Nine Transformations of the True Spirit

In the deep forest, towering ancient trees stand tall, with branches and leaves as dense as umbrellas, covering most of the sky.

The forest is very dark, and the sunlight shines through the tiny gaps between the branches and leaves, sprinkled on the brown soil, with light and shadow interlaced and mottled.

The air is fresh and moist, mixed with the unique fragrance of rotting soil and leaves, and the fragrance of wild flowers in the distance.

The bushes swayed gently, and a man suddenly walked out from behind the bushes, walking along a path hidden in the grass in the dense forest.

This is a middle-aged man, thin, with a weathered face and wrinkles. He looks about forty or fifty years old, holding an iron spear in his right hand.

He carries a bow on his back, a pot of bamboo arrows on his waist, and a pair of eyes patrolling around in the forest, alert to abnormalities.

Behind the middle-aged man followed a young man, with a young face, thick eyebrows and big eyes. He looked only fifteen or sixteen years old. He was much taller than the middle-aged man, but also very thin. He held a bamboo spear tightly in his right hand.

Like the middle-aged man, the young man carried a bow on his back and a pot of bamboo arrows on his waist, but the bow was slightly smaller. He also looked around vigilantly and looked back from time to time.

Both of them wore coarse linen clothes and a pair of straw sandals on their feet. They were simple but sturdy, and the soles were very thick. Even if they stepped on hard stones, they would not feel uncomfortable.

Suddenly, the middle-aged man took two quick steps and came to a big tree. He lowered his head, carefully examined the surface of the trunk, and even reached out to touch it.

The young man noticed the abnormality of the middle-aged man and his eyes fell on the tree. Its rough brown skin seemed to be slightly peeling off.

The young man blinked, as if he remembered something, and said excitedly: "Dad, a wild boar rubbed against this tree!"

His voice was very low, not disturbing the tranquility of the forest, but it was just heard by the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man smiled and replied in an equally low voice: "This wild boar hasn't gone far. Kill it and have a good meal. I'll give you an iron spear!"

He walked forward, weaving through the dense bushes and grass, his footsteps were light, and he was twice as fast as before, but he didn't make any noise.

The young man followed the middle-aged man, a little struggling, and held the bamboo spear in his right hand more tightly. He whispered: "Dad, I can use the bamboo spear. Let's buy some dowry for my sister first. Find a matchmaker quickly and find a good family in another village for my sister to marry."

The middle-aged man paused, sighed silently in a place where the young man couldn't see, and his footsteps became faster.

After walking a few dozen feet, the middle-aged man stopped again, pushed aside a patch of grass, and revealed a pile of feces that was still emitting heat.

He picked up a little bit with his hand without any disdain, put it in front of his eyes, looked at it, and then put it in front of the boy: "Tiezhu, take a look."

The boy opened his eyes wide, looked at it carefully for a while, and said uncertainly: "Is this wild boar... a male?"

The middle-aged man smiled, and the wrinkles on his forehead shrank into a ball: "Yes, this is a wild boar king. Your sister's dowry has been settled, and the bamboo spear in your hand can also be replaced with an iron thing!"

The boy's eyes widened, and his face flushed: "Dad, let's chase it quickly, we can't let it run away!"

"Don't worry, the wild boar king is not afraid of tigers. If it doesn't walk fast, we will definitely catch up." The middle-aged man smiled and wiped the feces on his hand on the tree beside him.

He stood up, looked around, broke off a wide grass stem, squeezed it with his hand, and some juice oozed out, wiping the feces on his hand clean.

"Tiezhu, remember, when hunting, you must not leave any smell on your body, otherwise it will scare away the prey." The middle-aged man threw the grass stem on the ground and warned.

The boy nodded very seriously: "I remember, Dad."

The mountain road was difficult to walk, and the two spent more than half an hour, walked two miles, and finally caught up with the wild boar king.

When the boy saw the beast, his face changed immediately, swallowed hard, his Adam's apple rolled up and down, and his left hand quietly put on the bamboo spear.

A huge beast walked leisurely in the forest. It was covered with black mane, about half a person's height, and weighed at least several hundred pounds. A pair of long fangs protruded from the lips. The sun shone on it through the branches and leaves, reflecting a cold light.

Its four sturdy hooves stepped on the ground, and it waded through the dense grass. Its short and thick tail swung leisurely, and it lowered its head to nibble on the tender grass from time to time.

The middle-aged man seemed to feel the tension in the boy's heart. He raised his hand and patted his shoulder, whispering: "Tiezhu, don't be afraid. No matter how powerful it is, it is just a beast without a brain."

