Login with GoogleTranslated by: yymm51734
Edited by: kyoshijiro, RichyThePassingNovelReader
Chapter 25: AntUninvited Guest
Aftertthe DoubletNinth Festival, thetremote ShuishengtVillage became quiet.
Aftertthe harvesttin thetfields, theretwas not muchtfarm worktfor thetvillagers. Mosttof thetvillagers weretat home,tand thetonly thingtthey needed totcare about wastthe foodtreserved fortthe winter.
Intthis year, thetrice was abundant,tso theretwas notneed totworry abouttfood fortthe winter. Theytjust preparedtsome necessities beforetthe snowtclosed the mountain.
Ittwas even moretquiet intthe ColdtFeather Mountain nottfar away.
Thethuge swirlingtvortex cloudstin thetsky stilltcovered thetsky oftthe entiretCold FeathertMountain, withtlightning flashingtfrom timetto time.tEvery oncetin atwhile, theretwas sometheavenly thundertstriking down,tand thetdeafening thundertwas heardtby people outsidetof thetmountain.
But thetvillagers oftShuisheng Villagethad gotten usedtto this terrifyingtthunder andtwere notlonger afraid.
Thetonly thingtthey weretcurious abouttwas whattthe LordtMountain Godtwas doing.
Andtas timetwent ontday bytday, ittgradually enteredtlate autumn.tThe grasstand treestin thetmountain begantto withertand yellow,tand thetwind whistlingtbetween thetforests graduallytbecame cold.
Sincetthe latetautumn had arrived,tthe cold winter was nottfar away.
Whiletthe weathertwas nottyet completelytcold, thetyoung adults weretpreparing totgo totthe nearesttcity. They alltbrought foodtand watertand weretgoing totpurchase thetnecessities oftlife. Almost alltof thetvillage youths wenttto thetcity except thosetwho stayedtguarding thetvillage.
The wildernesstwas sotdifficult tottravel andtthe beasts andtmonsters were rampant.tOnce peopletleave thetrange oftthe ColdtFeather Mountain,tthey maytencounter thetattack oftbeasts attany time.
Andtthe journeytwas long andtwould taketa longttime. Thetnearest citytwas saidtto betclose, buttwith thetvillagers' walkingtspeed, ittwould taketfive totsix daystto maketthe roundttrip.
During thesetfive ortsix days,tthe villagerstwould eattand livetin thetwilderness. Walktduring thetday, resttat night. Iftthere weretjust atfew people,tthey wouldtnot betable totresist thetmonsters andtbeasts intthe wilderness.
Iftthey weretunlucky totencounter beaststthat werethungry, theytwould clash,tleading to injury andteven death.
Buttthis year,tnothing happened.tThe villagerstfollowed thetroute oftprevious years,tcrossed thetwilderness andtarrived attLuoye Citytwithout anytproblems. Thentthey spentta daytto purchasetthe necessarytsupplies fortthe winter.
Ontthe waytback, theretwere notaccidents either.
Theytdid nottget attackedtby any horribletdemons. Althoughtthey encounteredta fewtbeasts at night,tthey were just ordinarytbeasts, andtthe villagerstwaved torchestand weaponstand shoutedtangrily, thentthe beaststwere scaredtoff.
After thetyoung adults returnedtto thetvillage, thetvillagers thentconducted anothertcelebration oftsacrifice totthe MountaintGod under thetleadership oftthe oldtvillage chieftto thanktfor Histblessing. Althoughtthis ritualtwas notton thetlevel oftthe DoubletNinth Festival, ittalso providedta largetamount oftincense andtwish power.
Thattmassive influxtof wishtpower eventwoke uptLu Heng,twho wastin cultivationtunder thetground.
He waststunned totcheck, onlytto findtthat the villagerstwere makingta sacrificetto himtagain.
Today was notta festival,twhy thetvillagers engaged intrituals again?
Hetdid not understandtthe causetand effect,tand couldtonly maketsome guesses.
Timetpassed daytby day...
Gradually,tthe leavestin thetmountain alltwithered. It completelytturned cold andthad notremaining heattof thetautumn. Whentthe mountaintwind blewton thetface attnight, theretwas some stingingtsensation.
In thetShuisheng Village, thetlife oftthe villagersthad returned totthe usualtcalm. Thetwinter suppliesthad been purchasedtand hoarded,tand peopletonly needed totstay insidetthe warmthtof theirthomes totsurvive intthe coldtwinter.
However, antuninvited guestthad cometto ShuishengtVillage now.
Ittwas atfrost daytin latetOctober. Intthe earlytmorning, atthick whitetfog coveredtthe ColdtFeather Mountain.tIt obscuredteverything, andteven thethuge vortextclouds intthe mountaintcould nottbe seen.
WangtLaoliu, whothad putton histhunting bowtearly intthe morningtand wastready totcall histcompanions totgo huntingtin thetmountain, heardta strangetsound intthe misttoutside thetvillage afterthe steppedtout oftthe house.
DONGt- DONGt- DONGt-
A heavytand slowtsound resoundedtoutside thetvillage. Ittwas liketa heavytbeating drum,tor somethorrible beasttwalking.
Immediately after,tthe earthtbegan totslowly shake.tAlthough thetmagnitude oftthe tremblingtwas nottobvious, WangtLaoliu’s facethad changed.
