My grandmother's grandfather met a fox spirit during the Qing Dynasty time period in ancient China.

His name was Mo Shan. He was the head of the family and had gained the prestigious position of imperial court doctor at a relatively young age. As such, he became the pride of the family and our branch became the main branch for a period of time until the incident that changed everything. My entire family back then consisted of various branches of doctors, wealthy land owners, merchants and real estate agents. This ancestor of mine was quite the character. Somehow he got himself involved with the opium trade and due to some shenanigans involving a bunch of British scoundrels ended up with a criminal conviction that led to nearly the extermination of our entire family line, and an exile to northern China.

Some time ago, prior to becoming a high-level imperial court doctor, he befriended a fox spirit during one of his business trips trading different herbs all over various regions of China. Apparently, part of the reason he wound up with the criminal conviction had to do with his association with this fox spirit. She was a mischievous female spirit who was close to obtaining the ability to transform into a human. However, during the last part of the trials she needed to pass in order to gain this ability she encountered a bunch of Catholic/Christian exorcists when playing with some British merchants. She was scared for her life and as she was running away, she spotted my ancestor at a herb shop down the street. Being caught in the cross-fire of a battle between a mischievous fox spirit and a bunch of Christian nuns is not a good experience. This experience becomes 12 times worse when the battle winds up pissing off the emperor.

Thanks to some last-minute bargaining and negotiations between this fox spirit who became a friend, a Daoist priest Mo Shan was able to convince to help, and the head of an ancient line of fox spirits who live in a forest on a sacred mountain containing a critical herb required to save the life of the emperor's first-born son… My ancestor was able to preserve our family branch and got his sentence reduced to exile. This however, did not save the other branches of the prominent Shan family who lived in the capital. Some of them turned out to be involved in some rather shady things that included demonic possession, human sacrifice rituals of foreign women and bad trade deals that eventually lead to the downfall of the entire Qing empire… It's a good thing my branch of the family were pretty introverted and only interested in trading herbs and reading books. They had nothing to do with any of the shady things. Mo Shan was rather shocked when this was all uncovered. However, during this time period in China, often even innocent people were executed for crimes committed by awful extended relatives. If not for Mo Shan's assistance to the female fox spirit, a debt owed by a powerful Daoist priest, and a somewhat random series of events which lead to him being tasked with finding a rare herb in order to spare his branch of the family from death… I might not exist.

On the way north, my family encountered the head fox spirit again. This was the same one who assisted Mo Shan with locating the rare herb in the sacred mountain forest. The soldiers had orders from the emperor to kill the rest of the men in my family and rape all of the women. After this, they were supposed to sell the women off to the capital brothel.

The head fox spirit used his powers to enter Mo Shan's dream. He warned Mo Shan of what was to come, what the soldiers planned to do. He also showed him an herb located not too far away from the campsite and how he could use this to poison the wine the soldiers drank in a way that would not be labeled as anything other than an accident. The condition for this act of benevolence was that my family was to set up a shrine in the courtyard of our family residence in northern China and leave mandarin orange peels every New Years Eve at the foot of the shrine. The fox spirit told my ancestor, that for as long as he did this, Mo Shan and his descendants would have prosperity in northern China.

My grandmother's grandfather kept his end of the deal to the best of his ability. However, a series of unfortunate events happened in Chinese history that would end up making it impossible to keep this ritual going. Part of the problem involved the Japanese burning down our residence which contained the shrine because the Japanese soldiers got scared of it. They said that after they stole a bunch of pricey vases from the residence, a few of their soldiers got venereal diseases from prostitutes in their camps. They thought that this had something to do with one of the stolen vases. However, the higher up soldier who ordered his underlings to steal the vases already sold them overseas by the time the venereal disease problem became a problem. One of the soldiers somehow found out that my family had a shrine worshiping fox spirits. As a result, the soldiers came up with the story that the curse was due to the shrine and burned down the entire residence. I don't know. Regardless, they burned everything and there was no way to save the shrine or any of the family records in it. My family tried to set up another shrine in a smaller residence we purchased using the money the Japanese paid to my family as compensation. Apparently the head Japanese military guy for some reason believed that if he did not do this he himself would die of a venereal disease. So he paid my family quite a bit of money. The second residence the family bought with the money, we set up another shrine. However, this one also got burned down. This time it was because the communists found out that the Japanese gave our family money for the residence. So they took everything the Japanese ignored because they only wanted the more expensive stuff and then burned everything. I only know this story because of talking to my grandmother. I'm honestly not sure how much of this story is even true. Regardless, my grandmother says that these events have resulted in the end of my family's line except for one errant nephew who to the best of my knowledge is still not married to this day and has no children.

