“Heroine, the ginger is a bit old.”

“What do you know? This is the taste of home!”

The woman gave him a sidelong glance. Although the food was poor and the taste was rather bland, she wasn't embarrassed to let others see. “You wouldn’t believe it, but this jar of pickled vegetables was actually found in your house. After my senior passed away, I went to clean out his place. I didn't find much money, but I did discover this jar of treasure. Hey, I don’t even know how to pickle things myself!”

“Is that so?”

“Do you think the apricot blossoms are beautiful?”

“They are quite spectacular, like a painting,” Song You replied. “On the way back, I even saw someone.”

“Who? The emperor?”

“General Chen Ziyi.”

“Oh, he's famous…” The woman said this with a calm expression, her gaze unfocused as she stared at the street ahead. She took another bite of the food, as if the poor quality had left her feeling disillusioned.

Feeling a tickle on her leg, she looked down to see the Daoist’s cat scratching at her leg. It was standing up on its hind legs and stretching its neck to peek into her bowl.

The woman lowered the bowl to show it to the cat and even picked up a small piece of ginger to offer it.

The cat sniffed it and then turned away, walking off.

“…”

“Have you finished reviewing the notice, heroine?”

“I’ve seen it. Wait until I finish eating…”

The woman, expressionless, took another bite of the ginger and finished the last two spoonfuls of the paste in her bowl. Then she turned and went back into the house.

Song You also opened his own door.

As soon as he entered, he saw the neighboring heroine following him in. Unlike her earlier disillusioned demeanor, she now appeared full of energy while holding a notice. “I heard the reward was twenty taels before, but this job was only accepted a few times at the beginning. The people who went to check the mountain monster either couldn’t find it or were eaten by it.

“After that, no one dared to post notices easily. I heard that yesterday the mountain monster ate two more people, causing a lot of panic. Now, the reward has been increased to thirty taels.”

She also placed the notice on the table. “The bounty notice is here.”

“I trust you.”

“When shall we set off?”

“Since it’s been eating people, it’s best to deal with it as soon as possible.”

“How about tomorrow morning?”

“Alright!”

“I’ll knock on your wall tomorrow morning.”

“Alright…”

That was indeed a good idea.

The woman took the bounty notice and left, while Song You went out to buy ingredients and came back to cook.

In the early days of his arrival in Changjing, he had been short on money and had eaten gruel for several days, with his stomach constantly growling and his lips cracking. However, thanks to Lady Calico, he had been eating better recently. ȓ�

He prepared a pot of mixed grain rice and stir-fried some poor-quality meat with peas.

Lady Calico transformed into her human form to help him with the fire. While tending to it, she said, “Daoist priest, we won’t be catching mice tonight.”

“Alright…”

“We’ll go after we return.”

“Hmm?” Song You glanced down at her, “Do you also want to catch the mountain monster?”

“Yes.”

“Alright…” Song You had somewhat figured out her personality.

Lady Calico, being a Cat God, had an independent personality. However, her nature was simple, and after spending time with people, she could become quite attached.

“Right…” Lady Calico tossed another handful of firewood into the stove and suddenly looked up. “Daoist priest, how much money did you make from catching ghosts?”

“We haven't received it yet.”

“You didn’t make any money?”

“We just haven't collected it.”

“So how much is it?”

“We agreed to split fifteen taels each.” Song You smiled slightly.

Today, they discussed how to divide the reward. One person had been checking the notices, gathering information, and putting up and taking down notices. Meanwhile, the other had burned all the female ghosts dead with a single fire. It was hard to determine who had contributed more, but oddly, both felt that taking half the money would be unfair to the other. They both felt guilty in their hearts.

Perhaps this way of getting along was quite nice.

Lady Calico, however, didn’t understand. It stared at him with a blank expression, tilting her head in confusion. “What are you smiling about?”

“Thinking of something happy.”

“How much is fifteen taels?”

“It’s fifteen taels.”

“Is that a lot?”

“A lot.”

“How does it compare to five hundred wen?”

“Fifteen taels is slightly more.”

“By how much?”

“It’s hard to say.”

“How many days of catching mice would it take to earn fifteen taels?”

“…”

“How many days of catching mice would it take to earn fifteen taels?”

“Probably several days.”

“How many days?”

“If you work hard, you could earn it.”

“Ten days?”

“Longer.”

“How long?”

“Half a year.”

“…”

The girl lowered her head, quietly adding more firewood.

“

Sizzle…

”

Ginger and garlic sizzled in the pan, bubbles popping up from the hot oil.

The heroine, huddled in the building next door, listened to the sizzle of the cooking pan and smelled the gradually emerging aroma with a blank expression.

***

The next morning, the sound of knocking on the wall woke them up.

The stew of meat and peas was delicious. Song You hadn’t even finished a third of the bowl he had cooked yesterday, and he didn’t know how many days they’d be out, so he had no choice but to invite the heroine next door to share the meal.

After breakfast, the Heroine set out with her sword. She preferred using a sword over a blade. Long swords were best.

In Changjing, there were both blacksmith shops and weapon shops selling swords and blades, so it was naturally permissible to bring a sword into the city. However, one could not carry a sword openly in the streets. Now that Heroine Wu had taken up the bounty to exterminate demons from the

Sanshi Yamen

, she wasn’t worried about encountering any patrolling officials or soldiers.

