(Chapter 1: Tamamo Mae)

Two narrow walls covered with moss and a path paved with bluestone slabs form a long alley.

At one end of the alley is the bustling and lively Kyoto market, and at the other end is the quiet and peaceful town.

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about it..."The one who spoke was an old man, lying on a bamboo chair, smiling, holding a paper folding fan with some charms crookedly drawn on it.

"No, grandpa is talking about one, just one, okay?" A little boy about five or six years old stood beside the old man and shook his hand on a bamboo chair.

The old man touched the child's head, slowly fell into the memory, and said for a long time, "Okay, then let's talk about another one." ”

The child nodded and sat down on the small bench.

"On the mountain of Qingqiu, there is an animal, like a fox, with nine tails, called the nine-tailed fox."

"Is it the kind of fox that eats people?" The child interrupted the old man and asked

"Don't make any noise, listen to me. The nine-tailed fox originally lived only in Qingqiu and did not interact with people. It wasn't until the Heian period that a teenager strayed into Aogaoka, tamed a juvenile nine-tailed fox, and brought it to Kyoto, where the nine-tailed fox became known to the world.

This young man was originally a beginner onmyoji, and when his friends saw that he had brought a monster that he had never seen before, they wanted to compete with him. They found a clearing and summoned their own gods, including the umbrella demon, the red tongue, and the four brothers of the heavenly evil ghost. As soon as these little demons came out, they trembled all over and didn't dare to compete. The little nine-tailed fox lay quietly on the ground, licking his hair, looking like he didn't have any combat power.

Just when people were wondering why those monsters didn't dare to compete with this nine-tailed fox, suddenly, Sa... With a bang, a monster rushed towards the nine-tailed fox at an extremely fast speed, holding an umbrella in his hand, and the tip of the steel umbrella showed a little cold light. Just when the tip of the umbrella was about to pierce the nine-tailed fox, the nine-tailed fox suddenly turned into a six- or seven-year-old girl, holding the umbrella with her bare hands, and the tip of the umbrella was still one centimeter away from the girl's eyes.

At this time, the monster on the other end of the umbrella was clearly seen, and it was also a woman, wearing a veiled hat, and she couldn't see her face clearly. But the girl's hand was like a bird's wing, and her feet were in the shape of a bird's foot. Standing straight on the ground, the long white veil under the hat dances in the wind, looking like a beauty.

"Gu Huoniao, forget it, you can't beat her." In the distance, a man dressed in white walked slowly and opened the umbrella.

The man was a guest of the shogunate, and after telling the shogun Ichiro Aoki about this, a large number of onmyoji and troops headed for Aogaoka.

The nine-tailed fox race is arrogant by nature and accustomed to being free, and seeing a bunch of onmyoji who want to make themselves their gods. And it was a threat of force, so they resisted. Soon the blood flowed into a river, and the land of Qingqiu was full of soldiers, onmyoji, and the corpses of the nine-tailed fox.

In the end, the nine-tailed fox was all driven into Tu Mountain, and the nine-tailed fox patriarch looked at the remnants of the clan, scarred, and couldn't bear to let the clansmen die. So he made the decision to use himself as a shogun, Shikikami, to exchange the lives of his clansmen.

After Ichiro Aoki accepted the patriarch of the nine-tailed fox, he led the troops to withdraw from Aogaoka. That night, when the remaining nine-tailed foxes were sleeping, a team of black-clothed people quickly sneaked into Qingqiu in the night, moving quickly, like shadows, silently.

That team of black-clothed men were all the top onmyoji of the shogunate, and on this day, the nine-tailed fox and the entire clan were slaughtered, at least in the eyes of Ichiro Aoki.

Remember the teenager at the beginning? The little nine-tailed fox he tamed kept walking around that night, saying that he felt uncomfortable, as if something had happened.

So they hurried to Qingqiu overnight, and by then, there were corpses all over the field.

The little nine-tailed fox swore to avenge his clansmen, and he and the young man diligently practiced yin and yang arts, and finally killed all the shogunate personnel.