My grandmother had told him to set up another shrine. He didn't do this. My nephew's father converted to Christianity and tried to get him to read the bible. He read a few pages, got bored and quit. Instead of doing any of these things, he got obsessed with captcha games and now works for a gaming company.

I wonder if getting obsessed over anime fox-spirit girls to the point you make a shrine to one of them while simultaneously having an obsessive amount of reverence for a series of coding books written by people who are Christian might be a twisted quirk of fate way of merging everything? I hope I can persuade both the fox spirits and Jesus to help my poor nephew out with his love life. I really wanted a little great-niece to play with for a while before my death.

I am currently several stories up in the air and just about to jump out of a building in the middle of a giant earthquake. I have a parachute up here. The building isn't stable enough for me to go down the stairs after evacuating all the kids from this place. It's a school building. Me being me, I put a parachute up here a long time ago just in case something like this ever happens. Hope this parachute idea works.

Chat GPT's advice on organization:

Title: (Consider adding a title that captures the essence of the story, like "The Fox Spirit's Bargain" or "The Legacy of Mo Shan")

Introduction:

Introduce Mo Shan, a prestigious imperial court doctor during the Qing Dynasty, and the pride of his family. Briefly mention the family's background, including their status as doctors, wealthy landowners, and merchants. Set the stage for the mysterious encounter with the fox spirit that will change everything.

Encounter with the Fox Spirit:

Describe Mo Shan's fateful encounter with the mischievous female fox spirit during a business trip. Highlight her close call with Christian exorcists, the chaos that ensued, and how this led to Mo Shan's involvement. Mention the fox spirit's quest to gain the ability to transform into a human and how Mo Shan gets caught in the crossfire.

The Incident and Conviction:

Detail the events that led to Mo Shan's criminal conviction. Explain how his association with the fox spirit and involvement in the opium trade resulted in the near-extermination of his family. Introduce the subsequent exile to northern China and the unraveling of other family branches involved in darker activities.

The Bargain with the Fox Spirit:

Describe the critical moment when Mo Shan, facing the emperor's wrath, strikes a bargain with the fox spirit, a Daoist priest, and the head of an ancient fox spirit line. Explain how this alliance helps Mo Shan locate a rare herb to save the emperor's son, leading to the reduction of his sentence to exile. Emphasize the condition set by the head fox spirit: to establish a shrine and offer mandarin orange peels every New Year's Eve for continued prosperity.

The Family's Struggles:

Narrate the challenges the family faced in maintaining the shrine, including the Japanese burning down their residence and the communists later destroying the second shrine. Explore the decline of the family line and the errant nephew who didn't maintain the tradition. Reflect on the modern-day implications, including the nephew's unusual obsessions and the hope for his future.

Conclusion:

Tie the story back to the present, where the narrator faces a life-threatening situation. Reflect on the intertwining of fate, tradition, and modern life. End with the narrator's hope for the future, despite the precarious circumstances.

This structure helps the story flow more smoothly, with clear sections that build upon each other. You can expand or condense each part as needed, depending on how much detail you want to include. Let me know if you'd like to make any further adjustments!

