txolops 043. Dangerous mountains and treacherous waters
043. Dangerous mountains and treacherous waters
Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Baoxiang, a new rumor was circulating.
To the east of Baoxiang Kingdom lies White Tiger Ridge.
White Tiger Ridge was once a treacherous mountain and dangerous water, where a corpse demon lived, calling himself the White Bone Demon.
However, some time ago, an immortal passed by, slew the corpse demon, and left a mountain god on this mountain to protect all living beings.
According to a woodcutter.
To supplement his family's income, he boldly ventured into White Tiger Ridge.
As a result, he accidentally fell into a ravine and broke his leg.
I thought I would die inside and be left with no trace.
But unexpectedly, a young woman appeared in front of him the next day.
Not only did they provide him with food and drink, but they also used their divine power to help him heal his wounds and send him away from White Tiger Ridge.
The girl even prepared the firewood he carried on his back.
She's practically a living Bodhisattva.
Another scholar who was passing by Baihu Ridge said...
He passed through Baihu Ridge on his way to the capital for the imperial examination.
As a result, he was intimidated by the tigers and wolves, and in a moment of fear, he ran into White Tiger Ridge.
He had heard that there was a demon in White Tiger Ridge who ate human flesh and skinned people.
I thought that even if I didn't die at the hands of the demon, I would be eaten by the tigers and wolves that chased after me.
Just when they were in despair, an old woman emerged from the woods and waved her hand.
The tigers and leopards, who prey on humans, turned and ran as if they had encountered their natural enemy, not daring to chase him any further.
But the scholar was still afraid; White Tiger Ridge was a land of tigers and wolves.
Suddenly an old woman appeared, an old woman who even tigers, leopards, and wolves feared.
There's only one explanation: this old woman is the great demon king of White Tiger Ridge, the Corpse Demon.
However, the old woman did not attack him; instead, she led him out of White Tiger Ridge.
I heard that his horse, books, and belongings for his journey to the capital for the imperial examinations had all been lost, and the old woman actually helped him prepare food and water.
"Without those things, I'd probably be dead long ago."
The scholar, having just finished his exam, addressed the crowd in the tavern.
"Bullshit! You mean White Tiger Ridge? That place used to be a deadly place; anyone who went there would have been skinned alive."
An old soldier slammed his wine gourd on the table and patted his severed right hand.
The right hand was clearly severed at the root, and judging from the wound, it didn't look like it was ripped off by a sharp weapon, but rather like it was torn off by teeth.
"Back then, when I accompanied the Mongol general into Tibet, we passed through this White Tiger Ridge. This wound is from that time!"
The veteran slammed his fist on the table, downed a mouthful of strong liquor, and shouted through his thick neck.
He stared at the tavern patrons, his expression a mixture of ferocity and lingering fear:
"Back then, our entire army consisted of about two thousand men. We won a battle in Tibet and were returning home. We were short of food and supplies along the way, so we relied on our leather armor and long swords to try and get some meat from White Tiger Ridge."
The veteran slammed his hand on the table, splashing liquor across it and filling the room with its aroma.
Unlike the veterans, the younger guests didn't pay attention to what the veterans were saying.
Someone said with a laugh:
"What happened to the veteran at White Tiger Ridge?"
The veteran took a deep breath, his expression growing increasingly grim.
As if remembering something, he slumped back into his chair with a thud, covering his face with his single arm.
"In White Tiger Ridge, there was a young girl carrying a lunchbox."
A young woman? Carrying a lunchbox?
How could such a thing possibly happen at White Tiger Ridge?
"Old soldier, how could there possibly be girls in White Tiger Ridge?"
"I wasn't lying!"
The veteran grabbed the wine jug on the table and took a big gulp.
The glistening liquor spilled onto the table and then onto the floor.
"Our team had more than 20 people, and we weren't the first batch to go in."
The veteran sat in his chair and continued speaking.
What happened back then truly terrified everyone, and to this day he still dares not enter White Tiger Ridge.
"The three teams that entered earlier all disappeared. We went into Baihu Ridge for rescue, and that's where we met that girl."
The veteran shuddered, his face turning ashen as he looked at the people before him.
"Guess what that woman is doing?"
Upon hearing the veteran's question, the patrons in the tavern couldn't help but scratch their heads.
What can this do?
"Are you here, eating?"
One of the servants, who had been listening intently, asked in a low voice.