The patriarch of the nine-tailed fox learned that his clan had been slaughtered, and committed suicide in Qingqiu Tu Mountain, where he died with his clansmen.

The world only saw the nine-tailed fox slaughtering the shogunate personnel, so it is said that the nine-tailed fox is ferocious by nature, eats human flesh, drinks human blood, and is a great beast, but it is just rumors. ”

"Has Grandpa ever seen a nine-tailed fox?" The little boy asked

The old man opened the folding fan in his hand, stared at the charm on it, sighed, and said, "I haven't seen it..."

The child wanted to ask something, but the old man had gotten up and walked into the room, and by this time, the night was getting dark, and it was time to go to bed.

When the old man entered his room, he locked the door and opened the folding fan, on which a row of twisted black charms began to float on the paper fan, and the charms began to leave the paper fan and float in the air. She then transformed into a burly woman, wearing a white mask, wearing a blue-black coarse cloth robe, and her long thick hair was tied into a large bun, on which were three black wooden hairpins inserted diagonally.

"Lord Qingming..."The woman's voice was not loud, but it was very powerful and calm.

"Tamamo, long time no see." The old man put away the paper fan and said lightly

"Actually, I hurt you Nine-Tailed Fox Clan, if I hadn't taken you out of Qingqiu in the first place..."The old man continued

"I don't blame you, it's only a matter of time before the nine-tailed fox clan is discovered by the world." The woman's voice was very flat, with no emotion, but with a bit of sincerity.

"Grandpa, I can't sleep," the child shouted outside the door.

"I'll go for a walk in Qingqiu...", the woman opened the window and jumped out, turning into a black fox in the night, nine thick tails circling and dancing behind her, but moving very quickly, and with a few taps on the eaves, it disappeared.

"Grandpa, who are you talking to?" The child knocked on the door and asked

The old man opened the door, "No one, why can't you sleep?" ”

"Alone, afraid..."

"Then let you sleep with grandpa again today, and you won't be able to do it in the future." The old man carried the child to the bed, covered it with a quilt, and tucked the corners of the quilt.

"Jingshan has to grow up quickly, grandpa can't take care of you for a lifetime."

The child went to bed and fell asleep, and the old man lay on the bed, tilting his head to look in the direction of Kyoto from the window, wondering how long the peace would last.

In the moon, a black shadow flashed, and a black nine-tailed fox landed smoothly on the edge of the window, "Lord Qingming, it's not good..."

The old man made a shushing gesture, looked at the child again, and was still asleep, so he got out of bed lightly, walked to the window, and said, "Let's go, go outside and talk."

After the old man finished speaking, he jumped down from the window on the second floor and landed firmly on the ground, "What's wrong?" ”

"On my way to Qingqiu, I saw a lot of monsters on the side of Mt. Kanna, will the Yaki Orochi break free from the seal?"

"It's hard to say, after all, it's a giant demon left over from ancient times, and our four great onmyoji are also getting old, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold it down for long."

"Looking at it, there are not many outstanding onmyoji in this era, and if the Yaki Snake comes out, the people of Kyoto are afraid that it will be another catastrophe." The nine-tailed fox turned into a human form and said worriedly.

The old man stopped, stroked his beard and said, "Why don't you hold a competition, gather the young onmyoji, choose four powerful ones, and temper them well." Let them inherit our mission and continue to suppress the Yaki Orochi? ”

"It's... I'll inform the other three adults. ”

"Yes, let Jingshan go with you tomorrow to inform him, so that he can see the world on the way." After the old man finished speaking, Yuzao turned into a puff of green smoke and burrowed into his paper fan, and finally replied "um".

(Chapter 2: Eight Hundred Bhikshunis)

The next day, after saying goodbye to his grandfather, Jingshan went on the road with Tamamo. Before leaving, Qingming specially instructed Yuzao not to show his true body as much as possible, the appearance of the nine-tailed fox will definitely cause a large number of onmyoji to covet it.

The two walked out of the long bluestone alley, and the prosperity of Kyoto dazzled Joyama. Ladies in colorful kimonos, countless shops, and merchants shouting with small burdens.

