Chapter 9: Is This a Spirit Fox? 

It was a quiet night, and the next morning, after breakfast, Xia Qingfeng set out with Xu Xiaoxiao on her back and the white fox by her side to head up the mountain. The white fox’s injury had healed remarkably quickly—just over half a month, and it was as good as new.

When they reached the spot where they first encountered the white fox, Xia Qingfeng crouched down and gently patted its head, saying, “Little white fox, your injury is all healed. You can go home now.”

To her surprise, the white fox didn’t leave. Instead, it nudged Xia Qingfeng’s hand with its head and then lay down on the ground, acting all cute and playful.

Xia Qingfeng…

What’s going on? Xia Qingfeng exchanged a confused look with Xu Xiaoxiao. Xu Xiaoxiao patted the white fox’s head and said, “I think it doesn’t want to leave.”

Xia Qingfeng turned to the white fox and asked, “You want to stay and follow us?”

The white fox immediately stood up, clinging to Xia Qingfeng’s leg with its front paws, its tail wagging furiously, nodding its head repeatedly.

Xia Qingfeng… Can this white fox understand human speech? Xu Xiaoxiao was also watching with curiosity.

Xia Qingfeng then said, “Since you want to stay, I’ll give you a name. Hmm… You’re a male fox and you’re quite handsome, so how about calling you ‘Xia Yingjun’?”

Xu Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but roll her eyes. This name… it sounded so familiar! It was the same name Xia Qingfeng had given to her white SUV in her previous life. Oh, it was the same car that had dropped them off in the parking lot.

What neither of them noticed was that at that moment, the white fox was feeling embarrassed. Yes, embarrassed! Because it remembered how Xia Qingfeng had checked its injured leg, picking it up by the hind leg to determine whether it was male or female. Ah, it was blushing!

But Xia Qingfeng, who was blissfully unaware of the fox’s inner turmoil, continued to happily rub the white fox’s head and ask, “Do you like this name?”

The white fox immediately tried to cover up its so-called “emotions,” grinning with its mouth open, then standing on its hind legs with its front paws off the ground, spinning in circles. Xu Xiaoxiao found it amusing and clapped her hands, saying, “Mom, looks like the white fox really likes its name.” Xia Qingfeng smiled and nodded in agreement.

Setting aside any embarrassment, it was time to get down to business. Suddenly, the white fox grabbed the hem of Xia Qingfeng’s skirt with its mouth and tugged it forward. Xia Qingfeng, patting the fox’s head, asked, “Do you want us to follow you?” The white fox nodded and then sprinted up the mountain. Xia Qingfeng placed Xu Xiaoxiao in the backpack and followed the white fox. After running a short distance, the fox would stop and turn back, waiting for them to catch up.

They had been walking for quite a while, and the white fox still showed no signs of stopping. Xia Qingfeng began to feel anxious. They had already entered the depths of the forest. Although she had left markers along the way, this was still a primitive forest, and it was very easy to get lost. Moreover, deeper into the forest, there were bound to be large, dangerous beasts. The villagers never dared to venture this far into the mountains.

Xia Qingfeng quickly called out to the white fox, “Yingjun, where exactly are you trying to lead us?” At this moment, the white fox was sniffing the ground as it walked. Suddenly, it raised its head and let out a sharp “yo yo” sound, seemingly in a hurry.

Xia Qingfeng hurriedly followed. They arrived at the base of an incredibly thick tree, and the white fox called out happily. Xia Qingfeng was curious and squatted down to take a closer look. She immediately broke into a smile. Right in front of her was a brilliant red flower, blooming like a blazing flame. Its twelve bright green leaves shimmered with a snow-white glow, and a mysterious, ethereal aura surrounded it.

“Oh my God!”

This ginseng was definitely extraordinary. Xia Qingfeng quickly squatted down, inserted her small shovel into the soil, and began to dig for the ginseng.

