Chen Erniu was utterly horrified. A huge, striped Fierce Tiger stood barely two feet away from him.
The savage tiger's head was right beside his own. When it roared, its jaws opened wide as a blood-filled basin, its long fangs bared, tiger eyes fixed intently on him.
He had never heard of a Fierce Tiger this enormous!
It had to be a tiger demon that had cultivated on the mountain.
Thinking of what he had just been saying, Chen Erniu's face went deathly pale.
The Fierce Tiger had come to his door!
The two men trembled as they prostrated themselves on the ground, their mouths ceaselessly begging forgiveness. The huge, terrifying tiger demon let out a roar that shook the forest pavilion. The yellow dog cowered on the ground, barking wildly without pause.
The Fierce Tiger laughed loudly, its roar scattering on the wind.
"Since you spoke no ill of me, I shall forgive you for now."
With that, he stepped past the two men and walked away, gradually becoming a distant figure.
Only the fading echoes remained.
"Since I began cultivating the Way,"
"I have not stained myself with stench or blood,"
"Do you understand?"
Chen Erniu heard the voice grow more and more distant, until at last it was swallowed entirely by the wind. He looked up and saw that the Fierce Tiger had indeed left.
Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
As the tension left him, his body slumped to the ground. He could not lift even a finger. He lay there for a while, his heart pounding, filled with lingering fear.
He had escaped death once again.
The county magistrate's servant came to his senses.
He exclaimed in horror, "That really was a talking Fierce Tiger!"
"Are there really tiger demons on the mountain?!"
To be honest, he had come to Chen Family Village to ask Chen Erniu about his encounter with an immortal only because he had been sent on an errand. The county magistrate wanted to hear the stories. He himself had never believed a word of it.
An encounter with an immortal—what nonsense. And that story about a blue-robed immortal deity subduing a Fierce Tiger? He had thought Chen Erniu made it all up to wheedle money out of people. How could such a thing happen under the county magistrate's rule?
He never expected to actually run into a Fierce Tiger.
Chen Erniu was still shaken. "That roar sounded exactly like the one I heard that day. The tiger didn't die."
"Thank goodness, thank goodness..."
Thank goodness he had not been especially brave, but also had not been so arrogant as to slander spirits, gods, or immortals. He had only added a few details, without making up nonsense about the Fierce Tiger and demons.
In less than half a quarter of an hour, cold sweat had broken out all over his body.
The servant felt a little better. He looked at Chen Erniu and felt they were in the same boat now, having suffered through it together. Still shaken, he needed someone to help settle his nerves.
"Thank goodness that Fierce Tiger knows how to tell people apart. I nearly thought I was about to be eaten... Phew, that was truly terrifying."
At a teahouse in the city,
four scholars were drinking tea to beat the heat.
Quite a few people sat in the teahouse. Some were laborers who had worked hard all day and stopped to rest their feet, drinking a bowl of cheap tea that cost one coin to fill their bellies. Others were traveling merchants, dusty from the road and fairly wealthy; they were invited upstairs for fine tea while the waiters looked after their horses. Most were local residents of Xiangyang, gathered in groups of three or four to chat, gossip, and discuss the strange happenings of recent days.
Several people gathered around the scholars.
Dai Xiu held a teacup in one hand and was telling them how fearsome the Fierce Tiger was.
"That Fierce Tiger on the mountain is a real menace. Not only does it eat a person every month..."
Everyone listened with bated breath, as if the terrifying Fierce Tiger were right beside them. Their expressions shifted along with Dai Xiu and the others' tale.
It took a full half an hour for Dai Xiu to finish. He drank the fine tea the shopkeeper had given him to soothe his throat, then said,
"That's all for today."
He brushed his sleeve across the table, casually sweeping up the spare coins before him.
He slipped into an alley, where he split the money with the other three.
Wang Zishen carefully counted it all before tucking his share into his robe. "I never thought we could make money this way. It's a pretty good gig."
"We have those Fierce Tigers on the mountain to thank for it."
Another man took his share.
Frowning, he thought for a moment, then asked hesitantly, "Did that Fierce Tiger really die? If it's still alive, it won't be easy to deal with."
