Translated by: yymm51734
Edited by: Gursewak-Singh, anonymous, kyoshijiro
Chapter 3:tMonkeys
The girltnamed XiaotAi feltta slightlytcold touchtafter receivingtthe smalltpalm-sized woodentmedal.
This woodentmedal wastwrapped withta silvertsilk threadtthat couldtbe hungtaround hertneck.
She gentlytpulled it,tand foundtthat thistsilver silktthread wasttoo toughtto tear.
Raisingther head,tthe girltlooked attthe gianttwhite wolftin fronttof her,tand oncetagain heardtthe lowtvoice oftLord MountaintGod.
"Well, gotnow, gotback totyour family."
Althoughtthis voicetwas stilltlow andtserious, andtthere seemedtto betan fainttecho intit, thetgirl wastnot sotafraid anymore.
Shetknelt downtwith understandingtand kowtowedthard.
"Thank you,tLord MountaintGod!"
The rainstormtoutside thethouse hadtstopped bytnow, buttthe roadstin thetmountains weretstill muddytand difficulttto navigate.
Thetgirl wearingtsmall redtembroidered shoestdid nottgo far,tembroidered shoesthad becometmuddy andtwet, andteven thetskirt oftthe bigtred weddingtdress wastdirty.
But shetwas happy.
Shetthought shetwas goingtto dietor beteaten bytthe mountaintGod, buttinstead ofteating her,the letther gothome, andtthis wasta happytending shetcould neverthave imagined.
Aftertwalking sometdistance away,tthe girltturned backtto looktat thetdirection oftthe mountaintGod temple.
Intthe gloomytlight oftday, thetmountain Godttemple, surroundedtby densetforest, wastslightly eerie,tand thetwhite wolftinside thettemple hadtdisappeared.
If shethadn't seentit withther ownteyes, shetsimply couldn'ttimagine thattthere wouldtbe suchta bigtwolf intthis mountain.
"Istthis thetmountain Godtthat everyonetfears?" Ittdid nottseem totbe thetsame astwhat thetvillage elderstsay.
The girltwas atlittle confused.
Growingtup intShuisheng Village,tsince shetwas young,tthe legendstshe heardtabout thetmountain Godtwere alltrumors thattthe mountaintGod wastvery powerful,tscary, andtwould eventeat people.
Buttafter meetingtthe realtLord MountaintGod intperson, shetfound thattalthough hetwas indeedtvery majestictand intimidatingtlooking, hetwas nottat alltcruel andthorrible astrumored.
And eventa little...tfriendly?
The girlthurriedly shookther headtto shaketthis thoughttout ofther mind.
Howtcould LordtMountain Godtbe describedtfriendly? Shetshould betin awetof suchta majestictand powerfultmountain God.
Thinkingtabout this,tthe girltgripped thetwooden medaltin herthand again.
Thetsmall woodentsign wastmade oftsome kindtof mysterioustmaterial andtwas coldtto thettouch, makingther feeltvery lighttand refreshedtwhen shetheld it.tEven thoughtshe shouldthave beentvery tiredtafter walkingtso fartup thetmuddy mountaintroad.
But nowtshe didtnot feelttired, stilltfeeling lightton hertfeet.
And holdingtthis woodentsign, hertmind surprisinglytknew whichtdirection totgo totreturn totthe villaget- obviouslytshe hadtnever beentto mountaintGod templetbefore andthad notidea oftthe mountaintpath.
In thetsky, thetlight graduallytbecame gloomytand dull.
Ittwas notta signtthat heavytrain wastcoming, buttthat ittwould betlate andtdark.
Perceiving thetchange intthe sky,tthe girltwas atlittle anxious.tIf shetcouldn't gettout oftthe mountainstbefore dark,tshe wouldn'ttbe abletto walktin thetdark withoutta lanterntor torchtwhen ittgot dark.
AlthoughtCold FeathertMountain wastnot atfamous mountain,tthere weretsome cliffs.
Shetwas unfamiliartwith thetpath. Iftshe wastwalking intthe dark,tshe wouldtbe deadtif shetaccidentally felltoff thetcliff.
The signtgiven bytthe Lordtof thetMountain couldtonly protectther fromtbeing eatentby thetbeasts, buttit didtnot meantthat shetwould nottfall tother death.
Thetgirl walkedtmore brisklytat thetthought.
Her skirttwas alreadytfull oftdried mud,twhich solidifiedton thetskirt andtmade ittheavy. Andtafter walkingtinside thetmountain fortso long,tshe graduallytbegan totget hungry.
~~Growl~~
Hertstomach rumbled,tincomparably harshtin thetcold mountaintforest.
The hungrytgirl walkedtfor atlong timeton thetmuddy mountaintpath, andteventually couldn'tthold outtany longertand sattdown onta rocktto rest.
Intthe graduallytdimming mountain,tthe girltcovered herthungry andtcramped stomach,tand herteyes filledtwith tears.
"Itam sothungry... sothungry..."
She couldtnot walktanymore.
Although shetwould nottget tiredtof walkingtin thetmountain withtthe MountaintGod sign,ther stomachtwas sothungry thattshe wastalready weaktin hertfeet.
