The Fallen Mountain God

The caravan leader approached with two silver ingots in his hands and bowed in gratitude.

"Captain, my name is Wu Sanpeng. I have no way to repay you for saving our lives, so please accept this silver as a small token of my thanks."

"No need for formalities. Got any wine?"

Yan Chixiao waved a hand. "I've had meat but no wine all along the road. My mouth's so bland a bird could hatch in it."

"Yes, yes, we do."

Wu Sanpeng beamed. Their entire group risked their lives on a trading trip for barely a dozen taels of profit. Naturally, saving that silver was much better.

Yan Chixiao gulped down the wine in one go and let out a long breath.

"That hit the spot. This wine is rich in yang energy. Good stuff."

"There's more, there's more."

Wu Sanpeng took out all the bamboo tubes. His bundle also contained bags of black dog blood, black donkey hooves, an ink marker and inked cord, and a jumble of talismans...

Zhou Yi noticed that Du Si had fallen silent, his face clouded with dejection and bewilderment.

"Young Master Du, what's wrong?"

"Brother Zhou, I've studied for ten years, yet in the end I still need others to protect me. When I encounter demons, all I can do is bare my neck for slaughter."

Du Si asked in confusion, "My father wanted me to learn martial arts back then. Did I make the wrong choice?"

Zhou Yi comforted him. "There's never been a right or wrong choice between scholarly and martial pursuits. The great Confucian scholars of Jixia Academy can make their words become law, rivaling the immortal masters of Buddhism and Daoism. Demons and ghosts turn to ash and smoke before them."

Zhou Yi knew little about the specific cultivation methods of the Hundred Schools, such as the Confucian, Daoist, and Legalist Schools. The magical battles he had witnessed in demons' memories were far too fantastical.

Cultivators of the Confucian, Daoist, and Legalist Schools below the third grade possessed certain wondrous methods, but were not particularly strong in magical combat. Their abilities mostly served supporting functions.

Once they reached the upper third grade, a qualitative transformation occurred at once. Confucians wielded their vast righteous energy, Legalists made their words become law, and the painting path of the Miscellaneous School was even more marvelous-a veritable Ma Liang with his magic brush.

Zhou Yi had once asked Zhang Cheng about it, but he knew little either. He only said that the Hundred Schools cultivated the heart. After ten, twenty, or thirty years of cultivating the heart, a single moment of enlightenment could condense a yin spirit.

The Hundred Schools did not call this Spirit Refining, but Establishing Destiny.

Du Si shook his head repeatedly. "I'm a dull student. I wouldn't dare dream of becoming a great Confucian scholar."

"Who in this world is truly dull, and who is truly clever? More often than not, those are merely excuses for laziness and lack of effort."

Zhou Yi said, "Mastery grows through diligence and withers through play; character is formed through reflection and ruined by blindly following."

Du Si grew visibly excited at these words and bowed deeply to Zhou Yi.

"Thank you for your guidance, Teacher Zhou. Your student Shouren will engrave it upon his heart."

"Shouren... is that your courtesy name?"

"Yes, teacher. Is something wrong?"

"If you ever meet someone with the courtesy name Bo'an, give him a vicious beating for me. Don't hold back."

Zhou Yi emphasized, "No need to beat him to death. Half-crippled will do."

Du Si had never struck anyone, but in ancient times, even a single word of instruction could make someone a teacher. Now that he owed fourteen times that teacher-student bond, wouldn't refusing make him a hypocritical scoundrel?

"I'll remember, teacher. I'll beat his face into full bloom."

"Ha ha!"

Imagining the scene, Zhou Yi couldn't help laughing. He would have to hide in a corner and witness it himself.

Yan Chixiao's arrival put everyone at ease, and even the bleak chill lingering in the temple dissipated.

Wu Sanpeng asked, "Captain, are you going to Hengyang to catch ghosts?"

Yan Chixiao nodded. "I heard ghosts were causing trouble in Hengyang. Since I happened to have time, I decided to go take a look."

"This world really has gone to the ghosts."

Wu Sanpeng sighed. Since Yan Chixiao had just saved everyone's lives, he spoke much more freely. "We went to Hengyang a little while ago. Apparently, it's been haunted more than once. Whole households get wiped out at the drop of a hat. It's terrible."

A merchant named Shuanzi chimed in. "Luckily, we have the officials of the Demon-Slaying Bureau. Whenever ghosts attack, they never escape. They're subdued and taken away on the spot..."

"Hm?"

Zhou Yi raised an eyebrow and asked, "Subdued on the spot?"

"Plenty of ordinary folk in Hengyang saw it clearly. They say immortal masters were performing spells, too. How could those ghosts escape?"

Shuanzi said with certainty, "The prefect really is a good official. The people call him the ghost-catching Just Judge, and the prefecture's distinguished elders presented him with a Ten-Thousand-People Umbrella."

"The Demon-Slaying Bureau branches in prefectural cities all have magical treasures that can detect demons over a wide area. But operating them consumes a great deal of energy, so they normally only use them for tracking, and conduct a scan once a month at most."

