In the snow-blanketed outskirts of Northeast China, inside the grand living room of a villa, a large double bed stood at the center. Strapped tightly to it in a straitjacket designed for psychiatric patients was a gaunt, skeletal middle-aged man. His vacant eyes stared at the ceiling, while from his mouth came ceaseless, animal-like cries.
Stepping closer, one could see his face clearly—and the sight was enough to make anyone stumble back in fright. His features jutted out unnaturally, his visage twisted into the unmistakable snout of a fox. From the corners of his mouth, ink-black liquid would spurt from time to time, splattering across the floor and releasing a stench like rotting fish.
Dozens of men and women stood at a distance in the living room, their eyes fixed on the bound man. Yet apart from fear, only two or three faces revealed any genuine concern.
Sun Fatty and I stood right beside the man. I sat cross-legged near his feet, a black hood covering my head, echoing the ritual gestures in rhythm with the chants spilling from Sun Fatty's lips.
The man tied to the bed was none other than the wealthiest tycoon in the region—Sun Liancheng, a blood relative of Sun Fatty. His name could be found in nearly every profitable venture in the area. Yet now he appeared neither wholly man nor fox. Who could have imagined that just six months earlier, this magnate had been a ruddy, corpulent figure, rushing from banquet to banquet each day, with every health indicator off the charts? Though never handsome, his face had at least been proper and human.
The reason he had become this monstrosity began half a year ago.
Back then, Sun Liancheng had struck upon a new venture: he bought a tract of land deep in the mountains, intending to build an exclusive resort far from the clamor of the city. He even had the name chosen—Paradise Beyond the World.
But the very moment the workers began digging the foundations, they stumbled upon something extraordinary. By sheer accident, their excavation opened into a vast underground cavern. At first glance, its scale suggested an ancient subterranean tomb. Tempted by greed, the workers whispered that since they had already dug it open, why not go deeper? Who knew what treasures might lie within—perhaps enough to buy land and houses for generations.
Yet once they descended, they realized it was no tomb of kings.
Inside the cavern lay nothing but tens of thousands of fox carcasses and, in the center, a stone stele carved with the image of a fox's head.
The foxes' bodies were stiff, dried into husks, yet strangely preserved—none showed the slightest trace of rot.
Some of the older workers froze on the spot. Being locals of Northeast China, they had all heard the old legends of the Five Immortals—foxes, hedgehogs, snakes, rats, and weasels, each believed in folk tradition to possess supernatural powers. Faced with such a sight, even the bravest felt their legs go weak. No one had any heart left for work. A few of the older men even tied red cords around the perimeter of the fox grave, then began burning incense and bowing before it.
The site manager—Sun Liancheng's brother-in-law—was at a loss. Unable to command the workers, he had no choice but to call his wealthy brother-in-law and report what had happened. Yet over the phone, his account was muddled; he merely said they had dug up "a few foxes," and that the workers were too frightened to continue.
On the other end of the line, Sun Liancheng exploded. "What's this fuss about a few dead foxes? They're not human corpses! And you shut down the whole site for this?" He cursed his brother-in-law to no end, then personally drove with his men into the deep mountain forest to the construction site.
But the moment he stepped out of the car and saw the scene for himself, he sucked in a cold breath. It was only then that he realized his brother-in-law had downplayed the truth. This wasn't about "a few foxes." Even if every fox in the mountain were caught and thrown into the cavern, they could not have filled the vast pit before him.
Still, Sun Liancheng had come here to press forward, and press forward he would. Each day of halted work cost him nearly RMB 100,000 (≈ USD 14,000). Even for the richest man in the region, such losses were intolerable. He summoned the foremen, ordering them to have the fox carcasses cleared out and buried elsewhere, then get the workers back on the job.
But his words turned the foremen's faces ashen. After a long silence, the eldest among them spoke, his expression bitter.
"Boss, we can't keep digging. You've seen it yourself—there are at least ten thousand fox spirits down there. The old folks call this place the Xuanyuan Grave. Disturbing so many fox spirits is grave disrespect. The right thing now is to refill the soil, sacrifice some chickens as an offering, and beg the fox spirits not to hold a grudge. Boss, I know it's troublesome, but perhaps it's best if you spend a little more money and move the project elsewhere."
"Don't give me that crap!" Sun Liancheng roared, glaring at the foreman. "They're just dead foxes! And you take this nonsense seriously? Move the project? Do you even know how much I've sunk into this place already? Just building the road here cost me six million! Fox spirits, fox spirits—if they're real, then call one out for me to see!"
The more he shouted, the more agitated he became. Finally, ignoring the foremen altogether, he led several men to the warehouse and hauled out two barrels of gasoline. Before the eyes of every worker present, Sun Liancheng personally poured the fuel over the fox carcasses in the cavern, then set them ablaze.
Some workers tried to stop him, but they were held back by his men. Soon the tens of thousands of foxes were reduced to blackened cinders.
Yet just as the last of them burned, a dense black smoke erupted from the charred remains, spreading in an instant to blanket the entire site.
