Zhu Long smiled dully, saying he hadn't discerned anything.
Hah, I immediately grasped that Zhu Long was trying to deceive me. He said he hadn't discerned anything? Just look at his expression and demeanor. I'm sure he saw something from the human skin pendant.
I handed him a cigarette, hinting, "Uncle Zhu, tell me about it, information sharing."
Zhu Long didn't even take my cigarette, pushed my hand away, and coyly said that he genuinely didn't know. He only saw that it was a human skin pendant, so he asked me. But in reality, he didn't know the true meaning of the pendant.
Is that really the case? If it is, then I wouldn't have seen the fleeting expression of greed in Zhu Long's eyes just now. I guess he must know, but if he doesn't say it now, I can't do anything about it. I can't just tear the face off between Yin people and Yin people just to find out Huang Xin's secret.
We both returned to the house, each with their own thoughts.
Inside, everyone had already started eating. Zhu Ying was continually serving Cheng Yan, occasionally speaking a few words to comfort her.
I could see that Zhu Ying, in addition to inheriting the boldness of the Elunchun ethnic group, was actually very kind-hearted, but growing up in the mountains, communication was an issue for her. She didn't like to talk much and was very taciturn.
"Come on! Raise your glasses, let's drink together." Zhu Long returned to his seat, raised a bottle of liquor, and proposed a toast.
We all raised our glasses and drank.
After finishing the meal, Zhu Long's face was so red from drinking that it reached the base of his neck, then he stood up, patted his belly, and said that he was going to make preparations now and in the afternoon he would invite the fox spirit to remove the fox fairy attached to Cheng Yan.
Honestly, when I arrived, this was what I was thinking: first, let Zhu Long, the fox king from the northeast, remove the fox fairy, and then go to Changchun to invite the shaman to exorcise the Yin spirits in Cheng Yan's body.
The dismantling of the fox fairy's Yin spirit would require two steps, and we would need two Yin people to step in.
But now, hearing that Cheng Yan had only stirred up the fox fairy after lying in the "Fox Ghost Coffin," I lost confidence in Zhu Long for a moment.
But even so, we had to let Zhu Long try it.
So three of us tidied up the tableware and began preparing to summon the fox spirit.
Zhu Long took the three of us, Cheng Yan, and Huang Xin to the fox den.
Zhu Long said to Cheng Yan, "Later, we will kneel. Huang Xin and Xiao Li don't have to kneel. After kneeling down, follow my rhythm and kowtow. Do you understand?"
Cheng Yan nodded hastily and said she understood.
"Then let's go." After Zhu Long snapped his fingers, he took the three of us into the fox den.
The foxes were all intelligent. They knew we were brought by Zhu Long and made way for us, not biting or making a fuss. They just watched us quietly from a distance.
We continued until we reached the fox spirit's den. Zhu Long knelt down, and Cheng Yan followed suit.
"Fox Spirit Goddess, I have a request. This girl has been possessed by the fox, and I ask for ten drops of fox spirit blood to save her life," Zhu Long said, then knocked his head hard.
Cheng Yan also followed suit. She was a bit nervous, mumbling ceaselessly, saying things like "Long live the Fox Spirit Goddess" and "May the Fox Spirit Goddess bless us."
After they finished the first kowtow, the den was silent.
Seeing that the fox spirit didn't respond, Zhu Long made another heavy kowtow, even breaking open his scalp, and a few drops of blood oozed from his forehead. The blood froze as soon as it came out, like a few red beads hanging on his forehead.
Cheng Yan also quickly knocked her head.
But the den was still silent.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
When Zhu Long and Cheng Yan reached the ninth knock, suddenly a clear and low-pitched howl, similar to a wolf's howl, came from inside the den.
This howl spread out, and all the little foxes nearby, one by one, all lay down on the ground, curling their limbs, as if they were kneeling.
The little foxes lowered their heads, whimpering non-stop with their eyes closed.
"Great! The Fox Spirit has agreed." I whispered to Huang Xin.
Huang Xin quickly joined her hands and placed them on her chest, feeling relieved.
"Fox Spirit Goddess, I request ten drops of fox blood," Zhu Long shouted again.
I heard a fox inside the den making a sound as "Qiuqiu".
The group of little foxes around me became restless, then a fox stood up and ran to the backside of the bamboo dragon, standing there.
"Qiuqiu!"
The spiritual fox called again, and another little fox in the group ran forward and stood behind another fox.
After the spiritual fox called out for the tenth time, a total of ten foxes ran out of the fox group, lined up, and stood behind the bamboo dragon.
"Thank you, spiritual fox lady." Bamboo Dragon was delighted, grinning from ear to ear, led the ten little foxes and us three out of the fox den.
