"So this Ask Dao Sect is really powerful?" the old hunter asked.
"It's not Ask Dao-er Sect. It's Ask Dao Sect," Qi Wu corrected the old hunter's accent.
"Tomorrow, when we reach Qinghuai Commandery, we'll write a letter and send it to the Five Great Immortal Sects, asking them to help." Qi Wu had asked Dai Bufan about the process when they met.
At the time, he'd been marveling that local officials with no cultivation were so high and mighty, while disciples of the immortal sects, who stayed out of the mortal world, were surprisingly much more approachable.
But Qi Wu had no idea what status Dai Bufan held in the Ask Dao Sect. He assumed Dai was just an ordinary disciple.
If he'd known Dai Bufan's identity and cultivation, he'd have had a lot more to marvel at.
The old hunter was overjoyed. He hurriedly thanked Qi Wu and the others, even saying that if they really dealt with the tiger demon, he wouldn't charge them for guiding them, either. Qi Wu quickly refused, saying that wouldn't do.
It wasn't that they didn't want to save money. They just didn't know whether the old hunter was merely being polite or meant it.
"Sorry to trouble you, but I was caught in a heavy rainstorm while traveling. Could I stay here for one night?"
A graceful figure broke through the curtain of rain. She wore a green dress and a lotus skirt, and a hint of sorrow lingered between her brows, making people want to grant her request without thinking.
Everyone turned to look at A-Yue. The moment he said there'd be a female ghost, one really showed up. Had this kid's mouth been blessed by the gods?
"No!" Qi Wu immediately refused the young woman in green.
There wasn't a village ahead or behind, and a woman this beautiful had suddenly appeared in the depths of the mountains. Given what the old hunter had just said, Qi Wu had no choice but to be suspicious.
Most importantly, the young woman in green was dry!
Outside, the rain was pouring as if the heavens were dumping water. How could she possibly be dry?
The young woman in green grew slightly indignant. These people seemed well-read, yet they spoke in such an offensive manner.
"You're being unreasonable! This Mountain God Temple has no owner, and you're only here to take shelter from the rain. It's pouring outside—do you expect me to keep my spell up and block the rain forever?!"
"A spell? Are you a cultivator?" Qi Wu's voice turned cautious. Most cultivators treated ordinary people kindly, but if they were provoked, there was no telling what they might do.
He began to hesitate.
The old hunter, however, remained firm. Drawing on years of experience living in the mountains, he was sure there was something wrong with the young woman in green, though he softened his tone. "Esteemed cultivator, you're a woman, and we're eight grown men. It wouldn't look good for us to share a temple."
"How about this? There's a mountain path to the north. Halfway up, there's a wooden hut we hunters put up temporarily. For someone of your abilities, it's just a few steps away."
The old hunter wasn't lying. There really was a wooden hut there. It simply wasn't big enough for all of them, which was why he'd brought Qi Wu and the others to the Mountain God Temple for shelter.
The young woman in green thought it over and decided the old hunter had a point. She was a woman, and although she didn't fuss over propriety while traveling the world, why stay in a drafty temple when there was a better option?
After the young woman in green left, everyone let out a long breath of relief, afraid she might turn into a tiger with glaring eyes and eat them.
"All right, go to sleep. We'll have to get up early tomorrow, so we'd better rest. I never want to come back to this godforsaken place." Qi Wu yawned. His eyelids were already drooping, and he could barely keep his eyes open.
Qi Wu had wanted to sleep with his head facing inward, toward the Mountain God statue, but he felt there was something off about it and didn't dare get too close. So he had everyone sleep with their heads toward the door instead.
Once they'd assigned pairs to take turns keeping watch, everyone fell asleep.
After they were all asleep, the Mountain God statue's eyes shifted. Its gaze lowered and fixed on them.
No one noticed.
A-Yue yawned, his vision blurry as if he might doze off at any moment. He and another man were on the first watch.
"I'm so sleepy. I really want to sleep."
"Hang in there. You heard what they said—the mountains aren't safe..."
"Right, I can't sleep. I'm still waiting for a female ghost to sneak up on me."
"You're average-looking. Didn't the book say female ghosts like handsome men? She should sneak up on me instead."
"Female ghosts like scholars. How many days have you even spent studying? They like someone like me, who's read the classics inside and out."
The two men began whispering and arguing over a female ghost who didn't even exist. The longer they talked, the more awake they became.
Suddenly, a deep roar rang out. Not even the rain and thunder could drown it out. Both men shuddered and jolted awake.
Just as they wondered if they'd imagined it, another deep roar sounded, much closer!
"It's that tiger demon!" The two exchanged a glance, seeing the fear in each other's eyes.
"Everyone, get up! There's a monster!" A-Yue shouted urgently.
Everyone woke with a start and gripped their weapons, staring fixedly outside the temple. Cold sweat poured from their foreheads, and their legs trembled uncontrollably.
The roars stopped, replaced by heavy breathing. It was easy to imagine what a colossal beast the breaths belonged to.
A shadow appeared in the rain. It grew larger and larger, leaving everyone anxious and trembling.
An enormous tiger's head pushed through the curtain of rain and stretched into the Mountain God Temple. Qi Wu could even make out every single strand of fur!
The tiger demon stepped fully into the temple. Everyone's backs prickled with sweat as they saw that the tiger was four meters long!
The tiger demon braced its hind legs and actually stood upright!
"Old Sun, what do we do now?" Qi Wu asked in a low voice. There was no way the wooden sticks they carried could defeat this tiger demon.
But the old hunter walked straight toward the tiger demon and bowed. "Please, Your Lordship, enjoy your meal."
"Mm. Well done." The tiger demon spoke in human words. No one knew how powerful it was.
Qi Wu glared at the old hunter, so furious he wanted to tear him apart with his bare hands.
The young woman in green wasn't a ghost servant. The old hunter, who'd been with them all along, was!
The tiger demon wore a humanlike smile as it sneered, "I didn't want to eat you at first. There are too many of you, and if you all died, the outside world might take notice. But I can't help it—you actually planned to tell the Five Great Immortal Sects about me. I can't let you leave alive!"
As it spoke, the tiger demon pinned the old hunter down with one paw. "And you—will you never stop running your mouth? You just had to tell them a story, then make me come out and clean up after you. Do I have to kill you again?"
The old hunter begged for mercy, promising he wouldn't do it again.
The tiger demon snorted. "You did earn some credit by driving that female cultivator away. Your merits and faults cancel each other out. I'll let you off this time!"
The tiger demon had no habit of playing with its prey. It bent down and examined Qi Wu closely, its throat making a rattling sound as if it had phlegm stuck in it. "You're the smartest one here. If you're willing to join me, I can refine you into a ghost servant—not dead, but not alive, either."
By then, Qi Wu wasn't afraid anymore. He pointed at the old hunter and laughed scornfully. "If I'd be running around harming people like him, I'd rather be dead! Pah!"
"Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit!" The tiger demon had never been insulted like that. It flew into a rage, and waves of sound spread out, shaking the temple roof as if it were about to collapse.
The tiger demon stopped trying to persuade him. It opened its enormous, bloody maw and pounced at them. Qi Wu closed his eyes, waiting for death to come.
Just then, a gentleman's sword appeared between the tiger demon and Qi Wu. Its blade blazed like the sun at dawn, dazzlingly bright, and sliced across the tiger demon's cheek.
"Who!?" the tiger demon roared.
"Your Mountain God Grandpa!"
Before you continue