Chapter 9: Jia Baoyu of Foxes

Hearing the words “Fox Clan Enchantment Bead,” Zhou Tong immediately felt flustered. “Fox clan? Do you mean fox spirits… I mean, fox immortals? Like in novels, a fox immortal’s inner core?”

Gu Wang explained, “An enchantment bead is different from an inner core. An inner core is formed from a fox’s cultivation and remains as long as they cultivate. An enchantment bead, however, is natural. Only a very few foxes, through the creation of heaven and earth, are born with an enchantment bead.”

He provided an example: “Have you heard of Dream of the Red Chamber? Jia Baoyu was born with a Jade of Spiritual Communication in his mouth. A fox with an enchantment bead is pretty much the Jia Baoyu of the fox clan.”

Zhou Tong and Chang Xu were speechless.

Gu Wang continued, “Those with an enchantment bead are loved by everyone who sees them. For the fox clan, having one is beneficial for cultivating their charm techniques and is a supreme treasure for their kind. But if it’s obtained by someone who doesn’t cultivate, it can only attract people who have no resistance to desire.”

Zhou Tong felt a pang of resonance and thought, Exactly. Look at the people she’d attracted: wealthy second-generation types who only knew how to fight and party, arrogant, chauvinistic men, guys with weak kidneys who constantly asked her to hotels… Forget being too scared to date; even if she wanted to, she wouldn’t be interested in any of them!

She glanced at Chang Xu beside her, wondering what was wrong with him.

Zhou Tong: “Then why would such a precious treasure be on me? I truly don’t know anything!”

Gu Wang didn’t know the full story and didn’t dare to remove it casually, so he asked, “Before you became ‘loved by everyone,’ did you have any interactions with strange people or animals?”

Zhou Tong: “Before that, I was a high school senior, just commuting between home and school every day, so I definitely wouldn’t have seen strange people. As for animals…”

She pondered; it had been too long and couldn’t quite recall.

Chang Xu, anxious beside her, couldn’t help but say, “Last May, before the college entrance exam, didn’t you save a stray cat? A white one, really beautiful, you pulled it out of the lake in the rain.”

Zhou Tong slapped her hand. “Ah! Right!” Then she looked puzzled. “How did you know?”

Chang Xu mumbled, “I went to the same high school as you.”

“Oh, I see.” Zhou Tong didn’t ask further and explained to Gu Wang, “There’s a small park next to our high school with a small artificial lake. I used to go to the lake to review my lessons during lunch breaks.”

“That day, it was drizzling. I had just arrived at the lake when I saw a very small kitten, struggling on the water’s surface, crying terribly. I can swim, so I jumped in and pulled it out.”

“Later, I used my jacket to make it a makeshift nest and left some food, and then I didn’t bother with it anymore. But when I went the next day, it was gone. I thought its mother had taken it away.”

At this point, she wrinkled her nose. “This enchantment bead couldn’t have been left by it, could it? How could that little fella repay kindness with harm!”

Gu Wang thought it wasn’t impossible. If that small white cat was a newborn fox, naturally born with an enchantment bead, it wouldn’t be hard to understand why, after being rescued, the little creature would want to repay the favor by giving the bead to its benefactor.

However, this needed verification. He asked, “Where is your high school? We need to go check out that artificial lake.”

Zhou Tong immediately said, “I’m a local. Our high school is on the east side of Yaoguang City!”

With nothing more to say, the trio immediately hailed a taxi and headed straight for the small park next to the Third Middle School.

It was already seven in the evening when they arrived, and the park wasn’t very crowded.

Zhou Tong, familiar with the area, led the two to the artificial lake.

Gu Wang could feel waves of Yin energy emanating from the lake even without opening his Yin Eyes. He was puzzled. Didn’t they say it was a fox clan? Why was there Yin energy here?

He had kept his Yin Eyes open for too long today, and the Yin energy in his body was somewhat restless, so he didn’t dare open them again. He could only try to force the entity out.

Thinking this, Gu Wang formed a hand seal and chanted a spell: “Water spirits do not emerge, Yin benefits all things, arise!”

However, there was no movement around them.

Gu Wang raised an eyebrow. This spell was meant to ward off water spirits and ghosts, so it should have had some effect. Could there be other entities involved?

He asked the two beside him, who were clearly impressed but clueless, “Do students usually spread scary legends? Are there any about this small park?”

Zhou Tong: “Uh, I don’t know…” She just studied a lot in high school.

Chang Xu, however, scratched his head. “Which kind of stories do you want to hear?”

Gu Wang: “About this artificial lake, or about someone who died here?”

Chang Xu thought for a moment. “This small park hasn’t been around for long, so there aren’t many legends. About deaths… Oh, I remember!”

He said, “I heard from students two grades above us that when the small park was just built, a girl came here late at night and hanged herself. After that, the small park was closed for several months.”

“It’s said the girl was forced to her death. Her family didn’t even collect her body; her friends handled the funeral. Later, the park paid her family tens of thousands of yuan.”

Zhou Tong’s face initially showed discomfort, then she looked confused. “Are you saying this girl’s family didn’t pick up her body, but they came to collect money?”

Chang Xu nodded affirmatively. “The park probably also thought it was strange and didn’t suppress the news. Many people reportedly saw it. When her body was being collected, several young girls were crying hysterically by the lake. But when it came to getting money, a whole bunch of her family members showed up.”

Zhou Tong said angrily, “How could they have such a family!”

The lake surface gently rippled.

Gu Wang subtly glanced at it.

Chang Xu continued, “Later, that family was heavily criticized and supposedly wanted to buy a house for their son. They had accepted over a hundred thousand in betrothal gifts from someone and wanted to marry their daughter off. The daughter refused and was forced for several months until she finally couldn’t take it anymore and hanged herself.”

