Chapter 17: The Tribulation of Transformation

Yes, Shen Shi was doing a fine job putting on airs when he suddenly slipped away—simply because he had discovered another wisp of primordial energy.

Among the myriad breaths in the air, there was only that single wisp. All notions of posturing became meaningless; seeking spiritual energy was of far greater urgency.

There would always be time to show off, but if a wisp of energy were missed, who knew when the next might appear?

Yet Shen Shi could never have anticipated what happened next.

When he found the spiritual energy, he stood dumbfounded before it, gazing at the deathly pale face of a young girl. His mind was thrown into utter confusion.

At that moment, the girl’s tail twitched slightly—an almost imperceptible movement, but enough to inform Shen Shi beyond doubt: “I am not an ordinary girl.”

“This is a brothel, this is a brothel. Or maybe it’s just some sort of playful quirk? Shen Shi! Shen Shi! Aren’t you the one who claims to have seen everything, who can spot the uncensored in the censored?”

He tried to reassure himself while surreptitiously glancing at the girl’s lower back.

Why do such a thing? Any seasoned traveler would understand.

But in the next instant, Shen Shi’s pupils dilated even further.

The tail was indeed growing from her posterior.

For the first time, Shen Shi felt truly at a loss—a sensation he hadn’t experienced even when facing the great blue wolf.

The brothel was abuzz with noise, warning Shen Shi that this place was a sea of people, and anyone could notice her at any moment.

“My worthy brother, Shen, my good fellow…”

As fate would have it, just when he least wanted it, here it came—Gongsun Ce and Kong Xueli had caught up to him.

Gritting his teeth, Shen Shi scooped up the barely breathing little girl and hid her within his robes, caring not whether she was an atavistic child or some supernatural creature. His only instinct was to avoid alarming others.

No sooner had he concealed her than Gongsun Ce and Kong Xueli arrived.

The girl in his arms was cold to the touch, but her chest still radiated a faint warmth and a heartbeat. Shen Shi forced himself not to look at her conspicuous tail.

“My good fellow, what wonderful verses!”

Gongsun Ce and Kong Xueli had noticed nothing amiss; their attention was wholly on Shen Shi’s poetry.

Despite this, Shen Shi’s expression betrayed no nervousness. On the contrary, he chatted with them easily.

“With such a poem, the Marquis is bound to favor you. Why did you leave?” Kong Xueli asked.

“Heh, if I didn’t leave, wouldn’t I become the scapegoat for everyone?” Shen Shi quipped.

When they invited him to return with them, Shen Shi declined. They offered to see him home; he refused again, insisting that he would not spoil their enjoyment of the evening.

Then he turned and walked away.

“Our brother Shen is truly a man of principle!”

Far from being annoyed, the two of them regarded Shen Shi with even greater admiration.

Such was the ancient world—if one’s character was good, all else was forgiven.

Shen Shi didn’t dwell on any of this. He just wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

Fortunately, this was Jinhua, a modest county town, with no curfew in place. Otherwise, a man carrying a young girl through the moonlight would surely have been detained by the constabulary. Even without a curfew, it was hardly a normal sight.

Luckily, the Song people were astute in business; outside the brothel stood a row of donkey carts—horses being scarce in the Song dynasty. As soon as he emerged, Shen Shi hailed a cart and asked to be taken to the Shen residence. The driver inquired which Shen residence, and once he understood, the wheels began to turn.

Shen Shi climbed into the covered cart, pulled the curtain down, and instructed the driver to call him upon arrival.

The driver agreed readily. Only then did Shen Shi carefully open his robe. The fox spirit’s head had lolled to one side. Shen Shi bent down and gently felt her neck with his fingers; she still had a pulse, though it was faint.

Her eyes, once open, were now closed, her face turning from pale to blue.

Could she have suffocated? Was she lacking oxygen?

Worried, Shen Shi immediately bent down and performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

He still didn’t know whether Little Gulu and the big blue wolf were monsters, but this one almost certainly was. If he accidentally suffocated her, it would be a real disaster.

The fox girl coughed violently, as if her breathing had returned. Shen Shi, having learned only basic battlefield first aid and bandaging, dared not attempt anything further.

But once he stopped, worry crept in. He knew no one at this so-called Shen residence; it wasn’t like being outside. It was said that family members were the quickest to detect something amiss—he feared his cover would be blown within the hour.

And how would he explain the unknown creature in his arms?

Perhaps it would be better to lie low outside for a couple of days and not return.

Just then, the donkey cart stopped, and the driver called from outside, “Young master, we’ve arrived.”

Shen Shi was startled—he hadn’t thought up a plan yet, and here they were already. His home was much too close; it was now too late to escape.

The little girl, upon hearing this, struggled to sit up and burrowed even deeper into Shen Shi’s arms before fainting again.

Shen Shi got down from the cart, settled the fare, and watched as the vehicle rolled away, then trudged toward the imposing gates of the mansion.

He looked up to see a grand gateway. The large vermilion doors were studded with bronze knobs, flanked by two stone lions. The gatehouse walls were adorned with intricate carvings, the roof’s embellishments even more exquisite, and lanterns hung on either side. Above the gatehouse, a plaque proudly displayed the name “Shen Residence.”

The high walls of the estate stretched outwards, about two meters tall, topped with black tiles, their undulating edges forming a wave-like pattern.

Shen Shi mused that this must be his home—how lavish! Pity, though, that the red lacquer was fading, the brass knobs rusting, and the bricks and tiles were chipped and broken. All that grandeur, he thought, deserved the qualifier “ancestral.”

He stepped forward and knocked loudly on the gate, his banging echoing in the night. Just as he was about to call out, he stopped himself.

He laughed at his own expense: “Who would I be calling for? All my family left with Father.”

He knew that their family, having transitioned from military to scholarly pursuits, had taken it all to heart: the temperament and conduct of scholars, mastered to perfection.

Though the Shen family had fallen on hard times, even a broken ship had three nails left. They weren’t so destitute as to have no servants at all.

But his father had connections; having become a scholar, he took his wife and mother with him. And scholars valued filial piety above all. The only two servants, an old man and a maid, had been taken to serve his grandmother. As for Shen Shi, the only grandson, he’d simply been sent off to the county academy.

Truly, this was the mark of a genuine parent—otherwise, he wouldn’t be a “left-behind child.”

With no one at home, things were actually more convenient for Shen Shi.

Letting himself in, Shen Shi hurried to find some firewood to boil water and clean up the little fox girl. Maintaining her body temperature was crucial; she was losing heat too rapidly, and if this continued, she might freeze to death.

By now, Shen Shi had mostly recovered from his earlier shock. He’d grown up on tales from “Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio”—the surprise had faded.

Whatever she was—a demon, a ghost, or a monster—at worst, she just had an extra tail.