This article was published in the translated version of Science Fiction World 2017.12 by Liu Yukun.
At night, half of the moon hung in the sky, and from time to time there was a cry of an owl. The merchant couple and all his servants were sent away, and the mansion was very quiet. My father and I hid behind a rockery in the courtyard. Through the pores of the rockery, I could see the window of the businessman’s bedroom. "Qiao Jiang, Qiao Jiang, my Qiao Jiang..." The young man with lovesickness groaned softly, describing it as pitiful. He was already delirious and was tied to the bed for safety. But my father left a window to let the voice of sadness pass through the rice field and be carried into the distance by the wind. "Do you think she will come?" I asked in a low voice. Today I just turned thirteen years old, this is my first hunting. "It will come." Father said, "The fox demon can't refuse the call of a man who is bewitched by her." "Just like Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai are attracted to each other?" I thought of the troupe who came to the village to act last fall. "Not at all." Father said, but he couldn't explain why, "It's not the same thing. Just remember this." I nodded, seemingly understanding. But I remember the couple of businessmen coming to my father for help. "Too ashamed, he is not nineteen years old!" The businessman lamented, "Why would he be cursed by that thing after reading so many sage books?" It's not surprising to be bewitched." Father said, "Academic scholar Wang Lai also spent three days and three nights with a fox demon, and later won the champion. The noble son just needs some guidance." "Please help him!" The businessman His wife bowed and pleaded, like a hen pecking, "If this goes out, no one will be willing to match up for him." The fox demon is a monster that steals people's hearts. I couldn't help but shudder, wondering if I had the courage to face it. My father's warm palm pressed my shoulder, and I calmed down. He held a swallowtail sword in his other hand. This is the sword forged by the ancestor General Liu Ye. It has been passed down for thirteen generations. It has been blessed by hundreds of alchemists and killed countless demons. A dark cloud obscured the moonlight, and everything fell into darkness in an instant. When the moon appeared again, I almost screamed. At that moment, in the middle of the yard stood a peerless beauty that I had only seen in my life. She was draped in soap-colored silk and satin, her skirt was fluttering, her waist was wrapped, her sleeves were windy, her complexion was frosty, and her long black hair was draped around her waist. In a daze, I think she came out of the pictures of Tang Dynasty beauties hanging around the stage by the troupe. She looked around, her bright eyes reflected the color of water in the moonlight. Unexpectedly, her eyes were full of sadness. For a moment I felt that she was very pitiful, and I was eager to make her smile. My father touched the back of my neck lightly, and I suddenly woke up from the hallucinations—he warned me the fox-monster Ability. I blushed and my heart was beating, and I looked away from her face, staring only at where she was standing. The merchant's servants will lead the dog to watch the night in the yard every day to guard against the fox demon. The yard was empty tonight, and she stood there hesitating, worried about being caught in a trap. "Qiao Jiang! Is that you? Have you come to me?" The businessman's son shouted eagerly, loudly. Hearing the sound, the fox demon turned and walked towards the bedroom door-no, it was floating over. Her steps are extremely light. Father jumped out from behind the rockery, holding a swallowtail sword in his hand, and went straight to the fox demon. She dodges, as if eyes are growing behind her head. Before my father had time to recruit, the swallowtail sword pierced the thick wooden door with a muffled noise. He tried to draw the sword, but he couldn't draw it out for a while. The fox demon glanced at his father, then turned and rushed towards the courtyard gate. "Xiaoliang! Don't stand there stupidly!" Father shouted, "She is going to run!" I caught up with the clay pot full of dog urine. According to the plan, I should pour these filth on her so that she can't become a fox and escape. She turned her head and smiled at me, "What a brave child." In a short time, a strange fragrance enveloped me, like jasmine blooming after a spring rain. Her voice is as sweet as rock sugar lotus leaf porridge, I wish I could not listen to it for a lifetime. The clay pot in my hand fell straight down, and I forgot what I would do next. "Quick!" Father yelled, and he had already