I am Jinshan Youxia

Zhang Chengyi suddenly realized and asked curiously, "So that's how it is. There really are such things as celestial dogs?"

Midori explained, "The earliest Tengu actually came from the Tang Dynasty's Classic of Mountains and Seas. At that time, it was just a mythical beast. During the Heian period, monks named shooting stars in the sky Tengu. After that, some people thought that Tengu were mountain gods, monsters, mountain spirits of Shugendo, or monks who had broken their vows."

"In reality, they are all Tengu, monsters that the Tengu sect's Yamabushi transformed into under the drive of ever-growing desires."

Humans transformed into monsters by their desires.

Zhang Chengyi recalled what was mentioned in the Inuyasha manga, and it seemed to be true. Momoka, who was recently defeated by the main characters, was already close to becoming a demon.

In this world, the soul can easily change reality. The four souls that make up the soul each represent different traits. It's not a big deal if a strong obsession turns you into a monster.

The resentment of a mother who lost her child in war can coalesce into a yokai called Mujou, and the love for objects can turn them into tsukumogami. There are countless similar yokai. In this kind of worldview, yokai are something that can easily appear.

It would be strange if the yokai in Kagome's future world were unknown to everyone.

It's just a bit funny that the Japanese tengu are actually human-turned-demons in the Inuyasha world.

So, could it be that all those other weird and fantastical legends are actually monsters that were actually humans turned into?

After a brief conversation, Zhang Chengyi turned around and saw that Monk Mengxin had already left. He jumped in front of the middle-aged man, crossed his arms like a human, and asked, "What did you mean when you said that Monk Mengxin was expelled?"

-----------------

Half a day later.

"I was a bit too arrogant."

As the monk Mengxin walked along the mountain path, he reflected on his thoughts.

Sending a golden rat... no, Zhang Chengyi... strange, surname Zhang, given name Chengyi? It doesn't sound like a local at all, it's more like the naming conventions of the Tang Dynasty.

Thanks to the accuracy and elegance of the translation function in the modifier, he understood the name and title very well, but he still couldn't help but feel that it was strange.

Getting back to the point, he shouldn't have presumptuously tried to save others without asking or understanding anything. Wait, what kind of monster is he? Can a rat that can talk, use spiritual power, and master magic and barriers really be considered a monster?

Monk Mengxin was originally reflecting on his own actions, but the sudden appearance of a large number of strange questions made his thoughts somewhat disjointed.

"No matter what, it's still a bit too strange," he muttered, then pushed the jumbled thoughts to the back of his mind.

In reality, however, many troubles await him.

Being expelled by the young lord of a city is a very troublesome matter. Unless you change your name and stop being a monk, you have to leave Musashi Province. Otherwise, if you are recognized, you will be attacked by human warriors.

But all his possessions were gone with Mengxin Temple. He had no money, no wine, and nowhere to go. He was really in a headache.

He wasn't a monk who was truly free from worldly desires and wandered around solely to subdue demons and monsters.

Moreover, he couldn't put his mind at ease about that kid Miroku. If he didn't deal with Naraku, he would one day be swallowed up by the Wind Tunnel just like his old friend.

"?!" Mengxin suddenly turned her head to look at the bushes in the distance.

A little monster dressed in clothes and wearing a hat, with two talismans pasted on its head, was holding a wine jug and looking at him with its bulging eyes.

Use a teapot?

Got it!

Mengxin was greatly alarmed. Without her prayer beads, being approached by such a treacherous monster as the Pot-Gourd was not just a simple matter of trouble.

Cloud-like worms shot out of the wine pot like lightning.

"Whoosh!"

"Crack!"

The pot maker's head was pierced on the spot, and then its entire body turned into light and dissipated. The Gu pot worm driven by the pot maker stopped in front of Mengxin's nose and reluctantly retreated.

"Hey, old monk, isn't it a bit impolite to just leave without saying a word?"

Zhang Chengyi, holding a slingshot, stood smiling on a rock not far away.

He couldn't use the bow and arrows that were only for shrine maidens, but the slingshot was fine. Anyway, Midori provided the spiritual power to purify the monsters, and the killing power of the arrows and stones was about the same.

"Thank you for your help, Lord Zhang Chengyi."

The monk Mengxin used the 'sama' as a form of address to show respect, but after saying it, it still felt very strange. Such a name was unheard of, and it was even more awkward to pronounce in Japanese. It was just a direct transliteration, and with the pronunciation issues of Japanese, it didn't sound as smooth as when the other person said it.

Before Zhang Chengyi could answer, Cui Zi spoke up: "Lord Rat God, the demonic aura is growing stronger."

A horde of monsters, blotting out the sun, surged through the sky, their eyes filled with hatred and greed as they gazed upon Monk Mengxin and the field mouse brimming with spiritual power.

These monsters looked bizarre and strange. Some had only four or five eyes, while others had countless eyeballs. Their tentacles, teeth, and hair were completely random. They were so ugly that they were nauseating, let alone human-like.

"Eat them! Eat them!"

Inside, a slightly human-like monster roared, and the monsters swarmed forward.

