The rain today lasted for a shorter time than yesterday’s. It stopped not long after it had started, but still cooled down the temperature of the air.
Feeling the chill, Ji Yuan fumbled to wear the piece of clothing that the merchants had left, then put on the raincoat.
Yesterday, he had learned from the merchants’ conversation that it was early spring, so it was normal for the weather to be cold. However, the two rainfalls Ji Yuan had experienced did not seem like the usual continuous spring rain.
It was already quite late in the day when Ji Yuan woke up, and when the rain stopped it was almost evening. It grew dark quickly in the mountains, and the road was now slippery. Even if he did have the courage to go down the mountain, all of those factors would prevent him from doing so.
There were no merchants tonight, which meant that there was no fire to keep warm.
Ji Yuan sighed a little, feeling pessimistic about his future and fate. At present, he could only hope that the sky would clear tomorrow, so that he could make up in some way for his bad vision.
As Ji Yuan expected, the mountain sky rapidly grew dark, and soon it had already turned gray. It was almost nighttime and he was a little fearful. He did not dare sit in front of the altar as he had during the day, so he shuffled behind the statue once more.
The red fox who had been sheltering from the rain in the temple had already left.
Just as he began to doze off, Ji Yuan was startled by another noise. It was not yet fully dark, and some human voices were coming from farther down the mountain path.
Ji Yuan suddenly regained his energy and sat up behind the mountain god’s statue on his broken straw mat, listening to the movement.
‘No way, could it be a coincidence? This abandoned temple isn’t a transportation hub or anything, how do people still come here every day? It’s not a ghost, is it? No, no, no, I can hear footsteps. Don’t scare yourself, Ji Yuan!’
A little farther down the mountain road, a group of 9 people walked briskly.
It was a mixed group of men and women, most of whom looked to be relatively young, and many of whom were holding weapons. For the most part, those weapons were swords, though some people held long iron-tipped poles, and the two in the middle carried a large sack, the contents of which were unclear.
However, these people appeared to be a little flustered from being caught out in the rain. They hadn’t brought rain gear, nor had they found a place to shelter in time.
The leader in front was Yan Fei, a young man holding a tasseled sword.1 He was 1.8 meters tall and slender, with a pair of piercing red phoenix eyes.2
He looked ahead, pointed a distance forward, and spoke to his companions.
“The mountain temple is just ahead. Let’s head there quickly to rest and warm up by the fire!”3
“Okay, everyone, hurry up. The mountain road is treacherous after the rain!”
The woman wore tight-fitting clothes4 and had long bandages wrapped around her wrists and ankles.5 Over it, she wore a short outer coat,6 which clung to her body from the rain. She took a few steps forward and shook off the mud that stuck to her boots.
“It’s ridiculous that none of us thought to bring rain gear.” Read complete version only at Nove1Fire.net
The woman laughed irritably to herself as she quickened her pace.
The large man carrying the iron-tipped pole smiled.
“Hehe, Junior Sister Luo, the weather in this mountain changes at a moment’s notice. The sun was clearly high in the sky before we began climbing, how could we have known?”
“What are you laughing at? You’re drenched too!”
“Okay, stop arguing. We’re not here to play around. Let’s go to the temple and rest up!”
Although the ground was muddy, forcing these people to walk a little awkwardly as they advanced, Ji Yuan had to admit that their steps were still remarkably fast, and they reached the mountain temple in hardly any time.
The dilapidated small temple stood in the wilderness, with dead trees interspersed in the surrounding forests, shaded by large rocks and trees that blocked the sunlight. The evening light only made the area appear even gloomier.
Two crows cawed from the dead trees behind the temple, which perfectly fit the current atmosphere.
The nine people’s steps subconsciously slowed, and their voices hushed.
Although the mountain temple was in ruins, it was still able to keep out the wind and the rain, with the exception of the missing door. Yan Fei walked to the eaves of the temple and scanned the area, noting the piles of charcoal and unburned firewood in the campfires that the merchants had left behind. Seeing that the firewood had long stopped burning, he let out a sigh of relief in his heart.
