Chapter 155

Chapter 155

Chen Ji couldn't take it anymore—he pressed his hands against the yellow tiger's massive head, trying to push it away.

He had no choice; the smell was overwhelming. Being this close to it was like standing in a slaughterhouse that had been running for eighty years and never been cleaned. The blood and flesh had decayed, producing a nauseating, rancid stench that made Chen Ji feel his stomach acid churning, burning his throat with a sharp, searing pain.

The yellow tiger, however, didn't seem to mind at all. It treated Chen Ji like its own child, its pet, affectionately nuzzling and rubbing up against him.

Chen Ji's pushing hands might as well have been nonexistent.

"Little leopard..." the yellow tiger called softly, its barbed tongue licking Chen Ji's skin. Each lick stung, and Chen Ji tried to dodge, but the vines held him tight, making it impossible to move.

Chen Ji knew struggling was useless, yet he couldn't help flinching away each time the tongue came near. After a few times, the yellow tiger seemed to get the idea. It tilted its head, then nudged Chen Ji with its thick paw, shoving him into its embrace—nearly suffocating him in the process.

Chen Ji turned his head to breathe.

He tried pushing a couple more times, but unfortunately, the old tiger didn't seem to notice. It held him close, alternating between licking and rubbing, and Chen Ji felt like a dried-up salted fish, too worn out to struggle anymore. He simply let it happen.

In real life, Chen Ji would have been more cautious—after all, he only had one life. But this was a dream, so what was there to fear?

Perhaps the sight of Chen Ji was amusing, because the red-clad brides let out soft, ghostly laughter that echoed through the mountain forest—it was like a real haunting.

About ten minutes later, two red-clad brides returned. They said, "Mountain Lord, the sacrifice was not given willingly."

"Mountain Lord, they did not keep their promise."

The old tiger let out a low growl, its whole body shaking with the sound. The vibrations shook Chen Ji to his core, and just as he tried to endure it, he felt as if fire were burning inside his organs. Before he knew what was happening, he opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood.

The yellow tiger was drawn to the scent of blood. It lowered its head, gently licked the blood off Chen Ji, and let him go. Immediately, the vines lifted him and carried him into the black mist. Before Chen Ji could even struggle, he felt as if he had passed through something, and then he fell into a massive cave dwelling.

It seemed to be inside a mountain cave, but what was peculiar was that the entire cave consisted of only one chamber—a concave, circular pit. In simple terms, it was like a giant cat's space pod bowl.

The pit was filled with hay, cloth, and even gold, silver, and jewels. Falling into it felt like landing on a soft bed.

This was the yellow tiger's dwelling.

Chen Ji sat up. Although the padding was plentiful, the fall from such a height still left him a bit sore. He looked around listlessly—so this was where the old tiger lived?

Was this also on Little Green Mountain?

How had he never been here before?

Then again, this was the yellow tiger's lair. It was probably curled up here right now. Whitey... no, Xiangxiang would never have brought him to the yellow tiger's den! That would have been suicide!

So, was the statue in the Mountain Lord Temple just a vessel for it?

He didn't know. He'd have to keep observing.

A red-clad bride appeared at the edge of the cat bowl, holding a bright red tray. She drifted down gracefully and handed him the contents of the tray. Chen Ji initially wanted to refuse, but the moment he saw what it was, he couldn't.

—Why? Because it was a bowl of clay pot rice with cured meat!

Who could resist that?!

His gaze toward the red-clad bride changed, becoming as tender as water.

The red-clad bride smiled and patted his head. "Poor child, you're still alive... Can you speak? Have something to eat first."

Chen Ji slowly formed a question mark in his mind.

The red-clad bride made a gesture. "You were watching when I died, and you were so scared you froze... I thought you would have died long ago."

The red-clad bride smiled again, patted his head, placed the rice in his hands, poured him a cup of water, and then vanished.

Chen Ji knew this was a dream—perhaps only five minutes had passed since he fell asleep—but he couldn't help devouring the food ravenously.

He never knew a simple bowl of rice could move him to tears.

—Raw meat was just too hard to eat! Wuwuwu!

After he finished eating, the red-clad bride had just taken the bowl away when the yellow tiger leaped out of the black mist, landing directly in the cat bowl. Luckily, Chen Ji dodged quickly, or he would have been flattened into a Chen Ji pancake.

The tiger rolled around in the cat bowl, exposing its white, furry belly. Then, as if remembering something, its tail deftly hooked Chen Ji and pulled him onto its belly. Chen Ji, smelling the foul odor, silently covered his mouth—he had finally managed to eat a proper meal, and he had to hold it in! He absolutely couldn't vomit now!

The red-clad brides covered their mouths and giggled softly.

"Oh, why hasn't the Mountain Lord eaten him?"

"He's lived for so long. The Mountain Lord has seen him many times but never eaten him."

