Originated from mountains and seas, life never ends

Chapter 145 My Own Business

"Mountain God?"

Meng Liyun was stunned, then stood up and followed.

"What mountain god? Are you going to do something like a sacrifice?"

Meng Liyun crossed the threshold with Xiao, followed behind him, leaned forward slightly, and asked.

Xiao glanced at her and shook his head: "No, just go to say hello."

"Then why didn't you think of going before?" Meng Liyun asked puzzled.

"I was just passing by before. Now that I have to stay overnight in this mountain, and those people will come tomorrow, I will go and take a look." Xiao said softly, "I may not be able to see them."

See above?

Meng Liyun frowned, somewhat puzzled by his wording.

Aren’t mountain gods and everything else imaginary?

and……

Meng Liyun recalled what the bandits said more than a decade ago, using living people for sacrifice...

Thinking of the tragic death of her brother, Meng Liyun's eyes darkened and became gloomy.

"...If these gods really exist, then why are there so many tragic things in the world?" Meng Liyun stopped and her bangs drooped slightly, covering her eyes.

Xiao paused, stopped, and turned to look at her.

Meng Liyun lowered her eyes and said nothing more, quietly waiting for his answer.

The two stood on a plank road on the hillside, looking out at the blood-red sunset. The sunlight shone on the road piled with wood, making their shadows particularly long.

"…Because, there are more than just humans in this world, right?"

Xiao spoke to her in a very soft voice.

"In their eyes, there should be no difference between humans and animals."

"Just like humans hunt wolves and keep pigs and sheep in captivity. They will not stop people from killing cows that have worked for them all their lives and will eventually be eaten; nor will they think there is anything wrong with humans killing other species for profit; nor will they stop certain species from killing certain creatures for fun or disgust."

"Similarly, they won't care about the lives of those killed by wild beasts."

"They don't care about the fights between humans and beasts, and they certainly don't care about people killing each other."

Xiao spoke for a long time but did not wait for Meng Liyun's answer.

Perhaps because he saw that she was really silent, Xiao was silent for a moment and then spoke again.

"I knew one before, his name is Jiao Chong." Xiao looked at her and said softly, "He gets along well with the bee colonies on his mountain, and those bees are willing to listen to him. Before, there was a group of people who stole the honey from the bee colonies on the mountain and burned down the bee nests. When Jiao Chong found out, he was very angry, so he let the bees on the mountain gather together and sting those people to death."

"The mountain god doesn't just belong to humans." Xiao Wei lowered his eyelashes and said softly, "Moreover, those bandits said they were offering sacrifices and that the mountain god blessed them, but when they died, the mountain god didn't help them, which means that they didn't actually receive protection."

"...But didn't the arrogant insect you mentioned stand up for his bees?" Meng Liyun looked up and stared at him, "Why do you still say that in their eyes there is no difference between humans and animals?"

"It is precisely because there is no difference that there is a distinction between close and distant." Xiao tilted his head, "Just like people will attack strangers for the sake of those they are close to, they will do the same."

"…Then isn't this still unfair?" Meng Liyun lowered her eyes and insisted on her opinion.

Xiao looked at her, but did not refute: "Then it should be so."

"...Are you dissatisfied?" Meng Liyun looked up at him.

"No." Xiao shook his head and said, "Everyone has their own opinions. I can't force you to accept my ideas."

Meng Liyun pursed her lips and said nothing more.

After saying this, Xiao turned around and continued walking.

Meng Liyun looked at his back, was silent for a moment, and finally followed him.

To her surprise, Xiao first went to find the leader of the mountain stronghold, the Yanying, and asked him about the situation of the mountain.

"...Have you ever encountered it in the mountains over the years?" Xiao looked at Yanying and asked.

Yan Ying was a little surprised by his visit. After hearing his question, he thought for a moment and said, "I don't know much, but I heard from my subordinates before that a strange beast occasionally appears in this mountain. It comes and goes without a trace and is very mysterious."

Xiao's expression changed slightly: "Then——"

"Oh, right." Yan Ying slapped his head as if he had thought of something. "There is a mountain temple on the top of this mountain. I went to see it when I first came here to patrol the mountain. It looks like it is hundreds or thousands of years old. I thought it has a long history, so I didn't touch it."

Xiao nodded twice to show that he understood, then stood up and went to the top of the mountain to take a look.

"Shall we go now?" Yan Ying also stood up, looked at Xiao, then at Meng Liyun behind him, and said, "It's getting late now, and the food in the village is almost ready. How about we eat first? Besides, my son should be home soon."

Xiao shook his head: "It's not a big deal, I'll be back soon."

Yan Ying frowned, seeming a little hesitant.

Xiao ignored him, nodded slightly at him, turned around and left.

Before leaving, Xiao paused, thought for a moment, and added, "Be back in an hour."

Meng Liyun followed him out and did not hear the answer from the person behind her.

