Hu Li kept falling from the sky, its tail flapping wildly in the wind. Its body shifted, shrinking. It shrunk to the size of a sparrow, its single fox tail fanning out, splitting into feathers. What remained of the fox was a small sparrow that could just about fit in a palm, with feathers darker than midnight. The now fox-turned-sparrow chirped, gliding across the sky.

The mortal realm isn’t much different since the last time I visited, Hu Li thought as it flew, scanning the ground for any human settlements. All it saw so far was trees, trees, and more trees. There was the occasional deer or rabbit, but it paid no attention to any of them. It kept flying, looking for any sign of human civilization.

~

It wasn’t until when the sun just about passed the horizon that Hu Li finally found a town--or was it a city? Either way, it descended down towards the town with softly glowing lanterns, landing on a tree right on the edge of the town. Hu Li quietly preened its feathers in the trees, silently mulling over what to do next.

Although getting expelled from Heaven was a possibility before Hu Li tried convincing the emperor of Gan Li’s plans, Hu Li didn’t think he would do it so harshly. Hu Li was, after all, one of the more favored gods amongst the others. The fox-sparrow stopped preening its feathers, tucking its beak into its folded wings instead.

Gan Li was the one who had committed treason, not Hu Li. The small sparrow sighed, suddenly tired. First it was overhearing Gan Li’s treacherous plan, then getting expelled from Heaven, and finally now: in the mortal realm, with no shoulder to cry on. Hu Li felt dejected and lonely, nothing compared to how it behaved during the hearing. The tree branch the sparrow rested on seemed to droop just the slightest amount, copying its mood. The little bird could take the pressure no longer, and finally burst out in a rage.

“The world is ending, and the Heavens are falling!” chirped the sparrow whilst kicking the trunk of the tree. Hu Li kept rambling, cursing at Gan Li, flapping its wings wildly at the mere thought of the bastard of an emperor, and spiting the Heavens for writing poor Hu Li’s fate in blood. When the little sparrow was tired from ranting, it finally sat back down on its branch, feeling at peace.

“Though the Heavens have punished me for no reason whatsoever, I shall enjoy my time in the mortal realm,” Hu Li said, fluttering down from the tree branch, lightly landing on the ground. If it wanted to indulge in human activities, then Hu Li would need to turn into a human. And so, concentrating, Hu Li started growing in size. The tailfeathers of the small sparrow shrunk and disappeared, along with the beak, and soon, standing in place of the small sparrow was a boy who looked no older than fourteen.

The suspected fourteen-year-old boy had hair as black as ebony, his long hair falling over his shoulders, obsidian-black eyes, and a thin frame that could seemingly fall over from the slightest of winds. Hu Li took a moment to look at ‘his’ new body, eventually nodding in satisfaction.

“Although this body is not as strong as I would like, it is suitable enough for me,” Hu Li stated, pinching at his new clothes. The clothing he wore was similar to what a commoner would wear: a hand-me-down shirt, patched up pants, and shoes that could fall apart at any second. He rolled up the sleeves carefully, taking care not to use too much force. Hu Li silently pitied the commoners, wondering how any of them could live with ragged clothing and meager amounts of food.

Hu Li shook his head, dissipating his thoughts. It was no use pitying the poor commoners; what good would it do for them? Gathering himself, Hu Li strode out from under the tree, looking up to see a wall surrounding the town he had seen as a sparrow. Hu Li then realized there were two guards chatting while leaning on their swords by the door, seemingly ignorant of Hu Li’s presence.

Hu Li stood in place for a moment, at a loss for what to do. There were guards guarding the door to the town--the town that Hu Li planned on frolicking in.

“Hey, little boy!” Hu Li jumped, almost letting his fox ears pop out. He quickly turned to the guard who had called him, silently weeping inside. The guard had jogged over to Hu Li’s side, snatching his wrist.

“What are you doing outside of the town?” the guard asked, making Hu Li break into sweat. Although the guard meant no harm to him, Hu Li had just arrived in the mortal realm, and didn’t have a cover story as to why he’s always alone. And in a moment of panik, Hu Li could only say the first thing that came to mind.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

“I was hunting foxes!” he shouted, making the other guard by the gate jump in surprise. The guard standing in front of Hu Li raised an eyebrow, his lip twitching in contained laughter. He clapped a hand onto Hu Li’s shoulder, making him flinch, and promptly burst out laughing.

