Introduction
In Eternal Love of the Fox: Drama Recap Episodes 7 to 15, we finally saw Xiangjiu’s first life, which was quite tragic. We’ll see more of her other past lives, unfortunately, not all of them. The featured image is a screenshot from her second past life (Episode 16). I think this life is the best, because it shows Mochen and Xihua (Xiangjiu’s name in that life) had feelings for each other.
Recap Episodes 16 to 24
Episode 16
This episode started with the little white fox, who, after 500 years of cultivation, became a human. He was naked and couldn’t speak, running through the crowd, and even bumped into a man who looked like Xiangjiu’s father in the present time. He finally met Qing Hua’s reincarnation, General Hua Xi. She and her subordinates were travelling through the woods, having returned from a battle in the border fighting Xuanyue. Muxi and Xuanyue are the two states in the leading actress’s drama, The Uncanny Destiny! He stared at her without blinking, and the commanders joked that “she” fell in love with the general. When he feigned fainting, the general sent her subordinates back to the capital, and she checked on the ‘girl’.
Since her horse had run away, Hua Xi and the ‘girl’ walked through the woods to the capital. When they rested in the woods, Hua Xi invited the ‘girl’ to bathe together, and there she found out that the girl was a man! Eventually, they became friends in the woods. Since he didn’t know his name, Hua Xi named him Feng (wind) Mo (ink) Chen (dust).
Hua Xi eventually returned home, piggybacked all the way by Mochen. Her parents let him stay, and he became her companion. Unfortunately, their peaceful friendship didn’t last long. The Emperor bestowed marriage between Hua Xi and the Crown Prince. Hua Xi didn’t want to marry. A chance came when there was another battle, and this time, Xuanyue City Lord himself led the battle. Hua Xi thought that if she went to the battle and killed the city lord, she could ask for a reward of not marrying the Crown Prince. Hua Xi went to the battle. Mochen followed her to the battle and met Bai Chi, Bai Yu’s ancestor, who was a demon hunter. He ran away from Bai Chi, and Bai Chi got into an accident and died.
Mochen found Hua Xi gravely injured in the battle. To save her, Mochen took her to his master, but had to pay with his 500 cultivation life. She was saved, and he returned to be a white fox. To spare her the sadness of losing him, his master erased her memory of him. Hua Xi returned and was ready for her wedding. Mochen went to see her. Although she didn’t know the fox, she felt him familiar.
Pretty Mochen with female clothing and flower ornaments. No wonder everybody thought he was a girl!
Episode 17
The Crown Prince planned an elaborate scheme to kill Xiangjiu, but his plan was overheard by the Crown Princess. She wanted to inform Xiangjiu, but was confined by her husband. Gongsun Hao, her ex-lover, who was the Crown Prince’s guard, gave Xiangjiu a cryptic message about the Crown Princess’ life-and-death situation.
The Crown Prince’s men captured a habitual thief who was forced to confess that he killed a man who looked like Xiangjiu’s father two years ago. The Crown Prince invited Xiangjiu to come and hear the thief’s confession. However, Mochen didn’t believe it. When the Crown Princess heard that Xiangjiu had come to the Eastern Palace, she pretended to give Xiangjiu a gift through her maid (who was a spy for the Crown Prince) and specifically said she had promised Xiangjiu a purple hairpin. Xiangjiu was confused receiving the gift “as promised”. While discussing the matter with Mochen, Mao Jin, and Le Ning, Mao Jin accidentally mentioned the homophone “zǐjīn” (紫金), which meant “purple gold”, with “zìjìn” (自尽), which meant “committing suicide”.
