Chapter Five: The Pursuit of the Way
At the Heavenly Pool Waterfall on Mount Taibai, a white fox lay quietly upon a rock at the edge of the pool. Its eyes were tightly closed, as if in deep slumber, and its pure white fur blended seamlessly with the snowy landscape around it.
By now, the sun had finally set, darkness had fallen, and the white fox’s nose twitched a few times. Then, in a voice hoarse with age, it spoke: “Little fox, you’re here again?”
There was a faint rustling in the darkness. After a while, a small figure stepped slowly out of the shadows. The glimmer reflected from the ice and snow illuminated its form—it was a red fox. “Elder Fox, can you see me even on such a dark night?”
The white fox opened its eyes at last and said, “There is no need for sight; a single sniff is enough.”
“Oh.”
“Little fox, why do you seem so weak?”
“My wound tore open on my hind leg while I was fleeing for my life today. I lost a lot of blood, so I’m a bit feeble.”
“Why did you have to flee?”
“I ran into a tiger while hunting for food, and also came across several ghosts. I was frightened and kept running for my life!”
“Could it be that you encountered the Mountain Lord?” The white fox sounded a little surprised.
“What is the Mountain Lord?”
“The Mountain Lord is the tiger—the king of these mountains! Those ghosts are his minions, most of them people he’s killed, now enslaved by him after death to scout and confuse his prey. There’s even a saying, ‘to do the tiger’s bidding.’ Do you understand?”
The red fox exclaimed, “So that’s it! Then he must be a tiger demon of considerable cultivation!”
“He is a tiger demon, yes, but as for great cultivation, not quite. This Mountain Lord is the posthumous son of the previous one. His father perished in a heavenly calamity six hundred years ago, so he himself is only six hundred years old and has not yet survived the tribulation. Still, he is the Mountain Lord—so even the Fox King dares not offend him. There is a pact: so long as he does not set foot within twenty miles of Fox Valley, neither side will disturb the other.” Suddenly, the white fox looked at the red fox. “But how did you encounter him? Don’t tell me you’ve been hunting outside the twenty-mile boundary?”
“Uh, I didn’t know about any of this! Besides, whenever I find food within twenty miles, other spirit foxes come after me, so I have to go farther.”
“So the wounds on your body were given by other foxes?”
The red fox nodded silently. Suddenly, it lifted its gaze to the white fox, eyes full of sincerity. “Elder Fox, I have a favor to ask of you.”
The white fox narrowed its eyes. Before the red fox could explain, it said firmly, “You want me to stand up for you? That I cannot do. Foxes have their own rules, and that is the way of the survival of the fittest.”
“You’ve misunderstood, Elder Fox! I’m not asking you to stand up for me. I only wish you would teach me the way of cultivation. I want to gain power for myself, so that no other fox dares to bully me!”
The white fox regarded the red fox with a touch of surprise. “I did not expect such ambition from you, just as your mind is awakening. Perhaps you are not as foolish as I thought.” But then it shook its head. “Still, it won’t do. We’re not kin, nor do we have any ties. Why should I teach you?”
“Elder Fox, I am willing to take you as my master!”
“Hah! What a joke. Would I be honored to have you as my disciple, or would you be honored to have me as your master?”
The red fox was at a loss for words but looked on, unwilling to give up. At last, it made up its mind. “Elder Fox, to tell you the truth, I have nowhere else to go! It’s almost impossible for me to find enough to eat these days, and last time the Fox King held a food gathering, he demanded that each fox present at least two wild hares before the end of the twelfth month. At this rate, I’ll either starve or be forced to death! If only you would help me, I am willing to do anything for you.”
“Anything?” The white fox pondered for a moment, then laughed. “You can barely protect yourself—what could you possibly do for me? I have cultivated for a thousand years and survived the heavenly tribulation long ago. What could I need from you?”
“Elder Fox, I’ve come here several times, and every time I find you gazing beyond the great mountains. I suppose the world beyond is the human realm? Since you’ve survived the tribulation, you must have traveled there before. Is there some person or thing you still miss? Yet you say you are bound here, unable to leave the Heavenly Pool Waterfall. Is there no wish you need help to fulfill?”
The white fox suddenly smiled slyly. “You are not only clever, but very shrewd! I wondered why you kept coming here, saying nothing, just to look at me. I thought you admired my beauty, but you have only been watching to see through my heart!”
The red fox hadn’t expected the white fox to have such a sense of humor. Still, it dared not take the white fox’s words lightly, and replied cautiously, “Elder Fox, I didn’t mean to pry. I only wish to see if there is anything I can help you with.”
“Worthy of my kind—your words are as cunning as your nature.” The white fox’s smile faded, and it spoke solemnly, “Little fox, though I am unwilling to take you as a disciple, it is not impossible to teach you the way of cultivation. But you will indeed need to do something for me.”
The red fox hastened to reply, “Please, tell me, Elder Fox!”
The white fox gazed into the dark distance, its expression indifferent. “You’re right that I once missed someone in the human world, but that was long ago. By the laws of reincarnation, she is surely someone else by now—there is nothing left to long for. As for things in the human world, there is something I greatly desire and deeply miss.”
“What is it?”
“Wine, and it must be Maiden’s Red!”
The red fox was delighted, thinking this was no difficult task. “Of course! Elder Fox, as long as you teach me how to take human form, I can go down the mountain and buy you some Maiden’s Red.”
But the white fox only laughed. “Teach you to take human form first? That is no quick matter—I cannot wait so long! Besides, it’s like a scholar entering school: the tuition must be paid first; you can’t learn and pay later, can you?”
The red fox was troubled. “But in my fox body, how am I supposed to buy wine for you?”
“Ha! Who says you must buy it? Why not steal it from humans? Isn’t pilfering in our fox nature?”
The red fox grimaced. “But where is there anyone selling Maiden’s Red near these mountains? And with these claws, I can’t even carry a wine jar, let alone steal it.”
The white fox chuckled. “If I ask you to steal wine, naturally I have a way for you not to worry about your claws. I remember that at the foot of this mountain, a dozen miles east, there was once a family who sold wine—Maiden’s Red in particular. But it’s been more than forty years, and I don’t know if the descendants have continued the business. That is the only troublesome part.”
The red fox finally looked thoroughly disheartened. “This is like marking the boat to seek the sword!”
The white fox was unmoved. “How will you know if you don’t try? Ultimately, it depends on your fate. If you truly can’t find it, then it is heaven’s will, and you are not destined to walk the path of cultivation.”