His son Song Ming's words sent a chill down Song Mugen's spine.
But the black cat was still under the tree. The father and son couldn't even handle the wolf pack, let alone this cat demon that had scared them away.
In a panicked, helpless silence, the black cat drove off the wolf pack.
Then, it deftly climbed the tree and approached the father and son.
Though only a few moments had passed, Song Ming could no longer see the black cat as he had at first.
In his eyes, the black cat was now as terrifying as a monstrous beast.
Song Ming swallowed hard and tightened his grip on the spear in his hand.
He couldn't discern the cat's intentions, but if it were to attack, Song Ming felt he wouldn't be completely defenseless.
The black cat was unaware that the young man before it was ready to spring into action at any moment.
"Meow, meow!" *Follow me, quickly!*
The black cat meowed, took two steps forward, then looked back at the father and son and meowed twice more.
The meaning was clear: follow it!
Song Ming didn't understand its meaning, but he vaguely sensed that the cat held no ill will toward them. He breathed a sigh of relief.
Song Mugen, however, frowned, watching the cat and wondering what it was trying to do.
It had chased away the wolves but didn't leave. It came over to them, yet showed no intention of attacking.
Seeing that the father and son didn't understand, the black cat grew anxious.
It was eager to lead them back so it could go claim its reward from that deity!
The cat no longer cared about their filthy clothes. It bit directly onto Song Mugen's sleeve and started pulling.
A flash of insight struck Song Mugen, and he finally understood the cat's meaning, finding it somewhat incredible.
"You mean... you want us to follow you?"
The black cat nodded with a meow.
*This foolish mortal finally understands.*
Hearing his father's words, Song Ming's eyes widened in shock. He stared at the cat, his breathing growing heavier.
"Are you taking us back to Song Family Village?"
*Please don't be leading us into a demon's den.*
The black cat nodded again.
The Song father and son exchanged a look, their eyes filled with shock.
They had never even heard of such a thing, and now it was happening to them?
Trapped on the mountain by a wolf pack, only to be rescued by a demon who now wanted to lead them home!
After the initial shock, the father and son quickly came to their senses.
"Thank you, Lord Black Cat. We'll trouble you to lead us back. If we return home safely, we will surely set up an altar for your long life in our home!"
The black cat shivered at the words.
*Song Family Village already has that deity. If they set up an altar for me too, that deity would surely not let me off easy, right?*
*Forget it. I'll just get them back first and explain later.*
The black cat leaped down from the tree. After a full day and night, the Song father and son finally descended as well.
Although the mountain was shrouded in a thick fog, with the black cat leading the way, leaving Wolf Head Mountain would be no problem!
In the pitch-black, dense mountain forest at night, the Song father and son stumbled along behind the black cat, making their way off Wolf Head Mountain.
*
Song Family Village.
The night was deep; it was already the Hour of the Pig.
In this era, there was little entertainment at night. Usually, by this hour, every household in the village would have extinguished their lamps and gone to rest.
But tonight, the lights were still burning in the village chief's house at the head of the village, filled with flickering shadows of people.
An old, lush jujube tree grew in the small courtyard, which was not spacious to begin with. Now, crowded with a dozen or so villagers, it felt even more cramped.
The village chief, Song Tiancheng, wore a thin shirt soaked with sweat, his sleeves rolled up. He frowned, silently taking long drags from his pipe of dried tobacco.
Song Xiuxiu supported her mother, her tear-filled eyes downcast as she sobbed quietly.
The other villagers who had come along comforted the mother and daughter.
"Auntie, Xiuxiu, don't cry so much you harm your health."
"Sigh, Mingzi and Uncle Gen are truly unlucky. The weather yesterday shouldn't have caused a miasma fog."
"Who knows if this fog on Wolf Head Mountain will clear by tomorrow? If it does, we can go in to look for Uncle Gen and the others. But what if it doesn't?"
The people of Song Family Village were simple and honest, and they were genuinely concerned about the father and son being trapped on Wolf Head Mountain.
Song Tiancheng sighed, set down his tobacco pipe, and spoke in a voice that was old and hoarse, yet powerful.
"Alright, stop crying. Dashan, go gather a dozen able-bodied men who know Wolf Head Mountain. Tomorrow, even if the fog hasn't cleared, you'll go in to search for Mugen and his son. But make sure to wrap your mouths and noses with cloth. Go in for an hour when the fog is thinnest around noon. Whether you find them or not, you all come out after an hour."
