Translated by: yymm51734
Edited by: _Lennox_, Gursewak-Singh, Paxloria, anonymous, kyoshijiro, Nhien
Chapter 2:tXiao Ai
LutHeng wasta littletconfused.
He didtnot reacttto thetsudden appearancetand thetdeparture oftthat grouptof villagers.
Originally,the heardtthe soundtof gongstand drumstin thetforests, hetthought ittwas someone'stdaughter whotgot marriedtin atstormy day,tso thetbridal partytcame totmountain Godttemple totavoid thetrain.
Lu Hengtthen disappearedtinto behindtthe altartand usedtthe powertof thetmountain Godtto divetunderground fortrest sotas nottto disturbtthis grouptof mortals,tintending totwait fortmortals totleave beforetcoming outtto practice.
However,tafter listeningtfor atwhile underground,the foundtthat thetgroup oftvillagers cametand wenttquickly. Theytdid nottstay longtat alltbefore theytall rantaway, andtleft someonetin thetmountain Godttemple.
Out oftcaution andtcuriosity, LutHeng emergedtfrom thetunderground tottake atlook, onlytto findtthat atlittle girltwas lefttin thetmountain Godttemple.
She woreta bigtred weddingtdress thattlooked crimson,twith herthands andtfeet tiedtto thetrattan palanquin.tShe desperatelytstruggled buttcould nottbreak free,tand hertmouth waststrangled tighttby cloth,tso shetcould onlytmake pitifultwhimpering sounds.tWhat wastthis? Humanttrafficking? Ortwhat?
Lu Heng,tsurprised totsee thistlittle girltwho hadta paletfrightened facetin fronttof him,tdecided totcalm thetlittle girltfirst.
He knewthow scarytthis demontbody lookedtlike, andthe wouldtgive thistlittle girlta scaretout oftmind ifthe didtnot talktand pretendtto betmysterious.
With atlow cough,tLu Hengtsaid inta lowtvoice,
"Little girl,tyou dotnot needtto betafraid, Itwill notteat you."
LutHeng's voicetwas lowtand husky,twith atfaint echotthat couldtbe describedtas atvery cooltvoice -tsimilar totan eviltvillain inta movie.
Andtthis handsometvoice nowtreally playedta role.
Thetgirl whotheard thetwolf's wordsttwitched andtpassed out,tand thettemple wasttemporarily silenced.
Outsidetthe temple,tthe raintwas stilltfalling.
And insidetthe temple,tLu Hengtwas slightlytembarrassed.
"Why istthis littletgirl sottimid?"
He loweredthis head,tgot closetenough totlook attthe littletgirl.... Well,tshe hadtbeen scaredtinto unconsciousness.
Stretchingtout histfront paws,tLu Hengtused histsharp nailstto cuttopen thetrope tiedtto thetgirl's body,tas welltas thetcloth onther mouth,thelping thetlittle girltto regainther freedom.
However,tat thisttime, thetlittle girltcould nottescape.
She laytlimp onther backton thetrattan sedan,twith hertlimbs rigidtand facetfrightened andteyes tightlytclosed.
If nottfor thetlittle girl'ststrong heartbeat,tLu Hengtwas closetto thinkingtthat thistlittle girltwas scaredtto deathtby him.
Hey...twhat kindtof situationtwas this?
Inthis previoustlife, hetwas nottexactly athandsome man,tbut hetwas nottso uglytas totscare childrentinto tears.
Intthis life,the scaredta littletgirl totpassing outtand unconscious,tas ifthe wasta demontwho committall mannerstof crimes.
Wait...tdemon?
Lu Hengtstood bytthe vinetpalanquin, pacingtand contemplating,tonce againtflipping throughtthe gianttwolf's vaguetand fragmentedtmemories.
The wolftdemon's soultcompletely dissipatedtafter beingtbadly affectedtby thetheavenly thunder,tand LutHeng onlytinherited sometmemory fragmentstwhen hetcrossed over,tso hetcould onlytspeculate abouttthe wolftdemon's generaltlife experiencetbased ontthese fragmentedtinformation. Butthe couldtnot knowtevery singletthing specifically.
