chapter 2

Chapter 2

Wei Xi raised his eyebrows, examining the tribute he had received.

The corpse looked peculiar, dressed in tattered clothing with half its sleeves and trouser legs missing, clearly indicating poverty-stricken circumstances. Yet, its exposed, scarred limbs were abnormally fair and tender, as if it had always lived a life of luxury.

A freshly severed soul sat limply on its lifeless legs, hugging them, with its head bowed. It reacted slowly to external sounds, taking a long while before lifting its head.

Upon seeing its appearance, Wei Xi froze, momentarily thinking he was looking into a mirror.

Unable to resist, he took two steps forward, turned over the corpse, and studied it closely. Indeed, this body bore an eerie resemblance to his own, almost identical save for a slight difference. Despite that minor disparity, the distinction was vast. This corpse, though handsome like him, exuded a weak aura, suggesting a lack of assertiveness and vulnerability to external influences. The shallow brows indicated an early loss of the mother and strained relationship with the father. The misfortune in love, shown by the jutting cheekbones, suggested that even if he found a compatible partner, the other party would not remain faithful. The dark aura on the forehead symbolized troubles, bad luck, and encounters with enemies, combined with his inclination to avoid confrontation, pointed to a probable suicide by hanging.

Looking up at the towering cliff face before him, Wei Xi deduced that the person must have jumped from above, accidentally falling into the barrier. However, since the grim reapers never ventured here to collect souls, this unfortunate soul was destined to linger without reincarnation. This poor soul's streak of bad luck seemed to have reached its peak, now serving as food for the mountain king.

Confused by the situation, the freshly deceased soul recoiled from its corpse's head, sliding down between its legs and burying its head in the crotch, trembling uncontrollably like a small rooster awaiting slaughter. Wei Xi grabbed it, giving it a gentle shake. This ghost was heavily imbued with yin energy but distinct from the pitch-black earth-bound spirits he had consumed before; its translucent body suggested it had not committed any evil deeds.

Wei Dedao had forbidden him from consuming such souls.

Wei Xi paused, suddenly losing all appetite.

He scoffed and discarded the trembling spirit, who was now like a sieve. To prevent himself from weakening, he made a hand gesture and performed a ritual to guide the spirit to the afterlife on the spot.

As he chanted the Rebirth Mantra, he felt that he must have been starving to do such a thankless task. The spirit, who had escaped its fate, seemed to realize that Wei Xi was helping it. The ghostly figure knelt on the ground and bowed several times before reaching out to retrieve something from its corpse just before vanishing. It respectfully presented the item to Wei Xi.

After completing the ritual, Wei Xi picked up the object and examined it. It turned out to be a flat leather pouch. The bag had no lid and was folded in half from the center. Inside, there were many grooves, each containing rectangular hard pieces of unknown purpose. At the very bottom were a pile of colorful papers with vivid illustrations.

Wei Xi pulled out a red one, which depicted an old man he had never seen before.

Why draw an old man instead of a beautiful person? He frowned, discarding the useless pile.

The weasel, afraid of not being able to present its treasure, cowered by the corpse. Wei Xi glanced at the body, remembering that Wei Dedao had also forbidden him from eating this one!

Why is that damn old man always causing trouble?

"Dig a hole and bury him!" Wei Xi said irritably, then added ominously, "If you dare to eat it, I'll devour you."

The weasel nearly left behind a shadow as it fled.

Wei Xi sat down by the quiet cliffside. The intense hunger threatened to overwhelm him, but he couldn't be bothered to move. Instead, he stared blankly at the sea of clouds in the distance.

Freedom unburdened by worries lingered hauntingly at his feet, and weariness overwhelmed him, making him yearn for a long slumber.

Half-awake, half-asleep, Wei Xi felt something drop into his mouth.

Hunger piqued, he instinctively chewed on it, only to abruptly stop and tilt his head to spit.

Spit after spit, he expelled several clumps of dirt.

Wei Xi: "............?"

Fuming, he scrambled to his feet, determined to confront whoever dared to be so audacious. To his astonishment, he realized he was lying in a shallow dirt hole.

The hole was carelessly dug and refilled, and as he subconsciously brushed away the thin layer of soil covering him, his gaze froze.

Beneath the black pants that were now missing a leg, a pair of slender, fair legs were flexed with strength. The hand digging through the dirt exposed an arm without a sleeve to protect it.

A low, menacing whine caught his attention, and he turned to see a yellow weasel standing at the edge of the hole, its cunning eyes filled with shock and longing as they stared at him.

This time, Wei Xi was truly silent.

The weasel watched the human in front of it with caution as he suddenly sat up after appearing to be dead.

Beasts didn't have many rules or morals. Although its leader had forbidden it from eating him, finding such tender flesh was a rare opportunity. Just looking without indulging would be a waste. It had originally planned to pretend to bury him for a few days before secretly devouring him, but never expected the cooked duck to inexplicably come back to life.

The weasel narrowed its eyes, its small pupils filled with ferocity. It took two steps back before suddenly pouncing forward!

A living duck could fly. Anyway, the leader wasn't nearby. How could a mere mortal be a match for it? It might as well just...

??????????????

When it was abruptly lifted by the neck with a swift and fierce grip, the weasel was thoroughly confused.

In the next second, a familiar punch and mocking laughter followed:

"How dare you defy my orders. Have you grown tired of living, you little beast?"

Wei Xi threw the dazed weasel to the ground beneath the tree. After venting his anger, his mood improved somewhat.

He didn't feel the slightest bit happy about inexplicably occupying this weak body, but there was no way out. Sitting here wouldn't change anything either.

