It seemed the tanuki were not very familiar with their own mountain god.
Since our house had been burned down, we could only sleep in the woods at night. I lay on the slightly damp moss, the thin clothes allowing the cool breeze to seep in.
I couldn't help but yawn a few more times. A'li thoughtfully came over and took off his top to drape over me.
"Aren't you cold?" I asked, looking at him in surprise.
A'li pouted, "I'm a boy, not as delicate as you girls."
I smiled slightly, suddenly feeling he wasn't so fierce after all, at least not at this moment.
Just then, I caught sight of several things, like small bouncing balls, hopping their way towards us from not too far away. As they got closer, illuminated by the faint moonlight, I realized they were several small and adorable tanuki babies. Due to my earlier actions, they were very curious about me.
One of the tanuki babies slowly walked up, examined me closely, and asked with great curiosity, "Why are you different from us?"
I stroked his little head and explained, "Because I am not one of your people."
He opened his big eyes, bared his small mouth with a missing front tooth, and asked innocently, "Then are you a bad person sent by the mountain god?"
"No, I'm just a passerby."
Another little tanuki asked, confused, "What's a passerby?"
"Someone who is just passing through."
At this moment, a gray tanuki cub from behind suddenly said, "Sister, are you the wife that Brother A'li picked up?"
Hearing this, I immediately blushed and quickly asked him, "Who told you that?"
"Everyone in the village says you're the wife Brother A'li picked up outside."
I quickly clarified, "No, no, no, I'm not his wife, we're just good friends."
"Good friends?" The little tanuki tilted their heads, looking puzzled.
I turned to A'li, asking him to speak up for me as well. A'li lazily got up and impatiently shooed them away, "Go, go, go, go back to your parents, we're going to sleep."
The gray tanuki cub curiously asked him, "Are you sleeping together when you say you're going to sleep? Mom and Dad sleep together."
Hearing these innocent words, my face instantly turned red. A'li also suddenly blushed and hurried them along, "Go, go, go, you're too young and learning the wrong things."
Urged by A'li, the little ones all ran to me, hugged me tightly, stuck out their tongues at him, and said in their milky voices, "We're sleeping here tonight, you can't disturb us."
A'li looked disdainful and slowly lay down, turning to pretend to sleep. Recalling the little tanuki's words, his face inexplicably turned red again. He unconsciously picked a wild grass and bit it in his mouth, lost in thought.
The little tanuki looked up at me pitifully and asked, "Can we sleep in your arms?"
I sighed slightly, stroked their little heads, and nodded, "Alright, I'll watch over you."
Receiving permission, the little tanuki happily closed their eyes and curled up in my arms to sleep. Thus, in the cool night, I became a mattress for the tanuki babies.
After dawn, a bright light met my eyes. I opened my eyes slightly and found that the little tanuki from last night had disappeared.
I felt a pang of anxiety and looked around frantically. Just then, I saw several colorful, bouncing little creatures running from a distance. Upon closer inspection, they were the same little tanuki from last night. I don't know where they had picked the fruits from, but they stumbled and handed them to me before shyly running back.
I looked at the fruits in my hands, my heart warming. I turned and shook A'li awake, sharing the fruits with him. A'li asked, confused, "Where did these come from?"
"The little tanuki gave them to us."
"I didn't expect them to learn to pick fruits so quickly."
"Yes, children nowadays learn things very fast."
Saying this, we sat side by side under the shade of the trees, eating the fruits and waiting for the village chief's arrangements.
However, after this incident of the mountain god's destruction, the villagers' attitude towards A'li became even colder, as if he were the culprit of all the disaster.
Even though they disliked him so much, they still asked us to work together. It turned out that being disliked didn't mean you could rest.
But most of the village's food had been destroyed, so everyone had to go into the mountains to find something to eat, including A'li and me.
The air on the south mountain was much fresher than in the previous place. There were no shortage of wild fruits on the mountain. I asked A'li, "Where does the mountain god live? Is it on the mountaintop?"
A'li sighed, "I'm not very clear about that. No one has ever seen him. However, there is a mountain god temple on the mountain rocks ahead, and our sacrificial activities are held there."
"Can I go and see?" I asked cautiously.
"That is a sacred place, and ordinary people are not allowed to go there."
