From a refugee to a martial artist

Chapter 242: Forced Poetry
"We are all here to do things, so don't blame us."

There were gusts of cold wind in the mountains and forests, bringing snow to my face.

Seeing that Xiangling and the big black dog were so frightened that they dared not say a word, Boss Shu said something to comfort them.

"Boss Shu, there are books in this little yellow leather bag, and they look like ghost paintings!" The red-skinned mouse flipped through a few pages, but couldn't understand the words on them, so he asked the black-skinned mouse Boss Shu to take a look.

Boss Shu tucked the red tasseled spear under his arm, spat, and flipped through the book with his fingers, then said with confidence, "This is the almanac!"

It is clearly a collection of poems, but it shows that the black-skinned rat cannot read.

"Little guy, do you have any more silver?" The red-skinned mouse had no interest in the almanac. He just stared at Xiangling with his mouse eyes and asked, "Do you have any more money?"

Xiangling shook her head.

"What are you doing at the foot of the mountain?" the red-skinned mouse asked curiously again.

Xiangling said, "I look after the house, give massages, baths and paint nails."

"No wonder he can only do these things, he doesn't look very smart!" The black-skinned rat Shu Laoda is very knowledgeable, "I guess he will have to look after the granary for others!"

The black-skinned rat raised his chin and said, "Come with us! Working for our boss, won't it make more money than working for someone else?"

"What business does the king want to do?" The big black dog was still shaking all over and asked in a hoarse voice.

"Who knows? Anyway, we are going to do something big!" Black Rat answered casually, turned around and left, "I'm following!"

"Friend Shu, can we come back?" Xiangling asked in a low voice.

"That depends on your eyesight!" The black-skinned rat got excited and boasted, "To get by in this world, you need your eyes!"

He held up the red tasseled spear and said proudly, "Think about it, who didn't respect me when I was in Hulu Mountain? Who didn't know me? I was the one known as the Great Saint of the Earth! Later, something happened in Hulu Mountain, and many of my fellow Taoists died, but I am fine. Why? Because I know what's happening!"

"Yes!" The red-skinned mouse agreed, "If you want to get involved, you have to use your brain!"

At this point, the red-skinned mouse quickly asked the black-skinned mouse, "Boss Shu, can we just take the two females back with us?"

"Just deal with it!" Black Rat Boss Shu was very annoyed, "He said he was here on a business trip, but ended up killing someone. You have to remember, brother, we are here to earn some money, not to risk our lives!"

"Boss Shu is right!" The red-skinned mouse immediately understood and waved vigorously at Xiangling and the big black dog, "Hurry up and follow us! Don't make things difficult for us brothers!"

Xiangling and the big black dog looked at each other, then looked at the tragically dead Pig Sister-in-law, and they dared not say a word and could only follow.

The black-skinned rat demon was in front, Xiangling and the big black dog were in the middle, and the red-skinned rat demon was behind.

The snow seemed to have been accumulating for many days, and once it came, it seemed unstoppable.

After walking for a while, it was already dark and the wind and snow were still blowing.

After another hour or so, they arrived at a valley and saw an eagle patrolling.

The black-skinned rat man was very versatile. He chatted with Feiying for a few words and then continued forward.

After walking around twice, we saw an open cave.

The mountains and forests were all white, except for the cave where water was flowing, which was not frozen.

Before Xiangling entered the cave, she smelled a strong smell of blood.

"Brother Shu," Xiangling was very scared, "Will the king eat me?"

She started to gain weight in the fall, so she was very afraid of this.

"The king is recruiting talents and will not eat his fellow men!" The black-skinned rat is very talkative.

"Why does it smell like barbecue?" the big black dog asked timidly.

"They are hunters who go into the mountains. The king specializes in cooking one, steaming one, boiling one, baking one, and making buns with one!" the black-skinned rat explained in detail.

It would have been better if she hadn't said it. As soon as she said this, Xiangling and the big black dog were so scared that their legs went limp.

Although the entrance of this cave is large, the cave is not deep.

After walking only fifty feet forward, we saw the bottom.

There were more than a dozen fires burning in the cave, and among them there were seventy or eighty small monsters of various kinds.

At the deepest part, there is a stone seat, on which lies a sturdy figure with his eyes closed, sleeping soundly.

The monster had striped patterns all over its body and an extremely large head. It was none other than the Tiger King.

"My king, it's snowing heavily today. The Qingzhi Immortal went to the outside of Songhe City to investigate, and my two brothers have recruited two capable people!" The black-skinned rat boss Shu immediately boasted.

"Yes, yes! He is capable!" the red-skinned mouse also said quickly.

The tiger demon on the high platform opened one eye, glanced at the big black dog, and asked: "A female dog? She can bark a few times. As for--" The tiger king closed his eyes and said: "The little weasel is useless. Since it has gained a lot of weight, just eat it as food."