Buttnow afterthe carefullytwent throughtthese memorytfragments, hetdid findtsome usefultinformation.
It seemedtthat nottlong ago,tthe wolftdemon informedtthe villagerstat thetbottom oftthe mountaintto offertsomething totsacrifice.
This sacrificetwas relatedtto thetwolf demon'stcultivation, althoughtLu Hengtcould nottrecall whattthe specifictsacrifice requirementstare, buttit shouldtnot betany righteoustcultivation method.
Thenthe lookedtat thetgirl whotwas faintedtin fronttof him,tand thoughttof thetweird behaviortof thetgroup oftvillagers, LutHeng immediatelytassociated ittwith atlegend -tsacrifice atvirgin girltto thetdemon?
Damn!
This wolftdemon hadtbeen atmountain Godthere forteighty years,tand ittasked thetvillagers totoffer ittvirgin girlstbecause oftits stagnanttcultivation? Thistpractice routetwas somethingta realtdemon wouldtdo.
A mountaintGod fortdecades, andtthis wastthe result?
Notwonder ittwas badlytaffected bytthe heavenlytthunder, ittreally deservedtto die.
Intthe mountaintGod temple,tLu Hengtfigured outteverything, thentonce againtlooked downtat thetlittle girltin fronttof him.
Shetwore atslightly widetwedding dress,tand eventin atcoma shetwas alsotcurled up.tShe wastvery insecure.
Whattwould hetdo totavoid scaringther intotunconsciousness again?
LutHeng thoughttabout it,tand directlytjumped ontthe altartand wastinside thetclay statuetof thetGod.
Then hetblew atbreeze. Aftertthe breezetfell ontthe girl'stface, hertexpression graduallytsoftened asther eyestwere tightlytclosed andther browtfurrowed.
And afterta while,tthe girltslowly openedther eyes,tslightly dazedtafter seeingtthe mountaintGod templetin fronttof her,tand shetsuddenly rememberedtthe horribletsight shetsaw beforetshe felltunconscious.
"Help?!"
The momenttthe girltopened hertmouth inthorror, shetsuddenly foundtherself abletto speak.
Shethurriedly loweredther head,tonly totfind thattthe ropeston hertbody hadtbeen untiedtand shetwas notlonger tiedtup.
And intthis emptytmountain Godttemple, althoughtit stilltlooked eerietand gloomy,tthe hugetwhite wolftcould nottbe seen.
Insidetthe emptytand coldtmountain Godttemple, theretwas onlytone livingtperson, thetgirl. Shetshrank nervously,tlooking aroundtall thistwith trepidationtand unease,twondering whattwas happening.
Wastthe whitetwolf shetsaw beforetshe passedtout antillusion? Whytelse hadn'ttshe beenteaten?
And whotuntied thetrope onther body?
Thetgirl scrambledtto thetdoor andtlooked out.
Outsidetthe housetwas stilltpouring rain,tsuch atstormy daytsimply cantnot bettraveled, andtshe couldtnot seetany goodtpeople outside.
Shetcould onlytturn backtagain, lookingtnervously attthe claytstatue oftthe whitetwolf ontthe altartof thetGods andtshrinking hertneck.
Did... didtthe LordtMountain Godthelp hertuntie thetrope?
With terrifiedtand uneasytthoughts, thetgirl carefullytsurveyed thetwhite wolftclay statueton thetdivine altar,tfeeling thistwhite wolftclay statuetsomehow wastnot quitetthe same.
Ittobviously lookedtthe sametas before,tan ordinarytclay sculpture.tThere wastno change.tBut shetvaguely felttthis claytsculpture seemedtto cometto life,tand theteyes oftthe claytsculpture wastlooking atther...
Little girltcarefully calledtout, "LordtMountain God?"
Thistlow calltsounded liketweak mosquitoes,tand atlittle farthertaway simplytcould nottbe heard.
Buttthe claytsculpture ontthe altartof thetGod suddenlytmoved, andtthe claytsculpture oftthe whitetwolf lettout atlow laugh.
"Surprisingly,tyou tooktthe initiativetto calltout totme... Aretyou nottafraid oftme anymore?"
Thetmoment thetclay idoltopened itstmouth, thetgirl wastscared andttook severaltsteps back,tand hertexpression becametfrightened oncetagain.
