Young Heroes, Young Heroes

Today's rain was much shorter than yesterday's, stopping not long after it started, but the temperature had turned a bit chilly because of it.

Feeling the cold, Ji Yuan fumbled to put on one of the clothes the traveling merchants had left behind, then draped the straw raincoat over himself.

From the traveling merchants' conversation yesterday, he learned it should be early spring now, so the cold weather was normal, but the two rains Ji Yuan had encountered didn't have that lingering spring drizzle feel to it.

When he woke up today, it was already quite late, and now that the rain had stopped, it was probably nearing evening. Darkness fell quickly in the mountains, and with the slippery roads, even if Ji Yuan had the nerve to go down the mountain, the conditions wouldn't allow it.

Tonight, there were no traveling merchants, meaning no campfire to keep warm by.

"Ah..."

Ji Yuan let out a sigh of despair, feeling utterly pessimistic about his future and fate. For now, he could only hope that tomorrow would be clear and sunny, creating some advantage for his pitiful visibility.

Just as Ji Yuan had predicted, darkness fell quickly in the mountains. Before long, everything had turned gray and hazy. As evening approached, he grew a bit timid, not daring to sit in front of the deity's altar like he had during the day, and instead slunk back behind the original statue.

The red fox that had been sheltering from the rain in the temple had left at some point without him noticing.

Ji Yuan's mood was even more unsettled than the day before. After all, he was alone now. He had only tricked the tiger spirit into leaving last night—surely it wouldn't have figured things out in just one day, right?

He had only dozed off for a moment when a new commotion disturbed his rest. It wasn't dark yet, and voices carried from the mountain path in the distance.

Ji Yuan snapped to attention, sitting up on the tattered straw mat behind the deity statue, ears pricked to listen.

'No way, what are the odds? This rundown temple isn't some transport hub—can people really show up every day? It's not ghost servants, is it? No, no, no, there are footsteps. Don't scare yourself!'

A short distance away on the mountain path, a group of nine people was walking along, most of them with light, brisk steps.

Among them were men and women, mostly looking young, and many held weapons—mostly swords and blades, though some carried long staffs wrapped with iron at the tips. In the middle, two people lugged a large burlap sack, its contents unknown.

But these people all looked a bit disheveled. Since they hadn't brought rain gear, even though they'd found shelter in time, they'd still gotten soaked by the rain.

The one at the front was called Yan Fei, a young man holding a Tassel Sword. He stood about 1.8 meters tall, with a well-proportioned, lean build and sharp Phoenix Eyes that gleamed with spirit.

He looked ahead, pointed into the distance, and said to his companions.

"There's the Mountain God Temple up ahead. Let's hurry over there to rest a bit, dry off by a fire, and recharge!"

"Good, everyone pick up the pace. This mountain path is exhausting to walk on after the rain!"

A woman, wearing a form-fitting outfit with her wrists and ankles tied tight and a short jacket over it, now had the clothes clinging wetly to her. With every few steps, she viciously shook the mud stuck to her boots.

"Can you believe none of us thought to bring rain gear? How ridiculous."

She quickened her pace, muttering irritably to herself.

The burly man carrying the iron-tipped long staff chuckled.

"Heh, Junior Sister Luo, the weather in these mountains changes on a whim. The sun was blazing before we came up—who could have guessed?"

"What are you laughing at? You're soaked like a drowned rat too!"

"Alright, stop arguing. We're not here for fun. Everyone, get into the temple and rest!"

Though the ground was muddy and their steps were a bit awkward, Ji Yuan had to admit they moved fast. Before long, they had reached the front of the Mountain God Temple.

The rundown wilderness shrine was surrounded by woods dotted with withered trees. The light was obscured by mountain rocks and tree shadows, and with evening already upon them, the whole area looked gloomy and eerie.

"Caw~ Caw~"

Two crow calls rang out from the withered tree behind the temple, making the scene even more fitting.

The nine people's originally light steps all slowed down instinctively, and even their voices dropped to a murmur.

