Chapter Thirteen: The Husband

  On top of a giant rock in the woods, a woman stood quietly. Many dark shadows emerged from the dense forest with a sound like a goose's hiss, the sound was like a whisper, like a ghost crying, like a beast howling, but it didn't sound like human language at all, mixed with the rustling sound of rain hitting the trees, making it even more eerie.

  A strange bird flapped its wings to the woman's side, resembling an owl, but with wings that looked like a pair of ears covered in feathers.

  The girl stretched out her hand and caught the strange bird. The bird's iron-like sharp claws grasped her slender arm, but couldn't hurt her at all. At first, the bird made a few loud noises, then surprisingly spoke in human language, although it sounded like an old tape recorder, repeating what Xu Xian had just said word for word.

  The woman listened intently, not wanting to miss a single word. Only when she finished did she let out a sigh of relief, learning that he and the tiger spirit were not together. Then, with a wave of his hand, a small monkey sprang out from under the giant stone, rapidly circling around the woman while chattering incessantly, its joyful cries sounding like an infant's wails. It was strange on this rainy night.

  Moreover, that little monkey had a human face, a distorted human face, as if filled with ferocity and savagery, like a ghostly face. As it ran on the giant stone, its sharp claws constantly sparked fire, and compared to its body shape, its two claws seemed incredibly large. The sparks briefly illuminated the rainy night, illuminating the surrounding black shadows, but there was no human presence among those shadows.

  The woman paused for a moment, revealing an unpleasant expression. The ghost-faced monkey immediately stopped, and with a light jump, it landed on the woman's shoulder, making a coquettish expression with its ferocious face. The woman whispered a few words to the ghost-faced monkey, which nodded its head and chirped a few times before jumping off the woman's shoulder and landing on a village dog tens of meters away, then quickly disappearing into the rainy night.

  The girl waved her hand again, and the dark shadows dispersed one after another.

  On the empty land, she was left alone, gazing at the vast darkness and the direction where the bonfire had started.

  The tiger spirit slowly relaxed its vigilance, and Xu Xian also sat back in his original position. Looking at the giant tiger beside him, he couldn't help but think that these were the "people" who had hurt it? Indeed, they didn't look like ordinary people! However, he didn't have any thoughts of helping the tiger out of kindness, but rather only wanted to find the den of the evil Daoist, and then part ways with the tiger spirit, each going their separate ways.

  It has devoured countless humans, and from one person's perspective, being killed by it is not unjust.

  The night was uneventful, and by the next day, the rain was still pouring down in a steady patter. The dense forest was filled with a damp smell. But beside Xu Xian, it was extremely dry, and the power of the sun was still very effective in dispelling moisture.

  Xu Xian pushed the tiger spirit beside him and ordered it to hurry up. But when he really went to find it, it was much simpler than he had imagined.

  That place was one that Xu Xian had passed by countless times, only because the vines and creepers blocked his view, he never discovered that there was a cave here. Today, thanks to the guidance of this tiger spirit, Xu Xian finally found this place.

  Xu Xian prepared to sneak in and listen to what they were saying. Firstly, it was to avoid harming innocent people. Secondly, by listening to the two bandits' conversation, there were also pedestrians they had captured inside, and if they were taken as hostages later, it would be even more troublesome, and he would have to think of a way to rescue them first. As for that group of bandits, naturally, they would be killed off cleanly, so as not to fall into the hands of the authorities and cause any further trouble.

  A good person is not necessarily soft-hearted, but there's a saying that "the brave must be ruthless". Xu Xian's kindness has never been the kind of weakness and compromise, instead, he often carries the courage of "I'll go even if millions of people don't". The time to eliminate evil is today.

  Just a few steps after Xu Xian left, the tiger spirit blocked his way. Only then did Xu Xian notice that there was a rope ring trap set up on the ground, which was extremely well hidden. Upon closer inspection, one end of the rope was still tied to a copper bell. If stepped on, even if nothing happened, it would inevitably trigger an alarm. Xu Xian couldn't help but wipe away sweat and made a gesture of gratitude towards the giant tiger. He avoided the trap and proceeded to explore the cave.

  Deep in the cave, a dark river flows by, with stalactites on both sides. A ray of light falls on a stone platform, where several men dressed as hunters sit around it, surrounded by a pile of goods, seemingly discussing something.

