I searched for corpses in the Wuding River to extract entries

"So, you used illusion to confuse some people, making them believe that the young master of the Zhou family is not dead and is still alive?"

The white fox sighed softly, with a hint of worry between his brows:

"But if you do this, won't those deceived people no longer be able to provide you with thoughts..."

Zhou Qiangguang, who was transformed from a red fox, strolled leisurely on the forest path, a smug smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he laughed: "But what's the big deal?"

"All I lost was the thoughts of Zhou's parents."

"But in this world, there are countless people who can provide me with the power of their minds, as numerous as the hairs on a cow!"

"And in this way, wouldn't this result be something that everyone can get as they wish and everyone will be happy?"

As he spoke, the red fox turned to look at the white fox, his eyes gleaming with excitement:
"Sister, you probably can't even imagine... How wonderful it is to transform into such a beloved young master of the Zhou family!"

Hearing this, the white fox sat down on the ground with his head tilted, as if thinking about something. His eyes were vague, and no one knew what he was thinking about.

Seeing this, the red fox also sat down cross-legged, revealing a bit of emotion in his tone:
"Thinking back to the past, we were always weak women, and could only barely connect to a thought from our husbands."

"Besides, since I don't have children, it won't be long before I get tired of them and lose the source of my thoughts."

"Just like all those years before, I tried so hard to finally give birth to the third tail."

The red fox slowly raised its head, its eyes piercing through the night sky, looking at the bright stars:

"Now... when I have truly become the young master of the Zhou family, I have come to realize that thoughts are not limited to being on one's partner."

"It can also connect us with family, friends, teachers, classmates... and even many more people, thus providing us with thoughts!"

The red fox's eyes sparkled with excitement:
"This efficiency is more than ten times faster than what I achieved in the past few decades."

Then, he turned to look at the white fox and said with a smile:

"Sister, you might as well give it a try. Maybe you can cultivate the ninth tail sooner and achieve your path as a fox fairy."

In order to convince the white fox, the red fox added:
"Sister, you only need to go to the paper-making shops and coffin shops in the city and observe. There will always be families with suitable transformations there. You only need to find a suitable identity, and you can easily obtain their thoughts."

However, the white fox stood up on its own and said, "No need, sister, I haven't transformed for a long time."

After saying that, she turned and left, leaving the red fox alone there. He sighed and looked at her in confusion as she trotted to the edge of the woods.

At this time, a handsome young man happened to see the white fox running towards him.
The young man smiled immediately, then squatted down and gently touched the white fox's soft head.

The red fox witnessed this scene and couldn't help but feel a little surprised. He muttered to himself:

"Is this kid really not afraid of monsters?"

In order to clear up the doubts in his heart, he sent a message to the white fox:

"Sister, who is this boy? Why is he so close to you?"

Hearing this, the white fox smiled slightly and replied in a voice transmission: "His name is Ah Fu, and he is different from the people I met when I transformed before."

"When I told him that he had saved me in his previous life and that I had come here specifically to repay him, he actually believed it without hesitation."

"You have to know that teenagers of this age are the most innocent. Their hearts are pure and innocent, and they are easy to trust others."

The white fox continued, "I got more thoughts from him than from anyone else I met before."

However, the red fox was a little unconvinced and sneered, "What naivety? I think it's just stupidity. Who knows, he might secretly report to the authorities and arrest us in the future."

Hearing this, the white fox replied firmly, "He... won't."

Then she added earnestly:

"Brother, you might as well stop transforming into the Zhou family's young master. Although that can temporarily gain some thoughts, it won't last long."

"Besides, there are always certain risks in taking human form."

"It is still most important to find the target in my true form. I feel like my ninth tail is about to be born."

The red fox shook his head gently, a look of disapproval flashed in his eyes, and he said slowly: "But... Sister, you have to admit that human life is so short and fragile like a morning mushroom."

"If it's just Ah Fu, you might not be able to grow the ninth tail you dream of until the day he dies."

