Discussion Novel Recommendation! #Raising a Fox Spirit in My Home#

IMPORTANT NOTE:

The original translation for this novel had been removed and replaced with a new version. This new version doesn't involve strict/direct translation of the raws. Rather, we aim to create an English Adaptation of the story; in other words, we are "retelling" the story in a style that is as close as possible to standard English novels. Our goal is to present the same story in a format that most English readers are used to.

Naturally, the plot will not be altered. However, its presentation will be altered (narrator POVs, scenes rewritten using Third-person limited POVs, etc.) Info dumps will be minimized as the translator will make an effort to insert any long explanations of the Cultivation concepts into the plot rather than simply dumping the information in the middle of a scene. Logical errors and plotholes will be fixed in a way that preserves the general direction of the plot.

If you've already read the previous version, it is highly recommended that you read the new version starting from the beginning to get the most enjoyment out of reading this novel.

Rest assured that a lot of hard work and effort has been put into giving our readers the best reading experience.

We sincerely hope you enjoy this new version.

Happy reading.

TLDR in Pro vs Con form

Pros

- Early Romance

- Good use of comedy

- Plot that actually seems to be going somewhere interesting

- Modern take on cultivation that I found refreshing

- Good pacing and use of action scenes


Cons

- Some Taoism terminology was lost on me, but didn’t impende on reading


A More in Depth Look


I’ve been reading Chinese novels for over 3 years now and have read and dropped many books as something related to the writing style, plot, or something else irked me enough to realize the story wasn’t worth pursuing and I am happy to report that this isn’t one that I plan on dropping.


The story is a nice mix of classic Chinese novel writing with cultivation meshed meshed with how it all fits into the modern world. My main draw to this story was that I enjoy romance stories and was in the market for a few new pick ups and found this gem. The MC accidentally swallows a pill that the fox girl risked her life for and he starts to go through rapid changes and has this beautiful girl living with him after a life of loneliness while the fox girl sticks around in hopes of raising the MC’s cultivation to a level that she could kill him and absorb its benefits for herself after being thwarted in the first place. This changes early on in the story as she soon begins to grow feelings for him as he takes care of her in this new modern world as she was used to a very secluded lifestyle.


Her cluelessness to the intricacies of modern life that we all know today lead to many interesting moments in the story that can be used for great comedic effect and I found myself laughing out loud a few times.


Early on, we don’t get a really good idea of how strong the pill has made the MC and I like that vs normal tiers in cultivation novels as it leaves a sense of mystery as he grows stronger so it makes for some interesting fight scenes in the modern era.


The only part I did find myself truly confused is some of the Taoism stuff as xianxia is relatively a new genre to me so take that how you will. If you are like me and not as familiar with this type of stuff, it’s not a huge deal and the story still moves on as you pick up a general idea of what the author means.


Overall, it’s a story that I enjoy reading and that I try to keep up to date with as new chapters come out and one that I recommend to friends.

 

Finally I found a recommendation thread

I am planning to read this title, but maybe I will ask some question to convince me further

Is there any kind of love rival or harem attempt? or is it straight 1 vs 1 romance and how they deal with their daily life?

Honestly, modern theme cultivation novel mostly have this kind of retarded harem that come out of nowhere even if the story always start with a fateful encounter between MC and the first female lead

Thanks for answering~

 

https://www.novelupdates.com/series/raising-a-fox-spirit-in-my-home/#comment-42101

 

Thanks for the insight~

 

This sounds almost exactly like 狐狸的本命年法则 minus the cultivation. The other big difference is that the fox girl in that book is the protagonist while the male lead is actually well adjusted rather than the standard loser archetype. So how are the characters in this book? Are there any real standouts? I'd be happy to add another book to my list even if it's not in my normal genre.

 

At where I am at in the story, there are 2-3 girls that are interested in him outside the female lead, but the MC is pretty committed toward the female lead due to her being the turning point in his life and the 2-3 girls have mainly been used as instruments to further the plot.

