Chapter 38

Chapter 38

"...Seriously? Is that even possible? Huh?" The Daoist stammered, flustered: "Then what should we do? How is it now? Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine for now." Chen Ji spread his hands: "It's that fox spirit I mentioned to you last time... Want me to show you?"

Chen Ji walked to the chicken coop with his phone, hearing snores before he even entered. He shone his phone light inside—the red fox was sleeping like a piglet. He went in, picked up the red fox, and supported its chin with his arm: "Here, this one. Pretty pitiful, y'know?"

"..." The Daoist fell silent for a beat before yelling angrily: "Put it down! Put it down!"

The red fox was startled awake by the Daoist’s roar. It suddenly opened its bright black eyes and stared at the phone screen, seeing a Daoist priest. The Daoist only saw two glinting green points appear in the dim video, fixed intently on him, making his blood run cold.

Chen Ji watched as the man and the fox stared each other down, figuring they were both utterly bewildered.

Chen Ji adjusted his position, moving into a sunny spot. The screen instantly brightened. The red fox noticed Chen Ji, let out a little whine, burrowed its head into Chen Ji’s chest, and trembled.

Chen Ji held it with one hand, gently patting: "Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. This is my friend, he’s not here to catch you."

The red fox had just eaten a free-range chicken brought back by Chen Ji today and was especially attached to him. When Chen Ji put it down, the fox clung to him for dear life, its stubby legs scrambling upward, trying to worm its whole body into Chen Ji’s arms.

The Daoist: "..."

He knew Chen Ji wasn’t on the up-and-up! Who else would be terrified enough to come to the City God Temple recently, pleading and threatening, even crying and begging, only to get involved with weird supernatural stuff right after?

What kind of decent person keeps a fox spirit that harms entire families?!

With this level of clinginess, claiming it was just picked up a few days ago... No one would believe that even if you argued till you're blue in the face!

Chen Ji casually showed the Daoist the red fox’s injuries via video call: "What should it eat to recover from these wounds faster?"

The Daoist sneered: "Feed it a couple of people, and it’ll be dancing around on the spot."

Chen Ji said casually: "Should I send it to the City God Temple then?"

The Daoist: "...Give it some aged tonic medicine."

"Thanks a lot!" Chen Ji rubbed the fox’s head: "I’ll take a stroll up the mountain tomorrow to see if there’s anything you can eat..."

Before he could finish, an eager voice piped up: "What food? What food?!"

A brown blur shot from outside the chicken coop, landing right on Chen Ji’s shoulder. Second Master Huang plopped down comfortably on Chen Ji’s shoulder, its little claws grabbing a lock of Chen Ji’s hair: "Chen Ji! Did your family eat chicken? Why didn’t you call me? ...Huh? You’re on a call?"

The red fox, trying to cling to Chen Ji, let out a whimper and dashed to the corner.

Chen Ji was somewhat surprised, turning to face Second Master Huang: "Second Master Huang knows what this is?"

Second Master Huang tossed its head proudly and said disdainfully: "Isn’t it just a phone? I’ve seen lots of people use them!"

Chen Ji stood up, casually tucking Second Master Huang into his arms. Second Master Huang’s slender, flexible body nestled against Chen Ji’s forearm, its long tail swaying leisurely, looking utterly content.

After studying the situation carefully for a moment, the Daoist flipped Chen Ji off on screen, hung up abruptly, promptly blocked Chen Ji, and stretched out for a nap.

Within five seconds, the Daoist opened his eyes again, mentally giving Chen Ji another middle finger from afar.

—What the hell, no point pretending otherwise—this guy is seriously shady!

—Dammit, does he even need saving?! What's there to save?! Who’s saving whom here?! Huh?!

Chen Ji shrugged, not taking it personally against the irritable Daoist—if the Daoist weren’t impulsive, he wouldn’t have spoken up that time, nor would he have been so easily threatened... He’s actually a pretty decent guy.

"Second Master Huang, what're you doing here?" Chen Ji brought Second Master Huang back to the bedroom, thinking he'd snap some photos of the yellow talismans later and ask the Daoist to analyze them—after all, professional matters should be left to the pros.

"Just out for a stroll~!" Second Master Huang exposed its caramel-colored belly. Chen Ji couldn’t help rubbing its soft tummy. Second Master Huang closed its eyes contentedly, lazily asking: "Any packages? If so, I can help you haul them down the mountain later."

"Second Master Huang is going down the mountain?" Chen Ji asked curiously.

There seemed to be an invisible line between the mountain and the lowlands. The mountain had plenty of monsters and spirits—surely not all of them were good, adhering to principles and not troubling mortals. Yet, Shangyang Village had been peaceful for over a decade, which probably meant Grandfather Mountain had laid down the law, forbidding them from casually descending.

"Got some business to attend to!" Second Master Huang said vaguely, then flipped like a hawk, climbing onto Chen Ji’s chest: "There are a few good things in the mountains. I’ll have the little ones take you to gather them tomorrow for fun!"

Chen Ji already sensed something amiss and tentatively asked: "What matter is so important?"

Second Master Huang wagged its tail, its small eyes sparkling, but said: "Second Master Huang’s business is none of your concern!"

Chen Ji remarked casually: "If you’re going down to find the Wang family, you probably won’t find them—they’re still in the hospital."

Second Master Huang: "Who said I’m going to find the Wang family! Such trivial matters deserve my attention?"