pulled out the sword from the door. I bit my lip in frustration. I am so easily confused. How can I be a demon eliminator! I uncovered the lid and splashed the dirt in the clay jar on her retreating figure. But I actually had the strange idea that I shouldn't get her dress dirty. This made my trembling hands and arms reluctant to do so, and only a small amount of foulness splashed on her. But this is enough. She snarled louder and harsher than a dog bark, and made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. She turned her head and neighed at me, revealing two rows of white, sharp fangs. I took a step back tremblingly. When it hit her, she was deforming and already revealed the face of a fox: a hairless nose, pointed ears that twitched in anger. Her arms also turned into forelimbs, waving sharp claws at me. She could no longer speak, her eyes were fierce. Father raised his sword and rushed up behind me, ready to stab a fatal blow. The fox demon turned and slammed open the courtyard gate and escaped. My father chased me so hard that he didn't even have time to look back at me. I was ashamed, and followed. The wind was blowing under the fox's feet, and the silver tail left a glow in the field. But her body still retains the human form, not as fast as the four-legged fox form. A mile away from the village, my father and I saw her slipping into a ruined temple. "You go to the temple and copy the bread." Father was out of breath, "I went into the gate to catch her. . If she is going to escape through the back door, you know what to do. "There was weeds growing behind the ruined temple, and the temple wall had partially collapsed. As soon as I ran there, a white light burst out of the rubble.
"She likes to be free and doesn't want to have anything to do with the businessman's son. But once someone falls in love with the fox-monster, the fox-monster can hear his call no matter how far away. The boy's wailing disturbs my mother's mind. I can only meet him every night and let him be quiet for a while." This is very different from what my father said. "She tempted innocent scholars and absorbed their vitality for her own use. The businessman's son was so haggard." "He became so sick because the quack doctor gave him poisonous medicine and wanted him to forget my mother. If it weren’t for my mother who visited every night, he would have been dead! Also, don’t use the word temptation anymore. A man falling in love with a fox demon is the same as falling in love with other women in the world." I didn’t know what to say, and blurted out: "These two are different, I know." She sneered: "Different? I saw the look you just looked at me." My face was hot, "Shameless fairy!" I picked up the clay. She stood still, still with a disdainful smile on her face. Finally, I put the jar back. The fighting at the front door became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a loud thump, followed by my father's victory cry and the woman's scream. The disdain on the girl's face turned into anger, and then into panic. The look in her eyes dimmed and became lifeless. The father screamed again, and the woman's scream stopped abruptly. "Xiaoliang, Xiaoliang, it's over! Where are you?" Tears fell from the girl's cheeks. "Search the temple again!" Father shouted, "She may have a baby, we want to cut the grass and roots." The girl suddenly became nervous. "Xiaoliang! Did you find anything?" Father's voice got closer and closer. "No!" I stared at her closely, "I didn't find anything!" She turned around and escaped from the monk's house. After a while, I saw a little white fox jump on the broken courtyard wall and disappear into the night. Ching Ming Festival is the day of the dead. My father and I brought food and wine to our mother’s grave to comfort her soul in the underworld. "I want to stay here for a while." I said. Father nodded and went home alone. I quietly apologized to my mother, hoping that she would not blame me, then picked up the steamed chicken I brought to her, walked three miles alone, to the other side of the mountain-the ruined temple. Yan'er knelt in the middle of the temple, not far from where her father killed her mother five years ago. She combed her hair into a round bun now. This is the hairstyle for a woman to make a ceremonial ceremony. She has grown up. We will meet every year when the family reunites on Qingming Festival, Chongyang Festival, Zhongyuan, and Spring Festival. "I brought you this." I handed her the steamed chicken. "Thank you." She tore off a chicken leg carefully and ate it with relish. Yaner explained to me Explained why the fox demon lives near the human village. They like human things, including our