Chapter 154

Chapter 154

"......" Chen Ji stared expressionlessly at the yellow tiger before him—this thing didn't deserve to be called a Siberian golden-striped cat.

He just felt the vines slapping his head all over the place.

Wasn't this old fiend putting on such a fierce show, cutting down everything in sight at the temple? How come when it comes to doing things in a dream, he's so wishy-washy and slow? Who knows what he's thinking, but no matter how you look at it, he just looks like a total idiot.

The vines moved away, replaced by the yellow tiger's barbed tongue. Chen Ji felt his few remaining strands of hair were goners.

After the yellow tiger finished licking, it left. Chen Ji went over to check the patch of grass. It was a bloody mess, but a thigh was still there. Considering the thigh was one of the meatiest parts of the child's body, it was left in perfect shape, almost like it was on purpose.

Chen Ji wasn't interested in eating it. He turned and left as well—there was no point. Even if buried, other animals would dig it up and eat it. Even if found rotten, scavengers would still consume it. Burying it really deep might do the trick, but digging a hole at least one meter deep without any tools?

The smell of blood hung in the air here. Predators would be on the trail soon enough. If he didn't want to become the next poor sucker, Chen Ji's only option was to leave this place quickly.

Chen Ji scouted around a few risky areas. Today, luck was on his side—he caught two rabbits. Both rabbits were fat and sassy. Without even thinking, Chen Ji grabbed one rabbit's head and twisted it to the right. A sharp crack of bone echoed, and the rabbit instantly went still. He did the same to the second one.

It wasn't that he didn't know rabbits multiply like crazy and could be raised. You could only raise rabbits if you had the right setup. Last time he tried raising two, they chewed right through the fence he'd made and escaped. The time before that, they dug a tunnel and ran off. And the time before that, the stink of rabbit shit drew other predators to attack his dwelling... Screw it, eating them was the easiest way out.

At least it avoided trouble.

Along the way, Chen Ji picked some wild berries and greens. He fed nearly both whole rabbits to the leopard, while he just ate the leftovers and some plants.

Protein intake didn't necessarily have to come from meat; eggs were an option too. You could crack a raw egg, shut your eyes, and gulp it down. But raw meat, no matter how you prepared it, was just gross no matter what.

Having some shrimp now and then for calcium wasn't so bad either.

In the dead of night when things were quiet, Chen Ji tried to go down the mountain. He thought encountering the yellow tiger meant the plot was over, but unfortunately, an invisible wall still prevented him from leaving.

He stood atop the mountain peak, looking out at the distant village. It was already far away; Chen Ji could only see silhouettes and blocks of color—all a dusty yellow.

Probably thatched mud houses.

Another three years passed. Chen Ji encountered a scrawny little girl. However, he'd come at a bad time this time—it happened just as the yellow tiger had already sunk its teeth into her neck. The little girl was drenched in blood from the waist up, her wide, dark eyes locked right on Chen Ji—she was already dead.

Chen Ji turned and left without a second glance. Nothing worth seeing.

He went hunting as usual. When he reached the mountain peak, he couldn't help but look back toward the village. Finally, he could see a touch of green there. Among the houses, some were now blue-gray—meaning they had the money to build blue-brick houses.

Another three years later, this time he encountered a pair of children, a boy and a girl, both around five or six years old. They were well-dressed, at least compared to Chen Ji and the previous two children. They wore full sets of clothes, were good-looking, and had plump limbs, like they'd been fed well.

The two children must have been drugged with something and were unconscious.

Just as Chen Ji was about to go save them, as soon as he started to move, the two children were swallowed by black mist. He stood still, watching intently. Not long after, the yellow tiger stepped out gracefully from the black mist, flinging a small, chubby hand in front of him. The vines even patted his head in passing. Clearly, it was deliberately left for him.

Chen Ji looked at that plump arm. Obviously, the famine down the mountain had passed. Compared to him and the previous two, who were all skin and bones, these two children didn't look like they were thrown into the mountains to fend for themselves because their families couldn't afford food.

After all, if they were so poor they couldn't eat, how could they raise a child so plump and fair-skinned? And if they were willing to raise them so well, how could they bear to throw them into the mountains?

—It was a sacrifice on purpose.

Or rather, deliberate.

Things had gotten better down in the village. They discovered that as long as they sacrificed children to the mountain... or perhaps it was a coincidence, just that good harvests happened to come at the same time as the act of sending children into the mountains. In any case, they didn't mind doing it.

Whether these two children were specially raised by the whole village chipping in, or selected from among the villagers' families, in the end, they were sent to sacrifice to the Mountain Lord.

Chen Ji's mindset was almost indifferent. All of this was a dream. Even if he saved them, these two children had likely been dead for who knows how many years in reality. He didn't know who threw him into this dream, but since he was here, he might as well watch.

—Anyone who lived over a decade as a wild man wouldn't have a particularly cheerful or enthusiastic mood.

Another three years passed. The village was now almost entirely blue-gray. It seemed every household had built blue-brick houses. Fields spread inside and outside the village, their golden waves rippling in the wind.

This time, Chen Ji encountered a young woman wearing a bright red wedding dress.

Well, it seemed the village had tasted the benefits and simply decided to send a bride.

The young woman sat primly on a rock. She lowered her head, her cheeks painted with two circles of alarmingly red blush. Her knees were pressed together, but upon closer inspection, one could see the young woman had bound feet. Her feet formed sharp triangles, wrapped in palm-sized embroidered shoes. A white rope tied between the shoes restricted her steps to at most half an arm's length.

