Chapter 13: Humans Can Also Deceive Demons and Ghosts

What's popular these days is the sword-wielding scholar; there's no such thing as a scholar who is powerless.

Although Lin Jue was a young scholar, he was a country boy who had grown up running, playing, and working in the mountains. At this moment, in a fit of rage, he gritted his teeth and used all his strength to grab the monster tightly.

Lin Jue even felt it was lighter than a normal person, vaguely wanting to lift it up.

"Woo woo..."

The monster immediately let out a low, threatening growl, while twisting its body hard, trying to break free from Lin Jue's grip.

But just as it turned its head, opened its mouth to reveal its fangs, and prepared to pretend to bite the youth, it caught a glimpse—the two were so close that the youth's intense, thick fire breath squeezed to his throat looked in its eyes like a mouthful of morning sun-like red light, terrifyingly immense.

The monster even felt its face burning.

The Yin energy on its body also seemed threatened.

"Awoo~ awoo~ awoo~~~"

A sound similar to a stray dog being frightened suddenly rang out in the mountains, mixed with shouts: "Immortal, spare me! Don't kill me! Awoo awoo! Don't burn me! I have never harmed anyone!"

Lin Jue saw the terrified look in its eyes.

"Immortal?"

Could he also be called an Immortal?

Lin Jue understood after a moment's thought: the monster was timid and fearful, seeing him composed and unafraid, even taking the initiative to attack it, and coupled with the fire breath in his mouth, it mistakenly thought he was a high-level expert with the Dao.

Perhaps it even thought he was here to eliminate demons.

As for what it said...

Lin Jue had been deceived by it twice in a row, so naturally, he didn't dare believe it.

Even if it were true, this monster at most hadn't eaten people, hadn't used its claws or demon arts to harm people, but wasn't scaring people here also harming them? The one at the Wang Family Ancestral Hall was so restrained, yet still scared people who claimed to be brave and not believe in ghosts and gods into illness; how much more hateful was this monster, which specifically scared people?

Coupled with the fact that he was currently in a fit of rage, if Lin Jue really had Daoist cultivation, he would really want to give it a good lesson.

"Run for your life, run for your life! Awoo awoo!"

"..."

At this moment, Lin Jue's fire breath was already at his lips, and the knife in his left hand was also gripped tightly; seeing it like this, he couldn't help but hesitate.

If the monster hadn't begged for mercy just now, and he had acted regardless, the flames would have been sprayed out and the knife would have been stabbed in; but as soon as the monster begged for mercy, his anger paused, and he calmed down.

This demon had a fierce face and fangs, and didn't look easy to provoke; it was skilled in the art of transformation and could turn into a human form, so he felt its cultivation wasn't low. If he kept spraying fire at it, he might be able to burn it to death, but once burned, it would definitely struggle desperately, and his full breath of fire could only be sprayed seven or eight times; burning off its fur was very likely, but besides that, he feared he could at most injure it.

As for this knife...

Although he had the courage to fight a monster at this moment, this was, after all, only the body of a fifteen or sixteen-year-old youth, not yet fully grown; facing a monster as big as a human, he feared he wouldn't necessarily win.

Lin Jue thought this, but he wasn't afraid, and didn't show any weakness, saying in a deep voice:

"You haven't harmed anyone? You say it, and I should believe you?"

"I'm wronged, Immortal! This is a government road, and also a trade route; if I had harmed anyone here, I would have been removed long ago! Besides, Mount Qiyun is only a few days' journey from here; if there were demons and ghosts harming people, how long could they live?"

The monster let Lin Jue hold it, only trembling in fear, not daring to struggle at all.

Even though the fire breath in Lin Jue's mouth had been swallowed, in its eyes, it was more like a demonstration of Lin Jue's composure and power.

"Besides, I was originally a house dog, raised by humans, and from beginning to end, I have never bitten anyone, and I have known the power of humans since I was small, so how would I dare to harm anyone?"

"So it's a dog demon!" Lin Jue immediately understood, "Huang Quan? Huang Quan (Yellow Dog)!"

"Ex... exactly! Woo woo!"

"Then why are you scaring people on this road at night? Do you really have the guts of a dog?"

"This..."

The monster couldn't speak for a moment.

With a furry face, fangs, and a wolf-dog appearance, its eyes were lively, looking left and right, fidgeting, stammering, and it took a long time to squeeze out a sentence:

"It's fun... it's fun... I can't help it..."

"Fun?"

"The Immortal is a human, surrounded by companions, with all kinds of things to do; how could you, how could you understand the loneliness and bitterness of a monster?"

In the moonlight, Lin Jue saw its eyes and couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

It wasn't anything else, but he felt that the monster's eyes at this moment were truly similar to the house dogs he remembered that liked to chase and scare passersby, getting excited when they saw passersby fleeing in panic, and acting timid or pretending nothing happened when the passersby turned to face them.

In its timidity, there was also some pity.

Suddenly, he felt quite dazed—

The talkative person from before suddenly turned into a monster, and from a seemingly fierce monster, turned into a pitiful dog begging for mercy; it truly had a strong contrast.

This was also a good step down.

Lin Jue thought for a moment and let go.

"Whew..."

The dog demon couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, but still turned its head to the other side, not daring to face him, only glancing at him secretly from the corner of its eye.

Occasionally glancing at the knife in his hand, it would shiver.

"How many people did you scare tonight?"

"Just... just two."

"Including me, two?"

"Mm... mm..."

"With so many people, why did you pick me?"

"Hmm? Isn't the Immortal here specifically to catch me?" The dog demon was stunned, but seeing Lin Jue glare, it didn't dare think too much and hurriedly answered, "I saw the Immortal traveling alone, with no one else around, and the Immortal's appearance doesn't look very old; you looked easier to deceive and bully..."