language, costumes, poems and stories. In addition, from time to time, I can also reap a genuine love from a gentleman. But they are predators after all, and they are the most free in the form of foxes. Since her mother's accident, Yan'er has never been near the chicken coop, but she still misses the taste of chicken. "How about hunting?" I asked. "Not great." She said, "I have hit a few hundred-year-old salamanders and six-toed rabbits, and I always can't eat enough." She bit off a piece of chicken, chewed a few mouthfuls, and swallowed it. "And I am now It’s also difficult to transform." "Is it hard to become a human?" "No." She put the rest of the chicken on the ground and prayed quietly for her mother for a while. "I mean, it's getting harder and harder for me to get back to my original form now." She continued, "I have to become a fox when hunting, but for a few nights I can't do it at all. How is your business?" recession. There are not as many snake spirits and evil spirits as in previous years, and even the resentment of suicide has decreased. As for jumping corpses, we haven't encountered them in the past few months. My father is already worrying about money. "We haven't dealt with the fox monsters for many years. Maybe Yan'er reported to them and let them stay away. To be honest, it made me feel better. My father is biased in some things. I will temporarily Don't plan to tell him. He has become anxious and irritable now. The villagers don't need him so much, and his prestige is diminishing day by day. "Have you thought about it?" Maybe those jumping corpses were also misunderstood. She asked me, "just like my mother." Seeing my expression, she laughed, "I'm kidding you!" "The empathy between Yan'er and I is very strange. We are not even friends. We are more like partners who have discovered the truth in the world that is different from ordinary preaching, and then depend on each other. She looked at the chicken left by her mother and said: "I think the spiritual power of this land is being taken away. "I also suspected that something was wrong, but I didn't dare to say it-I was afraid of being accidentally said by myself. "What do you think caused it?" Yan'er didn't answer. She pricked up her ears and listened carefully, then suddenly stood up, took my hand, and hid behind the temple Buddha statue. "Why—" She stretched out her finger and placed it on my lips. Lide When I was so close, I smelled her. It was as fragrant and sweet as her mother, and it was so bright as spring. I felt my face start to get hot. After a while, a group of people walked in. I carefully walked in from behind the Buddha statue. Peeked out and took a peek outside. The weather is hot, these people should be looking for a place to shade. Two servants put down the rattan sedan chair and walked down from inside a white-skinned foreigner with golden curly hair. Several other people carried tripods, levelers, copper pipes, and strange objects stuffed with a few large boxes. "Respected Lord Thompson." A man dressed as an official stepped forward, and the look of nodding and bowing reminded me of a beggar dog. "Please rest and drink some herbal tea. Today these people should have gone to the grave. It is not easy to be called to work. Please wait for them to worship Buddha so that the gods will not blame them. I guarantee that they will work harder and count on success. "The problem with you Chinese is always superstition." The foreigner speaks in a strange tone, but he can still understand, "Remember, the railway from Hong Kong to Tianjin is an important task for Great Britain in China. If you can't make it before sunset In Botou Village, I will deduct your wages." I have heard some rumors that the Manchurian emperor had lost the battle and the court had to give up various powers, including spending money to allow foreigners to build railways. But these things are too far away from me, I don't care much.
The official nodded and said yes, "Dear Sir Thompson, what you said is correct. But can you please listen to me?" The annoying foreigner waved his hand impatiently. "Some local villagers are very worried about the railway construction. They think this will cut the ground vein and break the feng shui. "It's like a person wants to inhale. The official made a few breathing movements and patiently explained to the foreigners, "There are spiritual veins hidden underground, which generally extend in parallel with rivers, mountains, and ancient roads. These spiritual veins make the village prosper and nourish a party of gods and rare birds and animals. Can't you listen to Mr. Feng Shui's meaning and move this route? Thompson rolled his eyes, "This is the most absurd reason I have