Chapter 1 Wolf Demon
The world of Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio described by Pu Gong, or the Ming Dynasty in another place, Qingzhou Prefecture, Jimo County, southwest of the city, in the mountains and forests.
It is dusk.
The mountain road is dark.
Zheng Shen, a butcher from Lingshan, returned home late for some reason. The meat in his carrying pole was not yet finished and there were some bones left. He happened to meet a black wolf following him.
Zheng Shen was frightened and threw a bone to him.
The black wolf got the bone and swallowed it in a few bites.
Zheng Shen ran quickly, and the black wolf continued to follow him.
After running for several miles, we finally arrived at the fields in front of the village.
Zheng Shen cried out: "Ajiu, help me! Ajiu, help me! There is a wolf chasing me."
When the villagers heard the noise and looked, they saw a black wolf as big as a calf behind Zheng the butcher. They were so scared that they ran away in all directions.
In the twilight, the young man Chen Jiuben had just returned. He was very hungry. He was about to make a fire to cook when he suddenly heard someone calling for help.
Without hesitation, he dropped the firewood he was about to put into the stove and ran towards Zheng Shen outside the village like a gust of wind.
Is this a man or a god?
When the black wolf saw that this guy seemed to run faster than it, it was frightened.
The beast's instinct told it that this guy was not easy to deal with, so it turned around in a hurry and tried to run into the forest.
But it's too late.
The boy was too fast and had already caught up.
The black wolf dodged left and right, just wanting to get rid of the young man.
The young man kicked out like lightning and hit the wolf in the waist.
The black wolf was kicked straight into the air, howling in pain.
"Ouch, my waist, ah, oooooo."
Monster!
Zheng Shen was so frightened that his legs went weak and he fell to the ground.
The young man snorted coldly, flew forward, grabbed the wolf's feet and swung it hard to the ground.
With a "bang", the wolf demon hit the ground with its head and fell unconscious on the spot.
Seeing this, the villagers who had fled in all directions ran back, gave Ajiu a thumbs up and praised him for being a good boy.
Chen Jiu is indeed a good boy. He looks energetic and heroic, and he has a very good personality. He is not only gentle and humble, but also very diligent.
Life was not easy for everyone these days, and his parents died one after another when he was about ten years old. However, he managed to survive with the help from everyone .
Not only did he survive, but he also took over his family's hunter legacy and became the only hunter in the village.
There are more and more monsters in the mountains these days. Being a hunter is not something that ordinary people can do. If you don't have some skills, going into the mountains to hunt is almost like seeking death.
His father and grandfather both went into the mountains to hunt and never returned.
Although he was only fifteen or sixteen years old at this time, he had developed amazing strength and skills, and most monsters were no match for him.
What is even more commendable is that he knows how to repay kindness. He remembers every bit of kindness everyone has shown him. If anyone encounters danger like Zheng Shen, he will try his best to rescue them.
Seeing that the wolf demon was already unconscious, Zheng Shen immediately got up, picked up a piece of meat from the basket, held it up and said gratefully, "Ajiu, thank you very much."
Chen Jiu was polite for a while, but seeing that he couldn't refuse anymore, he took the meat with one hand, grabbed one of the wolf's legs with the other, and walked back quickly.
He hurriedly dragged the wolf demon back home, locked it in a wooden cage in the corner, cut the meat, cooked a pot of meat porridge with wild vegetables and brown rice, and drank it with a chuckle.
Then he blew out the light and went to the bed.
As for the wolf demon, it was already late and he was too lazy to care about it. This guy couldn't run away anyway.
He had been hunting for many years, so he naturally knew that wolves were very weak. His kick could at least paralyze the wolf demon for a whole night.
The wolf demon had actually woken up a long time ago. It was indeed unable to move, and dared not move, until Chen Jiu turned his back to sleep, it secretly grinned.
"Go to sleep quickly, go to sleep quickly. When my back injury gets better, I will bite this wooden cage to pieces and then give you a bite of your kidney. Then you will also feel the pain of being unable to move!"
