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墨書 Inktalez
The fox led Xing Ruyi by the hand to a household.
This household was clearly not very wealthy; the yard and the house were quite simple and looked very shabby. Just as Xing Ruyi was about to ask a question, the fox placed a finger over her lips and brought her to the window.
Through the window, Xing Ruyi saw a Woman and a Girl. The Girl appeared to be around four or five years old, lying in bed with her eyes closed, while the Woman was bent over, crying beside her.
"Do you see that girl? Her father was deliberately lured into the Gou Family Ancestral Home by the Old Man, and he passed away three months ago. The one crying by the bedside is her Mother."
"This girl’s soul has also been taken away, hasn’t it?"
"Yes! The seemingly kind Old Man in your eyes actually leaves no room for mercy when he acts. Any curse that harms one's own bloodline is just a lie; what he truly wants is to eradicate all roots. You know how it is with bad people—they commit so many wrongdoings that they fear retribution from others. So, these people's families are merely collateral damage."
"You brought me here to see this girl not just to save her life, did you?" Xing Ruyi asked, raising her face with narrowed eyes. "Could it be that you intentionally led us into this village because of her?"
"Take another good look at her!" the fox urged, pointing towards the inside of the window.
Xing Ruyi looked inside with suspicion, and as her gaze slowly traced over the girl's face, she suddenly froze.
"She... she looks like me when I was young!"
"It’s not that she looks like you; rather, you look very much like her," the fox said with a smile, gently wrapping an arm around Xing Ruyi. "She is your ancestor. To be precise, if it weren't for her existence now, there would be no future you. So, I brought you here simply to protect my future Wife!"
Xing Ruyi was stunned.
She had thought of many reasons why the fox brought her into this village but never imagined it was to save her ancestor—more accurately, to save herself.
Indeed, if this girl were to die, there would be no future Xing Ruyi. If there were no present Xing Ruyi, this girl likely wouldn't survive to adulthood either. It turned out that now and the future, the future and the past were all interconnected in a mysterious circle.
After coming to terms with everything, Xing Ruyi suddenly felt much lighter. She had initially thought that her intrusion into this village was merely to witness a story woven from lies—a seemingly beautiful yet fundamentally flawed love, and the tragic life of an innocent girl who had been sold. Now she understood that her purpose in coming to this village was to save herself and to protect her love with the fox.
"Fox, thank you!"
Xing Ruyi stood on her tiptoes and kissed the fox on the cheek before quickly running into the house. She looked at the still-dazed woman and said, "My name is Xing Ruyi, and I came from Rouge Shop. I happened to pass through this village. Also, I can cure your daughter's illness!"
The soup medicine that Xing Ruyi prepared was called Soul Retrieval Soup, based on a recipe from Qianjin Fang Yanyi. It used cinnamon heart to summon the soul from the liver, and ephedra to open the spirit from the lungs; it included almonds to descend the counterflow and licorice to soothe the internal organs. With eight liters of water, it was boiled down to one liter and taken in three doses. Of course, the soup only treated the symptoms; what truly mattered was the soul and spirit that the fox had retrieved, which needed to be returned intact to the girl’s body, supplemented by the soup for stabilization. Soon enough, she would awaken.
Having saved one person, Xing Ruyi felt compelled to save the remaining villagers as well. Fortunately, most of the souls had already been found by the fox; those that hadn’t were spared due to the soup's effects, which was a small blessing amidst misfortune.
As for the Only Son of the Sun Shopkeeper, his soul could not be retrieved. Even if the fox could find it, Xing Ruyi had no intention of letting him have it back. Such a person would only cause trouble for others even if healed. However, out of respect for life being equal, Xing Ruyi still preserved his life, ensuring he didn’t appear too foolish.
Sun the Shopkeeper was unaware of these details and expressed his gratitude profusely.
After all this commotion, Xing Ruyi and her companions had stayed in this village for three days. On the fourth morning, when everyone decided to continue their journey, Sun the Shopkeeper hurried over and blocked their carriage.
Xing Ruyi thought Sun the Shopkeeper was still concerned about his only son’s situation, so she lifted the curtain and said, "What is it, Sun the Shopkeeper? The Fox Demon has indeed done everything possible regarding your son."
"My wretched child brought this upon himself; it's already a blessing that he can live. I'm here today not for him but for another matter concerning you and Young Master Yin."
"Another matter?" Xing Ruyi frowned. "Is there something strange happening in this village?"
