Strange Stories

Chapter 500: Homework Flows
Behind Hongye Temple, one can often hear the sound of hands hitting stones.

The young girl in Taoist robes clung to the steep mountain. Although she was sweating profusely, she looked determined and raised her palms to pat the mountain again and again, working tirelessly.

My palms have long been red and covered with calluses.

Sometimes gravel splashed and fell to the bottom of the mountain, and sometimes the mountain wind blew up stone powder and blinded her eyes.

But she didn't show any fear of hardship or fatigue.

From her front to her, there were steep mountains, and from her back to her, there were rough steps.

These days, the progress in magic is visible.

And her master sat on the top of this mountain.

If you look up casually, you can see her.

Suddenly a white egret brought a letter.

"Thank you."

The junior sister received Bai Lu's letter and opened it to read.

The letter came from a county town far away in Huizhou.

In order to gather the materials for the golden elixir, she corresponded with several senior brothers. The one who delivered the letters was Taoist friend Bai Lu, whom the junior senior brother knew.

Some time ago, the eldest senior brother wrote to say that he found a thousand-year-old fire ginseng in Yishan, the quantity was about one or two taels. Then she asked the youngest senior brother to inquire about other materials to refute the senior's argument, and sent letters to ask the eldest senior brother and the sixth senior brother to inquire about their respective mediums. Now it is the reply from the sixth senior brother.

Written above are the traces of top-grade golden essence.

"call……"

A breeze blew, and Ziyun suddenly found that his master, who was originally sitting on the top of the mountain, came to his side.

The master walked on the steep mountain as if it were flat ground, so that when they looked at each other, there was a very strange angle.

"Master..."

"I'm going to look for the top-grade gold essence, and I'll be away for a while. Will you take care of yourself, or go to Senior Hua or your uncle-master?"

"what?"

"In my opinion, my disciple is getting stronger and stronger, and can take care of himself. Besides, he still has to repair the road and look after the Taoist temple, so he should stay in Hongye Temple. I'll ask your uncle to ask Taoist Bai Lu to bring you a meal every day." The little sister said, "and let Xiaohua stay to accompany you."

"well……"

"Remember, be careful in everything, but don't be afraid. If you encounter monsters or bad people, ask Xiaohua for help. Your uncle in the mountains will also watch over you."

"remember."

"Although we can't be lazy when repairing the road, we still have to open the Taoist temple for a while at noon every day. If the people living at the foot of the mountain encounter evil spirits and come to ask for help, don't try to be brave. Just write a letter to inform your uncle. After all, he has many guardians there and disciples to teach."

"understood."

The junior sister gave the cat some more instructions, asking it to protect Hongye Temple and her disciples, before she turned into a breeze and left.

The sun has set and it is almost dusk here.

……

Just as the sky darkened and dusk began to rise in a village at the foot of the mountain, a sound like a baby crying was heard.

Every household locked their doors and dared not go out.

There was only one big tree, with a petite six-tailed white fox standing on it, staring down at the ground.

In another house, a short and thin man with a dagger on his waist was sitting on a chair with his hands empty, looking very relaxed.

A little girl picked up an axe, opened her eyes, held her breath and approached the hole at the door.

Her heart was pounding and her hands were shaking, but she didn't dare make a sound.

It was a cold and thick night outside, with fog blowing away with the wind.

"Ah~ah~"

The monster was actually wandering around the roads in the village openly.

Suddenly I heard a voice——

"It has a body like a sheep, a face like a human, eyes under its armpits, teeth like a tiger, claws like a human hand, cries like a baby, and eats people. It must be a monster called roe owl in the legend."

The little girl was immediately startled.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it was the Wan Hufa behind her who was speaking, but she couldn't help but look back again to confirm that it was really the Wan Hufa who was speaking and not some other ghost.

But just when she relaxed a little, retracted her gaze, and looked out through the small hole at the door again, she suddenly found that she was facing a pair of round, tiger-like eyes.

"!"

The little girl took a few steps back suddenly.

It turned out that the monster heard someone talking in the room and someone peeping at him, so he leaned over to look.

By stepping back like this, she exposed herself completely to the monster's eyes.

"boom!"

The monster immediately started banging on the door, making noises like a crying baby, which was creepy in the night, especially since it kept banging on the door.

The little girl was so frightened that she backed away repeatedly with the hatchet in her hand.

"Boom! Boom!"

The monster became more and more ferocious. Although it was small in size, it was incredibly strong, and the door latch was about to be broken.

Just as Wan Xinrong stood up in the back and wanted to remind her to chant the spell to summon the bean soldiers, he heard her voice:
"The beans fall and the wind rises, the soldiers and horses appear!"

Although he was flustered, he did not make any mistakes and instead recited very quickly.

With a swish, two beans flew out.

As soon as the beans flew out, they grew rapidly.

The little girl quickly hid under the table.

At the same time, the bolt was broken, the door opened wide, and the monster immediately rushed in.

But there was a sound of armor plates rubbing and colliding in the house. At some point, a soldier holding a shield in one hand and a knife in the other stood between it and the woman. Seeing it rushing towards him, he swung his shield in the opposite direction - with a bang, the monster was directly knocked against the wall!
The soldier holding the shield did not move at all.

Immediately followed by a sound of breaking air!

It was another soldier holding a bow who drew his bow and shot an arrow before the monster slid down the wall.

The arrow was so powerful that it exploded like thunder, not only piercing the monster's body, but also the entire wall.

When the monster's body fell from the wall, we saw that there was a hole in the wall and the arrow was nowhere to be seen.

The little girl was stunned again.

