Yuelu Mountain is very deep and secluded, and there are countless birds and beasts in the mountain. Due to the existence of the immortal monks from Yuelu Mountain, many places in the mountain area are covered with clouds and mist all year round, at least that is what ordinary people see.
The abundance of wild animals and medicinal herbs in the mountains, coupled with the long-standing strange legends and fairy tales about Yuelu Mountain, have made the entire Yuelu Mountain very mysterious both locally and in the surrounding area. It is a fairy mountain that people yearn for. Herbalists, hunters, literati and poets who travel the mountains and rivers, and people who come to seek the immortals based on the legends come here in an endless stream all year round.
Now is midsummer, and many people come to Yuelu Mountain to cool off.
Hu Li and a group of foxes, big and small, maintained their illusions at the foot of the mountain. Once they entered Yuelu Mountain, they all turned back into foxes. Some of them wore their own clothes and carried bags on their shoulders. They ran around happily in the mountain together.
In a place like Xianjia Ferry, the conflict between immortals and monsters would not be so obvious. At least monsters that were not very evil or had special ways of hiding would not be a problem. The same was true for Hu Li and his fifteen fox spirits.
Hu Li was still leading the way. The divine man named Qin had instructed them from behind how to bypass the maze of Yuelu Mountain, so their purpose of moving forward was very clear.
On one side, two middle-aged woodcutters were walking on the mountain path, singing folk songs and carrying firewood. One of them suddenly saw a group of foxes running past the forest on one side. Some of them were even carrying cloth bags. He was immediately surprised.
"Hey, look, there's a fox carrying a bag over there!"
"where?"
"What about that? Look!"
"Oh, really? A fox carrying so many bags on his back, is this a monster..."
The other woodcutter spoke cautiously, but the woodcutter in front looked excited.
"What are you afraid of? This is Yuelu Mountain. The older generation said it was where the gods lived. Some spiritual birds and animals would come here to worship the mountain. Shall we follow and take a look?"
"Come on, hurry up and chop some more firewood so you can go down the mountain..."
Seeing his companions like this, the woodcutter at the beginning patted his thigh.
"Hey, you, what's the old saying here? There are many immortals in Yuelu Mountain, don't hesitate if you encounter an immortal... Think about it, when we met those two gentlemen, one old and one young, going up the mountain, we should have followed them. When I went back and told him about it, Uncle Chen insisted that they must be immortals. I regret not following them at the beginning..."
When the companion heard the other party bring up this matter again, he immediately laughed.
"Look at you, you are obsessed, bringing this up again. Maybe those two gentlemen were scholars who went into the mountains for a walk..."
"No, no, you forgot. At the beginning, I reminded the old gentleman that the mountain road they were going was rugged, but the two of them didn't take it seriously. Later, after Uncle Chen reminded me, I also remembered that the two men were dressed neatly, without a sweat on their faces, their faces were not red, and they were not out of breath. Don't you think about the old gentleman with long beard and white hair, who looks so old..."
His companion shook his head impatiently.
"I forgot about it. It's been so many years. How can you remember it so clearly? Stop daydreaming..."
"You, if you don't go, I'll go by myself!"
When the woodcutter saw his companion mocking him like that, he was originally only partially interested, but suddenly became aroused and insisted on going to have a look. He climbed up the hillside on one side with firewood on his back.
"Hey~Hey~Are you really going? Hey..."
The other woodcutter shouted a few times, and saw that his companion was really walking and climbing quickly to a higher place, and soon he was out of sight. He was suddenly at a loss and stood there in a daze.
Hu Li and the other foxes were actually moving very fast in the mountains. The woodcutter who was chasing them was delayed because of a few words, so when he reached the hillside where he saw the foxes, there was nothing to see except bushes. Fortunately, he remembered the direction, and walked forward for a while in disbelief.
The woodcutter was actually acting on impulse, and his thought at that moment was just a stress response to his companion's sarcastic remarks. He planned to walk for a while and then go back, but after walking for a while and standing at the top of the hillside, he actually stepped on empty air.
"ah… "
The woodcutter lost his balance and rolled down the hillside. Branches and weeds along the way crackled on his body and face, and a lot of firewood behind him fell out. Although it was a gentle slope, the straight descent distance was at least seven or eight meters. Finally, he stopped after hitting a tree with a "bang".
"Ouch... Ouch... It hurts so much... Li Er, Erzi... Ouch..."
The woodcutter felt pain all over his body when he moved. He shouted weakly for a while, but his voice could not be heard far away. His mind was full of regret and annoyance. Why did he chase after him like he was bewitched? The key was how could he miss the opportunity...
