After leaving Juye County, we returned to Ji Ning along the way we had come. Then, we headed in another direction. Not long after, we arrived at Si Shui County.
Mount Green Dragon was located in Quanlin Town, Si Shui County. I thought it was remote and inconvenient to travel there. However, after asking around, I found out that there was a national forest park there. Every day, a shuttle bus went there. Next to the bus station, there were many unlicensed cars. They all used this route.
It was much more convenient now. I found a minibus and asked Qilin, fatty, and Yao Yao to get on it. We headed to Mount Green Dragon.
The Qi and Lu Provinces were crowded and hospitable. When the driver of the unlicensed car recognized that we weren't locals, he excitedly acted as a tour guide and told us the legend of Mount Green Dragon.
The Azure Dragon Mountain that he spoke of was incredible. He said that this mountain was not a mountain, but rather a large mountain formed by an Azure Dragon.
There were many ancient caves on the mountain. It was the temporary imperial residence of the Jade Emperor, the second hometown of Taishan Granny, and the summer resort of Guanyin Bodhisattva. The Queen Mother of the West, Granny Lianhua, the Third Imperial Aunt, the Body-giving Lady, and Erlang God often visited this place.
In ancient times, the ancestor of carpenters had come here. He said that he went to the mountain to cut firewood and cut his finger on a blade of grass. After carefully observing the blade's serrated edge, he invented the saw and became the ancestor of carpenters.
There was another more famous legend. During the Spring and Autumn Period, there was a drought in the State of Lu. Confucius brought his disciples to the Sishui River every day to pray for rain. One day, he saw a group of naughty children throwing stones at a small azure snake. He felt sorry for it and saved it. He brought it home and took good care of it. After it recovered, he released it into the Sishui River.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the azure snake entered the river, the waves surged. The azure snake turned into a giant dragon, waving its claws to thank Confucius for saving its life.
Only then did the Old Master realize that he had saved an Azure Dragon.
After Azure Dragon returned to the Dragon Palace, he told his father, the Old Dragon King, that he had been saved. The Dragon King told him that he shouldn't forget his father's kindness. He asked Azure Dragon to bring the treasures from the Dragon Palace to thank the Old Master. However, Azure Dragon said that the Old Master was a virtuous man and wouldn't be greedy for treasures.
These days, the Headmaster had been praying for rain for the State of Lu. He only hoped that his father would rain for the State of Lu to repay the Headmaster's kindness.
The Old Dragon King was put in a difficult position. He said that he needed the Jade Emperor's imperial edict to make it rain, so he shook his head and refused. However, the Azure Dragon secretly ordered the Dragon Palace's marine clan to go ashore in the dark to try to make it rain. In the end, they were discovered the moment they went ashore.
The Jade Emperor was furious and sent the God of Thunder and Goddess of Lightning to stop them.
The Heavenly Soldiers and Generals moved swiftly. The Azure Dragon had just arrived at Quan Lin Town and had not had time to rain when he encountered the God of Thunder and Goddess of Lightning. Next, the God of Thunder and Goddess of Lightning disregarded all consequences and struck the Azure Dragon to death ten kilometers north of Quan Lin Town, turning it into the Azure Dragon Hill of today.
After the death of the Green Dragon, he did not forget the drought in the State of Lu and the kindness of Confucius. After turning into the Green Dragon Mountain, he spat out a lot of clear water from the cracks in the rocks, forming a beautiful scene of spring water like a forest.
The spring water converged and zigzagged as it flowed from east to west, forming a spectacle of water flowing backward in front of the Sage's Gate in Qufu.
The Old Master's saying, 'The dead are like men, unwilling to part with day and night', was inspired by this scene.
The taxi driver spoke with a thick Shandong accent. It was hard to understand him, but we still enjoyed listening to him. However, after listening to him talk about myths and legends for a long time, he didn't mention anything about the fox clan.
I tried to ask him, "I've heard people talk about foxy women in this mountain. Can you tell me more about them?"
The taxi driver was bewildered. He scratched his head and said, "I'm from Quan Lin Town, but I've never heard about foxy women."
I had no choice but to give up.
The Green Mountains Country was located on the Green Dragon Hill, but there were no legends about the fox clan here. It was strange.
Time flew as we talked along the way. Soon, we reached the foot of the Green Dragon Hill.