The boy nodded gently, and his hands holding the bamboo spear loosened a little.

This was the third time he followed the middle-aged man into the mountains to hunt, and it was the first time he encountered the mountain overlord like the wild boar king. He was extremely nervous.

The middle-aged man closed his eyes and felt it. At this moment, there was a very light breeze blowing in the forest, almost no breeze, gently caressing the middle-aged man's face, and the hair trembled slightly. The two were just upwind.

"Follow Dad, don't make a sound." The middle-aged man opened his eyes, warned, and then turned his body and walked to the right.

The young man could not feel the slight breeze in the forest, and was very confused, but he said nothing, holding the bamboo spear, and followed the middle-aged man closely.

Wherever the two passed, the branches and leaves of the bushes swayed gently, making a slight rustling sound.

But they were still ten feet away from the wild boar, and in the dense forest, the sound could not be transmitted too far.

The boar king was unaware and continued to walk leisurely, occasionally lowering his head to nibble on the tender green grass.

The middle-aged man and the boy bent over and slowly made a big circle, coming to the front of the boar.

The middle-aged man finally stopped, and the boy, who had been tense, immediately stopped.

"Take the bow!" The middle-aged man whispered, took off the bow from his back, and took out an arrow from the pot on his waist and held it in his hand.

This is an old bow, but the bow body is wiped clean, the bowstring is slightly yellow, but there is no stain, just a little grass debris when passing through the bushes.

The boy hurriedly did as he was told, but his movements were a bit hasty, and he failed to take the bow off at once. Sweat beads appeared on his forehead. He tried again before he succeeded, then picked up an arrow from the pot and put it on the bow.

"Don't panic, it's no different from shooting a rabbit, it can't smell us." The middle-aged man warned.

The boy nodded, his pounding heart slowed down, and the tension in his eyes mostly disappeared.

He had practiced archery for three years, and the bow that the middle-aged man bought from the county town at a high price had become a part of his body. As long as he held it in his hand, the fear in his heart immediately disappeared, and he felt eager to try.

The middle-aged man saw the boy's change, smiled with relief, and whispered: "I will shoot its left eye later, and you shoot its right eye. Don't think about anything, just draw the bow boldly, your archery is better than your father's, you will definitely hit it!"

The boy nodded, held his breath, opened his eyes wide, stared at the wild boar king, and dared not blink.

The wild boar king had no idea that danger was about to come, and he was still leisurely wading through the bushes, eating the tenderest grass.

There was no road in the forest, but when the beasts walked more, there was a road.

The distance between the Boar King and the two men was getting shorter and shorter, nine zhang, eight zhang, seven zhang, six zhang, five zhang...

"Shoot!" The middle-aged man shouted, straightened up suddenly, raised his hand to draw the bow, and shot an arrow!

The young man's tense heartstrings broke when he heard this, and he followed closely, bent the bow and put the arrow on it, and suddenly loosened the bowstring.

Swish!

The bamboo arrow flew out and deeply penetrated the Boar King's right eye!

But he didn't have time to be happy. The arrow shot by the middle-aged man was an inch off and hit the Boar King's face, leaving only a shallow wound, and was bounced off by the coarse hair.

The bamboo arrows in the hands of the two men were not equipped with iron arrowheads. If they missed the vital points, they would not hurt this forest overlord at all.

"Ah!"

The Boar King was shot in the right eye, and he became ferocious. He kicked the ground with his four hooves and rushed towards the two men.

Its two fangs, about a foot long, were like knives and swords, crushing a large area of ​​shrubs. It was so fierce that it looked like a huge army charging.

The middle-aged man's face changed drastically, and he immediately drew out another bamboo arrow, put it on the bow, aimed at the left eye of the wild boar king, and pulled the bowstring violently.

Bang!

He pulled the bowstring too hard and broke it directly!

The bamboo arrow flew away, and the bowstring rebounded on the middle-aged man's left wrist, leaving a deep blood mark.

The middle-aged man was stunned, looking at the wild boar king rushing over, and immediately threw the bow in his hand, bent down to pick up the iron spear on the ground, and shouted: "Iron Pillar, retreat quickly!"

The wild boar king's bristles were hard, and the iron spear was difficult to break. He was already in danger, and he must not let his son die in the mouth of the wild boar king.

But the young man turned a deaf ear to it. He opened his eyes wide, gritted his teeth, took out the second arrow from the quiver, put it on the bow, took a quick aim, and released the bowstring.