Realizing that Song Lian tried to tell Xiangjiu something but was confined in the Eastern Palace, Xiangjiu asked Princess Ningshuang’s help. The princess pretended that Song Lian’s brother, Song Yicheng, tried to molest her. She threatened that she would castrate Song Yicheng, take him to the Emperor, and complain to her father that the Eastern Palace was unruly. The Crown Prince didn’t want his father to know about it, so he released Song Lian from house confinement to apologize on behalf of the Eastern Palace and her brother. Song Lian was accompanied by Yun Xiang, but she was not allowed to enter/
Episode 18
While the Crown Princess was with Princess Ningshuang and Xiangjiu, the Crown Prince ordered Gongsun Hao to kill Xiangjiu with the leverage of his father.
From the meeting of the ladies, we got to know Song Lian’s sad back story. Song Lian was a commoner. She saved the Emperor once before during a royal hunt in the woods, and even tended his injury. The Emperor was grateful, so he invited her to live in the palace. There, she met her beloved, who was Gongsun Hao. However, the Crown Prince also took a fancy to her and raped her. He paid gold to her father and brother to shut up. Later, she got pregnant, and the Crown Prince took this chance to marry her to gain a favor from the Emperor. Song Lian had a miscarriage, but now she was pregnant again. She didn’t want her child to live like her father, so she wanted to run away. But her main Yun Xiang was the Crown Prince’s spy. The girls then devise a plan to use Yun Xiang to help Song Liang.
Xiangjiu gave Yun Xiang a hairpin with a big pearl, as a thank-you gift for her care of the Crown Princess while she was ‘sick’. Yun Xiang returned to the Eastern Palace, and the Crown Prince saw the hairpin with a big pearl. Yun Xiang acknowledged that Xiangjiu gave her the hairpin as a gesture of gratitude. Crown Prince was angry since Yun Xiang was easily bought and forced to eat the hairpin! Later, Song Liang gathered some jewelry for Yun Xiang to send to Fucang Palace as a return gift to Xiangjiu.
Yun Xiang went to Fucang Palace and was dumbfounded to find its master, Mochen, in a seductive mode. Yun Xiang presented her mistress’s humble gifts, acknowledging that they were far less valuable than the hairpin Xiangjiu gave, but merely a token of her gratitude and respect. Mochen said he was surprised by a beautiful, intelligent, and well-mannered maid like Yun Xiang. He gave her a hairpin with an even bigger pearl, the size of Yun Xiang’s head! He told her that he wished there were a maid like Yun Xiang at Fucang Palace. He promised that she could work here, but he demanded a 100% dedication, which meant Yun Xiang no longer become the Crown Princess’s personal maid. Not by killing, he would tell Yun Xiang what to do.
Watching Mochen’s theatrical seductive display on Yun Xiang, Xiangjiu was jealous, even though that was her plan. After Yun Xiang left, Xiangjiu accused him of being a “soul-snatching envoy” by overly flattering Yun Xiang, putting the hairpin, and lifting her chin. How many people had he seduced? Mochen replied none. Xiangjiu then probed further if he had fallen for a woman before. Mochen confessed he had. How many? He cryptically said, “You could say many, or just one.”
Episode 19
Mochen pretended to go on a business trip for a few days, but actually, he underwent another tribulation. Gongsun Hao went to Fucang Palace kill Xiangjiu by strangling. Her scream was heard by Mochen, who was undergoing lightning strikes. Mochen didn’t have any choice but came to fight Gongsun Hao. He showed his true self, which was demonic, and took Xiangjiu away. Gongsun Hao and Song Yicheng witnessed the true form of Mochen. Song Yicheng ran out of the Fucang Palace screaming that he had seen Mochen transformed into a demon. Meanwhile, Mochen took Xiangjiu to the Illusory Flower Woods, and he himself collapsed from injury caused by the tribulation and fighting with Gongsun Hao.