Though the Mountain God Temple was dilapidated, aside from missing its main door, it still offered some shelter from wind and rain. Yan Fei walked to the temple eaves, swept his gaze inside, and spotted the charcoal pile and unburned firewood left behind by the traveling merchants. He breathed a small sigh of relief.

"The people from Shuixian Town weren't wrong—this place does see frequent visitors. But everyone, stay alert."

Ji Yuan, hidden inside the temple, found their reaction a bit baffling. They'd been loud and complaining on the path, but now they were being cautious.

Still, he couldn't bring himself to laugh. When no one was around, he wished for people to show up. Now that they had, he worried they might be vicious thugs—after all, he had no way to defend himself.

A few people circled the outside of the Mountain God Temple before stepping inside.

Yan Fei was the first to enter, with the others close behind.

They glanced several times at the firewood and the cold fire pit, then crept closer to the deity statue, frequently looking up at the temple's ceiling and corners, but their main focus was naturally behind the statue.

Yan Fei was the first to spot Ji Yuan, since he was at the front. He walked over to the old campfire, pretending to check it, then looked up toward the back of the deity statue and saw Ji Yuan leaning there.

"A beggar?"

The others came over too, getting a rough look at Ji Yuan.

"Hey, tramp, are you the only one here?"

The man with the long staff barked at Ji Yuan. His loud voice made Ji Yuan's ears itch, and he instinctively stuck his pinky finger into his left ear to scratch it.

These people's breathing was generally stronger and more sustained than the traveling merchants'. Instinct told Ji Yuan they weren't ordinary folk, and he didn't dare run his mouth in front of them. Better to answer honestly and keep his head down.

"Yeah, before you showed up, it was just me."

Ji Yuan thought about adding a snarky remark like "Does that mean you don't count as people?" but remembered this wasn't typing behind a keyboard or his familiar world. Running his mouth could get him beaten.

The woman they called Junior Sister Luo looked at Ji Yuan's ragged, disheveled state and blurted out in surprise.

"There's a man-eating tiger in these mountains, and you dared to come up here alone?"

Though the question was probably mostly out of curiosity, Ji Yuan still hoped to convince them to take him down the mountain—or at least give it a try. So he answered with a mix of truth and falsehood, putting on a dejected tone.

"There's no helping it either. My eyes aren't good, and the person who brought me here left on their own. Even if I know there's a tiger on the mountain, without anyone to help, it's not easy to go down alone."

Sympathy—he had to win their sympathy!

At that moment, the young man with phoenix eyes made a gesture to the others, pointing at Ji Yuan, then at his own eyes. Everyone instinctively took a closer look at the beggar's eyes and noticed that although they were slightly open and clear, the pupils were a murky gray.

Someone lowered their voice and muttered, "He's blind..."

That hushed voice naturally couldn't escape Ji Yuan's ears. He thought optimistically—speaking softly meant they were mindful of his feelings. At least this person probably didn't have a bad heart.

So Ji Yuan's hopes of getting away rose a little.

Among the crowd, the sturdy man with the long staff glanced at Junior Sister Luo and the others, then said to him:

"You're in luck running into us. Once we've dealt with that man-eating beast, we'll take you down the mountain!"

Ji Yuan had just started to feel a flicker of joy, but when he heard the second half of that sentence, his heart gave a sudden lurch.

Kill a great beast? Which great beast? It couldn't be Lord Lu, could it?

"Uh... what did you come up the mountain for?"

Ji Yuan asked them with some unease.

The same loud-voiced man with the staff answered.

"Hahahaha... We heard that a man-eating fierce tiger has been haunting these mountains for quite some time, and the government has long failed to get rid of it. Driven by the chivalrous spirit in our chests, we took on the Ning'an County Magistrate's bounty and came to Shuixian Town to rid the people of this scourge!"

"Exactly!"

"That's right!"

The men and women around nodded in agreement, brimming with confidence as they displayed their chivalrous spirit before Ji Yuan.

Ji Yuan was stunned. The first thought that popped into his mind was: 'This lot is coming to die!'