Yan Chixiao explained, "If the prefect is willing to keep it running every moment, the ghosts in Hengyang naturally have nowhere to hide."

"I see."

The explanation stirred Zhou Yi's interest. If the key components of such a Dharma Artifact could be miniaturized and made accessible to the public, perhaps ordinary people could avoid being harmed by demons.

The three chatted around the fire. Yan Chixiao slew demons and fiends, Wu Sanpeng traveled far and wide, and Zhou Yi possessed extensive knowledge.

From common folk to the imperial court, from the Capital to the countryside, from northern provinces to southern prefectures, the more they talked, the better they got along.

Of all the world's learning, none was harder to contend with than talk aboard a night boat. Of all the world's stories, none was more interesting than encounters between travelers from north and south.

Meeting two or three travelers in the nighttime rain on a desolate mountain, sitting on the ground to talk of heaven and earth, then parting north and south afterward with only the lingering memory-it was truly one of life's great pleasures.

The mountain rain continued for nearly another hour before finally easing to a stop.

Having rested, the merchants packed their belongings, unwilling to linger any longer in a monster-haunted temple.

Coiled Snake Mountain had an official road and no sheer cliffs, so traveling at night with torches was not dangerous.

"Lord Yan, Lord Zhou, we'll head south with Young Master Du."

Wu Sanpeng cupped his hands in farewell. "If fate brings us together again, we'll find a tavern and drink our fill."

Zhou Yi smiled. "It has to be an old tavern tucked into an alley. The wine at the Spring Breeze Pavilion in the Capital is so weak that you can't get drunk however much you drink. They must water it down."

"Absolutely, absolutely!"

The merchants roared with laughter, feeling that this Lord Zhou's words somehow made them both annoyed and amused.

"Teacher, once I reach the Capital, I'll be sure to visit you at the Demon-Slaying Bureau."

Du Si said farewell and followed the caravan toward the edge of the mountain.

"Captain Yan, let's set off too. The sooner we reach Hengyang, the more likely we are to save another household."

Zhou Yi mounted his chestnut horse, whistled, and galloped north.

"Fine horsemanship!"

Yan Chixiao's mount resembled a horse, yet was not quite one. Black scales covered its neck and four hooves, and standing still, it towered three or four feet above the chestnut horse.

Even so, when Yan Chixiao mounted it, he looked like a hulking man riding a little lamb.

Neigh!

The Scale Horse raced like the wind. When it encountered a boulder, it did not turn aside, but leaped straight over.

Had the chestnut horse not been reinforced with magical power, it would have fallen far behind the Scale Horse in moments.

They rode for more than ten li.

Zhou Yi suddenly reined in his horse, clutching his stomach with a frown.

"Captain Yan, I caught a chill in the rain earlier. Wait a moment for me."

With that, he dismounted, slipped into the bushes, and squatted beneath a tree to relieve himself.

Yan Chixiao caught a powerful stench. His dark face changed slightly, and he couldn't help urging his horse far away.

Only an avatar formed of magical power remained squatting in the bushes. Zhou Yi had already transformed into a streak of light and returned to the mountain god's temple.

The winding mountain road stretched more than ten li, but the straight-line distance was only three to five li. He arrived in an instant.

Looking down from high above, Zhou Yi saw that the dilapidated mountain god's temple had become a magnificent palace, exactly like the illusion conjured by the weasel spirit.

Dozens upon dozens of jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards crouched around the palace. Each was far larger and sturdier than its kind, with crimson eyes and killing intent swirling around it.

A majestic, solemn voice rang out from the hall. "They dared kill this god's maidservant! Bring that group back alive. This god will deal with them personally!"

Awooo-

Roar-

The mountain beasts roared in response, rose, and bounded south.

Streaks of sword light descended from the sky, dazzling as falling meteors.

Before the beasts could even scream, they were silently severed in two. Their front halves were still racing onward while their hindquarters had already fallen to the ground.

"Who goes there?!"

An enraged roar came from the hall.

Zhou Yi descended in a streak of light and stood at the palace entrance.

Inside, a golden divine statue sat upright, with handsome male and beautiful female attendants standing on either side. Only the women on the right were missing one of their number.

"I wondered how that feeble weasel spirit could cast such an exquisite illusion. Sure enough, someone was pulling the strings behind the scenes."

"It's you!"

The statue's expression changed. Golden divine light spread in every direction, but found no trace of Yan Chixiao.

"Don't bother looking. It's just me."

Holding the Purple Ying Sword, Zhou Yi pointed at the statue and demanded,

"Since you were granted the title of mountain god as a human, you must have been virtuous in life. Why willingly sink into depravity and consort with demons?"

I took a nap this afternoon and spent a whole half-day dreaming about black cats. I'm rather superstitious ┗|｀O′|┛...

First I looked up information online, then asked some elders who knew more about it...

That's why the update was late~ If I can't sleep tonight, I'll write another chapter and keep it in reserve~

I'll add extra updates after the book goes premium. For now, I'll build up a stockpile and owe you those~