While subconscious, Mochen remembered Xiangjiu’s third life. After 500 years, he searched for Hua Xi’s reincarnation. He found her again, alas, she was married! At this time, her name was Yaoqing, and she was happily married to Cao Yuan. He pretended he came to that place to find someone. Although heartbroken, Mochen was happy seeing Yaoqing happy, and became their neighbor. After a while, Cao Yuan died from falling off the cliff. Yaoqing was left alone to raise their son, vowing never to remarry. Mochen silently watched over Yaoqing and her child. When her son grew up, he went took the imperial exam in the capital, and Yaoqing asked Mochen to accompany and guide him. Her son later achieved success and became a righteous official. Many years later, when Yaoqing was old and dying, Mochen returned. Yaoqing wondered why Mochen was always nice to her and her family. Mochen confessed his love, stating that he did it for the woman he loved. Yaoqing flustered and said that he always joked, then she died.
At present, Mao Jin entered the Illusory Flower Woods with bad news. A strong magical power trapped him at Fucang Palace, so he couldn’t rescue Xiangjiu as ordered by Mochen while he was at the tribulation. It seemed there was another cultivator at the palace, and they were reminded of the masked man who fought Mochen last time.
Episode 20
Upon hearing the rumors that Mochen was a demon and took Xiangjiu away, Princess Ningshuang, Bai Yu, and Le Ning ran to Fucang Palace to find Mochen and Xiangjiu. Mochen confessed to the princess and Le Ning, that he was indeed a fox demon. Although he was still injured, Princess Ningshuang demanded to see his true form. Mochen conjured one fluffy white tail. The princess was so ecstatic, expressed her jealousy to Xiangjiu that she could pet a cat every day, lol.
Princess Ningshuang said that even though Mochen was a demon, he was kindhearted and had helped her father prolong his life. Princess Ningshuang knew that her brother would use this rumor for his evil plan. Sure enough, the Crown Prince insisted that his father investigate and call Mochen. The Crown Prince called a famous sorcerer named Demon Master. The sorcerer had a powerful device called the Universe Ring, which could force any demon within its boundaries to reveal its original form. Therefore, they devised a countermeasure.
The Demon Master procession entering the palace
During the court day, the Crown Prince stated the rumors, but Xiangjiu also stated other rumors about the Crown Prince being a demon. The Crown Prince called in his witness, Song Yicheng. Song Yicheng described Mochen transformation into a demon. Xiangjiu questioned what he was doing in Fucang Palace, and Song Yicheng didn’t dare to admit that he followed Gongsun Hao. Xiangjiu said that there were also rumors that the Crown Prince was a demon, and called in Princess Ningshuang. The princess stated that she went to the Eastern Palace and witnessed her brother’s demonic transformation. The Crown Prince scoffed, since the princess never set foot in his palace. The princess then revealed her ace card. She said she went to the Eastern Palace to demand an explanation from the prince because of Song Yicheng’s harassment matter. Since the Emperor never heard about it, the princess told His Majesty about the incident. She added that the Crown Princess went to her palace and took her brother away, promising she would give the princess an explanation. Days went by, and the princess never got any explanation, so she went to the Eastern Palace and saw her brother’s ‘transformation’. The Emperor got angry, knowing his beloved daughter was harassed by a low-life like Song Yicheng, so His Majesty ordered Song Yicheng to be imprisoned and castrated.
The Crown Prince still had his card, which was the Demon Master. Bai Yu, who heard about this sorcerer, told them about the Universe Ring. This ring’s attribute was extremely yang. Only another attribute that was extremely yin could neutralize its power; it couldn’t detect demons. A person who was extremely yin, which meant born in a yin year, yin month, yin day, and yin hour. The Crown Prince was born with those attributes.
Xiangjiu argued that since both the Crown Prince and Mochen were rumored to be demons, they should be tested together. Both step into the circle, and for sure, the yin in the Crown Prince neutralized the yang in the device. However, the Demon Master was not easily fooled. He asked for the Crown Prince’s birth year, month, day, and hour, which were yin. He then explained that his device was pure yang, and the Crown Prince neutralized his ring. When he asked Mochen to be tested separately, Xiangjiu argued that what Demon Master did was just street magic. She learned one or two tricks and called Mao Jin in. She performed her ‘trick’ to transform him into a dog and back into a human. Demon Master was angry and wanted to strike Xiangjiu. That was when Mochen blocked him and called him out as the horse demon. He was General Hua Xi’s horse that ran away last time in the second life!!! Since his cover was blown, Demon Master ran for his life, lmao! The Emperor declared Mochen not a demon.
