Chapter 172: A Talking Fox and Young Yuansheng

Ji Yuan had actually done some theoretical research with regards to the power of monsters refining their horizontal bone. In essence, the horizontal bone, or collarbone, that they spoke of was not really a bone growing in the throat, but more like a reference to that area.

It mainly referred to spiritual monsters who had begun to control their vocal chords and spirits. It was like a fishbone stuck in the throat; with a bone blocking the throat, they would be unable to speak. Refining the horizontal bone would open up the tongue acupoint, which was controlled by the spirit, and also controlled language.

It had also been said that the horizontal bone referred to the so-called “hyoid bone,”

1

but this was mostly just the influence of physiology and the mental conception of the concept. In any case, refining the horizontal bone could be regarded as the first hurdle in the transformation from common animal to spiritual monster. Strictly speaking, one could only be considered a spirit after having passed this step.

Ji Yuan felt this rare process vividly through the chess pieces, including every change in the red fox Hu Yun’s cough, as if he were sitting nearby and listening in.

At the top of Hong Peak on Yun Mountain, a smile appeared on Ji Yuan’s face as he lay on his side with his eyes closed. The little fox woke up from his dream, and the connection between him and the chess piece gradually faded away.

In Ju’an Pavilion, Yin Qing heard the sound of coughing and turned around to look, only to find that the one coughing was the red fox on the stone table. He had never heard an animal cough before, so his immediate assumption was that the red fox might have choked on the jujubes.

“Cough…cough…cough…cough…ah…”

After taking a few steps closer, he found that the little fox was coughing increasingly violently. He even had the impression that the fox was coughing out wisps of dust.

“What’s wrong, little fox? Do you want some water?”

Yin Qing hurried over to the stone table, poured a cup of water from the kettle beside the table, and brought it to the red fox’s mouth.

“Drink some water to soothe your throat!”

The red fox coughed for a while and finally calmed down. He held the teacup that Yin Qing placed beside him and continued licking the plain boiled water.

At this moment, the red fox’s heart was beating quickly. He drank the water to ease his excitement. He of course knew exactly what hurdle he had passed.

At this moment, waves of spiritual energy washed over his body, and his sensitivity to the spiritual energy of the outside world grew much more intense.

However, the red fox vaguely felt that the most important thing was not that he had refined the horizontal bones in a dream, but that he remembered the name that he had forgotten in the mountains and fields in the past few years. His name was “Hu Yun,” given to him by a great master!

“Hu… Hu Yun…”

A clear voice came out of the red fox’s mouth, immediately startling Yin Qing. He pointed at the little fox, speechless. The shock in his heart mixed with a mild hint of fear.

After the little fox said his name, he also subconsciously covered his mouth with his two paws, staring at Yin Qing with the same mix of fear and excitement in his wide eyes.

“You can speak now?”

Yin Qing calmed down a bit. He asked his question carefully and with some surprise.

The red fox subconsciously imitated his words.

“You can… speak…”

“I can definitely talk, but I’m asking you!”

“I can definitely talk… I’m asking you…”

The joy in the red fox’s eyes grew more and more difficult to conceal. He imitated Yin Qing’s intonation like a parrot. Although his pronunciation was still off, his voice was clear and sweet.

Yin Qing was also happy. He seemed to understand something, and pointed at himself.

“Are you learning how to speak from me?”

“Learn. Speak. Talk!”

The red fox nodded vigorously, and pointed to himself with his paw.

“Hu… Yun!”

Yin Qing was stunned for a moment. After thinking about it, he recalled the details from that past event, and his expression became even more joyful.

“Yes, yes, your name is Hu Yun! That’s the name Mr. Ji gave you, your name is Hu Yun!”

“Hu Yun Hu Yun, your name is Hu Yun!”

The red fox also clapped its paws happily.

“No, no, my name is Yin Qing, and your name is Hu Yun! Forget it, I’ll teach you how to speak!”

“Teach, speak! Teach to speak!”

The red fox could already understand some human language — at least, it could distinguish the difference between “you,” “me,” and “him.” Speaking was different from listening, though, so he couldn’t help but repeat Yin Qing’s words. With Yin Qing teaching him, he would learn language quickly.

The boy and the fox were very happy together in Ju’an Pavilion’s small courtyard, and they started playing with each other speaking one sentence at a time, as if they had found a fun game.

