Chapter 7 — The Fox Spirit of Qingshan

I smiled as I looked up at him, reading in his gaze a profound, lingering devotion and an absolute reluctance to ever let me go again.

“Master, a hunter has brought another white fox to the gates!”

Little Fortune came flying breathlessly into the inner courtyard. Over the past few years, everyone throughout the capital had come to know that the master of the Xu household was desperately searching for the white fox of his past. The master had often claimed that his white fox not only understood human speech, but could even part its lips and speak the human tongue itself. Naturally, the townsfolk whispered that the master had finally lost his mind. Yet Xu Zheng knew deep down that he truly was going mad, and he had been sinking into this madness for five full years. He had posted massive rewards and even ventured personally deep into the mountains to search, but not a single trace of Yun Shu could be found. Because her injuries had been so severe back then, he lived in perpetual terror that the worst had befallen her. Xu Zheng had issued public notices promising riches to any hunter who brought the creature back unharmed, strictly forbidding them from taking its life. He desperately hoped that through this method, he might find Yun Shu, or at least members of her kin. He only wanted to ask how badly she had been hurt that day, and how she was faring now. Yet every time the hunters brought a creature forward, a glance was enough to tell him it was not her. Xu Zheng himself could not explain why he instinctively knew the truth the very moment he laid eyes on them.

“Where? Take me to see it at once.”

Xu Zheng hurried out in a rush. The mere mention of a white fox was enough to send his heart hammering frantically against his ribs. He hoped beyond hope that it was Yun Shu, yet simultaneously prayed it was not. He longed for it to be her so they could finally be reunited, but dreaded it as well, knowing how clever she was—how could she ever be easily captured by a mere hunter? The moment Xu Zheng stepped out the door and laid eyes on the white fox confined within the wooden cage, he knew instantly that this was not her. He instructed Little Fortune to hand over the reward money. Little Fortune wore a sour expression as he fetched the coins, then hoisted the cage up and followed closely behind.

“Master, is this one not her either? Heavens, just which number does this make?”

Naturally, Little Fortune had no way of knowing how his master could tell them apart at a glance; he only knew that the bounty grew larger by the day, and the queue of people coming to claim it swelled right along with it. By now, everyone knew that white foxes commanded the highest payout, so naturally, every creature brought to the gates was a white fox.

“No, it is not her. Tomorrow, take it outside the city walls and set it free.”

Whenever a white fox was brought to him, the master would always release it with his own hands. The following day, deep within the forest beyond the city, Xu Zheng found a suitable clearing and finally opened the cage door to let the captive creature go.

“Go on, be free.”

The master and servant turned and began their descent down the mountain.

“Awoo—awoo—”

A pitiful, agonizing yelp suddenly pierced the air from behind them.

“Master, that sounded just like a fox in distress!”

Little Fortune cried out by Xu Zheng’s ear. Without a second thought, Xu Zheng spun around and sprinted back toward the source of the sound, his attendants trailing closely behind.

“You wretched hunter! That was clearly the very fox we released into the wild just today! Why have you captured it again? Didn’t you already collect your reward yesterday?”

As Little Fortune stared at the white fox locked once more behind wooden bars, he trembled with incandescent rage.

“This…” The hunter clearly had not anticipated that Xu Zheng would double back and catch him red-handed in the act of re-capturing the beast.

“Could it be that you lot are deliberately domesticating these creatures just to swindle reward money from the Xu estate time and time again?”

Though Little Fortune was merely a servant, his mind was remarkably sharp. It was then that Xu Zheng noticed the stark terror in the trapped fox’s eyes—a fear born entirely of human handling. He had only himself to blame for failing to realize that this very same fox had already crossed his path multiple times.

“Very well. You may come to the mansion to claim the reward once more today, and I shall let this offense pass without punishment. But do not ever bring it here again; untie its cage and set it free right now.”

Xu Zheng assumed that after giving such a stern warning, the greedy man would not dare lay a hand on the creature again. To his utter horror, the moment he turned his back, a wave of malice welled up within the hunter’s heart, and he brutally struck the fox dead. Since he would no longer be allowed to bring it back for money, he might as well slaughter it for its meat and fur. Hearing the commotion, Xu Zheng whipped around, only to see the pristine white fur of the fox already stained with bright, warm blood.

“What in heaven’s name are you doing? Why did you have to kill it? Didn’t I just say I would give you the reward anyway?”

Xu Zheng lunged forward, staring down at the lifeless body of the fox inside the cage, feeling a sudden, agonizing stab deep within his chest.

“Yun Shu? Is that you? No, you aren’t Yun Shu, are you?

I couldn’t possibly have mistaken you—you aren’t Yun Shu, right?” Xu Zheng muttered, tears streaming down his face as he spoke.

“Yun Shu, Yun Shu, I wouldn’t mistake you, no, it cannot be…”

“Yun Shu!”

Little Fortune and the hunter were now shouting at one another, the hunter sneering that since he couldn't trade it for gold anymore, turning its pelt into a winter vest was better than nothing. With trembling fingers, Xu Zheng unlatched the cage door and lifted the blood-soaked body of the fox into his arms.

“Yun Shu, is it truly you?” His voice was barely a whisper, frail as the wings of a moth.

Before, a single glance had been enough to tell him it wasn’t her; but now that the creature had been senselessly slain, doubt clouded his mind, and he dared not be certain anymore.

“Ah… sob… sob…”

Clutching the bloodied fox tightly to his chest, Xu Zheng wept uncontrollably, his grief tearing through him in ragged, broken sobs.

“Xu Zheng, whatever are you crying so bitterly for?”

It seemed to Xu Zheng that he heard the familiar, melodic voice of Yun Shu. Believing it to be a phantom illusion born from the dead creature in his arms, he only wept more desolately.

“Xu Zheng, have you taken a liking to yet another fox?”

I had just reached the edge of the mountain path when I heard Xu Zheng weeping as though his heart were breaking. Upon arriving, I was stunned to find him tightly embracing a completely different fox. Could it be that during these past five years, I had truly missed something monumental? Finally snapping out of his dazed grief, Xu Zheng jerked his head around to look at the figure standing behind him.

“Yun Shu?”

“Yes. Have you taken in another fox? Does she happen to share the name Yun Shu as well?” I asked, blinking in utter confusion.

“Yun Shu!”

With a fierce, desperate cry, Xu Zheng lunged forward and slammed into me, wrapping his arms around my waist with bone-crushing force.

“Yun Shu! Just where in the world have you been!”

Xu Zheng wept with a profound, aching grievance, looking as wronged as a child abandoned by the world. He desperately wanted to ask if my injuries back then had been severe, how I had survived these long years, and how I was living now… Yet all those countless questions ultimately melted away into a single, choked sob: “Where have you been all this time!” I wrapped my arms tightly around Xu Zheng in return. The man was weeping so hard he couldn't even catch his breath, yet his frame felt steady and robust—it seemed his health had thoroughly recovered. Because he simply refused to stop crying and speak, I had no choice but to press my forehead gently against his, seeking the answers directly within his mind. Only then did I realize that through all these desolate years, he too had been searching endlessly for me. Within his memories, I saw the countless roads he had traveled, the countless foxes he had examined, the crushing exhaustion he had endured, and the bitter loneliness that had eaten away at his heart. So throughout these five long years, he had never once forgotten me.

“Xu Zheng, I have finally come home!”

I pulled him closer still, burying myself entirely within the warm embrace of the one I loved.