The Tale of Mo Shan

Mo Shan was not born into the most prominent branch of the Shan family. His relatives, though respected as doctors, wealthy landowners, and merchants, were always overshadowed by the main branch that had held the family's highest honors for generations. Yet, from a young age, Mo Shan displayed an uncommon dedication to his studies, driven by an intense desire to elevate his family's status. He spent countless nights poring over ancient medical texts, absorbing knowledge from the finest teachers in the land. His hard work and brilliance did not go unnoticed, and by the time he was in his early thirties—a remarkably young age for such an accomplishment in that era—he was appointed as an apprentice imperial court doctor. This prestigious title not only brought him immense respect but also elevated his branch of the family to the forefront of the Shan lineage.

As Mo Shan's reputation grew within the imperial court, so too did the influence of his family. No longer were they merely one of the many branches; they became the main branch, the pride of the Shan name. The imperial court's trust in Mo Shan's abilities meant that his word held significant weight, and his family enjoyed the privileges and power that came with such favor. The once modest branch now found itself at the center of the family's affairs, with Mo Shan leading the way. However, with such prominence came greater scrutiny and pressure, both from within the family and from the outside world, where political and social tensions brewed beneath the surface.

It was during one of his many business trips to acquire rare herbs that Mo Shan's life took a turn into the extraordinary. Mo Shan at this time was still an apprentice. The fee for wasting the time of an imperial court doctor who has the job of preserving the health of the most important man in the entire empire… was quite expensive. So without suitable compensation, you not only learn nothing as an apprentice but you will be the first to be sent into a room when there's a risk of anyone losing their head. Fortunately for Mo Shan, he was good at the family business of locating the right location with the right shop that has just the right kind of herb.

In a small, unassuming herb shop nestled within the bustling market of a remote village, Mo Shan encountered something far beyond his medical expertise. The shop, with its rows of dried roots, leaves, and potions, seemed ordinary at first glance. But it was here that he came face to face with a mischievous fox spirit, a creature of legend and superstition that had haunted the edges of his childhood stories. This encounter, seemingly accidental, would set off a chain of events that would challenge everything Mo Shan had achieved and draw him into a world of supernatural intrigue and peril.

Encounter with the Fox Spirit

In a small, unassuming herbal medicine shop nestled within the bustling market of a remote village, a young woman lived a life marked by tragedy and resilience. The shop, once a beacon of prosperity in the capital, had been passed down through generations in her family. It was renowned for its rare and potent herbs, prized by nobles and commoners alike. However, the rise of the opium trade brought a dark tide of violence and greed to the city. A group of thugs, employed as guards by merchants who trafficked in opium, set their sights on the shop, extorting the family for protection money. When her family refused to compromise their integrity, the thugs responded with ruthless brutality. They slaughtered her parents and siblings in cold blood, then turned their vile attentions to her. After defiling her, they threw her broken body into the burning remnants of her family's legacy. The fire consumed everything—the shop, the herbs, and the girl herself, who died from smoke inhalation as the flames devoured her world.

In the afterlife, the girl's spirit, tormented by the horrific violence and betrayal she had suffered, wandered aimlessly on the road to reincarnation. Her grief and rage anchored her to the mortal realm, preventing her from passing on peacefully. It was during this anguished journey that she encountered the guardian of a powerful female fox spirit. The guardian, sensing the girl's pain and desire for vengeance, approached her with a proposition. The fox spirits, known for their cunning and supernatural abilities, needed a vessel to inhabit in the human world. In exchange for the use of her body and a fragment of her soul, the fox spirits promised to help her exact revenge on those who had wronged her. Consumed by the desire for justice, the girl accepted the bargain, and with that, the female fox spirit entered her body, reanimating it moments before the building collapsed into ashes.

The fox spirit, now in possession of the girl's body, quickly set about rebuilding what had been lost. Drawing on both her own supernatural knowledge and the girl's memories, she established a new herbal medicine shop in a small yet strategically located village. This village, though remote, was well-connected to several major trade routes, making it an ideal location for her plans. She specialized in aphrodisiacs and medicines related to fertility and potency—products that were always in demand. Using her sharp negotiation skills and the remnants of the family's business network, the fox spirit quickly garnered a reputation for providing the most effective remedies in the region. Her success was not just due to the quality of her products, but also to the subtle manipulations she employed, ensuring that her influence spread quietly but surely among the village's elite and travelers alike.

