"So this Dao Seekin' Sect is really incredible?" the old hunter asked.
"It's not Dao Seekin' Sect; it's the Dao Seeking Sect," Qi Wu corrected the old hunter's accent.
"Once we reach Qinghuai Commandery tomorrow, we'll write a letter and send it to the Five Great Immortal Sects to ask for their help." Qi Wu had asked Dai Bufan about the procedure when they met back then.
Back then, he had marvelled at how local officials—possessing negligible cultivation—put on lofty airs, while disciples of immortal sects who stood aloof from the mortal realm turned out to be far more approachable.
Even so, Qi Wu had no idea of Dai Bufan's standing within the Dao Seeking Sect, assuming he was merely an ordinary sect disciple.
Had he actually known Dai Bufan's true identity and cultivation realm, simple marveling hardly would have cut it.
Overjoyed, the old hunter hurried to thank Qi Wu and the others, even offering to waive his guide fee entirely if they could truly resolve the tiger demon. Qi Wu quickly waved his hands, refusing the offer.
It wasn't that they didn't want to save money; they simply couldn't tell whether the old hunter was merely being polite or speaking from the heart.
"Excuse me, kind sirs. I was caught in the heavy rain while traveling—might I take shelter here for the night?"
A graceful figure broke through the veil of rain. Clad in a green robe over a lotus-patterned skirt, a faint melancholy lingered between her brows, making one instinctively want to grant her request.
The men turned in unison to stare at A'yue. Mention a female ghost, and one actually showed up—was this kid's mouth blessed or cursed?
"No!" Qi Wu immediately rejected the green-clad young woman's request.
With no village ahead and no inn behind, a stunning beauty suddenly appearing in the deep wilderness left him no choice but to be suspicious, especially after what the old hunter had just said.
Most crucially, this green-clad young woman was completely dry!
Outside, the heavens were pouring like buckets overturned; how could she possibly be dry?
The green-clad maiden frowned with slight indignation, finding it incredibly rude that men who looked somewhat educated could speak so discourteously.
"How unreasonable! Not only does this Mountain God Temple have no master, but you are merely taking shelter from the rain here as well. It's pouring outside—do you expect me to keep sustaining a spell just to keep the rain off?!"
"A spell... You're a cultivator?" Qi Wu grew cautious with his words. While most cultivators treated mortals gently, if one truly offended them, there was no telling what they might do.
He began to hesitate.
The old hunter, however, remained resolute. Drawing on decades of experience living in the mountains, he felt certain something was off with this girl, though his tone was far more tactful: "Esteemed cultivator, you are a cultivator and a woman. Sharing a temple with eight rough men would hardly sound proper if word got out.
"How about this? There is a mountain path leading north. Halfway up that path stands a wooden shack we hunters built as a temporary shelter. For an expert like yourself, that distance is only a few strides away."
The old hunter wasn't lying; there really was a wooden shack there. However, it couldn't hold so many people, which was why he had brought Qi Wu's group to the Mountain God Temple to shelter from the rain.
The green-clad maiden considered this and found the old hunter's words sensible. Though as a woman traveling the world she didn't fuss over minor proprieties, why stay in a drafty, dilapidated temple when a better option was available?
After she left, everyone breathed a long sigh of relief, terrified that she might have turned into a white-browed tiger and devoured them.
"Alright, everyone get some sleep. Rest up well; we have to wake early and hit the road tomorrow. I don't ever want to come back to this godforsaken place," Qi Wu said with a yawn. His eyelids were drooping heavily, fighting to stay open.
Qi Wu had originally intended to sleep facing inward, but that would mean facing the mountain god statues. Constantly feeling something was off about them, he didn't dare get too close, so he told everyone to sleep with their heads toward the door.
After setting up pairs for the night watch, the men drifted off to sleep.
Once everyone was asleep, the eyes of the mountain god statue shifted slightly, gazing downward to stare at the sleeping men.
No one noticed.
...
