizarre and the surrounding crowd was so noisy, when the master of ceremonies lifted the cloth, Pei Yi gasped. But looking again, Hong Jiu was still the same, unchanged.

Yet, the townspeople were thoroughly convinced. “She really became more beautiful! Thank you, Fox Deity! Thank you, Fox Deity!!”

Returning to the group, Zhou You gave Hong Jiu a thumbs-up, and she proudly held her head high.

What a fox play, just a superstitious spectacle. Pei Yi thought the day’s activities were quite uninteresting.

Back at the inn, Pei Yi suddenly remembered something and asked Chen Mo, “Did you also not drink that red juice?”

Chen Mo shook his head.

“Why didn’t you drink it?”

“I’ve never liked it, not my habit.”

Pei Yi nodded. After hesitating for a moment, Chen Mo whispered, “Pei Yi, last night, I think I saw Zhou You get up.”

“Doing what?”

"He came to your bedside and stood there for a while, in the latter part of the night."

Pei Yi asked, "…Anything else unusual?"

"Not for now. But like you said at the dinner table today, I agree with all of it. We can’t stay in this Fox City a day longer."

Pei Yi chuckled lightly, "But the game is still ongoing."

That night, while sleeping, Pei Yi paid special attention to Zhou You, but didn't notice anything odd.

Pei Yi knew, just like in the Snow Mountain instance, ghosts and goblins typically create illusions. He wondered if the entity in Fox City also favored such tricks.

"Pei Yi, why are you staring at me like that?"

"No reason."

Zhou You said, "Pei Yi, are you upset because I didn’t side with you at dinner today? I just thought Lu Zai Chun was right. So far, the system is just letting us sightsee, nothing more. Oh, there is one thing. Pei Yi, didn’t you think Hong Jiu looked... hehehe, really prettier today?"

Pei Yi shook his head wordlessly, thinking Zhou You was at it again.

Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, Zhou You touched his face, "Ah, if only I were as handsome as you, Pei Yi. Tall and handsome, would I ever lack for female company? … If only there really was a ceremony to become more handsome."

Pei Yi: "..."

They chatted idly for a while longer.

Before going to sleep, Pei Yi thought of stepping out for a smoke, only to find Lu Zai Chun already occupying the window spot, still wearing his white shirt, smoking. Pei Yi remembered that Lu Zai Chun didn’t smoke. Initially, when he smoked, Lu Zai Chun even frowned in disapproval.

Their current situation was somewhat awkward; it was better not to interact.

Just as Pei Yi was about to head downstairs, Lu Zai Chun called out to him.

“Pei Yi.”

Lu Zai Chun extinguished his cigarette and approached him, “You didn’t take our conversation at dinner to heart, did you?”

“Not at all, you were just speaking your mind.”

“That’s what I thought. Nothing has happened so far, and by saying such things, aren’t you creating panic? You agree, right?”

“Yes.” Pei Yi didn’t argue.

Lu Zai Chun grabbed his sleeve, “Come. Let’s talk by the window.”

Pei Yi glanced down at that hand and followed him to the end of the hallway.

Lu Zai Chun offered him a cigarette, which Pei Yi, never one to refuse a smoke, accepted but didn’t plan to light.

“I thought you didn’t smoke?” Pei Yi voiced his confusion.

Lu Zai Chun replied, “I do. When the pressure is high. My opposition to your points today was to avoid alarming anyone prematurely. Because I received this.” He took out a note from his pocket,

Pei Yi looked up at him, and saw the note read “They are not human.”

He retrieved a note from his pocket, "I have one too."

"You too?" Lu Zai Chun raised an eyebrow. "Who do 'they' refer to here?"

Pei Yi replied, "It could be anyone, the townspeople, or someone among us."

Lu Zai Chun speculated, "I lean towards the townspeople, but they all have shadows, just wearing masks and colored clothes. How could they not be human?"

"The origin of this note is unclear; I'm also clueless about it."

Lu Zai Chun chuckled lightly, "Fair point. What do you think about the cliff-jumping and the play, and about Black Mama?"

He had contradicted Pei Yi earlier, and now he was asking for his opinion.

Pei Yi gazed into the dense night outside the window and turned back, "Don't you feel that all these are part of some ritual?"

Lu Zai Chun felt a chill, "What kind of ritual?"

"There’s a sacrificial tradition known as ‘spirit-jumping’ that is believed to resurrect the dead."