"White Mountain Lord? Are these five fellows Chang Ghosts?"
The title "Mountain Lord" has two meanings: one refers to the Mountain God, and the other refers to a tiger.
No one knows better than Wang Yuan whether there are Mountain Gods on Beimang Mountain or not, so their master could only be a tiger.
He had just been coveting their hides, and before he could act on it, he was preemptively approached, which made even someone with Wang Yuan's thick skin feel a moment of guilt.
What he hadn't expected was that this new tiger was also a Spirit Monster capable of commanding Chang Ghosts?
But he immediately snapped back to his senses, not dodging or evading, and began to closely examine the five oddly shaped Chang Ghosts from atop the tree.
They did not vary much in appearance, resembling eight or nine-year-old children with green skins, skinny to the bone but all sporting huge bellies.
They were wrapped in rags that barely covered their privates.
And the biggest difference was, one had only one eye on his face, one had just one ear, one had only one nose, one had just one mouth, and one had only one eyebrow.
The five Chang Ghosts seemed to share the features of a normal person's face, yet missing almost half.
Wang Yuan knew that this was actually the common state of Ghosts.
When a living person passes away, their soul loses its base upon leaving the Meat Body, especially if it can't find refuge in a Divine Domain of an Earth God like "Wangren Town".
Their nature becomes hard to control, and they more easily move towards certain extremes.
Externally, they become less and less human, more and more grotesque.
Ghosts become ferocious due to malice, huge due to rage, small due to disdain, or animalistic due to madness...
Greed inflates the belly; stinginess pinches the face; scheming sharpens the head...
Besides, excessive anger reddens the face; excessive sorrow greys the face; excessive coldness blues the face... Over time, they no longer retain their original human shape.
Thus, the more benevolent the ghost is, the more tranquil its soul, and the more resentful the ghost, the more fierce and ugly it appears.
To remain beautiful after death, like cousin Huang Wu, truly indicates an exceptional Life Chart and a natural talent.
"These Five Ghosts, having taken on such ghostly appearances – sharp heads, narrow faces, swollen bellies, green skin, small stature...
They are likely both disdainful and arrogant, both greedy and outwardly fierce yet inwardly flimsy, and perhaps while they were alive, they were chewed up by their own Mountain Lord, not leaving even a complete set of facial features."
Having seen plenty of Ghosts in "Wangren Town", Wang Yuan could speculate with high accuracy about their characters based on the appearance of the Five Ghosts.
His eyes, clear-cut black and white, pivoted as he chuckled lightly:
"Hey, isn't this unfortunate? To find the Big Tiger, why would I need to ask those silly beasts?
Who knows more about that White Mountain Lord than these Chang Ghosts that serve him day and night?
The easiest to deal with in this world are not the clever people nor the dullards, but rather the types who are presumptuously smart yet exceedingly greedy fools.
Three sentences are all it takes to have the Chang Ghosts present their own Mountain Lord."
Having made up his mind, Wang Yuan asked them in a stern voice, unruffled by the circumstances:
"Your lord's prey? And you lot, what kind of Little Ghosts are you from?"
The five Chang Ghosts gradually walked under the tree.
The "one-eyed" one, walking in the front and responsible for leading the way, looked up at Wang Yuan for a while, surprised that this man was not fleeing at the sight of ghosts?
Then, the "one-mouth" at the very back suddenly opened its mouth, with a voice like a broken gong:
"Heh, you're actually not afraid of us?
Listen up, boy, we are the White Mountain Lord's five esteemed Ministers of Food – Mr. One-Eyed, in charge of the Mountain Lord's meals.
If you don't want to die, then quickly hand over all those fat pigs, fat sheep, fat cattle to us."
Wang Yuan noticed that this mouth spoke with changes in pitch and tone; while every word sounded the same, the inflections varied as if five people were speaking through that one mouth.
Especially when it came to saying the name "Mr. One-Eyed", no ghost was left out.
'Mr. One-Eyed? Quite fitting for these five indeed.
But what kind of ghost is a Minister of Food serving a Mountain Lord? A tiger also learning to establish a court like a human? These folks are really good at dramatizing themselves, aren't they?'
Chang Ghosts are the poor souls that have been eaten by tigers.
However, these unfortunate souls become Ghosts after death and are driven by the tiger, loyally boasting of their servitude, then turn to harm other living humans.
Wang Yuan is aware that tigers generally hunt at night, especially active at dawn and dusk. The Chang Ghosts that follow would go ahead to mark the prey for it.
At the right time, they lead their own Mountain Lord to the feast.
If seen from that perspective, these Chang Ghosts barely qualify as ministers in charge of the tiger's meals.
