Fox Spirit

**Fox Spirit or Huyao (狐妖)** is a type of Spirit with the appearance of a Fox. Some appear more human, others appear more like foxes.

## Appearance

The Fox Spirit race look human in form, save the Fox ears they possess on their heads, instead of human ears and fox tails at the base of their spine.  The more powerful the fox spirit the more tails they possess, the most powerful have nine tails. Tushan Yaya is the only known Fox Spirit to have achieved all nine.

They also possess a basic Fox Form. Some Fox Spirits, such as the soldiers of Tushan, have an anthropomorphic Fox Form. Only the more refined and powerful Fox Spirits can achieve human-like form.

## Types

Tushan Fox Spirits originate from Tushan. They are well-known and feared by the other spirits. Some of them are well-known for working as Matchmakers like Susu, others as warriors and guards.

Sand Fox Spirit, also known as Desert Fox Spirits, originate from the Sand Fox City in Xixiyu. Their bodies are made out of sand.  If they are cut into pieces they turn into piles of sand that can be reassembled from which they regenerate without harm.  They have a weakness to water and become droopy muddy puddles when wet.

Shadow Fox Spirit - They are the primary group of antagonists of the series.  They have mysterious origins and are led by the Shadow Fox Empress. They steal spirit power form other spirits, preying like parasites on hapless couples and opposing the work of the Tushan Fox Spirits. Their motto is "Do what you love to do" (with the implication of ignoring laws or morals if necessary to pursue those desires).

## Physiological traits

Fox Spirits, are much long-lived than humans, being capable of living for thousands of years, they also take a longer time than them to develop and mature. Many of them possess superpowers, such as healing abilities, control over ice, etc. They appear to mostly human-like in appearance with special fox-like features such as fox ears and a tail. Most appear to be able to take on a fox appearance, or a human-like appearance and can shift between the two forms at will. Maintaining a human form requires effort and thus the most powerful Spirits often flaunt their ability to remain in human form as a symbol of power and confidence.

It is unknown where they originate from, whether they begin as simple normal foxes that eventually become sentient over time (as they often do in Asian mythology) or as a distinct race that can have offspring through sexual reproduction just like humans. However, we do know that the youngest fox spirits, do not yet have a human-like form, and only have a normal fox form. With enough time and effort they can cultivate their power to take on a human form. This is a symbol of their own maturity and power and might be seen as becoming an adult.

## Notable Fox Spirits

Tushan

* Tushan Honghong
* Tushan Rongrong
* Tushan Yaya
* Tushan Susu
* Gu Xiaobei
* Zuoshi

Sand fox

* Fan Yun Fei (sand fox)
* Secretary Xiao Li (sand fox)

Shadow fox

* Shadow Fox Empress

## Translation Notes

The term *yao* 妖 denotes an inhuman mythical creature that often is an ascended natural creature (such as a fox becoming a Fox Spirit).  In English, the term "spirit" often conveys the same meaning as ghost or soul which do not have bodies or physical manifestations. This is not true of Fox Spirits or *Hu Yao* 狐妖 as they definitely have a physical body. Thus a more accurate translation would perhaps be "Fox Fairy" or "Fox Faeling" as this conveys the idea more closely.

This site uses both terms Fox Spirit and Huyao as synonyms.

See Spirits#Translation Notes for more details on Yaoguai.