In the prison, Song Yicheng requested to meet Gongsun Wugui. When Lord Gongsun came, Song Yicheng blackmailed him, stating that Gongsun Hao and the Crown Princess were having an affair. When he followed Gongsun Hao to Fucang Palace, he overheard Xiangjiu telling Gongsun Hao that she would find a way for the Crown Princess to leave the palace to be with him.
Episode 21
Xiangjiu asked Yun Xiang to put a package of powder inside Song Liang’s soup. The Crown Prince was happy that Song Liang was pregnant, but Song Liang started to provoke her husband to get angry, and he choked her. At that time, the Emperor arrived to congratulate the couple. Seeing his son choke his wife, the Emperor rebuked his son. Song Liang took the initiative to report to her father-in-law that his son forced her to drink the soup. She spilled the soup, and right away it bubbled, suggesting poisoning. The Emperor sent the Crown Prince into confinement in the Cold Palace to reflect on his mistakes.
Song Liang then asked the Emperor for a divorce. When His Majesty cited the shame of divorce, she accused His Majesty of being hypocritical. He ordered her brother to be castrated for merely harassing Princess Ningshuang. However, when his own son raped her, the punishment was just marrying her to the Crown Prince. Song Liang declared that she would leave the next day. She challenged His Majesty to stop her if he thought he was right.
The next day, Song Lian attempted to leave the palace with Princess Ningshuang, Xiangjiu, and Bai Yu escorting her. They were stopped by the imperial guards, who demanded the Emperor’s token. Meanwhile, the Emperor was watching them with Mochen by his side. He tried to talk sense to the Emperor. He reminded His Majesty about his past kindness. The Emperor was a kind man from the second life who gave Mochen food.
Princess Ningshuang was ready to use force to let her carriage pass when Mao Jin rushed in with the Emperor’s token. The Emperor sent his former daughter-in-law a last message: “May the rest of your life be well.” Outside the city gate, Song Liang reunited with her lover. Gongsun Hao apologized to Xiangjiu for harming her and thanked the ladies for helping them. Unfortunately, before the lovebirds left, Gongsun Wugui arrived and stopped them. He was enraged because his son didn’t want to marry Princess Ningshuang and abandoned their family’s hard-won status. Lord Gongsun accused Song Lian of seducing his son. He then revealed a dark secret: on that fated night, Gongsun Wugui drugged the Crown Prince, and Song Yichen took him to Song Lian’s room to rape his sister. Upon hearing his father’s confession, Gongsun Hao was so heartbroken that he stabbed himself.
The next day, Xiangjiu and Le Ning rushed to tell Mochen about what happened. Poor Song Lian returned to the palace because she didn’t want to implicate her lover further. Gongsun Hao was saved and returned to his father’s house. Mochen concluded that whatever she did, Song Lian always ended up back in the palace. It seemed like someone didn’t want her to leave. Mao Jin rushed in to report that he had found a withered datura plant at the Eastern Palace. The plant grew naturally, so they guessed the seed fell from the stolen plants. Mao Jin sniffed a strange smell from underground and dug into the soil. They uncovered old clothing, and Xiangjiu recognized right away that they belonged to her father. There was another piece of clothing that was not his, and Mochen smelled Gongsun Hao’s scent. What???
Late at night, at the Gongsun Mansion, Gongsun Weigui was awakened by his son. Gongsun Hao revealed his secret scheme: the child in the Crown Princess’s womb was not the Crown Prince’s but his. Gongsun Hao faked the suicide attempt and made Song Lian have no other place to go than return to the palace. They would kill the Crown Prince, and she would raise the child to be the next emperor! He declared that, as his father taught, each generation must be more ruthless than the previous one. So he did it.