ever heard." Do you want me to remove the railway from the most efficient route, so as not to annoy you folks? The officials looked painful, "Well, in the places where the railways were built, many unknown things did happen: some people broke their fortunes, some died animals, and the gods at home were no longer working. Both monks and Taoist priests said it was the railroad. Thompson strode to the Buddha statue and looked at it critically. I drew up behind the Buddha statue, holding Yan'er's hand tightly, holding my breath, for fear of being discovered. "Does this thing still have magic power?" "Thompson asked. "This temple has not had an abbot for many years. "The official said, "But this Buddha statue is still enshrined by people. The villagers said that worshipping it is very effective. Immediately afterwards, I heard a loud noise. There was a panic inhalation in the temple. "I just broke your Buddha's hand with a stick. "Thompson said, "You see, I was neither struck by lightning nor condemned by God. Therefore, it is just a clay sculpture, filled with straw, and then coated with cheap paint. This is why you were defeated by the British Empire! You should have used iron to build roads and steel to make weapons, but here you worship clay statues. "This time, no one raised objections to the railway route. After the group left, Yan'er and I walked out from behind and stared at the severed hand of the Buddha statue in a daze. "The way of life has changed." "Yan'er said, "Hong Kong, railways, black lines that can be used by foreigners, machines that can smoke... There are more new things, I often listen to the storytellers in the teahouse. I think this is the reason why the spiritual power disappeared-a stronger magic appeared. "Her voice is like a pool of autumn water, cold and calm, without a trace of emotion. But what she said is the truth. I think of my father again. He is still trying to maintain his vigorous appearance, but there are still fewer and fewer people looking for him. . I began to wonder if I was wasting time in learning Taoism and Swordsmanship. "Do you have any plans? "I thought of Yan'er's situation again-hiding alone in the mountains , There is not enough food to maintain mana. "There is only one thing that can be done." She choked for a moment, and then became angry. Like a pebble thrown into the water, it breaks the calm and stirs up ripples. She looked at me and calmed down again. "The only thing we can do is to survive." The railway quickly merged into the rural landscape. The black locomotive roared through the green rice field, spitting steam, and dragging the long carriage like a dragon flying down from the misty snowy peaks in the distance. For a long time, it was a spectacle. The children ran after it excitedly, chasing and cheering on both sides of the railway. But it didn't take long for the soot from the steam engine to kill the rice on the roadside. One afternoon, two children were playing on the rails. They were so scared that they couldn't move when they saw the train. They were hit to death. From then on, trains are nothing strange and interesting. No one needs my father and me anymore. People either turn to a Christian missionary or go to the new-style teacher who claims to have studied in San Francisco. Young people were attracted by the legendary good future and good salary, and left the village one after another for Hong Kong and Guangdong. The fields were deserted, leaving only resigned old people and young children in the village. Outsiders from faraway provinces come from time to time to inquire about low-cost land acquisitions. Father sits quietly in the front hall all day long, with the swallowtail sword on his knees, his eyes look out the door, from sunrise to sunset, like a statue. However, every day when I come back from the field, I see a glimmer of hope in my father's eyes. "Can someone come for help today?" he asked. "No." I tried to maintain a relaxed tone, "but I dare say that corpses will appear soon. They have been dormant for too long." I avoided my sight, afraid of seeing the disappointment in my father's eyes. The next day, his father hanged himself in his bedroom. My heart no longer feels sad. I put his body down. At this moment, I suddenly felt that he was the same evil spirit he had hunted all his life-relying on ancient auras to sustain life. When the aura is exhausted and irretrievable, they don't know how to live. The swallowtail sword in his hand is heavy. I always thought that I would become an exterminator, but in this era when monsters and ghosts have disappeared, what am I? This sword contained the mana blessings of the Daoist masters of the past, but it could not save