Chapter 23: Meeting the Mountain God at Night

In the old forest, time passes without a concept. After being busy for a while, the moon is already hanging in the sky.

The meat was still simmering, and Lao Zhang said that the venison was tough and needed to be simmered for a long time with the water. While he was talking, he cleaned up the offal, found some dead branches, and hung the offal on them, standing next to the fire.

I didn’t understand what he was doing, so I asked him, “These offal aren’t edible, so just throw them away. What are you doing with them?”

“To honor the mountain god. If you hunt a large animal, you can’t eat it all by yourself. You have to give some of the entrails to the mountain god. With a grateful heart, you honor the mountain god, and the mountain god will protect us.” Old Zhang’s answer was simple.

But, do the gods really eat? I was thinking to myself, but I don’t say much about other people’s beliefs.

The group sat quietly around the fire, chatting casually. After drinking two cups of hot water, the roe deer meat was finally stewed. It was served in a lunch box with soup and water, and eaten while it was still hot. The roe deer meat was chewy It was chewy and not fishy at all. The meat was slightly thicker than normal meat, and it was exceptionally delicious when eaten with the soup. Even after many years, when I think back to this stewed roe deer meat, I still think it is one of the most delicious meats I have ever eaten.

After dinner, we cleaned up and Zhang stayed up to keep watch while the three of us went to rest in the tent. After all, we were out of town and didn’t have to be so particular. Xue also slept in the tent with us, and we were all at peace. In fact, we didn’t have to pay special attention to formality.

It was tiring to travel during the day, and I thought I would fall into a deep sleep as usual, but I don’t know if I had something on my mind. I tossed and turned, and I only slept lightly for a while, and then I couldn’t sleep anymore. I looked at the time and I had only slept for less than two hours.

Xue was sleeping soundly inside the tent, and Chengxin was covered in a book and had already started to snore lightly. The soul-nourishing pot was quiet, and I guessed that Wu Lao Gui had also gone to sleep. I didn’t want to disturb them, so since I couldn’t sleep, I simply walked out of the tent.

Outside the tent, Lao Zhang was still guarding the fire, holding a pipe in one hand and a bag of wine in the other. He was very responsible, not dozing off, and was very alert, occasionally taking a sip of wine or a puff of tobacco.

When he saw me come out, he didn’t seem surprised. He smiled at me, and I smiled back. I sat down on the stone next to him. He handed me his pipe and said, “It’s cold at night. Would you like to smoke?”

I didn’t refuse, took it and took a puff. It turned out to be too harsh, and I coughed several times. It was just like when my master teased me and let me smoke a pipe. I still couldn’t smoke.

Old Zhang didn’t mind, just laughing, and handed me the wine bag. I took a big sip, and my body warmed up. I was by the fire, and I didn’t feel how cold it was outside.

In the cold night, I chatted with Lao Zhang in a casual manner, but I didn’t expect that Wu Lao Gui would also appear after a while. This ghost is like this. It can’t stand to hear others chatting. As soon as it hears it, it can’t help but join in the fun.

When Wu Lao Gui was around, it was never lonely. He was so good at telling stories that he made me and Lao Zhang laugh all the time, and time passed quickly.

Before I knew it, an hour had passed, and I was feeling sleepy. I looked at the time and realized that I still had an hour before my shift was over. I was just about to say that I was going to go to sleep when I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine.

This was definitely my spiritual sense sensing something. I knew this feeling too well, and couldn’t help but start looking around, but I found that everywhere I looked was dark and old forest, so what was the movement? Looking back, Wu Laogui’s face was not right either. Or maybe he was afraid of startling Laozhang, so Wu Laogui quietly gave me a gesture, meaning that it was over there, and something was wrong over there.

I then remembered that if it comes to the ability to sense things, Wu Lao Gui is stronger than me. Could it be that the strange feeling is coming from that direction? I was simply getting goose bumps, but I didn’t feel any danger, so I didn’t know what to do. I was talking nonsense with Lao Zhang on purpose or by accident, while keeping an eye on that direction.

There was no sound of footsteps, no signs of anything, and I kept watching over there. Suddenly, I saw a figure walking out of the forest, dressed in a bright red robe, a figure that was unmistakable.

The campsite that Old Zhang chose for us was on a small leeward hillside with a few sparse trees. I watched the figure without making a sound, but the figure never looked at me. It just walked step by step, and it was walking towards us.