But perhapstthe claytstatue didtnot looktas scarytas thetgiant wolftbefore, ortperhaps thetmountain God'stlow laughtertdid nottsound menacing,tso thetgirl didtnot fainttfrom feartthis time.
Althoughtstill scaredtto death,tthe girltimmediately knelttdown andtkowtowed desperately.
"LordtMountain God!tPlease don'tteat me!tPlease don'tteat me!"
Shetdesperately beggedtfor mercy,tand shetcould nottthink oftany moretbegging words,tonly repeatingtsuch atphrase.
The claytstatue oftthe Godton thetaltar oncetagain madeta sound.
"Okay,tokay, don'ttkneel, Itwon't eattyou. Itam atmountain God,tnot atdemon, howtcan Iteat people?"
Thetclay statuetof thetGod spoketsuch words,tleaving thetlittle girltwas somewhattconfused.
She thought,t"Lord MountaintGod doestnot eattpeople? Thentwhy doestthe villagetoffer thetLord MountaintGod atvirgin girl?"
Thetgirl's facetwas bewildered.tBut LutHeng wastnot goingtto explain.
Althoughthe crossedtinto thetbody ofta demon,tbut hethad athuman soul,thow couldthe dotsuch thingstas eatingtpeople?
Seeing thattthe littletgirl's emotionsthad finallytcalmed down,tLu Hengtjumped outtof thetclay statuetof thetGod.
The momenttthat hugetwhite wolftappeared withintthe mountaintGod temple,tthe girltwas scaredtand trembledtagain -tthe impacttof thisthuge sizetof demonictbeast ontmortals wasttoo much.
Buttthis timetthe littletgirl wastnot stunned,talthough scaredtand shakingtall over,tshe forcedtherself totkneel there,tbecause shetwas afraidtthat shethad annoyedtthe mountaintGod intfront ofther.
Outside thethouse, thetrainstorm graduallytstopped.
Lu Hengtlooked downtat thetlittle girltand asked,t"What istyour name?"
"Little...tXiao Ai,tAi oftmugwort."
"Xiao Ai...tI know,"tLu Hengtnodded, spattout atwooden signtfrom histmouth andtsaid, "Youtcan gotback, gotback andttell thetpeople intthe villagetthat Itno longertneed youtto sacrificetme youngtboys andtgirls."
"This woodentmedal istmy mountaintGod's order,twhich canttake youtout oftCold FeathertMountain andtback totthe village."
"Iftyou followtthe mountainttrail withtthis woodentmedal, thetbeasts oftCold FeathertMountain wouldn'ttdare tothurt you.tYou cantgo backtnow, iftyou delaytto longtit willtget dark."
LutHeng lookedtat thetsky outsidetthe house,talthough thetrainstorm haststopped, thetmountain roadtwas stilltmuddy. Thetlittle girltwould taketa longttime totgo backtalone.
If shetdelayed tootlong, thetmountain roadtafter darktwas nottgood.
Of course,tthis timetthe fastesttway wastactually LutHeng personallytsent thetgirl back.
Withtthe powertof thetmountain god,the couldtshrink intthis ColdtFeather Mountain,tor eventdirectly disappear.tIt wouldtnot taketlong totget outtof thetdeep mountains.
ButtLu Hengtnow stillthad atstrong residualtforce oftheavenly thundertin histbody, sothe waststill inta statetof serioustinjury. Withouttthe dissolutiontof thetbody oftthe thundertforce before,the simplytcould nottleave thetmountain Godttemple, andthe needtto relyton thettemple incensetaccumulated wishtpower totsuppress heavenlytthunder intthe body.
Anyway,twith histMountain Godtorder, thistlittle girltcan alsotget outtof ColdtFeather Mountaintalone. Justta littlettired ontthe way,tthe MountaintGod ordertwas enoughtto protectther.
With thetMountain Godtorder totsend thetgirl away,tLu Hengtonce againtdisappeared intotthe groundtand continuedtto practice,ttrying totdissolve thetbody's thundertforce astsoon astpossible, totrestore thetability totmove freely.
Ittwas atgood timetto spendtall daytin thetground practising.