Humans Can Bully Ghosts and Monsters Too

These days, sword-bearing Scholars were all the rage; there was no saying that readers were too weak to truss a chicken.

Though Lin Jue was a young Scholar, he had grown up in the countryside, running and playing in the mountains since childhood, roughhousing and doing chores. Now, enraged, he gritted his teeth, used all his strength, and held the monster fast.

Lin Jue even felt that it was lighter than an ordinary person, as though he might lift it off the ground.

"Woo woo..."

The monster immediately let out a threatening growl, twisting forcefully in an attempt to break free from Lin Jue's grip.

But just as it turned its head, bared its fangs, and prepared to pretend to bite the youth, it caught a glimpse from the corner of its eye—at such close range, the blazing rage filling the youth's chest and crowding up to his throat looked, in its eyes, as though he held a mouthful of red light like the rising sun. It was terrifying beyond measure.

The monster even felt its face grow hot.

The Yin Qi in its body seemed threatened as well.

"Aw~ aw~ aw~~~"

At once, the mountains rang with sounds like a startled village dog, mixed with frantic cries: "Spare me, Immortal! Don't kill me! Awooo! Don't burn me! I've never harmed anyone!"

Lin Jue saw the terror in its eyes.

"Immortal?"

Could he be called an Immortal too?

After thinking for a moment, Lin Jue understood. The monster was timid and afraid. Seeing that Lin Jue remained calm and fearless before it, and had even taken the initiative to attack, coupled with the fiery breath in his mouth, it had mistaken him for a cultivated master.

Perhaps it even thought he had come to slay demons.

As for its words...

Having been deceived by it twice in a row, Lin Jue naturally did not dare believe it.

Even if it were true, at most this monster had never eaten anyone, never attacked anyone, or injured anyone with its claws, fangs, or demonic arts. But was frightening people here not harming them? That one at the Wang Family Ancestral Hall had been so restrained and cautious, yet there had still been people who prided themselves on being bold and disbelieving in demons and deities who were frightened into illness. Let alone this monster, so hateful that it seemed to frighten people on purpose.

Besides, he was still angry. If Lin Jue truly had cultivation, he would have dearly liked to teach it a proper lesson.

"Spare me, spare me! Awoo, awoo!"

"..."

By now, Lin Jue's fiery rage had reached his mouth, and he held the knife tightly in his left hand. Seeing it like this, he could not help but hesitate.

If the monster had not begged for mercy just then, then in his heedless fury, flames would likely already have burst forth and the knife would already have stabbed into it. But the moment it begged, his anger paused, and he calmed down.

This demon had a fierce face and savage fangs. It did not look easy to deal with. It was skilled in the Transformation Technique and could take human form, so its cultivation did not seem shallow either. If he kept breathing fire at it, he might be able to burn it to death. But once burned, it would surely struggle for its life, while the fiery rage filling his chest could only be spat out seven or eight times. Burning all the fur from its body was quite possible; beyond that, he could probably only injure it.

As for this knife...

Though he now had the courage to fight a monster, this was still only the body of a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old youth, not yet fully grown. Against a monster as large as a person, he might not necessarily win.

Though Lin Jue thought this, he was not afraid, nor did he reveal the slightest timidity. In a deep voice, he said:

"You've never harmed anyone? And I should believe you just because you say so?"

"I've been wronged, Immortal! This is an official road and a trade route. If I harmed people here, I would have been eliminated long ago! Besides, Mount Qi Yun is only a few days' journey from here. If demons, ghosts, and monsters harmed people here, how long could they possibly survive?"

The monster allowed Lin Jue to hold it up. It merely trembled in terror, not daring to struggle in the least.

Even though Lin Jue had already swallowed the fiery rage in his mouth, to it, that only further demonstrated Lin Jue's composure and power.

"Besides, I was originally a house dog, raised by people. I have never bitten anyone even once in my life, and I understood from childhood how formidable humans were. How could I dare harm people?"

"So you're a dog demon!" Lin Jue understood at once. "Huang Quan? Yellow Dog, more like!"

"Y-yes! Woo woo!"

"Then why were you fooling and frightening people here at night? Did you really think your dog guts reached the heavens?"

"This..."

For a moment, the monster could not speak.

It had a furry face, fangs, and the appearance of a wolfhound, yet its eyes were lively. It looked left and right, fidgeted, hemmed and hawed, and only after a long while managed to squeeze out a sentence:

"It's fun... fun... I couldn't help it..."

"Fun?"

"You are human, Immortal. You have companions everywhere and all sorts of things to do. How could you—how could you understand the loneliness and misery of monsters?"

Seeing its eyes beneath the moonlight, Lin Jue could not help but freeze for a moment.

It was not anything else. It was simply that the monster's eyes at this moment truly resembled those house dogs from his memories that liked chasing and frightening passersby, becoming excited when people fled in panic, then timidly leaving or pretending nothing had happened when the passerby stopped and turned to face them.

There was even a touch of pitifulness within that timidity.

All at once, he felt rather dazed—

The talkative man from before had suddenly become a monster, and the seemingly ferocious monster had then become a pitiful dog begging him for mercy. The contrast was truly stark.

This happened to provide him with a way down as well.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Jue let go.

"Hoo..."

The dog demon could not help sighing in relief, but it still turned its head away, not daring to face him directly. It merely stole glances at him from the corner of its eye.

Whenever it glimpsed the knife in his hand, it shuddered.

"How many people did you frighten tonight?"

"J-just two."

"Two besides me?"

"Mm... mm..."

"Why did you pick me out of so many people?"

"Huh? Didn't Immortal come specifically to catch me?" The dog demon froze, but when Lin Jue glared, it did not dare think further and hurriedly answered, "I saw Immortal traveling alone, with no one beside you. And Immortal looked rather young, as though you would be easier to fool and bully..."