his father's desperate heart. If I continue to stay here, I am afraid my heart will become lifeless. Yan'er and I have not seen each other for six years since we met a railway surveyor in Pomiao. But her words echoed in my ears at this time: learn to survive. I packed my bags and bought a ticket to Hong Kong. An Indian-looking ticket inspector looked at my ticket and waved me through. I am For a moment, looking at the distant mountains extending to the end of the railway, it feels more like a ladder to heaven. The end of this track is Victoria Peak, where the real master of Hong Kong lives, and Chinese people are not allowed to enter. But the Chinese can shovel coal for boilers and oil gears. Every time I get into the engine room, I am surrounded by steam. Five years later, I have become familiar with the rhythmic friction of pistons and the clattering of gears in the piano, just as I am familiar with my own breathing and heartbeat. The neat rhythm in the noisy forms a kind of moving music, just like the cymbals and gongs at the beginning of Peking Opera. I checked the pressure, applied sealant to the gasket, tightened the flange, and replaced the old gear with spare parts. I work selflessly, although hard work, but very satisfied. It was already dark when the shift was changed. I walked out of the engine room and saw a full moon in the sky. Another steam engine under my care dragged the train full of passengers towards the mountain. "Don't be taken away by the ghosts of China!" In the carriage, a blonde lady stretched out her head and shouted at me, her companion laughed. I just remembered that today is the Zhongyuan Festival. I should prepare some sacrifices for my father. Maybe you can go to Mong Kok to buy some paper money. "Take a rest today? We want you to do it again!" I heard a man's voice. "What are you tweaking for a woman like you?" The other man said and laughed. I followed the prestige, and there was a Chinese girl standing in the shadow outside the platform. She was wearing a tight western-style cheongsam with heavy makeup-she knew her profession at a glance. Two Englishmen stood in front of her, one of them tried to hold her waist, and she took a step back. "Please, I'm really tired." She said in English, "Next time." "Just now! Don't be stupid." The first man said, speaking hard, "No discussion. Come over and do it." What you should do." I walked to them, "Hey!". The two Englishmen looked back at me. "What's the matter?" "Stop nosy!" "It's not nosy," I said, "This is my sister." This lie is unlikely to deceive them, but five years of heavy physical work has made my physique very strong. . Seeing that my face and hands were covered with mechanical oil, they probably felt that fighting with a low-level Chinese mechanic on the street was not worthwhile. So they cursed, got on the train to Taipingding and left. "Thank you," she said. "It's been a long time." I looked at her and swallowed the sentence "You are so beautiful". She has a haggard face, a thin body, and looks exhausted, with a strong smell of pungent perfume. But I am not disgusted. Only those who don't have to fight for survival have the leisure to point fingers at others. "Tonight is the Ghost Festival." She said, "I don't want to work For, I miss my mother. "Let's go buy some sacrifices together." "I suggest. We took the ferry to Kowloon, and the breeze on the water refreshed her. She picked up the teapot on the boat, dampened the towel with hot water, and wiped off the makeup on her face. I vaguely smelled her again. The fragrance is as fresh and charming as before. "You are so beautiful. "I said this, thinking so in my heart. On the streets of Kowloon, we bought dim sum, fruit, dumplings, steamed chicken, paper money and incense, and talked about each other's lives. "How about hunting?" I asked. We all laughed. "I miss being a fox very much." "She nibbled the chicken wings indifferently, "One day shortly after the last meeting, I felt the last bit of magic power disappeared." I can never become a fox anymore. " "I'm very sorry. "I can't give better comfort. "My mother taught me to accept human things: food, clothes, Peking opera, and old stories. But she never depends on these things. She can transform and hunt as she pleases. and I? I no longer have claws and sharp teeth. I can't even run fast. All I have is this beautiful skin. My mother's beauty caused her to die by your father's sword, and what I am doing is exactly what you framed my mother in the past-I seduce men and make their money. "My father is gone. "Hearing these words, she seemed to feel less bitter, "What happened?" "Like you, he felt that his spiritual power had disappeared and he couldn't accept