Chapter Twenty-One: The Ghost Car

The sky showed no sign of day or night.
The firewood crackled, the scent of roasted wolf flesh wafted through the air.
The aroma of wolf meat, sprinkled with dogwood salt and roasted over the flames, was far superior to that of roasted pork.
It was at this moment that Liu Chou remembered the seasonings he had brought from the camp and began to use them.
While Liu Chou busied himself, the monster sat quietly by his side, rubbing his bruised and bloated flesh, swallowing his saliva, and obediently recounting the affairs of Meishan one by one:
“Meishan is divided into three layers, inner and outer. The outer layer is wild and disorderly—poor mountains and evil waters, only fit for minor monsters and spirits to dwell. The inner layer originally had seven mountains, each belonging to a cave lord. After those lords descended the mountain and were captured by immortals, their descendants, retainers, and generals took over the caves, but they couldn’t hold them. Over the years, twenty-nine new valleys formed, taken by other rising demon kings, and Meishan was splintered into many fragments.”
“The original seven mountains were Peach Pit Mountain, Blackwater Ridge, Muddy Marsh Hill, Straw Slope, Bone Peak, Twin Peaks, and Centipede Cliff. Though less powerful than they were a century ago, they still stand out as the foremost among the seven mountains and twenty-nine valleys.”
“At the very center of Meishan lies a forbidden forest. Whether man or monster, anyone who enters meets certain death. No monster has ever dared venture inside, and it is said that the ancestor of all Meishan monsters resides there.”
“Me? Ha, to be honest, brother, I only moved to Meishan in recent years. My abilities are mediocre, and I have no wish to be anyone’s servant. So I wander about every day, barely scraping by…”
“With your meager skills, you dare roam the mountains? Aren’t you afraid someone will eat you?” Liu Chou stirred the fire, asking casually, “Unless you’re exaggerating, you must have some trick to escape the jaws of other monsters?”
“Heh heh, brother, you have sharp eyes. Truth be told, I do have a special talent,” the Nine-Headed Monster grinned widely, swallowing his saliva and lowering his voice mysteriously, “My innate demon art is shifting form and position. In an instant, I can leap a hundred yards. If I use it several times, ordinary monsters can’t catch me.”
Liu Chou was skeptical. “If you’re so fast, why didn’t you run when I was beating you?”
“I was starving! Where would I find the strength to run?” The Nine-Headed Monster’s face fell, lamenting, “That skill drains my energy. If I use it, I’ll faint right after. Better to beg for mercy!”
“You’re a cunning one,” Liu Chou chuckled, “Did you decide to stick with me just for a share of the food?”
The monster was not embarrassed. Watching the wolf meat cooking over the fire, he replied shamelessly, “Since I’ve acknowledged you as my brother, I’ll stick with you from now on. Seeing your skills, I know I’ve chosen the right person.”
“By the way, what’s your name? When did you gain your human form?” Liu Chou turned the wolf carcass over, sprinkling salt, and continued, “Judging by your form, it’s been some time. If you truly wanted a protector, surely you’ve had other chances before meeting me today?”
“My name is Ghost Cart. I don’t know who my parents are, nor when I was born. I only awoke a dozen years ago, living in a haze. When I gained sentience, I couldn’t find my origin, so I gave myself a name,” the monster replied honestly, “I’ve heard there’s a great continent to the west, a haven for monsters like us. So I journeyed there, but as I passed through these mountains, I stumbled into a great demon’s territory and was hunted all the way. By the time I escaped, I’d lost my bearings, wandering until today.”
“As for joining a cave, not only do I want to go west, but the rules in those caves are unbearable. Any gains must be handed over, and what’s left for oneself is barely a tail. I can’t even fill my belly, so how could I dare go?”

“Is it all for a bite to eat?” Liu Chou glanced at his corpulent companion, whose talk never strayed from food and drink. Remembering the strict offerings required in Meishan’s caves, he believed most of what Ghost Cart said. Since he didn’t mind sharing his food, his urge to kill and seize the demon’s core gradually faded. “So, are you following me just to survive, or do you truly want to stick with me and roam these mountains together?”
Fat dripped into the fire, smoke curled upward, and the aroma was irresistible.
“Uh…just now, I did intend to fool you, avoid a beating, and then escape,” Ghost Cart chuckled slyly, his eyes fixed greedily on the roasting meat, a string of saliva hanging from his mouth, “But now, seeing your skills, I genuinely admire you. I won’t leave.”
“Then why not leave?” Liu Chou feigned indifference, “I’ve changed my mind. Go on your way!”
“Huh?” Ghost Cart was stunned, then suddenly despondent. He jumped up, face flushed, shouting, “Now the wolf meat is cooked, and you want me to leave? You might as well have beaten me to death earlier, sparing me the torment of watching and craving…”
Ghost Cart’s incessant whining brought to Liu Chou’s mind the broad-backed orphan who once begged and smuggled beside him, who in Liu Chou’s mischievous care grew desperate for a bite to eat, whose longing for food was just as intense. Sadly, the boy’s leg was blown off, and he ended up a shut-in at home.
Brother, are you well…
Lost in thought, Liu Chou heard Ghost