Book 2: Chapter 10

Book 2: Chapter 10

Zhang Qishan frowned as he thought about what Zhang Xiaoyu had said.

He knew exactly what Zhang Xiaoyus background was like. He wasnt some strong man from the villages. He was a brother who had followed him from the northeast. The northeastern Zhang family received a strict education and wouldnt easily draw conclusions on a matter unless they saw irrefutable evidence.

So, there had to be a solid basis for Zhang Xiaoyu to claim that this really was a mountain god and that they couldnt shoot it. If that was the case, then what signs would people see to make them think that a creature had to be a god?

As the miasma continued to permeate the area, everyone else gathered around. Zhang Qishan had them check their ammo. At the same time, he pointed at the mountains on both sides of the valley. When it came to tracking prey in the valleys, it was very easy to lose sight of them. If monsters were hiding in the dense forest, then there was a chance that people were unaware that they had failed to detect them. The best tracking method was to trek up the mountains on both sides of the valley where the view was good. That way, they could also look out for each other.

Qi Tiezuis expression was also very serious, but he was out of breath after all the trouble he had gone through tonight.

Why wasnt your hexagram accurate? Zhang Qishan asked him.

My hexagram is definitely accurate, Qi Tiezui said. If its not, then theres only one possibility for this to happen.

What is it?

Fo Ye, our opponent isnt within Wuxing (1), which means it isnt something that belongs to our world. It may really be a mountain god.

As they continued moving along, Zhang Qishan quickly realized why the mountain god had disappearedthere was a swamp below the sea of trees.

As it turned out, there was a lot of water in this valley. Before entering the swamp, the mountain god was probably crawling across the tree tops like an arboreal animal. But when it reached the swamp area, it immediately sank into the water. It probably swam quickly under the swamp and only came out of the water when it needed to breathe. This moment when it came out of the water was probably when the birds were startled into flight.

If thats the case, I really hope Zhang Xiaoyu didnt drown, Zhang Qishan thought to himself.

As they approached the area quickly, their surroundings became more and more quiet, and they soon found that the whole forest was silent. They couldnt hear the sounds of a single living creature at all.

Zhang Qishan also realized that he was close to his target, because he found that they had entered a special woodland area. The plants here were completely different from those on the periphery, and the forest close to the mountain gods habitat was full of banyan trees. Based on his experience, this banyan forest had actually been developed from a single banyan tree. One tree grew and became a whole forest.

In the center of this forest, there had to be a real big tree that he had never seen in his life before.

****

TN Notes:

(1) Wuxing, usually translated as Five Phases, is a fivefold conceptual scheme that many traditional Chinese fields used to explain a wide array of phenomena, from cosmic cycles to the interaction between internal organs, and from the succession of political regimes to the properties of medicinal drugs. The Five Phases are Fire, Water, Wood, Metal or Gold, and Earth or Soil. Wiki Link here.