“Kid, you can’t catch foxes in the city!” The guard’s booming laughter made Hu Li’s face flush. The city? This small supposed town was a city? “This is the capital, kid! If you wanna catch any sort of wild game, you’re going to have to go farther than right outside the main gates!” More laughter erupted from the guard; the other guard looked bewildered and confused by the gates.

Hu Li stammered, trying to find an excuse. His mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. Eventually, the guard’s laughter died down, finally turning serious.

“Kid, what were you thinking about going out of the city alone?” The guard then eyed Hu Li’s attire, seemingly realizing that Hu Li was most likely a commoner. Once again, Hu Li stuttered, at a loss for what to say.

“M-My friends made a bet that if I could catch a fox outside of the city, t-they would…” Hu Li trailed off, thinking a mile per minute.

“They would what?” the guard questioned, raising an eyebrow. And in a second of panic, Hu Li yelled his answer.

“They would give me back my cat!” Hu Li screamed, balling his hands into fists. There were tears in his eyes, making his act to the guard very convincing. Immediately, the guard backed off, awkwardly trying to comfort the crying boy.

Hu Li blinked for a moment, surprised. Was it that easy to deceive mortals? Were they really that gullible? Before Hu Li could continue questioning the naivety of mortals, the guard started patting his back somewhat reluctantly.

“Kid, I’ll let you get back home through the gates, and you can find me later, yeah? I’ll help you get back your cat, and make sure those friends of yours never pick on you again!” the guard said confidently, ruffling Hu Li’s hair. “Just tell me your name, and I’ll make sure to squeeze in some time to help you.” The guard grinned, giving Hu Li the urge to push him away. In an attempt to keep the guard away, Hu Li gave him his name.

“My name is Hu Li,” he said while lowering his head, taking a small step away from the guard. This time, the guard was the one to blink, surprised.

“Hu Li? Like a fox?” the guard asked, confused, while Hu Li only nodded. Hu Li probably should have used a different name, but it was too late for that. The guard suddenly clapped his hands together, startling both Hu Li and the forgotten guard by the gates.

“Alright, I’ll open the gates for you--and remember, come find me if you ever need my help!” With that, the guard led Hu Li over to the gates, dragging them open for Hu Li. The gates were pulled open, and suddenly, new smells and sights assaulted Hu Li.

There were kids running around and laughing, people milling around the streets for their daily tasks, and the absolutely heavenly smell of meat from the street vendors. Hu Li salviated at the smell of the raw meat, realizing that he hadn’t had meat, or any form of food, in at least a century. He was a god, after all, and didn’t need any food to survive--and so the smell of meat would intoxicate the fox.

Without so much as a glance at the two guards holding the gates, Hu Li sprinted to the nearest meat vendor, reaching for the biggest slice he first saw. The thought of ripping into the piece of meat with blood gushing out made Hu Li’s eyes dilate, a hint of hazel appearing in his eyes.

SLAP!

The sound rang out, while Hu Li retracted his burning hand from the meat. Looking up, Hu Li realized that the owner of the stand had slapped his hand, the man’s face an angry red.

“How dare you try stealing my meat without paying!” the vendor screamed, making passersbys stop to watch, then walk away when they realized it was another street thief. The vendor, meanwhile, continued to scream at Hu Li, eventually holding out a hand, demanding payment.

Hu Li frowned, but complied. Hu Li, however, didn’t know what currency was used in the mortal realm these days, and so fished out the currency they used in the immortal realm, or otherwise called Heaven.

Handing over two gold coins imprinted with the emperor of Heaven’s face on one side and an image of the building where the emperor resided on the other side, Hu Li snatched the meat out of the vendor’s hands, immediately devouring the raw meat. The passerbys watched the boy devour the raw meat with disgust, while the street vendor only stared blankly at the two gold coins.

Already done with the meat, Hu Li licked his fingers, proceeding to walk away from the crows that had amassed around the meat vendor’s stand. It was soon going to be night, and that meant that Hu Li needed to find an inn to stay at for the night. But before that, a nice stroll to fully digest the meat.

Licking excess blood off his lips, Hu Li happily skipped off into the city, absolutely oblivious to the three pairs of eyes trailing after him.