  A woman, barely clothed and covered in dirt, was tied to a stone pillar beside me. On the other side of the pillar were several hunting dogs, staring intently at the woman with an air that suggested they had tasted human flesh before. However, the woman simply stared blankly ahead, seemingly numb to everything around her.

  "What really happened to Lao Wu and Lao Li's deaths?"

  "Of course, they were eaten by the giant bug. Didn't you see? Those two idiots stepped on the beast clip, and the bloody smell attracted the giant bug. Luckily, we get to divide the spoils. And this chick, you guys are also tired of playing with her, can't sell her either, so she's mine now."

  "That big bearded man suddenly changed his expression and said: 'You old thing, stop talking nonsense. We're all in this line of work, how could two people possibly step on the same beast trap? It's clear that someone is playing tricks. Are you saying it was your mother who did it?'"

  Several people suddenly started arguing, and at this time the hunting dog next to them suddenly barked loudly. A group of people immediately fell silent, picked up their weapons, and listened intently. Sure enough, they heard a strange noise coming from the dark cave, like the cry of an infant.

  The crying sound was sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right. It seemed to be a cry, but it carried a hint of joy. They had released the hunting dogs, and the mountain dogs that would normally dare to charge at a bear were now cowering on the ground, trembling with fear.

  A dark cave, a strange cry, several people stand back to back, but all feel a chill run down their spines. Having done too many wrong things, they are ultimately afraid of ghosts.

  "What's wrong with you, get out of here!"

  A loud roar, but only in this cave reverberating back and forth, becoming as elusive and eerie as the sound itself. The person who let out the roar was first startled by their own voice, while the wailing sound also disappeared.

  "In the boundless silence", "Big Whiskers" suddenly felt a drop of water fall on his head, in such a limestone cave, dripping water was the most common thing, but he immediately felt something was wrong, because that drop of water was hot, and when he touched it with his hand, it was sticky. It seemed to be saliva. A strange baby's cry suddenly echoed above their heads.

  The man suddenly raised his head, but only saw a fluffy black shadow fall on his face, and a pair of sharp claws grasped towards the top of his head. The man was relieved instead, seeing the size of this thing, knowing that this scratch would at most leave a few blood marks on his face.

  As soon as this thought flashed through his mind, the top of his skull was lifted up. The claws stirred in his brain for a few times and then were sent into his mouth. It was that little monkey with a ghost face, who was now licking Lei Gong's mouth, seemingly savoring the taste of brain marrow.

  The person next to him let out a mournful cry of "Old Second!" The hand holding the knife and fork stabbed at the ghost-faced monkey without hesitation, but it was an empty stab. The wailing sound started again from the side, and several people looked over, only to see that the ghost-faced monkey was holding a bright red heart in its hands, tossing it back and forth as if playing with it. The heart was still faintly beating.

  One of them suddenly felt a severe abdominal pain, looked down and saw that their internal organs had all spilled out of their body. They stretched out their hand in vain to try to hold them back, but alas, without a heart, one cannot survive, and they fell straight to the ground.

  "Fourth brother!!"

  It's a long story, but it was just an instant. The ghost-faced monkey jumped from the top of "Lao Er"'s head and scratched open "Lao Si"'s chest, pulling out his heart. The ghost-faced monkey lowered its head to sniff at the heart, then looked around at several people, seemingly estimating something. After a few shrill laughs, it ate just the tip of the heart.

  Several people felt a chill run down their spine, and the thought of revenge was gone, leaving only fear. They finally understood the behavior of those hunting dogs. What could they do in the face of such creatures? Wanting to escape, could they really escape? Just like those pedestrians trapped by them.

  Suddenly, there were a few mournful howls and miserable cries, and the cave fell silent again. The ghost-faced monkey was extremely picky and only ate the brain pulp and heart tip, but ignored other parts. It was originally a mountain monster, similar to an ape but not an ape, and often fed on monkey brains.

  It does not hunt on ordinary days, and when it is hungry, it gathers the monkey group, lines up in a row, selects the old, weak, sick and disabled, puts a small stick on that monkey's head, and the other monkeys disperse. The selected one is its food. However, it has a slender body and does not eat much, but can still guard the monkey group. The monkey group also seems to be raised by it, and can continue to survive. Now it has been domesticated by that woman, only used as an assassin and a sentinel.

