The talking silver foxes are bringers of misfortune, often playing tricks on the townspeople of the story and having the power to bring misfortune, such as weak monetary gain when one is slain for his pelt.
Among that, there are other powers foxes can grant through their fire. Examples from Fox-Fire include immortality, invisibility, calling the souls back of those fallen ill, being able to see ghosts and devils, and interacting with the spirit world. Between the two fox tales, if there is a cautionary tale I can tell with a fox moving the plot along, that would be great.
Does the fox necessarily have to be evil, though?
In Night on the Battlefield, a merchant stops to rest in an inn, but finds himself caught up in the company of numerous soldiers who are revealed to already be dead the next morning. A story centered around the land of the dead sounds neat, possibly set on an abandoned battlefield rather than an inn.
Could also intertwine that idea with the ability of fox fire to grant people to see and interact with departed spirits.
The two ogres in the tales "The Maiden Who Was Stolen Away" and "The Flying Ogre" intrigue me. What if these two were connected? There could be a backstory we can develop and a narrative weaved around that?
The tiger and dragon in The Three Evils are elements I find interesting. A visit to TV Tropes shows the trope of the Tiger and Dragon, referring to two polar opposites of power and intelligence: ever at odds, yet together they bring balance. Duality is the name of the game.
Yang Gui Fe features a split ring and the promise of eternal love between the living and departed. This is great potential for a story focused on the relationship between the living and dead.
Bibliography
Chinese Fairy Tales, stories taken from Wilhelm's Chinese Fairy Book
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