I was born in a Guanyin temple. My friends call me A Shui, and the pilgrims call me Little Taoist Nun.
What? Someone says I’m a young maiden serving at Guanyin’s side?
No, no. But according to the woman who claims to be the real maiden serving Guanyin, when I was born, the gods above specially built a heavenly ladder, and Lady Guanyin herself carried me from Granny Yin Du into my mother’s womb.
What? Someone says I was born with a destined connection to Buddhism and Taoism?
No, no. According to Master Wuwei, I was born burdened with sin. I practice Taoist arts simply to guide the souls of the innocent who died unjustly to the afterlife and settle karmic debts.
What? Now some demons and monsters say I’m that white fox’s new pet?
Outrageous! My beautiful, still-charming great-grandmother told me to remember: “South of the Western Sea, on the banks of the Flowing Sands, beyond the Red River and before the Black River, there is a great mountain called Kunlun Mound. Water flows around it, known as the Weak Waters, whose deepest place is the Abyss of Weak Waters, a place of utmost yin and cold. A god guards the gate of the Heavenly Capital. He has a human face and a tiger’s body, patterned fur and a tail, all white, and is called Lu Wu. A beast guards the banks of the Ruo River. It has four legs and nine tails, and sounds like a baby. It can eat people, and those it eats are free of poison. It is called the Nine-Tailed Fox.”
Um... I don’t quite understand all of that.
But I’m human, and he’s a “monster.” So if we absolutely have to talk about who owns whom, then the white fox is my new pet!
Is it better to have a male protagonist or not?