this. " "I'm very sorry. "I know she can't say much. "You once told me that the only thing we can do is try to survive. I am very grateful that this sentence saved my life. "Then we are even. "She smiled and said, "Don't pour the bitterness anymore, tonight belongs to the ancestors." "We walked down the pier, put the offerings we bought by the water, and invited the deceased relatives to come and enjoy it. Then we burned incense and burned the paper money. She watched the heat generated by the flame bring the unburned paper money to the sky and disappear into the stars. Between. "Without aura, do you think the gate of the underworld will open tonight? Can those ghosts come back? "I hesitated. When I was a child, my father taught me to listen to the sound of ghosts scratching window paper with nails, and to distinguish the whispers of gods in the wind. Now I am used to enduring thunderous pistons and steam blowing out of valves. Ear-piercing neighing, I can no longer perceive the lost world of childhood. "I don't know. "I said, "In this era when the railroad tracks and steam engines dispel spiritual power, maybe ghosts are like people. Some have learned to survive, some have not. "Have you had a good time?" She asked. I was stopped by her. "I mean," she went on, "you drive the engine day and night, okay Like oneself is also a gear. Is it so happy? What do you dream about when you dream? "I can't remember any dreams. I let my thoughts get lost in the monotonous movement of gears and screws, following the sound of metal and metal collision. Only in this way can I not think about my father and this piece of quilt. Loot the empty land. "I always dream of hunting in this metal and asphalt forest," she said, "I fantasize about turning back into a fox form, flying between beams and pillars and above the house until I reach this island. The pinnacle. I want to growl, growl at the men who think they can possess me. "I turned my head to look at her, her eyes suddenly brightened, and then dimmed again. "In this era of steam and electricity, in this metropolis, who else can keep the original, except those who live in Taiping? face? "She asked. We sat on the edge of the harbor and burned all night's paper money, waiting for even a trace of the return of the dead. Living in Hong Kong is a strange experience: the monotonous life day after day, it seems that nothing has changed. ; But the past few years have been turned upside down, making people feel like a world away. On my thirtieth birthday, the new steam engines require less coal, but the output power is getting stronger. They are getting smaller and smaller, and the streets are full. They are mechanically driven rickshaws and carriages. The rich can also buy refrigerated machines that can keep the room temperature cool and keep food fresh. These machines are driven by steam. I often walk into the store and endure the clerk’s rolling eyes and study The model machine in the window. I read the books that I can find that introduce the principle and operation of the steam engine. I also tried to use this knowledge to improve the machines I maintained: experimenting with new ignition strokes, trying new piston lubricants, and adjusting gears. Transmission ratio...I gradually understood the magic of machinery and found a lot of fun. One morning, when I was repairing a damaged regulator (this is a meticulous job), two pairs of shiny leather shoes appeared on top of my head. On the platform. I raised my head, and the two of them looked down at me. "It's him. "My supervisor said. Another well-dressed person looked at me suspiciously: "Are you the one who came up with the idea of replacing the big flywheel for the old equipment?" I nodded. I'm very proud of that-designers never dreamed that I could make these engines work harder. "You really didn't steal the idea of an Englishman?" "His tone became severe. I blinked, feeling a little angry after a moment of confusion, "No. "I tried to stay calm, then retracted under the machine and continued to work. "He is very smart. "The supervisor said, "As a Chinaman, his mind is still bright. "I also think I can try." "Another person said, "Compared to from England Hiring a mechanic can definitely save a lot of money. "Mr. Alexander Finley Smith, the owner of the Mountain Top Tramway, is also an avid engineer. He foresees that technological progress will inevitably lead to steam-powered automation. Eventually, mechanical arms and mechanical legs will replace Chinese hard workers and servants. He I found opportunities. I was selected to help Mr. Smith complete his new adventure. I learned to repair clockwork, design complex gear systems, and use valves to cleverly implement