Suddenly, she felt a flash of white before her eyes, followed by a loud “ow” sound from her ear. Xia Qingfeng immediately looked up, and a cold sweat broke out all over her body. Above her, on the massive tree, there was a huge black snake, its scales glistening in the light. The white fox was biting firmly on the snake’s vital spot.

This… was it a guardian beast for the ginseng? Both Xia Qingfeng and Xu Xiaoxiao felt a wave of relief, as if they had narrowly escaped a disaster, and they both instinctively turned to look at the white fox. Could this really be an ordinary white fox? It was more like a spirit beast! Xia Qingfeng wanted to throw her head back and shout, “This reincarnation is really a jackpot!!!”

At that moment, the white fox dragged the now lifeless giant snake down from the tree. Xia Qingfeng smiled and ran over, patting the white fox’s head, saying, “Our Yingjun is just so mighty! Tonight, I’ll make you some roasted snake meat.”

With the danger now averted, it was finally time to dig up the ginseng. Xia Qingfeng took out her small shovel and carefully began to dig. Worried about damaging the roots, she spent a long time before finally extracting the ginseng from the soil.

She shook off the dirt, and as the dust fell, the full shape of the ginseng was revealed.

It was large, round, and full, with thick, dense roots, looking almost like a small baby sleeping.

“Oh my God, it looks just like a baby!” Xu Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but exclaim.

“This ginseng is nearly becoming a spirit! It looks like a child; it must be over a thousand years old,” Xia Qingfeng said in awe. “This ginseng can’t be exposed yet; we can’t protect it right now.” After saying this, she wrapped it up carefully and placed it into her space.

The two of them, along with the fox, continued searching in the area. They ended up uncovering several more ginseng plants of varying ages. The youngest one was at least 50 years old.

Xia Qingfeng couldn’t help but marvel, “Our Yingjun is definitely a spirit fox. Not only can it kill a giant snake, but it also helped us find so many precious ginsengs. At this rate, we’ll have enough for our journey to Youzhou. We can leave soon! It’s just a pity there’s no soil in the space; if we could plant the ginseng, that would be perfect.”

She wrapped the ginseng she had dug up in cloth and stored them in her space. With Xia Yingjun leading the way, they began to make their way out of the deep mountains. Along the way, Xia Yingjun also caught three wild rabbits and five wild chickens, killing them swiftly with a single bite to the neck—clean and efficient. Xu Xiaoxiao clapped her hands, delighted.

Xia Qingfeng was also happy and said, “Good job, Yingjun! Now we need to stock up on more food. We’ll store the animals you caught in the space, and we’ll have meat for the journey to Youzhou.”

Xia Yingjun seemed pleased, and they all chatted and laughed as they continued. At noon, they only ate some pancakes they had made earlier in the morning and took a short break. Eager to get home, they didn’t stop to dig for more herbs, but they did pick some mushrooms along the way.

By the time they emerged from the deep mountains, it was already the afternoon. When they reached the foot of the mountain, Xia Qingfeng put Xia Yingjun back into the space and took Xu Xiaoxiao by the hand to head home.

Back at home, Xia Qingfeng took the giant snake out of the space. Worried that the neighbors might see, she decided to handle the snake in the kitchen. The kitchen was already small, and the giant snake filled the entire room. Its slippery, cold skin made Xia Qingfeng shudder, and she could feel the hairs on her neck standing up. She quickly released Xia Yingjun from the space to give herself some courage.

Xia Qingfeng quickly and efficiently skinned the snake and extracted the snake gall. The snake had so much meat, she chopped it into pieces and put it in a large jar to store in the space. By the time she finished cleaning up the snake and washed the floor, she was exhausted.

But dinner still had to be made. After a short rest, Xia Qingfeng started a fire to cook. She made a chicken stew with mushrooms, a snake soup, and roasted snake meat. The three of them—Xia Qingfeng, Xu Xiaoxiao, and Xia Yingjun—ate their fill and were content.