Upon hearing this, the white fox remained silent.

Seeing this, the red fox continued to talk incessantly:
"Besides, the great scholars in the city are all full of praise for me, saying that I have the talent of a top scholar! They think so highly of me, how can I disappoint them?"

"Once I pass the imperial examination and become an official in the court, I will be able to connect to thousands and thousands of thoughts!"

"The efficiency of this one day is countless times more than what you, my sister, can provide in your entire life!"

"By then, I will also be able to cultivate nine tails and be on par with you!" said the red fox confidently.

However, Bai Hu's voice sounded somewhat cautious and worried: "But brother, do you think... being the top scholar is really a good thing?"

"One of our predecessors was once the top flower scholar. Although he did receive a lot of thoughts, according to him, those days were too hard to endure. It is said that he had to deal with countless guests every day..."

Seeing this, the red fox quickly called out to stop her, with a somewhat helpless tone:

"Sister...you...don't really think that the top scholar among all the top scholars is the same as the ordinary top scholar..."

Upon hearing this, a trace of doubt flashed in the white fox's eyes, and he asked in confusion:
"Aren't they the same thing? Aren't they both the top students among humans?"

After hearing this, the red fox couldn't help but feel numb.
He shook his head and sighed, "Sister, have you never been to school or been exposed to human knowledge in the past thousand years?"

The white fox was stunned for a moment, then said with an "ah":

"No one wants me to go to school, so why should I go to school? We foxes don't need to learn human knowledge."

Hearing this, the red fox couldn't help but sigh, his tone full of helplessness: "Oh my God! Sister, it seems that you don't understand humans well enough. You don't even know such basic common sense."

After hearing this, the white fox immediately retorted: "How can I not understand humans? I have practiced for more than a thousand years longer than you, and I know everything about humans."

The red fox sighed repeatedly:

"Sister, I think you have wasted more than a thousand years... Being the best among flowers is not a good thing among humans!"

"This is about the courtesan in the brothel. No wonder your senior felt that life was hard. It turns out that she was such a 'top scholar'."

The white fox was stunned for a moment, with a trace of confusion and puzzlement in his eyes: "So there is such a difference between the top scholar among flowers and the real top scholar? I thought they were the same concept, no different..."

Red Fox listened at the side and couldn't help but sigh:
"Sister, although you have been traveling in the human world for these years, it seems that you still have too little experience."

"You are just satisfying the selfish desires of those poor boys, and thus gaining some meager mental strength."

At this point, Red Fox's tone couldn't help but carry a hint of regret:

"It's just a pity that for so many years, I have always regarded your experience and practices as a guiding principle and a treasure."

After hearing what the red fox said, the white fox frowned and asked:
"Turtle pinching? Do you mean pinching a turtle? What does this have to do with our topic?"

As he was speaking, Ah Fu gently picked up the white fox and said softly:

"Xiaobai, let's go home, it's getting late!"

Upon hearing this, the white fox sent a message to the red fox, "Brother, I'm leaving first! You must take good care of yourself and don't reveal your identity!"

After hearing what the white fox said, the red fox waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "Go ahead, I'm going back to prepare for the exam too!"

After saying that, he uttered a soft "tsk tsk" and then turned back resolutely and strode towards the city where the lights were dim.

As he walked, he kept talking to himself: "Sister, you don't understand humans at all!"

"You always taught me to do housework diligently and serve my husband every day, as if only in this way could I maintain that weak thought and not let it fade away in the slightest."

"But now it seems that I only need to concentrate on studying and don't need to care about those tedious housework at all. My mind has become more stable and even improved!"

"Moreover, the thoughts and concerns of my wife, parents, teachers, classmates, relatives and friends have not diminished due to my negligence, but have grown day by day!"

"In the past, you always taught me to avoid strangers and never give anything to anyone privately, in case someone catches me and ruins my reputation."

"So we were blocked from seeing and hearing, and we knew nothing about the information in the human society outside."

