"Although Mr. Fu has benevolent acts and abilities and is responsible, his scholarship is sowhat diocre."
Chen Shi stayed overnight at the Wencai Academy, and Hu Feifei, also being from the countryside, stayed as well. Since it was still early to sleep, and they had made so money, they decided to visit the night market together.
The night market in Xinxiang County was even busier than during the day, with people everywhere. On both sides of the street were various stalls offering fried, stir-fried, and boiled delicacies. Chen Shi, Hu Feifei, and Black Pot ate as they walked, holding various foods in their hands. When they couldn’t hold anymore, Black Pot stood up to help carry things.
"Brother Chen from the Chen Family, don’t you think your dog is a bit strange?"
Hu Feifei glanced back and saw the dog walking on its two hind legs, taller and steadier than a normal person, holding objects in a way that was unlike a dog.
Chen Shi looked back and saw nothing unusual, saying, "Don’t you also walk on two legs? What’s so strange about that?"
Hu Feifei was speechless.
After a round of the market, they waddled back toward the academy, reeling slightly.
Chen Shi, feeling increasingly perplexed, asked, "Feifei, where does the city’s godmother live?"
He had been looking for Xinxiang County’s godmother since he entered the city, but had found no sign of her after such a long search.
Hu Feifei, as if heavily pregnant, supporting her waist with one hand and holding the food with the other, struggled forward, shaking her head, "There are no godmothers in the county or the provincial cities."
Chen Shi, greatly puzzled, "Without a godmother, how can we dispel the Evil Spirits? Can’t they just enter the city as they please?"
Hu Feifei replied, "Though there is no godmother, there are Magical Treasures that protect the county city. The Ten Thousand Soul Banner is one such Magical Treasure. It defends the county, and any Evil Spirit approaching will trigger its power, annihilating them. The Ten Thousand Soul Banner is very ancient; Xinxiang County’s Ten Thousand Soul Banner has a history of thousands of years, and the spirits within it have been refined to imnse strength. No Evil Spirit can stand against it. Over ti, with many Evil Spirits perishing, none dare to approach the city."
"I see."
Chen Shi suddenly understood and said, "But then, why did the County Magistrate and his wife, these two Evil Spirits, manage to enter the city without dying under the Ten Thousand Soul Banner?"
Hu Feifei was stumped by his question, shaking her head, "I don’t know about that. The Clan Leader of my Fox Clan is also an Evil Spirit, but he has entered the city multiple tis without triggering the Ten Thousand Soul Banner. The Clan Leader has high cultivation and can hide his aura, but County Magistrate Geng doesn’t have such ability. How could he enter the city?"
Chen Shi inquired, "Do you think County Magistrate Geng was consud by an Evil Spirit, and it then took his form, or that he himself was an Evil Spirit?"
Hu Feifei thought for a mont, "I think County Magistrate Geng was an Evil Spirit. I can’t walk anymore! Let’s find a place to sit and digest our food!"
Chen Shi looked around and saw a railing by the river, so they sat together on the railing.
Hu Feifei looked forlorn, leaning on his shoulder.
Chen Shi, feeling a stirring in his heart, said, "Feifei, it’s dark now; your hairpin, does it really glow?"
Hu Feifei, energized, pulled out her hairpin, covered it with both hands, and smiled, "Look!"
Chen Shi leaned closer and exclaid, "It really does glow!"
Hu Feifei, proudly, biting her hairpin, styled her hair with one hand while protecting it with the other and inserted the hairpin, laughing, "My hairpin has a talisman engraved in it. It absorbs sunlight during the day and releases it at night, shining brightly! Brother Chen, do you have any fun stories? Tell one."
Chen Shi told her about his interesting experiences in the mountains, each one making this mischievous fox laugh incessantly, until she said, "Stop, my stomach hurts from laughing! Rub it for !"
Chen Shi rubbed her stomach, indeed having laughed till it hurt, ward it up, and the pain eased.
After resting for a long ti, they finally got up to return to the academy.
Fu Leisheng waited for them, and upon their arrival, said, "I’ll go ho to rest. You two can stay in the academy, make do for the night. Chen Shi, a descent of the True God requires the body of a child, one who has not dissipated his vitality, rember this well."
His words carried a deep aning, and Chen Shi beca solemn, pondering their significance.
Fu Leisheng departed.
The two of them rested for a while, then cleaned up to prepare their sleeping area; after all, this place was an academy where students attended classes and listened to lectures, and there were no beds, only the floor.
Chen Shi fetched bedding from the wooden cart, giving half to Hu Feifei and keeping half for himself.
After bidding each other goodnight, they each crawled into their blankets. Black Pot stood guard outside, and only the crickets were heard, with no other sounds.
The noisy night market in the county seed to be drifting further away.
Hu Feifei crawled out of her blanket, smiling, "I can’t sleep. Brother Chen, tell more about the mountains? I rarely ventured into the mountains with my sisters from the Fox Clan."
Chen Shi sat up and told her various stories about Qianyang Mountain, the unusual rules of the mountains, the mountain guardian spirits, Great Snake Xuan Shan, the six-thousand-year-old Madam Zhuang, and many mischievous ginseng babies.
Hu Feifei moved her blanket closer to his side, crawled into it, turned towards him, and listened intently, her eyes shining in the dark night.
"Brother Chen, what do you want to do after your studies?" asked the playful vixen.
"What to do?"
Chen Shi was sowhat lost; he thought carefully about his original purpose in studying, to beco a Scholar, return to his village as a revered figure, to govern over the locals, and provide for his grandfather in his old age.
But now his grandfather had gone to the underworld, with no known return date.
Now, his pursuit of scholarship seed like a wish he needed to fulfill.
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