Chapter 921: Tales of Mountain Monsters Beside the Official Road

It was a long journey.

While traveling through the mountain ravines, Chen Changsheng stopped at a roadside tavern to rest and ordered a pot of tea.

The waiter asked, "Sir, just a pot of tea? Won't you order anything else?"

Chen Changsheng said, "There is no need. I haven't traveled far today."

The waiter nodded and said no more, though he let out a heavy sigh.

A short while later, he brought over a pot of tea.

"Sir, your tea."

Chen Changsheng looked up and stopped him. "Wait a moment."

The waiter paused. "Do you need anything else, sir?"

Chen Changsheng asked, "You are open for business, so why do you seem so displeased? Is it because This Chen only ordered a pot of tea, and you find that too meager?"

The waiter's heart tightened, realizing he had lacked manners just now, but then he waved his hand dismissively and sighed. "Ah..."

Throwing courtesy to the wind, he straddled the long bench and sat down. "This business is impossible. I haven't seen a single coin all day. I wait half the day just to sell one pot of tea! I don't want to serve anymore. I'm done serving."

Chen Changsheng asked, "Why is that? This tavern sits right along the official road. How could there be no business? There should be plenty of travelers stopping to rest."

The waiter looked at him. "Because no one comes this way anymore."

"Oh?"

Chen Changsheng looked back at him. "This is the official road. Why wouldn't anyone pass through here?"

"Because the mountains are haunted by demons."

The waiter sighed. "It's only travelers from afar like you who still take this route. Now, for dozens of li around, you won't find a single local who dares to pass through here."

Hearing this, Chen Changsheng sat up a little straighter. "Please, tell me more."

The waiter looked at him and, completely abandoning courtesy, held out his hand.

"What does this mean?"

"Information always costs a tip. Otherwise, why would I bother telling you?"

Looking at him, it was clear the waiter truly had zero interest in serving customers today.

He just held his hand out, demanding money.

"Fair enough," Chen Changsheng said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He reached into his robes, pulled out two copper coins, and dropped them into the waiter's palm.

The waiter instantly beamed with joy. He hopped up and squatted directly on the bench, pushing aside the chopstick holder and pulling back the teacups as if preparing for a grand tale.

"There are far too many bizarre things going on in there. We have to start from last year," he began.

"It was around the end of last year. A heavy snow fell one night. Back then, business at our little tavern was still pretty good. We always had people stopping by to rest, drink tea, and grab a bite to eat, and we often got guests staying the night."

"That particular night, we happened to have a group staying over."

"They were in a desperate hurry, their faces pale with panic as they hammered on the tavern doors—bang, bang, bang!"

"The blizzard was howling outside. It was the kind of night that made you terrified to step outdoors. So when they started pounding on the door, it scared me half to death. I didn't dare open it for the longest time, not until the people outside finally called out and stated their names. Only then did I lower my guard a bit and let them in."

"The moment I unlatched it, they swarmed inside. The sheer chaos of it gave me a fright! They looked like they were running for their lives. The last one through the door quickly slammed it shut, and then they started lighting candles and burning incense, acting like they'd offended some terrible taboo."

"My heart was pounding just watching them, so I asked what happened."

"Good thing I did! It turned out they had run into demons!"

"Ah! And not just one demon, but a whole mountain full of them!"

The waiter recounted the tale vividly, embellishing it with a great deal of dramatic flair.

Chen Changsheng raised a hand. "You can skip to the main point."

The waiter looked a little indignant. "Hey, even if I said I'm done serving, I still have to do a proper job since I took your money, don't I? I have to make sure these two wen are well spent. Isn't that how it works?"

Chen Changsheng nodded repeatedly. "Fair enough. Please, continue."

The waiter nodded and carried on with his story.

On any ordinary night, something like this wouldn't have happened. But as luck would have it, that heavy snow had blanketed everything inside and outside the mountains in stark white. Against the snow, any flicker of light or hint of movement stood out plain as day.

And out there in the blizzard, that group of travelers saw the mountains ablaze with light.

"Driven by curiosity, they crept closer to take a look. And when they did, they saw a horde of demons roaming through the mountains! Some had the heads of beasts on human bodies. Some were covered in thick fur. Some looked perfectly human except for the tails trailing behind them!"

"It scared the living daylights out of them!"

The travelers had fled for their lives, eventually stumbling into the tavern to seek refuge.

The next day, word of the incident spread like wildfire.

Driven by curiosity and wanting to verify the tale, several people started sneaking up to the edge of the mountains at night, hoping to see if the rumors were true.

"Ha! Those people were far too bold for their own good!"

The waiter continued, "And what do you know? They actually saw them."

They had gone up there full of bravado, but they came back utterly terrified. They babbled about seeing bloodstained maws and jagged fangs, claiming they had barely made it back alive. Some of them went mad for days afterward.

With that, the rumors became undeniable.

Even so, the tales only drew more people to the area.

"Later on, for some unknown reason, the mountains became shrouded in fog year-round. Anyone who walked in would eventually find themselves walking right back out, as if the place had turned into a giant maze. It just kept getting stranger and stranger."

"Eventually, even the county magistrate caught wind of it. Once he confirmed the rumors were true, he invited Priests from all over. The Priests walked around the mountains performing rites, but nothing worked. So, they called in martial artists. Oh, it was a disaster! A martial artist went in one day, and by the next day, he was carried out dead!"

"Some refused to believe it. Three more martial artists went in, one after another, and every single one of them died. When they died, their faces were pale and their expressions were horribly contorted. It was terrifying just to look at them. The magistrate got scared too and didn't dare send anyone else. He just posted notices warning the commoners to be careful."

"Everyone nearby heard about it. From then on, anyone walking this road did so in constant fear, and eventually, people just started taking detours altogether. They stopped coming this way completely. It's ruined us. Our little tavern is left suffering without a drop of profit to be made."

Chen Changsheng listened and said, "What is there to be afraid of? From what you've said, even if there are demons in those mountains, as long as you don't provoke them, they shouldn't bother you."

The waiter slapped the table. "Exactly! That's exactly right! But you can't stop people from being terrified. Three or four people have died in there, after all. Sigh... Personally, I don't see what the fuss is about. If more people would just walk through here, this tavern might actually survive."

Chen Changsheng took a sip of tea, deep in thought.

Listening to the waiter's story, he had figured out exactly what was going on.

Chen Changsheng looked at the waiter and asked, "Then, in your opinion, are there really demons in those mountains?"

The waiter shook his head. "I don't know. Who would dare go check?"

Chen Changsheng smiled. "You were certainly talking loudly enough just now."

The waiter scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly. "I was just talking. Just talking."

Chen Changsheng paused, then downed the rest of his tea in one gulp. "Which mountain is it? Could you take me there?"

"Whoa!"

Startled by the request, the waiter lost his balance and nearly tumbled backward off the bench.

"Wait, you want to go?"

"Yes."