The Dao dies but I live on, the spiritual energy dries up but I remain evergreen

After a heavy rain, the air is filled with the scent of earth.

There was a swordsman walking on the mountain path. For the first time in his life, he did not indulge in the wine around his waist. He probably had finished drinking it.

This time, the swordsman did not travel alone. He was followed by four men, all of whom were young men. They wore gray-blue official hats and held three-meter-long round sticks.

The stick is made of solid wood, flexible and heavy, with a copper ring inlaid at the end.

They had just killed a tiger and were about to carry it back when a swordsman happened to pass by, so they called him for help and asked him to come over and lend a hand.

Of course, it’s not a free help. I’ll just treat him to a drink when I get back.

The tiger was very heavy, and only four men could not carry it. One more person meant more strength, and the swordsman, thinking he could have free wine, rolled up his sleeves and got to work.

You have to cross the mountain roads and climb over the hills. The journey is long and difficult, and you can imagine the experience of carrying such a huge object on your back.

But the journey was not boring.

The four men called each other brothers and chatted about all sorts of things.

The tallest and strongest man among them was going to get married this year, and his brothers all congratulated him. At this critical juncture, if he killed such a big tiger, once his reputation spread, he would be able to marry even the rich lady.

The man felt embarrassed and smiled shyly.

Then, someone joked, saying that you should be careful, and be careful that the woman you marry is the incarnation of this tiger, and has transformed into a woman to seek revenge on you. Just now, you gave it a heavy blow on the head, killing it, and it must be holding a grudge against you.

Hearing this, everyone burst into laughter. If he really married a tigress, then it would be confirmed that he would be laughed at by his brothers in the future.

Li Changxiao found it interesting and laughed too. This laugh attracted the attention of four people and thus diverted their attention.

The thinnest of the four asked Li Changxiao curiously, saying that he did not look like a Linwu native, so how did he get here?

Before Li Changxiao could answer, the tall and strong man suddenly realized and said, "I see, brother, you are a wandering man."

The four people were curious about the swordsman they met on the road. The key point was that they had never seen such a person before, and he looked quite handsome.

As they walked, the four of them started chatting about something else, bragging and talking about everything. When they climbed over a hill and saw the edge of the county town in the distance, the four of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Finally at this moment, he couldn't help but complain. This evil beast must have eaten a lot of people, otherwise why would it be so heavy.

Linwu County is surrounded by mountains and tigers are rampant. It is said that there cannot be two tigers on one mountain, but this saying does not apply here.

In the past, the situation was better. Every April and November, the government would invite some martial arts sects to hunt tigers.

The world is in chaos now and it’s hard to control it.

Seeing that they still had a long way to go and it was already dark, the four of them decided to spend the night here. The swordsman traveling with them naturally followed the local customs.

There was not much to be particular about for five grown men. The swordsman had worked hard during the day, so they naturally couldn't let him go hungry. The four of them each tore off a corner of the coarse bread they brought with them and handed it to the swordsman.

The older man among the four apologized with a smile, saying that he would treat us to delicious food and wine when we got to the town.

The swordsman was easy-going by nature, so he didn't mind. He took the coarse cake and sprinkled it with coarse salt.

A man stopped them and took out a bag of dried pickled cabbage from his arms, saying that it tasted better when eaten with salt.

Someone suddenly had the idea of ​​​​killing the tiger and wanted to borrow the sword from the swordsman to cut off a piece of meat to taste.

The aroma of barbecue wafts in the air.

The five of them sat around the campfire until late at night.

What surprised Li Changxiao was that these four men who dared to go up the mountain to hunt tigers suddenly built a small mound on the side of the road late at night, burned three incense sticks on it, and knelt down to pray.

Li Changxiao asked curiously: "Brother, what are you worshipping?"

The tallest and strongest man explained, "Of course we worship the land of this place. This is our custom here. When we go out, we pray for the protection of the land master."

"Not only that, after we return to the county and everything is settled, we will go to the land temple on the next mountain and worship again. Only then can this trip be considered complete and perfect."

"Land God Temple?" Li Changxiao frowned, "Is this temple spiritual?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the four of them immediately became interested. "Of course, it's very clever."

"If anyone disrespects the land master, look... this tiger's belly will be his final destination."

"Brother, you are from outside, so you don't know, but there is one thing you must remember, in Linwu County, even the emperor dares to scold, but he dare not scold the land lord."

……

At noon the next day.

The five men carried the dead tiger and swaggered into Linwu County.

This is a county town surrounded by mountains on all sides.

The population is quite large, but due to its remote location, conscription was not carried out here.

The reputation of killing the big tiger spread quickly, and when they heard that one of the men had no wife or concubines, countless women began to have ideas about him.

It would be prestigious to marry such a reliable man.

The names of the four were soon recorded in the county annals and they became famous figures in Linwu County.

It can be said that the scenery is infinite.

That night.

The four of them invited the swordsman they met along the way to a banquet at the most famous restaurant in the county, where they could eat whatever he wanted.

Live by the mountain, eat from the mountain; live by the sea, eat from the sea. Most of the local delicacies in Linwu County are mountain delicacies.

The ingredients include insects, pangolins, wild boars, etc.

The dishes were served one by one, and the four of them ordered a can of good wine, shouting that they would not go home until they were drunk.

I thought it was just an ordinary banquet.

But while they were eating, the county magistrate came and expressed his commendation for this ambitious young man.

And also told the five people a piece of news.

This afternoon, the county magistrate cut open the tiger's body, intending to remove its bones, peel off its skin, and drain its blood.

But when the stomach was opened, the scene inside was so frightening that everyone present turned pale.

Inside the tiger's stomach was a pile of undigested meat and some scraps of clothing...

The sour, rotten smell still makes my stomach churn even when I think of it now.

At that time, the county magistrate held his nose and ordered people to turn over the minced meat inside, hoping that they might find something useful.

Finally, several severed fingers were found.

It's a man and a woman.

There is also a broken jade pendant...

Afterwards, the county magistrate frowned and invited Mr. Zhou from the county to come for certification.

I saw that Mr. Zhou burst into tears on the spot.

The woman in the tiger's belly was his daughter, and the man was his daughter's lover, a poor scholar.

The play was about a couple in love being separated by their parents and the ducks eloping away. But who would have thought that the ducks were eaten by a tiger before they got far.

He didn't care what happened to Qiongxiu, but seeing the woman he loved turned into minced meat in his stomach, and the sound of "Daddy" still ringing in his ears, how could he not be sad?

At the beginning, it was because Mr. Zhou loved his daughter so much that he reported to the authorities and paid a large price, which led to the tiger-hunting team going up the mountain to hunt tigers.