"Is it okay to just look from afar?"
"That, I suppose, is possible."
After getting a satisfactory answer, I began to slack off. The most important thing was to find an excuse first.
So, I casually used an excuse I often used when I didn't want to attend class: "A'li, you go find fruits first, I have a stomachache and need to go to the restroom."
He looked at me suspiciously. After a moment of hesitation, perhaps guessing what I was up to, he didn't expose me on the spot.
He just said leisurely, "Don't go too far, and don't go to the mountain god temple."
I vaguely agreed, "Got it, got it."
But inwardly, I felt smug: "Nyah nyah, only good children listen to you. I'm a bad child, so I'll go."
After sending A'li away, I, like a squirrel freed from its leash, stealthily crept towards the vicinity of the mountain god temple. Calling it a temple, I only saw stone walls about half a meter high, with a crookedly growing old tree inside.
Could that crooked old tree be the mountain god?
I poked my head in, wanting to see what this crooked old tree was capable of.
However, before I could investigate further, I suddenly heard a buzzing sound behind me, followed by a sharp sting. My head immediately felt dizzy, and my vision blurred as I stumbled forward, collapsing to the ground unconscious.
When I woke up, I found myself in a cave. The ground was covered with dry grass, and a noisy buzzing sound came from all around. This place looked like a prison.
I looked around but saw no one. As I was wondering, I suddenly heard a boastful chant from outside the cave: "Laughing proudly over the mountains, I am the king of all peaks."
What an arrogant person! I couldn't help but think, "Who is so audacious?"
Suddenly, the cell door was opened, and a man in a black robe, followed by several thugs, walked in. As soon as they entered, someone placed a chair for him. He slowly sat down and looked at me from a condescending position.
I looked closely and found that his long black hair cascaded down his chest, his skin was fair, and his eyes held a hint of devilish charm. He was handsome, looking like a pretty boy from a painting. My eyes lit up, and I couldn't help but swallow.
He almost burned himself with my intense gaze and hurriedly cleared his throat before asking, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
I snapped back to reality then, but I didn't pay attention to what he said. I just lowered my head and secretly laughed, "Oh my god, oh my god, is he really a handsome guy? I, Liu Muye, have been single since birth for twenty years. Could today be the day I break free from singleness and welcome true love? If he confessed to me now, I would definitely agree."
Seeing that I wasn't replying and was just lowering my head and giggling foolishly, the mountain god became furious. He took off his boot and threw it at me.
"Ouch," I said, touching my head in pain, feeling wronged. I came back to my senses and finally looked up at him. He said angrily, "I'm asking you, what's your name? What are you doing?"
At this moment, a thug quickly stepped forward to pick up his boot and thoughtfully put it back on for him.
Looking at his handsome face, I couldn't help but smile shyly, completely forgetting the pain. I said coyly, "I, I, my name, is Liu Muye." After speaking, my heart pounded again, and I covered my face and giggled happily.
Everyone looked confused, but only the steward, Zhaidao Hu, noticed something amiss. He slowly walked up to the mountain god and whispered, "Boss, I think she's fallen for your good looks. Boss, you are so heroic, mighty, and graceful. Forget ordinary girls, even our own girls would be smitten."
After Zhaidao Hu's flattery, the mountain god became very happy. He straightened himself with joy and confidence, proudly saying, "I knew it! Why do girls act so shy when they see me? It's because I'm too handsome. Alas, handsome mountain gods like me are rare."
The thugs beside him grinned and flattered him, "Our lord is the most handsome in this southern mountain. I only regret being born a man, otherwise, I would also pursue you."
The mountain god turned his face away with disgust, "Get lost, it's better for you to remain a man."
Although he was indeed somewhat handsome, the flattery was truly disgusting. Ugh.
The mountain god instructed Zhaidao Hu, "Zhaidao Hu, interrogate her for me and find out her purpose for coming here."
Zhaidao Hu quickly replied, "Yes, boss. You rest first."
To help me regain my senses, Zhaidao Hu specifically took the wine gourd from his waist, took a big gulp, and held it in his mouth. He walked up to me and spat it onto my face with a "poof."
"Ah! What are you doing!" I instantly woke up and hurriedly wiped the wine off my face with my hands.