  If this group of hunters had set up their traps and made preparations, they might have been able to put up a fight. But caught off guard by the sudden attack, all they could do was wait for death. The beast's belly was round from eating, and it no longer showed any interest in the few hunting dogs. It walked over to the woman and let out a low growl, but saw that her face was dull and unresponsive.

  He walked closer, sniffed lightly, and immediately retreated a few meters, covering his nose with his paw, clearly disgusted by the smell on her. He then became interested in that pile of shiny silver coins.

  Xu Xian walked in front of the winding cave, although his eyes could see at night, but without anyone to guide him, he felt annoyed. Unfortunately, the tiger spirit's body was too big and couldn't enter the cave, otherwise, it would have been possible to borrow its sense of smell. However, after walking in the dark for a while, Xu Xian suddenly heard several mournful cries. He rushed towards the direction where the sound came from and finally saw a glimmer of light, but only under the light column, he saw corpses lying all over the ground, covered in bloodstains.

  A monkey-like monster was hanging a string of copper coins around its neck, and when it saw Xu Xian, it let out a few strange cries of "wa wa", dropped the copper coins, and disappeared into the darkness again. But under Xu Xian's night-vision eyes, its movements were clearly visible, and he could see that it was jumping agilely between the stone pillars on the dome, its eyes never leaving Xu Xian for an instant.

  Xu Xian looked around in a daze, pretending not to see it.

  Finally, it crawled to the top of a stalactite on Xu Xian's head, waited for an opportunity, and then with its hind legs, it pounced towards Xu Xian. Its sharp claws tore through the air, making a piercing sound, and were about to grab the back of Xu Xian's head. But Xu Xian suddenly turned his head around and shouted loudly: "Stop!"

  The ghost-faced monkey was already in a state of emptiness, and was further stunned by Xu Xian's use of the Great Thunder Sound Technique, instantly becoming dizzy and unable to control himself.

  Xu Xian simultaneously stretched out his hand and firmly grasped the body of the ghost-faced monkey. The ghost-faced monkey struggled violently, but its sharp claws could not pierce Xu Xian's arm, which was radiating golden light. Xu Xian's eyes flashed with golden light as he prepared to incinerate it with true fire.

  But then from the darkness came a faint cry: "Assistant!"

  Xu Xian heard the sound, his face lit up with joy, and he said: "Xiao Qian!" He involuntarily loosened his grip, and the ghost-faced monkey suddenly broke free, wailing loudly as it rushed in the direction of the sound.

  Xu Xian was about to walk over, but suddenly heard a mournful cry behind him. He turned his head and saw that the woman who had fallen into trouble had stabbed a short fork into her own chest. It turned out that Xu Xian's shout had actually restored her consciousness, and the first thing she did was take her own life.

  Xu Xian hastily went over to take a look, but she had already stopped breathing, and he couldn't help but feel extremely resentful. A tiger eating a person was just one death, but only humans could torture their own kind to such an extent. He turned his head again to search for Xiaolian, but there was no longer any sign of her.

  Xu Xian couldn't help but feel puzzled, why did Xiaoying come here and why did she hurt the tiger spirit? But this wasn't what he was most concerned about, what he cared about most was why Xiaoying was avoiding him.

  The cave was filled with a strong bloody smell, Xu Xian furrowed his brow and walked out again. The tiger spirit had also disappeared, probably escaped! He searched for a river and slowly washed the black wooden comb in the water, and the flower pattern on it gradually became clear. Whose could it be if not Xiaoxiang's?

  Xu Xian gazed at the reflection of himself in the pool water, which stretched and twisted with the ripples. He couldn't help but sigh, "Humans are not as good as tigers!" But suddenly, in the emerald green water, he saw a faint blue figure drifting with the waves.

  Xu Xian suddenly lifted his head and exclaimed: "Xiao Qian?"

  Xiao Qian gave Xu Xian a complex look, but turned her head away and said: "Mr. Xu, return my hairpin to me!" Xu Xian heard the three words "Mr. Xu" and suddenly felt a little lost, remembering a phrase: There was once a sincere love in front of me, I didn't cherish it...

