Chapter 120

Although the fellow Daoists of Xianyuan Temple had taken away the spiritual flags, the monsters here had already been eliminated; only the remnant body of the large tree behind them emitted white smoke, the moonlight was as bright as if washed, and the surroundings were quiet, as if it were also a silent and peaceful night.

"I am Daoist Chongqing, greetings."

"I am Daoist Chongming, greetings."

The two middle-aged Daoist priests from Qiyun Mountain bowed to Lin Jue, and the Daoist priests Qingxuan and Jiang Ning beside them followed suit; since they already knew each other, there was no need to announce their names.

"Junior Lin Jue."

"Junior Qingyao."

"There are no juniors here, we are all fellow Daoists. May the Daoist be compassionate," Daoist Chongqing said. "Are you two fellow Daoists also invited by the people of Gong Village to eliminate demons?"

"You could say that. But not exactly. People from Gong Village and Li Village, thirty miles away, both went to our Fuqiu Temple to invite us down the mountain to eliminate demons. We were originally going to Li Village, but knowing that the fellow Daoists of Xianyuan Temple were here, after eliminating the fox pack at Li Village, we heard that the tree demons here were even more formidable, so we came here to take a look," Lin Jue said. "We are both on Mount Yishan, and although we are two different temples, we are family friends."

"So that's how it is! We must thank you fellow Daoists!"

The two Daoist priests bowed to them again, and Qingxuan and Jiang Ning behind them followed.

"No need for thanks," Lin Jue said. "Are you also invited by the villagers to eliminate demons?"

"It was these two believers who went up the mountain to invite us," Daoist Chongqing said. "However, we arrived a step later than you fellow Daoists."

The two middle-aged Daoist priests were older than them, and logically they should be considered seniors, but facing Lin Jue and his companion at this moment, they seemed to be a head shorter, showing much respect in their words and actions.

Lin Jue roughly knew the reason—

Nowadays, the Fulu Sect is flourishing in the world; this flourishing can actually be put another way, which is that it is they and their gods who are currently enjoying the offerings and respect of the world's people. However, when demons run rampant, it is the Lingfa Sect Daoist temples hidden deep in the mountains that must come down together to eliminate demons, putting in the work and effort, and even risking injury and death.

And even after suffering casualties, they cannot obtain "merit."

Even if Daoist Lingqing came, or even if Lord Yi Li descended in person, they would have to speak with their heads bowed at this time.

They themselves are also particular.

Lin Jue said nothing, just turned his head to look at the two villagers behind who were badly frightened, and then looked at the corpses on the horse's back behind him.

"This is..."

"The tree demons were entrenched in the forest, not allowing anyone to enter or leave. These are the corpses of villagers who were coming and going, officials who came to collect pears without knowing the situation, and two martial artists from the jianghu who were invited to help eliminate the demons; after being killed by the tree demons, they were hung on the trees. We saw them on the way here and couldn't bear it, so we took them down to bring them back to the village."

"So that's how it is."

Lin Jue's expression grew solemn, and he raised his hands in a bow.

The Daoist priests of Qiyun Mountain hurriedly returned the bow.

"Several Daoist priests," the two villagers behind them then said nervously, "what should we do now?"

"The tree demons here have already been killed by the fellow Daoists of Xianyuan Temple and Fuqiu Temple, so you can naturally come and go as you please from now on, no need to worry anymore, you can just return to the village," said Daoist Jiang Ning, who did not mention that he had used a Lord Li Fire Talismans, as if he were defining the nature of this matter.

"Then... then..."

The two villagers looked at each other, and then one of them said:

"It is already late at night, and you Daoist priests must be tired from eliminating the demons. Why not come to our village first to rest for a night, have something hot to eat, and we can thank you tomorrow."

"That would naturally be good!"

Daoist Qingxuan saw that they were still afraid and still had some worries, so he naturally nodded in agreement, and then looked at Lin Jue and his companion.

"That's fine."

Lin Jue had been traveling and fighting, and he also felt empty in his stomach; his strength seemed to be somewhat exhausted, and the magical power in his body was also running low.

He needed to find a place to eat something good, meditate to recover, and then get some sleep.

"Let's go."

Lin Jue first took out a small bottle, poured out two small Yuan Pills he had refined, and he and his junior sister each took one to replenish their magical power, then followed them toward the village.

While walking, he asked the villagers.

"Your Gong Village has such a large pear tree that has become a spirit, and so many withered trees that have become demons scattered in the mountains; surely you couldn't have been unaware of this?"

"This..."

The villagers looked at each other.

"Why must the believers be like this? We are practitioners of the Dao, not yamen runners."

"To tell you the truth, several Immortals, we were indeed aware of it," one of the villagers said. "That old tree has been there for who knows how many years; there have long been rumors that it became a spirit, and when I was young and in poor health, fearing I would die young, I even worshipped it as a godfather to protect me. Many people in the village worship it as a godfather. As for the other withered trees, we don't know when they became spirits."

The Daoist priests of Qiyun Mountain were shocked when they heard this: "There is such a thing, why didn't you report it?"

"Immortals, please forgive us. Firstly, we dared not easily offend it, and secondly, it had never harmed anyone before this. Even if someone occasionally walked into the forest at night and didn't come out, we just assumed they were bewitched by other demons or ghosts in the mountains, or that they had fallen to their deaths because they didn't look where they were going," a villager said.

"I don't know what happened in the last few days, but it suddenly became murderous and gave us dreams, saying that in consideration of the fact that our ancestors had planted it, it forbade us from entering or leaving the forest, otherwise we would die," another villager said fearfully and helplessly. "But the forest is all around the village, and this is the time when the pears are ripe. If we don't go out, the loss of a year's harvest is a small matter, but these pears are all meant for tribute."