Dai Xiu smiled. "What are you afraid of? Didn't they say some expert subdued it?"
Wang Zishen chimed in to reassure him.
"Even if it's still alive, would a beast understand human speech?"
The four split the money in the alley, each putting away his share before preparing to leave.
"ROAR——"
A deafening tiger's roar suddenly sounded beside them.
It made their ears tingle.
A huge Fierce Tiger appeared outside the alley, its eyes cold and sharp as it stared at the four men within.
"I've found you!"
"Have you heard? Those scholars who used to tell stories have disappeared. No one knows where they went. Their stories were terrifying, but after a few days without hearing them, I've actually started missing them."
"I heard they were frightened out of their wits on the mountain and fell seriously ill. They're recovering now."
"Hm? Why did they suddenly go up the mountain?"
"How would I know? They told those kinds of stories day in and day out. The mountain's Spirit Demons might have taken offense. It wouldn't be impossible for one of them to teach them a lesson."
"Wasn't there supposed to be an immortal, too? Where did that immortal go?"
Jiang She set down his teacup and beckoned the waiter over.
"Check, please."
"You look unfamiliar, sir." The waiter swiftly surveyed the cups and snacks on the table, then quickly calculated the cost. "That'll be sixteen coins."
Jiang She set the money on the table.
"Thank you."
"You're too kind, sir. Take care, and please come again."
After passing the afternoon outside, Jiang She returned to the courtyard and exchanged greetings with Yuan Danqiu before opening the notebook.
He had overheard a few words at the teahouse earlier, which had given him an idea.
The writing that had appeared in the notebook before had described the experiences of a hunter in the mountains. Would it also contain a record of those scholars being frightened by the mountain beasts a few days later?
He opened the book.
Sure enough, several more lines had appeared on the page.
"Before long, the tale of the immortal spread throughout the city. Then rumors arose that a tiger demon dwelt in the mountains, fierce and accustomed to devouring people.
"The mountain tiger heard what they were saying and came down from the mountain. Seeing that the hunters had spoken the truth, it spared them. A group of scholars, however, had made up many tales of the tiger's savagery. Out of respect for the immortal, it did not take their lives. It severed the leader's arm and left the rest so terrified that they lay sick for a month."
This was what had happened after the hunter encountered the immortal that day.
Jiang She looked at the writing in the notebook.
"This really does feel like a historian's brush."
In some strange way, it felt like reading a legendary tale. He wondered whether, once this journey was over, the notebook would be filled with stories.
The sky was gradually darkening. Clouds blew in on the wind, pressing low over half the sky. It looked like a heavy rainstorm was in store for the evening.
The litter of kittens on the wall had slipped out from the neighboring house to play again. They were a little bigger than before, round-headed and lively, climbing up the tree. They were greedy, too; they even reached up to paw at the leaves overhead and took a few bites.
Jiang She happened to have some free time.
He sat at the table and watched for a while.
He beckoned with one hand. The kitten seemed only then to notice the person sitting there, so much larger than itself. Its fur stood on end, its back arched, and its round eyes stayed fixed on him.
It was beginning to show the bearing of a little Mountain Lord.
Jiang She went to the kitchen, fetched some chopped meat, rinsed off the salt, and held it out.
The kitten jumped in fright.
It sniffed several times, eyes fixed on the meat.
"Go on, eat."
The kitten kept sneaking glances at him as it edged forward a few steps. At last, unable to resist the meat's aroma, it forgot its fear and began nibbling, not knowing how to bite.
It purred softly.
Jiang She could not help laughing.
"Creak—"
The door opened behind him, followed by a flurry of footsteps. They saw Jiang She amusing himself with the kitten.
"Jiang... Mr. Jiang."
"What day is it now?"
Li Bai emerged from the room, hastily pulling on a white robe. His hair was a little mussed, but he looked radiant.
When he woke, he had thought he was still at a banquet of spirits and ghosts. The sounds of laughter and conversation with demons and ghosts still rang in his ears. Only when he saw the familiar rafters did he come to his senses and realize he was home.
After being dead drunk for several days, Li Bai had finally woken up.
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