And also... The aroma of meat buns wafting through the air.

"Sister, I want to eat..."Jingshan looked at Yuzao pitifully with big eyes.

"......" Yuzao touched his pocket, it's over, it seems that there is no money, we monsters will not die if they don't eat for hundreds of years, and they will never bring money with them.

"Sister, hungry..."

"Wait, I'll get some money." Tamamo walked over to a man, ripped off his money bag, and walked away as if nothing had happened.

The man watched her leave slowly with a confused expression, and when he wanted to catch up, Yuzao had already climbed several high walls in front of Jingshan and disappeared.

"Sister, where are we going?" Jingshan asked as he ate the meat bun he had just bought for him before eating Tamamo.

"Go to the eight hundred bhikshunis, the current minister." Tamamo replied as he walked.

After a long time, a very imposing burgundy mansion appeared in front of them, with a red gate and two huge red nanmu pillars in front of it. In the middle of the eaves made of red glazed tiles was a huge phoenix carved in jade, poking its head out to look down at the two of them, its eyes were fierce, with a majestic aura. The huge eaves stretched out on both sides, like the wings of a great bird, and the eaves of the corners of the roof were upturned as if they were soaring.

Tamamo went up and knocked on the door a few times, and it was a woman in aqua blue clothes who opened the door, with a beautiful face, and asked in a soft voice, "Excuse me, is there something wrong?" ”

"Minister Taise, are the eight hundred bhikshunis here? Let's just say that Ampergy Qingming is looking for her. Tamamo said kindly.

"Okay, I'll go and tell you something." After the woman finished speaking, she bowed and was about to turn around to report, but bumped into someone.

The man held a turquoise scepter and wore a silk witch costume with a snow-white top and a scarlet bottom, and a water-blue ribbon tied around his waist.

"I'm sorry," the woman who hit the person said in a panic.

"Let's go down." The woman who was hit whispered, not in the slightest.

"Master Eight Hundred Bhikshunis,... "Tamamo knew this woman before, it was none other than Eight Hundred Bhikshunis, one of the four great onmyoji, and she was a very powerful woman.

"Come in and say, come in and say, it's been a long time since I've seen you." The woman pulled Tamamo forward and walked in.

The courtyard is different from the solemnity of the mansion appearance, inside is a pastoral leisurely scenery, bluestone paths, craggy rockeries, small pools flowing with fine water, a frog lying quietly on a lotus leaf, seeing someone coming, "plop" jumped into the water, the water surface stirred up several circles of ripples, and dispersed to the surroundings.

"Yes, after so many years of peace, the new generation of onmyoji is too slack, and the matter of the competition will be left to me." The eight hundred bhikshunis sighed and said.

"Over there in Kanayama... Do you want to send a few people to keep an eye on it?" said Tamamo worriedly.

Tamamo continued, "Recently, youkai have been haunting there a bit frequently..."

"Reiko Yamashita, you call a few people to go to Kannayama to guard, hide well, don't startle the snake." One hundred and eight bhikshunis said to the woman who followed her.

The woman bowed and said, "Command," and then turned to leave.

The eight hundred bhikshunis touched the head of the mountain and led them towards the hall. When I opened the door, I was greeted by a colorful scroll painting hanging on the wall, showing a beautiful woman in a white dress with long thin grass and colorful flowers painted on it.

"Sister... It's so beautiful...", Jingshan said, looking at the scroll.

The woman in the painting shows a sweet smile, walks out of the painting, and says, "Is this Qingming's grandson?" ”

(Short Story: Death Insurance)

Xiao Jiu and I met through a blind date, and when we reached the age when you want to marry and I want to marry, marriage does not need love as a foundation. I just wish to be able to respect each other like guests and live together without noisy noise, but the reality wants to crush my last wish into powder - I saw a death insurance at home, which Xiao Jiu bought for me.

After discovering this death insurance with my name written on it, I thought that I was nearly thirty years old, with nothing to achieve, and my family was destitute, and I must have wanted to have a huge sum of money to make myself live like a human being. However, all this is just speculation, and in order not to surprise the snake, I decided to pretend not to know.