Then, its eyes bulged and it almost passed out.
Because Chen Jiu didn’t sleep at all.
He actually sat cross-legged on the bed, facing the bright moon outside the window, and started practicing!
Between breaths, the energy of Taiyin gathered, and the originally dim moonlight was even faintly pulled into bundles of silver-white light, slowly sinking into his body.
Then, all the muscles and skin in his body began to move in rhythm with his breathing, and the surging blood and energy made a faint sound like rolling.
Before long, a hazy white light began to emanate from his entire body, making him look like a deity.
Are all hunters so powerful these days?
Ordinary hunters are naturally not so powerful, and his skills are not ordinary skills practiced by hunters.
This skill was taught to him by a fox fairy in his dream!
When he was a child, he often had strange dreams. In his dreams, there were either gods and ghosts or mountains of corpses and seas of blood. It seemed that the three realms of humans, ghosts and gods were all chasing him, and he didn't know how many times he had died.
Until one day, a fox fairy with so many tails that he couldn't count them taught him a martial art called "Taiyin Zhenjing" in his dream, and his nightmare ended.
Ever since he started practicing this technique, he seems to have been reborn. His strength has increased and his brain has become more alert.
It’s a pity that it was difficult for poor people to survive in those days. Before he grew up, his parents passed away one after another.
Today, he has become quite capable, and the monsters in the mountains are no match to him.
However, he remained as diligent as ever and did not dare to slack off at all.
Because the fox fairy had repeatedly reminded me in the dream: "Remember, this is your last chance, you must not slack off. If you fail again this time, you will be doomed!"
Whenever he thought of this sentence, he felt an inexplicable sense of crisis.
The skills that the fox fairy taught him in his dreams were all real. Aren’t the powerful beings that chased him in his nightmares also real?
He really didn't dare to slack off. He only hoped to cultivate into the legendary omnipotent god as soon as possible, so that he wouldn't have to worry about the nightmare coming true.
As for how to become a god, he didn't know yet. He could only continue to absorb the Taiyin Qi to temper his body.
Day after day, he got used to it.
The wolf demon almost fainted when he saw him like this.
What's wrong with this kid? Don't humans practice during the day and sleep at night? Don't humans absorb the energy of the sun? It is us demons who absorb the energy of the moon, okay?
This kid actually doesn't sleep at night and is here to absorb the Taiyin Qi to practice. Moreover, this kid absorbs the Taiyin Qi many times faster than him.
What has actually happened?
The wolf demon was puzzled.
There was no way, most of the monsters had poor brains, and he was one of them.
Dawn appeared in the sky and the moon gradually became sparse.
After resting for a night, the wolf demon finally regained some strength in his waist.
Just as it was about to open its mouth to bite open the wooden cage and sneak away, Chen Jiu had already stopped, stood up, took out a sharp ox horn knife and slowly walked towards the wooden cage.
Seeing this, Langyao said in horror, "My lord, spare my life!"
Please spare my life, my king?
Why does it sound so familiar?
Chen Jiu slowly squatted down and said with a straight face: "Why call me King? Speak nicely, or I will peel off your skin to pay the tax and use your meat to exchange for food."
The wolf demon was so frightened that he trembled and said, "No, no, my king, wolf meat is too smelly and not tasty. No one will trade with you. I can help you find a wild boar, a fat and big wild boar, which is delicious."
Chen Jiu said angrily: "What a mess. I told you to speak properly, didn't you hear me? Listen carefully, show me the technique you practice, and I will let you go. Do you understand?"
Why should I show you the exercises I practice?
My dad said I can’t show it to others.
The wolf demon pretended not to understand.
Seeing this, Chen Jiu shook the ox-horn knife in his hand and threatened: "Do you want to try my skinning skills?"
Don't!
The wolf demon was afraid of death, so he could only obediently spit out a scroll.
Chen Jiu picked up the scroll and took a look at it, his brows couldn't help but frowned.
