Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

In the deep mountain forests, towering ancient trees stand tall, their branches and leaves densely packed like umbrellas, covering most of the sky.

The forest was very dark, and the sunlight shone through the tiny gaps between the branches and leaves, onto the brown soil, creating a mottled and colorful interweaving of light and shadow.

The air is fresh and moist, mixed with the unique fragrance of rotting soil and leaves, and the faint scent of wild flowers in the distance.

The bushes swayed gently, and a man suddenly walked out from behind the bushes, walking into the dense forest along a path hidden in the grass.

This was a middle-aged man, thin, with a weather-beaten face and many wrinkles. He looked to be about forty or fifty years old, holding an iron spear in his right hand.

He carried a bow on his back and a pot of bamboo arrows on his waist. His eyes were patrolling the forest, alert and vigilant.

Behind the middle-aged man followed a young boy with a childish face, thick eyebrows and big eyes. He looked only fifteen or sixteen years old. He was much taller than the middle-aged man, but also very thin, and his right hand was tightly grasping a bamboo spear.

The young man, like the middle-aged man, carried a bow on his back and a pot of bamboo arrows on his waist, but his bow was slightly smaller. He also looked around vigilantly and glanced back from time to time.

Both of them were wearing coarse linen clothes and a pair of straw sandals. They were simple but sturdy, with thick soles, so even if they stepped on hard stones, they would not feel any pain on their feet.

Suddenly, the middle-aged man took two quick steps and came to a big tree. He lowered his head, carefully looked at the surface of the trunk, and even reached out to touch it.

The young boy noticed the abnormality of the middle-aged man and his eyes fell on the tree. Its rough brown bark seemed to be peeling off a little.

The boy blinked, as if remembering something, and said excitedly: "Dad, a wild boar rubbed against this tree!"

His voice was low, not disturbing the tranquility of the forest, but just loud enough for the middle-aged man to hear.

The middle-aged man smiled and replied in the same low voice: "This wild boar hasn't gone far. Kill it and have a good meal. I'll give you an iron spear in exchange!"

He walked forward, weaving through the dense bushes and grass, his steps light and several times faster than before, but without making any noise.

The young man followed the middle-aged man with some difficulty. He clenched the bamboo spear in his right hand more tightly and whispered, "Dad, I can use the bamboo spear. Let's prepare some dowry for my sister first. Find a matchmaker quickly and find a good family in another village for my sister to marry into."

The middle-aged man paused, and out of the boy's sight, he sighed silently and quickened his pace.

After walking a few dozen feet, the middle-aged man stopped again, pushed aside a patch of grass, and revealed a pile of feces that was still emitting heat.

He picked up a little bit with his hand without any disdain, held it in front of his eyes to take a look, and then held it in front of the young man: "Tiezhu, take a look."

The boy opened his eyes wide, looked at it carefully for a while, and said uncertainly: "Is this wild boar... a male?"

The middle-aged man smiled, and the wrinkles on his forehead shrank into a ball: "Yes, this is a wild boar king. Your sister's dowry is settled, and the bamboo spear in your hand can also be exchanged for an iron one!"

The boy's eyes widened even more, and he said with a red face: "Dad, let's chase it quickly, we can't let it run away!"

"Don't worry, the wild boar king is not afraid of even tigers. He doesn't walk fast, so we will definitely catch up with him." The middle-aged man smiled and wiped the feces on his hand on a tree next to him.

He stood up, looked around, broke off a broad grass stem, squeezed it with his hands, and some juice seeped out, which he used to wipe the remaining feces off his hands.

"Tiezhu, remember, when hunting, you must not leave any smell on your body, otherwise you will scare away the prey." The middle-aged man threw the grass stems on the ground and warned.

The boy nodded very seriously: "I remember, Dad."

The mountain road was difficult to travel on, and the two spent more than half an hour walking two miles before finally catching up with the wild boar king.

When the young man saw the ferocious beast, his face changed immediately. He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple rolled up and down, and his left hand quietly placed on the bamboo spear.

A huge monster was walking leisurely in the forest. Its whole body was covered with black mane. It was about half the height of a person and weighed at least several hundred pounds. A pair of long fangs protruded from its lips. The sunlight shone on them through the branches and leaves, reflecting a cold light.

Its four sturdy hooves stepped on the ground, and it wade through the dense grass to create a path. Its short, thick tail swung leisurely, and it occasionally lowered its head to nibble on the tender grass.

The middle-aged man seemed to sense the tension in the boy's heart. He raised his hand and patted his shoulder, whispering: "Tiezhu, don't be afraid. No matter how powerful it is, it is just a beast without a brain."