Zhaidao Hu chuckled, "Are you more awake now? Our boss wants to know, who are you? What are you doing here?"
I didn't hide anything and said decisively, "My name is Liu Muye, and I'm here to pick fruits."
"Why would someone picking fruits come here? Don't you know this is a forbidden area?"
"I only came to this mountain a few days ago, so I'm not very familiar with it."
As Zhaidao Hu and I were exchanging questions and answers, the mountain god vaguely sensed something was wrong. He couldn't detect any demonic aura emanating from the woman in front of him.
So, with a look of suspicion and uncertainty, he slowly stood up and walked towards me, leaning his head forward and sniffing again. The faint, pure scent of a boy that emanated from me actually made me a little dizzy. I couldn't help but take a few more breaths and swallow again, thinking that if I were a sycophant, it wouldn't be bad.
He became vigilant and asked, "You have neither demonic aura nor divine charm. Who exactly are you?"
"I am human."
"Human? What kind of human?"
"I am picking fruits."
"Why are you here?"
I found his questions speechless and retorted, "Didn't you capture me?"
He continued to ask, "Speak! What were you doing lurking around the mountain god temple?"
Since you have sincerely asked, I will honestly tell you.
"It's like this: I originally wanted to enter the mountain to pick wild fruits, but I got lost as I was walking. Suddenly, I saw a mountain god temple ahead, so I thought there must be someone there, and then I came over. So, why did you tie me up?" I asked him back.
Seeing my nonsensical talk and refusal to tell the truth, he decided to let me know his power. "Do you know who I am?"
"Who are you!" I asked bluntly.
"I am the boss of this mountain, the mountain god," he said, surprisingly with a hint of pride.
"You are the mountain god!" I exclaimed. So he was the mountain god who killed innocent people and enslaved the tanuki. I never expected that beneath his somewhat handsome face hid such an ugly heart.
"You're wise enough."
I didn't hide anything and asked him directly, "Then why did you attack the villagers over a bowl?"
He narrowed his eyes, finally reacting, but then pretended to be arrogant, "Do you want to know?"
"No matter the reason, you shouldn't harm people who revere you."
"Revere? Hmph," he snorted dismissively. "Without my protection, they wouldn't be alive today. They can't even take care of a bowl, they clearly don't take me seriously."
His arrogant and conceited demeanor truly disgusted me. I felt it necessary to argue with him.
"You are already so powerful, who would dare not take you seriously."
Before I could finish, he quickly interrupted, his face full of ferocity, "You want to argue with me? This mountain god dislikes talkative people the most. If you say one more word, I'll cut out your tongue."
I guessed that such a villain could do anything, so to make him regret his actions later, I had no choice but to shut up for now.
He seemed eager to know my true purpose, so he asked again, "Who are you, and why are you here?"
I ignored him. He suddenly reached out and grabbed my neck, threatening, "You'd better confess honestly, or I'll kill you." With that, he forcefully threw me aside, waiting for my reply.
I slowly got up from the ground, my heart filled with a rage that seemed about to explode. My mind screamed to beat him up, but reason told me I had to endure. "Cough, cough, cough, I, I, I'll say it, what do you want me to say? I've already said it, I'm just here to pick wild fruits, I'm an ordinary person."
Human? His eyes lit up, recalling a certain classical record, "Are you referring to humans?"
"That's right."
He suddenly remembered the ancient legend: it was said that humans lived in the distant human realm, a place bordering the six realms, and that eating human flesh could grant immortality.
He looked at me, his eyes shining, and suddenly became very happy, smiling wickedly, "If you are truly human, then wouldn't eating you grant me immortality?"
"Are you talking about Tang Sanzang?" I muttered softly.
He suddenly became very excited, turned around, and said to his subordinates behind him, "Zhaidao Hu, go and prepare. Tonight, we will have a grand feast and prepare steamed and braised human meat, so that our brothers can also achieve immortality."
"Understood, my lord."
I listened with a face full of confusion. Eat me! Do they really think I'm Tang Sanzang?
Black Wind:
"Laughing proudly over the mountains, I am the king of all peaks." Black Wind, a native of Nanhai City, is in his true form the ancient mythical beast Paoxiao. His family was once renowned in ancient times as "Supreme Black Demons," but after a thousand years, they declined and were reduced to being mountain bandits.