The White Fox Romance

one

It was the depths of winter.

The snowflakes fluttered aimlessly, and the bitter wind from the distant sky swept across the field and rolled over the mountains, tearing the snowflakes and making a sharp hiss. The lonely mountain is vast, the forest is sparse and desolate, and the whole world is shrouded in a chilling cold air.

At the foot of the mountain, houses and courtyards in twos and threes form a small village. At the west entrance of the village, the two white thatched huts looked dilapidated and seemed to be crumbling under the threat of wind and snow.

Inside the house, the charcoal fire in the earthen basin has been gradually extinguished, and the air-conditioning is gradually rising.

In front of a dilapidated desk, sat a thin young scholar with delicate features. His surname is Huang, his name is Fei, and his character is Cunmeng. He was originally a child of an aristocratic family, but his parents died young and his family was in decline. Even though he was full of poetry and books, he was full of economics, but it was difficult to display his heart and ambitions.

In the ten-year cold window, he longed to become a blockbuster.

On weekdays, Huang Sheng had already been studying hard at his desk for a long time. But today, he has no interest at all.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t stretch his fingers in the cold, or that he was hungry due to malnutrition, but that he had something on his mind, and his heart fluctuated uncontrollably.

two

Seven days ago, he went to the county seat to get together with some friends to discuss going to Beijing for the next year’s exam, and then hurried home.

Walking to the east of the city, I ran into a Taoist head-on. The Taoist grabbed him and said without hesitation: “My friend, please go slowly, and I will tell you something!” Huang Sheng was very surprised. If you don’t believe in what Lao Tzu said, this Taoist…”

The Taoist said sternly: “Brother Tai is a man of study, with the face of a ‘Wenquxing’ face. Next year’s scientific examination, he will definitely be named on the gold list. But there is one thing, remember: on the way home, don’t meddle in your own business; if the mountain is blocked by heavy snow, don’t do it.” Go out. If not, there will be a relationship but there will be no fate, and I will be disappointed. Everything is due to the double heaven of the fairyland on earth…”

Before Huang Sheng could react, the Taoist priest walked away after finishing speaking.

Huang Sheng was stunned for a while, not understanding what it meant. It was already late at this time, so he hurried back on his way.

As dusk fell, Huang Sheng walked to the mountain road not far from home, already sweating profusely and exhausted.

He was about to find a big rock by the roadside to sit down and rest for a while. Suddenly, he heard a “creaking” sound coming from the jungle about ten steps ahead. Huang Sheng was startled, held his breath, and listened carefully. The sound was mournful, miserable, and very penetrating. After a while, the voice gradually became weaker, seemingly absent… Huang Sheng tried his best to calm down his violent heartbeat, and walked over lightly. He was stunned by the scene in front of him: under an ancient tree, a snow-white little fox was lying in the grass, motionless, and there was a pool of bright red blood on the ground. Looking closely, it turned out that the two hind legs of the little white fox were tightly clamped by the trap set by the hunter, and he couldn’t move.

Looking at the little white fox that was unconscious due to excessive bleeding, Huang Sheng hesitated for a moment. He rushed forward, opened the trap with both hands, carefully pulled out the bloody two legs of the little white fox, and hugged him to his chest. forward. Huang Sheng took out the sweat towel he carried with him and bandaged the little white fox’s injured leg.

Staring at the dying little white fox with his eyes closed, Huang was in a dilemma: if he abandoned the white fox in the wilderness, its life would be in danger; when he brought it home, he remembered what the Taoist said. “Oh, poor little creature, in times of crisis, a gentleman should help!” Huang Sheng finally made up his mind, and walked down the mountain with the little white fox in his arms.

three

In a blink of an eye, a few days passed.

Under Huang Sheng’s careful care, the little white fox’s leg injury gradually healed.

Huang Sheng’s life is still monotonous and boring: getting up early, going to bed late, reading, and writing. When he was studying, the little white fox was lying in front of Huang Sheng’s desk, squinting his eyes, motionless, as if intoxicated. Huang Sheng looked at this spotless little white fox without a mottled color, and his heart was full of love and compassion. From time to time, he gently stroked the shiny body of the little white fox with both hands, and whispered: “Little white fox, hurry up, hurry up.”

