Chapter Sixteen: Dark Clouds Over the Rear Mountain

  Inside Guan's large hall, there were only a few simple tables and chairs placed inside, without any extra decorations.

  "Mu Shan, as soon as he entered the hall, saw Guan Zhuangzhu sitting on a wooden chair, looking at him with a serious face: "Mu Shan, the county magistrate has issued an order, urgently needing a top-grade bear gall for his wife's eye treatment. He ordered us to deliver it within three days. The ordinary brown bears near Tianyin Village are naturally not in the county magistrate's eyes, so I want you to go to the back mountain and help me hunt a wild bear back. As for the price, you can name it yourself, what do you think?"

  "Hmph, using this kind of talk to deceive me, do you think I'm a three-year-old kid?"

  Mu Shan's thick eyebrows rose in defiance as he flatly refused, "Master Guan, you should be well aware of what the Rear Mountain is. No one who has ever entered it has returned alive. You're asking me to go hunting on the Rear Mountain; isn't that the same as asking me to seek death?! Moreover, if County Magistrate wants high-quality bear gall, he can purchase it from another county town or offer a high price for it. What does this have to do with Guan Family Village and me?!"

  “Ah...” Guan Zhuang's face stiffened, and he paused for a moment before his tone slightly softened, and his attitude was no longer so tough: "Mu Shan, when you're under someone else's roof, you have to lower your head! Tianyin Village is under the jurisdiction of Nanping County, and our lives are in the hands of County Magistrate. This time he conveyed the order without mentioning a word about the silver reward. Thinking about his character, I'm afraid he's also plotting to take advantage of us. The money for buying bear gallbladders this time will have to be taken out of my own pocket, which is not easy! Moreover, the back mountain is a forbidden place for ordinary people, but it doesn't count as anything for you. I've already sent someone to investigate, and you're not just coming back from hunting in the back mountain once. This time, consider it helping me out, go up to the back mountain again, hunt a bear, and when the time comes, I will definitely not treat you unfairly!

  "Heh heh, Guan Zhuangzhu, don't think you can deceive me, I'm not some naive little kid who's never seen the world."

  Mu Shan's eyes flashed with a hint of sharpness, and he sneered: "The villages under the jurisdiction of Nanping County are not just our Tianyin Village. Why did this bitter task fall on Tianyin Village, and why did it land on your head, Guan Zhuangzhu? It's clear that you want to curry favor with others, but why should I take on the risk?"

  "You...!" The expression of the master of Guan's villa was extremely colorful, sometimes green and sometimes white, repeating several times before he finally opened his mouth with difficulty: "You speak from your conscience, how have I treated you and your mother all these years? Your mother works in my villa, and I always give her the most leisurely and comfortable tasks. As for you, I never let you do those dirty and tiring jobs, is this how you repay me?"

  Mu Shan couldn't take this, her neck straightened, and she replied coarsely: "Master Guan, don't speak so hypocritically. We do work for you, but we've always been paid fairly for our labor, never cheating or taking advantage of anyone. If you think this is a favor to us mother and son, then fine, we'll just leave. With hands and feet, will we starve to death if we leave the Guan family village?"

  The master of Guan's house looked at Mu Shan, who was determined to leave, and could no longer maintain his composure. He quickly stood up from the wooden chair, took two steps forward, and opened his mouth to persuade him: "Xian nephew, wait a minute. Alright, I'll tell you the truth. The county magistrate wants top-grade bear gallbladder, the news is true, it was my friend in the county government who told me."

  "Look, I'm doing this entirely for Ji Li's benefit. As a father, shouldn't I consider my child's future? If we can take advantage of this opportunity to curry favor with the county magistrate and add some money to pave the way, we might be able to secure an official position for Ji Li in the county government, giving him a chance to make something of himself. You've grown up with Ji Li since childhood, like brothers; won't you help him out?"

  Good luck...

  Mu Shan couldn't help but think of Ji Li's delicate face, and his heart softened slightly. Seeing the pleading look in Guan Zhuang's eyes, he suddenly remembered Qin Mei begging Qing Long on his behalf under the night sky. He let out a soft sigh and headed straight out of the main hall: "It'll be three to five days if I'm quick, or half a month if I'm slow. Take good care of my mother for me, and don't let her know that I've gone to the back mountain."

  "Rest assured, I'll take good care of your mother. You be careful too!"

  Out of Guanjiazhuang, Mu Shan hastened back to his thatched cottage, pulled out a somewhat old wooden box from under the bed, opened it, revealing one of the purple-colored treasured swords inside. He took it in hand and gently stroked it: "Ancient sword hidden in box, spirit self-ringing! One day out of scabbard, world shocking! Evil-repelling, unfortunately time hasn't come yet."

  The ancient sword of evil, was first under the touch of Mu Shan, flowing with dazzling purple fluff, and then heard Mu Shan's words, as if it had a spirit, the purple fluff gradually dimmed.

  Mu Shan reluctantly put the evil-repelling sword back in its scabbard, gently closed the lid, and hid it again under the wooden bed. Then he picked up an ordinary iron sword from inside the house and strode out with big steps.

  …………

  The ancient trees in the forest, due to their long-standing lack of pruning, grew exceptionally lush and blocked most of the sunlight cast down from the sky.

  The back mountain, even at noon, still carries a hint of chilliness.

  As soon as Mu Shan entered the back mountain, his nerves tensed up involuntarily, as if in the unknown corner of the subconscious, a pair of cold eyes were silently watching him.

  Mu Shan swiftly dashed through the forest along the route he had in mind, having once hunted brown bears to obtain bear gall for Qin Mei's consumption, so he was somewhat familiar with their habits.

  Flecks of sunlight filtering through the leaves and branches danced across Mu Shan's rugged face.

  "What a terrible smell! Wait...” Mu Shan's nostrils flared rapidly, and his face showed a hint of puzzlement: "This smell is like the stench emitted by a corpse that has rotted for a long time after death. And why does it seem so similar to what I smelled in Tianyin Village?"

  Mu Shan covered his nose with one hand, carefully moving forward along the source of the smell. Although Mu Shan's rationality told him that he should leave immediately and hunt a brown bear to complete his task, there was something in his heart like a cat's claw gently scratching, making it impossible for him to abandon his curiosity.

  As the distance drew closer, that putrid stench grew thicker, even subtly mixed with a hint of bloodiness!

  The smell of blood alone was enough to determine that the blood had not yet coagulated, but the putrid stench of rotting flesh seemed to be a scent that could only emanate from an animal's corpse after it had been dead for a long time. The two contradictory odors somehow blended together in a strange way.

  What's ahead?

  Mu Shan walked stealthily forward, regulating his breathing to the maximum extent possible, like a tiger that had locked onto its prey, advancing silently.

  It's that dark cloud floating in the sky early this morning!

  What's in the dark clouds? Is it some kind of monster or ghost?

  Mushan hid on top of a lush big tree, parted the branches that concealed his figure, revealing a tiny gap, and stealthily sized up the front.

  That's... such a huge python, it's probably become a spirit already!

  In Mu Shan's line of sight, that black cloud was hovering above the ground.

  A python as thick as a water bucket, passed through the dark clouds, motionless lying on the ground, all over black, apparently poisoned by something highly toxic.

  The dark clouds kept surging and rolling, the giant python's body twitched from time to time, its snake mouth slightly open, as if it was suffering some kind of pain, but couldn't make a sound.

  "Ga......" A long, drawn-out cry echoed from the black cloud, a sound similar to that of a duck, yet carrying a deep and endless sense of malevolence!

  Oh no, I've been found out!