nucmednet Chapter 425: It's a long story.
Chapter 425: It's a long story.
After saying goodbye to the hospitable Aunt Tao, Xiao Li led Long Chuqing and the other two along the alley.
I also met many other friendly neighbors along the way, and I could tell from their brief greetings that everyone was quite friendly.
One thing that surprised the three was that the village looked exactly the same as the one they had seen on the street, and many different races lived in the same village.
They do not live according to ethnic groups, but rather live together in a mixed community.
Won't conflicts frequently occur if people live together like this?
Could there be hidden dangers beneath this harmonious facade?
After all, there are always some belligerent races that like to bully the weak, using the oppression of the weak to demonstrate their own strength and satisfy their vanity.
With this question in mind, Long Chuqing asked it.
According to Xiaoli, most of the villagers have lived here for a long time, and they know each other very well.
But as Long Chuqing said, it's inevitable that some troublemakers will infiltrate the crowd.
The village has its own way of dealing with this kind of guy: anyone who dares to cause trouble in the village will face a collective beating from the villagers.
The village rules stipulate that anyone who causes trouble in the village will be expelled from the village.
The village also has patrol members who can promptly detect and resolve any issues that may arise.
Over time, those who remained were mostly kind-hearted villagers who disliked causing trouble.
Of course, there are always exceptions to everything in the world. There are always some cunning and treacherous people who are good at hiding their true intentions. They may seem docile and appear more honest and harmless than anyone else, but they always have shrewd schemes hidden behind the scenes.
The village knows how to handle these kinds of creatures; as long as they don't do anything that threatens the village's safety, they generally ignore them.
After all, everything has many facets, and the thoughts and habits of all living beings are inherently different, some bright and some dark, some gentle and some strong, just like the plants in the deep mountains, some growing towards the sun and some growing away from the shade.
Everything has its own way of survival.
Finally, the little fox stopped in front of an inconspicuous wooden house at the end of the village.
"We're here! This is my home!"
It used its head and body to pry open the creaking courtyard gate, and Fei Feng beside it helped push it open.
"My humble abode is simple and unadorned; please do not find it offensive, my three elder sisters." Xiao Li stepped into the courtyard first.
Fei Feng followed closely behind: "No way! This little courtyard looks quite nice."
Little Tanuki's home consists of two wooden houses and a small courtyard. There are no extra furnishings in the courtyard, only a stone table, a water vat in the corner, and two chairs placed under the eaves.
The house had been vacant for some time, and the furniture was covered with a thin layer of dust. Although there were cobwebs in the corners, the interior was simply furnished and did not look cluttered.
Compared to the distinctive houses of its neighbors, Little Tanuki's little house appears rather simple.
The little raccoon checked the familiar house; the furnishings were all in their original positions, exactly as they had been when it left.
It was precisely because Xiao Li's house was so simple and contained nothing of value that it remained untouched by thieves during the time Xiao Li was missing.
This can be considered a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.
The little fox said that this yard was left by its maternal grandmother, who has passed away. Most of the neighbors had received kindness from her, so they took good care of it, and its life in the village was quite worry-free.
But the peace and tranquility of the village could not fill the hungry stomachs.
It cannot live off the charity of its neighbors forever; otherwise, the kindness will eventually turn into a debt with each act of charity.
It knew that relying on handouts was a short-lived path, and might even become a reason for its neighbors to despise and ridicule it. It had to grow up eventually, so it had to go out and find its own way to survive.
It was always very careful, but no matter how careful it was, it was still targeted by traffickers.
Looking back, Xiaoli felt a moment of loss, but quickly adjusted her mindset.
It stood in front of the door and called out to the courtyard, "Three sisters, please wait in the courtyard for a while. There's dust inside, let me clean it up first."
Feng Yu: "Oh, do you need any help?"
"No need, no need, I can handle this little thing myself."
As she spoke, Little Fox turned around and lightly leaped onto the wooden table.
Feng Yu was curious about how it cleaned, so she moved to the doorway, leaned her arm against the door frame, and peered inside.
The little fox sat upright on the wooden table, its two front paws together, its mouth slightly moving as if chanting some kind of spell.
Uh! Is this... chanting a spell?
Do we need a ritual before cleaning?
—Can you summon wind and rain?
Just as Feng Yu was puzzled by Xiao Li's behavior and making wild guesses, a white light appeared around Xiao Li, along with a very gentle breeze.
The little raccoon's red fur swayed gently in the breeze, and then its fluffy tail trembled, transforming into several translucent phantoms.
"Wow... Nine, a nine-tailed fox?"
Upon seeing the scene before her, Feng Yu exclaimed in surprise.
There are foxes who are born with nine tails, but that is one in ten thousand. Most fox demons are born with only one tail.
It is said that foxes can grow one tail every hundred years of cultivation, while nine tails require a thousand years or even longer of cultivation, but very few can actually grow nine tails.
Some fox spirits may spend their entire lives without ever managing to form a tail.
As the saying goes, every hundred years is a hurdle to overcome. Cultivation is like rowing against the current; how could the process be smooth and without obstacles?
If the circulation of demonic energy is slightly off during the cultivation process, the tail tip that has been painstakingly cultivated may stagnate.
Throughout history, those who ultimately cultivate to become nine-tailed foxes are all formidable figures who have overcome countless hardships and tribulations, defying fate and changing their destiny under the Nine Heavens Thunder Tribulation.
Looking back, each tail is a mark of glory forged from flesh and blood in the crucible of thunder and fire.
The little fox's true form only has one tail, but the several semi-transparent phantoms indicate that it can gradually condense multiple tails through cultivation, up to a maximum of nine.
Feng Yu quickly called her sisters over: "Fei Feng, A Qing, come quickly, come quickly, come and see."
Hearing the noise, Long Chuqing and Fei Feng moved closer to the door.
Long Chuqing: "What is it?"
Fei Feng: "What nine-tailed?"
"You two see for yourselves." Feng Yu pointed inside the room.
As the two approached, they saw Xiao Li's several illusory tails floating in mid-air, then extending outwards in strands, reaching along seats, cabinets, window frames, beams, and other places.
Fei Feng's eyes widened. She counted, "One, two, three... eight, wow, there really are nine tails. I must say, it's quite a sight."
"It is indeed spectacular," Long Chuqing said, but what is it trying to do?
However, before Feng Yu could explain, the two of them immediately knew what Xiao Li was trying to do by making such a big show of things.
Suddenly, those fluffy tail phantoms darted back and forth among the furniture like feather dusters.
In an instant, dust filled the room.
Long Chuqing: "..."
Fei Feng: "..."
Feng Yu: "..."
"Achoo!" Feng Yu, who was standing at the front, was the one who got caught in the crossfire.
Long Chuqing and Fei Feng, who had just reached the door, were also covered in dust.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
"Cough, cough, cough!"
The three of them quickly covered their mouths and noses and ran back into the courtyard as if they were fleeing.
This result... was truly unexpected for all three of them.
Only Little Tanuki could do something so absurd!
In short, it's a long story.