Please, don't be foolish! Don't go!
Behind the statue, Ji Yuan was frantic with anxiety. If these traveling merchants met with disaster, he would be next!
He only hated that he could not roar aloud, and could only listen as the footsteps faded farther and farther away until they vanished from his ears.
Amid this fierce inner struggle, Ji Yuan's eyelids trembled violently, the corners of his mouth quivered without stop, and the little finger of his right hand actually twitched slightly.
Ji Yuan sensed this change at once. It immediately lifted his spirits from their abysmal depths.
He carefully felt his body and discovered that under the intense struggle of his consciousness, this "ghost pressing bed" had eased by the tiniest fraction. A few fingers on both hands could barely bend and straighten. The movement was slight, but it was truly enormous progress.
Ji Yuan was beside himself with joy. The four traveling merchants taken away were certainly headed for a grim end, but if he could move and join forces with these merchants, perhaps there would still be a path to survival.
At the entrance of the Mountain God Temple, Zhang Shilin lit only two of the torches, then handed them to Wang Dong and the others. The cold night wind sent the flames swaying from side to side.
"Be careful. Make sure to protect Young Master Lu."
"No problem, Brother Shilin!"
"Old Jin, watch yourself!"
"Don't worry, Shilin! I'm keeping watch!"
Jin Shunfu took the torch and, together with the others, repeatedly assured Zhang Shilin. After all, they were traveling merchants, practically half Old Mountain Dwellers themselves. They would not fear such a short journey.
Zhang Shilin wanted to give the second lit torch to Scholar Lu, since he was the one leading the way, but Scholar Lu did not take it.
"No, no. I'm a little afraid the torch will burn my long robe. Let Little Dong carry it!"
"Yes, yes, give it to me, give it to me, hehehe..."
Wang Dong grinned and snatched the torch straight away.
"You brat!"
Zhang Shilin laughed as he scolded him, placed the remaining unlit torches into the basket Liu Quan carried on his back, and once again told them to mind the road beneath their feet. Only then did the group set off to dig up the Mountain King Ginseng.
Inside the Mountain God Temple, Ji Yuan's face was twisted in agony and his limbs convulsed. Naturally, he was not having a fit; he was struggling with all his might to regain control over his body.
The eight traveling merchants left at the entrance waited until the firelight went far away before returning together to the Mountain God Temple, their faces full of anticipation and joy.
Even if it was not Mountain King Ginseng, a fully mature ginseng root was worth quite a bit of silver. After all, wealthy people cherished their lives and were willing to spend heavily on good medicinal herbs.
"Leader Zhang, what's wrong with this beggar?"
As soon as someone sat by the fire, he noticed Ji Yuan's abnormal state and could not help crying out.
Zhang Shilin hurried over, and the other traveling merchants gathered around as well. Watching Ji Yuan struggle made their scalps prickle.
"He's covered in sweat..."
"Is this epilepsy?"
"Bring a stick and pry open his mouth. Don't let him bite his tongue off!"
Zhang Shilin crouched down and held the beggar's convulsing body in place, roaring at the others.
Someone immediately found a suitable stick in the firewood pile.
"I'll pry his mouth open. Stuff it in right away!"
"Mm... mmm..."
Ji Yuan instinctively resisted. He did not have epilepsy, and who knew how filthy that stick was!
"Help me hold him down!"
Before long, a wooden stick was wedged into Ji Yuan's twitching mouth. Fortunately, it was placed crosswise for him to bite down on.
The traveling merchants watched for a while before slowly returning to the fire.
Someone sighed.
"This beggar probably won't make it through tonight. If that happens, let's dig a hole and bury him while we're at it."
"Yeah. We'll be stopping at the Mountain God Temple again in the future. Better not leave a corpse here."
You bastards!
Knowing they meant well only made the veins on Ji Yuan's forehead bulge for no reason.
It was about ten-odd minutes after the previous group had left.
ROAR AOOO~~~~~~~~~~
A terrifying roar suddenly rang out from far away, making everyone inside the Mountain God Temple shudder instinctively.
"Chirp chirp..."
"Flap flap flap flap..."
Countless birds in the mountain trees nearby were startled into scattering into the air, crying out in panic around the Mountain God Temple.
At the same time, a gust of cool wind blew through the temple doors, making the fire inside sway unsteadily.
"Leader Zhang!"
"Shilin! What was that sound?"
"A wild beast?"
Zhang Shilin's face went somewhat pale. Looking into the night beyond the temple, he instinctively shrank back.
"Tiger's Roar Startles the Forest... it's a great beast!"
"Gasp..."
A chorus of sharp inhalations rose around him.
"Then Little Dong and Old Jin...?"
No one dared continue.
Zhang Shilin also clenched his fists as he stared outside the temple.
"The great beast sounded far away. Little Dong and the others... should be fine. Right, they have torches too. Just in case, everyone get your weapons ready. No one sleeps tonight!"
That tiger's roar likewise made Ji Yuan jolt violently.
But after that jolt, Ji Yuan discovered that he had actually regained control of his body!
At that moment, he curled and clenched his right hand. Though slightly stiff, it obeyed him freely. He did not rashly sit upright, instead carefully savoring this hard-won sensation.
Then Ji Yuan slowly opened his eyes. If he could see his own eyes, he would have discovered that their centers were pale in color, a clear, translucent grayish white.
The light felt somewhat weak, too dim for him to see clearly. Had he not been able to see something at all, Ji Yuan would nearly have thought himself blind.
He turned his head slightly and looked toward the fire, his heart skipping a beat.
The fire looked extremely blurry to him, its glow as though veiled behind a thick layer of frosted glass, with only limited light reaching his eyes.
This eyesight problem was not merely a slight defect...
At least I'm not completely blind...
Ji Yuan could only console himself like this in his heart.
Yet merely opening his eyes for that brief moment made them ache. It was not unbearable, but it was definitely uncomfortable.
"Leader Zhang, the beggar is awake!"
Though the remaining traveling merchants were all tense, someone still noticed Ji Yuan's unusual state. The cry made everyone glance in the beggar's direction, and sure enough, they saw him moving and turning his head toward them.
But even Zhang Shilin had no time to pay attention to an unrelated beggar now. Everyone pulled woodcutter's knives, short clubs, and other items from their baskets and gripped them tightly, watching the temple entrance with anxious expressions.
Ji Yuan had no time to fuss over his vision problem either. His life was what mattered most now. He tried to sit up, but when his both arms had supported him only halfway, a fierce wave of dizziness and weakness struck him.
With a smack, Ji Yuan fell back to the ground, the back of his head hitting first.
"Hiss... heh..."
That hurt terribly, making Ji Yuan bare his teeth.
He discovered that although he could move, he was like someone recovering from a serious illness, unable to summon any strength. None of the traveling merchants paid any attention to him.
Ji Yuan did not ask them for help. Grasping the base of the statue beside him with his right hand, he managed to sit up only with great difficulty.