Everyone was looking forward to it.
After all, they had seen with their own eyes how the old immortal at the head of the group had murmured a spell and conjured a fireball out of thin air.
Though it was only the size of a baby's fist, it had easily brought the county yamen's enormous, person-high water vat to a full boil.
They said it was some wondrous immortal art called the Fireball Technique.
The people didn't understand it, but they assumed it must be incredibly powerful.
Surely it could subdue demons and exorcise evil, avenging the innocent people the tiger demon had devoured.
They all addressed him as Immortal Master.
Then, after the county magistrate personally toasted him with three cups of wine, the Immortal Master took his young disciple and went into the mountains to subdue the demon.
And then... nothing.
The people waited from dawn until sunset, yet still didn't see the Immortal Master come out.
Just as they were growing anxious, a tiger's roar suddenly rang out.
It echoed through the mountains, and fierce winds sprang up.
Sand and dust blinded their eyes. As the saying went, clouds followed the dragon, and wind followed the tiger. The saying was indeed no exaggeration.
In an instant, birds burst from the forest, and countless wild beasts were so terrified they collapsed on the spot.
From the peak known as Jingyang Ridge burst a gigantic tiger demon, its body a full three zhang long.
The people waiting at the foot of the mountain for the Immortal Master's triumphant return trembled so badly their legs nearly gave way. They wanted to run, but it felt as if all their strength had been drained from their bodies; they couldn't take a single step.
Only one thought filled their minds: Could the Immortal Master have failed to subdue the demon, only to enrage the tiger demon and send it down the mountain to take revenge?
Their bodies went limp, but the tiger demon's eyes were bloodshot, and it seemed even angrier than they were. It roared furiously, "You lot have some nerve! You actually sent a thief into my cave to steal my treasures. Do you not know how sharp my claws and fangs are?"
The people stared at one another in utter bewilderment, left speechless.
So the Immortal Master they'd sought hadn't gone to subdue the demon at all. He'd taken their gold and silver for travel expenses, then, while he was at it, robbed the tiger demon's lair too?
That so-called Immortal Master was actually a thief and a fraud?
The people groaned in despair. They'd truly been done in by that man.
In the past, though the tiger demon had done evil, it had never come down from the mountain. But now they'd stirred up a hornet's nest, making it break that rule.
The tiger demon had clearly been driven out of its mind with rage.
It knew perfectly well that it could get away with occasionally eating one or two unlucky souls who ventured into the mountains, but if it dared to wreak havoc in the city, it would cross a major line, and experts from the immortal sects would surely come to subdue it.
But now, with its stomach twisted in anger, it no longer cared. It had spent a hundred years acquiring that treasure, and now the thief had stolen it.
How could it swallow this grievance?
It could destroy the city, then flee elsewhere. Did it really think the experts of the immortal sects would hunt it down for the sake of a bunch of mortals?
With a roar, the tiger demon snorted.
Whoosh...
A stream of white mist flowed out.
Then, indistinct at first, it transformed into one lifelike figure after another.
There were mountain wanderers, hunters, soldiers, and merchants.
They were all mortals it had devoured in recent days, whose souls it had then bound and turned into malicious spirits.
"Go!"
At the tiger demon's roar, the malicious spirits twisted their faces and pounced forward, consumed by jealousy toward the living.
The people had already collapsed to the ground. Even those who hadn't come to watch couldn't escape: the county town was remote, and the only road out passed through Jingyang Ridge.
Now, seeing the tiger demon's savagery, they realized it was about to slaughter them all.
The people were overcome with regret, and their hearts filled with despair.
Unable to flee, some fell to their knees and kowtowed, begging for mercy.
Others began praying to every god and Buddha under heaven, hoping for a miracle—for an immortal to descend and save them.
The world was full of every kind of person.
The tiger demon only sneered.
Begging for mercy was useless. As for praying for an immortal's help, give it a rest. Did they really think they could lay eyes on a True Immortal?
Seeing how terrified everyone was seemed to ease its frustration over the stolen treasure. It was about to leap into the air and let out a long roar.
But as soon as it raised its head, the roar caught in its throat.
A streak of light flashed across the sky.
"What is...?"
It hadn't gotten a clear look.
But instinctively, it felt afraid.
A fear rising from the depths of its soul, as though carved into it.
The tiger demon could no longer roar.
It saw only a flash of silver.
It came from the highest heavens and swallowed the demon whole.
The demonic aura around its body melted like snow in spring.
Clang...
Only then did it seem to hear the metallic ring of a blade being drawn from its sheath.
The immortal sword didn't linger. It rode a beam of spiritual light and rode the astral wind away into the distance.
After a long while, the people at the foot of the mountain finally came to their senses.
Their faces were still full of fear and unease.
But gradually, a thought rose in their minds.
Had they... been saved?
"Thank you, Immortal!"
"Thank you, Great Immortal!"
"Thank you for saving us from suffering!"
Ordinary mortals couldn't have seen that sword strike, but they knew that an expert—or even a True Immortal—must have saved them.
Overjoyed, they kowtowed again and again.
Little did they know that the True Immortal they were thanking and worshipping was currently at the Founder's Shrine, humming as he swept the floor.
A tranquil mountain village.
It was evening, and wisps of cooking smoke rose from houses throughout the village.
The farmers had all shouldered their hoes and headed home.
Just then, a gigantic field rat suddenly emerged from the fields.
Calling it a field rat hardly did it justice; it was as big as a wild boar.
Its whole body was covered in gray fur, each strand stiff as a thorn, and a misty gray demonic aura hung around it.
It glanced at the houses in the distance, but in the end, it burrowed back into the fields. Clutching a chunk of radish, it began to gnaw away.
As it ate, it wept.
Large tears fell one after another, as though it had remembered something heartbreaking.
Before its intelligence had awakened, stealing a piece of radish and avoiding hunger would have made it happy enough.
But ever since it became part of the Demon Race and ate a few farmers, it had learned that, for demons, human beings were the finest food in the world.
It used to go hunting in the village every few days.
But for the past two or three days, it hadn't dared show its face.
It had heard that an immortal sword had appeared out of nowhere.
Though it was made of wood, its Sword Qi soared into the heavens, unstoppable.
Many of its fellow demons in the mountains had fallen to it, and even the old flood dragon in the Xian River ahead had been slain.
At first, some demon kings had bristled and tried to fight back, but without exception, they'd walked straight into the tiger's jaws and been slaughtered with ease.
In the end, no demon dared show its face anymore.
It didn't dare go hunting in the village either, since that would be pure suicide.
After starving for two days, it couldn't hold out any longer, so it had decided to sneak into the fields and steal some sweet potatoes and radishes.
It ate and cried. It really was easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but hard to go from extravagance back to frugality. After getting used to life as a demon, grabbing a person for a snack every few days, sweet potatoes and radishes tasted bland and dull.
But what could it do? It might be a glutton, but it didn't want to lose its life.
It would fill its belly quickly, then go back to its cave and sleep.
Hopefully, when it woke up, that hateful immortal sword would have left.
But just as it thought this, silver light spilled down from above.
The radish dropped from its claws, and tears welled up in the field rat demon's eyes once more.
What a miserable time to be a demon. I haven't hurt anyone. I was hungry, so I came to the fields to eat one radish. What's wrong with that? Do I have to be slain for this too? Is there any justice?
I'm so miserable. I'm so sad.
At last, a tear fell into the dirt, and the field rat demon's body and demonic aura vanished with it.
Before you continue