Chapter 325: Missed Each Other by Accident

“What a huge tiger!”

“Indeed...”

“It’s so much bigger than the others!”

“Indeed...”

“Can we...?”

“No, we can’t.”

Song You looked down at the massive tiger.

Lady Calico stood by his side.

It seemed likely that this was the true form of the “Mountain Lord” that the villagers at the foot of the mountain spoke of. Compared to this gigantic tiger, the two of them appeared small and insignificant.

This tiger, larger than an ox, presented a formidable challenge. If one were to strike it with a sword, missing the precise point would mean plunging the blade to the hilt on one side without piercing through the other. Its claws were longer than short swords and broader than axe blades.

While skilled

jianghu

martial artists might be capable of slaying ordinary demons or ghosts, this “Mountain Lord” was far beyond what any common

jianghu

mortal could handle.

Yet, the massive tiger’s body was now covered in countless sword wounds of varying sizes, densely packed across its flesh—too many to count.

It was hard to imagine how much effort the swordsman had expended to bring it down. From the tiger’s den to this location, the entire area was left in utter disarray, evidence of an intense and ferocious battle. How grievously injured the swordsman must have been after slaying this beast, and how long the fight must have lasted.

Based on the timeline, he must have spent several days in the mountain.

But he had succeeded. He had not retreated.

Sir Shu was indeed highly skilled and lived up to the words he had spoken to the city guards at the gate,

“When I leave, the tiger demon will be no more.”

However, after defeating the Mountain Lord, he had likely sustained severe injuries, leaving him no strength to deal with the other tiger demons and mountain tigers in the area. Nor had he returned to notify the officials or citizens of Jinhe County. Instead, he must have dragged his wounded body away from here, possibly back to Mount Wu, or perhaps to Jiyan County.

At the same time, Song You could sense that this massive tiger no longer had a soul or spiritual resonance.

It was clear that when the swordsman struck it down, the Divine Thunder imbued in his blade had obliterated its resonance almost immediately. Even if some remnants had survived, they would have dissipated over time, leaving nothing behind that could be absorbed into the banner.

One could only marvel at the Sword Dao born from insights into Divine Thunder.

“

Sigh

...”

Though this tiger bore the title of Mountain Lord, its temperament was far too violent, lacking the dignity and restraint of a true ruler. It was said that for a tiger demon to become a genuine Mountain Lord—a being akin to a Mountain God, with infinite growth in its cultivation—it first had to overcome the inherent cruelty and savagery of its nature.

Otherwise, being overly self-centered and bloodthirsty, even if it became a demon, it would merely become a demon king at best, incapable of reaching true greatness.

This explained why exceptional tiger demons were so rare.

The balance and wonder of the natural world lay in this truth.

The more powerful a creature, the higher it stood on the food chain, the fewer its numbers. And among those, even fewer became demons.

Even before gaining sentience, a tiger was capable of battling mountain monsters. Upon becoming a demon, it would be even more formidable. However, tigers were rare by nature; a single tiger typically ruled an entire mountain range, vastly outnumbered by weaker creatures. As a result, tiger demons were far fewer than cow, sheep, or rat demons.

Moreover, their inherently violent nature often ensured their downfall in peaceful eras.

Song You couldn’t help but recall the tiger demon he had encountered a few years earlier, shortly after descending the mountain and entering Xuzhou. That tiger had been on the brink of becoming a demon.

He wondered how it was doing now and what opportunities it might have found.

After observing for a long time, the Daoist finally withdrew his gaze.

The young girl standing nearby tilted her head to look up at him and asked, “So, can we still find that Shu fellow?”

The Daoist’s expression carried a trace of regret.

“I’m afraid we’ve missed him.”

“Missed him...”

“Yes.”

“So what do we do now?”

“You wanted to rid the mountain of tigers, didn’t you?”

“Oh, that’s right...” The young girl nodded but then looked up at him again. “And after we’re done with the tigers?”

“Then we’ll go down the mountain to the city and inform the officials and citizens that the vicious tigers in the mountain have been dealt with. The one who eliminated the Mountain Lord was a swordsman named Shu Yifan,” Song You said, pausing briefly before lowering his gaze to her.

He continued, “As for the one who rid the mountain of the remaining tiger demons and vicious tigers, that honor belongs to a cat Daoist named Lady Calico.”

“A cat Daoist!”

“Indeed.”

“I’m now a cat Daoist!”

“Exactly.”

“And then where will we go?”

“Westward, out of Guangzhou, back to Changjing.”

“Will we ever see Mr. Shu again?”

“God knows...”

The Daoist couldn’t help but smile slightly.

The world was vast, and people were so small. Missing someone seemed to be a common occurrence—just a little distraction, a slight lapse in attention, and they were gone.

Once you’d missed someone, meeting again became much harder.

Perhaps it was like this with every old acquaintance.

If you were lucky, you might meet them again in a few years, at some unexpected time, in some unexpected place, without even trying. Such a reunion would surely be a delightful surprise.

But if you were unlucky, you might never see them again.

The beauty of fate lay in its unpredictability.

Fortunately, Song You was only a fake Daoist priest.

A Daoist priest had their own temple. While a Daoist priest could move freely, the temple remained rooted in place.

Perhaps, years later, after Song You finished traveling the world and returned to his temple, one day someone might come knocking at the door. When he opened it, he might see a familiar yet slightly changed face. They would greet him, bow respectfully, and say they were an old acquaintance from such-and-such a year.

After parting ways back then, they had never crossed paths again. Calculating the time he’d likely return to his temple, they remembered its location. Taking advantage of still being able to move around or perhaps visiting Yizhou for some other reason, they decided to come and pay a visit.

When that time came, the Daoist would certainly open the door and welcome them in.

