Mountain Patrol Military Officer
Chapter 439 - 349: The Mountain God Temple and the Stirring of the Group of Demons_2

Chapter 439: Chapter 349: The Mountain God Temple and the Stirring of the Group of Demons_2

"Boom"

A thunderclap burst forth.

A blue Thunder Tree slashed through the night.

Immediately following, "Whosh," the heavy rain poured down.

In a room on the sixth floor of the Qingshan Inn, it was dark and non-illuminated.

"Puff"

Suddenly, a flame sparked to life.

Behind the screen, on a cushion, the shriveled eyelids of Fang Family’s Ancestor opened; his eyes flickering with an uncertain candlelight.

Then, his figure vanished from the room, appearing above the inn.

His eyes, piercing through the snowy rainy night, scanned both inside and outside Qingshan County, yet nothing unusual was found.

The flames in his eyes slightly receded; he had just felt a strong spatial fluctuation for a moment, but it quickly disappeared.

And now, he couldn’t detect it anymore.

Was it an illusion?

No, he knew—it must be those two fellows making trouble today.

Martial Vault of Central Plains Li Family and Human Demon of Sacred Transformation, it seems they didn’t take his words seriously.

........

Elsewhere, two hundred miles northeast of Qingshan County, at Songqiao Mountain.

"Boom"

A lightning bolt tore through the night, illuminating a Mountain God Temple below with flickering firelight.

"Damn, it’s raining!"

Inside the temple, the sporadic sound of firecrackers was heard, and the bonfire warded off the chill blowing in from outside.

Listening to the heavy rain outside, complaints arose inside.

"It’s both windy and snowy, looks like we won’t be able to leave today."

"Hurry and bring all the game you’ve hunted inside; otherwise, the rain will wash away the snow and expose the smell, likely attracting something from the mountain."

Hunters from Zhuangjia Aozi quickly braved the rain and snow to bring their hunted animals, hidden outside in the snow, inside.

They were various wild animals like pheasants, rabbits, and bigger ones like deer and goats.

These game animals, already bled out and kept fresh in the snow outside, which also helped mask the scent, but with the rain, they all had to be brought inside before the melting snow exposed the blood and attracted mountain creatures.

These were the experiences of mountain hunters.

"Sssha"

"Hssa"

Hunters hurriedly brought their quarry into the temple and stored them properly. Fortunately, the game was frozen stiff, not emitting much odor, but going out in the rain made them cold, breathing out white mist, they quickly gathered around the fire to warm up.

"Second Elder Zhuang, why aren’t you out? The rain is heavy, be careful not to spoil the game," someone asked, seeing the man not moving.

"I threw away my catch, it was heavy; thinking of rescuing someone, and with the snow on the way, I was afraid of getting lost, hurried back." Second Elder Zhuang was currently holding a hatchet, splitting firewood, throwing the split pieces into the fire in front of him to make it blaze stronger, occasionally checking on the unconscious elderly man’s body temperature next to him, continually adding wood, casually saying so.

Everyone listened, understanding the rationale, and glanced at the elderly man.

One older hunter, a generation above in the village, sighed,

"Why bother doing this? Your family of six depends on your hunting trips."

"This old man’s physique is weak, injured, and stiff from cold; inhaling without exhaling, afraid he won’t last the night. Our little soup and herbs can’t save him."

"It’s alright, we’re all from the same village, went up the mountain together, let’s share it out."

As the words were spoken, some were displeased.

After all, everyone has their reasons and difficulties.

"Uncle Guai, we all have families counting on this little bounty, and with no idea when the snow will stop, don’t make promises for everyone. Second Elder Zhuang has a hero’s heart; being the good guy is his decision, don’t involve me."

"Exactly."

"If it weren’t for Second Elder Zhuang’s delay, we would probably have returned to the village by now, and being stuck here adds a bit of discomfort."

There were inevitably some complaints among the group.

"Ah..." the one called Uncle Guai opened his mouth but found it hard to say more.

This man called Second Elder Zhuang knew he had caused inconvenience to everyone, "I’m sorry everyone, we’re all struggling to make a living; just couldn’t ignore someone dying. As for whether or not he survives, that’s up to the old man himself, I, Second Elder Zhuang, have only done my best."