There was a national forest park here, which had become a famous tourist attraction. When we got off the taxi, we didn't see the green hills and clear waters that we had imagined. Instead, we saw an endless stream of cars and countless hotels and restaurants.
It was convenient this way. I didn't hurry to go up the hill, so I found a hotel to stay in. I took the fatty and the little fox girl to have a meal and rested for the night. The next morning, we bought the tickets and went to the park.
After the mountain had been developed, the roads had been built, and there were buses for tourists to ride.
Looking at the buses that came every few minutes, I couldn't help but frown. Although the Green Dragon Hill wasn't small, there were so many tourists here every day. How could the Green Mountains fox stay here?
If they moved away, it would be a tragedy.
But then, I remembered that the fox girl had told me that the Fox King Palace was here. The Green Mountains clan wouldn't abandon it. Moreover, she had just come back two years ago.
With this thought, I felt a little more at ease. I took the fatty and the little fox girl. We didn't take the buses but walked to the mountain. We walked along the road.
After walking for several kilometers, we reached the depths of the mountain. The noise of the outside world was completely isolated from this place. Although there were still roads that passed through this place, there weren't many traces of development on either side of the road. In fact, there were still many barren and primitive places in the mountain. It was completely different from what I had imagined.
Back then, the fox girl had told me that as long as I brought Yao Yao to the Green Dragon Mountain, there would be people from the Green Hill tribe who would come to find us. Thus, I didn't intentionally search for the location of the Fox King Palace. Instead, I walked forward aimlessly. When I reached a place with excellent scenery, I called the fatty and the little fox girl and jumped down from the side of the road. Following the mountain rocks, I walked into the dense forest and casually admired the primitive scenery of the Green Dragon Mountain.
On the way here, the legends that the taxi driver had told me were obviously fabricated. However, there were many ancient caves on this mountain. On the way, I saw caves that had been developed and had names carved on them. There were Cow Skin Cave, Wolf Cave, Badger Cave, and Cockscomb Cave. There were also many undeveloped caves hidden in the cracks of the mountain walls.
Looking at the different shapes and sizes of the caves, I became interested. I climbed and drilled through the caves, having a lot of fun.
Just as I was about to enter a cave by the cliff, a voice came from next to me. "Guest, the undeveloped areas in the mountain are too dangerous. Tourists aren't allowed to play privately. Please leave this place and go to the scenic spots near the main road to play."
I turned around and saw a middle-aged woman wearing a staff uniform standing next to the cliff. She was looking at us.
I felt strange. This place was quite far from the man-made main road. Why would a staff member come here? Moreover, I hadn't noticed when she had arrived.
I stared at the staff member for a while but didn't feel anything strange. I smiled at her and climbed up from the side. I smiled and apologized. "I'll return to the main road immediately."
Then, I prepared to leave. However, the staff member stopped me. "This place is too far away from the main road. She's afraid that we won't be able to find the way back. She wants us to follow her and send us back."
Then, she didn't ask if we agreed or not and directly walked forward.
I smiled and exchanged glances with the fatty. Then, we followed him with interest.
It was really difficult to walk in the depths of the mountain. The fatty, the fox girl, and I had high cultivation bases, so we weren't afraid. Although the kirin didn't have a high cultivation base, it was still easy for it to follow us.
The only strange thing was that the staff member leading the way seemed to be familiar with the mountain path. She seemed to have an easier time than us.
Not long after, we met another staff member in uniform.
This time, it was a middle-aged man. He had a pale face and a chubby body. After meeting the middle-aged woman, they whispered something to each other. They turned around to look at us, but they didn't talk to us. Then, they continued to walk forward. It seemed they were leading the way together.
After walking for half a day, they led us to a col. On one side was a lush forest, and on the other side was a ten-meter-tall boulder covered in moss. We followed the edge of the boulder and entered the col. When we reached the bottom of the col, the man and woman in front of us suddenly stopped. They turned around and gazed at us with dark faces.
As the two of them moved, two more people appeared behind the boulder. These two people were not wearing staff uniforms. Instead, they were wearing white robes that looked like ancient Han Chinese clothing. They looked young, but they had long white hair.
As soon as they appeared, they circled behind us and surrounded us. They didn't look friendly.
Seeing their actions, the corners of my mouth rose.