various functions; I learned how to give Metal chrome plating, how to use brass to make a smooth curved surface; I invented a series of technologies that combine a hard spring with miniaturized, large-scale valves and clean steam. Once the automatic module assembly is completed, we will give It was connected to the latest analysis machine shipped from the UK, and it was allowed to eat the paper tape with dense perforations-the Babbage-Lopres code that was written. It took Mr. Smith a full ten years. Nowadays, robotic arms can pour wine in bars in Central, and robotic arms are also making fashionable clothes and shoes in factories in the New Territories. In the Taiping mansion, the automatic brooms and mops I designed have begun to sweep the rooms in sections, like Like a mechanical spirit, it spews white steam and gently touches the wall from time to time. These are all I have heard of, and I have never seen it with my own eyes. The foreigners can finally get rid of the obstructive Chinese laborers and enjoy this paradise subtropical city. Me III When she was fifteen years old, she appeared again in front of my door. In a trance, I thought it was a memory reappearance. I pulled her into my small apartment and looked at the door. After making sure that no one was following, I closed it. Door. "How about hunting? "I asked. The joke was awkward, and she smiled reluctantly. Newspapers with pictures of her were flying all over the sky. This is the biggest scandal in the history of the colony. It's not because the governor's son kept a Chinese prostitute privately-it's no big deal. ——It’s the prostitute who stole a huge sum of money from him. Everyone is talking about it. In order to search for her, the police rummaged through Hong Kong. "You can hide with me tonight. "I couldn't say the latter, but she understood. She was sitting on the only chair in the room, and the dim light cast a shadow on her face. She looked haggard and weak, "You have to criticize me too. NS. "I have a good job, and I don't want to lose it." "I said, "Mr. Finley Smith trusts me very much." She bent down and lifted up her skirt. "Don't be like this." "I turned my head away, not wanting to watch her perform those tricks on me. "Look! "There is no temptation in her voice, "Liang, look at me." "I turned my head and took a breath. Before my eyes, her legs were made of shiny chrome. I bent down to see clearly Some: The columnar connecting rods are arranged precisely at the knee joints; the steam transmission mechanism on the thighs operates quietly; her feet are carefully molded and shaped, with smooth surfaces and smooth lines. I have never seen such a beautiful mechanical leg. "He gave me medicine." She said, "When I woke up, my legs were gone and I was replaced with these things. The pain was so painful! He told me a secret: He likes machines to win. It’s beyond the flesh, and it’s hard to be tough in front of a normal woman." I’ve heard of such a person. In this world full of chromium and copper, tinkering and spitting out steam, people's desires will also be distorted. I stared at the gloss on the curve of her calf, not daring to look at her face. "I had a choice: let him continue to transform my body, or let him remove the metal and throw me on the street. Who would want a legless Chinese prostitute? I want to live, so I endure the pain, Let him continue to do things." She stood up and took off her long skirt and long gloves. I can see her chrome body clearly: the waist is pleated, allowing the joints to rotate flexibly; the arms are composed of layers of curved metal sheets, which can be bent and rotated at will, like gorgeous armor; the hands are wrapped in the thinnest and thinnest. The soft lock armor, the fingers are Xuangang, and the original nails are inlaid with jewels. "He doesn't hesitate to spend a lot of money. Every inch of my body is made by the best craftsmen and installed by the best surgeons. It is illegal to drive the human body with electric current and replace nerves with cables, but there are still many people who want to do it. These experiments. They never only talked to him, as if I was just a machine. "Finally one night, he hit me and I resisted desperately. He is as fragile as a straw, and I suddenly realized how powerful this metal arm is. I let him do whatever he wanted to me, changing my body piece by piece, mourning what I had lost, but didn't realize what I got. I have experienced terrible things, but also become daunting. "I squeezed his throat until he was unconscious, took all the money I could find, and ran away. "Then I came to you, can you help me? I walked forward and hugged her, "I will help you recover. We can go to the