He slowly rose to his feet, gazing at the subtly shifting muscles in his legs, his emotions indiscernible. Strangely, despite the corpse's prolonged death, it hadn't decayed. After he awoke, the wounds on his body had vanished without a trace. He could walk, sit, and lie down as before, still feeling the same ravenous hunger. The only new sensation, an unfamiliar dizziness, served as a tangible reminder that he now inhabited a body.

Wei Xi returned to the cottage, finding that the beasts had departed. The sacrificial offerings on the ground and the braised meat in the pot remained untouched.

The small courtyard was deserted, with Wei Dedao sleeping peacefully, no longer calling him "apprentice" with his former twists and turns, nor clamoring for food.

He would never awaken again.

The vast emptiness was overwhelming for Wei Xi, leaving him to ponder what each day ahead would hold.

His gaze suddenly froze, landing on the jade pendant lying on Wei Dedao's chest. It was the same one he had placed there that morning with someone else. In just a short while, it seemed to have suffered significant damage, its once lustrous, creamy white surface now dull and lifeless.

Wei Xi gazed at it for a moment before bending down to pick it up. He then pushed the soil piled beside the pit back in, covering Wei Dedao's irritating face.

Then, he said, "I'm leaving."

A figure darted swiftly through the forest.

He ran with incredible agility, his movements graceful. The tangled tree roots and years of decaying mud and branches in the woods seemed to vanish beneath his feet. On his back was a large bamboo basket, and the sleeves and hem of his Taoist robe danced wildly in the wind as he moved.

Indeed, the barrier had no effect on his physical body.

However, the forest was filled with arrays, making Wei Xi's journey far from effortless.

Not to mention that he was carrying a full basket of luggage, such as the accumulated silver coins of Wei Dedao.

He casually caught a venomous snake that dared to attack him, bit off its head, and stuffed it into his mouth. As he enjoyed the meal, he paused to observe the path ahead, adjusting his robe that had been tousled by the mountain wind.

The clothes of this body were perplexing. Despite being made of fine fabric that felt smooth and soft, they were oddly revealing, leaving much skin exposed. Wei Xi didn't mind dressing that way since he often went without clothes for convenience in the mountains. However, when encountering people, such attire would undoubtedly draw unwanted attention, so he changed back into his own clothes.

There was another strange occurrence. The further he ventured outside the barrier, the fewer prey he encountered in the mountains. In the past few days, apart from a few pheasants, rabbits, and the snake just now, he hadn't come across any substantial food sources.

Forget about wolves, tigers, and leopards, but why were there even no wild boars?

Looking up, Wei Xi noticed that the peak was just above him, shrouded in mist and towering higher than the mountain he lived on. Finishing the venomous snake, he decided to camp there for the night and catch something for sustenance.

Grasping the trunk of a tree, he leaped upward, climbing almost halfway when he heard faint, indistinct sounds, like the thud of heavy objects on the ground.

Food!

Wei Xi immediately picked up his pace, thinking that this was more like it. Wei Dedao had mentioned that the mountain was steep and desolate, making it difficult for ordinary people to climb, thus there were hardly any villages within several miles of the area. The old man had been blind back then, braving the winds and rains for nearly two months before finding his current abode. Such a place surely couldn't be without fierce beasts, could it?

Sure enough, the sounds grew clearer as they climbed higher. The footsteps were rhythmic and heavy, one after another, and Wei Xi had never encountered such a loud beast before. He couldn't help but speculate about its size—this thing must weigh as much as a hill, right?

The seasoned mountain lord, accustomed to tearing out throats, finally became cautious and drew the kitchen knife tied to his belt.

It was just ahead, just ahead.

He gripped the last rock, analyzing the pattern of the footsteps, then seized the moment and leaped upward—

As if breaking through an invisible barrier, the world's immense noise suddenly poured in.

"Move a bit over, move a bit over! Take a picture of me on Eagle Beak Peak too!"

"What are you pushing for? Are you crazy? Can't you see that it's a cliff below? Stop pushing, damn it!"

"F*ck your mother! How dare you speak to me like that!"

"Well, we are now at the famous Eagle Beak Peak of Fengyang Mountain. Look over here, does the shape of the precipice resemble an eagle's beak? Although beautiful, the mountain range beneath the cliff is an unexplored area, very dangerous. Even many professionals don't dare to venture in easily. Everyone, please don't wander off to explore on your own! Now, getting back to the main topic, the most famous landmark on Eagle Beak Peak is, of course, the Fengyang Mountain Temple. After everyone finishes burning incense later, we can purchase amulets together here…."

Wei Xi: "???"

With his feet planted firmly on the ground and an expressionless face, he still held onto the knife handle but had lost the urge to draw it. This was because he had finally seen the source of the thunderous footsteps that had caught his attention –

A few steps away, beyond the crowd, two young men, nearly naked, were each wielding a wooden mallet, energetically pounding a stone mortar before them. A woman, also scantily clad, noticed Wei Xi's gaze and smiled warmly, saying, "Young man, would you like some pounded rice cake? Ten yuan a bowl."

Only after her words did she notice Wei Xi's unusual attire, causing her eyelids to twitch violently.

Almost simultaneously, other tourists on their Golden Week trip also spotted this unfamiliar figure, instantly sparking a flurry of curiosity and attention.

"You see that kid, isn't it too hot for him to wear so much during the Indian summer?"

"What do you know? He's probably cosplaying. Young people have good stamina."

"Dressing up as a Taoist priest in Phoenix Mountain? Trying to disrupt the scene? And isn't his costume a bit too authentic? It's dirty, old, and patched. So, he's playing a poor priest, huh?"

"Oh, now that you mention it, his face is also dusty!"

Chattering and buzzing, Wei Xi suddenly became the brightest star in the night sky, drawing the attention of thousands.