At this time, the little white fox slowly opened its eyes, round and round, like gemstones. A delicate, clear light like water flickered in front of Huang Sheng, washing his tired body and soul. At this time, Huang Sheng’s body was filled with satisfaction and longing again.

Huang Sheng’s life was very poor. He picked up residual fruits and bird eggs from the jungle, and he was reluctant to eat them, so he came to feed the little white fox. The little white fox ate very sweetly. That night, Huang Sheng was studying in the middle of the night again, his stomach was empty and he was dizzy, but he was still persisting. In a trance, a fantastic scene suddenly appeared in front of his eyes:

The little white fox wriggled slowly, opened its eyes, and transformed into a mass of white and gentle light; its body rotated and floated lightly. In an instant, a light, young and beautiful woman appeared. She waved her long sleeves, like fog, rain, and wind, free and romantic; his footsteps were nimble, like flowers, stamens, and dreams, illusory and ethereal. Huang Sheng was dumbfounded. There is also the faint scent of orchid, whispering whispers, soft affection, and sweet blessings, covering his whole body, covering him…

“Boom——” a loud bang suddenly sounded. Huang Sheng, who was in a state of nightmare obsession, suddenly woke up. He opened his bewildered eyes, and a glaring ray of light swiftly passed through the room, spinning out of the broken window. Huang Sheng’s chaotic consciousness became extremely clear in an instant, and he even trembled a little.

Inside the house, there was no sound, and it was empty. The books on the desk were scattered in a mess, and the little white fox disappeared. Huang Sheng hurried forward and looked around, but found nothing. Huang Sheng thought to himself: Could it be that when he was dreaming just now, there was a wind blowing outside, which frightened the little white fox? He thought wildly, feeling lost and melancholy in his heart.

The dark night outside the window weighed heavily on Huang Sheng’s heart. He was lying on the bed in a daze, the dancing woman in the dream and the bright figure of the little white fox kept appearing in his mind.

Four

It was so easy to wait until dawn, and it snowed outside at some point. Feather-like snowflakes covered the sky and covered the courtyard with silvery white.

Throughout the morning, Huang Sheng was restless. In front of his eyes, the flickering eyes of the little white fox kept shaking.

“With such heavy snow, will the little white fox freeze to death outside?” Huang Sheng was worried. He decided to go out and look for it.

On the white mountain road, Huang Sheng walked with one foot deep and one foot shallow. On his cheeks and eyebrows, there were icy snow particles; the biting wind wrapped the snow flakes, like sharp knives, and hit him. Huang Sheng was so tired that he was panting heavily and couldn’t move anymore.

He looked around, and the mountains and ravines were vast. Apart from himself, where else was there?

Suddenly, a white light, as fast as lightning, flashed across Huang Sheng’s eyes and landed on the snow. Huang Sheng took a closer look and saw a small white spot jumping and running forward, leaving mottled marks on the snow. “Little white fox!” Huang Sheng exclaimed in surprise. He gained strength all of a sudden, raised his legs and chased after him. At the corner of the mountain road, the little white fox disappeared. Huang Sheng saw at a glance that there were faintly identifiable footprints on the nearby cliff. Without even thinking about it, he grabbed a dead vine with both hands and climbed up. Huang Sheng used both hands and feet, grasping and kicking to climb up with great difficulty – only heard a “click”, unexpectedly, the rattan in his hand broke, and he fell from the cliff, like a dead leaf, falling towards the valley, He instinctively let out a scream “Ah—” and his whole body melted into the white snow curtain.

five

Inside the house, the charcoal fire in the brazier was spitting out flames and splashing ash, and it was burning vigorously, and there was a warm atmosphere everywhere.

Huang Sheng slowly opened his eyes. He faintly felt numbness and pain in his body, but his body was warm, and he lay flat on the bed.

“My lord, you’re finally awake.” A soft and gentle voice came from beside my ear.

Huang Sheng saw an old man in coarse clothes standing in front of the bed. Huang Sheng’s consciousness gradually became clear. He thought of the snow field, the little white fox, and the cliff.

