Lou Xiyue asked, "Is there any way to lure this fox out? What does it usually eat?"
The woman shook her head, indicating she didn't know, and then warned us, "If you and the young master are going to catch this fox, be very careful. If it bites you, you'll never be cured."
Afterwards, Lou Xiyue and I bought a deerskin coat, a fur hat, and leather boots from her, and inquired about the places where the nine-tailed fox often appeared in the village.
Lou Xiyue bought a bow and arrows, packed some dry rations, and then boarded the official boat.
I rested my chin on my hand and said to him, "When I heard what that woman said just now, I suddenly thought of Daji. The nine-tailed fox is a spirit beast, maybe it really is a fox spirit that can transform into human form."
Lou Xiyue, fanning herself, asked, "So?"
I said, "I've heard that vixens are all quite beautiful, with boundless seductive skills and venomous hearts, and they especially like to seduce rich young men."
Lou Xiyue tilted her head, a slight smile playing on her lips, her eyes filled with laughter, "And then?"
I declared righteously, "Destroy her!"
Lou Xiyue said, "..."
Tanlu was already within the territory of Wuli. After traveling north for less than two days, they arrived at Wuli County.
Wuli was the northernmost prefecture in Dali, a place perpetually covered in snow, a vast expanse of white. The people lived by hunting in the mountains and forests, their bodies wrapped in fur coats, and at night they would gather around the stove to brew tea and cook meat. Thus, the place was desolate, with withered trees, crows, and sparsely populated. Lou Xiyue and I bid farewell to Yan Bai and headed towards Sifeng Mountain, located near the prefecture.
The leather boots made a "thud" sound as they stepped on the snow, and occasionally birds flew by, creating a rustling sound in the woods.
I coughed.
Lou Xiyue stopped in her tracks, turned around, adjusted the fur hat on my head, and asked, "Did you catch a cold?"
I rubbed my palms together, my breath steaming in the air, and nodded, saying, "If we go any deeper, we'll probably have to spend the night in these mountains. Let's look for a cave or a hunter's hut."
He took off his fur coat and draped it over me, then took my hand.
I waved my hand to indicate that I didn't need it, saying, "It's freezing cold here, it's not good for you to just wear this robe."
Lou Xiyue gripped her hand tighter and smiled faintly, "It's alright."
I suddenly remembered that Lou Xiyue actually knew that Heart-Protecting Technique, but I didn't see him use it to transmit warmth today, so I couldn't help but be a little curious. "By the way, don't you know that 'Sunrise Heart Technique'? Why aren't you using it?"
His expression faltered slightly, then he forced a smile and said, "That won't be usable anymore."
I asked in surprise, "Why?"
Lou Xiyue said casually, "I can't remember the incantation."
I glanced at him and saw that he looked calm and composed, as if it were true, so I didn't press him further.
I kicked around a few times, scooped up some snow and rubbed it in my palms, then laughed at him, "After jumping around like this, I'm not cold anymore. Your fur coat is too big, it's inconvenient for me to walk in, you should wear it yourself."
Lou Xiyue looked at me, and there was a moment of silence as snowflakes fell silently onto his robes.
I tossed the fur coat into his hands and took a few steps forward. "I'm not worried about you being cold." Then I realized I hadn't said that properly, so I added, "I'm not worried about you being cold, I'm the one who's cold." Still that wasn't right, so I said again, "I'm not cold myself, I'm worried about you being cold."
Lou Xiyue's eyes curved slightly. A cold wind blew by, carrying some ice and snow, but his smile was warm and serene. He said, "Xiao Xiang, do you like me too?"
The flying snowflakes, like goose feathers, weighed down the branches. The vast and boundless world seemed to contain only two people: me and Lou Xiyue.
My heart skipped a beat. Seeing that he looked normal and didn't speak in a mocking tone, I lowered my head. All I could see was a corner of my black lace peeking out from the snow. I said, "I...I'm not."
I pondered for a moment. Lou Xiyue is my disciple, and we spend every day together fetching medicine, so naturally I like him. This liking is like a master's liking for a disciple, much like my master's feelings for me. But he added the word "also," which confused me.
I vaguely remember that in the East, Lou Xiyue picked a day and confessed his love to me. But Lou Xiyue's reputation as a womanizer has been around for so many years, and in the short time I've known him for less than a year, I've seen three beautiful women with him. It seems he's become accustomed to naturally confiding in the girls around him, then flirting with them, and then engaging in ambiguous relationships.
This is really not a good habit. I don't know how his father raised him, but I feel sorry for him.
While I was pondering, I realized that there was a pair of boots in front of me.
Looking up, I saw that Lou Xiyue was now only three inches away from me. He looked down at me without saying a word, as if he was still waiting for my reply.
I repeated myself in a low voice, "No. We have a teacher-student relationship, so maybe, maybe I have some feelings for you."
Lou Xiyue seemed to pause for a moment, then moved even closer to me, her nose almost brushing against mine.
I continued, "But it has nothing to do with romance."
He paused for a moment upon hearing this, took a step back to create some distance between us, and said very softly, "Master and disciple it is then."
The endless, snow-covered landscape made his eyes appear even darker, accentuated by the brown deerskin hat he wore.
I coughed lightly. "Let's go."
The nine-tailed silver fox was pure white; if it were truly hidden in this snowy landscape, even the most discerning eye wouldn't be able to spot it. The mountain path here was difficult to traverse, the snow was thick, and Lou Xiyue and I used two thicker branches as support to venture deeper into the snowfield.
Amidst the intertwined bare branches, a somewhat dilapidated shack gradually comes into view.
I walked to the front of the house, intending to knock, but when I pushed the door open, the wooden door creaked open.
The room contained only a few wooden stools and a small table; it was dusty, indicating that no one had visited in a long time. On the table sat an oil lamp, with only a wick remaining.
The room wasn't large, but it was divided by a row of fences. Some cloth shirts hung on the fences, but because of their age, the colors had faded. I observed them for a long time, but I really didn't know what the purpose of the fences was. A more plausible explanation is that the owner thought the quilts and painted screens were very elegant, so he hung some cloth strips on the wooden fences as a kind of screen to show off his refined taste.
As night approached, we decided to spend the night in this shack. Lou Xiyue went out to gather some firewood and started a fire inside to keep warm.
I took a strip of cloth from the wooden fence and wiped away the dust, revealing a small couch behind it. The couch was about three feet long, lined with dry straw and covered with a sheepskin mat. Inside the couch was an iron-beaked fletching arrow. There might have been a trace of blood on the tip, now settled into an inky black color. Unlike the other things in the room, this arrow was completely dust-free; the beak remained shiny, and the wooden shaft was spotless.
I moved closer and touched the small couch. A thin book was pressed down by a felt rug, its edges yellowed.
The booklet contains some notes written in delicate small characters, with a teardrop blooming from the ink, its edges slightly blurred.