“Clatter… clatter…”
The heavy rain continued for half the night and there was no sign of easing. The hill where the three foxes were located was about a mile away from the deserted post station.
Although the rain affected visibility, with the eyesight of these three vixens, they could still vaguely see some fire and smoke coming from the deserted inn through the haze.
"I'm so angry! I'm so angry! We were chased away by a group of mortals!"
"Oh... that damn old man caught my tail, almost, almost... I was scared to death..."
The fox on the left was still in shock. Old Lu almost hit it with his knife. Judging from the ferocious looks of the peddlers just now, it would have been killed if it had been hit.
"Humph, it's all your fault, you two cowards. They're just a bunch of mortals. They might be a little fierce, but so what? With your fox body, you can easily bite them to death, but you panicked. I really..."
"Boom... Crack..."
Lightning struck a big tree near the hill.
“Ah…” “Ah…” “Ah…”
The three foxes stood upside down, screamed, and fled in three directions.
Inside the deserted post station, everyone was tired after the previous fight, but rest was an issue that could not be neglected now, so the number of people on night watch increased a lot.
Half of the traveling merchants were on night duty while the other half were resting, while Yin Qing and his friends took turns sleeping in pairs. Although the traveling merchants told them to sleep freely and they would keep an eye on them, the scholars had grown up after all, and one should always be on guard against others.
When Lei Yusheng woke up in the early morning, the sound of rain outside had stopped.
"woke up?"
Yin Qing asked while rubbing his eyes and yawning, then stood up and stretched his arms and legs. Lin Xinjie, who was sitting next to him, was still sleeping soundly on the low table.
Lei Yusheng looked at Mo Xiu beside him. Yin Qing and Lin Xinjie were supposed to wake him and Mo Xiu up in the second half of the night to replace them in keeping watch, but from the current situation, Yin Qing and Lin Xinjie had been on guard all night, or it could be said that Yin Qing was the only one keeping watch for most of the night.
"Yin Qing, you didn't sleep?"
Yin Qing stretched his arms and turned back to smile.
"I'm in better spirits, so it's okay to sleep less."
"That's right. This Master Yin also reads books to us at night, telling us about the customs and practices of other places. He is in good spirits and his knowledge is also top-notch!"
"Yes, you are indeed knowledgeable." "You are young and promising."
A peddler who had already stood up said something to Lei Yusheng cheerfully, and someone nearby echoed him.
As more and more people stood up, the noise became louder. Lin Xinjie and Mo Xiu were also woken up, and the entire deserted inn became lively again.
Old Lu picked out some thin firewood, threw it into the charcoal pile, blew on it a few times, and then rekindled the fire with the remaining charcoal. Then he set up the pot and began to prepare breakfast.
Including the four scholars, each person was given a bowl of corn porridge with a steamed bun heated by the fire and a small spoonful of pickles.
Even Lei Yusheng and Lin Xinjie, who were used to fine food, ate with gusto and praised the peddlers for their good cooking skills.
After everyone had packed up, a group of nearly twenty people finally carried their backpacks and book boxes and walked out of the deserted inn.
The mountains seemed to have been purified after the rain, the air was fresh and the sun was bright, and taking a few deep breaths outside could refresh one.
"Let's go, let's hurry up. It will only take two more days to cross Datong Mountain. Can you scholars come with us?"
Yin Qing and others looked at each other, and Mo Xiu asked straightforwardly.
"Two days? I heard it takes seven or eight days."
"Hahaha, that's along the post road that twists and turns in the mountains. We have our own familiar road, which is a little harder to walk but much closer. In the early days, many of Wanzhou's silk fabrics were transported here and there in baskets on the backs of people like us. There was no road back then!"
A fox spirit had been encountered in this mountain before, so Yin Qing and the others did not dare to go alone. When they heard Old Lu's suggestion, they naturally agreed immediately.
The group of people walked along the post road for about half an hour, and then they no longer followed the winding direction of the post road, but went directly to the top of the mountain, and led by Old Lutou, they turned off in another direction.
To be honest, except Yin Qing, the other three scholars seemed very burdensome at this time, and the same was true for Mo Xiu, who was not from a wealthy family.
So later on, some peddlers simply put a few not-so-heavy book boxes on their backpacks, and then helped and supported them from time to time, which allowed the scholars to persevere.
Only Yin Qing did not ask for help from beginning to end, and was able to maintain good physical strength to keep up with the pace of the traveling merchants, which made the other men look at him with even more admiration.
“Huh…Huh…Huh…We’ve finally passed Huanggou Ridge!”