The young man nodded slightly, and his hands, which were tightly gripping the bamboo spear, loosened a little.

This was his third time to go hunting in the mountains with the middle-aged man, and it was also his first time to encounter the wild boar king, the overlord of the forest. He was extremely nervous.

The middle-aged man closed his eyes and felt it. At this moment, there was a very light breeze blowing in the forest, almost non-existent, gently caressing the middle-aged man's face, making his hair tremble slightly. The two of them were just in the upwind direction.

"Follow Dad and don't make any noise." The middle-aged man opened his eyes, gave a warning, then turned his body and walked to the right.

The young man could not feel the slightest breeze in the forest and was very confused, but he said nothing. He followed the middle-aged man closely with his bamboo spear in hand.

Wherever the two men passed, the branches and leaves of the bushes swayed gently, making a slight rustling sound.

But they were still ten feet away from the wild boar, and in the dense forest, the sound could not be transmitted too far.

The wild boar king was unaware of anything and continued walking leisurely, occasionally lowering his head to nibble on the green grass.

The middle-aged man and the young man bent over, slowly made a big circle, and came to the front of the wild boar.

The middle-aged man finally stopped, and the young man, who had been nervous, immediately stopped as well.

"Take the bow!" the middle-aged man gave a low order, took the bow off his back, took out an arrow from the pot at his waist, and held it in his hand.

This is an old bow, but the bow body was wiped clean and the bowstring was slightly yellowed, but there was no stain at all, except for some grass clippings when it passed through the bushes.

The young man hurriedly did as he was told, but he was a little hasty and failed to take the bow down in one go. Sweat beads broke out on his forehead. He tried again before he succeeded. Then he took an arrow from the pot and put it on the bow.

"Don't panic, it's just like shooting a rabbit. It can't smell us." The middle-aged man warned.

The boy nodded. His pounding heart began to slow down, and the tension in his eyes mostly disappeared.

He had practiced archery for three years. The bow that the middle-aged man bought from the county town at a high price had become a part of his body. As long as he held it in his hand, the fear in his heart immediately disappeared, and instead he felt eager to try.

The middle-aged man saw the change in the boy and smiled with satisfaction. He whispered, "I'll shoot its left eye later, and you can shoot its right eye. Don't think about anything else, just draw your bow boldly. Your archery skills are better than your father's, and you will definitely hit it!"

The boy nodded, held his breath, opened his eyes wide, stared at the Wild Boar King, not daring to blink.

The wild boar king was completely unaware of the impending danger and continued to leisurely wade through the bushes, nibbling on the tenderest green grass.

There were no roads in the mountains and forests, but as wild beasts walked more and more, roads were formed.

The distance between the Boar King and the two men was getting shorter and shorter, nine zhang, eight zhang, seven zhang, six zhang, five zhang...

"Shoot!" The middle-aged man shouted in a low voice, straightened up suddenly, raised his hand, pulled the bow, and shot an arrow!
The young man's tense heartstrings suddenly relaxed when he heard these words. He followed closely, bent his bow, drew his arrow, and suddenly released the bowstring.

Swish!
The bamboo arrow flew out and penetrated deeply into the wild boar king's right eye!
But he had no time to be happy, because the arrow shot by the middle-aged man missed the target by an inch and hit the wild boar king's face, leaving only a shallow wound, which was then bounced away by the coarse hair.

The bamboo arrows in the hands of the two men were not equipped with iron arrowheads. If they could not hit the vital points, they would not be able to hurt the forest overlord at all. "Ah!"

The wild boar king was shot in the right eye and became extremely ferocious. He kicked the ground with all four hooves and rushed towards the two men.

Its pair of fangs, about a foot long, were as sharp as knives and swords, and they crushed a large area of ​​bushes. Its momentum was so fierce that it seemed as if thousands of troops were charging.

The middle-aged man's face changed drastically. He immediately pulled out another bamboo arrow, put it on the bow, aimed at the wild boar king's left eye, and pulled the bowstring hard.

collapse!
He used too much force and actually broke the bowstring!

The bamboo arrow flew away, and the bowstring bounced back onto the middle-aged man's left wrist, leaving a deep bloody mark.

The middle-aged man was stunned. He looked at the wild boar king rushing over and immediately threw away the bow in his hand. He bent down and picked up the iron spear on the ground and shouted, "Iron Pillar, retreat quickly!"

The wild boar king's bristles were so hard that even an iron spear could not break them. He was already in great danger and he could not let his son die in the wild boar king's mouth.

But the young man turned a deaf ear to him. He opened his eyes wide, clenched his teeth, took out the second arrow from the quiver, put it on the bow, took a quick aim, and released the bowstring.