"Hmph..."

"Awoo awoo awoo~"

"Don't bark! Where did this mule come from?"

"It was left behind by the person ahead after I scared him and he ran away." The dog demon's voice was very low, "The reason I handed the mule to the Immortal before scaring the Immortal was that I wanted to scare the Immortal, so the Immortal could run forward with the mule; there is only one place to stay ahead, and when the Immortal arrives there, you would definitely meet that person, and it would be just right to return the mule to him."

"You have such a kind heart?"

"I am a house dog; I know a mule is worth more than a human life."

"I'll believe you for now." Lin Jue said coldly, "I have questions for you; if you answer well, I will let you go."

"Immortal, please ask..."

"Since you are a house dog, how did you become a wild mountain demon?"

"Naturally, because my master died."

"Then how did you attain the Dao and become a spirit?"

"This... how would I know?" The dog demon became troubled, "I don't know how, but I naturally became a spirit and understood things. After spending some years in these mountains, I understood the art of transformation."

"..."

Lin Jue was silent for a moment, digesting and pondering.

"How do you transform?"

"I just transform like this..."

"Transform into me and let me see!"

"Obey... obey..."

There was a *poof* sound in the mountains, and mist rose under the moon.

Covered by black mist, the dog demon quietly changed its form.

The fierce face and fangs were gone, replaced by the appearance of a quite handsome young man.

It was exactly Huang Quan from before.

"?"

Lin Jue frowned slightly.

He felt nothing.

Reaching his hand into the black mist, he felt nothing.

"Where did your art of transformation come from? And how do you transform? Tell me in detail!"

"How would I know? I was born loving to imitate humans; I was like this even when I was a dog. Whatever humans did, I imitated. Even after I opened my spiritual wisdom, it was the same. As time went on, I didn't just imitate human movements and speech; I could actually transform to look almost like a human."

"..." Lin Jue's eyes flickered, and without delay, he quickly asked again, "Then do you have any other magical powers?"

"Just the black breath I spit out, which makes people unable to see."

"Besides that."

"No, nothing else."

"Nothing else?"

"Small... my cultivation is low."

"You can transform into a human, and you say your cultivation is low?"

"I don't know either. Besides, my art of transformation is truly low; I can only transform at night, and it's not real. It's all thanks to not being able to see clearly at night; once it gets brighter, I'll be recognized."

"..."

Lin Jue didn't know if it was lying.

But he had no way to distinguish.

He couldn't help but feel deep regret.

However, he quickly said again: "I am here to seek immortality and ask about the Dao; is what you said before about Mount Qiyun true?"

"Woo woo..."

The dog demon was still pondering, but upon hearing the words "seek immortality and ask about the Dao," it was frightened again and hurriedly answered:

"Every word is true!"

"What abilities do the Daoists on the mountain have?"

"Small one doesn't know..."

"Are there any who have cultivated to become immortals?"

"Small one doesn't know..."

The dog demon's fear grew more intense.

"Are there any who have achieved longevity?"

"Small one... doesn't know..."

The dog demon's voice trembled violently, almost shivering.

This person kept talking about becoming an immortal and longevity; how could he know such things?

"How can I believe you?"

"Immortal, please examine! I only lied about being a human; everything else I heard on the road. If what I said isn't true, it's not that I lied, but that they lied to me..."

"Are those the people you scared?"

"Yes..."

Lin Jue thought again and continued to ask: "Then besides Mount Qiyun, are there any other immortal mountains or caves around here, and how do I get there? Do you know?"

"Returning to the Immortal, I don't know much. Besides Mount Qiyun, I have heard of another immortal mountain, only a few hundred miles away. However, this mountain is very remote, few people know of it, and the person who told me about it had only heard of it; I don't know how to get there either."

"What is it called?"

"Mount Yishan."

"Mount Yishan..."

Lin Jue couldn't help but murmur.

His brows couldn't help but furrow.

It seemed somewhat familiar.

"Immortal..."

The dog demon was quietly observing him.

"Go, I'll spare you this time; don't scare people on this road casually in the future."

"Thank you, Immortal!"

The dog demon turned around, not even releasing a cloud of smoke for cover, and burrowed into the bamboo forest, disappearing instantly, with only the sound of rustling moving away.

"This thing..."

Lin Jue also breathed a sigh of relief.

This monster was quite timid.

Calling it timid, there was likely also the element of having enough understanding of human society and insufficient ferocity.

Lin Jue recalled the moment, gradually remembering that when this monster first deceived him and chatted with him, it often had trepidation, awkwardness, and worried observation, especially the second time; these were likely not all fake—it was truly worried that Lin Jue hadn't been scared by it and would instead fight it.

Facing monsters, one really shouldn't show weakness!

One must be fiercer than them...

"Mount Yishan..."

Lin Jue murmured to himself again, remembering it.

Suddenly feeling something, he turned his head abruptly.

The moonlight still illuminated the gravel road as white as jade, but in the bamboo forest behind, several people were standing, staring at him.

Most of the conversation just now had likely been heard by them.

Lin Jue couldn't see their expressions at this moment; he imagined they were likely shocked, but he couldn't imagine anything more detailed.

Lin Jue cast a glance to the side and was surprised to find that the mule brought by the yaoguai was still standing there. After a moment's thought, he bent down to pick up the mule's reins. Regardless of whether these people behind him were human or yaoguai, he did not bother to guess or worry about it at all. Instead, he turned his head and frankly issued an invitation to them:

"Fellow villagers, since we've met, why not travel together to bolster our courage?"

"..."

A group of people hurriedly walked over. ===== CHAPTER 14 =====