At night, I slept next to Xiao Jiu, although I was very sleepy, I never closed my eyes, I was afraid that he would cut my throat while I was asleep. I don't eat with Xiao Jiu anymore during the day, I'm afraid that he will put colorless and tasteless poison in the dishes. I don't go out anymore, I'm afraid that I will be hit and killed by someone who Xiao Jiu bought on the road. I'm not afraid of death, I just think that someone will show a big smile after death, and it's not worth it.

A week later, I left Xiao Jiu, leaving the home that was shrouded in death. I said to Xiao Jiu, "I want to go out to work and subsidize my family." ”

In the new place, I found a luggage factory to work as a sewing worker, and my heart finally calmed down when I listened to the clatter of the sewing machine. At night, I had the best sleep ever. It's much safer without him.

Xiao Jiu would call me every once in a while, but he didn't have anything to say, just some short sentences that pretended to care about "take care of yourself outside, don't be hungry, don't be cold, don't be tired". It seemed to me that he was just checking to see if I was dead so I could get the money.

Liu Qiang would also call me every once in a while, he was my colleague, and I needed friends when I was away, I would go to the movies with him, go to dinner, and go to his bed later. At first, it was just to take revenge on Xiao Jiu, but later I found out that it was love, yes, I was deeply immersed in the love that Liu Qiang gave me, and I couldn't extricate myself.

If it weren't for pregnancy, I think I would have followed Liu Qiang all the time and never thought of Xiao Jiu. But there is no if, and reality will never change his fierce and cruel face, Liu Qiang pointed to my stomach and said, "Beat it off."

I didn't kill my child in the end, Liu Qiang left, and returned to the clutches of his stout mother-in-law in the countryside. It was I who called and told her that Liu Qiang was here, because I felt that life would only be fair if it was unfair to everyone.

The belly is getting bigger and bigger, and I haven't told Xiao Jiu all the time. Xiao Jiu's phone is still those short sentences of concern, and it sounds very heartwarming occasionally, I think if I didn't find the death insurance policy, Xiao Jiu would be a good man.

The delivery period is approaching, and there are many dreams every night.

In the dream, Xiao Jiu said gently, "Xiaoxue come back, I will treat him as my own child." ”

In my dream, I was raising a child alone, and he asked me, "Did I pick it up?" Who is my dad? ”

In my dream, I saw the child floating on the bathtub, his body bloated and white, and Xiao Jiu was secretly smiling at the door.

In the dream, I saw me lying on the bed, my throat was cut, blood stained the pillow red, and the child pointed at Xiao Jiu and said, "He killed you".

I think I probably can't support the child, I haven't worked for a long time when I'm pregnant, the money is no longer enough, and even the rent has been delayed and not paid, but fortunately, the landlord is good enough to let me live temporarily. And I don't want to talk to Xiao Jiu about this, I think it's time for me to leave this world.

I took sleeping pills one by one, wanted to vomit, endured, and kept taking them. Just like my whole life, although I don't want to, I have always endured to follow the track of a normal person, studying when I was a child, growing up and working, getting married when I was old, and then dying. After taking sleeping pills, I endured sleepiness and dialed Xiao Jiu's phone, I said, "Xiao Jiu, I'm going to die, remember to get the money when the time comes." It's not that people are dying, and their words are good, but a response to Xiao Jiu's constant concern.

Xiao Jiu: What did you say?

Me: I saw the death insurance you bought me, and I don't blame you.

Xiao Jiu: I bought it for myself

After speaking, he sent me a picture, which reads - Policyholder: Xiao Jiu, Beneficiary: Xiao Xue.

Xiao Jiu continued: What I did was more dangerous, and my family was poor, and I was afraid that after I died, you would not be able to support yourself and your children, so I bought an insurance policy just in case.

Sleepiness hit, and I slowly closed my eyes, a smile on my face, and fell into a dream that would never wake up. In the dream, I returned to Xiao Jiu and gave birth to a son and a daughter, the male is like him, and the female is like me.

The first two chapters are the first beginnings ever written......

(End of chapter)