The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 145 A Mere Willow Tree East of the River

Looking at the black giant tiger swearing its oath, Du Yuan stared for a moment, then finally nodded slightly.
"Let's leave it at that."

Having said that, the overwhelming force of humanity descended upon them.

The golden fragments embedded in the giant tiger's skull shattered instantly. Its eyes dimmed, and its massive body went limp to the ground.

Its once majestic body, as imposing as a rooftop, rapidly shrank until it returned to the size of an ordinary tiger.

The mountain road that Du Yuan had borrowed also vanished.

Although this creature has returned to its normal size, its skeleton and muscles are still incredibly strong, making it the king of tigers.

After a moment's thought, Du Yuan raised her hand, peeled off the tiger skin, and buried the corpse separately.

It has repaid the villagers for their karmic debts, but still owes the elderly couple a share.

This tiger skin is perfect for settling this karmic debt.

Du Yuan, carrying the black tiger skin, glanced at the exact number of 101 graves.

He then picked up another coin of Yin Virtue Treasure, placed it on the ground, and let it burn in the wind until it was completely consumed.

Finally, Du Yuan nodded slightly to them and said:
"Everyone, the demon has been vanquished, and the karma has been settled. Please rest in peace!"

Looking up, through the wisps of smoke rising from the burning Yin De Bao Qian (a type of talisman), one could see countless men, women, and children standing before their respective graves, bowing deeply to Du Yuan.

Then, exactly one hundred and one Yin De Bao coins were piled up at Du Yuan's feet.

Seeing this, Du Yuan didn't refuse and said:
"Thank you!"

The next moment, the smoke dissipated, and the person was gone.

After carefully collecting the money, Du Yuan carried the black tiger skin down the mountain.

In the village at the foot of the mountain, two elderly people waited at the village entrance, hoping to see Du Yuan.

This was not only their only hope for survival, but also their only expectation of avenging the hundreds of villagers.

From afar, they spotted Du Yuan carrying a black tiger skin.

The two elderly people immediately burst into tears:

"He's back! The Taoist priest is back!"

"Heaven has eyes! The Taoist priest has indeed subdued that wicked beast!"

As Du Yuan approached, the two elderly people immediately knelt down and bowed to her, trembling:
"We two old fogies kowtow to the Taoist priest on behalf of our fellow villagers to express our gratitude!"

Du Yuan stopped where she was, without stopping them, but straightened her clothes and expression and accepted the greeting properly.

Only when they were about to kowtow again did he step forward and help them up, saying:

“Grandpas, this is enough.”

The two elderly people couldn't refuse Du Yuan, so they could only nod repeatedly, both crying and happy.

This made Du Yuan smile as well, and she handed over the black tiger skin she had been carrying:
"This is the skin of that wretched creature. I've peeled it off and given it to you two. Consider it an explanation from that wretched creature for all the grievances you've suffered over the past month."

The two elderly people quickly declined, saying they couldn't accept it.

But Du Yuan ignored it and insisted on giving it to them.

"Please remember, both of you, that although this hide belongs to that wicked creature, it is not an evil thing. In fact, it is quite good. So don't waste it!"

After all, it was once a righteous god. Even though it did evil deeds, the things it left behind were indeed quite good.

After giving these instructions, Du Yuan looked at the fortified village and said:
"Then, it is time for this humble Taoist to settle accounts with these living accomplices."

The dead acting as accomplices can be described as something that can only be done out of helplessness.

But to act as an accomplice while still alive is unforgivable!

Upon hearing this, the two old people, accustomed to the oppression of powerful figures, instinctively spoke up:
"Daoist Master, that's a noble person from the Liu family. Not only are there soldiers guarding the place, but they also have connections with the imperial court. How can you afford to offend them!"

Du Yuan chuckled lightly, then suddenly remembered something and pointed to Hulao Mountain, asking:
"I made quite a commotion in the mountains earlier, did you two not hear anything at all?"

The two elderly people looked at each other, hesitated for a moment, and then shook their heads: "Ever since you went to Hulao Mountain, we have been waiting here, and we haven't seen anything unusual until you came back."

Du Yuan couldn't help but look towards Tiger Lair Mountain, as she couldn't see anything unusual.

Just then, he saw the sky above Tiger Lair Mountain shatter like glass, cracking inch by inch! Countless transparent fragments peeled away and broke apart from the void, then turned into specks of light and vanished into nothingness.

At first glance, it looks quite like the broken spirit pearl seen in Bridgewater Town that day, only the commotion wasn't this big.

It seems that this arrangement was made by that Lawson King to cover his tracks.

After all, according to that tiger, they intended to seize control of the southwest and even wanted to fight against various forces. With such a scheme, concealing their whereabouts was of paramount importance.

After chuckling softly, Du Yuan turned to the two elderly people and said:

"A mere willow tree from Hedong!"

If Du Yuan had no opportunity and had to rely on the imperial examination to make his way in the mortal world, then the Liu family of Hedong would truly be a formidable force—no amount of melodramatic stories could possibly avoid mentioning their family's troubles!

They might even end up having to listen to the emperor's nonsense about their great achievements and hard work, and be treated leniently.

But I cultivate immortality!

I even pointed my finger at that Lawson's Wei Wang and cursed him to his face.

What am I afraid of? He Dongliu is someone who even tigers probably treat like ancestors.
After chuckling softly, Du Yuan cupped her hands in greeting and said:
"Gentlemen, this humble Taoist is taking his leave!"

To act as an accomplice while still alive is an outrage against humanity!
The same few soldiers were still guarding the fortified village.

They were chatting idly as they planned when their shift would end.

As they were talking, one of them suddenly pointed towards Tiger Ladder Mountain and said:
"Wait, someone's coming!"

The others quickly looked over, and were immediately startled:

"Why does he look like that person from this morning?"

"Hasn't it been eaten by Grandpa Tiger God yet?"

What's he doing here?

The soldiers were quite surprised, but they watched as Du Yuan drew closer and closer.

Then someone jokingly said:
"I bet a hundred coins that this guy must have been terrified by Grandpa Tiger God and came here specifically to beg for help!"

"Isn't this a sure loss? No bet, no bet!"

Amidst laughter and curses from the fortified village, a soldier suddenly drew his powerful bow and aimed it at Du Yuan.

He estimated the distance, turned to the people beside him, and grinned:

"Believe it or not, this arrow of mine won't kill him instantly, but will instead rip his guts out! Perfect for a bit of fun for us brothers!"

The group glanced at the distance, which was at least a hundred paces away, and shook their heads.

"I believe it if it's fifty steps, but it's too far now."

Upon hearing this, the man said sarcastically:

"I'll bet one tael of silver, do you want to bet or not?"

After a slight hesitation, the soldiers all agreed.

A skilled archer who can hit a target from a hundred paces away wouldn't be here guarding the gate with them.

Unexpectedly, seeing everyone placing bets, the soldier smiled smugly and put away his bow, replacing it with a new arrow wrapped in talismans:
"Oh dear, what a pity! I am so fortunate to have received this divine arrow that can hit any target, thanks to the Celestial Master's favor!"

Having said that, he plucked the bowstring and released the arrow. He then turned around, eagerly anticipating the sight of Du Yuan falling to the ground and wailing in agony.

But when I turned around, I saw a black dot rapidly enlarging, and then everything went black.

He fell straight backward, oblivious to the world around him.

(End of this chapter)