Aside from a chilling dread, most people felt nothing. But from Sun Liancheng's position came sudden, piercing screams. No one knew what was happening to him.
The smoke had come fast, and it dispersed just as quickly. Within moments, the air cleared.
And when it did, Sun Liancheng was found collapsed on the ground. His facial muscles twitched uncontrollably—his face had twisted into the features of a fox.
At that moment, everyone was stunned by Sun Boss's grotesque appearance. They all stood at a distance, not daring to approach. In the end, it was Sun Liancheng's brother-in-law who pulled out a hundred thousand yuan on the spot to persuade a few brave men to carry Sun Boss. They rushed dozens of miles to the local hospital.
Such an affliction was far beyond the ability of ordinary doctors. The attending physician was terrified; this kind of "illness" was something he had never even heard of, let alone treated. Finally, the hospital director, after taking a look, broke into a cold sweat. Pulling Sun Boss's family aside, he said, half in exasperation:
"Why would you bring someone like this to a hospital? What's the point?"
The moment the family members saw Sun Liancheng's face, most of them were already too frightened to speak. The eldest among them was Sun's maternal uncle, who had seen more of the world in his long life. He immediately arranged to have Sun Boss moved into a countryside villa.
Originally, the family wanted to bring him back to their mansion in the provincial capital, but they feared that with Sun Boss's current appearance, if a journalist managed to take a photo and it spread online, it would become a national scandal.
So from that day on, Sun Boss resided in that villa. Meanwhile, his relatives spared no effort in searching for a solution to his condition.
In the minds of the locals, apart from Einstein and spirit mediums (tiao da shen — a Northeast ritual of shamanic dancing to expel evil), everything else counted as feudal superstition. Since Einstein's methods clearly weren't working, they decided to call in the shamans.
The Sun family was wealthy, and they invited over a dozen spirit mediums to drive out the evil afflicting Sun Boss. Most of them, upon seeing Sun Liancheng's appearance, turned and left without saying a word.
Only two fellows from a nearby county stuck it out. They hadn't even seen Sun Boss yet, but they pounded their chests and swore they'd expel any evil. But the moment they actually laid eyes on Sun Liancheng, their faces went pale. One of them beat his sacred drum and chanted with his eyes shut, but within minutes he began to foam at the mouth. He was the lucky one — his partner collapsed directly into Sun Boss's arms, writhing in convulsions.
Even so, the pair stubbornly finished the ritual, chanting while foaming at the mouth. When it was over, Sun Boss still wore his fox-like face, and he giggled creepily at the shaman who was still twitching in his arms.
The other medium quickly pulled his partner away from the bed, wiped the foam from his lips, and, looking grief-stricken, muttered to Sun Boss's uncle:
"Boss… hard-earned money's no easy thing. Please, at least give us a little reward…"
Normally, after failing so badly, they'd have been kicked out with a couple of coins at best. But Sun Liancheng's uncle said:
"Don't worry, you'll get paid in full. You two are too damn dedicated for your own good…"
After realizing that local shamans couldn't solve the problem, Sun Liancheng's relatives, out of sheer desperation, began seeking connections to invite more powerful spirit mediums from other provinces.
Through a series of twists and turns, the trail finally led to Master Xiao, the old monk. He even came in person to look at Sun Boss's condition. But the family's demands were far too restrictive: apart from tiao da shen (shamanic ritual dancing), everything else was considered feudal superstition and therefore forbidden. They wouldn't allow any other methods to be used on poor Sun Liancheng.
In truth, Master Xiao did have a way to drive out the evil spirit plaguing Sun Boss, but the family's rigid terms left him helpless. He wasn't about to pass up such a lucrative job, though, so after thinking it over, he decided to refer them to me and Fatty Sun.
By then, the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs had already been disbanded for over half a year, and the folk religion studio that Fatty Sun and I had opened was just beginning to get off the ground. Shao Yiyi, Huang Ran, Meng Qiqi, and Zhang Zhiyan had all joined in succession. Still, it was early days. Back when we worked in the Bureau, we'd grown used to waiting for supernatural cases from all over the country to be reported to us every day. Now we had to go out and find work on our own, and that was when we learned firsthand the difference between state-run and private enterprise.
On top of that, we also had to feed Yang Jun and Yang Xiao, those two freeloaders, which made our finances even tighter.
When the Bureau had been dissolved, Fatty Sun had gone to great lengths to bring the two Yangs into our folk religion studio. He figured that with the two of them by our side, no matter how dangerous the situation, we could always find a way out. And if all else failed, there was always Wu Rendie, that living legend. But Fatty Sun was still wary of Wu—someone of godlike power was best left unprovoked if possible.
After some haggling with Master Xiao, Fatty Sun took the job. The payment would be split 70–30, with Master Xiao taking the smaller share. For something like this, there was no need to call in the two Yangs personally. After making the necessary preparations, Fatty Sun, Huang Ran, and I set off for Sun Boss's villa.