Considering Second Master Huang’s two-meter-eight Dharma Form, Chen Ji also felt it wouldn’t go that far—was Grandfather Mountain really that vindictive? Knowing the Wang family hadn’t lost anyone, did it still plan to cause trouble?

Chen Ji took it directly to the storeroom, brought out a box of egg yolk pies, placed Second Master Huang inside to eat at leisure, and opened a soda nearby so it could drink easily. Noticing the newly arrived chocolate, he also opened it and put it in the box.

—While dogs can die from eating chocolate, it’s unknown if ferrets would, but a weasel spirit like Second Master Huang probably wouldn’t have issues.

Second Master Huang was instantly captivated by the sweet, fragrant treat: "Mmm? This smells great!"

Chen Ji gently flicked Second Master Huang’s ears with his fingertip; its semicircular ears twitched sensitively: "Second Master Huang, try a little first. Some animals can’t eat this..."

Second Master Huang had already taken a bite. Chewing heartily, the high-sugar, high-calorie chocolate enchanted it into a daze. Mumbling, it said: "Your Grandpa Huang could eat rat poison raw and be fine—!"

Chen Ji chuckled, "Then I’ll go take a nap?"

Second Master Huang swished its tail: "Go on, go on!"

Chen Ji indeed returned to the bedroom, sent photos of the yellow talismans to the Daoist, got a red exclamation mark in response, unsurprisingly resorted to MMS, and didn’t wait for a reply.

System Cat: "Chen Ji, I’ve contacted the construction team. Got the price down to eight thousand for you. They’ll start tomorrow morning."

Chen Ji rubbed System Cat’s head: "Good job, baby!"

System Cat habitually nuzzled Chen Ji’s head, turned over, and lay beside him. The afternoon sun shone through the window, warming the blankets. Soon, both man and cat were asleep.

...

"Mr. Chen! Mr. Chen?! Wake up quickly!" Chen Ji was shaken awake. Before him stood a somewhat unfamiliar middle-aged man, looking at him anxiously: "Mr. Chen, wake up! If you don’t, it’ll be too late!"

Chen Ji stared at him blankly—who was this? How did he suddenly appear in the Mountain Lord Temple?

The middle-aged man waved his hand in front of Chen Ji’s eyes, successfully bringing him back to awareness. Chen Ji studied his face and suddenly remembered—oh right, this is Uncle Zhou!

"Uncle Zhou, what is it?" Chen Ji asked.

Seeing Chen Ji awake, Uncle Zhou’s frown eased. He spoke quickly: "Everyone is waiting for you, Mr. Chen! Come with me quickly!"

"What waiting..." Before Chen Ji could finish, Uncle Zhou had already slung a carrying pouch over his shoulder—apparently containing his belongings. Uncle Zhou came over, supporting his arm, and led him out, saying as they walked: "Didn’t you agree earlier, sir? How could you forget? The sedan chair is waiting outside!"

Chen Ji took a couple of steps with him, feeling unusually heavy and exhausted, barely able to stand. Luckily, Uncle Zhou supported him, or he would have surely fallen. Uncle Zhou pushed the door open, and Chen Ji saw two young men waiting by a sedan chair. They quickly put out their cigarettes upon seeing him and called out: "Sir!"

Chen Ji seemed unsteady, bracing himself against the doorframe with one hand. He glanced sideways at the scratches left on the doorframe from moving items a couple of days earlier. Uncle Zhou asked with concern, "Sir, what's wrong?"

"..." Chen Ji was silent for a moment before saying, "I left something behind. Wait outside for a bit. Don’t come in."

Uncle Zhou paused, then went outside and closed the main door.

"Xiao Ba." Chen Ji called out mentally twice, but there was no response. He called a few more times, yet everything remained quiet.

Something was definitely wrong.

He had clearly been napping, so why had these people suddenly appeared? No matter what, it was obvious he shouldn’t leave Grandfather Mountain Temple with them.

Chen Ji folded the yellow talismans from the bedside drawer and tucked them into his pocket.

He scanned the room, wondering what else he could use for self-defense. For some reason, he suddenly touched his chest—where the Taoist priest had given him a protective charm. He took it out and saw that the yellow talisman inside had been reduced to black ash.

...What exactly was going on?

"Mr. Chen Ji? Sir? Are you ready?" Uncle Zhou’s voice came from outside.

Chen Ji opened the door and said calmly, "I need to pay respects to Grandfather Mountain before leaving."

Uncle Zhou bowed his head. "Of course, of course..."

He stepped forward to support Chen Ji, but Chen Ji waved him off and avoided his touch. Slowly, he walked into the main hall and looked up at the statue inside.

The statue was still weathered, but faint traces of gilding and color were visible.

On the altar, three fruits and two flowers were arranged, fresh and vibrant.

He took three sticks of incense, bowing respectfully three times, paying respects.

Chen Ji came to the main hall every day to offer incense, kowtow, and pay respects—how could he fail to recognize the statue he saw daily?

—Had Grandfather Mountain’s statue become somewhat newer?

Chen Ji stood up and inserted the incense into the incense burner. At that moment, all three sticks broke off at the base simultaneously in his palm! Calmly, he pressed them firmly into the incense burner and said to Uncle Zhou, who was waiting at the entrance of the main hall, as if nothing had happened, "You should all leave."