“Why am I here?” Huang Sheng struggled to sit up. The old man hurriedly held him down, motioning him not to move.

“Yesterday, our young master went hunting in the mountains. He found you on a persimmon tree branch halfway up the mountain, and rescued you.”

After hearing this, Huang Sheng hurriedly said: “Thank you for saving your life, I will repay you in the future!”

The old man said: “It’s still your fate. Thanks to that old tree blocking it, my young master deliberately went up to the mountain to collect medicine, so he had to–“.

“Papa Bai, go and boil the medicine…” The two were talking, when the door curtain was lifted, and following the words, a figure flashed in.

The old man responded and walked out the door. Huang Sheng raised his eyes and saw a handsome young man in white standing in front of the bed. Huang Sheng was taken aback. The young man in front of him looked so familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before, but he couldn’t remember it for a while.

“Thank you for saving your life—” Huang Sheng saw that the young man in white was already sitting on the bed, and said hurriedly. “You don’t need to thank me, auspicious people have their own celestial features!” The young man in white smiled brightly. Huang Sheng seemed to be in a dream for a moment, and the dancing posture and smile of the woman in white appeared in front of his eyes again.

“Brother here is only concerned with recuperating, so you don’t have to be polite.” The young man in white said, “Little brother usually likes to make friends with people who are educated and elegant. To meet in a dangerous situation is also considered fate.”

The two chatted, and at first there was some interest. Not long after, Huang Sheng and the white-clothed young man saw each other’s extraordinary conversation, decent manners, elegance and generosity, and they actually admired each other in their hearts, and they both felt that they hated seeing each other late.

Huang Sheng first got a general idea of ​​the situation of the young man in white: his surname is Bai, with a single character, and his surname is Qingshi, and he is also a scholarly family. His parents live far away in Xiguan, Nan’an Prefecture, and he, the old housekeeper, and a whole family of people study and live in the original manor.

Mr. Bai also knew about Huang Sheng’s situation. He suddenly asked: “The mountain is blocked by heavy snow, why did you enter the mountain in the snow?” Huang Sheng hesitated, and told the truth without hiding it.

After hearing this, Mr. Bai said repeatedly: “Brother is a human being, he is really kind and loving.”

Huang Sheng said: “People who study must understand things, distinguish between good and evil, and practice the words of Confucius and sages, so that they can stand up and do something.”

Young Master Bai nodded in agreement.

While the two were chatting, suddenly, the old butler rushed into the room, calling repeatedly: “Master, it’s not good, it’s not good…”

Young Master Bai was startled, and hurriedly got up: “What happened, tell me quickly!”

six

The old housekeeper looked flustered and out of breath: “The master of Nan’an Mansion sent his valet Ding Baifu here, saying that the old lady is critically ill, and the young master should return as soon as possible.”

“Where is Bai Fu?” “Waiting in the front hall.”

Young Master Bai cupped his hands to Huang Sheng and said, “Little brother, leave first, please wait a moment, brother.” Then he left in a hurry.

Huang Sheng was lying on the bed, feeling anxious and uncomfortable in his heart, but he was helpless. “Hey, there are unpredictable things in the sky, and people have misfortunes and blessings.” After thinking about it, the kind-hearted Huang Sheng was already teary-eyed.

After a long time, Mr. Bai and the old housekeeper came back. When Mr. Bai entered the room, he just said that he wanted to return to Nan’an immediately, so that Huang Sheng could heal his injuries and recuperate here with peace of mind.

Huang Shengsheng couldn’t move, so he had to agree.

Finally, Mr. Bai said: “Little brother has something else to ask, brother, don’t shirk it. It will take time for me to return after I leave, and the manor is empty and no one is looking after it. I beg you to live here after your brother recovers. There are books in the library.” It can be read, there is grain to eat in the storehouse, someone can plant the crops in the thin field, and the family in the yard can be ordered by the elder brother…”

After hearing this, Huang Sheng quickly shook his head and declined: “If you have a big family, how can I let someone with a foreign surname take care of it? Or…”

Mr. Bai said: “This statement is wrong. My brother and I hit it off right away. We are like brothers and sisters. There is something at home today, and I urgently need my brother’s help. How can we shirk?”