When we arrived, we didn't go straight to meet the family. Instead, we holed up in a hotel, cramming overnight on the subject of tiao da shen. I had seen a few such rituals in my childhood, but after joining the Bureau I learned that most of those practitioners were just charlatans swindling money. Though, if memory served me right, even Master Xiao himself had been one of those "charlatans"…
"Cramming" really just meant digging up a pile of books and videos about the ritual. We also had some archived files I'd "borrowed" from the Bureau before it was shut down. But time was short. Fatty Sun wasn't interested in the written materials—he spent the whole night glued to the computer, watching videos of spirit dances.
The next morning, after finishing his crash course, Fatty Sun assigned our roles. He, of course, would take the lead as the chanting "second shaman." All I had to do was sit quietly at the ritual spot and play along with his performance, then wait for the right moment when the onlookers weren't paying attention to strike and resolve Sun Boss's problem.
Huang Ran was our driver. If things got out of hand, we could always call him in—after all, Huang had once been the last director of the National Committee on Religious Affairs. Situations like this were hardly beyond his ability.
Early the next morning, the three of us went to Sun Boss's villa. Since prior arrangements had been made, although the Sun relatives were doubtful of our young ages, they had no choice. Sun Boss had been "sick" for over half a year, and if things continued, he wouldn't live much longer. At this point, they could only treat us like their last hope—after all, how much worse could things really get?
It was Sun Boss's uncle who personally led Fatty Sun and me into Sun Liancheng's room. The moment I entered, my eyes landed on the man lying on the bed—and on the massive fox crouched atop him.
The fox looked at us as we entered. The corners of its mouth curled upward, forming a mocking smile. But the next instant, its expression changed. Its eyes fixed on my slightly bulging waist, where two short swords were tucked—Sin and Punishment. These blades had once belonged to Wu Rendi's greatest nemesis. I hadn't used them often, but the fox's reaction was immediate: it was terrified of them.
Good. Knowing what it feared made things much simpler.
After a few pleasantries with the Sun family, Fatty Sun puffed out his chest and promised boldly:
"Leave everything to the two of us! Honestly, unless this is Su Daji the Nine-Tailed Fox reborn, nothing can escape our hands, right, Lazi?"
But when he said that last line, his voice wavered—he later admitted that his "Heaven's Eye" ability was too weak to see clearly. He could only make out a hazy shape clinging to Sun Boss. He'd said those words to check if I had confidence.
"Mm," I nodded, backing him up. "Just a little fox. Nothing serious."
With my assurance, Fatty Sun's nerves settled. After a few more boasts, we donned the ritual garb for the spirit dance. I took my place at the ritual spot. As I approached, the fox bared its teeth and hissed at me, trying to scare me off. When that failed, and I drew closer step by step, it suddenly forced open Sun Boss's mouth. In a flash, it plunged its head inside, and in the blink of an eye, the entire fox vanished into his body.
I froze. It had been enormous—yet Sun Boss's body showed no change at all.
That complicated things. Now, we'd have to play it step by step…
After a few introductory lines, Fatty Sun reached the main chant:"I invite the Immortals—first, I summon the Primordial Celestial Venerable."
Following his cue, I straightened my posture and formed the proper hand seals. Fatty Sun continued inviting two more Immortals, and I responded with the corresponding gestures each time.
The ritual proceeded normally, and the noisy murmurs from the onlookers diminished. But disaster struck at the fourth Immortal. As Fatty Sun called out, Sun Liancheng's mouth suddenly opened, and a fox head emerged. It let out a sharp cry at Fatty Sun, catching his attention. The man and the fox locked eyes, and before I could reach in to pull it out, the fox quickly retracted its head.
Unexpectedly, after this brief eye contact, Fatty Sun's Heavenly Eye opened, revealing the fox's true form. He shivered involuntarily. Even though we had encountered such scenes before, for some reason, just one glance at the fox left him completely blank. Normally, he could improvise by naming a few Immortals to get through the chant, but now his mind was utterly empty—not a single deity came to him.
After mumbling a few incoherent lines, he finally started making things up:"Fourth, I summon… Jay Chou (note: Jay Chou is a famous male singer from China)…"
The moment he said this, everyone—including me—froze. The onlookers behind us stared intently, curious about how I would react. After a moment, I hesitantly raised my hand and mumbled:"Quick… use the nunchaku—hng hng ha hey!"
Seeing me follow along, Fatty Sun continued improvising:"Fifth, I summon… Song Zuyin (note: Song Zuyin is a famous female singer from China)…"
"L… lady… l—"
What the—?! When he called Jay Chou, people initially thought they'd misheard. But when Song Zuyin's name followed, it was unmistakable. Even the usually composed Sun Liancheng's uncle couldn't sit still. The old man jumped up from his chair, trembling, and pointed at us:"Cut them down!"
"Boom!" Almost the entire Sun family, men and women alike, charged toward us.
Just as they were about to reach Fatty Sun and me, the fox's head reappeared from Sun Liancheng's mouth. This time I was ready. The instant it emerged, I grabbed its neck with lightning speed and yanked the entire fox out of Sun Liancheng's mouth.
The moment I pulled it free, I drew the Sin sword from my waist with my other hand, stabbe