"Seems like we can’t return today, I’ll stay up to watch over the night, everyone rest and gather strength, let’s try to get back early."

Being a straightforward man, he volunteered to watch the night, easing everyone’s frustrations while thinking of staying to look after the old man to see if he could survive the night.

"Alright!"

"We’ll just have to make do here for the night."

Everyone said little else, being fellow villagers, not necessarily united but found it difficult to further object, considering he was saving a life.

The hunters had been hunting in the snowy woods in the mountains all day and were already exhausted. Seeing the snowfall and rain outside, they knew they couldn’t return today, so they simply gathered around the campfire and fell asleep with their clothes on. Soon, the whole Mountain God Temple became quiet.

Only the crackling explosions from the campfire and the wisps of blue smoke rising, mixed with the flickering sparks, could be heard.

Time slowly passed by.

The rustling sound of the rain outside and the occasional thunder accentuated the small temple nestled in the mountains.

While these hunters were asleep, with only Second Elder Zhuang keeping watch, no one noticed that behind the campfire, the mud-plastered Mountain God statue’s stone eyes were fixed on them. Under the flickering firelight and the flash of lightning, it looked somewhat eerie.

It was unknown how much time had passed.

Suddenly, in a corner behind the campfire, the peacefully lying hunting dogs twitched their ears, and soon one of them abruptly stood up.

"Woof."

This sound was particularly harsh in the quiet temple.

Following that, the other hunting dogs also woke up and began barking furiously towards the outside.

"Woof woof woof..."

This quickly woke up the hunters.

The first to react was Second Elder Zhuang who was keeping watch. He tightened his grip on the wood-cutting knife, leapt up at once, and grabbed the large bow and quiver of arrows hanging on the nearby pillar. He then warily eyed the stormy outside and slowly approached it.

The other hunters also woke up from their sleep.

"What happened?"

"Get your own weapons ready."

Everyone hurried to grab their weapons lying next to them, staring into the dark and blind outside.

At this time, the hunting dogs were barking furiously at the door, their throats growling and their backs bristling.

But soon, sensing some danger, the pack of hunting dogs began to retreat while whining.

Suddenly,

"Boom!"

A flash of lightning tore through the night sky.

Several large, fierce shadows were projected on the paper of the few windows outside the temple.

Pairs of eyes, either crimson or eerie green, gradually became visible in the darkness.

"Hou"

Outside, a ferocious beastly roar suddenly erupted.

The next second,

"Boom"

"Boom"

"Boom"

The two doors and three windows of the Mountain God Temple were blown open by an invisible massive force.

Instantly, the howling wind and rain were swept inside by the cold wind.

Under the flickering of the campfire inside the temple, the hunters’ eyes widened in shock as their faces drastically changed.

Outside, one by one, the enormous figures of demons revealed their true forms.

A White Ape two zhang tall with fierce fangs, a three zhang long Mountain Boar, a huge Python coiling up to the height of two stories...

And flying up onto one of the windows, a Squirrel and a White Fox, both plump as oranges.

"Demons...Demons!"

The hunters were terrified, their faces pale, and they stepped back, their hands holding their weapons weakening.

"Roar"

Outside the temple, the White Ape let out a loud roar and charged straight into the temple.

Its enormous and robust body reached up to the ceiling, and its blood-red eyes glanced over the shocked and retreating crowd, then directly fixed its gaze on the elderly man by the campfire. It leaned forward and reached out with a large hand to grab him.

Just then,

"Whoosh" a fire arrow cut through the air.

The fire arrow shot straight towards the Demon Ape’s large hand.

Then, with a "ding" of metal striking, the fire arrow fell down.

A figure stepped in front of the unconscious old man.

"Second Elder Zhuang!"

Someone exclaimed, seeing his futile attempt to stop the inevitable.

But then, the Demon Ape’s large hand suddenly grabbed Second Elder Zhuang in its grip.

Just when everyone thought he was undoubtedly doomed, the Demon Ape gently set him aside.

Then, with both large hands, it gently lifted the lying, unconscious old man!