Jade Fang looked at the sword that had pierced through his chest incredulously and vomited blood. Jade Tail screamed and rushed to hug him.

Jade Fang eventually shrank into a crystal bead.

Jade Tail shot Chuyi a malicious look and bared her sharp fangs. “I’ll kill you!”

She flew fast toward him, but Chuyi used two fingers and quickly drew a talisman in the air, which then hit Jade Tail’s forehead. Jade Tail shrieked and also shrank into a crystal bead.

“They scared the crap out of me!” Li Mazi wiped the sweat off his forehead and got up.

“Where did you go earlier?” I asked.

“You guys ran so fast that I couldn’t even see your shadows. Ghosts were everywhere, so I didn’t even dare to scream for help. It took me a lot of time to find you.” Li Mazi put on an aggrieved face. He then picked up the beads from the ground. “How much are these worth?”

“Give them to me.” Chuyi extended his hand. Li Mazi unwillingly gave him the beads.

“Did you kill that little fox?” I asked.

“No, that boy is a part of Tamamo no Mae’s soul. He can’t die that easily. I guess he will be dormant for a while,” Chuyi answered indifferently.

“You bastard! I’ll kill you!” yelled Jade Tail. Her image flashed inside the bead Chuyi was holding.

Chuyi wasn’t phased. He put the two beads back into the eye sockets of the silver fox.

I didn’t know if it was an illusion, but when the beads were returned to their positions, I saw a flash of silver light move along the statue. It made the statue look more lively.

“Let’s seal it again,” said Chuyi.

“Okay!”

I called Li Mazi to help Urashima get up. It was time to leave the mountain. The wandering and lost souls on the mountain were already attracted to us. They were congregating on the spot. However, they were limping the entire way, so they weren’t very fast.

On the way down the mountain, I said, “Chuyi, I want to discuss something.”

“Yeah?”

“I want to keep this little fox,” I said.

“Although she’s not menacing, she’s a monster. Moreover, she sucks people’s Yang energy.”

I pondered and thought about giving up on it. But then, Chuyi continued, “If you really want to keep her, I’ll help you tame her. Still, I’ll have to bring her to Mitu Temple to train her and eliminate her wild character. It will take time.”

Jade Tail scolded from inside the bead. “You stinky Daoist priest! When I get out of here, I’ll bite you to death!”

I wore a wry smile. Although this little fox looked cute, her wild character needed to be tamed.

I had always envied Chuyi for having the little Daoist boy as his assistant. I had dreamt of a little monster being my assistant, but it should be mutually agreed upon.

I asked Jade Tail, “Hey, do you want to go to China with us?”

“China…” She repeated the name. No matter what, it was her hometown. “What will you do to Jade Fang?”

“His soul is sealed now. He will sleep for a dozen years,” said Chuyi.

I told her, “You have to think about it carefully. After we seal the silver fox statue one more time, you will be sealed inside for a few decades.”

“All right! I’m going to China!” Jade Tail agreed. “But you have to let me suck your Yang energy!”

“In your dreams!”

“Are you rich?”

“Not filthy rich, but if you want food, I can give it to you.”

“Okay, I agree. If you fool me, I’ll bite you until you’re dead!”

Her wild character would be hard to tame!

Chuyi told me that after everything was solved, I should use my blood to write my name on a piece of paper and Jade Tail’s name on the other side. He would then move Jade Tail into the paper. We could carry her with us this way. After we returned to China, we would find a fox statue to be her body.

Chiba caught up to us. “I know what happened! It turns out Urashima’s original name is Tanaka. He’s the bald uncle’s son.”

It turned out the bald uncle was involved in shady business deals. He eventually went bankrupt and asked his son for help. He even suggested stealing some valuable things from the shrine to sell for money.

Jade Fang overheard their conversation. He made a deal with them but said they would have to help him release Tamamo no Mae first. With her power, getting rich would be as easy as flipping one’s hand.