After saying this, the tiger demon added, "If you eat it raw, you're a beast. If you eat it cooked, you're a demon!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Eating it cooked is evil!" The red-skinned mouse flattered him, "What the king said is really true!"

"This is what Lord Cangshan said." The tiger demon glanced at the red-haired mouse. There was not even a trace of annoyance in his eyes, and there was no emotion at all, which was colder than the ice and snow outside the cave.

The red-haired mouse was startled and trembled so much that it could hardly stand.

"My lord, you can't eat me!" Xiangling had seen a lot of things, and seeing the critical situation, she quickly shouted, "My lord, I can do things! I can do the math! I can even read!"

"Oh?" The tiger demon closed his eyes, then opened them again, looked at Xiangling, sniffed forward, and asked, "You smell like a human. Have you been at the foot of the mountain?"

"Yes, I went to school!" Xiangling opened her big round eyes and bowed, "Your Majesty, I can also write poems!"

After hearing this, the tiger demon was stunned, and the other demons also looked at Xiang Ling curiously.

Most of these wild monsters walk in the mountains, and some of them are more thoughtful and will go to the secular villages or even the city. But after all, it is too difficult to transform, so they dare not get too close, so there are some monsters who can read and write, but they are very few.

Moreover, most of the monsters here have little cultivation. At most, they are strong and have brute force. They are still far from transforming into human form, and few of them envy the splendor of the human world.

Hearing that the little weasel could not only read and write, but also compose poetry, they couldn't help but become curious.

"Your Majesty, I've heard of her!" A white-haired fox stood up and flattered, "I heard that there is a little weasel in the Datou Mountain area. He has some literary talent and is known as the Datou Mountain Poet Saint!"

"Poet Saint?" Tiger King sneered, "Come closer!"

Xiangling did not dare to run away. She took two trembling steps forward and bowed quickly, saying, "Hello, my king."

"You really know etiquette!" Tiger King looked at Xiangling and asked, "Are you the poet of Datou Mountain?"

"No, no, I'm not a poet saint, I'm a poet immortal!" Xiangling shook her head quickly and said seriously: "Your Majesty, I live in Datou Mountain, but Datou Mountain is very big. I don't have enough poetic talent, so I can only be a poet immortal!"

"Are the poet saints and poet immortals different?" Tiger King frowned, "They are all poets! What's the difference?"

Xiangling felt that there must be a difference between the Immortal Poet and the Sage Poet, but she had never thought about what the difference was before. When asked by the Tiger King, she was so stunned that she didn't know how to answer.

Xiangling had never seen such a scene before. She was stunned for a long time before she whispered, "Your Majesty, please give me a question!"

She is timid, but has participated in many poetry gatherings and has gained a lot of experience. "It is easier to write poetry if you have a topic!"

"There are so many tricks to writing a poem!" The Tiger King snorted, and Xiangling was so scared that she sat down on the ground, and the legs of the monsters also went limp.

The Tiger King sat on a stone chair, tilted his head and thought for a while, but due to his lack of knowledge, he could not find a topic.

"Your Majesty." The white-haired fox came forward again and took out a fat chicken to offer, "Your Majesty, please fill your stomach first!"

The tiger king immediately grabbed it in his hand and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Great! The chicken in the mountains is really delicious, but I wonder how the chicken in the city is!" Tiger King swallowed a mouthful of chicken and said immediately: "Let's talk about chicken!"

After saying this, the tiger demon sneered, "Seeing that you are not thin, if you can't write a poem, I will use you as food!"

"That..." Xiangling did not dare to refute, and hurriedly said: "If I write a poem, the king can't eat me anymore!"

"Just do it!" The Tiger King did not agree.

"..." Xiangling didn't dare to say anything more and thought about the question carefully.

Since she started studying poetry, Xiangling has often hung out with great scholars and has written quite a few poems, but she has never seen such a vulgar title.

In the past, the themes were usually "Autumn", "Home", or food or scenery, but this time the theme is "Chicken".

But relatively speaking, this is a bit too simple.

Xiangling was in danger. She scratched her head and muttered to herself, already having a plan in mind.

"Your Majesty," the white fox said again, "I heard that all the great poets in the world can compose a poem in seven steps. Shouldn't this little weasel also be able to compose a poem in seven steps?"

"Right, right, right!" The Tiger King listened to the advice very well, "Look up, little yellow skin!"

Xiangling quickly raised her head and looked at the Tiger King tremblingly.

"Take seven steps and sing a poem!" The Tiger King had finished eating the chicken and chewed up the bones. He looked at Xiangling coldly and frowned, saying, "Look at your head, it's shaped into a ball, just like a donkey's egg!"

Tiger King didn't like Xiangling's fashionable hairstyle and said, "Not only does the title have a chicken, it also has a ball!"

"Sing quickly!" The Tiger King's voice was low but extremely intimidating, and the cave suddenly became silent.

(End of this chapter)