"It seems he was raised by a leopard. The Mountain Lord probably thinks he's a leopard too."

The bride who had brought Chen Ji the clay pot rice sighed regretfully. "Is that so... I just gave him his last meal. What a waste!"

Hearing this, Chen Ji turned his face toward the ghost bride. She was looking at him too, wearing a simple, innocent smile that somehow felt eerily sinister.

Not all red-clad brides were like Brother Zhang. For someone like Chen Ji—who was also sent by the village but wasn't eaten by the Mountain Lord and was instead treated as a member of the mountain—their thoughts were: How annoying, why hasn't he died?

After all, whose body hadn't been dismembered by the Mountain Lord, with parts given to the "little leopard"?

Surrounded by the red-clad brides, Chen Ji felt no anger. He simply felt nothing—after all, everyone here was pitiful. Why compare who was more miserable? What good would come from winning such a comparison? What harm from losing?

Their desire to kill him wasn't unreasonable. If the villagers appeared before them, they would die much faster than he would.

After all, Chen Ji was merely alive, while the villagers had traded their lives for a prosperous, happy existence—why? Why did they have to die? Why not someone else? Why did others get to enjoy the benefits of their deaths? Why?

The yellow tiger's rumbling purrs echoed through the cave. Chen Ji used its body to climb to the edge of the cat bowl and looked up at the red-clad brides standing above. "Sisters, could you give me a hand?"

Of course, someone was willing to help him.

Once his feet were firmly on the ground, Chen Ji let out a sigh of relief. He thanked the red-clad brides around him. He was naturally observant and good at reading people, and with just a few words, their attitude toward him softened considerably. After all, they were all victims in the same boat.

"The village? With favorable weather and good harvests, of course they're doing well."

"What good does that do? They still have to send a bride every three years."

"Hmph, it's not the same. This time, they bought a kidnapped girl from outside to be the bride."

"The Mountain Lord will be angry."

"What can it do even if it's angry? Were we willingly eaten by it?"

After listening for a while, Chen Ji asked, "Weren't they sending disabled children before?"

A red-clad bride looked at him, her gaze surprisingly gentle. "The village only has so many people. How many disabled children could there be? Once they ran out, they had to send girls... The village chief said they were sending a 'golden boy and jade girl.' After sending one pair, many villagers were unhappy. Later, they sent me, saying they were giving the Mountain Lord a wife who could whisper in its ear~"

She uttered the words "whisper in its ear" with biting sarcasm.

The villagers hoped the bride would whisper in the Mountain Lord's ear, and indeed she did—only it was to coax the Mountain Lord into eating more villagers.

Unfortunately, the Mountain Lord didn't eat many people.

What a shame.

Not knowing what had come to mind, Chen Ji shut his eyes briefly. "If the Mountain Lord didn't get the offering this time, what will happen to the village?"

"What will happen? Hah..." The brides burst into laughter, their eerie, piercing giggles echoing throughout the cave. The tawny tiger let out an impatient roar, and the laughter ceased. Their eyes grew cold and sharp, filled with obvious mockery. "Nothing will happen."

"The Mountain Lord just didn't get his tribute. What could happen? Nothing at all." The brides said in a low voice, "But the villagers won't see it that way."

"Whenever there's an extra rainfall, an extra snowfall, someone falls ill, or crops get blighted this year, they'll think the Mountain Lord is displeased... They'll send a new offering."

Chen Ji was silent for a beat, then glanced sideways at the old yellow beast. "Since the Mountain Lord has no use for the offerings, why does He eat them?"

A red-clad bride giggled and retorted, "Why wouldn't you eat food delivered right to your mouth?"

"He is the Mountain Lord, but He's still just a tiger. It's only natural for tigers to eat people."

Chen Ji thought to himself, not really. In modern times, if a tiger ate a couple of people, they'd search the mountains to find it and give it a few rounds of bullets. Pity this isn't the modern era.

By way of comparison, if Chen Ji knew a place where a roe deer reliably spawned every three years, he'd wait there too, then kill it and drag it back to eat.

So, in a way, all these red-clad brides... died for nothing.

Including this body.

Chen Ji hadn't thought much of suddenly regaining his ability to speak earlier, but now it occurred to him that this body should have died around then, and his own characteristics were gradually manifesting.

'Little Leopard' likely died not long after the leopard grew old, because the leopard lost its hunting ability, and 'Little Leopard' couldn't survive in such a perilous, deep mountain... Or perhaps he did survive, only to die from something else—like being killed by a village hunter.

Chen Ji stayed on in this cave. Since the old leopard was already dead, he just had to fend for himself. Occasionally, the brides would cook something and share a bite with him.

Looking on the bright side, at least he could eat cooked food now... ghost fire is still fire.

Within half a year, a large-scale epidemic broke out in the village, killing many people.

Chen Ji saw another bride being sent up the mountain.