"But now, when I go out, I can make friends with important people everywhere, have fun with them, and plan great things together. There are endless guests visiting my home, and it's very lively!"

"This way, there will be no handle for you to criticize, and you won't have to suffer any hardship. On the contrary, you can understand humans more deeply and gain insight into their thoughts and needs!"

"Looking back now, those days were such a waste of time."

"Sister...bye!"

……

Time flies by like a fleeting moment.

In the blink of an eye, Zhou Qiangguang, who had successfully passed the imperial examination, unexpectedly faced the imperial examination.

With its unique talent as a demon, the red fox has an amazing memory.
Although he couldn't say that he had a photographic memory, he could remember almost everything he saw after just one viewing.

Such ability undoubtedly provided him with great convenience in the process of preparing for the exam.

Although he had never had an in-depth understanding of the Four Books and Five Classics, which are regarded as Confucian classics,
But in just a few months, he relied on his own efforts and talent to master all these classic works.

Not only that, he also read the examination papers of previous examinations carefully, and was familiar with the test points and difficult points, and was confident about them.

During the period of preparation for the exam, his increased determination actually allowed him to grow a fourth tail. This progress far surpassed his previous decades of hard work.

Even the escort leader who sent him to the capital this time provided him with a lot of ideas invisibly.

This also made the red fox sigh from time to time. In this era, it seemed better to transform into a man.

Because as a man, he can move more freely in the world, come into contact with more people and things, and thus draw more mental strength.

If we really want to talk about the shortcomings of this transformation into Young Master Zhou, there are a few.

That is, its rules are strict and cannot be violated.

Zhou Qiguang was a descendant of an aristocratic family and a scholar.

His every move was closely watched by countless eyes.

And those cumbersome and complicated rules are like invisible shackles, restricting his behavior at all times.

Take this moment for example, Zhou Qiangguang had just arrived in Beijing and stepped into a bookstore.

On the bookshelf filled with books, his eyes were attracted by a strange book called "The Great Wilderness Sutra".

He carefully turned the pages of the book and saw on the first page,

It actually recorded something about the "Qingqiu Fox Clan", which immediately aroused his strong interest.

Before this, Zhou Qiguang had also had the opportunity to read some similar strange books.

However, the records about the Qingqiu Fox Clan in those books are often just a few words, simply mentioning that they are good at illusions, and there are no other detailed descriptions.

Such brief records always left him feeling unsatisfied.

Just as Zhou Qiangguang opened the "Great Wilderness Sutra" with curiosity, unexpectedly the teacher next to him suddenly reached out and snatched the book from his hands.

Then, the teacher mercilessly tore the "Great Wilderness Scripture" into several pieces, and while tearing it, he loudly scolded Zhou Qiangguang: "It's already the critical moment to go to Beijing for the exam, how can you still have the mind to read such a trivial book?!"

"At this moment, only if you focus on your studies and work hard, you will be able to pass the imperial examination and bring honor to your family!"

"Your father, Mr. Zhou, was once my senior fellow apprentice. Plus, you, Zhou Qiangguang, are a good student, so I am giving you this advice!"

“Otherwise, if you only know how to talk, you will fail in the competition and achieve nothing, and your Zhou family’s temporary prosperity will also be gone!”

Hearing the teacher's reprimand, Zhou Qiangguang immediately lowered his head: "I understand. I will concentrate on preparing for the exam in the future and will not let you down again."

Seeing this, the gentleman nodded with satisfaction, revealing a hint of relief in his tone:
"Well, your future is right at your feet. It's up to you to decide what to do. I hope you can cherish this opportunity and not leave any regrets in your future."

After the gentleman left, Zhou Qiangguang sighed softly and thought to himself:

"Although there are many books about my Qingqiu Fox Clan, most of them are just old-fashioned and lack new ideas. In that case, I might as well not read them!"

"When you pass the imperial examination, what kind of books can't you read?"

Thinking of this, Zhou Qiguang raised his head and said loudly: "Shopkeeper, how much is this book worth? I will compensate you!" (End of this chapter)