As we left the fox den, Huang Xin expressed some reluctance, saying, "So the spiritual fox lady calls once, and a little fox comes out to die?"
"What do you mean by 'to die'?" I said to Huang Xin, "Change the way you say it, this is called spiritual fox calling! One called out and one comes out. Don't you think those foxes are coming out to die? In other words, they are heroes in the fox den."
"Spiritual fox calling? Sounds a bit sinister," Huang Xin blinked and said.
I immediately gave her a gentle tap on the back of her head and lowered my voice, saying, "Do you not realize where we are? This is next to the spiritual fox den. Criticizing the foxes as sinister is like cursing the cook while holding the rice bowl."
"Got it, got it," Huang Xin stuck out her tongue, saying she understood.
Back at the house, Bamboo Dragon started killing the foxes.
He killed a fox with one stroke, cutting the throat to bleed and then casually tossed the body into the snow.
Huang Xin thought it was quite cruel. These foxes help out, but in the end, their bodies are carelessly thrown into the wild. She ran over to find a place to bury the fox's body.
I quickly stopped Huang Xin, saying that the fox's body would be taken care of with the help of the spiritual fox. There was no need to rush.
Then I motioned towards the fox's body, saying, "I bet you won't believe it."
Huang Xin turned her head and found that the body was gradually sinking into the snow. Within three or four minutes, the fox's body had completely disappeared.
Seeing her look so surprised, I told her, "Didn't I tell you these foxes are brave warriors of the fox clan? The spiritual fox won't overlook them, they will definitely give them a decent burial."
"These foxes are truly spirited," Huang Xin told me.
"Of course," I rolled my eyes, "If the first leader of the Northeast Route 77 Wild Immortal doesn’t have spirit, then what animal has it?"
"Hey, what are you two murmuring about? Help me get a basin, this one is almost full of blood." Bamboo Dragon was more angry about watching us than practicing and ordered us to work.
I asked Huang Xin not to move and brought out a large basin from the house, handing it to Bamboo Dragon.
Bamboo Dragon continued to kill foxes, saying, "I'm not just bragging, if it weren't for my good relationship with the spiritual fox, it wouldn't have given me ten foxes."
"That's right, you are the fox king of the Northeast," Chen Yan, squatted in front of Bamboo Dragon watching him kill the fox, flattered him.
"Necessary," Bamboo Dragon was pleased and became more enthusiastic, explaining the next steps to Chen Yan.
He said he was going to prepare a large pot, fill it with fox blood, heat it to over forty degrees, and have Chen Yan strip and soak in it.
The heated fox blood would open every pore on Chen Yan's body, letting the fox's scent penetrate her body. Only then would the spiritual fox act, otherwise, it wouldn't.
"What? She has to undress?" Chen Yan's eyes widened, looking more scared than if she had seen a ghost.
Bamboo Dragon asked what she was so surprised about.
Huang Xin was more excited than Chen Yan and questioned whether Bamboo Dragon deliberately took advantage of Chen Yan, as it was not appropriate to undress fully.
"Hey! Uncle Zhu, your E'lu'rchun people are a bit more unrestrained. We are Han people, we should be more conservative." I spoke up for Huang Xin and Chen Yan.
Oh my, stripping off clothes in front of us and soaking in fox blood. This was indeed a bit uncultured.
Bamboo Dragon was stunned, then after a while, he laughed and said, "Haha, it's not completely undressing, she can wear underwear."
Oh! Wearing underwear, that's more appropriate. I told Huang Xin, "Wearing underwear is fine. Models walk around the world in their underwear every day, don’t they?"
My words touched Huang Xin's bad temper.
She stared at me and said, "Models on the runway do have swimsuit shows, but that's for art. And now soaking in fox blood even requires underwear? I think you men just want to take advantage of our Chen Yan."
I was exasperated. Art? Isn’t it low-brow for the models to just walk a few steps on the runway? How would that make a living for artists and writers who have been practicing all their lives?
When did art become so low-end?
I waved my hand, saying, "Even if what you said about the runway is art, soaking in fox blood now is a matter of life and death. Art should give way to saving lives."
I even modified the famous quote "Science has no nationality, but scientists have their own country" to caution Huang Xin, "Art cannot save lives, but artists need to help save lives."
Huang Xin couldn't be convinced, and in the end Chen Yan asked if she could wear a swimsuit.
Bamboo Dragon said it was possible, as long as the clothing was thin enough.
I interjected, "But Chen Yan, did you bring a swimsuit?"
"I brought one," Chen Yan said with a smile.
What?
Did I hear that right? This girl actually brought a swimsuit? In the freezing cold of Qiqihar, why would you bring a swimsuit? I was curious.