Jinhe County has always been famous for its large number of tigers, and the ground is full of tigers.
In fact, it was also caused by the war.
After the war, the population decreases. Once there are fewer people, grass and trees will flourish. Tigers, leopards, and wolves that were originally driven away by humans will come back, and monsters and ghosts will increase in number.
However, after Dayan was pacified, tiger and leopard plagues were eliminated in many places in Guangzhou. Only Jinhe County, with its many mountains and forests, could not be eradicated.
When it was most rampant, it was even said that tigers and leopards roamed the city in groups day and night, and no one was seen chasing them, which made them extremely courageous. That is to say, the number of tigers and leopards has changed to the point where they have changed the custom of living alone and roamed the city in groups during the day, without being afraid of people. I don’t know if it is true or not, but the number of tigers and leopards must be exaggerated. At least some of them should be bold. Just break into the city.
Later, the tiger became a spirit and became king in the mountain. He no longer went down the mountain to catch people to eat, but asked his tigers to catch them and bring them to him.
Officers and soldiers encircled and suppressed it several times, but there was nothing they could do about it.
The Taoist slowly walked to Jinhe County.
A city gradually appeared in front.
The cat was still walking in front, but couldn't help but stop on the side of the road, stretched its neck high, poked its head through the weeds, and looked into the grass. It had a strange expression, a little disgusted, and a little shocked, and stood still.
The Taoist and the horse came from behind. When they passed by her, they turned around and saw a rare pile of feces in the grass.
Not one person nor one horse stopped.
The cat wrinkled his nose, finally looked away, and looked up at the sky again. Seeing that his scout was not a warning, but thinking that nothing happened, he felt more at ease and quickly turned his head to follow.
Peace of mind came back, but the cat always understood the importance of being prepared, so he trotted to catch up with the horse.
Looking left and right, he saw that there was no one around. He was running, and with a little effort, the cat jumped up to the sky lightly, with its limbs spread out, showing its graceful figure. Suddenly, a cloud of black smoke exploded with the sound of the canopy, When she landed, she was already a little girl wearing a three-color summer dress.
He stretched out his hand towards the horse's back.
"brush……"
A small flag flew out of the trousers automatically, fell into her hand, and was put into her arms.
Now I feel much safer.
The city gate slowly appeared in front.
There were soldiers guarding the door. There were two experienced soldiers at the front. Behind them were mostly strong men, wearing armor and holding long spears. They looked very guarded.
As soon as the Taoist approached, they caught their attention.
Nowadays, the world has been less than half gone, and inspections after crossing the border into the city are really commonplace, especially in the troubled times in the north. Many places are very strictly guarded, not only to guard against thieves, but also to detect monsters and ghosts. The Taoist naturally understands, so he has already walked out of his arms halfway. He took out the certificate and handed it over with both hands:
"I am a Yunyou Taoist from Yizhou. Please come to me for your convenience."
"Taoist Yunyou..."
An old soldier received the ultimatum and lowered his head to check, but from time to time he raised his head and glanced at the little girl beside the Taoist and the horse behind him.
There are many experts among the people, and their methods of distinguishing monsters and ghosts are all kinds of strange, and most of them rely not on magic but on experience. The extraordinary nature of this bay red horse can be seen at a glance, and the little girl is too beautiful. The experienced folk gentlemen can tell at a glance that something is wrong, and the veterans who have been guarding the city for many years can naturally also.
It was just that Song You was wearing a Taoist robe and had this unusual ultimatum, which made him unsure for a moment.
"you……"
"This is my daughter, my name is Sanhua Empress. I have been with you all over the world for six years."
"Tao Tong..."
"yes."
"May I ask, sir... this Taoist boy..."
"It's true that he is not human, but he has never done any evil."
"hiss……"
All the soldiers behind him became a little nervous.
The old soldier frowned.
If you encounter monsters and ghosts trying to sneak into the city and are found out, they will naturally not show mercy. But since they have taken this tip, they are a wise and wise man. As a master, they accept monsters as children, which is often the case in stories. I heard something, so naturally I can’t kill them at will. But whether he should put it in or not was a problem for him.
So he couldn't help but turn his head and wanted to exchange opinions with another veteran beside him.
But he saw the old soldier looking blankly at the Taoist, as well as the bay-red horse and the little girl behind the Taoist. Then he came over to look at the name on the certificate, and his eyes opened wider and wider.
"Old Li, what's wrong? Why do you look like this?" the old man who asked the question before couldn't help but ask.
Even the soldiers behind him became nervous.
The old soldier surnamed Li ignored him, but stared at the Taoist, raised his hands and asked: "May I ask sir, is this boy transformed from a calico cat?"
The veteran who asked the question earlier was also stunned when he heard this.
It seemed like he remembered something.
I saw the man returning the greeting and replying:
"Exactly."
"I dare to ask sir, but...but Mr. Song from Yanzhou, Hezhou..."
As soon as these words came out, everyone was stunned.
"Come right over there."
The Taoist replied like this, his tone still the same.
The soldiers who defended the city couldn't help but open their eyes.
"Oh! He really is an immortal! When the immortal comes, we will definitely be able to get rid of the tiger demon in Jinhe County!"