doctor—" "No. "She interrupted me, "This is not what I want." "We spent almost a whole year to complete this project. Yan'er's money played a big role, but there are some things that money can't buy, especially knowledge and technology. My apartment has become a workshop. Every day. At night, every Sunday, we are busy: shaping the metal, grinding the gears, and connecting the wires. Her face is the most difficult part, and this part still retains the body. I rummaged through the anatomy book and used Plaster casts a model of her face. I even cut my cheeks Bone, cut cheeks, stumbled into the operating room, learning how the doctors sew wounds. I also bought valuable jewellery masks, and I did not hesitate to tear them apart to learn the art of polishing metal to human faces. This day has finally come. The moonlight was bright, and through the window, it cast a pale square on the ground. Yan'er stood in the center of the square, turning her head, feeling her new face. Hundreds of miniature steam devices are buried under the smooth chrome skin, each of which can be independently controlled, allowing her to make any expression. But her eyes remained the same, shining in the moonlight, excited. "Are you ready?" I asked. She nodded. I handed her a bowl filled with finely ground pure anthracite, smelling like burnt charcoal, and like the essence of the land. She poured coal powder into her mouth and swallowed it. I heard the sound of the miniature steam engine igniting violently in her body, and the air pressure was rising. I couldn't help taking a step back. She raised her head and howled at the moon. It was the sound of steam rushing through the brass pipe, which reminded me of the wild roar a long time ago-it was the first time I heard the cry of a fox demon. Then she curled up on the ground, the gears turned, the pistons sucked, and the curved metal sheets slid and overlapped, and the noise became louder and louder. She began to deform. From the initial inspiration to the paper, after hundreds of adjustments and improvements, she finally got a satisfactory result. I can see the shadow of her mother in her design, and added some new things to make the lines more rigid. Starting from her idea, I drew delicate lines on the chrome skin and designed complex joints on the metal skeleton. I personally spliced each hinge point, assembled each gear, overlapped each wire, welded each weld, and oiled each actuator. I took her apart again and again, and assembled it again and again. When everything worked perfectly, I was amazed. She deformed, folded and unfolded before my eyes, like a paper sculpture exuding silvery white light. Finally, a chrome fox appeared in front of me. So beautiful, so deadly, just like the description in the oldest legend. She walked gently in my apartment, experiencing her new body. She has a healthy body, agile movements, and her limbs are shining in the moonlight. Her tail is made of silver wire that is more delicate than lace, and a fluorescent light is drawn in the dim apartment. She turned and walked towards me—no, it was floating. This is a radiant predator, a resurrected ancient phantom. I took a deep breath and smelled flames, soot, motor oil and metal. That is the smell of power. "Thank you." She leaned forward so that I could embrace her true form. Under the heating of the steam engine in the body, her metal body changed It has to be warm and fresh. "Do you feel it?" she asked. I shivered, I knew what she wanted to say. The long-lost ancient spiritual power is back, although it is already a different face: a body cast with metal and flame, no longer relying on hair and flesh and blood. "I will find my kind," she said, "and bring them here. We liberate them together." I used to slay demons, and now I am one of them. I opened the door, holding a swallowtail sword in my hand. It is just a heavy, rusty ancient sword, but it is still strong enough to smash anyone who dares to stand in the way. No one can stop us. Yan'er jumped out, like a flash of lightning, stepping into the streets of Hong Kong with agile and graceful steps. Free and full of wildness, she is a fox demon belonging to the new world. When a man falls in love with a fox demon, she can always hear his call, no matter how far away... "Happy hunting..." I muttered silently. There was another howl in the distance. When her figure disappeared, I saw a wisp of steam rising into the sky. I imagined her galloping on the railway to the top of the mountain, like a tireless engine sprinting forward, sprinting again, towards the summit, towards the magical future—just like the magical past. Editor in charge: Zhong Ruiyi
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