The leaf was produced in the Yao country Qingqiu, with delicate and beautiful patterns. In the mortal world, this creation from Qingqiu can be used to find creatures from Qingqiu.

When Wei Yuan and the heavenly maiden found each other, the fox spirit also looked at them in surprise.

Then, nervously looking at the green leaf in their hands:

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"Where is Lao Zhai? How did the leaf end up in your hands?"

This was the first time Wei Yuan had seen such a monster.

This was a rare male fox spirit in the legends, and it looked quite old.

Among the monsters, there were not many who could transform into human form when their cultivation was not high. Huang Gu's cultivation of over a hundred years could only send dreams and seek help in dreams. Among the types of creatures that could transform, the most famous were fox spirits and weasel spirits.

This fox spirit had transformed into an old man of short stature, with silver-white hair and wrinkles on his face. He wore a light-colored British suit, appearing refined and elegant. However, he seemed anxious at the moment, causing his silver hair to sway.

Cultivating into a monster could greatly extend the lifespan of a creature, but there were still limits.

The lifespan of a fox itself was only ten years.

Even if the lifespan was extended tenfold, it would only be a hundred years.

The nine-tailed fox with a thousand years of cultivation would be recorded as a great monster in the Shan Hai Jing.

………………

Wei Yuan told the old man how he obtained the book and the leaf.

The fox spirit's face showed a regretful expression, sighed, sat on a chair next to the park, and fell silent for a long time, saying:

"Is that so? Lao Zhai has already passed away..."

"It's meaningless after finally finding the medicine."

The heavenly maiden looked at the medicine in the old fox spirit's hand and said, "This is a longevity elixir. Do you want to give it to him?"

"When you were collecting the medicine, you must have been injured."

The fox spirit naturally said, "Because we are friends."

The girl's eyes showed some surprise. After thinking for a moment, she said, "The leader of Qingqiu is the Nine-tailed Fox. Although it is regarded as auspicious, it also eats evil people. You are her subordinates, and you would make friends with people like the wild fox spirits in the outside world?"

"I haven't eaten anyone."

The old fox spirit muttered, then for some reason, he anxiously swayed his body.

"Well, I did want to eat him before."

"Just in passing."

"I had a fleeting thought. It doesn't matter if there's evidence of evil or not. So it doesn't count as evil."

Wei Yuan became interested and put the Qingqiu leaf aside, saying:

"You wanted to eat him, so how did you become friends?"

"Also, do all monsters hide in the mortal world like you?"

The fox spirit said, "When objects become monsters, they may not have spiritual power. Monsters are not only judged by their magical powers. Originally, we also lived in deep mountains and old forests, but now there are fewer and fewer deep mountains and old forests built by you humans. Naturally, there are no homes for monsters, so they mix in."

"As for me and Lao Zhai..."

Seeing that Wei Yuan and the girl next to him seemed somewhat interested, the fox spirit shook its head:

"If you want to hear, I can tell you."

…………………

The leader of the Qingqiu clan, the Nine-tailed Fox, is a well-known great monster in Shen Zhou!

Before being vilified, it was regarded as auspicious in the eyes of mortals.

But the Nine-tailed Fox eats people.

Whether it was because of her nature as a beast rather than a monster, which was seen and recorded by someone in the past, or because she devoured evil people as punishment, these were not fabricated lies but stories recorded in the Shan Hai Jing.

Hu Ming was the most ordinary Qingqiu fox.

He also wanted to get close to the Nine-tailed Fox, so he decided to do something that could prove himself as a fox spirit.

Instead of practicing enchanting spells, he tried to find a way to hunt and eat humans, like in ancient times.

This was not because he felt embarrassed standing among a group of vixens learning enchantment and transformation techniques, nor was it because he was stupid and couldn't learn to be enchanting. It was simply because he wanted to follow ancient customs.

He quickly targeted a boy from a very poor family. The boy's parents died in a brief war, leaving him alone.

But he had a hobby that a poor person of that era should not have, reading books.

During his first hunt, he didn't make any moves because there were adults present.

During his second hunt, he had already reached behind the boy, but he faintly heard him muttering something. Suddenly, the boy raised his voice and said, "Where is the monster going?" This scared Hu Ming, and his eyes widened in surprise.

Was this little guy born with magical powers?

But later, he found out that the boy was just reading a story called "Huaben".

The fox's movement startled the boy as well. They stared at each other for a while, and then the boy smiled, broke off a piece of dry and hard steamed bun, and reached out to hand over half of it. However, the fox didn't even look at it and ran away, shaking its tail.

Boring.

Dull.

That was the initial thought.

The fox decided to give this kid a chance. It had been a long time since a fox had eaten such a big meal, but the story was too good. It decided to listen to the story slowly, finish these books, and then make a move. It looked at those books. The lifespan of a Qingqiu fox was not short, and these books would be read in at most a year.

But after finishing one book, there were still more books.

Sometimes, when he wanted to savor these stories and words, the boy would find a way to copy them.

During this time, the fox often appeared, and he had become accustomed to it.

However, there was no peace between the boys in the village, especially in families without parents. Coupled with not fitting in, the little boy was often bullied by older boys. At times like this, the fox would yawn and find it boring, then secretly use illusions to tease them when those boys ran away.

For example, making them step into an empty space and sit in a cesspool.For example, let them fall flat on the ground.

At this time, he would feel like a hero in a martial arts novel.

When other spirits asked him how he could be friends with a human boy as a fox demon from Qingqiu, Hu Ming would raise his head slightly and proudly tell them that the guy was not his friend, just food. He would revive the ancient tradition of the Nine-tailed Fox devouring humans.

The wild spirits would look at him with reverence and admiration.

