Chapter 49: The Bone of Thousand Illusions

  Su Qi's face was gloomy, as if someone owed her money and didn't pay back. Now she was trapped in the boundary by Ruiwen, unable to leave until she found what the fox wanted. The fox had a cold and indifferent expression, similar to Lu Ke's. If it wasn't for Ruiwen saying he was a fox, Su Qi would never have thought that this man could be connected to a fox. In her mind, all foxes should be like the waiter in that restaurant, wagging their tails and releasing electricity everywhere.

  The fox tribe man dug hard on the ground, and in a short while, the ground was covered with big and small holes. Each hole buried a skeleton. Every time he dug out a skeleton, the fox tribe man would take the skull in his hand and observe it repeatedly, as if admiring a work of art. After observing, he would put the skull on top of his head, and at this moment, the original fox tribe man would disappear, replaced by another completely different person.

  The sun was hidden behind a veil of gloom, and the air was filled with a faint mist that seemed to seep from the very earth itself. The atmosphere was heavy with an eerie feeling, as if the land was shrouded in a perpetual twilight. Su Qi watched in rapt attention as the fox tribe man transformed before her eyes, his form shifting seamlessly from male to female, old to young, and back again. With each transformation, the desolate landscape behind him seemed to change as well, as countless skulls appeared amidst the wild grasses, their empty eye sockets seeming to stare out with a malignant intent. The air was thick with an aura of dread, as if something terrible might emerge from those dark voids at any moment, or that two beams of ghostly light might suddenly flash forth from within. The entire scene seemed to have come alive, like some sort of hellish realm, and Su Qi felt a creeping sense of fear.

  Su Qi Ruo never thought that the back mountain would be buried with so many dead people, and she lived in the three houses closest to the back mountain. Isn't it like living next to a cemetery? Before, when they said how the back mountain was, she didn't care, just like listening to a joke. Now, seeing so many skeletons dug up by foxes with her own eyes, it's fake if she's not afraid. Su Qi Ruo thought of the evil spirit from before again, and that terrifying, gloomy, extremely distorted face suddenly appeared in front of her eyes. When looking at these skeletons again, Su Qi Ruo suddenly felt that these skeletons seemed to be able to turn into that evil spirit at any time.

  Su Qi felt that if she continued to look and think like this, she would go crazy, so she had to talk to Xi Ruiwen to shift her attention, "How did you get to know him?"

  Shi Ruwen was also idle, following behind the fox and at most kicking dirt without seeing him helping with anything, "At a restaurant."

  "Which restaurant?"

  "That place I took you last time!"

  "How long have you known each other? Why didn't I see you talking all along the way?"

  "Oh, it's just three or four days, and we're not very familiar with each other yet!" Shi Ruwen said matter-of-factly.

  "What!" Su Qi shouted, "You just met him and you're helping him dig up bones? What benefit did he give you?"

  "It's nothing!" Shi Ruwen said nonchalantly. "All gods and demons have their own racial abilities, but it's just borrowing them for use, so it doesn't count as anything!"

  Su Qi couldn't believe She Ruiwen's nonsense, this guy always thought he was superior, willing to help dig up bones, must have promised him a lot of benefits. Since She Ruiwen wouldn't say anything, and she had no way to find out, anyway, she was just here to make soy sauce, doing her job as a soy sauce maker was enough. These dry bones, twisted and turned, were dug up, some incomplete or damaged, still needing to be searched for the desired skull... Su Qi again unconsciously thought of the evil spirit, Su Qi regretfully shook his head, how did that fox put the frightening skull on its head? And weighed it while playing, really heavy taste!

  "What is Fox going to find with that skull? How long will it take for us to get out if he keeps digging like this?" Su Qi's patience was wearing thin, and she just wanted to leave.

  "The skull that can give him a thousand illusory bodies."

  "Body of a thousand illusions?" Su Qi's eyes sparkled with curiosity, "What does it mean?"

  "The Fox tribe is skilled in transformation, but if they want to transform into different forms, they need the skulls of different tribes. To transform into different people, they also need the skulls of those people. So, the Fox tribe's transformation is also limited, and a skull can only be used once. Therefore, it is said that there is a kind of skull in the world that can grant the Fox tribe infinite magical power without needing to change, and this fox is searching for that skull."

  "What did you say! The fox spirit appears in this form every time it transforms?" Su Qi asked incredulously.

  "Of course! Can it come out of thin air?" Si Ruiwen felt that Su Qiyue's imagination was really too rich.

  What was this school and the hill behind it originally? It's actually a place where so many men, women, and children are buried. Su Qi suddenly felt that the whole school was eerie.

  "It seems that just having a body of a thousand fantasies isn't very appealing either?" Su Qiye forced himself to change the subject, if he continued to dwell on this issue, he would go crazy soon.

  "The Fox tribe has a legend too, finding this skull can transform into a nine-tailed fox."

  "Really a nine-tailed fox?" Su Qi still thought it was just a legend.

  "The nine-tailed fox is a celestial fox, almost like the gods, and has been extinct for thousands of years!"

  "Do they still believe in this legend?" Su Qi was surprised that such a ridiculous rumor actually had people who really believed it, and even went to practice it.

  "What's so strange about that," replied Shi Ruwen with a white eye to Su Qi Ruo, "haven't humans been pursuing immortality for thousands of years? Even though so many years have passed, aren't they still seeking the secret to longevity?"

  When Su Qi said that, if he didn't refute it, perhaps every race has its own legend and is constantly practicing for this legend. Su Qi can only respect the legend of the Fox tribe now, but when can he go back?

  "Shi Ruwen, aren't you here to help? Why don't I see you digging?" Su Qiruo was getting impatient and couldn't help but urge Shi Ruwen to hurry up and find something with the fox. Even if they couldn't find anything, at least they would have an explanation to let the fox let them go first.

  "Grandpa didn't agree to help him dig!" Si Ruiwen said discontentedly, "Grandpa only agreed to point out the place for him."

  "Then hurry up and point!"

  "Grandpa has already pointed it out!" Si Ruiwen pursed his lips, "It's just this mountain behind the house!"

  "What!" Su Qi exclaimed in surprise, "Even a big place like Hou Shan is called a pointed-out place, and the fox believes it too!"

  "Chop!" Si Ruiwen disdainfully curled his lip, "If it weren't for Grandpa, he'd be searching the whole world in vain, and even after several lifetimes, he still wouldn't find it!"

  "...", Su Qi Ruo thought it made some sense, compared to the entire world, or even just the whole city, being able to narrow down the search to this one place was already a huge reduction in scope. No wonder the fox didn't have any complaints as it dug up bones with its head down. At this rate, the fox should be done in two or three days. Two or three days... did that mean she had to stay here for two or three days?! No!