Chapter 24 Under the Moon

Under the night, the white wolf's figure blends into the mountain forest.

It was Lu Heng's original plan to leave the hustle and bustle of the river bend, return to the quiet mountains, find a quiet place to sleep, and enjoy the fun of being a mortal.

That's right, the original...

Not long after walking in the forest, Lu Heng suddenly noticed a familiar scent, which stopped him in his tracks.

Lu Heng was a little surprised.

At this time, if this little girl is not reunited with her relatives down there, why is she hiding in a place like this?

Curious in his heart, Lu Heng gave up his plan to enter the mountain and walked in that direction.

Not long after, Lu Heng walked out of the forest.

What appeared in his field of vision was a huge rock protruding outward. Here, you can overlook the lights at the river bend. However, due to the dense trees below, you cannot see here from the other side of the river bend. It can be said to be a good place with a wide view.

Nowadays, a girl named Xiao Ai is sitting quietly on the edge of a boulder with her hands on her knees, staring blankly at the commotion in the river bend below.

The dark and silent mountains and forests here are in sharp contrast to the noise of the river bend in the distance. The little girl sitting silently in the darkness seemed to feel a little more lonely.

Lu Heng walked out of the darkness and asked, "Why are you hiding here alone? Don't you go down to reunite with your family?"

The sudden sound startled the little girl.

But when she turned around and stood up and saw the huge white wolf behind her, her fear disappeared.

The girl stood there awkwardly and pinched the corner of her skirt.

"Lord Mountain God, you...why are you here?" There seemed to be some surprise in the girl's voice.

Today's girl is no longer as frightened as when she first met Lu Heng. Seeing Lu Heng, not only was she not afraid, but she became happy.

Lu Heng noticed this change in mood, so he was curious, "Aren't you afraid of being snatched away by wild beasts when you are hiding in the mountains during such a lively festival? There are many wild beasts in the mountains."

The little girl pinched the corner of her skirt sheepishly and said, "With the token given by you, Lord Mountain God, the wild beasts in the mountains will not attack me."

Lu Heng laughed dumbly, "It is indeed such a thing, but I forgot about it..."

Looking at the little girl in front of him, Lu Heng once again thought of the noon sacrifice.

At that time, the girl was pushed out by the villagers, wearing a sacrificial dress that did not match her age, with a small face wrinkled, and arranged everyone to do this and that according to the ritual steps like a little adult. The girl at that time had a kind of maturity and old-fashionedness that was not consistent with her youth, but it was not cute.

On the contrary, the little girl who was a little cramped but cheerful now was more in line with the "child girl" in Lu Heng's memory.

Lu Heng walked out of the forest and walked to the huge rock. He stood next to the girl and looked at the bustle of the river below the mountain with her. He said, "At noon today, I saw that you were in charge of the sacrifice. Because Because of me, everyone in the village is afraid of you now, right?"

Lu Heng's words made the little girl hesitate.

Lu Heng said calmly, "Just speak up if you have something to say. I don't like to listen to false excuses."

The girl nodded obediently and said, "Xiao Ai knows it, and Xiao Ai doesn't dare to hide it. Ever since the mountain god let Xiao Ai go back, and said words of care in front of the village chief, everyone in the village has been ostracizing me."

"It's just that they are afraid, so they don't even dare to express their rejection too obviously."

"But that was before. Ever since Master Wu Zhu made everyone understand the greatness and dignity of Lord Mountain God, everyone in the village is no longer afraid of Lord Mountain God, nor is they afraid of me. They are all very good to me, and they also respect you, Lord Mountain God. That’s why I was asked to host the ceremony.”

The little girl's answer made Lu Heng turn his head and look at her quietly.

Lu Heng asked, "Then why are you hiding here alone and not going out?"

The girl hesitated for a few seconds and said, "Because...because although everyone is no longer afraid of me, they are in awe of me. If I were down there, everyone would not be able to let go, and they would not be able to be truly happy and lively."

"And...and..."

The more the girl spoke, the softer her voice became.

Lu Heng looked at her and asked, "And what?"

"And I...I don't like the excitement anymore," the girl lowered her head and said softly, "I like to be alone, so I don't have to look at everyone's faces or take care of everyone's mood. I'm the only one , I don’t need to worry about anything, and I don’t need to think about anything. This is actually good... Instead of staying down there and being feared by everyone, I would rather be alone.”

The girl's soft narration made Lu Heng silent.

He looked at the girl in front of him and sighed in his heart.

Regarding this little girl, he had already heard from his uncle Jie and knew that this little girl had lost her parents a long time ago and was basically a rootless duckweed in the village. Now Lu Heng is "looked at differently" by Lu Heng. He even dared to stand up against the adults in the village when everyone thought Lu Heng was a monster.

After everything that happened, the little girl could no longer integrate into the villagers.

Thinking of this, Lu Heng lowered his head, looked at the girl in front of him, and said, "Raise your head, look directly into my eyes, and answer me a question."