The father and son began to take action. First, they ruined the geomancy of the shrine. Then, they stole the Silver Fox Guardian and destroyed the seal. Still, they had never thought that their efforts would go in vain because of us.

If he was a suspect of a national treasure robbery, Urashima would lose his job. He could even be put in jail.

Chiba told us that Urashima implored us not to expose the bald uncle and that he would bear the crime himself. He didn’t want to get his father involved.

I knew Urashima was a filial son. To help his father rise again, he did everything he could, even evil deeds. Anyway, we were framed and almost jailed, so I didn’t feel sorry for him. I planned to tell the police everything about this national treasure thievery case.

When we reached the shrine, the police were still there. When they saw us, they produced their pistols and aimed at us. Then, they saw that we were holding the fox statue. They also saw the great horde of souls slowly moving behind us. They were petrified. None of them could speak.

Chiba went over to explain that we needed to seal the Silver Fox Guardian. Otherwise, the ghosts would have a nice parade here.

The policemen weren't fully convinced, but they had no choice but to believe us. Chiba stayed to talk to them about Urashima’s case while the three of us took the key from her and opened the storage chamber. We had to seal the fox now.

There were papers and red ropes in the storage. As Chuyi instructed, I wrote my name and Jade Tail’s name on a piece of paper and gave it to him. While Chuyi moved Jade Tail to the paper, I used the red threads to weave a small sealing formation.

Jade Tail was successfully moved to the paper. We then put the fox statue back into the box and sealed the box with a few talismans before finally locking it in the drawer.

When we came out, many policemen were watching the mountain. The ghosts disappeared one after another. The mountain sight recovered its calmness. However, the thick fog still lingered and shrouded the bamboo forest.

The case finally came to an end, and the police took Urashima away. We were so tired that we immediately returned to the hotel to rest. When Yin Xinyue and Rue Xue came back from their shopping trip, they looked upset because they knew they had missed out on the fun.

The next day, we brought some stuff and returned to the shrine. There were two things we needed to do. One, we had to mend Tamamo no Mae’s seal. Two, we needed to fix and improve the shrine’s geomancy, which would stop the paranormal activities at night. Both required labor, but they weren’t really difficult.

Chiba couldn’t thank us enough. She gave us a small payment of around one hundred thousand renminbi after converting. It seemed the shrine wasn’t really rich.

“Since Urashima has been arrested, who will be the kannushi in your shrine? You?” I asked.

Chiba smiled. “Of course not. It’s impossible. No miko has ever become a kannushi.”

“This tradition isn’t fair to women…” I said.

“Women in Japan have never had high positions.” Chiba wore a wry smile. “I hope I can welcome you guys when you visit Japan again.”

Before we left, Ru Xue found out that Li Mazi had stealthily asked for Chiba’s phone number. On the way home, she gave Li Mazi a difficult time. We didn’t even have a peaceful moment. I guessed that when they returned home, Li Mazi would have to kneel on the ground and ask for forgiveness.

While we were waiting to board the plane at the airport, I suddenly spotted a woman wearing lavish ancient clothes. She was standing and looking at me. She was extremely stunning. From her clothes and accessories, she had to be Tamamo no Mae, otherwise known as Daji the fox spirit!

“Not good, Daji has escaped!” I screamed and woke up from my dream.

Yin Xinyue was playing the game Onmyoji on her phone. She lifted her head and looked at me in surprise. “Did you have a nightmare?”

I turned in the direction where I had seen Daji. Nothing was there. It was just a dream.

I suddenly had a strange thought that Daji was just an innocent woman who happened to be very attractive. People blamed her for the destruction of the Shang Dynasty. When she fled to Japan and became an imperial consort, people deemed her a monster.

Since ancient times, history has been written by masculine figures. Women had no social positions. They had always been toys to men.

Perhaps the Daji we knew wasn’t to be blamed. She just wanted to find a man who loved her with all his heart.

Unfortunately, she was too beautiful, and beautiful women were always ill-fated.