Chapter 15 The Mountain Lord's Demise

　　Even a great demon of the past, struck head-on by a heavy armor-piercing round, could not withstand it after being sealed for nearly two thousand years. The mountain god's temple had been broken, and the aura of the brindled tiger issued a low growl from its throat, a sigh or a roar of rage, slowly fading away as the huge yellow-brown pupils lost their luster.

　　Seeing the Mountain Lord close his eyes, Wei Yuan's legs immediately went weak, and he collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

　　The hand that had gripped the sword loosened, unable to hold it any longer, trembling slightly.

　　His gaze shifted downward, seeing that the wound he had desperately cut out had already healed. He curled his lip, mocking himself inwardly, unsure of what to say. The blessing of numerous talismans, exchanging early comprehension for the Crouching Tiger Stance, and infusing it with blood, it had only amounted to this.

　　The fight had seemed fierce, but now it seemed his attacks had been more of a nuisance than actual damage to the Mountain Lord.

　　Its only real effect was to make the enraged Mountain Lord choose to use a large-scale spell to deal with him.

　　Coupled with unfamiliarity with modern weaponry, he had been caught.

　　But, in the end, it was resolved…

　　Wei Yuan closed his eyes.

　　The Crouching Tiger Token vibrated and hummed, a phantom scroll appearing before his eyes, "Strange Forces and Chaotic Gods, God of Five," where the figure representing the Lantern Bone Woman had been crossed out. Next should be the one seated in a high position, the Mountain…

　　Wei Yuan's thoughts froze.

　　Golden-red light appeared again on the image, as if burning fiercely, but it was not the Mountain Lord that was burning. Instead, it was the respectful subordinate official behind the Mountain Lord, his pair of feathered wings slowly burning away before being crossed out with bright red cinnabar.

　　Only the Mountain Lord and the delicate girl remained on the image.

　　Shadows fell over the mountain god's temple, and the Mountain Lord on the image seemed to smile, becoming more and more real.

　　Wei Yuan felt a chill run down his spine.

　　Something was wrong…

　　Just as Zhou Yi and the others were marveling at the giant tiger, they saw Wei Yuan suddenly jump up and rush towards the brindled tiger, taking three steps in two. With his right hand, he pointed out a talisman, grabbing at the tiger's head, and remnants of a soul appeared.

　　Divine Power · Exorcism!

　　Wei Yuan saw the Mountain Lord's perspective.

　　A tiger in the mountains, conferred as a god, whose cultivation became increasingly profound.

　　Eventually, he opened the blood feast, discovering the sweetness of flesh and blood, and ultimately becoming uncontrollable, recklessly acting.

　　But these experiences had a vague feeling.

　　Wei Yuan tried his best to mobilize his remaining meager mana, the talisman in his hand becoming clearer and clearer. Suddenly, a crisp sound rang out, as if a thin film had been opened, and the memories and illusions before his eyes suddenly became clear.

　　………………

　　A brocade-feathered bird in the mountains, a carefree traveler in the clouds.

　　Once saw the First Emperor's tour.

　　Later, in the year of Xiang Yu's death, attained enlightenment, roamed the world, and returned to a mountain.

　　Used by the honored master, transformed into a subordinate official.

　　Enjoyed a hundred years of pleasure in the world, but was ultimately suppressed and sealed, sleeping for countless years, finally awakened.

　　………………

　　In his vision was a dignified man wearing black clothes and armor.

　　He invited him to drink.

　　Joy, unprecedented joy.

　　Happily attended the banquet.

　　The honored master repeatedly urged him to drink.

　　Overjoyed, half-drunk, he said that he was willing to die for the honored master, to spill his brains and blood.

　　The honored master laughed and said, "Why go that far?" and poured him another drink.

　　He tilted his head back and drank it down.

　　But after drinking the wine, his consciousness suddenly became chaotic. Finally, the scene before Wei Yuan's eyes swayed, and his body fell down, losing consciousness. He saw the mirror. In the mirror was a refined man in white clothes. And at this moment, his consciousness still had some remnants, and he still had some perception of the outside world. The image had not completely dissipated.

　　The man in black raised his hand to drink and said, "When we are revived, the Sili Xiaowei (Directorate of Retainers) will feel it."

　　"This generation's Crouching Tiger will hunt us down."

　　"You said you could die for me, then I'll have to trouble you."

　　The man in black stood up, cupped his fist towards the man in white, and then his body swayed, transforming into a huge, majestic brindled tiger. He opened his mouth and swallowed the man in white, and then there was a burst of intense pain. His body seemed to be melting, and his bewildered wandering soul anxiously searched for a place to reside.

　　Then he immediately found it.

　　More 'memory fragments' surged out, washing away 'my' self-existence.

　　A brocade-feathered bird in the mountains, a carefree…

　　No… wrong…

　　A lifelike bird-faced sore grew under the tiger's armpit, and then the bird-faced sore closed its eyes. The tiger suddenly opened its eyes, revealing muddy yellow-brown eyes. The memory in his mind was extremely clear:

　　"This seat, is the Mountain Lord."

　　His body swayed, transforming into a white-clothed man playing the qin.

　　Then he acted recklessly, people began to disappear on the mountain, the Bone Woman went down the mountain to wreak havoc, slowly attracting attention.