At this moment, Wang Yuan internally scorned deeply but his face suddenly showed an expression of delight, as if possessed by a master actor:
"Oh? Your Mountain Lord?"
I've been living on Beimang Mountain for over a decade, so how come I wasn't aware that today, a peer of mine has arrived?
Come, come, come, quickly introduce this fellow brother to me!"
His tone was filled with the joy of happening upon an old acquaintance.
Even the most professional actors would probably not see through the skilled performance he had honed under fifteen years of life-and-death pressure.
These words left Mr. One-Eyed momentarily stunned. He glanced around at the large group of beasts lying prostrate under the tree, not daring to move, and said subconsciously:
"You... Could you possibly also be a Mountain Lord?"
Following this, the leading One-Eyed exclaimed:
"No, no, my eye sees it clearly, you are definitely a human!"
Wang Yuan did not directly object, but instead secretly formed the "Divine Tiger Seal" and once again performed the "Gathering Beasts Magic Skill".
This time, the "Gathering Beasts Magic Skill" was directed inward rather than outward.
The current of warmth in his dantian surged, robustly activating the aura of his own Life Chart, "White Tiger Holding Position".
Roar—!
Within a ten-zhang radius, an imposing tiger roar suddenly resounded in the hearts of all living beings, whether they were the Five Ghosts, the group of beasts, or the insects...
A portion of the beasts that had been summoned defecated and urinated on the spot from sheer terror, paralyzing on the ground, while others screamed madly as they scattered in all directions to flee.
And the rat, who had been stacking up into an Arhat, was the closest to Wang Yuan.
Startled by the roar, its eyes rounded with shock, its mouth askew and eyes slanted as it tumbled off the back of the "Black Beauty", its limbs twitching in a way that made one wonder if it had been stricken with "mounting wind".
Mr. One-Eyed, who was most sensitive to tiger might, was so frightened that his body stiffened as if he had come before his own Mountain Lord, and he wished he could instantly kneel and worship.
Speaking purely from the perspective of Life Chart, Wang Yuan's "White Tiger Holding Position" was unquestionably more genuine than a real tiger.
Although his Qi Fortune was poor, he used the "Gathering Beasts Magic Skill" as a bridge to showcase this imposing presence externally.
After intimidating everyone present, Wang Yuan then stood with his hands behind his back and spoke solemnly, turning the tables:
"Why don't I look like a tiger?
It's naturally because your Mountain Lord is a Tiger Spirit, while I am a Tiger Demon!
Have you not heard the saying 'The artificial creation of humans becomes a demon, and the innate spirit of objects becomes a spirit'?
Eh? Could it be that with your distinguished household, you don't even know this common knowledge? Or could it be that you are not my Tiger Clan's fellow servants?"
Wang Yuan timely revealed a hint of doubt, making the "One-Ear" listen clearly, and the "One-Eye" see distinctly.
In fact, these were the records from the Taoist Book of the Wild Dog Taoist.
Apart from the indescribable "Weird", the strange creatures in this world are divided into four types: demons, spirits, ghosts, and monsters.
The artificial creation of humans becomes a demon, with demons often transforming from animals or plants into human form; the innate spirit of objects becomes a spirit, transforming from mountains, plants, animals (original form), or items;
One soul that does not scatter becomes a ghost; the anomaly of objects becomes a monster.
The true forms of my own Grandma and Great Aunt are those of Locust Tree Demons transformed into human shape.
"This... I... We, of course, know that.
You are indeed a Tiger Demon that has taken human form. May I ask for your distinguished name, sir?"
The real display of tiger power combined with this challenge completely fooled the Five Ghosts, who, whether they had eyes or not, were utterly convinced that he was indeed a tiger demon in human form.
To not lose face in front of White Mountain Lord and Minister of Food,
They were even somewhat eager to don the "Emperor's New Clothes" Wang Yuan had tailored for them, afraid that this "Mountain Lord" would suspect their lack of knowledge.
Having perfected his trickery skills, Wang Yuan, the man who even fooled ghosts, finally nodded:
"Just call me Mountain Lord Wang."
Typically, whether they were "Weird" or Mountain Spirits and Wild Ghosts, their intelligence was a cause for concern.
Ordinary people, when facing these extraordinary beings, might not be sufficient in strength, but with wisdom and courage, they could possibly create miracles.
If played well, the bizarre tales of kidnapped little girls sold to human traffickers might not be entirely impossible.
As it was at this moment.
"Outer Ministers, we've met Mountain Lord Wang!"
The Five Ghosts, having been duped, followed the etiquette diligently and bowed in unison.
Mountain Lord Wang was very pleased with them, thinking to himself:
'Not bad, not bad, it's time for you to learn what is meant by human treachery!'