Although Hidden Dragon Temple has been passed down through generations, it changes with each new keeper. Growing old in solitude like those wandering Daoists, without meeting old friends, was not something Song You wished for.

***

As for the swordsman, after slaying the tiger demon, he did not enter the city or linger long in Jinhe County. Instead, he swiftly turned back, carrying his injuries.

There were reasons beyond his wounds for his hurried departure.

First, as the sect was still in its infancy, there was an overwhelming amount of work to be done. As the head of the sect, it truly wasn’t appropriate for him to stay away for too long.

Second, the locust plague in Jiyan County had yet to be resolved. He had initially gone there but left soon after. Not only was he unable to eliminate the plague himself, but he also wished to come here first, stopping by the prefectural city along the way to ask a friendly prefect to intensify disaster relief efforts.

He also hoped that after dealing with the tiger demon, he might gain new insights—insights that might help address the locust plague.

Third, based on rumors circulating in the

jianghu

, demons in both Zhaozhou and Hanzhou had been defeated in succession. The swordsman was aware of the Daoist’s general route, pace of travel, and methods. He believed the Daoist would soon arrive in Guangzhou, and if so, might come to visit him.

If he wasn’t at the sect when the Daoist arrived, it would be a missed opportunity. Whether the Daoist actually came or not, he felt he should remain at his sect, waiting.

Thus, he dragged his injured body, making every effort to hurry back.

As for the remaining wild tigers and tiger demons in Jinhe County, they weren’t significant threats. The local troops were capable of dealing with them.

Given his injuries, however, he couldn’t travel at full speed.

The swordsman first headed toward Jiyan County, but before he arrived, he heard news that the locust plague had already been resolved—cleared out by swarms of swallows.

“Swallows...”

The swordsman suddenly recalled his first meeting with the Daoist years ago in Xuzhou, outside the mortuary. There had been a swallow there as well.

He also heard that a Daoist had arrived at the time, accompanied by a jujube-red horse, a calico cat, and a swallow. The Daoist had entered the city to inquire about the situation and even stopped outside the city to ask an old farmer for directions.

That very day, countless swallows appeared out of nowhere, devouring the locusts completely. Then, just as suddenly, the swallows vanished, leaving behind a single stone tablet by the roadside inscribed with the words that said that it was all thanks to the Swallows of Anqing.

Travelers spoke of it with enthusiasm, treating it as a tale of divine intervention in the mortal world.

The swordsman immediately recognized who the “immortal” in the story truly was.

By this point, his injuries had not only failed to heal but had worsened due to his relentless traveling. Unsure of the Daoist’s exact route, he pushed through the pain and hurried back to his sect.

Upon arriving at the mountain gate, he was greeted by a panicked Steward Luo, who exclaimed, “Master, you’re finally back! Earlier, Mr. Song visited the sect with a young girl called Lady Calico and a swallow. But since you were away dealing with the tiger demon, I invited them to wait at the sect. Mr. Song stayed for seven days but, not seeing your return, left to look for you. Did you meet him on the road?”

Hearing this, the swordsman’s heart sank. He quickly asked, “Do you know when Mr. Song left?”

“It’s been over twenty days.”

“Over twenty days...”

The swordsman stood frozen for a moment before regret washed over him.

Doing a quick calculation and a bit of reasoning, the swordsman deduced that the Daoist must have first visited Mount Wu, then gone to Jiyan County to address the locust plague, and likely continued his travels to Jinhe County after that.

It was clear—they must have missed each other somewhere along the way.

But where exactly had they passed by each other? How close had they been? Was it a mountain apart or merely a street? That was something he would never know.

The swordsman wished to turn back and search for the Daoist along the route, but the long journey, his worsening injuries, and the accumulating responsibilities waiting for him at the sect made such a trip impossible.

By the time his injuries healed, the Daoist would likely have already left Guangzhou.

Fate, at times, could be so frustrating.

With this one missed encounter, the Daoist would continue traveling the world, while the swordsman remained in Guangzhou to establish his sect. Who knew if they would ever meet again in this lifetime?

“

Sigh

...”

All his thoughts could only be condensed into a single, helpless sigh.

Seeing his expression, Steward Luo understood immediately. It was clear that the Sect Master had not met the Daoist. Not daring to press further, he kept his thoughts to himself: It seemed that the Sect Master's destiny with the immortal came to an end after borrowing the mountain to suppress the demon in Hezhou. To encounter such an extraordinary figure again was naturally an incredibly rare opportunity.

The thought inevitably evoked a sense of lament.

***

However, the Daoist did not leave in haste.

The forest was vast, and the number of vicious tigers was uncertain. The Daoist accompanied Lady Calico as she eradicated the man-eating tigers one by one, with the swallow scouting for them. Each time Lady Calico defeated a tiger, its spiritual resonance was absorbed into her banner.

Only after the forest was free of man-eating tigers did they descend the mountain and return to the city. There, they led the city officials and soldiers up the mountain to see the enormous, sword-scarred body of the Mountain Lord, larger than an ox.

The Daoist explained that the one who slew this tiger was neither a cultivation master nor a divine immortal, but a swordsman who had entered the Dao through martial arts—Shu Yifan of Mount Wu.

The soldiers and officials were astounded.

Afterward, the Daoist and his companions mounted their horse and headed west.

Two or three days later, they left Guangzhou and entered the borders of Hezhou, a region the Daoist had traversed before.

By this time, Hezhou was free of the demons and spirits that once plagued it. The past two years had brought good weather, and as the Daoist passed through in late autumn, the vast fields of fertile land had already been harvested. The people appeared content and at ease. Although the Daoist had never witnessed Hezhou's former prosperity, seeing it now, even if it hadn’t fully returned to its prime, it still carried the air of the Great Yan empire’s granary.

Everywhere, there were stories of immortal masters.