Swish!

The wild boar was less than two feet away from the two men, and was already within a few feet. After the bamboo arrow left the string, it immediately sank into the wild boar's left eye!

"Ah!"

The wild boar was blind, and its momentum was running down, but it still rushed towards the two men by inertia.

"Get out of the way!" The middle-aged man let go of the iron spear, jumped up, and threw the young man to the ground, avoiding the rushing wild boar king.

The wild boar king rushed out for several feet before stopping. His huge head shook violently from side to side, his four hooves stomped around, and he kept howling.

The middle-aged man got up from the ground and pulled the young man up: "Tiezhu, you step aside first!"

He picked up the iron spear on the ground, carefully approached the wild boar king, avoided its fangs, and stabbed it fiercely, leaving a wound on its back.

The boar king howled in pain and stabbed his fangs towards him, but the middle-aged man had already put away his spear and retreated, so his fangs stabbed into nothing.

The middle-aged man circled half a circle, saw the right moment, and stabbed another spear, deeply into the boar king's back!

"Ah!"

The boar king was completely crazy, running forward with his head down, breaking and crushing countless bushes and weeds, and the flowers and plants flew everywhere, rushing into the forest.

"Chase!" said the middle-aged man, holding the spear, not forgetting to pick up the broken bow, and chased after him.

The boy carried the bow on his back, tightly grasped the bamboo spear, and followed closely.

The two followed the crazy boar king and went deep into the forest for dozens of feet.

The boar king, who was running with his head down, suddenly pounced forward with his huge body and fell to the ground.

The middle-aged man was startled and stopped immediately, raising his hand to stop the boy.

The boar king tried hard to get up, but both of his front legs were broken and bleeding. He could only lie on the ground and wailed.

The middle-aged man then walked forward carefully and came to the boar king. He looked down and his face changed drastically. He took several steps back.

The young man also walked over. He followed the middle-aged man's line of sight and his eyes widened immediately.

There was a person lying in the bushes behind the boar king!

This man was skinny, skinny, eyes closed, face pale as paper, bloodless, as if he had been dead for a long time, hideous and horrible.

But the white clothes on his body were brand new. Although he was lying in the grass, he was not stained with grass or dust, and there was not a single insect or ant.

The middle-aged man took a deep breath, tightened the spear in his hand, bypassed the people on the ground, came to the wild boar king, stabbed the spear into his mouth, and stirred it twice.

"Hu... Hu..."

The wild boar king took a few deep breaths, his chest and abdomen rose and fell violently twice, his body tilted to the side, and finally died.

The middle-aged man retracted the spear and wiped the sweat from his head.

He grinned and looked back. The boy was squatting down and looking at the man on the ground.

"Tiezhu, get out of the way!" The middle-aged man scolded, his eyes full of tension.

The boy was startled and hurriedly stepped back a few steps.

The middle-aged man walked quickly to the person on the ground, with a solemn expression, and gently touched his body with the spear in his hand.

The person on the ground did not react, so he breathed a sigh of relief and turned back to scold: "Things in this mountain can't be touched!"

The boy stepped forward and argued: "Dad, this is a person!"

The middle-aged man said dissatisfiedly: "This is a dead person. Who knows if he was infected with the plague before he died? He is so scary after death. Don't touch it."

The boy curled his lips and looked down at the person on the ground without blinking.

He liked the clothes on this person, just like the snow that fell last winter, so white and so clean.

He had never worn such clothes in his life, and he had never even seen them.

Even Li Fugui, the landlord in the village, had never worn such white and clean clothes.

Suddenly, the boy opened his eyes wide and said anxiously: "Dad, look, his fingers are still moving, he is still alive!"

The middle-aged man lowered his head and saw that the five fingers of the man's right hand moved slightly a few times, as if he wanted to make a fist, but after a moment, he slowly loosened and remained motionless.

The middle-aged man's face changed: "This... this..."

The young man scratched his head: "Dad, what should we do? Let's save him?"

The middle-aged man immediately shook his head: "No! He is no longer in human form, but his fingers can still move, and his clothes are still so new. It's too weird. Let's drag the wild boar king away and don't meddle in other people's business."

The young man stared: "Dad, you said that the mountains are dangerous, and we hunters can't just stand by and watch people die. Otherwise, one day we will be hung up by the ankles and fall into a bear pit, and no one will care."

The middle-aged man was stunned, his face changed. After a long while, he finally gritted his teeth: "Tiezhu, you are right, we hunters can't just stand by and watch people die!" (End of this chapter)