This kind of life went on for a long time. The turning point of the story was when Hu Ming came down from the mountain one day and saw a Taoist priest take out a yellow talisman and hand it to the young boy, telling him, "You have demonic energy on you, you are being entangled by a fox demon. Demons harm and consume human essence. Stick this yellow talisman on it, and I can subdue it."

Hu Ming dismissed it, he didn't think that guy would suspect him.

But the young boy remained silent for a long time and then took the talisman.

So the fox demon hesitated for several days before going to find him. After listening to the final story, she decided that if the young boy took out the talisman, she would eat him. Sure enough, after the story was finished, the young boy lit a lamp and looked at the fox, saying, "Are you a fox demon?"

Hu Ming raised his chin and coldly replied, "Yes."

"You are my..."

Before he finished saying the word "prey,"

A smile appeared on the boy's face as he took out a book and said, "Great."

He said, "Since you can talk, we can read books together. I have a lot of things I want to discuss with someone."

Hu Ming was a little dazed, and then the young boy became excited, talking non-stop for a long time before suddenly slapping his forehead as if remembering something. He said, "By the way, there is a Taoist priest in the village who might have discovered you. You should avoid him these days."

"I tricked him into giving me the talisman, so he can't deal with you."

The young boy was proud.

The fox widened her eyes and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

After reading so many books, didn't she know that Taoist priests can draw talismans?

................

The old fox demon reached out and took a fallen leaf.

He stopped talking for a moment and said, "We have been inseparable for over ten years. We read books and debated together. Then he came to the city, found a wife, got married, and had children, while I returned to Qingqiu. We agreed to meet every three years."

"The last time I saw him, I saw that his lifespan was coming to an end. So instead of returning to Qingqiu, I went to find this medicine, hoping to extend his life. But I was too late. Although I knew this day would come early on, I didn't want to think about it."

"Turns out, this book of his finally got read."

The heavenly maiden looked at the elderly Hu Ming and said, "The lifespan of a Qingqiu fox is not just a hundred years."

"You lied just now."

The fox demon smirked and said, "Yes, it's not just a hundred years. It can be two hundred, three hundred. But so what?"

"My family doesn't understand. Human lifespan is too short for us. He can only live to be in his sixties, while I can live to be in my sixties many times over. But he is still my most important friend. The length of life is not the key to friendship."

"We are like dust in the world, walking between heaven and earth. No one knows who will leave first. What we desire is only equal communication of souls. So even if I have sixty years, or even ten sets of sixty years, he only has one set of sixty years."

"But those sixty years he exists are still the brightest and most important, enough to illuminate the long lifespan of the Qingqiu fox clan."

"After all, he accompanied me through his entire life."

The fox demon, who appeared old, stood up and elegantly bowed to Wei Yuan and the heavenly maiden.

Looking at the medicine on the chair that could extend life, he crushed it with his cane.

The moment the medicine touched the air, it bloomed like countless white flowers, then floated into the air and slowly turned into light feathers, disappearing without a trace. This was a precious treasure in the current world of spiritual revival, and it disappeared just like that.

"This was found for my friend. Since my friend is gone, it has no value anymore."

"Thank you both for telling me that he has left."

The old fox demon put on his hat and said, "He is not in this city, so I have no reason to come here anymore."

"I will go to Qingqiu. I will leave the Qingqiu leaves to both of you. You can use them to find the direction to Qingqiu."

"If you come, I will entertain you."

................

Wei Yuan and the heavenly maiden walked back to the museum.

The heavenly maiden suddenly said, "Cell phones are not really good things."

Wei Yuan was surprised and asked, "Why?"

The girl frowned and thought for a moment, "Before Hu Ming's friend died, he entrusted his book and Hu Ming's token to his grandson. But because he could read books on his phone, he easily gave up such an opportunity. If he had asked Hu Ming for the life-extending medicine, Hu Ming probably wouldn't have refused."

"And creatures like bookworms can only survive in books that have been read seriously."

"Now, the written words are recorded on phones, and bookworms and pulse readers will become fewer and fewer..."

Wei Yuan pondered for a moment and said, "That's not necessarily true. There are still many people who love reading, and in this era, there are far more people who can read than in ancient times. Moreover, the true purpose of cell phones is to connect people who want to see each other but can't, to bring them closer."

The girl shook her head, "Distance hasn't been shortened."

She paused for a moment, looked at Wei Yuan with bright eyes, and emphasized, "Distance hasn't been shortened."

"In our era, even if separated by vast distances, we would go to see our friends when we wanted to. So, when a friend came from afar, it was a joyous occasion. It was truly heartwarming to know that someone was thinking of you, would come to find you, and had arrived safely. It was a delight to be able to meet again."

"Just like Hu Ming, who travels between the mortal world and Qingqiu every three years. Most of his time is spent on the road. If I miss you, I would cross mountains and seas to see you. This is more valuable than any text message on a phone."

Wei Yuan looked into the girl's bright eyes, pondering the question from a thousand years ago, and laughed:

"There are also shorter distances, like writing a letter is simpler, sending a message is easier."

"It brings us a bit closer, so we don't feel the urgency to meet in person, like the 996."

The girl's eyebrows relaxed, she was very curious about this era, and asked:

"Jiujiu Liu?"

Wei Yuan laughed: "It's a not-so-pleasant specialty of this era."

"Of course, it's always better to meet in person if you can."

……………………

Hu Ming took a taxi to the airport in Quan City, planning to take a flight out of Quan City and head to the mountains.

To return to Qingqiu.

He casually checked the flight schedule on his phone.

A new flight message flashed by, but Hu Ming didn't pay it any mind.

A plane from the original New Indian Continent landed at Quan City Airport.

PS: Three thousand eight hundred words~ Is that enough...

Source of "Demon Museum":