What the hell is this?
There were some strange characters at the beginning of the scroll, he didn't recognize any of them, but he recognized the characters in the middle, but they were not a technique, but a messy record. At the end, there was a technique that he could understand, but it was a demon martial arts technique called Tiger Demon Divine Fist.
Chen Jiu couldn't help but frowned and asked, "What is this beginning?"
The wolf demon shook his head and said, "I don't know either. It seems to be an ancient demon writing. No demon can understand it now."
Chen Jiu asked suspiciously, "I don't understand how you practice?"
The wolf demon said without hesitation: "I will practice the Tiger Demon Divine Fist later."
Do you think I don’t know that there is a martial arts technique behind this?
Chen Jiu was still a little skeptical and asked, "What's the point of practicing this "Tiger Demonic Fist"? Do you want to use it for fighting? I haven't seen you fight very well."
The wolf demon actually said with a hint of pride: "Don't underestimate this "Tiger Demon Divine Fist". My ancestor relied on it to cultivate and become a demon king. If this Tiger Demon Divine Fist can be cultivated to the seventh level, it will be able to burst out with the strength of a demon king. If it can be cultivated to the ninth level, even gods can't stop it!"
Even gods can’t stop it?
real or fake?
Upon hearing this, Chen Jiu hurriedly lowered his head to take a closer look.
Upon seeing this, he was immediately shocked. He really didn't expect that there was such a powerful martial arts technique in the world.
It turns out that this is not an ordinary boxing style. The Tiger Demon Fist is divided into two parts: skills and boxing.
Boxing is relatively simple, and the key is the technique.
To put it simply, this technique is to mobilize the Qi and blood throughout the body, accelerate it along a special path, and thus instantly burst out with strength that exceeds one's own cultivation level.
This method of circulating Qi and blood is quite magical, and it is based on the body of the ancient tiger god.
The technique is divided into nine levels. Every time you break through a level, the unleashed strength will double.
The first to third levels don’t seem to be a big deal, as the Qi and blood are just running in the body. Every time a level is broken through, the strength that is released will double. Once you have mastered it, you will only be a more powerful little demon.
From the fourth to the sixth level, Qi and blood burst out of the body to form a phantom of the Tiger God. That is terrifying. The power of the Tiger God possesses the body and can instantly burst out with the strength of a big bite. Every time a level is broken through, the strength does not double but several times or even dozens of times.
It is even more amazing if one has mastered the seventh to ninth levels. After the Qi and blood are condensed, they transform into the body of a tiger god, and the power that bursts out is simply earth-shattering.
Moreover, this boxing style has another benefit, that is, wherever the Qi and blood flow to, that part of the body will become larger.
As for how big it will get, it can be controlled according to the amount of qi and blood. As long as there is enough qi and blood, it can become scary big.
For example, the palm can become larger than a palm-leaf fan, and can also block out the sky and the sun!
However, this Tiger Demon Divine Fist also has flaws.
There is a hint at the end of the scripture that when practicing this boxing technique, the blood and qi will flow too fast and rush directly to the forehead, making the practitioner like a madman and mentally disordered!
He read it all in one breath, thought about it for a while, and decided to practice!
At this moment, he didn't know how to cultivate to become a god. Since the Tiger Demon Divine Fist could enable one to become a god, why not give it a try?
The Tiger Demon Divine Fist is a martial art that specifically utilizes Qi and blood, and the greatest function of the Taiyin Sutra is to strengthen Qi and blood. His Qi and blood are simply abundant.
This martial art seems to be tailor-made for him, why not practice it?
As for whether it will drive you crazy, let’s try it first.
He read it carefully again, memorized the technique, and began to practice.
The Tiger Demon Divine Fist was truly magical, and after only practicing it for a while he felt full of energy, his strength was several times greater than usual, and every part of his body seemed to slowly grow bigger.
At this time, a loud gong sounded outside: "Tomorrow is the Waking of Insects, when the dragon raises its head. Every household should prepare money, paper, incense, candles and other offerings to worship the gods."