They bought some dried provisions along the way, with the heroine insisting on paying.

Before long, the two of them were out of the city, along with a yellow-maned horse and a calico cat.

The calico cat trotted ahead, occasionally looking back at the yellow-maned horse, feeling quite satisfied that it was smaller than Song You’s own horse.

“Yanhui Peaks is about eighty li from Changjing. We should take this route,” Heroine Wu said, pointing with her sword.

“That's quite a distance.”

“That's how it is in Changjing. Except for this recent time, the city has been very peaceful. After all, it’s the capital, and rarely do demons and monsters dare to cause trouble inside the city. Outside the city, though, there are fewer demons and monsters, but with so many people coming and going, demons and monsters are quite common even just a few dozen or a hundred li away.”

Heroine Wu paused and glanced at him. “If you knew you'd be doing this often, you should have kept your horse in the city.”

“I don’t ride it anyway.”

“Oh, you don’t ride.”

“Just consider it a spring outing.”

“How leisurely.”

Heroine Wu didn’t continue to insist. She looked around and continued, “I’ve heard that Yanhui Peaks is quite large, with lush vegetation. Finding a mountain monster that grew up there and is skilled in transformations probably won’t be easy. We'll see what kind of immortal methods you have, Daoist master.

“As long as you find one, leave it to me first. I want to see if this mountain monster is like the ghosts, where a blade can’t cut them.”

Song You said, “We’ll see when we get there.”

“I’ve heard this mountain is also a bit malevolent.”

“What kind of malevolence?”

“Yanhui Peaks is always home to some malevolent monsters and spirits. Whether they are monsters, wild ghosts, or demons, there’s always something to capture or kill, and they never seem to be completely eradicated.”

“It’s probably due to the abundant spiritual energy, which fosters many demons and monsters. With so many demons and monsters, there will always be some that succumb to temptation and cause harm.”

“Impressive, Daoist master…” Heroine Wu’s words sounded as casual and unremarkable as if she had just pointed out a stone by the roadside.

Eighty li was a long way; even if they moved quickly, it would take until the afternoon to cover the distance.

Heroine Wu often rode ahead to ask for directions, ensuring they didn’t stray off course. Sometimes she would wait ahead and amuse herself, and other times she would come back to check on them and chat about various things.

They were getting close to Yanhui Peaks.

Just then, they encountered an old man by the roadside, and Heroine Wu asked him for directions.

“Old man, is Yanhui Peaks up ahead?”

“What are you going there for?”

“We’re heading to the county beyond the mountain. There are just the two of us, and we’re a bit apprehensive, so we wanted to confirm our route,” Heroine Wu said, her eyes darting around. “We’re not sure if we’ve passed Yanhui Peaks or if it’s still ahead. If we’ve already passed it, that would be great.”

“Well, you’ll need to be careful. Yanhui Peaks is just ahead, about ten li or so.”

The old man scrutinized them with his cloudy eyes. “There have been reports of a mountain monster causing trouble up there, said to be as big as an ox and quite frightening. The authorities have sent people several times but haven’t been able to capture it.

“They say if they can’t catch it soon, they’ll send soldiers to burn down the mountain. Many people passing through there have been traveling in groups for safety. The demon doesn’t dare to cause trouble when there are lots of people around.”

She said, “Thank you, old man.”

“No need to thank me…” The old man waved his hand and walked away with his bundle.

Heroine Wu glanced at Song You, and Song You merely smiled. “Be cautious, heroine.”

“I heard this mountain monster can change its form and turn into plants or rocks. I wonder if it can turn into a human,” Heroine Wu said, pressing her lips together. “In the

jianghu

, it’s never a bad thing to be cautious.”

“Agreed.”

After traveling a bit further, they arrived at Yanhui Peaks. The mountain was so high it seemed to pierce the clouds.

Heroine Wu looked up, her brow furrowing. “With such a huge mountain, even if immortals were searching for a monster or demon, they’d probably have to search the entire mountain, wouldn’t they?”

“Perhaps.”

“What’s your plan?” Heroine Wu turned to look at the Daoist beside her.

The Daoist, however, was looking up at a large tree nearby. Upon closer inspection, they could see a bird’s nest in the tree.

What did that mean?

As Heroine Wu was pondering this, she saw some movement in the nest, and a black bird’s head emerged.

Was it a crow?

The Daoist then cupped his hand and bowed to the crow. “My name is Song You. Greetings. I’ve heard there’s a mountain monster causing trouble on this mountain. Since you reside here by the roadside, I wonder if you’ve seen it and if you could tell me where it usually resides?”

This could actually work? Heroine Wu blinked, first at the Daoist, then at the crow.

“

Caw

!” The crow turned its head and looked toward the peak of a distant mountain, letting out a mournful cry.

“Is there a path up the mountain?”

“

Caw

!”

“Thank you.” The Daoist bowed slightly and took out a bundle wrapped in leaves from his bag. He opened it to reveal strips of meat. He selected a few pieces and hung them on the nearby palm leaves. “Here are a few strips of meat, they’re a small token of respect.”

“

Caw

!”

“Let’s go.”

The Daoist led the way toward the mountain peak.

Heroine Wu’s eyes widened. To be honest, she had never imagined that the Daoist’s method would be like this.

“Impressive, Daoist master…” Heroine Wu chuckled and followed along, holding her knife.