  Can't help but shake head and sigh, it's really the inferiority of men. Then said: "Xiao Qian, what's wrong with you?" It seemed like everything was fine when we met last time.

  Xiao Qian shook her head and stretched out her hand, saying: "Throw it to me!" The two of them were separated by only a strip of emerald green river water, but at this moment it seemed like an insurmountable chasm.

  Xu Xian couldn't just let it go like that and asked, "Who made you sad? Was it that tiger spirit?"

  Xiao Qian said, "If Mr. Xu likes it, then take it! Consider it a wedding gift from me to you, and let's part ways here!" As she spoke, tears streamed down her pale cheeks. When she heard about Xu Xian taking a concubine, it was like a thunderclap on a clear day.

  At first, she was willing to compromise and not seek fame, just wanting to be with him. He pushed her away, saying he had no choice but to do something, whatever it was, she was willing to understand and even wait for him. But she never expected this outcome, that they couldn't be together. Is taking a courtesan as a concubine acceptable? What about her own devoted heart?

  Xu Xian still didn't understand why Xiao Qian was angry, it was clearly for his own sake. He couldn't help but smile wryly and fall silent, this matter had involved too many changes of heart and entangled all sorts of fate and coincidence. Only now, he couldn't say that he was forced to, that is, being irresponsible towards Yun Yan. But also couldn't bear to see Xiao Qian so heartbroken.

  Xu Xian lowered his head, took a deep breath, and stepped into the pool of water in front of him. He walked on the surface of the water, step by step, towards Xiao Qian, but much faster than driving a cloud. He said, "Wait for me to walk over, I'll explain it to you!"

  Xiao Qian simply shook her head, her long hair dancing as she floated away. The gloom on her face was the same as when they first met. People and ghosts are destined to part ways, and it's not surprising that it would end like this! In a sense, she really wasn't cut out for being a courtesan.

  But all of a sudden, there was a "splash" sound. When Xiaoying turned her head to look back, Xu Xian's figure had disappeared from the water surface.

  When Xu Xian saw Xiaobian leave, he hurriedly quickened his pace, but couldn't control the water spirit's power and fell into the river. The clear river water submerged him, so Xu Xian stretched out his limbs and swam to the shore, grabbing a rock and poking his head out of the water. He looked up to see a pale hand placed in front of him. Xu Xian smiled slightly and grabbed the hand, walking out of the water.

  But that hand was tightly grasping hers, unwilling to let go. 16K????? Xu Xian looked at the woman in front of him who easily pitied herself and pulled her down to sit by the river, saying: "Alright, don't be angry anymore. I'll talk about my recent affairs, as an exchange, you can also talk about yours, okay?"

  Xiao Qian nodded, seeing Xu Xian dripping with water and looking disheveled, her mood actually lightened up a lot. Being held by his hand, her heart also warmed up a bit.

  Xu Xian then told Xiaoying about all the things that had happened to him during this time, no matter whether it was his long voyage on the Yangtze River, the invasion of thieves, or Bai Suzhen, Yunyan Qinglian and so on. Xiaoying just sat quietly listening, and even smiled faintly when Xu Xian talked about fighting.

  Xu Xian couldn't help but sigh, this woman who always had a hint of coolness about her seemed to have matured a lot and appeared even more calm. Moreover, Xu Xian explained why he and Yun Yan could be together and what their relationship was like now. Finally, he asked: "Are you still angry?"

  Xiao Qian smiled and shook her head. Actually, when Xu Xian came across the water, she wasn't that angry anymore! It was just because she understood that Xu Xian still cared about her. As long as she understood this point, maybe everything else could be let go of!

  Xu Xian smiled and said, "Now it's your turn to talk. How did you end up here fighting tigers? And what's with that little monster?" Thinking back to last night, it was probably her, so the little monster must have been her underling too. No wonder they helped him out so coincidentally. It was probably this woman's intention all along! Even if she was angry, she still had his best interests at heart.

  Xiao Qian didn't answer and instead asked back: "Mr. Xu, how do you want Xiao Qian to address you?"