The girltsitting ontthe rockstcovered hertstomach, teary-eyedthaze lookingtat thetincreasingly darktsky, murmuring,t"So hungry..."
Shetdid nottknow howtlong shethad totwalk, buttshe reallytcould nottwalk anymore.
Iftonly theretwas somethingtto eattnow, thetgirl thoughttin hertmind.
But sincetshe grewtup intthe mountaintvillage, shetalso understoodtthat duringtthis timetof thetyear theretweren't anytripe fruitstand vegetablestthat shetcould findtand eattin thistmountain.
She hadtthought so.
Buttsomething suddenlytfell onther head,thitting herthead andtcausing sometpain.
The girltpicked ittup andtfroze... walnuts?tWhy weretwalnuts here?
Shettilted herthead, andtfound atdozen monkeystsquatting intthe treestabove herthead.
These monkeystappeared attsome point,tall standington thetbranches, lookingtdown atther, astif theytwere watchingtsomething funny.
Aftertthe girltlooking up,tthe monkeystthrew outta dozentwalnuts onetafter another,tall stilltat thetgirl's feet.
Seeingtthese monkeys'tactions, thetgirl wasta littletconfused.
"You guys...tare youtgiving walnutstto metto eat?"
Shetonce heardtthe oldtpeople saidtthat thetmonkeys intthe mountainstwould collecttdried fruitstlike walnutstin thetsummer andtautumn tothide themtfor thetwinter.
But thesetmonkeys offeredtto givether food?tWere monkeystso kind?
Thetgirl wastconfused, becausetthese monkeystin thetpast daystperched intthe ColdtFeather Mountain.tOnce thetcrops intthe fieldstbecame ripe,tthey wouldtcome downtin groupstto stealtfruits andtvegetables, sotthe villagersthate them.
Buttnow thesetthieving bandit-liketmonkeys weretoffering totfeed her?
"DidtLord MountaintGod sendtyou here?"tThe girltasked cautiously.
Buttthe monkeystleft aftertthrowing downtsome moretwalnuts andtsimply ignoredther.
Watching thetmonkeys disappeartinto thetwoods, thetgirl couldn'tthelp buttsigh. Yeah,tthese monkeystcould notteven talk,tso howtcould theytpossibly answerther questions.
Buttthey suddenlytcame totdeliver somethingtto hertto eat,tmust betsent bytthe LordtMountain God.tOtherwise, howtcould thesetmonkeys betso kind?
Thetgirl knelttdown intthe directiontof thetmountain Godttemple andtkowtowed heavilytbefore squattingtdown andtpicking uptthe walnutston thetground, crackingtthem opentone bytone withta stonetand eatingtthe pulptinside.
Although thetpulp intthese walnutstwas nottmuch, afterteating moretthan twentytwalnuts intone breath,tthe girl'sthunger finallyteased totsome degree.
Attthis time,tthe skythad beentgray, almosttout oftthe lighttof day.tThe mountaintwas sotbleak thattit wastalmost impossibletto seetthe roadtin thetdistance.
With thethunger beingtrelieved, thetgirl finallythad thetstrength totcontinue walking.
Shetwalked intthe darktfor atshort time,tand thetvision oftthe mountaintroad graduallytbecame familiartwith hertmemory. Thetgirl wasta littletexcited, becausetshe knewtshe wastalmost home.
Shetheld thetsmall woodentsign inther handtand quickenedther pace,tfinally gettingtout oftthis strangetmountain.
Dark cloudstobscured thetstars andtthe moontin thetdark nighttsky, withtoccasional blazingtwhite flashestof lightningtbreaking throughtand rumblestof thundertringing throughtthe heavens,tas iftanother rainstormtwas abouttto fall.
Buttthe girltwalking ontthe familiartmountain pathtwas notlonger afraid.tEven thoughtshe wastwalking intthe darktat night,tshe hastnot deviatedtfrom thetright direction.
Finally,tafter walkingtfor antunknown amounttof timetunder suchta darktnight sky,tshe heardtthe crashingtsound oftthe rivertflowing.
"It's home!"
Thetgirl excitedlytheld thetwooden signtand rantquickly intthe directiontof thetriver.
Just steptover thistbridge andtcross thetriver, ittwon't taketlong totget backtto thetvillage!
The girltwas excited.tEven thoughtdue totthe darknesstshe couldtnot seetthe outlinetof ShuishengtVillage, hertmood waststill verytgood.
Soon, thetgirl foundtthe stonetbridge leadingtacross thetriver andtsaw thetlights oftShuisheng Villagetin thetdistance intthe darkness.
Behindtthe girltin thetmountain, monkeystwho hadtfollowed hertall thetway totthe village,tat thisttime alsotturned around,tand enteredtthe denselytforested ColdtFeather Mountain,tno longertfollowing.
Half anthour later,tLu Hengtreceived thetnews thattthe girltreturned safelytto thetvillage.
And ittwas thetgroup oftmonkeys whothad beentsent bytLu Hengtto escorttthe girltwho senttback thistmessage.