Although this mountain is relatively safe, there are still ferocious beasts, especially at night. The woodcutter can only hope that he can rest for a while to relieve the pain, hope that he is not seriously injured, and hope that his companions will come to find him. Otherwise, it will be dangerous if he cannot get out of the mountain after dark.
“Rustle… rustle… rustle…”
A rustling sound came from the bushes not far away, which frightened the woodcutter. He endured the pain and reached behind his back with his right hand, pulling out an axe from the rack behind him.
"Who's there? Who is it? What is it? I have a knife in my hand..."
Just when the woodcutter was extremely nervous, a young man with red lips and white teeth came out from the other side. He was holding a small branch with some green leaves and flower buds on it. As soon as he came out, he walked and spoke with a complaining tone.
"You, how dare you walk on a mountain path without looking at the road? You are a woodcutter who has come into the mountains to collect firewood! Can you walk?"
People's mentality is sometimes very strange. When the woodcutter saw the young man cursing like this, he felt a lot more at ease, as if he had seen trouble and wanted to stay away from it but had to intervene. Besides, such a young man couldn't be a strong man, right
"I'm asking you a question. Can you walk on your own?"
"Ah? Oh, here, let me try again..."
The woodcutter frowned and endured the pain, trying to stand up, but his left leg hurt so much that he struggled for a while but couldn't stand up.
"Okay, okay, let me help you, it's really troublesome..."
The young man quickly walked to the woodcutter and came over to support him. Although he looked young, he was very strong and pulled the woodcutter up directly.
The woodcutter leaned on the young man for support to keep his balance, but before he could say anything, the latter asked directly.
"Come on, I'll take you back. I'll help you walk. Oh, and help me hold this. This place is not big, right?"
The boy first lifted the woodcutter's right hand onto his shoulder, then handed the branch in his hand to the woodcutter.
"I can hold it, I can hold it, thank you very much, thank you very much..."
The woodcutter thanked him repeatedly, feeling a hidden excitement in his heart. This young man suddenly appeared and was so handsome. He was afraid that he had met an immortal. Maybe this was his destiny!
So the woodcutter began to talk to the boy indirectly.
"I often chop wood in Yuelu Mountain. I have heard many stories about the mountain since I was a child. I heard that there are really immortals in the mountain. This time, I saw a group of foxes walking with backpacks. I was curious and followed them to see if I could have a chance to see the immortals. Who would have thought that I almost lost my life? I have to thank you very much, young man..."
The young man carried the woodcutter forward. The sloping hillside seemed as flat as the ground under his feet. Even though he was carrying a person, his steps were still steady and not slow. When he heard the woodcutter's words, the young man grinned.
"You are indeed a person with a destiny with immortals, especially since you have already taken action after seeing the fox this time, and your veins have already taken root."
The woodcutter was so happy that he even felt the pain in his body relieved a lot. He asked excitedly.
"Could this young man be the fairy boy in the mountains? Could it be that you are the one who led me to the path of immortality? I... I..."
"Hey, hey, hey... don't get so excited. I'm not the one who leads you to the immortal path. And I said you have a destiny to be an immortal, but there are many people in this world who are destined to be immortal but not destined to be immortal. This is true between men and women, and it's also true for the opportunities to be immortals."
"Ah... Then I... Still hope that Fairy Boy can give me some advice... I..."
The young man smiled, with an inexplicable look in his eyes, and ignored the woodcutter.
Seeing that the other party ignored him, the woodcutter wanted to say something but didn't dare to. He could only limp and let the young man carry him up the hillside and then return the same way he came.
For some reason, I went back very quickly and soon I saw another woodcutter still walking out on the mountain path.
"This is your companion. Let him take you back. I won't send you off."
After the young man said this, the woodcutter felt a void beside him and nearly fell down again. He looked to the side and found that the young man who had just supported him was gone, but the branch in his hand was still there.
'This... could this be my destiny?'
The woodcutter became more and more excited as he thought about it, and then he shouted to his companions in the distance.
"Li Er... Li Er..."
"ah?"
Li Er looked back and saw the woodcutter who had come with him not far behind him. Seeing that the woodcutter was limping and had scratches on his face and hands, he immediately ran over.
"Why are you so careless? Hey, you're still smiling? What's in your hand? It looks like a peach branch, but that's not right. It's not the right season now. It's impossible that the peach branch hasn't bloomed yet..."
"Let's go, let's go back and talk..."
The woodcutter's face was full of excitement, and he held the peach branch tightly in his hand. What he didn't notice was that the flower buds on the peach branch seemed to be even more red.
Somewhere on the mountain, a young man with red lips and white teeth squatted there, smiling at the two woodcutters in the distance. Then he turned his gaze to the depths of Yuelu Mountain and seemed to see a dozen foxes jumping and leaping forward in the distance.