"Buzz!"

As spiritual energy radiated, the souls and bodies of the demons were purified wherever the light reached, and the entire sky became clear the next second.

Mengxin was speechless. He had never seen such powerful spiritual energy in his life, and he couldn't even imagine how powerful a soul would be to release such a large amount of spiritual energy.

"what?"

Zhang Chengyi turned around, drew back his slingshot, narrowed his eyes, and stared intently at the blurry insect shadows in the distance.

His instincts as a martial artist told him clearly that the thing was watching him.

"Whoosh!" The pebble flew out, but missed. The field mouse's strength was simply not enough to reach that far, and it could only watch helplessly as the insect that seemed to be the most powerful flew away.

Naraku...

Zhang Chengyi frowned; he had a feeling that things were far from over.

The field mouse is too weak; he should think of a way to make himself stronger.

Chapter 166 Resurrection and Human Favor

"That was really dangerous..."

"A field mouse."

The man draped in baboon fur spoke in an astonished tone. Wherever he walked, dark purple miasma spread out, and the soldiers who had been frozen by Midori's magic died one after another. He stopped in front of the fallen Yamabushi, stretched out his palm, and the Shikon Jewel shards fell from his fingertips.

The Shikon Jewel shard fell into the hole in Yamabushi's chest, a few seconds later.

"Boom!"

My heart started pounding, and my relaxed muscles were rejuvenated.

"A nauseating stench." Yamabushi suddenly stood up, his arm flashing out like lightning, his broad hand pinching the face of the man wearing baboon fur.

"It was I who resurrected you, I—"

"Crack!"

"Whoosh!"

The man wearing baboon fur transformed into tentacles that surged and tore the baboon fur apart, detaching the lower half of his face from Shanfu's grasp, his mouth still opening and closing:

"It's a pity, I thought we would have common topics to talk about."

The most intense buzzing sound surrounded half of its face, its tentacles constantly expanding and contracting, and its turbid fluid dripping onto the ground with a hissing sound.

"Miasma and evil spirits, but no demonic aura."

Ignoring the sparks falling on him, Yamabushi coldly looked at the half-face floating in mid-air and asked, "Is it a puppet?"

"My name is Naraku."

The half-face revealed its name, a smirk playing on its lips, and said, "Truly worthy of being a cultivator capable of challenging a celestial dog. I underestimated you."

Yamabushi didn't attempt to attack; even killing a puppet wouldn't change anything. "What are you plotting?"

Naraku asked, "So, will you accept my employment?"

"Is it the one that delivered the golden rat?" Shan Fu asked in return.

Naraku said, "Of course, any demon would be afraid of that kind of terrifying spiritual power."

"I don't sense any fear from you," Yamabushi's voice remained calm.

The tentacles rustled and swished, engulfing the surrounding corpses. Naraku smiled knowingly, half his face twisted in amusement, and said, "Do you still remember your name?"

Yamabushi did not respond.

"Heh," Naraku laughed. "You are not the Yamabushi who challenged the Tengu. His indomitable soul was purified long ago."

"You are merely a soulless shell resurrected by the Shikon Jewel, a monster driven by obsession, a—"

"boom!"

Yamabushi raised his hand and threw a punch. A fierce demonic aura surged out, blasting Naraku's massive tentacle body, along with half of his face, into pieces. Naraku then landed as a puppet entangled in fur.

"..."

Everything returned to calm. He stood there, stunned, for a long time. Then he reached out and removed the Tengu mask, revealing an incredibly smooth face. The Shikon Jewel fragments in his chest and abdomen shimmered with a murky light.

-----------------

"I heard you even had your temple demolished to help me?"

Zhang Chengyi stuffed the slingshot into his small bundle and asked casually.

Monk Mengxin smiled and said, "It's just a small matter." He really didn't care much about these things; helping an innocent monster like the Golden Rat was his own decision.

He would bear whatever the consequences might be, and he would not regret it even if he died.

Zhang Chengyi picked up a bundle that was much bigger than himself, looking quite comical. He clicked his tongue and said, "I really dislike guys like you who want to save others for no reason."

"How rude of me!" Monk Mengxin said with his hands clasped together in shame.

“However, I am indebted to you.” Zhang Chengyi patted his chest and said, “Tell me, how much gold do you want? I will give it to you.”

“No.” Monk Mengxin refused earnestly, “You just saved my life, that’s more important than anything else.”

However, your experience in the manga proves that you are not going to die at all; Naraku just wanted to capture you to use against Miroku.

But now you don't even have a home anymore.

"Stop rambling and just tell me how much gold you want, or what your wish is," Zhang Chengyi said impatiently.

He dislikes owing favors to others. Just as the monk Mengxin would never complain about being expelled, having his home demolished, or losing everything, he is the kind of person who feels uncomfortable as long as he knows that others have sacrificed for him or been kind to him.

People like Su Xinghe and Wu Yazi are one thing, since they were the ones who gave others benefits first, and the others reciprocated. From beginning to end, their position was that of a detached, albeit benevolent, 'player'.