The jujube tree in the courtyard cast shade and sheltered them from the harsh sunlight of golden autumn. Its branches and leaves swayed in the breeze, making the whole tree appear even more peaceful.

. . .

At the Wei family’s residence in Desheng Prefecture, a chubby young boy wearing a red dudou

2

ran barefoot down a corridor in the mansion.

The child held a large cloth tiger head stitched with cotton in his two hands, running wildly up and down the corridor with his short legs.

“Young master… Young master, where are you? Young master, please don’t scare me!”

The panicked voice of a maid came from the other end of the hallway. She hurried across the corridor of the inner courtyard and immediately backtracked. The chubby boy in the doudou was still running forward. She breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly chased after him.

“Young master, don’t run away! Be careful not to fall!”

The child in the doudou was Wei Wuwei’s treasure, Wei Yuansheng; in other words, the beloved child of the Wei family. The one chasing him was the 17-year-old maid who took care of the child and played with him.

“Studying is no fun, not at all. I want to go find my mom! I want to go find my dad!”

The little maid was agile. She ran a dozen steps and caught up with the child, picking him up.

“Young master, stop making trouble! This is your first day of class, you can’t leave a bad impression!”

Ignoring the little maid’s earnest advice, the child twisted and turned in her arms, kicking and punching. His little fleshy hands and feet struck the maid in the face from time to time.

“Xiao Cui, let me go. I’m going to find my father and seek justice. How can a three-year-old be allowed to start studying? I won’t go! I won’t go! The teacher won’t even let me pull on his beard!”

At the back of the corridor, the old teacher also came running, out of breath and clutching a book.

“Hu… hu… Miss Cui, have you found him?”

“I found the young master. Don’t worry, there are a lot of people inside and outside the Wei House who are watching over him. The young master will be fine. Hey hey… We can’t talk about it in front of the young master.”

The old master hurriedly covered his eyes and turned his head, muttering “I don’t see anything!”

3

Half an hour later, Wei Yuansheng returned to the desk in the study, and Xiao Cui once more pressed him into a padded chair with layers of cotton pillows.

“Teacher, this time I, Xiao Cui, will have to watch from the side. I can’t leave you to teach alone.”

After what had happened just now, the old man was so frightened that naturally he didn’t dare to object.

“Naturally, naturally…”

Just now, Wei Yuansheng, a child who claimed he was three years old but was in actuality less than two years old, had actually jumped off from such a high cushioned perch, scaring the teacher half to death on the spot. Then, not only was he perfectly fine, he also skipped class by himself.

“However, you are the smartest child I have ever seen in my life. If you study hard, you might become the second coming of Lord Yin from Desheng Prefecture in the future.”

Yin Zhaoxian now held a very high status in the minds of the scholars of Desheng Prefecture. Even old scholars in their sixties and seventies respectfully referred to him as “Mr. Yin” even in private, which just went to show how influential it was to have won the top spot in all three imperial examinations.

The old teacher stroked his beard, looking at the young child sitting reluctantly at the desk. The child was quite chubby, with white skin, red lips, and white teeth. The child was uncomfortable with heat, so he only wore a red doudou, making him look even more adorable.

Most of the people in Desheng Prefecture knew that the young master of the Wei family was born in the 10th lunar month of the Year of the Rabbit. By traditional age-counting, babies would be one at birth, and since two years had passed, he would be considered to be three years old now. However, in actuality, he was just a year and a half in age.

If it were any other family, the biggest worry for a child of this age would have been things like peeing and pooing, but the Wei family had actually invited the man to teach him how to read and write.

Originally, he was only there for the money, but after seeing this young master Wei and interacting with him for a while, the old man was already astounded by his capabities.

Was this a three-year-old child? Although he spoke in a childish tone of voice, his intelligence was extraordinary. If he had to describe it, it was like he was truly spiritual.

4

“Xiao Cui, go away. If you won’t go, I won’t learn!”

Wei Yuansheng was still sulking and refused to let the maid stay by his side.

Xiao Cui looked at the old teacher in embarrassment, hesitated for a while, then spoke.

“Then you are not allowed to run away, young master. I will be right outside the door. Besides, the patriarch will definitely ask you about what you learned today this evening. If you run away again, I won’t help you cover up your lies!”

“You! You-!”