"Hmph..."

"Awoo, awoo, awoo~"

"Stop howling! Where did this Mule come from?"

"It was left behind when the person ahead was frightened by me and ran away, abandoning the Mule." The dog demon spoke very softly. "The reason I handed the Mule to Immortal before frightening you was that, after I frightened you, you could take the Mule and run ahead. There is only one place ahead where one can stay the night. Once you arrived there, you would surely meet that person and could return the Mule to him."

"You have such a kind heart?"

"I was a house dog. I know a Mule can be worth more than a human life."

"I'll believe you for now." Lin Jue said coldly, "I have questions for you. If you answer well, I'll let you go."

"Please ask, Immortal..."

"You were a house dog, so how did you become a wild mountain demon?"

"The master of the house died, naturally."

"Then how did you attain cultivation and become a spirit?"

"H-how would I know?" The dog demon immediately looked troubled. "I do not know how it happened. I simply became a spirit naturally and came to understand things. After spending some years in these mountains, I came to understand the Transformation Technique."

"..."

Lin Jue fell silent, processing and pondering.

"How do you transform?"

"Just like this..."

"Transform again and let me see!"

"Y-yes..."

With a sudden whoosh, mist rose beneath the moonlight in the mountains.

Black Mist concealed the dog demon as it quietly changed shape.

Its fierce face and savage fangs vanished, replaced by the appearance of a rather handsome young man.

It was Huang Quan from before.

"?"

Lin Jue frowned slightly.

He felt nothing at all.

He reached his hand into the Black Mist and still felt nothing.

"Where did your Transformation Technique come from? How do you transform? Explain it to me in detail!"

"How could I know that? I was born loving to imitate people. I was like that even when I was a dog—whatever people did, I imitated. I remained the same after gaining intelligence. As time went on, I did not merely imitate people's movements and speech. I somehow became able to roughly transform into a human."

"..." Lin Jue's gaze flickered. Without wasting time, he quickly asked again, "Do you have any other spells or Divine Abilities?"

"I can spit Black Qi that makes people unable to see."

"Other than that."

"N-no more."

"No more?"

"My... my cultivation is low."

"You can already transform into a human, and your cultivation is still low?"

"I don't know either. Besides, my Transformation Technique is truly feeble. I can only transform at night, and it is not a real transformation. It is only because people cannot see clearly at night. Once it gets even a little brighter, people will recognize me."

"..."

Lin Jue did not know whether it was lying.

But there was no way to tell.

He could not help feeling deeply regretful.

Still, he soon asked again, "I am traveling in search of immortals and the Dao. Was what you said before about Mount Qi Yun true?"

"Woo woo..."

The dog demon had originally been thinking, but upon hearing the words "search of immortals and the Dao," it was frightened again and hurriedly replied:

"Every word was true!"

"What abilities do the Daoists on the mountain possess?"

"I do not know..."

"Are there any who have attained Immortal Ascension?"

"I do not know..."

The fear in the dog demon's expression grew ever deeper.

"Are there any who have attained longevity?"

"I... do not know..."

The dog demon's voice suddenly shook, and it trembled like a leaf.

This person spoke of Immortal Ascension and longevity at every turn. How could it possibly know of such matters?

"How can I believe you?"

"Immortal, see clearly! I only deceive people by claiming that I am human. Everything else I heard on the road. If what I said is false, then it was not I who deceived anyone—it was those people who deceived me..."

"The people you frightened?"

"Yes..."

Lin Jue thought again, then continued asking, "Then besides Mount Qi Yun, are there any other Immortal Mountains or cave abodes in this area? Do you know how to get there?"

"In reply to Immortal, I do not know much either. Besides Mount Qi Yun, I have heard that there is another Immortal Mountain nearby, only a few hundred li from here. But that mountain is very remote, and few know of it. The person who told me had only heard of it as well, so I do not know how to get there."

"What is it called?"

"Mount Yi."

"Mount Yi..."

Lin Jue could not help muttering the name.

His brow furrowed as well.

It sounded somewhat familiar.

"Immortal..."

The dog demon secretly studied him.

"You may go. I'll spare you this time. In the future, you are not to frighten people on this road again whenever you please."

"Thank you, Immortal!"

Only then did the dog demon turn around. It did not even release any concealing mist before darting into the bamboo grove and vanishing in an instant, leaving only the continuous rustling of its retreat.

"This thing..."

Lin Jue also sighed in relief.

This monster truly was timid.

Though perhaps its timidity also came partly from understanding human society well enough and lacking sufficient ferocity.

As Lin Jue savored the encounter, he gradually recalled that when this monster had first deceived him and spoken with him, it had often seemed nervous, constrained, and watchful. Especially the second time, not all of that had likely been false. It had truly worried that Lin Jue would not be frightened and would instead turn around and fight it.

When facing monsters, one truly could not show timidity!

One had to be fiercer than them...

"Mount Yi..."

Lin Jue muttered again, committing it to memory.

Suddenly sensing something, he sharply turned his head.

The moonlight still shone over the gravel road, making it white as jade, but several people now stood in the bamboo grove behind him, staring at him.

They had most likely heard nearly all of the conversation just now.

Lin Jue could not see their expressions in the darkness, but they were likely somewhat shocked. He could not imagine anything more detailed than that.

Glancing to the side, Lin Jue was surprised to find that the Mule led over by the monster was still standing beside him. After a brief thought, he bent down and picked up its reins. He did not care whether the people behind him were human or demons, nor did he speculate or worry over such things. He merely turned back and openly invited them:

"Fellow villagers, since we have met, why not travel together and lend one another courage?"

"..."

The group hurried over at once.