Resumo do episódio 16 de Eternal Love of the Fox
> Resumos de Eternal Love of the Fox
When Huo Xiangjiu struggled with sleeplessness, she would often ask Feng Mochen to recount stories from the past. Feng Mochen then shared his memories, beginning with his arduous journey to become human. It took him five hundred years of dedicated cultivation. He recalled awakening by a reef, overjoyed to find himself in human form. His Master, while impressed by his rapid transformation, cautioned him that five centuries had passed, making the search for Huo Xiangjiu's reincarnation incredibly difficult.
He noted that Feng Mochen, having just become human, hadn't yet learned to speak, but assured him that his talent would soon allow him to master human speech. The Master also chided Feng Mochen for being naked, deeming it indecent, and urged him to get dressed. Ignoring the warnings, Feng Mochen eagerly set out to find Huo Xiangjiu.
In his initial ignorance of human customs, he wandered the streets unclothed, but soon learned to wear clothes and utter a few human words. He endured a harsh, itinerant life, eating fruits and drinking dew, meticulously scrutinizing every person he met. Countless miles were walked and countless faces seen, yet none were the one he sought.
One day, as Feng Mochen wearily walked a forest path, the rapid hoofbeats of a horse approached from behind, almost trampling him before the rider reined in. Feng Mochen looked up and recognized the valiant female general on horseback as the one he had been searching for. His gaze fixed on her, unable to blink. He tried to explain himself, but Hua Xi, then known as General Hua Xi, misunderstood his inarticulate sounds.
Her subordinate joked that Feng Mochen must have fallen for the General, reminding 'her' (perceiving Feng Mochen as female) that the General was also a woman and thus couldn't marry 'her'. Thinking he was trying to extort money, Hua Xi initially suspected he wanted five, then ten taels of silver for an alleged injury. She offered him one tael and ordered him to leave.
When he remained, feigning a sudden illness, Hua Xi, though suspecting a scam, felt a pang of compassion, worrying he might be left to the wild beasts in the wilderness. She sent her subordinates ahead to report to the capital, intending to follow after checking on him. Discovering Feng Mochen was mute, Hua Xi apologized and offered to take him to the city for treatment.
It was then that her warhorse, sensing his true form, bolted away, revealing him to be a fox spirit. With the horse gone, Hua Xi and Feng Mochen had to walk home. When Hua Xi grew too tired to continue, Feng Mochen knelt and carried her on his back the rest of the way.
During their walk, Hua Xi questioned him about his constant smiling and lack of bathing, deducing he was likely an orphan due to the ongoing war between Muxi and Xuanyue States. She offered him a place in her household, promising him sustenance and shelter, but insisted he take a bath first. As they approached a bathing spot, Hua Xi discovered Feng Mochen was a man, not a woman as she had assumed.
She angrily called him a scoundrel for deceiving her. Back at her residence, her family, grateful for Feng Mochen carrying her home, agreed to let him stay. Hua Xi showed him to the best guest room and, finding he had no name, bestowed upon him the name Feng Mochen. She then gave him an incense burner, explaining it would make him smell fragrant with her favorite sandalwood scent, and showed him how to use it.
Their tranquil life was soon shattered by an imperial decree. The Emperor, recognizing General Hua Xi's decade of distinguished service and numerous merits, and concerned about her unmarried status at the prime of her life, decreed a marriage alliance with the Crown Prince to become his consort, celebrating the boundless imperial grace. Hua Xi was dismayed but knew defying the decree was a grave crime that would endanger her entire family.
Her father urgently pressed her to accept, reminding her of the severe consequences of defiance. Reluctantly, she accepted the imperial betrothal. Soon after, urgent news arrived from the border: the Xuanyue City Lord had personally led his troops in an attack. Hua Xi saw this as an opportunity. She reasoned that if she could capture the Xuanyue City Lord alive and achieve a feat of extraordinary glory, she could petition the Emperor to rescind the marriage decree.
She prepared to depart immediately. Feng Mochen pleaded to join her, but Hua Xi, concerned for his safety on the battlefield and unwilling to be distracted by protecting him, insisted he stay at home and await her triumphant return. She rode off, leaving Feng Mochen behind. He rushed back to his room to retrieve the incense burner she had given him, then set out in pursuit. Feng Mochen journeyed for five days and nights, enduring further hardships.
During his journey, he was ambushed by Bai Chi, a third-generation heir of the Bronze Bai Clan, a lineage of demon slayers. Bai Chi recognized Feng Mochen as a young fox demon who had just learned human form and couldn't yet speak. He declared his clan's duty to vanquish demons, asserting that "humans and demons are fated to walk separate paths," and tried to kill Feng Mochen.
However, Feng Mochen, through cunning, managed to defeat Bai Chi, who, with his dying breath, cursed Feng Mochen as a "cruel and cunning nine-tailed fox" and commanded his descendants to seek vengeance. Finally, Feng Mochen reached Xuanyue City, which had just suffered a brutal battle. Amidst piles of corpses, he frantically searched, growing increasingly desperate. He ultimately found Hua Xi at the city gate, clinging to her halberd, her face scarred by an enemy's blade.
She mumbled that she had killed the Xuanyue City Lord and hoped the Emperor would now revoke the marriage decree, before falling unconscious in Feng Mochen's arms. Feng Mochen carried Hua Xi to his Master, begging him to save her. To resurrect her, Feng Mochen sacrificed his five hundred years of cultivation. The Master questioned his decision, reminding him that her fated lifespan had ended and he could simply wait for her next incarnation, thus saving his own cultivation.
However, the Master understood that Feng Mochen's "fear stems from love" and "sorrow stems from love," and that to be "free of sorrow and fear," one must detach from love. To spare Hua Xi the pain of longing, Feng Mochen further implored his Master to erase all her memories of him. After her recovery and memory wipe, Huo Xiangjiu (her name in the present) was preparing for her wedding.
She admired a little fox demon who came to see her off, feeling a strange familiarity despite not recognizing him. She confided that she felt like she had forgotten many things. Her father hurried her to get ready, as the Crown Prince was coming to fetch her. Despite her father's dismissal, she continued to feel drawn to the fox, sensing something deeply familiar.
Around this time, Huo Xiangjiu also conversed with her Stomach Spirit, who appeared revitalized and radiant, thanking Huo Xiangjiu for taking better care of herself. The Stomach Spirit reported that the other organ spirits, including the Heart Spirit and Spleen Spirit, were also doing well and could now move freely, even dancing together. Huo Xiangjiu was relieved to hear she was no longer dying.
The Stomach Spirit advised her to cherish her life, reminding her that others cared for her more than she knew. It then spoke cryptically about "three begets all things," "change comes with seven," and the preciousness of a "love connection in one lifetime," cautioning against clinging too tightly if lost, as sometimes a loss merely paves the way for a new connection. It concluded by expressing a hope that they would "never have to meet again."
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince's machinations were still in motion. His subordinates confirmed that everything he had instructed had been arranged, and Huo Xiangjiu would soon find her father—a fabricated scenario. They remarked that it was too easy on her, as she was a "fated to die" person, but at least it saved them the trouble of dealing with her themselves, concluding that "those who are fated to die cannot escape their end."