I deliberately called out to Zhang, who looked over at me. With his eyesight, at such a close distance, and with his conspicuous red robe, he should be able to see the figure below, but he didn’t react at all. Instead, he asked me, “What’s the matter?”

I responded with a non-committal “Yes, it’s a forest over there, isn’t it? I just wanted to ask.”

“Yes,” Zhang replied, or maybe he was a little sleepy. Since I was outside, he was relaxed and after answering me, he squinted at the fire and dozed off.

I understood what was going on. That figure was definitely not a human being. I had cultivated for so many years that my spiritual intuition was much stronger than that of ordinary people. Even without the ability to see through the heavens, if that spiritual body was strong enough, it could affect me and make me “see” it.

As for Wu Laogui, needless to say, he is a ghost himself, so how could he not be visible?

I just didn’t feel any hostility. Taking advantage of the fact that Old Zhang suddenly dozed off, I signaled to Old Wu to calm down, but I found it funny that Old Wu had already been hiding behind me and shaking. This guy, he’s a ghost himself, what’s there to be afraid of?

I didn’t bother to deal with Wu Laogui. I took the wine bag from Zhang and drank it bit by bit. I also lit a cigarette for myself. This was also a kind of relaxation. Then I just watched the figure in the red robe walk in step by step.

The more it walked, the more I felt that something was wrong. I couldn’t see its face clearly in the dark, but I could clearly see that it was wearing a robe. I’m not good at history, so I couldn’t tell which dynasty’s robe it was, what rank it was, or what it represented. I was still secretly guessing in my heart. Could it be a ghost obsessed with being an official even after death?

But the next moment, when it was less than ten meters away from me, it happened to lift its face, and I was completely shocked. What was it? A face of indigo, two large fangs, fiery red hair, and a top hat that looked somewhat comical, it was extremely hideous!

But because the lines on its face were unusually rigid, it looked a little more honest, and when you looked closely, it wasn’t that scary.

But in any case, this was definitely something outside my knowledge. I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. I didn’t make any hostile moves, only because I believed in my own spiritual awareness. I really didn’t feel its hostility.

The old ghost Wu was already shaking uncontrollably. Looking at the sound, which was less than 5 meters away from us, it said in a trembling voice, “No… I’ve never seen… what a robe… is… like this!”

I only then realized that Wu Laogui was an ancient person, and that his knowledge of these things must be deeper than mine. I only then remembered to take a closer look at his official robe, but found that the figure had already come up to us, and instead of coming over, it squatted down where Lao Zhang was standing, grabbed a “phantom” with one hand, and began to eat and chew.

The internal organs contain the essence of the five elements. If we are to talk about the yang energy of living things, it is of course hidden in the internal organs. Unless you are a person with a strong yang energy, the natural release of yang energy also has the effect of repelling evil spirits and ghosts.

I understand too well that the figure that was caught was actually a ball of yang qi and essence that had not yet dispersed in the internal organs. I just don’t know what kind of evil taste it is that it has to be transformed into this bloody eating style.

But at this moment, my heart also completely relaxed, understanding what this figure was. Looking at it eat Lao Zhang’s tribute, and seeing the official robe it was wearing, with the mountain pattern printed on it, I knew that this guy was the mountain god Lao Zhang had spoken of!

I was confused just now and didn’t think of this at all. Think about it, who doesn’t look like this in the temples? The mountain gods that are worshipped in Taoist temples are mostly like this, with a fierce appearance!

People often confuse the land gods with the mountain gods, thinking that the short, white-bearded old man is also the mountain guardian. That’s a mistake!

I didn’t expect to see a “little god,” so I couldn’t react in time. I didn’t feel that it was very powerful. In terms of strength, it was much weaker than the strongest enemy I had ever encountered, the little ghost. But at least it had a “god position,” so I should pay my respects.

At that moment, I stood up and performed a Taoist ritual. Wu Laogui did the same. When the mountain god saw this, a hint of friendliness finally appeared in his eyes, but he didn’t react and continued to eat and drink.

I picked up the wine bag and said, “Since you’re here, how can I not treat you to a drink? Have a drink.”

While I was talking, I poured some wine on the ground. Old Zhang seemed to be more and more troubled, and he even snored while dozing off.