Pei Shaoan was neither a drinker nor a womanizer, but he was also quite charitable and charitable. He was considered a well-known figure in Xinyang. If I had to say there was anything bad about him, it would probably only be one thing: he likes to wear fox fur. I have accumulated one hundred and eighty pieces of fox fur, large and small, at home, all of which are smooth and shiny and can be peeled off in one piece. Half of it was bought, and the other half was made by hunting foxes himself and asking others to make them.
Crops do not grow well in Xinyang, but there are several mountains stretching to the east of the city, and there is never a shortage of all kinds of mountain products. Every autumn and winter, Pei Shaoan would take several family members, lead hunting dogs, and ride horses into the mountains to hunt foxes. At this time, the fox has just put on thick fur to survive the winter, which is the best time of the year for the fur.
In a blink of an eye, it was the first day of the twelfth lunar month again, and there was still light snow like fine salt floating outside, and Pei Shaoan went into the mountains to hunt foxes. Before leaving, his six-year-old son hugged his legs and clamored to go. Pei Shaoan promised to catch a live little fox cub for him to play with, and the little guy pouted and reluctantly let go.
A group of people walked up the mountain through shallow snow. The light snow also drifted bigger unknowingly, and the chopped feathers were dancing in the air with the cold wind. At a glance, there was no one around, and it was so quiet that there wasn't even a chirp of birds. What a snowy sea and silver plains. Pei Shaoan has been hunting foxes since he was a teenager, and by this time he has become an expert. He knows what is found in which mountain and where. There is a river in this mountain that leads all the way to the city. The water is fast and rarely freezes. In winter, when food is scarce, foxes sometimes go to the river to catch fish.
Sure enough, after lying in wait by the river for a while, I saw a small black beast running towards this side in the white snow. The hunting dogs were all well-trained, and they made no sound even when several family members held their necks down. The little beast was still alert. When it was still a hundred steps away, it suddenly stopped, as if it had discovered something. A pair of big, pointed ears swung back and forth on the little head, and a big fluffy tail hung down. It turned slightly, as if it was about to escape at any moment.
It's a big black fox.
Pei Shaoan suddenly became happy. He has fought a lot of foxes. It was so big that I could see ghosts in my eyes . But this was the first time I saw a black fox with such good shape and coat color. The black hair was as black as splashed with ink, and as shiny as if it had been brushed with oil. Just by looking at it, you could tell it must be very thick, and it felt great in the hand.
It must be very comfortable to wear.
Pei Shaoan opened his eyes wide, held his breath and waited quietly. Maybe the black fox didn't notice them, or maybe it was too hungry. After wandering around for a while, the black fox still ran towards the river. This black fox is quite cunning and flexible. I saw that it was not in a hurry to take action, but stared at the river with its ears raised for a long time, as if trying to figure out the opportunity. Suddenly he raised his head and rushed, and in a piece of white water, a fat and big fish had been thrown onto the shore. The big fish jumped as hard as it could in the snow, but it was too far away from the river, so it could only be caught in the mouth by the black fox who quickly turned back.
Pei Shaoan originally wanted to wait for it to eat the fish and take action, but unexpectedly, the black fox did not eat it and actually went back the same way with the fish in its mouth. The family members looked at him questioningly, and Pei Shaoan pondered for a while, but still signaled to be patient.
After the black fox ran far away, the family couldn't help but ask: "Master, we have been waiting for this for a long time, why did we let it go?"
Pei Shaoan smiled and said, "You can only catch one fox if you beat it now. If you follow it, you can catch a whole nest of foxes." Seeing that his family was still stunned, he explained, "Look, it caught such a fat fish but didn't eat me." If you see a ghost with your eyes , you must have taken it back to other foxes.”
The family suddenly realized.
Pei Shaoan stood up and said with high spirits: "Let's let the hunting dogs out. We will soon have a harvest."
The heavy snow concealed the traces of the black fox, but it failed to fool the sensitive nose of the hunting dog. After following the hunting dogs for about six or seven miles, everyone stopped in front of a huge stone. It turns out that the fox made his nest under the rocks. After searching nearby for a while, I found another cave entrance. The front cave was smoky, and the back cave was waiting with hunting dogs. Not long after, two foxes, one large and one small, rushed out. The big one among them is the black fox from before. There is also a small one, which is also black all over, with only a silvery white stripe on the top of its head. It should be a young fox about one year old.
The hounds jumped up. The big black fox also became fierce all of a sudden, bared its sharp white teeth with a squeak, and protected the little black fox behind it. The little black fox was frightened, looking around trembling all over, and whining incessantly from his mouth.
Amidst the barking, someone suddenly said in surprise: "There's more!" (Haunted House: Please keep the reprint!)