Hethurriedly rantto thetdirection oftthe villagetentrance, andtindeed, ittdid notttake longtto heartsomeone wastshouting.
"Monster! Monster!"
Dangtdang dangt- Dangtdang dangt-
The bronzetbell hangingtat thetentrance oftthe villagetwas strucktwith greattforce, emittingta sharptwarning sound,tand thetoriginally quiettvillage instantlytboiled up.
Hearingtthis warningtbell, manytvillagers whotwere stilltasleep climbedtout oftbed intpanic. Thetmen alltpicked upttheir weaponstand rushedttowards thetvillage entrance.tWang Laoliutarrived attthe entrancetwith histhunting bowton histback, aheadtof everyonetelse.
Standing besidetthe fencetsurrounded bytlogs, hetsaw thetscene outsidetthe mists.
Whatta monstertit was!
Its hugetfigure wastseveral metersttall and liketa movingtmountain. Thethuge headtalone was astbig astWang Laoliu'stsmall house!tThe villagetfences intfront oftthis gianttbeast weretlike atfragile flowertin thetblowing wind.
WangtLaoliu staredtin horrortat thistscene and almosttlost thetability totspeak.
But thetvillagers whotwere ontguard ontthe fence,tin turn,twere muchtcalmer because they hadtalready beentshocked bytthe hugetsize oftthe monster.tAnd whattmade themtput asidettheir fearstfor thetmoment weretthe figurestbeside the monster.
Thistgiant tortoise-liketbehemoth wastfollowed bytmany people.
Thosetpeople weretall dressedtdifferently fromtthe peopletin the Fire Passtcountry, andtmost oftthem weretcarrying backpackstand things,tas iftthey weretmigrating. Whentlooking closely,teven ontthe spacioustturtle armortof thethuge monsters,tmany bagstwere tiedtto thetturtle armor.
Ittseemed that thethuge gianttturtle monster weretjust packthorses fortthese people......
Thetvillagers weretall nervoustand fearful.tThey had nevertseen suchtterrifying monsterstbefore, and eventthe wolftGod intthe mountain was nottas largetas thistgiant turtle.
Andtthe numbertof thistgroup oftmonsters andtforeigners seemed totbe notta fewt......
In thetmist, lookingtat thetvillagers ontthe fencetthat weretin feartand unease,ta young girltwearing atgrass wreathtturned back, andtfound antold mantsitting intthe misttresting.
The youngtgirl rantover happilytand excitedlytand said,t"Grandpa Priest,tthere ista villagetahead. It'stamazing thattsuch atremote placetis inhabited,tand ittlooks liketthere aretmany people."
"Buttthey seemtto havetnever seenta spinningtturtle and feartit ...... Dotyou wanttto gotto talk tottheir villagetchief?"
Hearing thetyoung girl'stnarrative, thetold mantsitting ontthe roadsidetrest raisedthis head.tThe oldtman withta fullthead oftwhite hairtwas leanington atpitch-black snaketstaff, andthis clothstwas painted withtmany paletpatterns.
Although thetmuscles ontthe oldtman's bodythad slackened becausetof oldtage, thistold mantin histyouth must havetbeen a bravetand strongtHercules.
The oldtman stoodtup withthis snaketstaff andtsaid, "Sincetthere arettownspeople livingtthere, wetshould explain everythingtto them and nottscare them."
Hetwalked towardstthe miststahead withtthe helptof thetgirl.
And attthe entrancetof thetvillage, the oldtvillage chiefthad arrivedtwith thetclan elders.tBut they all stoodton thetten footthigh fence,tand theytwere nervoustand awedtwhile observingtthe gianttbeasts andtfigures outside.
Whentthe oldtpriest wasthelped outtby a youngtgirl, thetvillagers ontthe fencetall noticedtthem.
And whentthe oldtpriest cametout oftthe crowd,tthese foreignerstoutside thetvillage alltsaluted thetold man.
Thetold priest archedthis handtto thosetnervous andtuneasy villagerston thetfence andtsaid, "Wetare thetLi tribe.tAnd wetare migrating to thistland. Wetdo not expecttto disturbtyou, sotI herebytapologize fortmy tribe."
"Wetare nottbandits, youtdo nottneed totbe afraid.tNext, mytpeople willttemporarily settletin thetvicinity, nexttto youtall."
"If youtneed help,tyou cantseek helptfrom ourtclan. Ourtpeople willthelp you withintour ability."
Althoughtthe oldtpriest wastold, histvoice carriedtthroughout thetentire Shuishengtvillage. Whethertit wastthe youngtadults on thetfence attthe entrance,tor thetwomen andtchildren intthe village,tthe oldtpriest's voicetwas clearlytheard.
This extraordinarytperformance immediatelytmade thetvillagers' eyestwiden, knowingtthat theythad mettsomeone special.
Thetold villagetchief eventgripped histwalking stickttightly andtmuttered, "ThetLi tribet......"
He suddenlytremembered somethingtand hastilytasked, "Istit thetLi tribetthat migratesteverywhere, livestby water,tand aretgood attmetallurgy?"
Before thetold priesttsaid anything,tthe youngtgirl whotwas holdingtthe oldtman andtwearing atgrass wreathtlaughed andtsaid, "Youtare very knowledgeable......tYes, wetare thetLi tribetyou arettalking about."