Episode 22
Gongsun Hao continued describing his scheme. He was the one who coaxed his father to arrange the rape after seeing that the beautiful Song Lian had saved the Emperor and had become connected to the royal family. He coaxed his father to arrange the rape. After Song Lian was raped by the Crown Prince and became pregnant, Gongsun Hao also orchestrated for the Crown Prince to marry her. He killed the child in her womb as it was not his. With cruelty, Gongsun Hao then killed his own father, stating that this would be like Gongsun Wugui committing suicide out of guilt.
Mochen witnessed all, but Gongsun Hao was not afraid, since he knew Mochen was cultivating to ascend, thus couldn’t kill humans. If he did, his body and soul would perish with no possibility for reincarnation, let alone ascension to immortality. Gongsun Hao proposed a deal that if Mochen left him alone with his business, he would leave Xiangjiu alone.
When Mochen asked Gongsun Hao about Xiangjiu’s father, it was a chilling revelation. Huo Zhongren happened to witness their affair and saw Gongsun Hao put the datura powder into Song Lian’s tea. So, Huo Zhongren had to die! Although Gongsun Hao admitted he tore the entry pages off the record of Huo Zhongren’s visit, he refused to tell Mochen where Huo Zhongren’s body was.
At night, Xiangjiu didn’t sleep and was mourning her father while clutching his clothes. Song Lian came to see her. She remembered a man wearing those clothes two years ago during her secret rendezvous with Gongsun Hao. According to her lover, he had escorted the man out of the palace safely to keep their affair secret. Song Lian promised to find an answer from Gongsun Hao. She confessed to Xiangjiu that she was pregnant with Gongsun Hao’s child. Xiangjiu challenged Song Lian to test her lover if he told the truth or not.
The next day, Xiangjiu and Song Lian confronted Gongsun Hao, presenting his bloodstained garment and Huo Zhongren’s. He lied that he gave the man money and he left. He pretended to be shocked to know that the man was Xiangjiu’s father. Unconvinced, Xiangjiu kept demanding her father’s whereabouts and even put a knife to Song Lian’s belly to threaten Gongsun Hao. Gongsun Hao attacked Xiangjiu, and she was saved by Mochen. Enough with Gongsun Hao’s lies and Xiangjiu’s heartbreak, Mochen disregarded their deal and revealed all of Gongsun Hao’s crimes to Song Lian. Fear of Gongsun Hao killing Xiangjiu, he took her away. Song Lian was left dealing with her ‘lover’. Although Gongsun Hao insisted that he loved her and sacrificed greatly for her, all his crimes against her and other people were too much for her to handle. She stabbed herself with his dagger. With her dying breath, she told him that he killed his own child, and cursed him that he would never get what he wanted. After Song Lian died, Gongsun Hao told the guards that Mochen and Xiangjiu killed the Crown Princess and fled.
Crown Prince, who thought he lost another child, was distraught and very angry at Mochen and Xiangjiu. Gongsun Hao even lied that they killed his father, too. Gongsun Hao told the Crown Prince that Mochen had bewitched the Emperor who sided with him. The Crown Prince and Gongsun Hao mobilized the imperial guards to take over the throne. Gongsun Hao intruded with his guards to Gangquan Palace with the excuse of protecting His Majesty. The Emperor was suspicious because Gongsun Hao was the only witness to Gongsun Wuqui and the Crown Princess’s death.
Mochen told Bai Yu that Gongsun Hao used magic from the Bai Clan. Bai Yu remembered when he was a child, there was an outstanding disciple taken in by his father, who was only several years older than him. He vowed to avenge the death of Xiangjiu’s father. He confronted Gongsun Hao, but he was no match for Gongsun Hao. Gongsun Hao offered Bai Yu a deal. If Bai Yu revealed to him the incantation to break the barrier set by Mochen to the Illusory Flower Woods, he would kill Mochen, bring Xiangjiu to Bai Yu, and later, when Gongsun Hao held power, he would posthumously give the title of Imperial Advisor to Bai Yu’s father. His Bai Clan of Bronze County would be famous.