Behind this facade of prosperity, however, the fox spirit and her sisters—who worked in a brothel in the capital—were weaving a deadly plot of revenge. They knew that the thugs who had destroyed the girl's family were involved in the protection of a merchant group that frequently passed through the village. Slowly, the fox spirit began to exact her revenge. The men who had once terrorized the capital now found themselves afflicted with mysterious ailments—venereal diseases, impotence, and other maladies linked to their licentious lifestyles. The fox spirit's knowledge of herbs allowed her to craft subtle poisons and potions that brought about their downfall. Each death was a calculated strike, a step closer to avenging the girl whose life had been stolen.

As the bodies piled up, whispers of the strange occurrences reached the ears of foreign Catholic men from England, who had vested interests in the opium trade. The deaths of so many of their caravan guards from similar causes raised suspicions of supernatural interference. Concerned for their investments and wary of the rumors, they enlisted a group of nuns skilled in exorcism to investigate the situation. The nuns got down to business and did brilliant detective work. Eventually, their efforts led them to the herbal medicine shop, the heart of the fox spirit's operations. It was at this critical juncture that Mo Shan, a prestigious imperial court doctor apprentice, unknowingly found himself entangled in the unfolding drama. His visit to the shop, intended as a simple business transaction, would place him squarely in the middle of a conflict between the mortal and supernatural worlds—one that could jeopardize everything he had worked so hard to achieve.

The day began like any other for Mo Shan. He rose early, bathed, dressed in his formal attire, and prepared for the day ahead. As an imperial court doctor apprentice, his duties were many, and the demands of his role kept him constantly busy. However, a particularly delicate and unenviable task had recently been placed on his shoulders: delivering an assessment to the emperor regarding the fertility of his favorite wife. The diagnosis was not Mo Shan's own, but that of his teacher, the emperor's personal physician. However, such an esteemed figure would never risk delivering bad news himself, leaving the dangerous task to his apprentice.

The emperor's main wife, the empress, had already given birth to three daughters but could no longer safely conceive another child. This situation carried dire implications. The emperor, and indeed the entire imperial court, was anxious about the absence of a male heir. The court officials, particularly the snobbish ones, saw this as a threat to the empire's stability, and the emperor feared what could happen if his favored concubine, Xian Fei, were to become pregnant with a son. Xian Fei's supporters in the court might conspire to remove the empress, leading to a dangerous power struggle within the palace.

Mo Shan's teacher, as the emperor's physician, was responsible for the empress's fertility diagnosis. Prior to their involvement, the empress's personal physician, Jiang Chen, had consistently reported that she was still capable of conception. However, Mo Shan discovered that Jiang Chen's most recent report was falsified—a dangerous lie in these precarious times. Mo Shan, after consulting with his teacher, confirmed the true diagnosis: the empress could no longer conceive. Yet the truth came with peril. Mo Shan and his teacher, along with Jiang Chen and his apprentice, were now the only ones who knew the truth. If the emperor found out, it could lead to an assassination plot against the empress or, at the very least, her political downfall. But withholding this truth was also a capital offense.

As Mo Shan went about his duties that day, the weight of this secret bore heavily on him. He attended to patients, treated minor ailments, and completed his tasks, but the gravity of the situation was ever-present in his mind. The secret threatened to unravel the delicate balance of power within the imperial court. He found a brief moment of calm in the late afternoon but could not shake the looming shadow of the choice he would have to make.

That night, after hours of deep meditation, Mo Shan arrived at a possible solution. If he could find an herb with properties to alleviate the empress's fertility problem, Jiang Chen's lie would no longer be false. They could then avoid the emperor's wrath, and the empress's life—and his own—could be spared. After further reflection, Mo Shan remembered a rare herb that could be found in a remote village near a prominent port. With the approval of his teacher and the necessary authorities, Mo Shan set out with his most loyal attendant, making his way to the remote port village of Guang Cho in search of the elusive remedy.