Demon King's Repayment - chapter 119

“I haven’t seen him before, but I have heard of this lord’s name. I heard that he is a powerful and gentle lord. Even humans have set up temples for him and worshiped him.”

 “Really? Did he do anything extravagant? Why did the headmaster use iron chains to lock him?”

Yuan Xiang knew that some things were completely different from different people’s perspectives. It was because of the terrifying existence in the wicked world, even Nan He had caught a demon lurking in the town that ate people’s hearts.

“I’ll find out after inquiring,” Sanlang’s pointed ears disappeared from the window. He transformed into a young girl, and jumped out of the carriage.

He stopped a young woodcutter and said, “I dare to ask this eldest brother, which God is worshiped in the temple on this mountain. My family is pious, and they always worship the Gods of temples. We are planning to go to worship.”

When the gentle and delicate girl asked the woodcutter, his face suddenly flushed, and he said, “The temple was occupied by a demon decades ago. I heard the old man in the village say that the demon was very bad. Not only did he eat boys and girls every day and harmed the village, but he also turned into a God to deceive everyone. The immortal master fought with the demon for three days and three nights here, beat the demon back to his original form, led him around the village, and then everyone recognized his true face. So far, the temple has been abandoned. Girl, you’re wasting your time.”

The woodcutter told them the road. They turned around the mountain road, and could clearly see the small temple. The roofs collapsed in a corner, the walls were covered with vines, and the steps covered with snow. It was a desolate scene.

However, there seemed to be a gray-haired old man in the temple who was kneeling on the ground burning incense and praying.

Yuan Xiang was curious. She stopped the carriage and walked up the mountain road. This was a very small temple. There was only one hall in total, the head of the statue on the shrine was cracked in a corner, and a large hole was broken up on the roof.

There was a plate of peanuts, a plate of rice cakes, a plate of oranges, and three incense sticks on the offering table. The old man put his palms together and prayed, “Lord Mountain God, I haven’t seen you for a long time. I hope you are well.”     

After the old man finished praying, he stood up tremblingly to clean up the dishes. Only then did he see several young people standing at the door of the temple. One of them, a 16- or 17-year-old girl, was leaning against the door frame, looking up at the disintegrated deity.   “Old man, I heard that this God was just a demon who brought disaster to the village, why are you still worshiping him?” Yuan Xiang saluted him and asked.

“What if he was a demon? This lord can’t count the times he has helped us. In the past, whether it was a drought, a plague of insects, or a beast tide. As long as you come to the mountain temple to worship, everything will get better soon. Everyone was just afraid of demons, so when they heard about it, they forgot the help he once gave us. Those heartless guys even throw stones at him,” the old man said bitterly, and slowly brought the dishes and dishes on the table, “Young people these days have never even seen the demon, so they spread rumors that the demon harmed the village and ate boys and girls.”

“How do you know that these rumors aren’t true?” 

The old man gave Yuan Xiang a dissatisfied look and snorted, “Decades ago, a boy’s mother died in the village. His family was busy with funerals and had no time to take care of the sad and frightened child… “

“The boy ran into the mountain and hid in the temple, remembering his mother’s kindness, he burst into tears and fainted. When he woke up, the sky was already dark at some point, it was pouring rain outside, and the sounds of various beasts were faintly heard from the depths of the forest. The boy felt frightened at that moment, just as he hugged his body and shrank under the altar table and shivered, a young man lifted the curtain of the offering table. This man was dressed very strangely, with his long straight hair reaching the ground without. He told the little boy that he’ll take him back.” 

“For some reason, the boy forgot his fear, obediently held his hand with a smile, and was picked up by the man. It rained abnormally that day, and the mountain road was slippery, but the man didn’t seem to mind and walked in the rain with ease. The strange thing was that they didn’t get wet at all. The little boy who had been frightened for a day leaned on the warm and broad chest and fell asleep unconsciously. When he woke up, he found himself lying on the bed of his own house. And the family members who hurriedly searched for him for a day didn’t know how he suddenly returned home.”

“That’s right, that boy was me.” The old man finished cleaning up the dishes then said, “If Lord Mountain God eats boys and girls, how can I still live to my age?”

When he finished the story, he walked down the mountain in the snow indignantly.

Yuan Xiang stood in front of the ruined temple gate, looking at the ruined statue. Thin snowflakes fell from the hole in the roof. The remaining half of the face of the stone statue could still be seen with slender eyebrows and narrow eyes, vaguely like Du Shuo.

The crack on the statue’s face made the smiling face look like it was crying.