Chapter 42: The Mountain Lord's Invitation

"Maybe this bear meat can be used for medicine later?"

Mu Yi bit the roasted bear meat in his hand, his mind began to wander; the crude roasted bear meat wasn't tasty, but living on wind and rain is like this, and Mu Yi wasn't so refined as to find it hard to swallow.

Li Tian and the others, however, ate with relish; for them, being able to eat meat was already a very happy thing.

After resting for half a day, Mu Yi and his party set out again; in the south there were still many small settlements scattered, most of which were attached to certain Wild Gods, offering worship to the Wild Gods in exchange for safety.

Their purpose this time was to clear a path; to know which places were dangerous, they still had to ask the locals living nearby for such specific information.

As the party moved forward, a sudden earthen wall rose up, blocking their way.

"Formation, smash it!" Mu Yi frowned; was this forcing them to take the side mountain road?

"General! Hold on!"

A somewhat disheveled old man emerged from the ground, forcing a friendly smile in front of Mu Yi's party.

"I am the Temple Caretaker of the nearby Mountain Lord Temple; I already know the General's purpose, and have been waiting here!"

Perhaps due to long isolation in the deep mountains and lack of contact with the outside world, his friendly smile seemed a bit stiff.

Temple Caretaker of the Mountain Lord Temple?

Mu Yi thought for a moment; calling it the Mountain Lord sounds nice, but in reality it's a Tiger Demon that has taken the Mountain God's stature, at most a Mountain King.

But it seemed better than the previous Bear Demon; it even has a temple with a dedicated Temple Caretaker. Though the incense isn't strong, it can still be maintained.

"You know my purpose?" Mu Yi sized up the Temple Caretaker, and from his aura he seemed human.

"Most nearby villages are under the protection of Mountain Gods and Water Gods, receiving incense to benefit the area, but recently some Wild Gods have migrated here, acting without any rules..."

The Temple Caretaker spoke while pulling out a crude map, marked with simple information.

"Interesting, you want to use me as a weapon?" Mu Yi laughed; this Mountain Lord certainly knows how to play the numbers.

Heaven knows whether the information marked on this map is true or false.

"The Mountain Lord is willing to lend the General a hand to hunt demons, but regarding authority, wants to split it fifty-fifty with the General!"

The Temple Caretaker suddenly seemed like a different person, exuding a regal, domineering aura.

Mu Yi recognized this as the so‑called Mountain Lord Possession; it called the other party a Mountain King, disregarding even the rule of not possessing a proper deity, and now talks about other rules.

But compared with the earlier empty talk, this now shows some sincerity; at least it's willing to put in effort.

But... Mu Yi didn't trust the Mountain Lord before him; the malice on its body was about to spill out, and even ghosts could tell it had no good intentions.

So Mu Yi decided to go along with the plan, intending to accept it and see what kind of bad intentions this dead tiger has.

After all, this is a territory managed for years by others; who knows what traps are prepared? First lure the tiger out, then cut it down.

Two people and a demon, both harboring ulterior motives, reached a common goal.

"On a mountain thirty li along the Southeast Mountain Road there is a Snake Demon; a few days ago it ate people in the village and abducted a girl. How about we strike it first?" the Mountain Lord suggested enthusiastically.

Mu Yi rubbed his chin; it sounded reasonable, and it would be disingenuous if he disagreed.

"No problem, man‑eating monsters deserve death. How shall we cooperate? This is our first collaboration, so neither of us trusts the other, right?" Mu Yi said, feigning caution.

"I'll go ahead, wound it, then lure it down the mountain; you go rescue the people, and then we'll team up to deal with it!"

The Mountain Lord seemed to have a plan already, directly proposing an effective solution.

"No problem!" Mu Yi replied eagerly.

Immediately after, the Temple Caretaker staggered vaguely, then straightened, bowed to Mu Yi, and turned toward the mountain.

On the mountain, a black vortex drifted out, flying toward the southeast.

Mu Yi frowned; the other side was showing off its muscles to him.

It seemed to be a fully formed Tiger Demon, not easy to deal with!

"Mu boss? Shall we go now?" Lin Jie asked, a bit puzzled.

"Find a place to hide; if you see me signal you, rush up and destroy this Mountain Lord Temple."

Mu Yi whispered the instructions, then handed Lin Jie two bottles of Vitality Soup Potion with different effects.

Lin Jie understood, quietly slipped away from the group.

Thirty li isn't far; Mu Yi's party reached the place the Mountain Lord mentioned in little time.

When they arrived, tiger roars echoed through the forest, mixed with the hissing characteristic of snakes.

"Huo— that was intense!"

"You set up formation here; I'll go scout!"

Mu Yi gazed at the rising smoke in the distance, had Li Tian and the others form a formation, activated Cloud Energy, then poured the Mouse Agility potion, and headed up the mountain; whatever the Mountain Lord was planning, he would go see.

The Mountain Lord's willingness to scheme shows it hasn't broken Mu Yi's party's confidence; since there won't be a crushing situation, it's a matter of who's smarter.

The Snake Demon's cave was easy to find, or rather the traces it left were easy to recognize; following the trampled flora, they quickly located the Snake Demon's lair.

"Tsk, at least the Mountain Lord got something right!"

Mu Yi looked at the pile of white bones in the Snake Demon's cave; human skulls were easily identifiable.

"Man‑eating monsters deserve death!"

A scarlet flash lit Mu Yi's eyes; he again felt murderous intent, this time aimed directly at the Snake Demon.

"Hm? Someone?"

Mu Yi turned his head and heard crying from deep within the cave; recalling the Mountain Lord's mention of an abducted girl, he frowned. Though snakes are naturally lecherous, the size difference was huge—could the Snake Demon already be shape‑shifting?

The girl in the cave was probably already...

Mu Yi, heavy‑hearted, walked deeper into the Snake Demon's cave; a girl crouched on the ground, sobbing, and she seemed as if she hadn't suffered any mishap.

The girl heard Mu Yi's movement, curled in fear at the corner, watching him through a crack.

The girl's delicate beauty, even by Mu Yi's accustomed eye for high‑definition elf photos online, was quite excellent.

No wonder the Snake Demon specifically abducted her; it seemed to be preparing for its own future shape‑shifting.

Seeing that Mu Yi was not a Snake Demon but a human, she was instantly overjoyed.

"Young master! Are you sent by the Mountain Lord to rescue me?"

"Hurry, follow me away, the Mountain Lord is fighting the Snake Demon, we must leave quickly!" Mu Yi soothed the girl with the gentlest tone he could manage.

After Mu Yi grabbed the girl's hand, a smile appeared on his face, without the slightest hesitation.

"Time Confusion!"

Mu Yi suddenly accelerated his own time.

"Pfft!" A formation dagger pierced straight through the girl's chest.

"Your acting is pretty good, but the bloody smell in this cave can't hide your fox stench, nor can it hide the blood aura on you!"

The gentleness on Mu Yi's face faded, leaving only coldness.

In this contest of scheming.

Obviously, he had the upper hand.