Volume 1, Chapter 22: Overlord of the Mountains and Forests

The woman holding the child and the young woman from before stood up warily. With two children to look after, the woman holding the child did not make any sudden moves.

The Taoist pointed to the roof and said, "I swear to the heavens, I have no intention of harming you. I only wish to know what has been happening in the old forest."

The room fell into a heavy silence. No one spoke; even their breathing was kept to a minimum. For reasons unknown, the old hunter and the Taoist had suddenly aligned, working in tandem like officials presiding over an ancient trial.

The old hunter began: "Since ancient times, ginseng has been considered a spiritual entity. Ginseng hunters must carry red thread and copper coins into the mountains. When they find the 'banger,' they tie it with the red thread, hang a copper coin from it, and use deer bone to carefully peel it from the earth. Do you know why this is done?"

The man in the dog-fur hat chimed in, "Second Master, I know! The red thread binds the ginseng, and the copper coin suppresses its essence. If a ginseng with spirit touches metal, it will instantly melt into a puddle of water."

The Taoist added, "The 'banger' that is unearthed must also be wrapped in tree bark and cushioned with moss. If this thing is exposed to light for too long, it also tends to melt."

The short, stout man sat down on the floor with a creak.

Ignoring him, the Taoist continued, "Tiger Immortal, Fox Immortal, you need not worry about hunting rifles. Everything in nature is provided for human use, and those who live by the mountains know there is a proper way to take what is needed. You have no cause for fear."

I couldn't tell if the Taoist was offering comfort or making a threat, but I felt no fear at all—especially after learning the young woman was a fox in human form; my affection for her only deepened.

The people in the tavern were simple, but they were not fools. Anyone could understand what the old hunter and the Taoist were discussing, so they quietly retreated to the sidelines, not even daring to glance in our direction.

The short, stout man retreated in terror, leaving the woman holding the child to speak first. "Monsters have come to the mountains," she said. "We had no choice but to descend and hide. That thing is too powerful."

The Taoist stood up and performed a deep bow. "Tiger Immortal, please accept this disciple’s respects."

The woman holding the child was greatly surprised, yet her expression remained composed.

"Are you a practitioner of the Shamanic arts?" the young woman asked.

The Taoist turned and bowed to her. "This humble one is no expert, but I have been enlightened by the spirits of the mountains and possess a modicum of cultivation."

The young woman nodded. "Are there any Fox Immortals?"

"There are," the Taoist replied firmly.

"With which Fox Immortal are you connected?"

"The temple name of my patron immortal is Hu Yuhua."

A flicker of surprise crossed the young woman’s face before she calmed herself. "That is my great-grandmother. My name is Hu Xiaozui."

The Taoist bowed again, perplexed. "Has the Immortal moved her place of cultivation? Why could I not sense her presence when I entered the mountains?"

Hu Xiaozui sighed. "It has been seven or eight years. I don't know what happened, but the mountains are filled with a buzzing sound that makes our heads ache as if they might split. We were forced to flee to more distant places."

The woman holding the child concurred. "That is true. The sound is constant, day and night, without pause. The animals simply cannot survive."

The Taoist mused, "Such a bizarre occurrence. What does this sound like?"

Hu Xiaozui replied, "It is a continuous, harsh drone. As the Mountain King said, it never stops for a moment, making the veins in our heads throb. We had no choice but to retreat deep into the mountains."

My first thought was of mobile phone signals, but upon reflection, that didn't seem right. Chickens, ducks, dogs, and pigs near signal towers remain unaffected, let alone animals deep in the mountains.

The Taoist continued, "You mentioned that monsters have come to the mountains. What kind of monsters?"

The short, stout man interjected, "Now that you know we are Immortals, why don't you let us go?"

The old hunter roared, "Zhuodipao, bring out the executioner's blade!"

"Right away, Second Master!"

Zhuodipao dragged an antique, heavy-backed blade from the adjacent room. The red cloth wrapped around the hilt looked as though it had been stained in fresh blood. The edge was somewhat chipped, but one could still see the sharpness it once possessed.

Zhuodipao said, "This blade was used by an executioner. It has claimed no fewer than one hundred and eighty heads, if not two hundred."

The old hunter shouted furiously, "He is a practitioner of the Shamanic arts, honoring and respecting you, but I am not! You ginseng spirit, if you speak out of turn again, I will hack you up and soak you in liquor!"

The short, stout man swallowed nervously, his face returning to a fawning expression.

I realized this was the old hunter’s way of killing the chicken to scare the monkeys. He used the executioner's blade to intimidate the stout man while simultaneously frightening the other two.

This was, in fact, the correct approach. Even when animals achieve transcendence, they remain animals—they are beasts. A beast's way of thinking differs from a human's; the more you indulge them, the more they will make things difficult for you. Even ghosts and spirits are the same, always looking to bully the kind-hearted.

Who has ever heard of an executioner being haunted? Not to mention malevolent spirits—even the people a headsman personally executed would not dare return for revenge after becoming ghosts, because the murderous aura clinging to the executioner is far too intense.

If a normal person were to sleep in a graveyard, wandering ghosts would surely try every trick to torment them, hoping to gain some advantage—some offerings of wine, food, or burned paper money. But if an executioner were to sleep there, the ghosts would move house overnight; to stay any longer would be a sign of disrespect to the headsman.

After the old hunter’s display, we firmly held the initiative. Hu Xiaozui said slowly, "We don't know where the monsters in the mountains came from. One is an ancient eagle, and the other is a creature that resembles a giant macaque."

The Taoist asked, puzzled, "A creature like a giant macaque? What does it look like?"

"Never mind what it looks like—have you ever seen a macaque riding a horse? That thing has a human body and a monkey's head, with fangs more than a foot long. Not to mention a fox like me, even a Tiger Immortal would have to flee upon seeing it."

"Do you know where it came from?" the Taoist continued.

"That is what we don't know. It just appeared. Between the monkey's legs is a coal-black, towering steed. It relentlessly chases any animal it sees. Many of our companions have died at its hands."

The woman holding the child added, "Yes, and that ancient eagle is even more formidable. Its wingspan is at least four or five meters wide. We tigers have reigned over these forests for thousands of years, and now we are being chased everywhere by that eagle."

I was skeptical. I had never seen a giant macaque, but I had seen eagles; the largest ones are only as tall as a four- or five-year-old child. I had never heard of one with a wingspan of four or five meters. Furthermore, the "giant macaque" was something that only existed in legends; even those whose families had lived off the mountains for generations had never seen one.

Yet, it seemed impossible for them to be lying. After the old hunter’s display, what kind of courage would it take to try to deceive us?

If they weren't lying, then the existence of a horse-riding giant macaque was truly bizarre.

Therefore, I asked the question I had been wanting to ask all along: "Lady Tiger Immortal, have we met somewhere before? I have the impression that we have."

The woman holding the child shook her head. "No, I have never seen you."

I wanted to press further, but the Taoist spoke: "The strange sounds, the monsters—have they all appeared within the last few years?"

"Yes," the two replied in unison.

I suddenly recalled the Taoist saying when we were at the mountain camp that he felt uneasy and his head was buzzing. It seemed to be the same symptom as the Fox and Tiger Immortals. Could the Taoist himself be a forest spirit in human form?