As the veteran just said, the girl was carrying a lunchbox, so she must have been eating inside.
"That girl, was she killed by your people?"
A guest looked at the veteran and couldn't help but ask.
Such things happen all the time. In a small place like Baoxiang Kingdom, all sorts of human tragedies always occur.
However, the old soldier simply shook his head.
He just clutched the gourd with a look of fear on his face, pouring wine down his throat again and again.
He only spoke when he was half-asleep and urged by everyone.
"That woman is eating people—my colleagues! All the strangers who went into White Tiger Ridge earlier have been eaten!"
At this point, the veteran both cried and laughed.
"Everyone, everyone trembled to death. The corpse demon gnawed off their heads and ate their bodies. Their skins were hung on the trees, and when the wind blew, they floated in the air like living people."
The veteran's words were very rough.
But the tone of his voice sent chills down the spines of everyone present.
"No one can kill the Corpse Demon, no one!"
The entire tavern fell into a deathly silence because of the old soldier's madness.
Until someone touched their neck and let out an awkward laugh:
"Heh, heh heh, old man, you're joking."
Everyone looked up and saw the young scholar who had just spoken.
The scholar looked terrified; he had personally entered White Tiger Ridge.
If what the old soldier said is true, then what he saw that day was perhaps a corpse demon.
"What you saw could not possibly be a Corpse Demon. If it were, you would already be dead."
The old soldier raised his head, his bulging eyes staring intently at the scholar, his face full of madness.
He had seen the Corpse Demon up close, and that terrifying monster was still deeply imprinted in his mind.
Therefore, the veteran was certain that the Corpse Demon could not possibly save anyone.
But if it weren't for the corpse demon saving him, how could the scholar have left White Tiger Ridge unharmed?
"The Corpse Demon is dead."
The scholar quickly told everyone what he had heard.
Everyone nodded. They had all heard about this, and many even planned to move to the vicinity of White Tiger Ridge.
After all, that place is protected by gods.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
The veteran shouted.
He absolutely refused to believe that the Corpse Demon could die.
So many people almost died at White Tiger Ridge back then. He also lost an arm, and only after the Corpse Demon had eaten its fill did he barely manage to escape.
"If you don't believe me, go and see for yourself."
The scholar dared not say anything to the madman.
He could only recount his personal experience again, adding at the end:
"If you don't believe me, go see for yourself!"
And so, the veteran followed the villagers toward White Tiger Ridge.
These villagers all believed the rumors spread by the mountain god of Baihu Ridge and left their impoverished homes to go to Baihu Ridge.
The veteran didn't believe that any mountain god could subdue the corpse demon.
If there really is a mountain god, why wasn't he there when the Corpse Demon was devouring people?
The more the veteran refused to believe it, the more confused he became by what he heard from those around him.
Everyone who passed by him told the veteran that Baihu Ridge was a wonderful place, where everyone could eat and drink well under the protection of the mountain god.
"Corpse Demon, I will expose your true colors!"
The veteran took a deep breath.
He always felt that it was all a conspiracy by the Corpse Demon, and that the monster must have offered up some even more terrifying plan to spread such rumors.
Could it be that we're going to gather everyone together and eat them all?
The old soldier gripped the worn-out long knife at his waist.
This is the weapon he seized after killing three soldiers in Tibet years ago.
The veteran knew very well that weapons made of ordinary iron were completely useless against the Corpse Demon.
But what could he do?
"I can only prove with my life that the Corpse Demon is still a monster."
With that thought in mind, the veteran stepped into White Tiger Ridge.
Baihu Ridge remains as it was back then, with endless overlapping peaks and winding ravines.
Tigers and wolves roam in packs, deer and muntjacs travel in herds. A thousand-foot python, a ten-thousand-foot serpent.
Thorns and brambles grow rampant along the roadside, while pines and nanmu trees stand gracefully on the ridge. Ivy and creeper cover the landscape, and fragrant grasses stretch to the horizon.
The shadow falls on the northern sea, the clouds part to reveal the handle of the Big Dipper in the south. For eternity, it has contained the primordial energy, and a thousand peaks stand majestically, bathed in the cold sunlight.
It was a dangerous and treacherous place.
"I'm off!"
The veteran gritted his teeth and walked into White Tiger Ridge.
Just then, a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.
"Old man, why did you enter the mountains alone?"