plumnovel Chapter 11 Interesting Anecdotes from the Mountains
Chapter 11 Interesting Anecdotes from the Mountains
Inside the wooden house, the old man brought out hot food and placed it in front of Song Quyou, then handed him clean wooden chopsticks. He turned around and sat on the threshold, stroking the glossy white dog beside him.
"Young man, eat it while it's hot. If it weren't for you, this old man would be dead here."
Song Quyou smelled the aroma of meat in the brown rice and ate a few mouthfuls.
"Not at all, it's because you're lucky that nothing happened to you."
"But old man, why are you living alone in these mountains? Where are your children?"
The old man chuckled self-deprecatingly, stroked the white dog's head, and stood up shakily. "Just an old bachelor, no children whatsoever."
Song Quyou didn't know how to reply for a moment, so he silently shoveled down a few mouthfuls of rice.
The old man picked up a bowl of hot water and placed it in front of Song Quyou, asking, "Why are you, a young man, in this deep mountain forest?"
Song Quyou swallowed the coarse rice in his mouth and replied, "I was originally a Taoist priest at Shenxiao Temple on Xuantai Peak. Now that I have completed my apprenticeship, I plan to return to my hometown."
"So you're a Taoist priest from Shenxiao Temple. My apologies for not recognizing you."
Song Quyou took a sip of hot water, took out a yellow talisman from his pocket, and handed it to the old man, saying, "Old man, stick this yellow talisman in your home, and evil spirits in the mountains will not be able to enter from now on."
"Very well, this old man wanted this yellow talisman earlier, but he hadn't asked for it yet."
Overjoyed, the old man found a wall that wasn't too blackened by soot, wiped off the surface dust, picked up a few grains of unscraped rice from the pot, rubbed them firmly against the wall, and carefully pressed the yellow talisman onto it.
As night deepened, Song Quyou sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed, sword in hand, while the old man behind him snored groggily.
The white dog lay on the ground with its eyes closed, but its ears stood up and kept turning.
The mountain wind howled, making the door panels tremble and the sound echoed loudly inside the house. Song Quyou was disturbed and unable to concentrate, but the old man was completely unaffected and continued to snore.
Suddenly, the strong wind subsided, and the door stopped shaking. But the white dog, which had been lying down with its eyes closed, suddenly got up, arched its back, faced the door, and kept purring.
Song Quyou opened his eyes and glanced at the wooden door. He saw a small, one-legged monkey carrying a few mountain fruits. It came to the door, carefully put them down, and then leaped away and disappeared.
After the noise subsided, the white dog circled the room once, then lay down again, facing the door.
A rooster crows in the mountains, and dawn breaks in the east.
The old man yawned, looked at Song Quyou who had already gotten up and was sitting on the wooden stool, and said with a sheepish smile, "I suppose it was because this old man snored last night that the young Taoist priest didn't get a good rest."
"No, those who cultivate the Tao do not need to sleep much."
The old man got up, dressed, and opened the door. There he saw three bright mountain peaches placed at the doorway, covered with a layer of white frost.
Song Quyou followed the old man out of the house, glanced at the mountain peach, and explained:
"These mountain peaches were given to you by the mountain demon from yesterday as an apology. Please accept them."
"Was it given to you by that monkey who stole my things and smashed them?"
"Old man, as the saying goes, a close neighbor is worse than a distant relative. You've lived here for many years, so why not make peace with this mountain demon and visit each other more often? That way, you can look out for each other in the future."
The old man remained silent for a moment, then looked at Song Quyou with his cloudy eyes. He nodded and said, "Young Taoist priest, you are right. I will certainly be on good terms with my neighbors from now on."
Song Quyou glanced at the distant hillside and whispered in the old man's ear, "It's true that we need to be friendly to outsiders, but if that mountain demon doesn't change its bad nature, old man, just take the yellow talisman from inside the house, put it on your person, and break off a tree branch to keep it in hand. That will surely make it dare not act recklessly."
The old man nodded in agreement, put away the peaches, wiped the frost off the skin, took a bite, and shouted to the mountains and forests, "The peaches are very sweet!"
There were many interesting things to do in the mountains. Song Quyou bid farewell to the old man and traveled for several more days. He planned to make a fire in the deep mountains to bake a rice cake, and after eating it, he would rest for the night in Cuisong Hutian so that he could continue his journey the next day.
But plans can't keep up with changes. Before I could even take a bite of the freshly baked rice cakes, a dazzling yellow light suddenly pierced my eyes.
Song Quyou drew his long sword and gently lifted the pile of fallen leaves and withered branches, revealing a small street in front of him.
The street was no different from the mortal world, with vendors' stalls, pedestrians and tourists, as well as stilt walkers, acrobats, and dragon dances—it was quite a lively scene.
The only difference is that red lanterns are hung at gatherings in the mortal world, but yellow lanterns are hung on both sides of the street here.
Song Quyou had never seen such a sight before, and he observed it quietly with great interest.
suddenly.
Beneath the withered branches and fallen leaves, a wisp of green smoke emerged, transforming into the shape of a three-foot-tall old man beside Song Quyou.
"Young Taoist priest, I am the local earth deity. What brings you here today?"
"So it's you, Lord Lord. I am a disciple of Shenxiao Temple on Xuantai Peak. I was passing by when I saw light coming from below. Out of curiosity, I lifted it up to take a look. I hope you won't blame me."
"So you're a disciple of Shenxiao Temple. I've heard so much about you. Since we're so fortunate today, how about we stroll through the temple fair together, young Taoist priest?"
"I've been wanting to see it for myself, but I'm struggling because I lack the magic to change things up and can't find a way in."
"Haha, this is not difficult."
After he finished speaking, the earth gently blew, and a wisp of green smoke enveloped Song Quyou, obscuring his vision. When the smoke dissipated, he found himself under the street sign.
"Mountain Demon Street"
Song Quyou looked in astonishment at the peddlers, pedestrians, and travelers inside, who had been as small as beans a moment ago, but were now vividly alive before his eyes.
However, although these merchants and pedestrians were in human form and dressed in clothes, their animal ears and wagging tails, which could not be concealed, revealed their true identities.
"My lord, everyone here is..."
"Young Taoist priest, you are right. This is the main street of my mountain temple fair. People from all over the world come here, and there are even merchants from the underworld who have opened shops here."
For the first time, Song Quyou saw so many monsters gathered together: there was a weasel dressed as a Taoist priest selling ancient coins, a skinny monkey who looked like he was treating demons, a wild boar spirit who cut off his own flesh to make soup, a toad monster selling toys, as well as a handsome fox spirit, a delicate little deer monster, an ugly rat spirit... all sorts of monsters, too many to recognize at once.
At this moment, a rainbow-like glow flew out from Song Quyou's heart and exclaimed in praise:
"The prosperity of this temple fair in the desolate mountains is no less than that of a city in the human world. Lord Bo is a wise ruler indeed."
There is no difference between gods and humans; they all like to hear good things. When the Earth God hears someone praising him, the long, soft beard at the corner of his mouth can't help but curl up.
"Young Taoist priest, who is this gentleman?"
Song Quyou pointed to the lark on his shoulder and said, "Her name is Lark, and she is a good friend of mine."
The land looked the lark up and down, exclaiming in amazement, "Not simple, not simple..." The land wanted to say something more, but swallowed it back down.
"Lord Bo is truly remarkable. He has the ability to organize such a thriving temple fair in this dilapidated place."
"Not at all, not at all. I'm just taking advantage of the location, making the most of this place being backed by Fengdu."