A'yue yawned, his vision blurring as if he might doze off at any second. He and another companion were on the first night watch.
"So sleepy... I really want to sleep."
"Endure it. You heard what he said—these mountains aren't safe..."
"Right, I can't sleep. I'm still waiting for a female ghost to ambush me in the night."
"You're plain-looking. Haven't you read the books? Female ghosts like handsome men. If anything, she should come after me."
"Female ghosts like scholars! How many days have you even spent reading? Female ghosts prefer someone like me, thoroughly versed in the sages' writings!"
The two bickered in hushed tones over the imaginary ghost, growing more alert the more they talked.
Suddenly, a low, deep roar echoed. Not even the sheeting rain and crashing thunder could drown it out. Both men shuddered, jolted wide awake.
Just as they wondered if they were hallucinating, another low roar came—closer this time!
"It's the tiger demon!" They exchanged glances, seeing the sheer terror in each other's eyes.
"Wake up! There's a monster!" A'yue shouted in panic.
The others jolted awake from their sleep, gripping their weapons tightly as they stared fixedly outside the temple. Cold sweat poured down their foreheads, and their legs shook uncontrollably.
The roars ceased, replaced by heavy, rasping breaths. From the sheer weight of that breathing, it was easy to imagine what kind of colossal beast was out there.
A shadow emerged in the rain, swelling larger and larger. Their hearts hung in their throats, trembling with dread.
An enormous tiger head pushed through the curtain of rain and leaned toward the Mountain God Temple. Qi Wu could even see each individual bristle on the tiger's head with terrifying clarity!
The tiger demon stepped its entire body into the temple, sending chills down everyone's spines. It was a tiger a full four meters long!
Pushing off with its hind legs, it actually stood upright!
"Old Sun, what do we do now?" Qi Wu whispered. There was no way the wooden cudgels in their hands could defeat such a tiger demon.
To everyone's shock, the old hunter walked straight toward the tiger demon, bowed, and said, "Tiger Lord, please enjoy your meal."
"Mm, well done," the tiger demon said in human speech, its cultivation realm unknown.
Qi Wu glared until his eyes nearly burst with fury, wishing he could tear the old hunter to pieces with his bare hands.
That green-clad maiden wasn't a chang ghost—the old hunter who had been by their side all along was!
The tiger demon showed a chillingly human grin and sneered, "Originally, I had no desire to eat you all. After all, there are so many of you; if you all died, it might draw outside attention. But alas, you actually dared to think of reporting my existence to the Five Great Immortal Sects. Then none of you can be allowed to live!"
As it spoke, the tiger demon pinned the old hunter down with a massive paw. "And you! You never change your meddlesome habit of babbling. You just had to tell those stories and force me to come clean up the mess. Do you want me to kill you a second time?"
The old hunter begged desperately for mercy, crying that he wouldn't dare do it again.
The tiger demon snorted. "Chasing off that female cultivator counts in your favor. Merits cancel faults, so I won't punish you this time!"
The tiger demon was not in the habit of toying with its prey. It leaned down and studied Qi Wu closely, a rattling rasp in its throat as if choked with phlegm: "You're the cleverest among them. If you are willing to serve under me, I can refine you into a chang ghost—neither dead nor alive."
At this point, Qi Wu was no longer afraid. Pointing at the old hunter, he sneered repeatedly, "To harm people everywhere just like him? I'd rather die! Ptui!"
"Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit!" When had the tiger demon ever suffered such an insult? Flaring into a violent rage, shockwaves of sound rippled outward, shaking the temple roof so violently it seemed about to collapse.
The tiger demon urged him no more. Opening its bloody maw, it lunged at the group. Qi Wu closed his eyes, awaiting the arrival of death.
Right at that moment, a Gentleman's Sword thrust between the tiger demon and Qi Wu. Sword light bloomed like the morning sun, dazzlingly brilliant, slashing across the tiger demon's cheek.
"Who's there?!" the tiger demon roared in fury.
"Your Grandpa Mountain God!"
Chapter 43