"No! It's not our village but rather in the neighboring one." Sun the Shopkeeper gasped for breath. "You see, I have a sister who married into that neighboring village. I don't know if it's influenced by our village's troubles, but they haven't seen a drop of rain for over half a year.
Originally, there were many issues in our village as well, compounded by that curse from Gou Family Ancestral Home; my sister didn't dare return often. Until yesterday when she came back and learned that you had lifted our village's curse and saved so many people, she cried and told me that her father-in-law and husband had died due to the drought in their village. So she asked me if I could plead with you to help save her people.
Of course, if you and Young Master Yin find it too difficult, I won't insist; it's just that those villagers are suffering greatly. If they can't escape soon, they might die of drought or starvation in that village."
Xing Ruyi originally had no intention of getting involved, but upon hearing Sun the Shopkeeper's last words, her heart softened. After a moment of silence, she asked Sun the Shopkeeper, "Is that village far?"
"Not far at all, just separated by a hill," Sun the Shopkeeper replied eagerly upon seeing Xing Ruyi relent. "How about I lead you there? I've had my family prepare a donkey cart. It may not be as smooth as your carriage, but it won't be too slow either."
Xing Ruyi nodded, and Sun the Shopkeeper immediately waved his hand. A donkey cart was soon brought over by a young woman. The woman bore many similarities to Sun the Shopkeeper, suggesting she was the sister he mentioned.
Xing Ruyi also grew up in the countryside. That place experienced drought nine out of ten years, so she was no stranger to arid conditions. However, the scene she saw through the carriage window still shocked her. She had never imagined that drought could reach such an extreme.
Although the two villages were not far apart and it was winter, the air here was noticeably drier. After being scorched by summer's heat and swept by autumn winds, the land was riddled with deep cracks. As far as the eye could see, not only were the trees withered and the grass burned, but there were also no traces of crops in the fields.
Farmers primarily relied on their harvests for sustenance. Seeing the barren fields made Xing Ruyi anxious. If what Sun the Shopkeeper said was true—that this village hadn't seen a drop of rain for over half a year—then hunger and famine would indeed be serious issues for the villagers. Fortunately, the neighboring village seemed to be faring normally, so this village's drought had not led to a major disaster.
"Li Mao!"
"What can I do for you, Shopkeeper?"
"Go call Sun the Shopkeeper's sister over; I have something to ask her."
Li Mao glanced at the fox sitting in the carriage and hesitated slightly.
After leaving the village, Si Niang took Bell to sit in another carriage loaded with luggage, leaving this one for Xing Ruyi and the fox to ride alone. Seeing Li Mao hesitate, the fox waved her hand and said, "Don't worry about me; just listen to whatever your Shopkeeper says!"
With the fox speaking up, Li Mao finally agreed and went to summon Sun the Shopkeeper's sister.
"By age, I should call you sister, Fox Demon, but I'm not sure how you would like to be addressed?"
"You're too kind! As a rural Daoist woman, I don't deserve such formalities. If you don't mind, just call me Sister Sun."
"The Fox Demon will not be polite then; I shall call you Sister Sun. Sister Sun, how long has this drought lasted in the village? When did it begin? Before the drought started, did anything unusual happen in the village?"
"This drought has lasted for over half a year. I remember it was fine in spring; my husband was still planning to buy seeds. Later, it just kept getting hotter and drier, and while it rained everywhere around us, our village remained dry. The Village Chief also led us in prayers for rain, but it was as if the Master didn’t hear us. By summer, the sun became unbearably hot. My father-in-law and my husband both succumbed to heatstroke," Sister Sun said, wiping her tears with her sleeve.
"Before this great drought, did anything strange happen in the village?"
"Strange things?" Sister Sun shook her head at first, then uncertainly asked, "Would strange people count?"
"Strange people? What was strange about that person?"
"Actually, it's not that strange; he was just a beggar. However, in our poor remote area, we haven't seen a beggar in ten or eight years, especially one dressed in a tattered robe. By appearance alone, he might be considered strange."
"Describe him in detail!"
"I remember it was around noon, just before the Vernal Equinox, when that beggar in a ragged robe staggered down the dirt road at the village entrance. He was very thin, as if he had never eaten before; his arms were thinner than the reins of a carriage.
Even though it was spring, that beggar was sweating profusely, and his eyes looked dazed as he stumbled along, making one feel anxious just watching him. At that moment, I thought that if a gust of wind blew, it might just carry this beggar away."
"And then?" Xing Ruyi pressed on, feeling vaguely that the drought in the village was somehow related to this beggar in the tattered robe.
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