“The people of Narcissus Town were correct. There should be people frequently stopping here to rest, but everyone should still pay attention.”
Ji Yuan was a little baffled by their reaction. They were complaining so loudly on the road before, but now they had to be careful?
But he had no room to judge. When there was no one around, he eagerly anticipated someone coming, but when someone arrived, he worried that the other party would be vicious. After all, he had no way to protect himself right now.
A few people circled around to inspect the outside of the mountain temple, before finally entering.
Yan Fei entered the temple first, followed closely by the others.
After glancing at the fire and dry wood several times, they slowly approached the statue of the mountain god, frequently glancing around at the ceiling and the corners. However, their main focus was naturally attracted towards the back of the statue.
It was Yan Fei who discovered Ji Yuan. He was at the front, and had walked up to the cold campfire and pretended to inspect it. Then he looked up behind the mountain god statue and noticed Ji Yuan sitting there.
The others also came over, and gave Ji Yuan’s appearance a cursory glance.
“Hey, Beggar, are you the only one here?”
The man holding the long stick shouted over at Ji Yuan. His loud voice made Ji Yuan’s ears itch, and he subconsciously stretched out his little finger to scratch at it.
The breathing of this group of people was stronger and more even than that of the wandering merchants. Ji Yuan’s intuition was telling him that these people weren’t ordinary, and he did not dare push his luck too much, so he knew he needed to be honest when he asked and answered questions.
“Yes, I was alone before you came.”
Ji Yuan originally wanted to tease them by asking, “Aren’t you guys here?”, but when he thought about it, he realized that this was not like typing a comment on the Internet, nor was it the world he was familiar with. If he spoke too casually, he might even be beaten.
The so-called Junior Sister Luo inspected Ji Yuan’s tattered and shabby appearance, and made a sound of surprise.
“There are man-eating tigers in this mountain. What gave you the courage to come to the mountain alone?”
Although the question was asked purely out of curiosity, Ji Yuan still hoped that they could bring him down the mountain. It was at least worth a try, so he replied with a half-truth and genuine frustration.
“There isn’t much I can do. My vision is bad. The person who brought me here left by himself. Even if he knew that there are tigers on the mountain, I wouldn’t be able to go down the mountain alone without assistance.”
He had to win their sympathy!
At this time, the young man with phoenix eyes gestured towards the group, nodded towards Ji Yuan, and then pointed at his eyes. Everyone subconsciously took a closer look at the beggar’s eyes, and found that they were slightly open, and were translucent, with gray pupils.
Someone lowered their voice and whispered, “He’s blind…”
Naturally, this low whisper did not escape Ji Yuan’s hearing. They spoke softly because they were worried about my feelings, so it seems that at least this person is considerate, Ji Yuan thought to himself optimistically.
As such, Ji Yuan’s hopes to leave this place were also raised.
The strong man with the long stick glanced at Junior Sister Luo and the rest of the group, and then told him:
“You’re lucky to meet us. When we get rid of that man-eating tiger, we’ll take you down the mountain together!”
Ji Yuan’s mood was originally joyful, but when he heard the second half of the sentence, his heart skipped a beat.
They wanted to kill a tiger? They wouldn’t happen to be referring to Lu Shan Jun, would they?
“Uh, what brings you to this mountain?”
Ji Yuan asked them uneasily.
The large man with the steel-tipped pole and the particularly loud voice answered him once more.
“Hahahahaha… We heard that man-eating tigers have been appearing on this mountain for a long time now, and the government has been unable to get rid of them. Following the our chivalrous hearts, we accepted the bounty list of the Ning’an County government and came to Narcissus Town to eliminate the evil for the sake of the people!”
The surrounding men and women nodded in agreement, confidently exhibiting their chivalrous spirit to Ji Yuan.
Ji Yuan was stunned for a moment, and a single thought popped up out of his mind: ‘These people are courting death!’7