Alas, it’s time to offer sacrifices to the gods again.
He opened his eyes and saw that it was already around 5 p.m. the next day and the sun had already set.
Before he knew it, he had been practicing for almost a day.
His stomach was growling with hunger now. What could he use to offer sacrifice to the gods?
He couldn't help but sigh inwardly at the worthless and tattered things in his house.
Is there any way for people to survive in this world?
Not only are we exploited at every level by the royal court, princes, wealthy families, and corrupt officials, but we also have to offer sacrifices to the gods during festivals. I'm almost starving to death. What the hell am I offering sacrifices to?
He frowned and thought for a while, then stood up expressionlessly with a sharp knife in his hand and slowly opened the wooden cage.
The wolf demon was so frightened that his heart and liver were about to burst. He said, "My lord, don't be like this. I just want to eat a piece of meat. I don't want to hurt anyone. If I wanted to hurt anyone, I could just use the Tiger Demon Fist and pounce on the person and slap him to death."
This wolf demon may have a bit of a brain problem, but he's actually not a bad person by nature.
Chen Jiu sighed and said, "Go now. I'll let you go because it's not easy for you to practice. Remember, don't hurt others in the future."
After saying that, he threw the scroll in front of the wolf demon, turned around woodenly, returned to the bed and slowly sat cross-legged.
He actually wanted to give the wolf demon a chance to live, because his skills were taught to him by the fox fairy in his dreams. He had a special affinity for the demon race, and would generally not kill any demon unless it was one that was wild and unruly and would bite anyone it caught.
The wolf demon was still in shock and couldn't believe it.
Is this guy a human or a demon? If he is a human, then he can't believe him. Humans are not good people. Eleven out of ten words they say are lies. If he really believes it, this guy will probably stab him with a knife as soon as he turns around.
The wolf demon stared at the figure on the bed closely, and decided to wait until his waist injury healed before suddenly rushing out, making it impossible for others to catch up with him.
As night fell, the villagers gradually fell asleep, and the man and the monster did not move, as if they were asleep.
At this moment, in the village temple, the statue of the god on the shrine suddenly seemed to come alive, and its eyes rolled.
Lingshan Village naturally has gods, but these gods are not like the kind-hearted gods in the legend. This god is more than ten feet tall, covered in black, with a face full of flesh, eyes wide open, and a ferocious look that is scary to death.
In the pitch-black night, the ferocious god's eyes, which were bigger than duck eggs, suddenly rolled around. Most people would probably be scared to death if they saw it.
Fortunately, there was no one among the gods at this time.
The god's eyes rolled around for a while, then he suddenly opened his mouth and said majestically, "Wang Cheng, come to the temple quickly."
The village head Wang Cheng was holding his beautiful young wife and was about to do something when the voice that suddenly appeared in his ear frightened him so much that he shivered.
This is the call of the gods!
He had no choice but to put on his clothes, light the oil lamp, and walk towards the temple in the dim light, one step deep and one step shallow.
To be honest, he was extremely scared. The god in the temple was so scary that he trembled all over when he saw it during the day, let alone at night.
However, he had to go, because the god had a bad temper. If the usual offerings of money, paper, incense and candles were insufficient, the god would become angry and roar as if he wanted to devour someone, and the roar would make people tremble all over.
There was no other way. He had to rely on the gods to suppress those unruly people in the village. For example, the hunter Chen Jiu was so powerful that he and a few of his cronies could not defeat him together. Only the gods could suppress him.
Therefore, he had to please the gods, and he had to go whenever the gods called him.
Why would the gods be looking for him at this late hour?
In the darkness of the night, the wolf demon couldn't help but look towards the direction of the temple when he heard the subtle footsteps.
Chen Jiu also slowly opened his eyes and looked in the direction of the god.
They did not hear the call of the gods, and naturally they had no idea why Wang Cheng was sneaking into the temple alone so late at night.
