Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 250 Changes of the Times
After Long Zongshu finished speaking, a brief silence fell in front of the Cat Temple.

Little Cotton asked curiously and nervously, "And then? Did that elder in your family really eat the food those shadowy figures gave him? Won't eating that food cause any problems?"

The little cotton ball was amazed.

Long Zongshu scratched his head and said, "That elder in my family is very bold. He's always been incredibly daring and has gotten into trouble several times."

“The shadowy figures handed him the food. He was hungry, and without caring whether there would be any problems eating it, he grabbed the food from the plate and stuffed it into his mouth.”

"He said that all the soups and dishes were cold, but they actually tasted pretty good. They must have been made by a chef who specializes in banquets, because they tasted just like the dishes we eat at banquets."

Long Zongshu said, "And he finished both dishes in one go, and suddenly someone from the dark figures below called out to him again."

"—Guests upstairs, have you eaten and drunk your fill? The host invites you to come down and have a drink."

After Long Zongshu finished speaking, Xiao Mianhua clicked her tongue in amazement: "These monsters even offer people drinks...aren't they just like humans?"

Long Zongshu said, "My elder had just finished eating, but the food was probably a bit cold, and he had also drunk a lot of alcohol. Immediately after eating, his stomach felt uncomfortable. People below were urging him to go downstairs quickly, but he dared not go down to drink alcohol."

"He quickly made an excuse, saying that he was full, but he couldn't come face to face with the living or the dead, because something bad would happen if he did. So he asked the host to bring him the wine, and he offered it to the host on the stone."

"To be honest, this excuse is so flimsy. Even my elder said that after he finished speaking, all the people below him lowered their heads and whispered among themselves, as if they were discussing and doubting him."

"In Zangke, I haven't heard of anything that can't be seen, because if it is, there will be problems."

"But perhaps the filth down there was afraid, because they didn't say anything more and actually did as my elder said, and handed over a glass of wine."

"However, this wine is just so-so. My elders said it's obviously the kind of cheap corn wine sold on the street, and it doesn't taste good at all."

"But after drinking, the things down below stopped bothering him and he continued eating."

"But my elder relative was lying on the rock, extremely anxious. His stomach was rumbling and he just wanted to leave as soon as possible to find a place to relieve himself; his anus was about to burst."

"But those things below just stayed together and wouldn't leave. Some of the shadows even buried their heads in the plates and started licking the food. The host started serving wine, and these things actually started drinking it cup by cup."

"Moreover, many of the shadows can speak human language, but their voices are in various accents and are difficult to understand."

"My elders were almost bursting with impatience when the banquet was finally starting to end."

He thought it was finally over and had just breathed a sigh of relief when the dark figure from before came to call him again—"Guest upstairs, the host would like to invite you to have a glass of water."

"The elder of the Long family naturally didn't dare to go down, so he pretended to hold his nose and said, 'Please bring the water up.'"

"Those things were obedient; they really only brought up a glass of water."

"That glass of water smelled sweet and tasted sweet, but as soon as it went down my throat, a strong fishy and foul smell came out, like horse urine that had been soaking for more than ten days."

"My elder family member almost threw up on the spot."

"But fortunately he managed to hold it in and didn't vomit."

"And the shadows under the stone, seeing that he had drunk the water, stopped paying attention to him. They all drank the water and eventually left one after another."

"Even the few dark figures who were hosting the banquet quickly left with their pots and pans, leaving the area under the rock deserted and silent." "My elder finally couldn't hold it in any longer, but he still didn't dare to go down. He just squatted on the rock and pooped a huge pile of poop."

"Later, he stayed on that rock all night while he had diarrhea, and only dared to come down from the rock when it was dawn."

"After we got off the rock, we found all sorts of footprints on it, all of which belonged to wild animals in the mountains."

"There were sheep hoof prints, leopard and lynx paw prints, many snake tracks, and even a few feathers from birds and beasts like eagles that had fallen to the ground."

"And under the big rock where he hid all night, there were several handprints."

"After the show ended last night, something stayed there and remained under the rock. If it had dared to come down, it would have been in real trouble."

As Long Zongshu spoke, he shook his head and said, "When my elder saw this situation, he didn't dare to stay any longer, fearing that something might jump out during the day. He quickly ran out to find his horse."

"As a result, the horse he had tied not far from the rock was sucked dry and turned into a dried-up corpse. Its flesh and skin were completely drained, and not a drop of blood was left."

“He went home and told my great-grandfather about it. My great-grandfather told him that the water he drank must have been laced with horse blood and was definitely harmful.”

“My great-grandfather immediately took him to a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, who gave him a jar of herbal medicine to drink. After drinking it, he had severe diarrhea for ten days. No matter how much he ate, he would excrete the same amount. He was almost dead.”

"From then on, he could no longer drink alcohol; even a little bit of alcohol on his tongue would make him drunk. Moreover, he couldn't taste anything in his food; even the most delicious dishes tasted like tattered rags to him."

After Long Zongshu finished telling the story, the three people in front of the Cat Temple looked at each other in bewilderment.

Mo Li said, "The food and drinks at those banquets must have been prepared by someone. Some mountain demons can disguise themselves as humans to deceive people. I just don't know if they paid for these banquets."

Ran Qing said, "The money should be paid. These evil monsters are actually quite rule-abiding. Even when they harm people, they have their own set of rules."

"If there is no enmity between them, it is difficult for mountain demons and monsters to harm people casually."

"Paying for meals is even simpler for them. And these mountain monsters are often very generous when it comes to paying."

"He might ask you to book a banquet for 500 yuan, and then give you 1,000 or even 2,000 yuan in return."

"It's just that the mountain demons' money comes from dubious sources, and sometimes spending their money can bring trouble."

A similar incident was recorded in "The Trial of Sister Erjie and the Exorcism of Demons".

After Ran Qing finished speaking, Xiao Mianhua exclaimed, "So it seems that the mountain monsters aren't so scary after all... at least they're reasonable? Much better than those evil ghosts that kill indiscriminately."

Ran Qing shook her head: "Most of them are like that, but these kinds of mountain spirits and monsters, like those in supernatural tales, are no match for the brutal and evil creatures like the Mountain Demon and the Mountain Demon."

“In the past, Zangke Mountain was sparsely populated, and there were many spirits and evil creatures in the mountains.”

"But now Zangke is almost full of people, and those old-fashioned spirits are almost extinct."

"What's left now are probably mostly monsters like mandrills and shamans."

(End of this chapter)