"And even if the people in our village don't go out, there are fellow villagers outside the village; they don't know what's happening in the village and have to come back. The merchants from the city who come to collect pears and the imperial officials also have to come."

"Then how did you go out to send the message?"

"We are good swimmers, so we swam out from the river."

"So that's how it is."

Lin Jue nodded when he heard this.

In this day and age, with demons and ghosts breeding, the situation of people living with demons and ghosts is certainly not limited to Li Village.

There must be many more on this land.

Perhaps after this period of time, these stories will also be recorded and passed down. Either through word of mouth or written in books, when the next peaceful era comes, many people will seek them out for entertainment, listening to and reading them with great interest as strange tales, while at the same time being curious and puzzled as to why there are so many demon and ghost stories in this world.

These villagers are also smart and bold.

Since they couldn't walk through the forest, they actually thought of diving.

No wonder that among the many strange things heard before, besides people meeting and living with demons and ghosts, there was no lack of battles of wits and courage.

There was an archway standing at the entrance of the village, with stone lions sitting and lying on both sides, the bright moon paving the road, illuminating a stretch of scattered horse-head walls.

The sound of horse hooves in the night.

With such a big commotion here, the large tree whipping the ground, the mountains and forests moving together, and then the short-lived divine fire that came and went across the mountains, the villagers naturally had long since woken up, but no one dared to go out, all hiding in their rooms.

Until the sound of horse hooves entered the village.

And there was the sound of villagers knocking on doors and shouting.

"Those who aren't asleep, wake up quickly! The Daoist priests from Qiyun Mountain and Yishan have eliminated the tree demons outside, our village is safe, it's peaceful! Finally, it's peaceful!"

"Third Aunt! Your eldest son has been brought back!"

"Fourth Uncle, your son..."

Villagers opened their doors one after another to check.

Some saw the Daoist priests under the moonlight and heard that the demons had been eliminated, so they took them for immortals, bowing down and shouting endlessly.

Others saw the corpses carried on the horses' backs behind them and immediately burst into tears, shouting and kneeling to the Daoist priests, crying and thanking them.

The Daoist priests kept helping them up, inevitably feeling moved.

The spells used in fighting demons seemed to have the most significant meaning at this moment.

Half of the corpses were from the village, and perhaps there were others still hanging in the forest.

The villagers temporarily placed them in the ancestral hall.

Several Daoist priests originally said they would just make do for the night in the ancestral hall, but the villagers refused to let them, and specifically vacated a house belonging to a wealthy family in the village for them to rest, and then, in the midst of this late-night sorrow, arranged for women to light fires and open stoves to cook a few hot meals for them.

Food is the most important thing for the people.

This is the simple concept of the current common people.

No matter what big event happens, as long as people come to help, the first thing used to entertain them and show gratitude is a hot meal. It's the same even if people have died.

Several Daoist priests waited in the room with the lights on.

Lin Jue sat still, just reaching out his hand, and Xiao Shimei took a cloth strip to carefully wrap his palm, tying it into a knot.

Several Daoist priests from Qiyun Mountain were all staring at them.

The candlelight was reflected in everyone's eyes.

"Where is the fellow Daoist's Daoist robe?"

Daoist Qingxuan lowered his head, looking at the inner garment Lin Jue was wearing.

"It's on my junior sister," Lin Jue said. "Hers was cut to pieces by swords during the elimination of the fox demons."

"I have one."

Daoist Qingxuan took one out from the bundle beside him.

"Thank you."

"We should be the ones thanking you two fellow Daoists. However, we have already arrived at this place, so let us handle the matters in the vicinity from now on," Daoist Jiang Ning said calmly. "Rest for the night, and you two fellow Daoists should go back tomorrow morning."

"That would be best."

The villagers soon brought the food.

It was some very simple food.

But it was indeed steaming hot.

Several Daoist priests were indeed tired and hungry, so they didn't stand on ceremony, thanked them twice, and ate in silence.

After eating, they returned to their respective rooms.

In the wealthy family's house, the rooms were very exquisite, with beds and couches, all made of high-quality wood furniture. Lin Jue glanced at the bed, but didn't sleep in someone else's bed; instead, he sat down on the couch and lay down.

Seeing him sleeping here, Fuyao also lay down beside him, curled into a ball, staring at the moonlight outside in a daze.

What Lin Jue was thinking about was what happened earlier that night, dealing with those foxes at Li Village.

That old fox said that the foxes he raised were not ordinary foxes or fox demons. But foxes have always been known for being clever and cunning, and that old fox even more so, so he didn't know how much of what he said was credible.

Coming down the mountain this time, he specifically chose a place where fox demons were causing trouble, wanting to figure out the origin of his own fox, but he didn't expect that not only did he not figure it out, but he became even more confused.

Doesn't that at least show that it's not a local fox?

As Lin Jue thought, he gradually fell asleep.

I don't know how long it had been when he suddenly heard the fox calling him.

Lin Jue opened his eyes at once.

The bright moon was no longer in the window, but the dark night outside was still filled with moonlight; he didn't know where the moon had moved to, only his own fox was lying on the window frame, looking down.

There were panicked footsteps outside.

Lin Jue hadn't taken off his clothes, so in confusion, he immediately picked up his long sword and ran to the window to look down.

Someone came running, panting.

"Bang, bang, bang!"

The door of the wealthy family's house was knocked on.

As soon as it was knocked, he heard a voice from above.

"What's wrong?"

The person was very surprised, looked up, and didn't have time to think about why this Daoist priest hadn't slept yet, immediately shouting in a panic:

"Corpse...

"The corpse has changed!

"It's biting people!"

As soon as the words fell, with a swoosh.

The Daoist priest leaped down from the window with his sword, followed by the fox with its light and slender figure; the bright moon was right above the roof behind them.