The Epilogue of the Gray Fox

At dawn, the constables found three large wooden crates outside the government office. Upon opening them, they discovered six toddlers, aged one or two, all still alive but unconscious.

A letter was wedged conspicuously in the center, containing only a few lines: "Encountered four individuals at the inn. Their guise as merchants was false, but their scheme of abducting children for profit was true. However, the malefactors have been eradicated, and the infants are unharmed, merely asleep due to sedation. They will awaken shortly. Please handle this matter appropriately."

The constables exchanged puzzled looks for a moment before hurriedly carrying the crates back to report to their superiors.

Before entering Shu, she had seen several official notices depicting the portraits of four men - notorious pirates and murderers who occasionally dabbled in child trafficking. She knew she had no remarkable talents except for her keen eyes and good memory. Sometimes, one's luck as a villain had to be acknowledged. Unfortunately, these four men had left no corpses behind; otherwise, she could have handed them over to the authorities for a reward...

The streets were covered with dazzling white snow in the early morning. Though it couldn't compare to the north, it was enough to delight anyone.

As the sun rose, she exhaled warm breaths, enjoying the scenery on both sides.

Behind her, the novice monk carried a small, furry creature slightly larger than a rabbit in his arms, repeatedly chanting like reciting sutras: "Taoyao! Please keep it! Please keep it!"

Ignoring him, Taoyao continued to recite aloud: "The solitary boat, the raincoat-clad old man, fishing alone in the cold river snow."

"Taoyao, Taoyao, Taoyao! Please keep it, please keep it!" The novice monk caught up to her and continued his plea.

"Listening to the barking dogs at the firewood gate, returning home on a snowy night," Taoyao turned her face away.

"Taoyao! It's so small, how can it survive on its own? How can you bear to ask me to leave it by the roadside?" The novice monk became increasingly anxious, blurting out, "You're heartless!"

Taoyao suddenly stopped and the novice monk nearly bumped into her.

"Am I heartless?" Taoyao stood with her hands on her hips, pointing at the novice monk's nose. "If it weren't for me, this heartless person dragging you out of the pile of dead monks on that cold night, painstakingly raising you, feeding you, and nurturing you, would you still be alive today? I haven't even scolded you for being useless, only eating and not growing. Yet now, you dare turn against me and call me heartless?"

The novice monk's face turned red with embarrassment. After a long moment, he gathered his courage and said, "So, since you've already raised me, what's one more? It won't hurt, will it?"

Taoyao snorted disdainfully, "Our family can only afford to raise one good-for-nothing."

The novice monk stomped his feet in frustration, holding the small creature in his arms even tighter, "Fine! If you won't raise it, I will! I won't eat a single grain of rice from you, nor spend a single penny!"

"Then take it and get lost," Taoyao said, walking away without looking back.

The novice monk stood there in grievance, on the verge of tears.

The small creature in his arms stuck out its head, a half-black and half-white young fox, its gray eyes swirling with curiosity. It gingerly licked the novice monk's face and then wriggled out of his embrace, shaking its fur before cautiously examining the world around it. Everything about it was fine, except for its peculiar tail, which didn't look like that of a fox but rather a rabbit's, a round ball of fluff.

Taoyao had said that only when its little tail grew into a real fox tail could it return to its true form as a fox demon and qualify for formal cultivation.

After walking a distance, Taoyao sneaked a peek back and was relieved to see that the annoying novice hadn't followed her!

Turning around, she saw him and the small fox, sitting side by side on the ground a dozen meters away, staring at her with hopeful eyes. The little fox would occasionally tilt its head curiously.

A cold wind blew, and Taoyao stomped her foot, gritting her teeth, "How much karma have I accumulated!"

After that, she turned back determinedly, pointed at the novice monk, and said, "Moruya, listen carefully. It's your responsibility to take care of it. From now on, you are responsible for its food, drink, and every other need. Also, if it ever gets captured and eaten by someone, you have to rescue it yourself. If you get caught too, then turn into meat soup together with it. Don't expect me to come and save you!"

Though he had always been dissatisfied with Taoyao for giving him such a name, it sounded particularly pleasant to his ears today.

Moruya immediately burst into tears of laughter, "Do you agree?"

"I didn't agree!" Taoyao snorted and walked away.

Moruya quickly picked up the little fox, excitedly saying, "Taoyao agreed to take you in! From now on, you'll be with us!"

The little fox tilted its head and blinked at him.

As the snow cleared and the sky cleared, more and more people filled the streets and markets. Taoyao held a warm pastry in her hand, eating while observing the passing men and women. Moruya got a basket and put the fox inside, carrying it on his back as he joyfully walked through the streets. He talked to the fox as he walked, pointing out houses, buns, the sky, and clouds. Taoyao found the novice monk's behavior incredibly silly.

The fox obediently stayed in the basket, occasionally poking its head out from under the cover to look around.

Taoyao glanced at it.

The last thing it said before swallowing the pill was, "I still want to live, to see this prosperous world."

Taoyao stretched lazily. In fact, she wanted to see it too.

Since Moruya said he wanted to travel the world to become a good monk, she reluctantly agreed to accompany him. Compared to Taodu, this lively world seemed much more interesting.

Not far away, Moruya stood excitedly in front of a small stall, waving at her, "Come and see, this clay figure is so exquisite!"

She rolled her eyes impatiently, "I'm coming! All you ever do is look at these useless things!"

As the sun gradually rose higher, the long-lost sunlight fell among the increasingly dense crowd. The sounds of the market spread vividly.

End of Gray Fox.

Epilogue:

When a person is truly happy, their smile shines brightly.