"Wife of Mugen, this is all the village can do. The rest will depend on whether Mingzi and Mugen have the good fortune to survive."
Although an hour in the mountains wasn't guaranteed to be enough time to search all of Wolf Head Mountain and find them, it was the best news Song Xiuxiu and her mother had heard all night.
At least there was a glimmer of hope.
Tears streamed down the faces of Song Xiuxiu and her mother as they cried and laughed at the same time. "Thank you, Village Chief. We'll have to trouble everyone tomorrow. We still have some furs and dried meat at home; we won't let everyone work for nothing."
Song Tiancheng sighed, picked up his tobacco pipe again, and waved his hand to dismiss them.
"Alright, everyone go home now!"
With the matter settled, the villagers didn't linger. They said their goodbyes and headed out.
The chief's house was built at the entrance to the village, not far from the foot of a mountain.
Although visibility was poor at night, in this era without electronic devices, the villagers' eyes were well-adjusted to the dark. And so, just as they stepped outside, one villager noticed what seemed to be figures moving at the foot of the nearby mountain.
There was also the faint, blurry flash of green light.
The villager rubbed his eyes and tugged on the sleeve of the person next to him.
"Hey, am I seeing things? I feel like there's someone over there."
"Huh? Where? It's the middle of the night. Everyone but us is resting at home. Could it be some thief sneaking into the village?"
"Let's go take a look!"
The figures the villager saw were, of course, not thieves.
It was the Song father and son.
The green light was the eyes of the black cat.
Weakened by the miasma's poison, Song Mugen had trouble moving. Song Ming had carried him on his back the whole way, following the black cat. They had finally, with great difficulty, made it out of Wolf Head Mountain and returned.
The two villagers who thought they were thieves cautiously approached, only to be stunned when they saw it was Song Ming and Song Mugen!
"Mingzi! Mugen! It's really you?!"
"You actually managed to find your way out of Wolf Head Mountain in the dead of night?"
"What's wrong with Uncle Gen? Why are you carrying him?"
In the midst of his astonished questions, the villager didn't forget to shout at the top of his lungs, "Wife of Mugen! Your Mingzi and Mugen are back!"
Still in the courtyard, Song Xiuxiu and her mother froze when they heard this.
*Huh? They're back?*
*Just moments ago, they were discussing with the village chief about going into the mountains to find them tomorrow. And now, they're back?!*
After a moment of stunned silence, joy spread across the mother and daughter's faces, and they rushed excitedly toward the entrance.
It wasn't just them; the other villagers, including the chief, were also dumbfounded by the news.
They followed the mother and daughter out.
Only when the father and son appeared before their very eyes did Song Xiuxiu and her mother truly believe it.
They were really back.
"As long as you're back, that's all that matters! As long as you're back!"
The mother and daughter wept with joy.
Some of the other villagers were extremely curious.
"The fog on Wolf Head Mountain never cleared. Mingzi, how did you get back? No one has ever managed to walk out of there before!"
Song Ming, supporting his father, heard the question and looked down at the black cat by his feet.
"It's all thanks to Lord Black Cat..."
Song Ming briefly recounted what had happened.
The villagers were dumbfounded by the story. When they heard the black cat was a demon, several of them were so frightened they instinctively took a few steps back, putting several meters between themselves and the cat lying by Song Ming's feet.
The villagers had heard plenty of tales about demons, most of them ugly rumors about man-eaters.
Now, suddenly learning that the black cat was a demon, they couldn't help but feel an instinctive fear, even though Song Ming had already explained that it was a good demon and meant no harm.
The black cat licked its paw and rolled its eyes.
*Cowardly mortals!*
*I've brought the people back to the village. Even though I didn't bring them directly to the deity, this should be close enough, right?*
*I can go get my reward from the deity now, can't I?*
The black cat stood up and stretched lazily.
This movement frightened the villagers, causing them to retreat a few more steps.
The black cat scoffed in disdain. *What a bunch of cowards!*
Ignoring the villagers' terrified gazes, the black cat padded elegantly and slowly through the crowd.
The villagers, of course, didn't dare to block its path, only daring to follow it with their eyes.
And then, under the watchful eyes of all the villagers, the black cat walked straight into Xuanqing Temple!
The villagers: ?!!
Proofreader: Peter Pan