Sure enough, another silvery figure flashed out from the billowing smoke, and another big fox ran out. This fox is also an adult, slightly smaller than a black fox, and has a squealing milk fox in its mouth. The big black fox immediately became even more ferocious, and the silver fox also released its milk fox, standing side by side with it, and together they roared at the hunting dogs in protest.
Pei Shaoan understood that it turned out that the big black fox took the risk of fishing for the nursing silver fox and the little black fox.
At that moment, there was something in my heart. And I watched the two big foxes desperately protecting the two little ones…
But in an instant, he suddenly remembered the expectant look in his youngest son's eyes when he was leaving the house. He promised him that he would bring back a beautiful little fox cub. As for the little milk fox, its whole body was covered with silver and only the tips of its tail were black. It was so beautiful.
My little son will love it.
Thinking of this, that little bit of heartbeat disappeared. Pei Shaoan raised his hand and said neatly: "Let the dogs out!"
The hunting dogs immediately screamed and rushed forward, fighting with the two big foxes. There was chaos in the snow, and the smooth snow was quickly turned into slush. The little black fox stood beside the little milk fox with trembling limbs, and screamed sharply at the two big foxes from time to time. Suddenly, the big black fox also let out a long roar, turned around and glared at the little black fox fiercely. The little black fox was so frightened that he immediately whined and jumped back two steps. The big black fox turned back and fought with the hunting dog again. Then he took advantage of the opportunity and rushed back, and actually pounced on the little black fox and bit him. The little black fox was bitten by his father, and finally got frightened and ran away like flying in the opposite direction. Soon there was no trace.
Everyone was shocked to see it. After a long while, the hunting dogs subdued the two big foxes and finally woke up.
A family member still couldn't believe it. He looked at the direction where the little black fox disappeared and said blankly: "Did it just drive the cub away on purpose?"
Pei Shaoan also looked at the big black fox lying on the ground in a daze. The shiny black fur was wet with blood, dyeing the white snow under it red. But those crystal clear eyes still shone with an aura that couldn't be ignored. It was looking at him too, without blinking.
Pei Shaoan couldn't tell what he was thinking, but he felt a shiver in his heart. It seemed to be pity, but it also seemed to be a kind of awe.
A month later, Pei Shaoan got his wish and wore a new fox fur coat for the New Year. By that time, the blood stained on the fur had long been washed away, and it was specially scented, so there was no strange smell at all. It was extremely warm when worn on the body, and relatives and friends were all amazed when they saw it. Pei Shaoan himself felt that he might not be able to find a better fox fur than this in the future.
The little milk fox is gradually being raised by the younger son. When I first brought him home, he was miserable all day long and refused to eat anything. Now he is as fat as a civet cat.
My youngest son likes it so much that even when eating, he has to set up a separate stool next to it and put it and the cage on it. When you go to bed at night, put it on the table so that you can see it as soon as you open your eyes.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, the youngest son caught a cold and fever. Fortunately, Mrs. Zhang, whom I knew well, took the medicine very safely. She broke out in a sweat, and after a few days of conditioning, she was active again. However, the little milk fox stayed with him for several days and refused to eat. It wasn't until the little son recovered that he started to feed him with his own hands. Pei Shaoan didn't find it funny: This beast really regards his enemy as his benefactor.
Thinking about it this way, his wariness towards the little milk fox, which was always a beast, gradually faded away. I don’t know when, but my youngest son no longer wanted to keep it in a cage, and no one at home took care of it.
On one occasion, Dr. Zhang came to diagnose Ping'an Pulse for his family. Suddenly, he saw a fox escaping out. He was so frightened that his old face turned pale, and he shook his hands and kept complaining. Pei Shaoan smiled and stayed with him, that's all.
The fox really became a domesticated civet cat.
Unknowingly, it’s late autumn again. Pei Shaoan originally had the idea of going into the mountains to hunt foxes, but his youngest son was weak and caught cold and fever at the change of seasons. He got better and worse, worse and better again, and ended up lingering on his sick bed. Doctor Zhang had no choice but to tell them to pay more attention to their diet and keep warm, so that they could survive the winter. Pei Shaoan looked at his youngest son who was very sick, and there was no thought of hunting foxes.
Gradually, the younger son's illness showed signs of getting worse. At night, he would either talk nonsense or wake up suddenly, crying and laughing, going crazy. Once, he even pointed at Pei Shaoan's nose and said that he was his enemy who killed his father and his mother, and he would have to pay with his blood sooner or later. The whole family was stunned.
Finally, I don't know who started it first. When the news reached Pei Shaoan's ears, it was almost certain.
The younger son was bewitched by a demon. It must be the little black fox that escaped by chance when we were hunting black foxes. Pei Shaoan killed the big black fox and silver fox, wasn't he the same enemy who killed his father and his mother?
