I was extremely nervous, but my master started telling a story at a leisurely pace beside my ear: "The fox spirit is the most unique type of demon, the most human-like of all demons. According to historical records, Yu the Great was still unmarried at the age of thirty when he passed through Tushan County. He met a woman who was actually a nine-tailed fox spirit in disguise and fell in love at first sight. Local ballads also predicted that his arrival would lead to a marriage with the nine-tailed fox, so he married her. 'Quiet white fox, with nine tails so grand. My noble guest, come to be king. Building a home, I bring prosperity.' Yu the Great and the nine-tailed fox gave birth to Qi, who became the second emperor of the Xia Dynasty. In modern scientific terms, many people now have the genes of the nine-tailed fox in them."
I had never heard this legend before and was quite shocked. If it were true, the descendants of Yu the Great have multiplied for nearly four thousand years. Now, there could be millions of people across the country with the bloodline of a fox spirit.
My master continued, "The nine-tailed fox was originally a auspicious beast in the presence of the Queen Mother of the West, and many ancestors worshipped it in ancient times. During the pre-Qin and Han dynasties, it was listed alongside the dragon, qilin, and phoenix as one of the four great auspicious creatures. The appearance of white foxes and nine-tailed foxes in the world was always considered a sign of peace and prosperity. During the Tang Dynasty, it was common to worship fox spirits, and it was said that 'without fox spirits, there would be no village,' meaning that every village had fox spirits to worship. It was only after the Song Dynasty that fox spirits were demonized, becoming synonyms for seducing men. The Ming and Qing dynasties further vilified them, portraying fox spirits as beauty that brought ruin and disaster to the country, like Daji in 'Fengshen Yanyi.' However, there were also positive images, such as in 'Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio,' where most fox spirits were beautiful, kind-hearted, and loyal, more lovable than worldly people."
Learning about the deep connections between demon foxes and humans, and that they were not all depraved, greatly reduced my aversion to the demon fox. Recalling my encounter with the demon fox in Beikeng Village, it had stolen my apple but gave me an egg in return and chased away the evil hanging ghost. Although it had enticed me, it was mostly out of curiosity. Its trick of putting Chen Xing in my bed was more of a prank, which could be proven by its conversation with Lu Chengshan. It was merely "mischievous and playful." Moreover, it possessed me only to survive, something anyone would do, and it was not really evil. Compared to the demons in the big camphor tree and Sheng Yu Po, it was like a mischievous and naughty child who was not very knowledgeable.
My master continued, "At the beginning of life, human nature is good. Many demons, when they first take human form, do not distinguish between good and evil and act according to their instincts. Guided towards good, they become good; guided towards evil, they become evil. Therefore, not all demons should be treated as evil spirits. Creatures that have developed spiritual awareness through cultivation, if they do good, become gods or immortals; if they do evil, become demons or monsters. We cannot judge them all with a single stroke."
My heart gradually calmed down, and my thoughts were filled with the demon fox. I wondered how it was doing now and if it were possible, I would rather let it go. In fact, I did have some impression of it; its fragrance was unforgettable, and the image of its creamy, smooth skin was deeply etched in my mind. I could also imagine its graceful figure.
"Hmm"
In a daze, I seemed to hear laughter, just like the laughter I heard on the first night in the dilapidated school - elusive and indistinct. Suddenly, I felt a surge of confidence. It knew I was thinking about it, and it would definitely help me. I would also treat it well!
I stood up abruptly, maintaining that subtle connection, picked up a brush dipped in specially prepared cinnabar ink, and began to draw talismans following the pattern. Just as my master had said, for someone like me who often copied calligraphy, drawing talismans was not difficult. The state of concentration and breath control required for writing was the same as that for drawing talismans. Of course, the most important part was the "jie sha" or the sealing process. The ultimate power of a talisman depended on the sealing process, which, in simple terms, was about injecting spiritual energy into the talisman.
Different types of talismans require specific hand gestures, visualization of certain deities (though my master didn't ask me to visualize deities, only to think of the demon fox lending me its strength), and recitation of specific secret words during the sealing process. Without this step, the talisman would be ineffective or have very weak power.
Each time I finished drawing a talisman, my master would teach me how to seal it next to me. He would also stamp the talisman paper with a seal to increase its power.
At the time, I just followed instructions without thinking much, and I didn't find the sealing process too difficult. Afterwards, I was quite surprised because some of the hand gestures were very complex, twisting and turning, yet I could reproduce them correctly after just one look. Some of the secret words had as many as eight sentences, and I could recite them correctly after just one listen. I would never have been able to do this before.
I felt a bit excited and surprised, as if I had always wanted to learn these things and now I finally had the opportunity. This might be the demon fox's emotions, but the feeling wasn't very strong, so I couldn't be sure.
Unconsciously, I had finished drawing the thirteen talismans, and I felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from me, like shedding a hundred pounds, yet I didn't feel particularly tired.
This time, my master didn't rush to paste them himself. He wanted all the villagers to see that I was the one who had drawn the talismans and that I was the one who would subdue the large camphor tree, establishing my authority and claiming all the credit.