The girl raised her head obediently and looked at the terrifyingly huge white wolf in front of her. She saw the white wolf's deep eyes and heard the white wolf's cold questioning.

"If you could do it over again, the chosen virgin would not be you, but someone else. Would you be willing to do it all over again?"

The white wolf's eyes were deep and sharp, and the sharp sight seemed to penetrate people's hearts and was full of oppression.

Being stared at by such eyes, the girl had a feeling in a trance. It seemed that she was just a transparent white paper, which had been completely seen through, and there was no secret in front of the mountain god.

But she didn't want to hide any secrets.

Facing the sharp gaze of the white wolf, the girl shook her head and said, "Xiao Ai doesn't want to start over."

Without waiting for Lu Heng to ask the reason, the girl smiled bitterly and explained, "If it weren't for the mountain god, I would never know everyone's nature, and I would never know that it was my last relative who pushed me into the fire pit."

"In that case, I might still hold unrealistic fantasies and stay by my big daddy and mommy's side, hoping that one day they can treat me well. Then one day in the future, I will suffer more terrible harm, right?"

"So Xiao Ai doesn't want to start over."

"And Xiao Ai doesn't hate the current situation."

The girl took a deep breath and said, "The mountain god is the best to me in this world except for my parents. Xiao Ai has already vowed to worship you for the rest of her life."

"So I don't hate everyone's awe of me, I even like it. Because in this way, I am qualified to preside over the sacrifice of you, the mountain god, and can truly worship you."

"This is Xiao Ai's honor."

The girl's words were sincere. There was a light in her eyes, and that emotion could not even be said to be sincere.

It was pious.

Looking at such a little girl, Lu Heng could not help but fall silent.

In the dark forest, the slightly cold night wind blew through the forest, stirring up the sound of grass and trees, and also transmitted the sound from the foot of the mountain.

Bang Bang Bang - Bang Bang Bang -

The sound of wooden boards knocking echoed in the mountains, and the old village chief was shouting at the river bend at the foot of the mountain.

"The time has come! The time has come! Everyone kneel down facing the mountain! Bow to the mountain god!"

Bang Bang Bang - Bang Bang Bang -

The sound of wooden boards knocking continued to echo. The villagers who were originally playing now all gathered together, and at the same time, they knelt down facing the direction of the mountain, kneeling in a large area.

But in such a ceremony, the village chief shouted anxiously.

"Where is Xiao Ai? Where did Xiao Ai go? Why is Xiao Ai gone? Go and find her!"

The village chief's anxious shout came from the foot of the mountain.

Hearing this voice, the girl hesitated for a few seconds and said, "Lord Mountain God, I... I want to go back..."

"No need," Lu Heng interrupted her indifferently, saying, "Anyway, they just want to worship me, and it's the same for you here."

As he said this, Lu Heng's mind moved, and the next second, the huge vortex cloud covering the entire Hanyu Mountain in the night sky slowly rotated.

Then, in the dark robbery cloud, a gap slowly spread out. The cold moonlight fell along this gap and shone on Hanyu Mountain, just shining on the huge rock where the man and the wolf were.

And the trees in the forest under the rock all trembled and lowered their branches. The rock that was originally blocked by these tree crowns now appeared clearly in the sight of the villagers at the river bend as the blocking trees moved away and lowered.

When the villagers looked up, they clearly saw the huge rock in the mountain and the huge white wolf on the rock. The cold moonlight fell on the white wolf, and every hair of the white wolf seemed to be emitting silver light, which was extraordinary.

All the villagers who saw this scene widened their eyes.

Because the moment they saw the white wolf, they also saw the little girl beside the white wolf.

Although compared with the huge body of the white wolf, the little girl was so small that she could almost be ignored, but no one dared to ignore her at this time. Because everyone recognized who the little girl was.

That was clearly...

"Xiao Ai?"

"It's Xiao Ai!"

"Yes, it's Xiao Ai!"

"Why is Xiao Ai there..."

The villagers talked about it, but the old village chief hurriedly cursed in a low voice, "Shut up! No discussion!"

Then the old village chief walked in front of everyone and took the lead in bowing to the man and the wolf on the rock.

"All the villagers of Shuisheng Village, worship the mountain god!"

Behind the old village chief, the villagers also bowed down and kowtowed heavily.

The voices of the villagers shouting in unison echoed in the mountain.

"All the villagers of Shuisheng Village, worship the mountain god!"

The shouts of the villagers echoed in the mountain wind, but the little girl on the rock looked dazed and uneasy again.

The cold moonlight formed a silver-white beam of light, falling on her and the white wolf. At this moment, this man and the wolf were the most eye-catching focus of the entire Hanyu Mountain.

Lu Heng chuckled and said, "Since you like it, let them be more afraid of you."

"It's better to be respected than to be disliked."

Lu Heng's words made the little girl raise her head in a daze. She looked at the mountain god in front of her blankly and ignorantly, and she seemed to see the mountain god smiling.

In a trance, the scene of the giant wolf smiling under the moon seemed to be engraved in the girl's memory forever...