Chapter 1909
Mountain God 13
After hearing what that person said, Liu Dong and the other three exchanged glances.
Go to the mountains to enjoy a life of leisure?
You're going to deliver groceries, right?
The man realized that the voice of the person who had spoken to him was unfamiliar, so he quickly turned around and saw Shan Qing and the other three.
Who...who are you?
Huangfu You smiled and said, "We are just travelers on our way to the prefectural city to take the imperial examination. We are passing through your area and would like to ask for lodging for the night. Do you know if any family has a spare room?"
The man's gaze swept over the four people; they were clearly wealthy.
He chuckled and said, "Well, I have some spare rooms at my house. If you don't mind, you can stay at my place."
Huangfu You noticed that although his clothes were patched, they were very clean, which suggested that he and his family were both clean people.
Huangfu You took out a piece of silver and handed it to the man: "Thank you very much, brother!"
The man's eyes lit up as he snatched the silver, chuckling, "My house is right next door, please, all four of you!"
This family, Sun Shan, has a simple household: an elderly mother, a wife, and two children.
Their family was considered quite well-off in the village; they had a house made of blue bricks, which was built when his father was still alive.
His father had worked away from home when he was young, made some money, and brought his mother home as his wife.
His mother was no ordinary woman either; she was a maid in a wealthy family.
There's a saying, isn't there?
"I'd rather marry a maid from a wealthy family than a girl from a poor one."
Maids from wealthy families are indeed more knowledgeable than girls from poor families.
Sun Shan's mother was not only skilled in embroidery, but also literate.
Sun Shan learned to read from his mother from a young age, and during the off-season, he went to the city to work. He had more opportunities than others, and the jobs were easy.
Sun Shan's wife and daughter learned embroidery from their mother. The three of them took their embroidery to the city to sell, and it sold very well, earning them a lot of money.
Therefore, their family lived a very good life.
Sun Shan returned home with four people, but no one was home.
He immediately went to call his wife and daughter back to tidy up the house.
Is watching the excitement more important than making money?
The four of them, including Shan Qing, were very satisfied with Sun Shan's house; it was indeed very clean.
The food was cooked by Sun Shan's mother herself, using methods that only wealthy families knew, and it tasted much better than the country-style dishes.
After the four of them finished eating, they returned to their rooms, ostensibly to rest, but in reality, they all left the Sun family and went into the mountains.
The mountain is filled with a strong demonic aura, mixed with a considerable amount of ghostly energy.
Following the gas, the four entered the deep mountains and saw a magnificent house.
But the four of them immediately saw that the house was just an illusion; it was actually a cave.
A strong stench of blood emanated from the cave.
Zongda said, "It is the Mountain Lord."
Huangfu You said, "How can a tiger spirit be qualified to be called a mountain lord?"
He was well-read and knew that many people regarded the mountain king as a mountain god.
Su Shi wrote in "Inscription on the Stele of Chenkui Pavilion": "Oh, you southeastern mountain lords and sea kings, come to pay homage at the appointed time, and carefully preserve your treasures."
Yuan Jue also wrote in his poem "Inscription on the Stele of Li Tingbi's Return to An": "Mountain gods and water spirits each have their duties, and birds and fish are happy to get together."
These scholars regarded the Mountain God as a deity on par with the Water God.
Now, using the term "mountain lord" to refer to the monsters in the mountains is an insult to the true mountain god beside them, isn't it?
Shan Qing had also read the two poems and nodded in agreement with Huangfu You's words. What kind of bastard dares to compete with me for the title?
Shan Qing: "Zongda, I'm leaving that tiger to you."
Shan Qing gave the order.
He's the mountain god, the boss, he has to maintain his dignity, he won't act rashly.
Liu Dong is too lazy, and he still looks like a child. Making him do things makes Shan Qing feel guilty for oppressing child laborers.
Huangfu You is skilled in illusion and charm techniques, but has little combat ability.
This kind of fighting job was naturally left to the incredibly strong melee tank, Zongda.
Zongda accepted the order and headed towards the cave.
He wandered around inside and caught a few ghosts who remained, but he didn't see the tiger spirit.
From the ghost, they learned that the tiger spirit was not in the mountains, but had gone to the county town to meet the county magistrate.
It turns out that the county magistrate and the tiger spirit were old acquaintances; the magistrate had saved the tiger spirit when he was young.
When they met again, they conspired together.
The fact that the mountain lord could roam freely in these mountains without being noticed by anyone from the Xuanmen sect was, of course, because the county magistrate was covering for him.
Whenever a Taoist priest or monk sensed something unusual in the mountains, the county magistrate would notify the tiger spirit, and the monks and Taoist priests would be arrested and imprisoned under various pretexts, and then the magistrate would find a way to poison them to death.
It's pitiful that those monks and Taoists, despite their powerful magic, never imagined the wickedness of human nature and would die at the hands of insignificant people they didn't take seriously.
"You corrupt official!" Huangfu You couldn't help but curse.
Just wait, once he becomes an official, he'll become an imperial censor and specifically impeach these corrupt officials who are accomplices to evil.
Dan Qing put away the several souls. He couldn't sever the connection between the souls and the tiger spirit for the time being, lest he alert the tiger.
The tiger spirit won't be coming back tonight.
The four of them then returned to the Sun family home and rested for one night.
The next day, after enjoying the scallion pancakes and millet porridge specially made by Grandma Sun, they left the Sun family home satisfied.
The four of them did not continue their journey, but went into the mountains to wait for the tiger spirit to return.
Instead of the tiger spirit, they were greeted by San Yatou's family.
San Yatou used gold and silver to bewitch her family, persuading them to follow her into the mountains to "enjoy a life of luxury."
Not only her family, but other villagers who were also lured in followed suit.
Only Sun Shan's family in the entire village remained unaffected by the temptation.
Grandma Sun said, "There's no such thing as a free lunch! Pie doesn't fall from the sky; if it did, it'd be poisoned. Who knows what's in those mountains?"
Grandma Sun tried to persuade the villagers not to go into the mountains, but the villagers were blinded by the gold in San Yatou's hands and did not listen to Grandma Sun at all.
Sun Shan followed at the back of the group. He wasn't tempted, of course; he just found it strange and wanted to see what was going on.
The four men saw Sun Shan acting suspiciously. They had a good impression of the Sun family, and Sun Shan didn't seem to be tempted. Instead, he seemed to have discovered something was wrong and had come to investigate.
Shan Qing then gave Sun Shan a blessing.
The mountain god's blessing will ensure that Sun Shan is not harmed by the creatures of the mountains.
Although this mountain is not Daqingshan, and the power of the mountain god's blessing has diminished, it can still protect this mortal.
San Yatou's family and villagers saw the magnificent mansion and believed her words even more. They excitedly rushed into the mansion, completely unaware that they had entered a dark and gloomy cave.
They felt that everything inside the house was wonderful, even the air they breathed was sweet, making them want to inhale deeply.
Then, all of them were drugged and knocked unconscious. (End of Chapter)