Since nothing had happened the last time the talismans were pasted, I didn't pay much attention this time either. I picked up a "Nine Phoenix Breaking Filth" talisman, applied a bit of paste, and slapped it onto the tree. However, the moment my hand touched the tree, an extremely overbearing spiritual force surged into my body. I felt stars before my eyes, the world spinning, and my body was thrown back, rolling several times after hitting the ground. I had a extremely painful and stuffy feeling in my chest, my breath was stuck, my throat itched, and I couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood.
A chorus of screams erupted from the crowd. My mom, grandmother, uncle, and others ran over, quickly supporting me, asking what had happened. My master also hurried over, pressing on my pulse point, his face filled with concern and regret.
Actually, after spitting out that mouthful of blood, I felt much better. The injury didn't seem too serious, but the subtle connection I had just established with the demon fox had disappeared. I felt a bit panicked and worried, not knowing how seriously it was hurt or if it would just disappear like that.
I pushed away the hands of the people around me and stood up. "I'm fine, really."
My master asked anxiously, "How do you feel?"
"It's like a giant punched me," I responded, recalling a fleeting illusion I had when the spiritual force surged into my body—a towering giant throwing a punch at me.
My master's face darkened. "Before, the talismans I drew had no power, so it let us paste them. Now, the talismans you've drawn threaten it, so it's starting to resist."
I perked up. "So, as long as we paste all the talismans, it will be subdued?"
My master hesitated, "It should be able to subdue it, but the problem is that we can't paste them on."
After receiving a heavy blow, I was not in danger of losing my life, which might have been protected by the demon fox. Now, the extent of the demon fox's injuries was unknown, and I couldn't risk touching it again easily. Other people would be even less capable of withstanding an attack; it might be a fatal endeavor for them.
"Master, can you undo the seal on me?" I decided to take a risk.
My master looked troubled and shook his head. "I only have the method to seal it, not to undo it. Unless it breaks through the restriction and wakes up on its own, or you release it when your cultivation is high enough."
My mom and grandmother were confused, not understanding what we were talking about. I didn't explain to them and scanned the area. The villagers were looking on fearfully from a distance. They wouldn't dare to paste the talismans, and I couldn't ask them to go to their deaths.
My gaze settled on the altar, where my master's ritual implements were placed, including a willow bow and an arrow. An idea struck me. The big camphor tree could only harm someone who touched it. If I attached the talismans to the arrow and shot it into the tree, it wouldn't be able to hurt me.
"Master, would it work if we attach the talismans to the arrow and shoot them into the tree?"
My master shook his head. "It would work, but without subduing its demonic energy first, even an axe can't cut it. How could a small arrow penetrate it?"
I looked around and had another idea. I picked up two handfuls of soft mud from the ground, shaped them into balls, and sandwiched the top of a talisman between the two mud balls, pressing them tightly together. Then I threw it at the big camphor tree. With a "pat" sound, the mud and the talisman stuck to the tree without falling off, and I wasn't harmed.
My master was delighted and started to dig up mud too. My uncle and auntie also came to help, shaping the mud and handing it to me. I quickly sandwiched the talismans between the mud and threw them at the big camphor tree.
As I threw the ninth talisman, the big camphor tree suddenly started to tremble, and the ground began to shake. A dark red mist began to concentrate towards us, the wind picked up, swirling around the tree, and the smell of blood was so strong it was almost impossible to breathe.
I was shocked. I hadn't expected the big camphor tree to have such a capability. It must have sensed the danger and started to fight back desperately. I hurriedly threw the tenth talisman, which successfully stuck to the tree, but one of the talismans that had previously adhered to the tree fell off due to the shaking. The adhesion of the soft mud wasn't very strong, and a few more mud balls with talismans were on the verge of falling.
"We need glutinous rice! Who can cook some glutinous rice porridge?" my master shouted towards the crowd, and immediately several people ran home to cook the rice.
We were so close to success, how could we wait for the glutinous rice to cook? I quickly threw two more talismans onto the tree. The tree and the ground trembled even more intensely, as if roots were drilling towards the surface. The mist grew thicker, the wind stronger, and with the naked eye, one could see the dark red currents swirling around the tree.
Ignoring everything, I threw all the talismans in my hand onto the tree, picking up the fallen ones and throwing them back on. As they fell, I picked them up and threw them again. My speed advantage was fully utilized at this moment. I ran around the tree twice, and finally, for a brief moment, all the talismans were attached to the big camphor tree.
The big camphor tree suddenly stopped trembling, the ground became calm, the wind died down, and the sky cleared up, creating a peaceful feeling reminiscent of the calm after a storm.
"We can cut the tree now!" my master exclaimed excitedly, picking up a hatchet himself to prepare for cutting the tree. Just then, my unusually sharp hearing picked up some strange sounds. Looking up in the direction of the sounds, I saw a triangular snake head emerge from a large hole about five or six meters up in the third big camphor tree, followed by a section of its body sliding out.
This snake had a particularly large head, distinctly triangular, with a pointed and upturned snout and nose. The upper part of its head was reddish-brown with square-shaped large spots, while its belly was white with alternating blackish-brown spots, and its body surface was very rough. I had seen this type of snake before; locals called it "Lao Tie Tou" or the five-step snake, known for its highly toxic venom and aggressive nature. Once approached, it would launch an attack. However, the five-step snakes I had seen before were no larger than the handle of a knife, about a meter long. This one, however, was as large as the mouth of a bowl, and its length was hard to estimate.
Could a five-step snake grow to such a large size?