After climbing over a mountain, the team leader, Old Lu, was also out of breath. Because it had rained last night, the air was fresh, but the ground was also muddy. Even if he found a place with more rocks to step on, it still consumed more energy than usual.
Looking at the ones behind, they all looked tired, and those scholars were even panting like a bellows with a hole in it.
"Everyone, take a break. No one is allowed to go too far. Even if you need to relieve yourself, you need someone to help you!"
"Okay." "Oh, take a break."
"Finally I got a break..." "It's about to fall apart..."
Some people joked, some complained, and they all found a dry place to sit down nearby.
A crow flew by, making a series of "ah...ah..." sounds.
Lin Xinjie muttered subconsciously.
"Isn't the crow's cry unlucky, Mr. Lu?"
A man who was drinking water from a bamboo tube nearby was also happy when he heard this.
"Hahahaha... you scholar, don't most of you scholars not believe this? There are so many birds and animals in the mountains. If you get scared when you hear a crow, then why bother leaving? I've even heard big insects calling!"
"That is to say." "This scholar..."
Hearing others teasing him, Yin Qing immediately perked up.
"Uncle, have you ever heard a tiger roar? What kind of roar was it? Were you scared at that time? I have a friend who often hears the roar and says that he is scared to death every time. Is that true?"
Several peddlers nearby looked at Yin Qing strangely, and the one being asked also asked back out of curiosity.
"Your friend often hears tiger roars. Is he alive or dead? He's really brave!"
"Hahahaha, he's the only one so brave? He's the most timid!"
Thinking of Hu Yun's cowardly look, Yin Qing couldn't help laughing. Old Turtle had told him before how the fox looked when he was scared by him.
"My friend said that the tiger roar he heard was so loud that it could be heard ten miles away, and all the birds and beasts in the mountains fled. Uncle, tell me about the tiger roar you heard!"
When others heard Yin Qing say this, they thought that his friend was bragging.
"The roar of the big insect is indeed scary, but it's not that exaggerated. There are more than a dozen of us peddlers together. Even if we meet a big insect, the beast probably won't dare to harm us. The Knife Song is not just for singing."
"Yes, in fact, we heard the call of the big insect at that time, and we told the hunters after we went down the mountain. The next day, more than 20 hunters came up the mountain with their tools to set traps."
Mo Xiu said in a daze, "You're willing to sacrifice your life for the sake of leather?"
Old Lu smiled and shook his head.
"The big beast must have wandered over from other mountain areas. We can't help it because it's too close to the two villages over there. It's not that the hunters want the skin, but the whole family, young and old, lives at the foot of the mountain and they are worried about it!"
"Did you catch the big bug in the end?"
Lei Yusheng was also curious.
"We had already left by then, and it was several months later when we went back there. It was said that they hadn't caught the big insect yet. Finally, several villages around raised money to build a land temple, and went to the City God Temple to beg the City God. The old temple priest helped to preside over the ritual and invited a land god back. Let me tell you, it really worked..."
This was also an interesting story. Several scholars listened to it with great interest. Several young people who had just joined the peddler team also heard it for the first time.
Yin Qing was listening when he suddenly felt an itch on his neck. He turned around and found a paper crane landing on his shoulder and pecking him with its small paper beak.
Seeing the paper crane, Yin Qing's face lit up with joy. He put his hands over his shoulders, turned his head and lowered his voice.
"Little Paper Crane, is Mr. Ji here?"
After thinking for a while, he said again.
"It came once, but not twice."
The paper crane tilted its head to look at Yin Qing, and pecked the hand that was covering itself three times.
Yin Qing frowned, then asked tentatively.
"Come here, and then leave again?"
This time the paper crane pecked again, then flapped its wings and flew behind a bush on the side. Yin Qing saw it and hurried to follow.
"Hey Yin Qing, where are you going?"
"Rest!"
"Then I'll go with you!"
Mo Xiu was listening to the peddler telling a story. When he saw Yin Qing running away alone, he hurried to follow him. However, Yin Qing ran too fast and he was obviously left behind by a long distance.
Of course Yin Qing didn’t care about Mo Xiu behind him, and he kept chasing the paper crane around several bushes and then turned to the side of the mountain wall. Then he was suddenly frightened by something behind him and cried “Ah…”
A monster covered with hair, wearing a tattered jacket, with a khaki body and a hunched back stood there, with a paper crane circling above its head.
"I, I greet Master Yin! I am the mountain god of Datong Mountain. I, Zun, Zun the Immortal..."
"Yin Qing~~~"
Mo Xiu's voice came, Yin Qing looked back, and when he turned back, the monster who claimed to be the mountain god had disappeared.