“This—” Huang Sheng was speechless for a while.

At this time, the old housekeeper interjected: “Mr. Huang and my young master can be ‘brothers of the opposite sex’ as ‘brothers of the opposite sex’. Wouldn’t it be difficult to become a family like this?”

“That’s right!” Mr. Bai clapped his hands and applauded. Seeing the sincerity of Master Bai’s master and servant, Huang Sheng thought about it for a while, and then readily agreed.

The next day, Mr. Bai left the old housekeeper and others behind, and he took Bai Fu and his close family members and set off on the vast snowy field.

seven

The ice and snow melt, the swallows return, and the time for all things to sprout has arrived.

For several months, Huang Sheng’s life in Bai Gongzi’s courtyard was peaceful and comfortable.

You don’t have to worry about basic necessities, food, housing and transportation, the old butler has arranged everything properly. Huang Sheng spent most of his time reading the books of sages. He also went to the city, met with some former classmates to study, discuss the Tao, and communicate with each other – but he didn’t mention anything about his current residence in Mr. Bai’s house.

There is a friend surnamed Zhang who lives with his old mother. His family is poor and his life is difficult. Huang Sheng donated grain and silver. The friend surnamed Zhang expressed his gratitude, Huang Sheng said: “I don’t thank you for the friendship of the poor and the humble. It’s just a little show of indifference, what’s the point!”

When Huang Sheng visited his teacher, he used to be submissive and looked poor, but now, he straightened up, full of confidence, and talked eloquently. From time to time, I also give some greetings to the old pedant wearing reading glasses. In the past, the old pedant turned a blind eye to Mr. Huang in ragged clothes standing behind the rich kid, but now he praised him face to face: “You can teach a child! You can teach a child!” When school was over, a few poor friends laughed and joked: “Brother Huang originally had Talent, pedants only know now. Could it be that the book in the belly is not as good as Wan Guan Cai?”

Huang Sheng sighed: “The world is getting worse, but people’s hearts are not old. I and you should study hard to change your own destiny!”

The comfortable life did not wear down Huang Sheng’s will, he cherished all these things even more, never left the door, and was completely intoxicated and obsessed with the sea of ​​literature.

He is like a spring silkworm, accumulating the energy to break out of the cocoon; he is like a phoenix, brewing the dream of nirvana and rebirth!

However, in the dead of night, he would also fall into deep thinking. He thought of the Taoist who passed by, the injured little white fox, the ethereal dancing woman in the dream, the love-like person whom he met by chance. Mr. Bai. After thinking about it, everything is so ingenious and confused, everything is so mysterious and elusive! The thoughts of “continuous cutting, still messing up” sometimes make him fall into inexplicable distress, and sometimes, it also makes him feel lingering fear and wild hallucinations.

“Life is like a dream.” Where is my dream?

“There is Yan Ruyu in the book, and there is a golden house in the book.” Is this the place where one’s distant dreams are born?

“Don’t be half-year-old, you will never be able to read and write, and every inch will leave you with thousands of knots.” Is this also my distant dream and inner monologue?

Eight

Huang Sheng took the imperial examination as scheduled.

Just as the Taoist prophesied, Huang was born the number one scholar in high school, and he returned to his hometown in fine clothes.

Huang Sheng first thought of Mr. Bai and his manor, and he returned to his hometown based on his memory. But the brigade he led couldn’t find the house, and the old housekeeper and his family also disappeared without a trace. Huang Sheng was very confused. He hurriedly sent someone to Nan’an Mansion to find out the whereabouts of Mr. Bai. Three days later, the official sent a report: there is no “White Mansion” in Xiguan, Nan’an Prefecture. Huang Sheng felt lost and couldn’t figure it out, so he had to go back home depressed.

That night, Huang Sheng had a dream, a strange dream: a little white fox appeared on his desk, and after that, a woman in white was dancing with her long sleeves. With crystal tears streaming down his face, he actually seemed to be Mr. Bai…

In the ears, there is a vaguely sad and soft singing voice: “…If not, we will be destined but not destined to be destined. Kong Liuxin feels sad, everything is due to the double heaven of the fairyland on earth…”

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