……

"...slow down." Meng Liyun breathed slightly, bent over, and looked up at the owl above her head.

Fortunately, she has practiced so much over the years, otherwise she would definitely not be able to keep up.

Meng Liyun thought, looking at the owl on the boulder in front of her, frowned in pain, and climbed up by grabbing the stone next to her: "Are you similar to those immortal cultivators?"

Xiao watched her climb up and wanted to turn around and leave, but when he heard her question, he paused and looked at her inexplicably: "What do you mean?"

Meng Liyun slowed down for a moment, then followed his pace: "What I mean is, are you practicing Qi like those immortals?"

"... vitality?" Xiao glanced at her, seemed to notice her difficulty, and slowed down his pace.

Despite this, Meng Liyun still felt a little reluctant.

It would normally take an ordinary person two hours to walk this distance, but by climbing rocks and taking shortcuts, they arrived in less than an hour.

"About that." Meng Liyun looked ahead and saw that the mountain temple that Yan Ying mentioned was not far from them.

Meng Liyun took a deep breath and then slowed down her breathing: "When I was a child, I saw white air wrapped around your sword. Then, I went to a tomb once and met those so-called immortal cultivators. I found that they could also summon white air."

Xiao didn't know why, but he suddenly paused and glanced at her, but there was no clue on his face: "There should be a difference, right? What did they do with it?"

"Hmm..." Meng Liyun tilted her head and thought, "It seems like there is some kind of formation drawn? There is also a magic circle or something... It should be a talisman."

"That should be to inject the vital energy into a specific container, allowing it to change with the different containers and produce corresponding effects." Xiao said, looking at her and waving at her.

Meng Liyun walked over without any preparation. Just as she lowered her head to ask him what was wrong, she was caught off guard and was grabbed by the back of the neck. She couldn't help but bend down.

"what are you doing?!"

Meng Liyun was startled, her body stiffened, and asked.

Xiao smiled, slowly approached, and the voice rang next to his ear.

"What kind of tomb is this?"

Meng Liyun: ...

It's over, I spilled the beans.

Meng Liyun then realized that she had let the cat out of the bag. She was stunned for a moment, then her eyes rolled wildly in panic, her brain working rapidly, and she tried her best to make up for it.

"Well, wasn't that an accident? There was a cave on the mountain where I went out to play before. I went in out of curiosity and found a few coffins, so I—it hurts! Eh, eh!!"

Meng Liyun felt pain and finally began to struggle.

"Keep making it up." Xiao looked at her coldly, pinched her neck, and seeing her expression, he gently let go of his hand, "You are a tomb robber like Li Heng, right?"

Meng Liyun: ...

Meng Liyun rubbed her neck, looked at him guiltily, and responded weakly after a moment.

"hold head high……"

Xiao:......

Xiao rubbed his forehead and said, "Why do you do this?"

"I didn't really want to do it..." Meng Liyun blinked and laughed, "It was just a coincidence..."

Meng Liyun wanted to bluff him, and a lie full of loopholes quickly formed in her mind. Just as she was about to tell Xiao, she saw Xiao shook his head, turned around and stepped into the mountain temple.

"If you don't want to say it, forget it. There's no need to lie."

Xiao said this, raised his foot, stepped over the threshold, and walked into the already dilapidated gate.

There were two stone-carved beasts on each side of the temple gate. Meng Liyun took a picture of the dirt and rotten leaves on them and wanted to take a closer look, but she found that the stone sculptures had been exposed to wind and rain for so many years and were already full of pits and holes, and there was no trace of their original appearance.

Meng Liyun raised her head and looked at the rotten plaque on the temple gate. A bird had built a nest on the plaque, which was also filthy and dark.

The two wooden boards that made up the door had long been eaten away by insects. There were still a few spider webs on the corner between the door and the door frame, although the spiders on them had long since disappeared.

Meng Liyun walked in. Behind the temple gate was a small house. It looked nothing special from the outside. It was very different from the temples and Taoist temples she had seen in the city, both in size and luxury.

The owl pushed open the door of the room which was covered with webs and walked in.

The moon had risen by then, and the white moonlight illuminated the small house on the top of the mountain, allowing them to see clearly what was inside.

Meng Liyun followed him in and found that the hut was much more simple than she had imagined from the outside.

There was no statue inside. Facing the door was a wooden table covered with dust and cobwebs. There was something on the wooden table.

Xiao picked it up and shook off the dust. Suddenly, dust flew everywhere. Meng Liyun, who was standing next to him, took a deep breath and was choked by it. She coughed continuously and had to go out to recover.

Meng Liyun pinched her nose and coughed a few times to cough out the dust that had choked her. She looked back and saw that Xiao had already shaken off the dust on the thing, so she stretched her head to take a look.

After looking at it for a while in the moonlight, Meng Liyun still couldn't figure out what it was.

