So, here’s what I’ve understood after watching the dramas:
The Tushan Fox Clan (and allied spirits) take on the role of matchmakers—they assist humans and spirits in forming bonds of love (often across lifetimes / reincarnations) so that the emotional energy of those bonds can be harvested to support the Grief Tree. The Grief Tree is a central spiritual object/tree of power. It is nourished by “true feelings” (love, fidelity, emotional bonds) and is crucial for maintaining balance in the realms. The Black Fox is a dark force opposing these bonds and balance—it feed on hatred, revenge, darkness rather than love, and threaten the stability of the Grief Tree and thus the peace between humans & spirits. The Grief Tree itself may become corrupted if the negative power accumulates. At that point the fox clan (especially Tushan) must intervene to purge the corruption, often at great cost.
Let me break down the story by each drama:
1) Red-Moon Pact
The Grief Tree begins to weaken as negative emotions seep into the realm. The Black Fox uses this weakness to invade, turning love into hatred to feed on that dark energy. Tushan Honghong (Red Fox leader) and Dongfang Yuechu work together to save both humans and spirits. Yuechu’s spiritual blood is the key to purifying the Tree. Honghong sacrifices her spirit bone, and Yuechu offers his blood to reseal the corruption. The Grief Tree is saved — for now — but the Black Fox’s root isn’t fully destroyed, hinting at a lingering curse.
2)Love in Pavilion (Past Lives Arc)
Set before the Red-Moon events, this arc dives into how the Tushan Fox Clan came to guard the Grief Tree. We see the first manifestation of the “Black Grief Tree”, born from centuries of sorrow and betrayal. The Black Fox’s energy merges with it, creating a dark mirror of the real Tree — a symbol of corrupted love. The fox-spirit ancestors discover that when too much grief gathers beneath the Tree, it births resentful energy. This energy is sealed, but fragments remain — those fragments are what later awaken as the Black Fox.
3)Sword and Beloved (Future Arc)
The balance restored by Honghong and Yuechu starts to break again centuries later. The Black Grief Tree begins to re-emerge as the seal weakens — not just from hatred, but from forgotten promises and broken fates. The Black Fox’s remnant consciousness manipulates mortals and spirits through reincarnation, seeking full revival. A new generation of fox-spirits and humans must confront the same moral question: Is love worth the pain it inevitably brings? The ultimate goal becomes not just sealing the corruption, but understanding and integrating grief instead of suppressing it — transforming the dark energy back into light.
🦊 Summary
- The Grief Tree represents pure emotional energy — the link between humans and spirits.
- The Black Grief Tree represents corrupted emotion — grief turned into obsession and hatred.
- The Black Fox is the consciousness born from that corruption, always seeking to destabilize the realms.
- Across all three arcs, every generation of lovers (human + spirit) relives this struggle — love healing corruption, hatred feeding it again.