Chen Ji observed the young woman's frail, willow-like figure, curious about how the yellow tiger would handle her.

Would it really be like the legends, carrying the young woman back to be its wife?

Not long after, black mist appeared. The young woman seemed to sense it too, rising in panic and looking around fearfully. She pleaded timidly, "Mountain Lord... I beg the Mountain Lord to have mercy..."

Before she could finish, she suddenly let out a scream. Black mist wrapped around her ankles. That three-inch golden lotus foot almost instantly separated from her leg, flying high into the air. The young woman collapsed to the ground. Seeing her foot land before her, she wailed, "How could this be! How could this be!"

The black mist surged forward. She stared in terror at the thing hidden within the mist, screaming and crying. From his angle, Chen Ji could clearly see her ripped-open abdomen and the blood gradually staining the ground.

Those fingers, meticulously painted with red nail polish, dug deeply into the soil.

What use was it?

Probably that old bastard would still think this woman's bones were too hard to chew, her meat too scant, not as tender as a child's, and so on.

The black mist dissipated, leaving behind unrecognizable mush and shattered bones on the ground. The yellow tiger slowly walked out, the black mist behind it twisting. Chen Ji made no move to avoid it. Having seen this so many times, as long as he didn't show any intent to attack the old bastard, it would recognize him as one of the mountain's animals—this old bastard didn't seem particularly keen on eating animals.

Not only was it not keen, it even seemed quite benevolent.

For example, this time it again left a piece of meat for Chen Ji, placed right in front of him. For an animal, this piece of meat was rich and fatty. For Chen Ji, it only made him want to vomit.

Just as Chen Ji was about to turn and leave, suddenly a strikingly red figure emerged from the black mist. A slender, graceful woman in a red wedding dress walked out. Her lips were a vivid, dripping red. She glared sinisterly at the yellow tiger, revealing a hideously ferocious smile.

The yellow tiger glanced back at her and emitted a low growl resembling a warning. The woman's smile faded. She lowered her head, her hands with long, bright red nails properly folded together. Taking tiny, mincing steps, she followed the yellow tiger into the shadows and disappeared.

She had died, transformed into a red-dressed ghost... and simultaneously into a ghost servant.

Another three years passed. The village remained the same, but the wheat fields seemed to have expanded further. A small river had also appeared, which Chen Ji saw had been dug out by the villagers.

This time, what was sent was still a young woman—a rare beauty. She too wore a red wedding dress, sitting with bowed head on that same rock, as gorgeous as a flower blooming in the forest.

She also died, becoming the second ghost servant.

A few hunters entered the mountains. They were tricked by these ghost servants and fed to the yellow tiger. However, their souls did not become ghost servants because the yellow tiger devoured them along with their bodies.

Another three years, another bride...

Another three years...

Another three years...

Chen Ji watched coldly like this. He didn't understand why, being human, he hadn't aged and died of old age yet. But since it was just a dream, he'd just keep watching.

This time, it was still a bride. This bride had delicate features and a plump figure. She was tied up with ropes. In fact, Chen Ji watched as several burly men escorted her and threw her into the mountains.

She lay on the rock, screaming desperately, "Help! Help—!"

Chen Ji stood among the grass and trees, unmoving.

Because the wraiths had already arrived—more than a dozen brides in red, some standing, some sitting, surrounding this altar.

Yes, this was the altar, the very place where they had been killed.

Now that the wraiths were here, the Yellow Tiger would soon follow.

Suddenly, the young girl looked in Chen Ji’s direction: “Please! Save me! Save me! I’m not from their village! I was kidnapped! Please, save me!”

The red-garbed brides all turned their eyes toward Chen Ji.

Chen Ji pursed his lips and softly called to the nearest bride in red: “Sister.”

The bride in red gave him an eerie smile.

Chen Ji said, “The Mountain Lord always demands a sacrifice—it doesn’t matter who it is, right?”

The bride in red nodded numbly.

Chen Ji said, “Alright, then don’t expose me, sisters… I’ll try.”

Two of the brides vanished. Chen Ji stepped forward and said to the girl, “Stop crying now, listen to me. I’ll save you. Give me your outer robe, then run—head down the mountain in the other direction. Whether you escape or not depends on your fate.”

The girl looked at Chen Ji with tear-filled eyes, yet her expression was resolute: “What about you?”

Chen Ji smiled. “What could happen to me? I’ll just stay here and fool the Mountain Lord in your place.”

The girl nodded almost without hesitation. Chen Ji untied her ropes, and she immediately removed the bright red wedding robe embroidered with auspicious patterns. Without looking back, she ran in the direction Chen Ji had pointed.

Chen Ji put on the wedding robe and placed the bridal veil over his own head.

Suddenly, he heard someone ask, “Since you could save her, why didn’t you save me back then?”

Chen Ji crossed his legs casually. To be honest, wearing clothes again after so many years was a truly peculiar sensation. He replied, “It’s not that I didn’t want to save you—I just didn’t have the ability to rescue anyone from the Mountain Lord… Maybe I’ll die soon too. Sisters, show some mercy and snatch my soul so I can be reborn, alright?”

Before the words had fully left his mouth, a chilling wind swept through. Chen Ji knew immediately that the tiger had arrived.

A massive head pressed down on his shoulder, the furry sensation precisely transmitted through the fine cotton fabric to his senses.

A foul, bestial wind blew against his face.

Suddenly, a wet sensation brushed over the top of his head. The bridal veil slipped off, and a tiger so enormous it defied human comprehension nuzzled against Chen Ji, emitting a low, rumbling purr.

“Little leopard.”