“After the incident was exposed, that family became socially dead in this city and quickly moved away, not long after.”

Zhou Tong was genuinely angry. “Such a family is better off without!”

The ripples on the lake grew larger.

Gu Wang seized the opportunity, formed a hand seal, and chanted, “Heaven’s net is wide, earth’s net is not sparse, seize!”

With a scream, a female ghost wrapped in a golden net was flung out.

Chang Xu stumbled back a few steps, then immediately moved to shield Zhou Tong. “Holy cow, there really is a ghost! Ahhh—”

Gu Wang was helpless. “Keep it down!” He then turned to the female ghost. “Don’t be afraid, we’re not here to cause trouble. We just want to ask you a question.”

Unexpectedly, the female ghost was unusually calm, even somewhat surprised, eagerly taking a few deep breaths. “What do you want to ask? Speak.”

Gu Wang: “Are you the hanged ghost that was mentioned earlier? How did you end up in the lake?”

The female ghost slapped her thigh. “You’re asking me! I was hanging perfectly well in a tree, but those people went and cut down the forest and turned it into an artificial lake! A perfectly good hanged ghost like me had to switch careers and become a water ghost!”

“I couldn’t leave, and I can’t swim, so I’ve been splashing around in the lake every day, drowning!”

Gu Wang: “…” Sounds pretty tragic.

Zhou Tong let out an “Oh?”

“The day I saved the kitten, I saw bubbles in the middle of the lake. Was that you?”

The female ghost, soaking in the fresh air, slapped her thigh again. “Exactly! I was drowning every day, it was unbearable, so I thought about finding a substitute. This little girl,” She pointed at Zhou Tong, “came every day, so I figured it would be her.”

“I saved up my ghostly power for a few days and created an illusion of a kitten falling into the water to lure her into the lake. But then…” She smacked her lips, “This little girl was too dedicated. I’d pull the kitten into the lake, and she’d swim further in, completely disregard herself.”

“I also had a cat before I died, and I don’t know how it’s doing now. If there’s one more person in the world who loves cats, my silly cat might have a better life. So I softened my heart and let her go.”

Gu Wang: “It’s a good thing you stopped. Now, with the changes in the Underworld’s decrees, even if it’s to find a substitute, harming people will result in punishment.”

The female ghost breathed a sigh of relief. Before she could even smile, Zhou Tong said, “Um, I’m the Yaoguang City Junior Division swimming champion. I can swim three laps in this small lake with no problem…” So, not that reckless after all.

Female ghost: “…” She said expressionlessly, “I’m sorry, we landlubbers don’t understand these things.”

Zhou Tong: “No, no problem.”

The female ghost glanced at Chang Xu again. “This silly boy kept coming here to wait for that girl, so I thought he’d do. So I saved up my ghostly power for a few more days and created this illusion of the girl walking into the lake.”

“Who knew this boy was even more determined? He chased her all the way to the center of the lake. I suddenly remembered all those CPs I used to ship, and softened my heart again, and let him go.”

The female ghost slapped her thigh again. “No one has come since then! Regrets!”

Chang Xu opened his mouth and weakly said, “Um, I’m the Yaoguang City Junior Division swimming runner-up…”

Female ghost: “…” Damn it! Are these two a couple sent to torment her?!

Zhou Tong, however, was surprised. “Were you in my grade? I remember the runner-up was named Jiuyang or something…”

Chang Xu: “That’s me. I changed my name by threatening to die after high school.”

Zhou Tong couldn’t help but laugh, finding the boy quite interesting and kind. But then she sighed, remembering he only liked her because of the enchantment bead.

Gu Wang cleared his throat and asked the female ghost, “Do you know anything about the enchantment bead on her?”

The female ghost said, “I only know that one day, she suddenly had an enchantment bead on her. I didn’t pay it any mind; she’s just a normal person anyway, so she still couldn’t see me.”

Gu Wang pressed, “Specifically, which day?”

Female ghost: “Last spring, just after the peach blossoms finished blooming. I don’t know the exact date. Oh, right, that day, the little brats from the neighboring school were making a lot of noise, playing music and stuff. I could hear it all from here.”

Zhou Tong and Chang Xu exchanged glances and both said, “Sports day!”

Zhou Tong quickly added, “Every year on April 16th, our school holds a sports day. We all remember!”

Gu Wang pressed further, “Those few days, where were you? Did anything strange happen?”

Zhou Tong: “I was just commuting between school and home… Wait, no, I remember. I was staying at my great-aunt’s house those few days.”

She explained, “My great-aunt adored me. She would call me every day during that time, saying she missed me, so I went to stay with her for a few days during Sports Day.”

Gu Wang decisively said, “Lead the way.” He then took out a soul-pacifying bottle and told the female ghost, “Your obsession hasn’t dissipated, so you can’t reincarnate. Do you want to come with me?”

The female ghost: “Anywhere is fine, as long as it’s not this wretched lake bottom.”

With that, she transformed into a wisp of green smoke and entered the bottle. She couldn’t leave on her own and had to wait for someone to take her out.

Zhou Tong then led the two to an old residential area. “My great-aunt is a very distant relative. She never married or had children and has always lived here. But she was very well-liked, and people often came to visit her.”

“She was very fond of my mother and me, treating my mother like her own daughter and me like her own granddaughter. But she passed away shortly after my college entrance exam, and I have her house key. However, I was afraid of feeling sad, so I never visited.”

As she spoke, a hint of sorrow appeared on her face.

Opening the door, the house was neatly organized.

However, Gu Wang smelled a faint, dissipating trace of demonic energy.