"Immortal, forgive me! I have offended you so much before. It is true that tigers are rampant in our Jinhe County. There are tigers in the mountains, and there are many mature tigers under the tigers. We must strictly guard against the tiger monsters outside the city. People often transform into all kinds of people or envoys and ghosts, trying to sneak into the city and catch people to eat. Over the years, we have encountered businessmen, Taoists, monks, and even officials passing by on their way to work..."
"I dare not be called an immortal." Song You could only say this repeatedly, and then said, "I just heard that there are tigers infested here, so I came here to take a look."
"When the immortal comes, we will be saved!"
"But there are a few things that I would like to ask some of the captains."
"How dare I say I'm asking for advice? Immortals can ask for help!"
"Those who are on duty here, have you ever seen a swordsman who is tall, weather-beaten, with a slightly dark face, holding a sword with a black sheath in his hand, and brought a black horse, who is also here to slay demons?"
Everyone couldn't help but look at each other when they heard this.
"There is indeed such a person." The old soldier surnamed Li cupped his hands and replied, "Our county is infested with tigers, and the county magistrate has long sealed several other gates, leaving only this one. The swordsman also came in through this gate. Last year, many demons were eliminated in Gwangju, and they also asked us about the details of the tiger demon."
"and after?"
"Then he went to look for the tiger monster." said the veteran named Li. "It seemed that he never came back later."
"That was about half a month ago. I don't know if he has found the tiger demon. The tiger demon is not that easy to deal with. I don't know. Alas..." Another veteran also said, But he couldn't help but sigh for the young swordsman.
At this time, there was also a young soldier behind him, holding a long gun, and couldn't help but say:
"Because of the tiger problem, not many outsiders have dared to come here in recent years, but I have also heard that the swordsman seems to be famous. I went to Zhubei Mountain to look for the tiger demon, and I heard that it seems to have come down."
"oh?"
Song You looked at him immediately.
The young soldier felt a little unnatural, bowed his head respectfully and replied: "Young man, I just heard that it happened a few days ago. I heard that someone saw the swordsman coming down from the mountain, but his body was in tatters. It's rotten and has a lot of injuries. It's riding on a horse. There are also injuries on the horse. It seems to have gone east. It probably suffered at the hands of the tiger demon."
"I see."
"I just heard about it."
"It's okay, thank you so much." Song You smiled at him and said, "I heard from you that the mountain where tiger monsters are haunted is called Zhubei Mountain?"
"Back to the Immortal, we are surrounded by deep mountains, and there are tigers in the deep mountains. However, Zhubei Mountain is the tallest and largest, with the deepest woods. It is said that the tiger demon likes to hang out on that mountain the most."
"How to get there?"
"The Immortal walked around the city to the South City Gate. He followed the road to the gate and went out for about forty or fifty miles. The highest and largest mountain he saw looked like a pig's back. It was Pig's Back Mountain."
"Thank you."
"Don't dare, don't dare, it's my honor."
"Does the Immortal want to go to the city for repairs? We can also report to the county magistrate to welcome and entertain the Immortal." asked the old soldier who was the first to ask.
"I'm not an immortal, I'm just a mortal. I'm here for the tiger demon. Since I already know what I want to know, I won't go into the city, and I don't dare bother the county magistrate to welcome him." The Taoist said with a smile. They cupped their hands and said, "I'll say goodbye now."
"Farewell to the Immortal..."
Everyone saluted and looked at each other.
The man turned around and walked away, with the bay-red horse following obediently. The little girl looked back at them from time to time, her eyes clear and lively, her appearance exquisite and cute, unlike ordinary people.
The Taoist style is no different from the legend.
Only then did everyone start discussing in low voices.
Some talked about the Song Immortal, and some talked about the tiger demon. Finally, they talked back and forth, and then they talked about the swordsman.
Everyone asked the young soldiers if they were lying. Naturally, the young soldiers did not dare, so they continued to discuss the swordsman who even though they had only met him once, felt that he was a chivalrous swordsman.
Some said that so many monster hunters and old hunters who went into the mountains to kill monsters died in the mountains, so the young swordsman must have suffered a loss; others said that the young swordsman had a peerless charm, and when he asked at the city gate, his tone was firm and calm. He said that when he left, the tiger demon would be eliminated. It didn't sound like a lie. Now he seemed to have met the immortal. After going up the mountain, although he was injured, he came down alive. Maybe the tiger demon was really dead. He should have been injured at least under his sword; some people say that the tiger has not become a spirit, so it is not something that ordinary people in the world can compete with. This tiger demon has already become a spirit, so how can it be compared to a swordsman in the world? What's more, this tiger demon is still a swordsman. Being able to command the tigers in the mountains, maybe after the swordsman went up the mountain, he didn't see the tiger demon at all, but just encountered a few wandering wild tigers, and then went down the mountain injured.
It was also said that the injured swordsman that the people at the foot of the mountain saw was not the swordsman named Shu at all, but they just saw it wrongly.
Everyone discussed it for half the afternoon.
The Taoist followed what the city guards said and walked around to the south city gate. After walking along the grassy dirt road for half a day, he saw the mountain with deep woods and a ridge like a pig's back.
(End of chapter)
