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I'd probably go with a huxian (狐仙). I mean look at the benefits:

1. Shape-shifting out the door. That's always fun.
2. Since they're on a path to becoming an immortal (仙) there's less of that morally grey area that the huli jing (狐狸精) bring with them. I mean sure, seducing scholars to trick them could be great fun (geeks and nerds are my type), but it's not really conducive to immortality, is it?
3. As a huxian I'm revered by the people who encounter me (as opposed to the huli jing who is often villainized and chased out).
4. Through "inner alchemy" (内丹) I cultivate in myself ever increasing magic powers like weather manipulation, herbal mastery, and astral projection.
5. In the end I become an immortal worshipped by scholars and others and can even start mentoring scholars who are cultivating themselves.

And all that without the tediousness of tending to Inari's whims (kitsune) or being in a predatory cycle with no form of cultivation or improvement (gumiho). I'm just a well-regarded philosopher-fox.