  Xu Xian smiled and said, "What do you think?" Putting down the heavy burden he had been carrying, he was finally himself! "If you call me Mr. Xu again, I'll get angry." Xiao Qian finally revealed a sweet smile and sweetly called out: "Husband."

  Looking at her smile, Xu Xian couldn't help but ask himself, how could he have let such a girl leave in the first place?

  Then Xiaoxian told him about the recent situation, and Xu Xian only knew that the mountains near Hangzhou had almost all been occupied by her.

  The name of this black old demon is now indeed true. At the same time as occupying these mountains, her cultivation has also been increasing.

  There are water gods in the world, and naturally there are also mountain gods. The so-called spiritual energy of heaven and earth is hidden between these mountains and rivers, and people also call it the dragon's pulse. Being able to control a river can gain the spiritual energy of that river, and after a long time, it will combine with the spiritual energy of the river water to become a water god. Being able to control a mountain can gain the spiritual energy of that mountain, and become a mountain god.

  The mountains of the world, except for the Five Peaks who were enfeoffed by the Heavenly Court and are orthodox gods. Others such as the Seventy-two Blessed Places and the Thirty Blessed Lands have been occupied by cultivators with deep Daoist practices. The remaining ownerless small mountains are countless, often possessed by spirits and ghosts, accumulating day after day to become mountain deities.

  The tiger essence that Xu Xian saw yesterday is the mountain god of this Yu Lei Mountain. The tiger is the mountain master, and the process of combining with the spiritual energy of the mountain range is superior to other spirits. Although it has not yet taken shape, it already has the ability to make Xiao Qian headache. Among the hundred beasts, it can dominate a thousand ghosts, but among Xiao Qian's subordinates, there is no one who can get rid of this kind of thing.

  Xiao Qian had originally set up a heaven and earth net to capture the tiger spirit, but when the tiger spirit let out a loud roar, her subordinates were shocked and it managed to escape. Xiao Qian only managed to catch up with it once. Her curse-sealing method was specifically designed to deal with humans and ghosts, but it didn't have much effect on this kind of spiritual beast.

  If it weren't for the fact that the tiger is about to give birth, this would be its weakest moment, and I'm afraid it still wouldn't be a match for him.

  Xiao Qian said with some concern: "Master, do you think it's okay?" But he saw Xu Xian that night with the tiger by a bonfire.

  Xu Xian wouldn't stop her, that tiger spirit had killed countless people, but it had never shown any malice towards him, so he hadn't made a move. Ben had also decided to let each other go their separate ways, and besides, this was the side where Little Qian called him "husband".

  At this time, the ghost-faced monkey slipped out from the forest and came to Nie Xiaoqian's face, chattering and waving its paws as if it was telling something. Xiaoqian smiled slightly and said to Xu Xian: "Found the tiger demon's lair." It turned out that Xiaoqian had discovered the tiger demon's tracks outside the cave and ordered her subordinates to follow them, and now they finally got the result.

  Xu Xian smiled and said, "Then let's go take a look. Maybe I can still lend you a helping hand!" As he spoke, he rose into the air on a cloud of mist, inviting Xiao Qian to come up with him. This cloud of mist was not supposed to be able to carry people, but since Xiao Qian was originally a light and nimble ghost, it didn't matter.

  That ghost-faced monkey saw Xiaoxian wanting to ascend with Xu Xian, and it quickly spun around on the ground. It leapt onto Xiaoxian's shoulders, but immediately pulled her down. Although its body was light, it still had weight. Xiaoxian patted its monkey head, letting it run over by itself.

  The goblin-like monkey suddenly became disobedient, grasping Xiaoxian's sleeve and refusing to let go. It was like a child throwing a tantrum at its mother, yet it still seemed like a monster that killed people as if it were child's play. However, just like a ferocious tiger eating humans, it was simply its nature, and it wouldn't have any negative emotions, nor would the goblin understand human morality.

  Xu Xian stretched out his hand and gently grasped it, placing it on his shoulder: "It's better this way!" The ghost-faced monkey chattered its teeth and mouth on Xu Xian's head and shoulders, and only calmed down after Xiao Qian patted its head.

  The cloud rises into the air and flies in one direction. Although the speed is slow, it has the advantage of not being disturbed by various obstacles on the ground, which can save a lot of time.

  "A loud roar shook the mountains and forests."