We bear people have power

Heading west, Guan Bo was quite pleased with himself this time. He didn't need to transform into his original form to carry Ling Xiu, because he had the bear spirit as his mount.

After being subdued by Gongsun Jing, Xiong Shanjun became a spirit beast for transportation. In its original form, it was not much smaller than Guan Bo, and its back could comfortably carry ten or so people. It could even hold three mahjong tables. Guan Bo, wanting to avoid the trouble, lay down on its back with the two women.

However, Xiong Shan Jun was not as swift as the Somersault Cloud, and its endurance was also average. After flying only a few hundred miles, it began to run out of steam.

"I'm telling you, you're supposed to be a transformed demon, and those Ferghana horses can travel a thousand miles a day and eight hundred miles a night. How come you're complaining about being tired after less than a thousand miles?" Guan Bo said with considerable disdain.

"If you want me to run on the ground, I'll run three thousand miles and I'll consider myself a loser if I can't catch my breath. But if you want me to fly in the sky, that's asking too much of me," Xiong Shanjun said wearily.

Running on the ground was not a pleasant experience for Guan Bo, as the entire journey involved deep mountains, dense forests, open fields, and mountain roads, and the bumpy ride was no more comfortable than flying.

Gongsun Jing naturally noticed Guan Bo's laziness and said, "I see some people not far ahead, so let's rest for a day."

Pointing to the wisps of smoke rising from the chimneys in the distance, Guan Bo realized that there was actually a small mountain village there.

Lingxiu clapped her hands and said, "Great! Finally, we don't have to eat fruit anymore. I want steamed buns and vegetables, I want steamed lamb, steamed bear's paw, steamed deer tail, roast duck, roast chicken, roast goose..."

Guan Bo regretted telling this little girl a joke, but when he got to the part about steamed bear paws, his mouth watered, and he glanced at Xiong Shanjun.

"What are you looking at! If you want to eat bear paws, why don't you gnaw on your own arm?!" Xiong Shanjun (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻ Guan Bo shrugged, realizing that he really hadn't had a proper meal since he transmigrated.

It's either half-cooked beast meat roasted by a little demon, or fruit from the mountain spring. The best of all is the peaches of immortality from the Queen Mother of the West and the purple bamboo shoots from Luojia Mountain.

These are all natural ingredients, and Guan Bo hasn't eaten home-cooked food in a long time.

To avoid frightening the villagers, Xiong Shanjun also transformed into a burly man. He had sallow skin, small eyes, and a large nose that looked like garlic cloves hanging from his face. Guan Bo secretly rejoiced that his transformation was quite successful; otherwise, he really wouldn't dare to show his face in public with such an appearance.

These four each had their own unique characteristics, and even in human form, they were quite eye-catching walking in this desolate mountain village. Xiong Shanjun, walking with these three, was like a foil for the flowers, and Guan Bo especially loved standing next to him, making his already seven-point handsomeness almost ten points.

Xiongshan-kun didn't see anything wrong with this, as the aesthetics of monsters and humans are quite different. Unless it's a female monster, who can take human appearance into account when transforming, male monsters usually take a rugged and domineering approach.

Forget about whether he's handsome or not, what matters is his imposing and domineering presence.

His towering figure was naturally very imposing, so he felt sympathy for Guan Bo's pretty-boy appearance.

The two monsters pitied each other, and their relationship actually became closer, which was quite an interesting story.

The desolate village naturally had no inns or taverns; it was mostly inhabited by villagers, with very few outsiders visiting. At most, some traveling merchants and doctors would stop here to rest. It was only because the Kingdom of Baoxiang was a few hundred miles to the west that the village gained some human presence.

Therefore, as soon as Guan Bo and his three companions entered the village, someone reported them to the old village chief.

An elderly man with white hair came out to greet them and asked, "Where have you come from, gentlemen? What brings you to our Beiwang Village?"

Guan Bo nodded habitually and replied, "Old man, we're just passing by. We're hungry, so we thought we'd stop here for a bite. If you have any farm-style food, please have some. We can pay in cash."

He tossed the small pieces of silver in his hand, which were the travel expenses he had obtained from Guan Bocai and the other martial arts practitioners. Although silver was of little use to demon cultivators, it was more effective than any magic spell for mortals.

Upon seeing the silver, the old village chief beamed with joy and said politely, "Please come into my room and wait a moment. Good wine and food will be served shortly."

Upon hearing the old village chief's words, the villagers watching looked disappointed. Who wouldn't want to earn a few coins, even small ones? In this place, it was a huge sum of money. But the old village chief's act of welcoming them into his home was clearly an attempt to monopolize the money.

Despite their various grievances, no one dared to express their opinions due to the village chief's status, and they dispersed on their own.

This mountain village is truly poor. The village chief's house is nothing more than a mud hut with walls plastered with cow dung. There's a fence around the house, and no chickens, ducks, or geese are kept there. There's only a small black dog guarding the house.

The table was an ordinary object, but the stools were made from several tree stumps, with no legs at all. If Guan Bo and the others hadn't been strong, they would have had a hard time moving them.

Before long, the village chief had prepared a table full of dishes. They were indeed dishes, all wild game from the mountains, yet not a speck of oil in them.

The old village chief rubbed his hands together with a smile, but his heart was pounding. This table of vegetarian dishes was indeed a bit impolite, and it was far from enough to earn him those tiny pieces of silver.

However, apart from Xiong Shanjun, Guan Bo and the other two weren't picky about these wild vegetables. They weren't really hungry; they were just craving something with a rustic, homely feel.

Although there was hardly any seasoning besides a little salt, the cooking skills were excellent, and the heat control was superb. The fire brought out the freshness and tenderness of these wild vegetables, making the meal incredibly satisfying and comforting.

Gongsun Jing and Lingxiu also kept eating, never expecting to find such delicious food in this mountain village.

Xiong Shan Jun stared with his small eyes, but didn't touch a single bite. Having been a demon for so long, he hadn't eaten vegetarian food for many years. How could he possibly eat these green strips, which didn't even have a trace of meat? In the past, he would have grabbed the old man and chewed them up.

But now that he was someone else's mount, Xiong Shanjun knew he couldn't act recklessly, so he said to the old village chief, "You don't even have any meat? Why is it all vegetables? I have plenty of silver and gold, go and get some meat."

The old village chief's eyes lit up when he heard there was gold. But he quickly put on a bitter face and said, "Gentlemen, you don't know this, but within dozens of miles around here, we probably can't even find a single bird."

After hearing what the old village chief said, Guan Bo and the others felt that something was amiss. Although the mountain village was remote, the surrounding forests were lush and green; how could there not even be birds?

"Old man, tell us what happened? We are all tourists, and we love to hear interesting stories." Guan Bo placed the loose silver on the table and said.

"I can't really explain it either. This strange thing happened a few months ago. Ever since that Tang Dynasty monk passed through here, all the birds and beasts around have disappeared, as if they've all died out. I don't know if they offended the Buddhist elders, and that's why they're suffering this retribution," the old village chief said, wiping away his fake tears.

A monk from the Tang Dynasty? Upon hearing this, Guan Bo realized he had gotten himself into trouble again.