In the village on Rooster-Crow Mountain, dawn's cooking smoke rose among old trees.
Early the next morning, while night still lingered and the first blush of dawn bloomed on the horizon, Xuanming rose without a sound. Leading his donkey, he found a secluded spot and began drawing in dawn purple qi through his breath.
Only after an hour did he return, saying he had taken the donkey for a walk. After breakfast, Xuanming wandered through Crouching Tiger Village, asking around. He learned that it had once been called Green Mountain Village and had only changed its name ten years ago, when it began worshiping the Mountain Lord.
Some villagers were natives, while others had originally come seeking medicine and treatment, then settled here. All of them stayed because Crouching Tiger Village paid no taxes to the Imperial Court. As long as they regularly made offerings to the Mountain Lord, they need not worry about crushing levies or being bullied. Though the usual household squabbles were unavoidable, they generally lived and worked in peace.
Xuanming also visited the Crouching Tiger Temple. Besides the crouching tiger, it enshrined an Earth God and Earth Goddess. The villagers said they had been the temple's first keepers and were highly respected elders in the village. After their deaths, the Mountain Lord had taken them in and let them cultivate under her.
Later, the Mountain Lord had even bestowed formal divine positions upon them, making them an Earth God and Earth Goddess registered with the Pantheon of Fengyang Commandery. Usually, they were the ones who manifested to help the villagers handle minor affairs.
He had not looked closely the previous night. Only after making his rounds today did he discover that this Mountain Lord was not entirely an unrecognized deity. Perhaps it was because she protected