Exorcising demons and monsters is actually so simple?
Even when the oil lamp lit up and illuminated the room, and the monster's body was clearly right in front of her, she still couldn't believe it and felt that it couldn't be real.

The two tall and mighty soldiers wearing heavy armor stood quietly in the house, motionless. Combined with the monster in a pool of blood on the ground and the big hole in the wall, it gave people a feeling of extreme reliability and credibility.

"This……"

"Don't be surprised. After all, they are the heroes of the Taoist army who follow the real person. In the past, they followed the real person and fought against big monsters and heavenly soldiers and generals. Killing this kind of small monster is a piece of cake."

Wan Xinrong's voice sounded:

"From now on, when you exorcise monsters, you don't have to worry about whether these heroes can defeat the monsters. What you should worry about is how to find the monsters, how to prevent them from running away, how to use the weather and terrain to create a battlefield that is most suitable for the heroes, how to ensure your own safety in their fight, and how to distinguish whether the monsters should be killed, injured, or driven away. Leave the rest to them. At most, you just need to cooperate with them. Oh, and one more thing, the heroes' weapons, bows and arrows are all magical weapons. You must try your best to retrieve every arrow you shoot."

"Oh……"

The little girl thought for a long time before lowering her head: "What kind of monster is this..."

"This is not something that has changed. It is something that was born and raised by nature, just like mountain monsters and water spirits." Wan Xinrong said, "It should be because the world has not been peaceful in recent years, with wars one after another, and human morale has weakened, giving rise to evil spirits, which has given rise to these ferocious man-eating monsters and evil creatures."

The little girl nodded again, and then she realized what was happening, and quickly thanked the two heroes:

"Thank you, my good man! Thank you, my good man!"

He originally planned to chant a spell to call them back, but he was afraid that there were still monsters, so he plucked up his courage and went out for patrol with the bean soldiers.

After walking around the village and taking advantage of the high ground to check, I actually found another one.

Needless to say, people could not see clearly at all at a distance of hundreds of steps, and could only see dark shadows moving in the moonlight. However, the soldiers around him had already drawn their bows and shot arrows. There was only the sound of the bowstring snapping, and the next sound was the muffled sound of the arrow in the distance piercing through the monster and into the ground.

Still incredibly simple.

This evil creature is slightly larger than the other one and has slightly longer hair.

These monsters are actually one male and one female!
The sun and the moon alternate, and the roosters crow at the dawn.

The villagers gathered together and saw the two monsters lying on the ground. They regarded them as gods and some even knelt down to worship them.

The little girl stared at them blankly, then lowered her head, spread out her hands, and looked at the two beans in her hands...

He had not yet started practicing Taoism or learning magic, but the gods had borrowed two beans from him. By reciting a spell, he could summon such powerful divine soldiers and heavenly generals. Destroying demons and eliminating evil was as easy as eating and drinking water.

Holding the beans in your hands, you will have the illusion that "this power belongs to you at this moment."

Of course, this is just an illusion.

The little girl shook her head and put aside her distracting thoughts.

Still feels like a dream.

When I came to my senses, the village elder and a few villagers came over with embarrassed looks on their faces.

"Master...Master, you have eliminated the monster for us. How can we repay you?"

Years of war had just ended, and half of the village was empty, with 70% to 80% of the able-bodied laborers gone. After finally digging some food from the soil, most of it was taken away by taxes levied by the imperial court. Even with this, it was unclear whether they could survive until this year's autumn harvest, and then they encountered monsters causing trouble.

In Muramasa's house, two people were eaten by monsters.

The little girl stared at them blankly.

This place is closer to the capital than Yunzhou, and more prosperous and convenient than the mountains, but life here is much more difficult than in the mountains of Yunzhou.

Looking back, the Dharma Protector just pursed his lips and said nothing.

……

A backpack with tiles clinking inside.

The girl bent over to carry the weight, wiped the sweat off her face as she walked forward, but there was worry between her brows:

"Will the real person blame me..."

"Don't ask me, I don't know either."

"Then what would everyone give to a real person who exorcises a demon?"

"Hmm?" Wan Xinrong thought for a moment and answered honestly, "I have never seen a real person come here specifically to get rid of this kind of monster. When a real person gets rid of a monster, it's not for the people's property."

"What kind of monster was eliminated before? Was it much more powerful than this?"

"Hahaha! The young lady has been playing with that young master Xu for a while. Haven't you heard him talk about the rumors about 'Master Lin'?"

"Something."

"Those rumors are not false. In the past, the real person fought those monsters in the northwest of Qinzhou, in Modu Mountain... Haha, let's not talk about it, anyway, they are far from being comparable to these wolf-like monsters and evil creatures." Wan Xinrong said with a smile, "Anyway, young lady, you must know that since ancient times, there have been many monsters in troubled times. In this world, after years of war, there are still many such monsters and evil creatures. If we want to clean up the world, we can't do without the future efforts of young lady and Mr. Xu."

"I'm not afraid of being tired!"

"Just be afraid..."

"But tell me, how did the real person know that there was a monster harming people down here in the mountain?"

"This……"

This question stumped Wan Xinrong.

In the end, he could only evade the question by saying, "The real person is a god. Is there anything that a god doesn't know?"

……

There are naturally many things in this world that even gods don’t know about.

But the gods know more than they do.

Just like at this moment, they don’t know that on the outskirts of Fengshan, in Hongye Temple, there is a Taoist boy about ten years old sitting in front of the window, recording all the requests of the people from the mountain who were disturbed by demons and ghosts who came to the temple today, writing them into letters, and preparing to send them to the depths of Fengshan.

(End of this chapter)