The Fox Immortal’s Rebirth

Su Mo had never imagined it. Three years turned into another three, and she had already been reborn as a little girl for six years.

Accompanying her two grandfathers to worship the Fox Immortal, Su Mo clutched her small hands, her adorable face hidden behind one of them as she gazed at the distant Fox Immortal statue.

‘The Forgetfulness Soup was fake, and even watered down at that,’ Su Mo mused, twirling a small braid with her finger. ‘But how is it that this statue is carved exactly in my likeness?’ Her clear, bright eyes remained fixed on the idol.

In this village, she was known as a six-year-old girl.

The story went that two hunter grandfathers had found her while out in the mountains.

She was a wild child, an orphan whose parents were gone shortly after her birth.

These two rather eccentric grandfathers had brought her back to Su Village, one of the Three Immortal Villages.

They named her Su Mo.

Truth be told, she often worried about her grandfathers. They were both quite elderly, yet still insisted on hunting.

Then, she witnessed it herself: the grandfather she called Grandpa Gui, despite his arthritic legs, launched himself off a cliff.

He was perfectly fine!

‘Incredible,’ Su Mo had thought then. ‘My adoptive grandfathers definitely have some hidden identities.’ She had observed them for six years, yet had gleaned no further information.

Her other grandfather, Grandpa Mo, was also an extraordinary man. Despite being in his seventies or eighties, he possessed a head of enviable black hair and never used a lamp when walking at night.

The most preposterous thing she’d witnessed was his ability to converse with anything; he could even catch a dog and talk to it for half a day.

The absurdity? The dog understood him!

This morning, Grandpa Gui and Grandpa Mo had brought her to the Fox Immortal Temple for the first time, to offer incense.

Grandpa Gui, with his shock of white hair, bore several scars on his face that made him appear rather fierce.

He grinned, his smile directed at the 1.2-meter tall loli Su Mo, looking much like a child trafficker trying to lure a little girl away.

“Little Su Su,” Grandpa Gui said, patting her head. “You’re six now. Why don’t you offer some incense to the Fox Immortal and pay your respects?”

In all honesty, worshipping a statue that looked exactly like her felt incredibly awkward.

And very strange.

She had pondered it more than once: why did this Fox Immortal Temple, which had appeared six years ago, house a statue that was her spitting image?

“That’s right, Little Mo Mo,” Grandpa Mo said, handing her three incense sticks with an amiable smile. “Don’t be afraid.”

Grandpa Mo was considered the most dashing old man in the village; even at seventy or eighty, he could charmingly captivate countless old ladies.

He was affectionately known by the villagers as — the Grand Patriarch of Dashing!

Rolling her eyes, Su Mo calmly accepted the incense. She took small steps, approaching the altar.

One thing she found both strange and exasperating was that her two adoptive grandfathers never seemed surprised, no matter how astonishing her actions.

For instance, when Su Mo learned to speak at one year old, she called out “Grandpa” without any instruction.

Later, she displayed extraordinary talent, quickly mastering everything she encountered, astonishing the villagers who believed her to be a prodigy.

Yet, these two grandfathers remained utterly unfazed. They acted as if they hadn’t even noticed Su Mo’s intelligence, continuing to coddle her like any other child.

They’d say things like, “Little Su Su, be good, the dog won’t bite you,” or “Little Mo Mo, don’t be scared, there are no ghosts that eat children after dark…”

They were, in short, endlessly amused by doting on their little girl!

‘…’ Su Mo’s expression turned serious, aware that many people were watching in the temple.

She couldn’t very well disparage the beliefs held by others.

With her adorable little face strained, she stood on tiptoes, just barely managing to place the incense sticks onto the altar.

Still craning her neck, Su Mo peered over the altar, her gaze fixed on the statue.

‘It really does look like me…’ she murmured to herself.

Nearby, her two grandfathers watched Su Mo’s dazed gaze, choosing not to disturb her.

They exchanged a glance, a silent understanding passing between them:

“Old geezer, it’s about to happen.”

“Ghostly fellow, they’ve all returned.”

Whoosh! A sudden gust of wind swept through the Fox Immortal Temple.

Pages fluttered wildly, and the worshippers fell into a chaotic scramble amidst the commotion.

