The Encounter

Prologue：

Radiant peach blooms, light breeze accompanying.

The sweetness, like a veil.

Beaming smiles, so-called, a vision of eternity.

In the southern mountains, there exists a place called Qingqiu, a haven of the Nine-Tailed Foxes. The place is full of monumental trees that touch the sky where winding rivers surround the lands and fade into the skyline. Every fox who is born in Qingqiu needs to learn humans' knowledge, traditional etiquette of foxes, and how to use their magic power. The story happened to one of the Nine-Tailed Foxes. Her parents gave her a graceful name, Qianxue Ke; the name means snowflakes in Chinese. She was twenty this year and had just come to age for a Nine-Tailed Fox. For her, learning anything was boring, and the only thing that made her feels interested would be the outside world. One day, she grew bored by the sameness of the forests in Qingqiu, and she decided to travel.

Of course, her parents would deny this reckless decision. But that was not a problem for her. What young fox in her age would care about her parents' opinions? So, she found the magic book that recorded the magic that gives her the power to transform into a human and learned the spell. Furtively, she packed some foods and began the journey.

Over the hills and rivers, she met a special little stream. Peach blossom petals floated on the brook and the petals smelled sweet. She was attracted by the smell and followed the stream. After a while, in a valley, a village full of peach trees caught her eye. This was the first time that she got in touch with human civilization. Although she felt a little bit scared about this strange place, she was excited about the novelty and could not wait to visit this beautiful place.

When she entered the village, all the people were surprised by her beauty. When the villagers heard that she came from somewhere far away, all the people highly praise her bravery.

She smiled and asked, "Where am I? What is the name of this place?"

The villagers answered, "Here is a little area at the intersection of the western and southern mountains. Travelers and tourists all like to call this place The Peach Blossom Paradise." They were curious about her name. "Do we have the pleasure to know your name?"

She said, "My name is Qianxue Ke. Can I live here for a while？"

All the villagers were kind and enthusiastic, and they said, "What a beautiful name! We have prepared an inn for all tourists and travelers. You could live there as long as you wish."

As the days went by, Qianxue really enjoyed living here. However, she knew that she could not stay for a long time since the other Nine-Tailed Foxes might come and force her to return to Qingqiu. Suddenly, misty rain dropped from the sky. The faint white mist made scenes hazy. The sound of the rain and the shallow breeze blew away the worries of the girl. She thought, "It is a good time for hiking."

Qianxue held an umbrella and walked to the small bridge in the village. Soon, she found that there was already a scholar who wore a turquoise gown and stood on the bridge and contemplated the brook.

Curiosity made her step forward and she asked, "What are you looking for?" The scholar turned his head and said, "I am bored here. I was born in this village, and I feel tired of those peach trees. I want to travel to the outside!" After hearing this, Qianxue's eyes sparkled. “I have similar experiences with you! I also got tired of my homeland, so I traveled to here. Now, I think it is time to resume my journey. Would you like to go with me?” The scholar pondered and smiled, "Sure."