Chapter 32 Seeking Shelter from the Rain

"Alright, I'm leaving now. You should stay in this mountain and be your king of the mountain. If I ever establish a sect and become an ancestor in the future, I will appoint you as the mountain god here."

After Jiang Chen absorbed the wisp of purple Qi from the rising morning sun, he dusted off his bottom and stood up from beside the burnt-out campfire.

Using this big white tiger's belly as a pillow all night last night, the sleep quality seemed quite good.

The big white tiger also yawned and scrambled up from the ground.

Jiang Chen waved his hand to extinguish the last embers of the fire, then walked along the path ahead.

The big white tiger followed closely behind. Although it could endure the loneliness at first, gradually, it started running around to play, scaring the animals and Essence Spirits in the forest from time to time.

Ever since the Zhen died, the villagers at the foot of the mountain gradually dared to go up the mountain, though they could occasionally see a flash of white shadow passing deep in the forest.

However, that thing did not harm anyone, so everyone didn't pay much attention to it.

Just then, two villagers who had gone up the mountain to cut firewood and hunt saw Jiang Chen walking leisurely ahead, with a large white-furred, forehead-spotted, golden-eyed tiger following behind, and were so frightened that their three souls were somewhat scattered.

Jiang Chen used the Three Souls Restraint Technique to stabilize the minds of these two people.

"Dao, Daoist! Don't run, there is a big tiger behind you, whatever you do, don't look back!"

These two people were quite kind-hearted; they actually didn't abandon Jiang Chen's life and run away on their own.

The big white tiger glanced at the two with disdain, then darted to Jiang Chen's side and crouched down, rolling against Jiang Chen's trouser leg.

This left the two villagers looking completely bewildered.

Jiang Chen smiled slightly: "The two of you need not panic. This mountain lord has already gained sentience. I have communicated with it; it will not harm your lives. When you encounter danger, it might even be able to save you."

"However, when you come up the mountain to hunt, only hunt for what you need; do not be overly greedy."

The two villagers looked at each other, and after a long while, they asked with fearful suspicion: "Daoist, you say this big tiger doesn't eat people, but instead will save them?"

"Doesn't that make it a mountain god?"

"Then aren't you an immortal?"

"We pay our respects to the immortal, and to the mountain god!"

The two villagers dropped the firewood and bows on their backs and knelt down.

But a powerful force supported them, preventing them from kneeling, which frightened the two even more and made them even more certain that Jiang Chen was an immortal.

Jiang Chen used magic to support the two and prevent them from kneeling, saying: "When you go back, explain this clearly to the villagers. Do not come up the mountain casually in the future and disturb this white tiger's cultivation."

"Yes, yes, yes, we will never come up the mountain to disturb the mountain god's cultivation again!"

Jiang Chen was somewhat amused; he only meant for them not to come up the mountain casually, not to forbid them from coming up entirely.

He expended some more effort to explain it clearly to the two, then let them go down the mountain on their own.

However, what Jiang Chen didn't know was that after these two returned, they widely publicized the story of the mountain lord and the immortal appearing on Nameless Mountain throughout the village.

Not long after, villagers built a Mountain Lord Shrine at the foot of the mountain to worship the mountain lord.

And next to the Mountain Lord Shrine, there was an even more spacious ancestral hall built for that 'immortal'.

But that is a story for later.

Not long after, Jiang Chen was about to reach the foot of the mountain. In an instant, the mountain lord seemed to know that the time for the man and tiger to part ways had arrived again.

"Roar! Whimper, whimper!"

Jiang Chen smiled slightly: "Even if you walk a thousand miles with someone, you must eventually part. You and I have some affinity. As long as you cultivate well on this mountain and do not bring chaos upon Mortals, in the future, I will naturally report to the Heavens for you and have you officially appointed as a legitimate mountain god."

The big white tiger reluctantly bit Jiang Chen's robe hem, then took three steps and looked back each time, before finally making a dash and rushing into the depths of the dense forest.

"The Daoist cultivates the immortal Dao, wandering the mountains and waters, stepping on blue clouds."

Jiang Chen walked with the wind, heading towards Chang'an.

The closer he got to the main road, the more pedestrians and traveling merchants there were on the road.

In the blink of an eye, the previously sunny sky had become somewhat dim, with thick, dark clouds gathering, pressing down and making people feel vexed.

Rumble!

With two muffled claps of thunder, bean-sized raindrops began to pour down from the sky.

Pedestrians on the road began looking for places to take shelter from the rain.

These raindrops seemed to have a spirit of their own; just as they were about to land on Jiang Chen, they automatically detoured and landed on the ground instead.

However, Jiang Chen did not want to appear too unconventional, so he prepared to find a place to shelter from the rain as well.

Just right, not far ahead was a tea shed, so Jiang Chen strode inside.

"Oh my, it's already August, and this damn weather changes to rain whenever it pleases."

"Isn't that so? I don't know what's going on this year; it hasn't rained for nearly a month. I see many crops have started to wither and die."

"Rain is just right to relieve the heat, isn't it? Haha!"

The tea shed was crowded with people taking shelter from the rain, including traveling merchants, villagers, a caravan escort team, and some Jianghu figures whose backgrounds were unclear.

The owner was a sixty-year-old man, so happy he couldn't stop moving; business had picked up, and the tea he had prepared was running low, so he needed to boil some more.

The owner's little granddaughter, a girl of eleven or twelve, kept fanning the fire under the stove with a cattail-leaf fan, occasionally listening to the owner's instructions to carry bowls of tea to the customers' tables.

Anyone who came to the tea shed to shelter from the rain would feel embarrassed not to order a bowl of herbal tea; if the rain lasted a bit longer,

he could earn in one day what he usually makes in a month!

As Jiang Chen walked into the tea shed, the chatter in the shed suddenly quieted down a bit.

Because Jiang Chen was wearing a black Daoist robe, looked dignified, and held a Dharma sword, he clearly looked like a Disciple from a legitimate Daoist sect.

Such people are often the most troublesome to provoke.

When walking in the Jianghu, there are three types of people you should not provoke.

First are children; children usually have backgrounds, and it is difficult to deal with the aftermath if they are killed.

Second are the elderly; the elderly usually have descendants, and it is difficult to deal with the aftermath if they are killed.

Third are Daoists and bald donkeys; these two types have real skills. If you can't beat them, you are usually the one who gets killed in return.

A Daoist like Jiang Chen, who was imposing and handsome, even though young, was clearly the type that could not be provoked.

Jiang Chen did not care about the gazes of others; he found an empty seat and sat down, placing his Dharma sword on the table.

Then he took a few copper coins from his sleeve.

"Owner, bring me a bowl of herbal tea and a side dish."

"Right away, sir, please wait a moment."

Before long, a plate of spicy cucumber and a bowl of herbal tea were timidly delivered to the table by the little girl.

"Guest, your herbal tea, in total, it is, it is three copper coins. You can refill the herbal tea after you finish it."

Jiang Chen solemnly performed a Daoist salute to the little girl: "Thank you."

This startled the little girl again, but then she realized that Jiang Chen did not seem to have any intention of making things difficult for her, so her courage grew.

At the moment, the little girl had nothing to do, so she simply sat opposite Jiang Chen, looking at him with a bit of curiosity.

Jiang Chen did not mind; he sipped the herbal tea calmly. This herbal tea was different from modern herbal tea; it contained ingredients like red dates and honey fruit, with a faint fruity fragrance upon entering the mouth, carrying a slight bitterness. In this scorching summer, it was indeed a Sharp Weapon for relieving the heat.

At this moment, the conversation at the next table caught Jiang Chen's attention.