The Mountain God Backs Down

The slaughter raged on for three hours.

The ground, freshly washed by rain, was drenched in blood once more.

The earthy scent of the soil was buried under the stench of gore, and Tu Ran, standing over ten meters tall, could smell it clearly.

Only three or five Paoxiao were still alive below.

Even these few were gravely wounded from the infighting.

Their minds were now fully clear, and they vividly remembered what had transpired over the past three hours.

Staring at Tu Ran, who still sat on the tree with her legs dangling, they felt not anger—but fear.

Fear that pierced to the bone.

Tu Ran bit her finger and attempted to plant a hallucination mushroom for the fourth time—but failed.

During those three hours, she had successfully planted three such mushrooms.

Each one lasted only an hour.

The fourth wouldn't sprout, which meant she could only grow three per day.

The rest would have to be dealt with by her own hands.

Tu Ran raised her machine gun, aiming at the five surviving Paoxiao.

With sustained scanning fire, every bullet struck their wounds.

Two of them, already at death's door, couldn't withstand the bullets tearing into their injuries and died on the spot.

Three remained.

They had not been badly hurt in the mutual slaughter—two had only leg wounds, and the third had a bite on its neck that bled heavily.

All three struggled to flee.

The two with injured legs stumbled over the mounds of corpses, tripping and staggering.

The one with the neck wound was unimpeded and was about to clamber over the pile of dead Paoxiao when Tu Ran activated *Instant Shift*.

She drew her long blade and drove it straight into the wound on its neck.

The Paoxiao stiffened and let out a piercing cry.

Tu Ran's ears rang with pain.

Ignoring it, she pressed down with both hands, slicing through its neck.

Its vocal cords snapped.

The shriek died abruptly.

Its body crashed to the ground, and Tu Ran barely dodged aside in time to avoid being crushed.

The other two Paoxiao watched their comrade be slain and went bloody-eyed with rage.

With no retreat left, they charged at Tu Ran, determined to fight to the death against this despicable human.

The two exchanged a glance, then rushed at her, staggering.

Tu Ran lifted her blade and struck at their injured legs. The wounds gave easy access for her sword.

In an instant, their tiger paws were severed from their bodies, and the Paoxiao collapsed, blood spraying across the ground.

Tu Ran was too fast; they couldn't even catch a glimpse of her afterimage.

Like lambs to the slaughter, they had no chance to fight back.

With whimpers and cries, they were dismembered by Tu Ran's blade, piece by piece.

Only when the sharp tip pierced their hearts did their lives end.

Tu Ran sheathed her blade, swept her gaze over the scene to confirm no survivors, and left.

The field of corpses became a feast for countless other alien creatures in the days that followed.

The flesh was devoured quickly.

Three days later, a human discovered the remaining bones.

After extended investigation, the human concluded that a civil war within a Paoxiao tribe had occurred there three days prior.

After recording the scene thoroughly with their tactical wristband, they left.

But that's all later. Now, Tu Ran circled the area nearby, found no other Paoxiao tracks, and decided to return to the cave.

Fatty bounded up excitedly. "Boss, boss, you're back!"

Tu Ran tossed him a red-skinned fruit she'd picked on the way, silencing him, then turned to the millennium-old turtle.

It still stood in its original spot, the dragon-scale backdrop behind it as vivid as ever.

"Done so soon?" The old turtle was taken aback.

"No, I came to ask you—where are the rest of the Paoxiao hiding? I can't find them."

She knew that if it could use its magic to see the ugliness of the Paoxiao on its mountain, it should also be able to locate the remaining ones.

And sure enough, the old turtle began to work its spell. Thirty seconds later—

"They've fled to other mountains."

Tu Ran raised an eyebrow. "Do you need me to hunt them down and deal with them?"

The old turtle hissed, looking at her with disdain. "You're so young, but why so bloodthirsty? Must you annihilate them all? In all my years, you're the most murderous one I've met. Let me tell you, that's not good. We should be merciful and compassionate—all beings are equal."

Tu Ran: "..."

Wasn't it this very turtle that called the Paoxiao ugly and had her deal with them?!

When she refused, it cursed her and threatened her!

Now that it was done, it was playing high and mighty?!

Tu Ran suppressed her fury, knuckles cracking. Gritting her teeth, she asked, "So, is the curse you put on me lifted or not?"

"Of course it's lifted—hey, hey, what are you doing?! Put that blade down! Aah! I'm sorry! I won't dare anymore! I won't scare you again!"

With the blade at its neck, it knelt and begged for forgiveness—all in one smooth motion.

Tu Ran hadn't expected it to capitulate so readily, shattering her old perception of deities.

Fatty was dumbfounded too—this turtle grandpa knelt even faster than him, and was even less dignified.

With that sudden display, half of Tu Ran's fury evaporated. Now she was merely angry at herself for misjudging the situation, for being cowed by a blustering old turtle, and for being played for a fool.

Tu Ran sheathed her blade.

"Fatty, let's go. I found a grove of fruit trees; we'll have dinner there."

"Great!" Fatty happily trotted after her.

Behind them, the old turtle called out pitifully, "Fatty, bring your grandpa some of those fruits you're eating, won't you? I want to taste the fruit that grows from me."

"Why don't you go pick some yourself?" Tu Ran turned back to look at it.

She noticed it never left that spot.

It doted on Fatty so much—why didn't it come over and pat him?

"Because I am the mountain god of this mountain."

Fatty chimed in, "Grandpa Turtle is always trapped there; he can't leave."

He felt so sorry for Grandpa Turtle—if he had to live in such a small space forever, he'd go crazy.

Tu Ran squinted. "How did you eat before?"

"I don't need to eat. After today, I'll go back to sleep," the old turtle said with a smile. "I just wanted to take the chance to taste a mountain fruit. The last time I had one was two thousand years ago, when a monkey picked one for me."

A monkey? Sun Wukong?

"Is this cave safe? Aren't you afraid some alien will crawl in and eat you?"

The old turtle puffed out its chest proudly. "I'm the mountain god here. No matter how ferocious they are, they must show me some respect."

Tu Ran sneered. "If they knew their mountain god not only failed to protect them but hired a human to kill them because they were ugly, do you think they'd still respect you?"