　　Wei Yuan slowly let go of his hand, his face taut, and turned the tiger over. He found a huge wound on its body, like a bird face, its eyes tightly closed, without any sound. Wei Yuan had already guessed the correct answer in his heart, but the emotions in his heart were not for outsiders to know:

　　"Painted skin…"

　　"No, it's a one-sided exchange of souls, a substitute, a chang gui (a spirit of someone who has been killed by a tiger), a human-faced sore."

　　"The Tian family's affair back then was no coincidence…"

　　He looked up at the tiger, which was closed-eyed and lifeless.

　　All that was here was a husk.

　　No wonder… too easily angered and irritable, easy to target. The real Mountain Lord abandoned the skin, abandoned the position of the Tiger Lord on the mountain. Now, although his power seemed to be greatly lost, it was like a hidden dragon entering the sea, impossible to trace.

　　……………………

　　The head of Jiangnan Province is called Yingtian Prefecture.

　　In ancient times, it was once a royal capital, and it has always been a very prosperous place. Temples and Taoist temples are everywhere. In this era, after a hundred years of spiritual energy revival, there are also places with true Taoist practice in the Yingtian Prefecture, with the White Cloud Temple being second to none.

　　It occupies a very large area, unlike a place for pure cultivation.

　　In addition to worshiping the Three Pure Ones, there are also side halls in the temple, which enshrine the mountain gods and land gods.

　　A hundred years ago, an ancestral master followed the statements in ancient books, performing a series of operations, offering incense piously every morning and evening, and also holding monthly grand rituals. Over time, they had nurtured some yin god soldiers and generals in this White Cloud Temple. In ancient times, they could also serve as land city gods.

　　Relying on this family business, the jade talismans, which would have been painstakingly crafted by ordinary Taoists, were much simpler to obtain.

　　Starting with the previous generation's temple master of the White Cloud Temple, these jade talismans slowly began to circulate externally.

　　It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.

　　It has only been more than ten years since the price was clearly marked.

　　But the boundaries of this clearly marked price have gradually been opened up and become blurred.

　　Zhao Xiu, dressed in a Taoist robe, faced the sobbing girl in front of him and found it difficult to refuse. Of course, what made it even more difficult for him to refuse was the price offered by the girl: three million, just to buy a memorial tablet. The temptation of three million might still be resisted by the temple masters of this White Cloud Temple, but Zhao Xiu was a little moved.

　　He looked at the fair-skinned girl, his heart moved with other thoughts, and feigned refusal, saying:

　　"This, Miss Wang, I am a person of pure cultivation, this matter…"

　　The girl raised her head, tears at the corners of her eyes making her look even more delicate and lovely, and said:

　　"Please have pity, Taoist priest. My grandfather originally lived in the mountains and only came down after a disaster. When he came down, he also invited the mountain god from the village. He felt that he could earn some money to live on, all thanks to the blessing of the mountain god. His last thought before he passed away was to hope that the mountain god could once again receive incense and offerings."

　　"I will offer five million, hoping that the Taoist priest will do me a favor."

　　Five million?

　　Zhao Xiu's heart beat faster, and he changed his righteous words:

　　"Miss Wang, I am a person of pure cultivation. This matter is naturally my duty."

　　The girl naturally thanked him profusely. Zhao Xiu received the benefit, took the mountain god statue covered with golden-red cloth, and said with a smile, "Many mountain gods in mountain villages are Tiger Lords. Is this one of Miss Wang's also a Tiger Lord? Do you want to pair it with a couple of chang nu (tiger's female victim) and chang guan (tiger's male victim)?"

　　The girl shook her head and said, "No."

　　She raised her head slightly and smiled, "It is a truly orthodox Mountain Lord."

　　"This mountain god was conferred during the second year of Emperor Wu of Han's reign, when mountain and river deities were divided and sealed."

　　Zhao Xiu guessed wrong and was slightly embarrassed. As for the Han Wudi's conferral, these mountain and land gods always liked to find some origins, and he was used to it. The two talked for a while, and the girl got up to say goodbye. Zhao Xiu, on the other hand, carried the statue of the god and sneaked into the side hall where the land gods and mountain gods of various places in Jiangnan Province were enshrined. In reality, it was where the yin gods raised by his predecessors and ancestors were kept. He found a corner and placed the mountain god statue on the ground.

　　After confirming that he would not be discovered by his master, he respectfully offered a few sticks of incense to the ancestors in front, turned around and retreated, muttering that money was really easy to earn.

　　Now he could buy the set of houses he wanted…

　　Without noticing, the entire side hall seemed to gradually darken.

　　The golden-red cloth slowly slid down from the top of the new mountain god statue, revealing not a tiger head, but a clear man's face, and then seemed to slowly open his eyes.

　　*clang.*

　　The door was closed.

　　The three sticks of incense that had just been lit went out silently.

　　On the face of the White Cloud Temple ancestor in the very center, two lines of bloody tears slowly flowed down.

　　ps: The White Cloud Temple is where Liu Zhao got the amulet from in the previous chapters.

　　I read the chapter notes from the previous chapter.

　　I'll revise the parts that weren't handled well.

　　But in terms of combat, Wei Yuan can indeed entangle for a while… This is an enemy at the level of the Bone Woman. Even if he obtained the Mountain Lord's skin, he was only a subordinate official. This story starts with Painted Skin and ends with Painted Skin, but mainly because I didn't point this out earlier… it's my fault.