Wei Yuansheng pointed at Xiao Cui with his chubby little finger. He wanted to curse, but he didn’t know any swear words.

“You are bad!”

“Thank you, young master!”

5

Xiao Cui bowed to the teacher before leaving. The old teacher also bowed in return.

“I will do my best!”

After the maid left, the old teacher looked at the young child again, giving him a self-conscious and kind smile.

“Young master, do you know what this year’s zodiac sign is?”

“Of course, it’s the Year of the Snake!”

“Well, the little boy is three years old now. What is your zodiac sign?”

“I’m a rabbit!”

“Okay, then if…”

“Stop, stop…”

Wei Yuansheng waved his little hand.

“You ask this and that, but you don’t know much about it. How dare you come and teach me?”

The old man choked.

“The young master is very intelligent, the smartest child I have seen in my life. My Desheng Prefecture has been blessed with great talent in recent years.”

6

“When I was one month old, I drank immortal juice mixed with my breast milk. Of course I’m was amazing.”

The old master naturally laughed when he heard such words.

“Haha, the young master must be joking.”

“Look, they say children speak without restraint or dishonesty, but you don’t believe the words of a three-year-old.”

However, the child was still afraid of the repercussions from his father, so he could only endure the boredom and try to study and read.

The old teacher stroked his beard and picked up a copy of “On the Subject of Birds – The Response of an Imperial Exam Candidate” from the table. Yin Zhaoxian’s masterpiece had already spread throughout Desheng Prefecture. The magic of the first volume lay in its fun and popularity; in particular, this new edition was more fascinating than before, and it was very suitable for self-study.

Having just tested the young master’s comprehension ability, the old teacher believed that he would understand if he read it to him.

That night, after Wei Wuwei returned, he first inquired about the old teacher named Li and his progress in teaching. Unsurprisingly, he heard the other party’s praise for his son’s intelligence.

Then he questioned Wei Yuansheng alone.

In front of the oil lamp in his wife’s bedroom, Wei Yuansheng sat on the bed in his mother’s arms, with Wei Wuwei in the Taishi chair

7

next to him. This was the first time Wei Wuwei had had a direct chat with his son.

“Yuansheng, you performed quite well today. Do you know why your father made you start learning to read and write so early?”

Wei Yuansheng opened his mouth to answer while holding his favorite cotton tiger head.

“I’m smart!”

“You, little boy… You are smart, of course, and it’s a prerequisite. But it is also because, when you turn five years old, your father will take you to a certain place. It would be great if you could read and write before then.”

“Five years old?”

Wei Yuansheng counted on his fingers. Wasn’t that the end of next year?

“Husband… Yuansheng is still so young…”

Mrs. Wei was a little reluctant, but Wei Wuwei stopped her before she finished speaking.

“This is naught but a woman’s kindness. This matter concerns Yuansheng’s future, and the future of the Wei family. It is no exaggeration to say that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Having spoken, Wei Wuwei stood up, walked to the bed, squatted down with his large body. He stared at his son seriously, and spoke slowly.

“Dad will be telling you the secret of our Wei family for the first time tonight. Although you are young, Dad knows that you know your limits. You can’t talk carelessly about this matter like you do in the daytime, not for the next one or two years. If this gets out, my Wei family will suffer misfortune. Do you understand?”

Wei Yuansheng was a little scared, so he rubbed his cheek against his mother and replied in a baby voice.

“I understand……”

Wei Wuwei nodded, then narrowed his eyes, and spoke as he recalled.

“My Wei family has a precious jade. It was previously passed down from generation to generation with a legend. For many years, the people of our family did not take it seriously, but then something unexpected happened… The story starts in Ning’an County…”

T/n: sorry about the delay in posting this chapter, Life got in the way this week. Hopefully I can use the weekend to get stuff back in order

Hyoid bone is a bone at the top of the throat, at the bottom-back of the mouth

A dudou (literal translation: belly wrap) is a traditional front-only undershirt or apron-shirt that wraps around the neck and sides.

非礼勿视 Lit: don’t look at anything indecent. Presumably because the kid’s doudou slipped off and he’s now naked

i.e. has a personal spirit, like Huang Xingye

T/n: oh I like this lady

Lit: specific lucky star has been shining brightly

The Taishi Armchair used to be a symbol of power and status. It was a wooden armchair with delicate carvings, mostly used by officials.