A silly but wholehearted fox spirit x a fishing-for-a-trap, sharp-witted, no-good Taoist priest
Airhead x grump
Hu Li is a legendary fox spirit from Mount Tianzhao. She has diligently cultivated for three hundred years, yet still struggles to manage even the most basic human transformation.
One day, she happens upon a cultivation manual that says her kind can greatly increase their power by absorbing human vital essence.
She gets it. The reason her cultivation is so weak must be that she hasn't absorbed a scholar's vital essence.
As it happens, a handsome scholar has just moved in at the foot of the mountain.
The easygoing Taoist priest Su Jiuchuan takes a job capturing a fox demon to repay a debt of gratitude.
To get the job done faster, he offers himself as bait.
According to the storybooks, fox demons love a scholar's looks, so he dresses up as one.
But he's been living at the foot of Mount Tianzhao for ages. How come he hasn't run into a single fox?
One day, he returns from a demon hunt to find several oddly colored fruits on the table, along with a note in dreadful handwriting:
[Hello, may I absorb your vital essence? This is a bribe (crossed out), a reward.] The note is signed with a paw print flecked with dirt.
As a child, Su Jiuchuan was declared fated to bring misfortune and loneliness, destined to spend his whole life alone.
Then a fox barged into his life and refused to leave, no matter how many times he tried to chase her off.
She's so dumb. She can't even absorb someone's vital essence.
What would she do without me?
He's so dumb. How could he believe a fox so easily?
How could an ordinary fox live for three hundred years on Mount Tianzhao?
Whatever. This weak scholar could use a little help from the great Lady Fox.
[Happy ending. Both are virgins. A story about falling for someone's looks at first sight.]
#A sudden flutter at first meeting, and a racing heart after growing close
#Those incomplete storybooks are to blame for everything!
#Absorbing vital essence is exhausting. This fox can't get out of bed.
#What do I do? The fox I raised wants to absorb someone else's vital essence
#Admit it, you're smitten with the fox too
#Scholar, scholar, why is it always a scholar? What's so great about scholars?
2024/10/25
Lots of original worldbuilding, demon hunting and strange tales
A fluffy, brainless sweet romance written just for myself
Theme: See the world, see all living beings
