Chapter 7: Grievance
At this time the forest quieted down, as the villagers gradually approach the temple of the Mountain God in the deep mountain, the roaring night sky and flashing lightning completely disappeared, no longer like before.
Even the mountain wind whistling at this time also stopped, the whole Cold Feather Mountain was quiet and spooky.
The villagers walked in the mountain all with frightened and nervous expressions. The abnormal weather made everyone feel scared.
Especially not long ago they witnessed the horrific scene of heavenly thunder striking the mountain, which seemed like a scene from the end of world and an extreme level of fear filled their hearts.
So when they saw the Mountain God Temple, all the villagers subconsciously stopped breathing. They no longer dared to go forward, and were afraid of what horrible things might happen. It was not until the old village chief angrily urged the terrified villagers to move that they started moving towards the temple with their trembling feet while gritting their teeth.
The temple was built more than 80 years ago, and according to the old people, it was originally funded by a wealthy businessman in the city. However, after the temple was built, the God of the mountain was discovered in the mountain, and Shuisheng Village had to offer incense to the God in exchange for blessings.
In the past eighty years, Shuisheng Village had almost never suffered from famine, and even the beasts in the mountain no longer came down to the village. Even in the winter months, the hungry beasts would not come down to eat people. The villagers lived a fairly peaceful life under the blessing of the Mountain God.
But everyone knew that the Mountain God in this Cold Feather Mountain was not gentle, but rather fierce and brutal. If you dare to disobey it, you will definitely incur great calamity.
The old people spread horror stories about the Mountain God getting angry, tearing people alive, and even making the fields wither and crops fail. They warned everyone that they must respect the Mountain God and never bring calamity to the village.
But now, they seemed to have angered Lord Mountain God.
The girl who should have been sacrificed secretly escaped back to the village. This was a terrible scourge that made people’s toes curl.
But the villagers did not even dare to run away. They could only force themselves walking on trembling legs towards the Mountain God Temple, praying in their hearts that Lord Mountain God would let them live.
In such fear and anxiety, the villagers finally arrived at the gate of the Mountain God Temple.
In the dark mountain, the Mountain God Temple illuminated by the light of the torches seemed slightly eerie. The rattan wooden palanquin left in the temple during the day was surprisingly still there, and ropes that were cut by sharp instruments were scattered in the temple.
Seeing that the rope was cut, the villagers were convinced that the girl had escaped on her own. They glared viciously at the girl, but at this time in front of the statue of Mountain God, no one dared to raise their voices.
The girl was re-tied to the rattan palanquin, and the villagers carefully stepped back, intending to go outside to keep watch. This time no one dared to leave without permission, they must stay here and know that the Mountain God would take the girl.
But as the villagers retreated to the entrance of Mountain God Temple, the clay statue of the God on the altar suddenly moved. Then, a low, faintly echoing, as well as terrifying sound rang out in everyone's ears.
"What are you guys arguing about?"
The gloomy whisper was not loud, but it was like thunder exploding in the ears of the villagers, and all of them were scared and sat down directly on the ground.
The only one who could remain calm was the elderly village chief. He was horrified to see that the clay God on the altar was staring at them coldly as if he had come to life.
The old village chief had a jolt and immediately fell to his knees and kowtowed desperately.
“I am begging you for mercy! I am begging you for mercy!”
The village chief's pleading cry woke up the group of frightened young men around him. Other villagers also hurriedly knelt down, following the village chief's example and kowtowed desperately to beg for mercy.
“Beg you for mercy! Beg you for mercy!”
The orderly shouts of the people begging for mercy spread far and wide, stirring up a burst of echoes in the mountain.
“For mercy... For mercy...”
On the altar of God, Lu Heng looked at the group of villagers who kept kowtowing and begging for mercy at his feet and was a little confused.
He was lying on the ground digesting the thunderbolt power in his body, and at this time, this group of villagers appeared inexplicably. What were these people doing here at night?
But when Lu Heng saw the girl who was re-tied to the rattan chair, as well as the girl's forehead wound, he roughly understood what happened.
"Did you guys send her back?" Lu Heng asked.
As the statue spoke, the villagers stopped shouting and begging. They knelt in front of the temple door, bowing their heads and not daring to move.
Only the old village chief raised his head trembling and explained, "Lord Mountain God, we were the ones who sent her back. We caught her in the village and knew that you must be very angry, so we immediately sent her back. She was the one who escaped, we didn't even know about it! Please be merciful, Lord Mountain God!"
The village chief finished, and then knocked head heavily, making the yellow mud floor thud.
Behind the village chief, the villagers also all followed him and kowtowed vigorously, "we are begging Lord Mountain God to show mercy!"
The scene of dozens of people kowtowing at the same time was spectacular, but Lu Heng looking at the scene was speechless.
He really didn't expect that these villagers were afraid of him to such an extent that it could be said that they were scared birds of prey. However, thinking about the previous actions of the wolf demon, the villagers could not be blamed for having such a reaction.
He sighed and said, "All right, raise your head, I won't blame you. This little girl was indeed released by me, and she did not escape by herself."
After saying that, Lu Heng did not care about the shocked reaction of the villagers. The clay statue on the altar exhaled a cold wind, brushing the girl on the rattan palanquin.
This cold wind seems to have a wonderful power. After it brushed the girl's body, the rope that tied the girl automatically broke apart.
The girl regained her ability to move freely again, and the cloth tied around her mouth was loosened.
On the shadowy altar, the clay statue of the God looked down at the girl on the vine palanquin and asked, "Why didn't you tell them the truth about what happened?"
The villagers were all startled and then a little nervous by the inquiry of the Mountain God.
The moment the Lord Mountain God asked the girl, they understood that they had made a mistake. This girl really did not escape privately, but Lord Mountain God let her go?
Although they did not know why Lord Mountain God let her go, now they kidnapped the girl back and disturbed Lord Mountain God, they must have angered him.
The villagers were scared to death, and the old village headman, who had always been calm, was trembling slightly. Everyone secretly looked at the girl on the vine palanquin, afraid that the girl would say something fatal next.
But the girl on the vine palanquin did not speak when she regained her freedom.
She raised her head dumbly and looked up at the clay statue of the white wolf on the altar. Faced with this vicious Mountain God that the old people spoke rumors about, she was not afraid, but instead, endless grievance emerged in her heart.
On the way here, the girl had thought she would not cry. But hearing the words of Lord Mountain God to do her justice, and thinking of the treatment she received back in the village, the girl’s grievance completely exploded.
"Woo....", the girl cried out directly.
The cry spread far out and echoed among the mountains. Her cry was heartbreaking, making the villagers in front of the Mountain God Temple look embarrassed and uncomfortable.