Yet, despite the strange gale, Su Mo remained unmoving, balanced on her tiptoes, calmly staring back at the Fox Immortal statue.

Behind the ethereal smoke of the three incense sticks, she felt as though the statue had suddenly come alive, its stone surface cracking open to reveal fair skin and eyes.

They were divine, crimson fox eyes, encircled by a golden glow, brimming with a certain majesty.

Her vision stretched, and her consciousness felt as if it were being pulled, drawing closer to the statue.

Finally, she entered it completely.

‘I…’ After a moment of disorientation, Su Mo suddenly gained a new perspective—that of the Fox Immortal itself.

Gazing at the chaos within the temple, she focused on the little girl standing before the altar.

It was herself.

In that instant, the Fox Immortal and the little girl met eyes, becoming one.

‘So, I really am the Fox Immortal,’ Su Mo realized with a flash of insight. With a single thought, the wind subsided.

With another thought, she returned to her little girl’s body, shrinking her hands and retreating to hide behind her two grandfathers.

“Don’t be scared, Little Su Su,” Grandpa Gui said, stroking her head. “It was just the wind.”

“Indeed,” Grandpa Mo remarked, stroking his beard, a hint of emotion in his tone.

‘…’ Su Mo remained silent, her head bowed.

Her mind was overwhelmed with too much information to process; she felt a little muddled.

She vaguely followed her two grandfathers out, only managing to sort things out on the way:

‘So, someone erected a Fox Immortal statue for me, and it even successfully attracted incense offerings from three villages… Am I an Incense God?’

“Fox Immortal, Fox Immortal! I’m hungry! Fox Immortal…” A cacophony of ‘voices’ clamored in her ears, grating on her nerves.

They chirped and chattered like birds.

Annoyed, Su Mo looked over, only to be stunned. It was the sparrows on the branches, joyfully chirping.

‘It seems there are still many secrets within the statue that I don’t know,’ she noted to herself. ‘Now I can even understand the speech of living creatures.’ She made a mental note of this, beginning to gradually explore the Fox Immortal statue’s mysteries.

That night, back home, Su Mo fretted over the statue, unsure how to proceed. Her two grandfathers, too, were visibly troubled.

It seemed they had discovered something. In the dead of night, they sat by the table, lost in thought for a long time.

Su Mo, for a moment, feared her grandfathers were about to pass away, nearly shedding tears.

Only after being coaxed to bed and confirming their well-being did Su Mo finally fall asleep.

However, once Su Mo was asleep, the two grandfathers furrowed their brows, discussing matters:

“Three years to Golden Core, three years to Nascent Soul—Xu Qingzhu’s cultivation speed is terrifying.”

“Indeed. Now that he’s sensed something, he’s already delved into the Underworld… Ghostly fellow, are you alright?”

“Old geezer, want to come back with me and beat him up?” Grandpa Gui, who was none other than the Ghost General, spoke up.

“Good, this opportunity must not be missed.” Grandpa Mo, revealed to be Gong Nianxian, nodded gravely.

They instantly agreed. Their divine souls soared, plunging into the Underworld.

There, they saw Xu Qingzhu, arriving with lavish gifts.

He was as elegant as a jade tree in the wind, yet he pleaded:

“Ghost General, please tell me where Su Yao is.”

With a fierce grin, the Ghost General sent him flying, then fumed:

“You can’t even tell the names apart, what are you looking for?!”

After that, the Ghost General and Gong Nianxian were left speechless. Every night, Xu Qingzhu would appear, asking the same question.

Without interruption, the two of them would fight, becoming increasingly skilled and developing a greater tacit understanding.

Then, one day, Xu Qingzhu suddenly stopped coming, much to their bewilderment.

“Old geezer, it seems he’s given up. That’s a good thing.”

“Ghostly fellow, truthfully, that kid felt pretty good to hit. It was quite satisfying.”

“What a pity, it’s all in the past now.”

“Let’s focus on teaching Su Mo now,” the Ghost General said, recalling their plan. “By my reckoning, she’s reached the age to begin immortal cultivation.”

“Yes, another three years. Is she already nine? How quickly time flies.”

****

The next morning, Su Mo awoke to find three cultivation manuals laid out on the table, awaiting her choice.

She had already been secretly practicing cultivation techniques, so this was another welcome surprise.

‘Which one should I choose?’ she murmured.