Episode 23
The squad made an elaborate plan to defeat Gongsun Hao, which I would tell you the implementation.
Bai Yu told Gongsun Hao about Mochen’s next tribulation day. That was the right time when Gongsun Hao could strike and capture Mochen, because he was in his weakest state. Gongsun Hao didn’t fully believe Bai Yu and asked for the incantation to break the barrier of the Illusory Flower Woods, which Bai Yu gave.
Before dealing with Gongsun Hao, Mochen teleported to see the Emperor in his house arrest, to say farewell. At the time Mochen saw the emperor, Gongsun Hao broke into the Illusory Flower Woods and kidnapped Xiangjiu. When Mochen went to the prison to rescue Xiangjiu, Gongsun Hao used Xiangjiu to force Mochen to crawl into a big black iron cage.
The next day, during the morning court, Gongsun Hao brought in Xiangjiu and the caged Mochen into the court hall. Today, Mochen was supposed to have his tribulation day. Everyone was horrified to witness the once-referred Mochen enduring the relentless lightning strikes and scorching flames.
Gongsun Hao exposed Mochen’s true demon form and ordered the cage to be lifted up so everyone could see. As he stood very close to the rail, suddenly Bai Yu stepped forward and held both Mochen and Gongsun Hao’s hands. Bai Yu performed the Spirit-Detachment Technique to switch Mochen and Gongsun Hao’s souls! So now, Mochen was outside in Gongsun Hao’s body, while Gongsun Hao was inside the cage in Mochen’s body. No wonder Bai Yu told Gongsun Hao at that time to deal with Mochen during the tribulation, as it was when he was at his weakest! At this time, in Mochen’s powerless body, Gongsun Hao couldn’t do anything.
Mochen proclaimed the edict to be read. The edict was already switched from the Emperor’s abdication to deposing the Crown Prince. Nobody dared to read it, so Xiangjiu walked up and read it. After exposing all the crimes, the punishment was the Crown Prince’s disposal with his lackeys, and an order for the death penalty. Once the edict was read, Mochen ordered the guard to capture the Crown Prince, Gao Wei, and Song Yichen.
Next, Mochen exposed Gongsun Hao’s crimes, which were killing his father and the Crown Princess. Mochen, pretending to be Gongsun Hao, declared that he would atone for himself, pulled a knife, and stabbed himself. At this crucial moment, Bai Yu performed the soul switches again. The ministers couldn’t hold their shock at everything that happened in the court meeting today, and everyone was running out the door. However, Gongsun Hao swiftly held Xiangjiu captive!
Episode 24
Now we know what happened to Xiangjiu’s father. After killing him, Gongsun Hao dissolved the body with corpse-dissolving liquid, so nothing remained! Xiangjiu went berserk, and they fought life and death, but she was not his match. Mochen forcefully broke the cage and launched after Gongsun Hao, but he reminded Mochen that he couldn’t kill because he was a cultivator.
Suddenly, Mao Jin appeared out of nowhere, sensing that his master was in trouble. Earlier, Mao Jin was ascending, and Le Ning helped as his “ferryman”. Now, as a loyal dog, he defended Mochen by killing Gongsun Hao. However, by killing Gongsun Hao, Mao Jin could no longer ascend to be an immortal. His body and soul would be destroyed. As his parting message, first, he clarified with Bai Yu that Mochen didn’t kill his ancestor. Mochen questioned Mao Jin, who wanted to ascend to guard the Southern Heavenly Gate with Lord Howling Celestial Dog. Mao Jin replied that Mochen was his Southern Heavenly Gate, which he needed to guard. Mao Jin asked Mochen if he let Mochen down, if he was really a loyal dog. Tearfully, Mochen said that Mao Jin was his family. There was a flashback to how Mao Jin met Mochen. He was a scrawny dog whom Mochen protected from being beaten, and later followed him.