Swish!
The wild boar was less than two feet away from the two men, and the bamboo arrow immediately sank into the wild boar's left eye after it left the bow!

"Ow!"

The wild boar was blind and its momentum was greatly reduced, but it still rushed towards the two people by inertia.

"Get out of the way!" The middle-aged man let go of the iron spear, leaped forward, knocked the young man to the ground, and avoided the rushing wild boar king.

The wild boar king rushed out several feet before stopping, shaking its huge head from side to side, stomping around with its four hooves, and howling miserably.

The middle-aged man got up from the ground and pulled the boy up: "Tiezhu, step aside first!"

He picked up the iron spear on the ground, approached the wild boar king carefully, avoided its fangs, and stabbed it fiercely, leaving a wound on its back.

The wild boar king howled in pain and stabbed this side with his fangs, but the middle-aged man had already put away his spear and retreated, so the fangs hit nothing.

The middle-aged man circled half a circle, waited for the right moment, and thrust out another spear, which penetrated deeply into the wild boar king's anus!

"Ow!"

The wild boar king went completely crazy, running forward with his head down, breaking and crushing countless bushes and weeds, with flowers and plants flying everywhere, as he rushed into the forest.

"Chase!" said the middle-aged man, holding a spear, picking up the broken bow, and chasing after him.

The young man put the bow on his back, grasped the bamboo spear tightly, and followed closely.

The two followed the mad wild boar king and went dozens of feet deep into the forest.

The wild boar king, who was running with his head down, suddenly lunged forward with his huge body and fell to the ground.

The middle-aged man was startled and immediately stopped, raising his hand to stop the young man.

The wild boar king tried hard to get up, but both of his front legs were broken and bleeding profusely. He could only lie on the ground, wailing.

The middle-aged man then walked forward cautiously, came in front of the wild boar king, looked down, his face changed drastically, and he took several steps back.

The young man also came over, and he looked in the direction the middle-aged man was looking, and his eyes immediately widened.

There was actually a person lying in the grass behind the Wild Boar King!

This man was skin and bones, emaciated, with his eyes tightly closed. His face was as pale as paper, completely bloodless, and he seemed to have been dead for a long time. He looked hideous and terrifying.

But the white clothes he was wearing were brand new. Although he was lying in the grass, there was not a single blade of grass on him, not a speck of dust on him, and not a single insect or ant to be seen.

The middle-aged man took a deep breath, tightened the spear in his hand, walked around the people on the ground, came to the wild boar king, stabbed the spear into his mouth, and stirred it twice.

"Huh...huh..."

The wild boar king took a few deep breaths, his chest and abdomen heaved violently twice, his body tilted to the side, and he finally died.

The middle-aged man retracted his spear and wiped the sweat from his head.

He grinned and looked back. The boy was squatting down, looking at the man on the ground.

"Tiezhu, get out of the way!" the middle-aged man shouted, his eyes full of tension.

The boy was startled and quickly took a few steps back.

The middle-aged man walked quickly to the person on the ground, his expression solemn, and gently touched his body with the spear in his hand.

The people on the ground didn't react at all, so he heaved a sigh of relief and turned back to scold, "Don't touch the things in this mountain!"

The boy stepped forward and argued, "Dad, this is a person!"

The middle-aged man said dissatisfiedly: "This is a dead person. Who knows if he was infected with the plague before he died? He is so scary after death. Don't touch him."

The young man curled his lips and looked down at the person on the ground without blinking.

He liked the clothes on this person, which were as white and clean as the snow that fell last winter.

He had never worn such clothes in his life, nor had he ever seen such clothes.

Even Li Fugui, the landlord in the village, had never worn such white and clean clothes.

Suddenly, the boy opened his eyes wide and said anxiously, "Dad, look, his fingers are still moving, he is still alive!"

The middle-aged man lowered his head and saw that the five fingers of the man's right hand moved slightly a few times, as if he wanted to make a fist, but after a moment, they slowly loosened and remained motionless.

The middle-aged man's expression changed: "This... this..."

The boy scratched his head and said, "Dad, what should we do? Should we save him?"

The middle-aged man immediately shook his head: "No! He is no longer in human form, but his fingers can still move, and his clothes are still so new. It's too weird. Let's drag the wild boar king away quickly and don't meddle in other people's business."

The boy stared, "Dad, you said that the mountains are dangerous and we hunters can't just stand by and watch someone die. Otherwise, one day we'll be hung up by the ankle or fall into a bear pit and no one will care."

The middle-aged man was stunned, his expression changing constantly. After a long while, he finally gritted his teeth and said, "Tiezhu, you are right. We hunters cannot stand by and watch someone die!" (End of this chapter)