Even Pei Shaoan himself felt his heart pounding when he heard it, and his throat immediately became dry. Maybe he has always had this idea in his mind, but he just tried his best to hide it and prevent it from coming out.
What really convinced him was the night before yesterday. He fell asleep beside his youngest son's hospital bed, and was woken up by a shrill scream. But he found himself standing on a mountain covered with snow. The cold moonlight cast a chilling silver light everywhere. There was no human voice, no birds chirping, no insects chirping… not even a sound of wind. Everything was frozen solid and dead.
Pei Shaoan's whole body was stiff. He stood for a long time before he managed to swallow a mouthful of saliva and took a small step forward. Hearing a creak under his feet, the soles of his feet were numb, as if he was stepping on a pile of snow instead of breaking countless tiny bones. The hair on his whole body stood on end.
He gasped in horror and instinctively tightened the fox fur around his body. The touch, which is smoother than silk, provides some comfort and makes the body feel warmer. It was really warm, and there were waves of warmth coming from the fox fur. It feels very fleshy even when touched in the hand, as if… touching a live fox!
Pei Shaoan was horrified. He looked down and saw that he was wearing a fox fur. It was a fat and strong fox coiled around his body. Its furry head was pressed against his chest and hissed at his neck. Opening Senbai's sharp teeth…
ah!
He woke up with his eyes wide open. The youngest son was still sleeping soundly on the hospital bed, not disturbed by him at all. My heart was beating so fast that it almost jumped out of my mouth. He remembered it too clearly. The fox in the dream was completely black, except for a silvery white stripe on its forehead. It was much bigger than that year when I ran away, almost catching up with the big black fox.
I was frightened for a while, and suddenly felt some itchiness and pain on my neck. It seemed like some juice was flowing slowly. He hurriedly reached out and touched it, opened his eyes and took a look, and couldn't help but gasped: the palm of his hand was actually bright red.
Pei Shaoan's three souls were frightened away. He took two trembling breaths and hurriedly covered his neck to find the bronze mirror. In the mirror, his face was pale and his facial features were distorted. There was a fresh bite mark on the neck, and the blood spread down like freshly dyed silk, so red that it hurt your eyes. Then another pair of eyes was reflected in the mirror. Round, bright, green, and squinting eyes in a very charming way. The black fox collar around his neck opened his eyes wide, grinned, and looked at him with a sneer!
Pei Shaoan collapsed immediately. He frantically took off the black fox fur from his body and threw it out with a roar. He stumbled around, clutching his neck, and walked east and west, but his eyes could not leave the discerning black fox fur.
The whole family was awakened, and the youngest son was so frightened that he cried. In the chaos, only the little fox was still squatting peacefully in its nest, tilting its head and looking at it for a while, then lay down and fell asleep again. He twitched his big pointed ears, licked his sharp fangs, and let out a thin cry. When I first heard it, it sounded a bit like laughter.
The Taoist priest surnamed Gao frowned as soon as he stepped into Pei's house. When he walked to his youngest son's bed without saying a word, his gray eyebrows twisted tightly together.
"This is not an ordinary monster!" He sighed, his expression very solemn.
Pei Shaoan's neck was still hurting. When he heard this, he had another spasm: "Please clarify, Taoist Master."
"Compared with its demonic aura, it has more resentment! You probably can't feel it. As soon as I entered this house, I felt so desolate that it was so desolate that I couldn't relax!"
Pei Shaoan couldn't help but feel miserable. After being silent for a while, Fang said: "Is there any way to resolve it?"
Taoist Gao said calmly: "The evil spirit is not a problem, but this resentment… alas! I have no choice but to do my best."
From then on, Taoist Gao stayed temporarily in Pei Mansion and practiced Dharma for many days.
Pei Shaoan felt like he had picked up a life-saving straw, and of course he treated him like a distinguished guest. A Taoist priest is worthy of being a master of Taoism. After he came, the younger son did get better. Although he was still ill, he never had nightmares or madness again. Even Pei Shaoan himself felt much more refreshed.
On this day, Dr. Zhang came to see his youngest son again. Pei Shaoan was full of thoughts, would it be much better this time? But he saw Doctor Zhang examining his little son's little hands again and again. His snow-white eyebrows were wrinkled tighter and tighter, and the word "Chuan" between his eyebrows was as deep as a ravine. After the diagnosis, he didn't speak for a long time, nor did he prescribe a prescription.
Pei Shaoan became anxious: "How is it?"
Doctor Zhang looked at him worriedly and doubtfully, and asked him to come aside to talk. This made Pei Shaoan even worse.
"Have you asked other imperial doctors to see you recently?"