Xiangjiu had seen enough of Mochen’s suffering during the tribulation last time, and now it happened every day. She understood that Mochen didn’t want to ascend to immortality because of her. She wanted to help him ascend as his “ferryman,” and for him to detach from her, so she feigned a romance with Bai Yu. No, not Noble Idiocy Trope! Although feeling sad, Mochen didn’t ask if this was real or not; he was so used to the unrequited love for the past six lives.
Princess Ningshuang saw Xiangjiu and Bai Yu, too. One day, she went to Fucang Palace to bring them food. She overheard Bai Yu confess his feelings to Xiangjiu, having liked her since little. But Xiangjiu never had feelings for Bai Yu. After helping Mochen ascend, she would leave the palace and live in seclusion in the countryside.
So, Princess Ningshuang made a bold decision to part with Bai Yu. She came when Bai Yu was piggybacking Xiangjiu, pretending they were in love in front of Mochen. When Xiangjiu said it was not what she thought, the princess understood. If Xiangjiu left the palace so Bai Yu would be with the princess, that made her look cheap. She didn’t want that kind of love. I had to cite the princess’s words of wisdom:
Living in this world, why should we live so miserably? When you’re in love, confess your feelings boldly. No need to be timid. When you part, wave goodbye decisively, leaving no regrets.
After Mao Jin’s death, Le Ning stepped in to serve Mochen. One night, when Le Ning served Mochen his dinner, Mochen asked if her surname was “Cao”. Le Ning thought he peeked into her family tree. Mochen added that one of her ancestors’ names was Cao Yuan. Yep, she was Cao Yuan and Yao Qing’s descendant! Mochen asked Le Ning to be by Xiangjiu’s side when he was not around.
Motivated by Princess Ningshuang’s words, Xiangjiu decided to accompany Mochen eat dinner. Since he asked about his past lives with all women or one woman he loved, he kept telling one by one (including the tribute to My Uncanny Destiny). When he wanted to tell her about the seventh woman, who was her, the tribulation time came. She took him to the Illusory Flower Woods and started chanting the ascension prayer. So Mochen channelled the seventh story to her, and she suddenly realized that all those women, or one woman, was her. Then she saw the other her from the previous six lives also gathered to assist Mochen in his ascension.
When he ascended to the heavenly realm, he criticized the deities about immortality. He only desired to be an ordinary person and spend a human life with his beloved. They told him that if he really wished to be human, he must descend into Avici Hell, where he would endure continuous tribulation for hundreds or thousands of years until he reincarnated as a human. Without hesitation, Mochen accepted and walked into hell.
Hundreds or thousands of years later, Mochen, Xiangjiu, Bai Yu, Ningshuang, Mao Jin, and Le Ning were reincarnated at the same time. They lived in the same neighborhood and became friends. Xiangju finished reading the fairy tale about the nine-tailed fox and thought it was heartbreaking. Mochen then came with paper fox tails on his back since he played as the nine-tailed fox in school play. He advised Xiangju not to believe fairy tales because they were all lies by adults. Mochen added that those who believe in fairy tales are children. Mao Jin then came with his dog and complained that his friends always give his dog his name, lol! Their lives continued into their teenage years, where they were still friends. And it seemed Mochen and Xiangjiu were fated again, in their eighth life.
THE END.
Conclusion
I disagree with what little Mochen said in modern days. We watch fairy tale dramas, like Eternal Love of the Fox (九尾藏不住), for escapism and emotional comfort. Fairy tales also provide a clear distinction between good and evil, reinforcing the idea that virtue is rewarded and justice prevails. Lastly, fairy tales often contain deeper, darker, or more profound messages, offering timeless wisdom. Ultimately, fairy tales are not merely for children but are enduring stories that help adults navigate, process, and find meaning in their own lives.