I do imagine in the future that they will play a role in some capacity to add some drama to the relationship or other girls in the future that will test the pair’s relationship and commitment toward each other, but that's typical in the romance genre. To the extent the author takes it is unknown to me as I am still reading ( a couple dozen chapters ahead of live release), but I am satisfied with the usage of potential love rivals are used in the story thus far. I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a harem just yet, but I feel the story is mainly about the main pair and the girls’ relationship with the MC is more about how he’s changed their lives as well as his own with his new found powers that grow over time.

 

Thanks, lol~

 

I'm not really sure what you mean by standouts, but I've read a little bit via GT. I guess you can say there are a couple of standouts. Zhou Qin might be one since her role changes a bit in the future, and there is also Zi Yuan. I didn't make it far enough to find out what happened with the sisters who were... being protected by Zi Yuan, but were essentially kidnapped by a different sect. So they might have a very interesting role in the future as well.

 

Not really a harem. At least, not in the sense of the main character being a retard that can't decide which girl he likes. There are several girls who become interested in Li Yundong after he starts improving himself, but he didn't give them more than a glance so far. From what I could gather by reading with GT, they mostly seem to understand he isn't going to accept them and move on. Some stay friends, some start practicing with him. One of them was still somewhat ambiguous where I left off, but the main character was pretty straight-forward about it so far. He only has eyes for Su Chan. Su Chan is love, Su Chan is justice?

 

For me standout characters are the ones who make a ton of impact even if they're not in the book all that much. Sometimes this character is the male or female lead, but I find it usually more interesting if it's a secondary character. The classic example of this is Dongfang Bubai from "Smiling Proud Wanderer": he's only in a single chapter of the book but other characters constantly talk about him before he shows up. And in all the adaptations he gets expanded roles because he's so noteworthy.

 

It's still a little early to have some standout characters by that definition. Su Chan's master is mentioned, but not introduced. If I had to guess, any standout characters will start to appear as the MC goes further in his cultivation and is taking more out of the modern and more into her.cultivation world.

As for the first part of the characters in general, I have no major qualms with the characters. Some that irked me at the start have begun having their character arc hitting full speed so they are going through changes that make me like them more.

 

I was hoping that someone here had finished the book! I'd read this book, but I've already read something very similar (albeit written by a much better writer) just a couple of months ago, and xianxia isn't really my thing. Being finished helps but "Raising a Fox Spirit" is a very long book so I'd love some more info before committing.

 

Hello, Audrey.
I'm Anthony, the translator of this novel. First of all, thank you for reading and reviewing this novel.

Now that the formalities are out of the way, let's get down to business.

In the interest of the long term quality of the translations, I'd like to know more about the Taoism concepts that you find to be unclear. I will use your feedback to improve on the explanations that I have thus far provided in the glossary, or even add new items into the glossary.

I did quite a bit of homework in producing that glossary, and in some cases even came up with my own analogies to make the concepts clearer.

Your feedback is highly appreciated.

Regards,
Anthony.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE:

The original translation for this novel had been removed and replaced with a new version. This new version doesn't involve strict/direct translation of the raws. Rather, we aim to create an English Adaptation of the story; in other words, we are "retelling" the story in a style that is as close as possible to standard English novels. Our goal is to present the same story in a format that most English readers are used to.

Naturally, the plot will not be altered. However, its presentation will be altered (narrator POVs, scenes rewritten using Third-person limited POVs, etc.) Info dumps will be minimized as the translator will make an effort to insert any long explanations of the Cultivation concepts into the plot rather than simply dumping the information in the middle of a scene. Logical errors and plotholes will be fixed in a way that preserves the general direction of the plot.

If you've already read the previous version, it is highly recommended that you read the new version starting from the beginning to get the most enjoyment out of reading this novel.

Rest assured that a lot of hard work and effort has been put into giving our readers the best reading experience.

We sincerely hope you enjoy this new version.

Happy reading.