It was all gray and I couldn't see anything clearly.

"what is this?"

Meng Liyun thought about it and asked the same question.

Xiao twisted it and rubbed the dust off his fingers, then he understood: "This is colorful silk."

Meng Liyun was curious: "What is this used for?"

"Of course it's a sacrifice."

"Sacrifice..." Meng Liyun seemed to be thinking, "This is the first time I heard that sacrifice requires colored silk."

After saying that, he looked at Xiao.

"How did you know?"

Meng Liyun looked at Xiao, but didn't expect that he was staring at her with a strange expression on his face.

Meng Liyun was puzzled and was about to ask again when a voice suddenly exploded beside her ear.

“But no one has come here for many years.”

The voice was ethereal and light, like the wind blowing through the mountains, blowing gently past her ears and conveying the words to her brain.

Meng Liyun was startled and instinctively drew the scimitar at her waist and stabbed behind her, but missed.

"what?!"

Meng Liyun gripped the hilt of the knife tightly and looked around vigilantly.

A breeze blew by, and the woods not far away made a rustling sound. I didn't know what bird was calling a few times. Looking into the woods, it was dark.

Meng Liyun looked at Xiao and wanted to say something to him, but suddenly stopped.

Behind the owl, a leopard-like creature appeared. Its long tail brushed past the owl's feet but did not touch them. The creature was more than half a person's height, and its brown claws gently landed on the wooden table behind the owl, leaving no trace.

After seeing its appearance clearly, Meng Liyun felt a chill in her heart and her whole body froze.

This creature had a human face and round eyes that were open and staring at her intently. The eyes were dark and bright, like crystal jade in the mountains.

Meng Liyun did not act rashly, but stared at it steadily. Xiao saw her reaction and understood something, so he turned around and looked behind him.

After meeting his eyes, Xiao was stunned for a moment, but did not show any surprise. After a pause, he asked, "Are you the god of this mountain?"

When the creature heard what he said, it shook its large furry ears, blinked its eyes, and opened its mouth, speaking in human language: "Yes."

Meng Liyun was stunned and looked at it in disbelief.

The thing sniffed the owl's neck again, squinted its eyes, and sat on the wooden table: "I think I've seen you before."

Xiao was stunned: "Really?"

"Well... you were still young when I met you. Mo Ze was with you at the time and said he was going to Kunlun." The thing looked at him, "Do you remember?"

Meng Liyun followed it and pointed her gaze at Xiao. Facing the different looks from the two, Xiao frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly realized something.

"Oh, I remember."

Just as the thing's expression relaxed, it heard Xiao speak again.

"But I remember you are not above Xuan Hu..."

"..." It blinked, "No, Xuan Hu's claws are yellow."

Meng Liyun:……?

Xiao raised his eyebrows and gently held his chin.

"It's normal for you humans not to understand. Now almost no one worships it anymore." The unknown mountain god jumped down from the table and sat on the ground. "From Xuan Hu to here, we all look similar, except that the color of our claws is a little different. And from me to Lu Ti, they are different again."

"What's the difference?" Meng Liyun couldn't help but ask.

The mountain god looked at her and said, "It's just that the body is different."

Seeing that Meng Liyun was still confused, Xiao came up to her and whispered, "The one over at Luti Mountain has a human face and a wolf body. Generally speaking, they all have a human face and a beast body, but the beast bodies are different."

Meng Liyun heard this for the first time and was somewhat surprised: "Although I have heard that some sects would worship the mountain god before going to the tomb, I always thought that they would worship the likes of the Queen Mother of the West."

"Those are all very powerful. You can worship them. It depends on whether they are willing to pay attention to you." The mountain god scratched his head. "If Taifeng and the others are willing to protect you, it will be very useful even if you leave their mountain."

Meng Liyun nodded thoughtfully: "When do you usually pay attention to others?"

"...I'm not sure either." The mountain god seemed a little confused. "I mainly bless the prosperity of the creatures on this mountain. If there are people who offer sacrifices, I will see if it is good and make their luck better."

"What is good?" Meng Liyun asked.

"Just don't kill any living creatures indiscriminately." The mountain god blinked and added, "This is just my positioning. I don't know the other things."

"What if you encounter someone who kills indiscriminately? Will you stop him?"

"Well...if there are living beings that pray, it should be possible."

"If I don't pray to you, you won't be able to do it?" Meng Liyun looked at Him, "Why?"

"Because life and death are common." The mountain god looked at her. "Every day, some creatures die and some are born. If you really want to control it, how long will it last? Moreover, if you really want to control all creatures and prohibit killing them, how will they eat and survive?"

"Some people don't live to survive, they live to have fun!" Meng Liyun suddenly became excited and stared at him, "You don't care about that?"

The mountain god stared at her, and his dark pupils seemed to see into the depths of her soul.

After a moment of silence, he spoke.

"That's your business, humans."