I Don't Agree to the Terms
Chapter 40: The Sorrows of a Thousand-Year-Old Maiden

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: The Sorrows of a Thousand-Year-Old Maiden

At the summit, a robust Black Tiger lay on a large stone beneath a pine tree, appearing to reminisce about something.

Seeing Gu Shanhai approaching, it swept its tail but paid him little mind.

Gu Shanhai could sense that the Black Tiger was in a bad mood.

"I found something in the fake deity position I offered at the Qian Clan Ancestral Hall, which might be of some use to you," Gu Shanhai said, taking out a blood-stained decree from his bosom and placing it on the ground.

The Black Tiger sniffed and rose from the rock, scrutinizing the text in the decree, and then burst into sudden rage.

However, it soon calmed down, realizing that its anger was pointless and only added to its troubles.

"Thousands of years have passed, and the world outside has changed dramatically. Nothing remains as it once was," said Gu Shanhai.

The Black Tiger shook its head. It couldn’t speak, but Gu Shanhai could still discern some of its emotions.

Then it blew out a breath from its nostrils, as if asking Gu Shanhai what he wanted.

Gu Shanhai had intercepted a blessing the Black Tiger had bestowed upon him, a passive skill he didn’t particularly need and was keeping for study.

Seeing this, the Black Tiger didn’t bless him again, instead asking directly what he wanted.

"Plants, some rather exotic ones," Gu Shanhai was straightforward, seeing no need for pretense when the offer was made, especially since his request wasn’t for anything valuable.

This request puzzled the Black Tiger, but since it was Gu Shanhai who asked, it complied.

It got up, roamed around, and then dug out a flower with stem and roots from a crevice, which hung limply like sadness and looked quite ordinary.

"Maiden’s Sorrow? That’s not a very pleasant name," Gu Shanhai learned from the Black Tiger’s expression, but since it was chosen by the Black Tiger, he took it.

"But I’ll take it."

Gu Shanhai took the Maiden’s Sorrow from the Black Tiger’s mouth and replanted it in a pot.

This made the pot a bit crowded, as three plants in one pot wasn’t really sufficient.

Seeing Gu Shanhai’s action, the Black Tiger showed little reaction except to spew a strand of black flame onto the hand-copied bloody decree.

In just an instant, the flames devoured it, and the originally bloody stench gave way to a fresh herbal aroma.

This indeed confirmed it was the mountain ghost’s blood.

It could now be concluded that the mountain ghost had likely not become the Empress; all of it was just a lie, including the decree, which was fabricated by Qian Fengsheng himself, and the words of the Empress.

Fengtai Village had been a fictitious place from the start, only becoming believed due to its remoteness coupled with distorted tales over years, turning falsehood into truth.

Qian Fengsheng not only failed to return to the limelight but had ruined himself in the process.

As for what happened to the mountain ghost, how could Gu Shanhai know? That happened a thousand years ago, and any clues would have been buried by time.

He guessed it had simply died.

Otherwise, which Emperor would dare marry a Mountain God as his Empress? Not to mention, the ministers of the court would never agree.

The mountain ghost had come from the wild, its status was inadequate, and even entering the palace was difficult — did you really think entering the palace required no vetting, that you could simply walk in?

Thus, it was just a gamble by Qian Fengsheng, which ultimately cost Qianjia Village dearly.

And that was a price they had to pay. They died miserably, but what about the innocent girls sacrificed? Weren’t they pitiful?

The Black Tiger seemed to understand something; after giving the Maiden’s Sorrow and burning the fake decree, it returned to the stone.

Its aura gradually weakened.

Gu Shanhai shook his head, ignoring the situation, and went down the mountain on his own.

As the Companion Spiritual Beast of the mountain ghost, the Black Tiger naturally wouldn’t survive alone.

And seeking out the mountain? That was even less plausible. If the mountain ghost were still alive, it would have returned long ago.

Even if it didn’t return, there would have been some inquiries or actions concerning it by now.

Now, there was nothing, indirectly confirming the mountain ghost’s death. What significance did the Mountain God’s position hold for it? It was just a mount, a Black Tiger.

Perhaps surviving would have allowed it to transform into a true Mountain Lord governing a mountain with great prospects, but these held no significance for it.

In fact, Gu Shanhai had once considered taking the corpse after the Black Tiger’s death, given that it was a successful proxy Mountain God.

But in the end, he had forcefully dismissed that thought.

Often, not everything could be taken casually; taking something required a price to be paid.

It might not matter now, but once "The First Epoch" assimilated his modern city, the consequences, like fate, would ensnare him.

In a world where karma and retribution were obvious, one couldn’t be greedy.

Gu Shanhai didn’t dare touch anything rashly in this world.

Touching the Black Tiger’s corpse could mean he might not leave, bound to serve as a Mountain God for life.

He didn’t bear a formal player contract of "The First Epoch," just a temporary worker; "The First Epoch" wouldn’t stand up for him.

"Find a place to settle down for a month or two; by then, the higher worlds should be ready."

Gu Shanhai didn’t plan to leave this world immediately as it didn’t require additional lifespan expenditure, and he had many gains lately to convert into strength.

Especially the Yunling Grass and Purifying Grass, he needed to enhance their concentration of Spiritual Energy soon.

And the Golden Bell Shield Iron Cloth Shirt as well as Child Skill needed a boost.

Completing the Magic Domain and nurturing Maiden’s Sorrow also required time.

Continuously clearing instances was enjoyable, of course, but as a non-formal player who couldn’t strengthen rapidly, he needed time to transform his gains into strength.

Otherwise, continual gains would remain just that, unusable strength.

Moreover, he felt somewhat restricted in the mid-tier regions, and the randomness was too high; it could replace a high-tier world temporarily, but in the long haul, it was bound to crash.

Because high-tier worlds were not randomized like the initial and mid-tier ones; they followed a fixed sequence, making his prophetic ability barely effective as he never intended to intercept other players’ benefits or seize opportunities meant for the world’s main character.

Knowing the grand trends, simply positioning oneself readily would be enough; taking others’ possessions was unseemly.