In order to become a Heroic Spirit, I had no choice but to cause trouble in history.

"But what about the horses if we go into the village? Will we just leave them here?" Zishu asked again, looking up.

“These horses have been raised by my Xiang family since they were foals. We’re just going into the village to take a look today, so let them roam freely. They’ll graze by the river.” Xiang Liang dismounted. “We can find them by the river later.”

“This… alright.” Zishu hesitated for a moment, then dismounted and released the reins.

Patting the horse's belly, Xiang An rubbed his wrist: "Let's go in!"

"I'm just not sure if the village will accept outsiders like us when we pay homage to the Mountain Lord." Xiang Liang's eyes flickered as he walked in front, heading towards the center of the village, the site of the Tiger Lord's wine sacrifice. The other three followed behind him.

The four horses lingered in place for a while, seemingly confirming that Xiang Liang and the others had temporarily abandoned them. Then, led by one of the horses, they galloped off towards the tributary of the Huai River to the south.

"Whoa whoa—" On the path where several horses were riding, the man carrying the sword was nearly knocked over and was startled. "What's going on?"

"These are... those horses from just now?" He turned his head to look at the horses running towards the river, muttering to himself, and scratched his face.

"Forget it, what does it have to do with me?" The middle-aged man tossed his head and continued walking towards Zijia Village.

Xiang Liang and his three companions were almost at the Tiger King's Wine Sacrifice site.

"It's so lively!" Xiang An was caught up in the atmosphere and became somewhat excited.

"Hey, folks, what are you doing?" Zishu, at Xiang Liang's behest, approached a villager who was loitering on the outskirts of the scene, looking rather uninterested.

"Hmm? You are... from somewhere else?" The man was a young man who looked about the same age as Xiang Yu and Xiang An, but he was thin and frail, not at all like the two burly brothers. Moreover, at his age, he should have been performing corvée labor by now.

The young man glanced at Xiang Liang indifferently, greeted him, and then noticed the bronze sword at Xiang Liang's waist as he stood to the side.

"I mean it!" He was so startled that he took a step back.

"Um—please don't be afraid." Zishu quickly pressed his hands down. "We are not bad people, we are just passing through and thought we would like to go into the village to take a look, but are you at the Tiger King's Wine Sacrifice?"

"Huh? Ah... right, it's Tiger King's Wine Sacrifice. How did you know?" The young man glanced at Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu and Xiang An behind him, then withdrew his defensive posture, nodded slowly, and asked in confusion.

“I live not too far from here. I’ve heard of the custom of worshipping the mountain god, but I’ve never done it before.” Zishu shook his head, and what he said was indeed the truth.

“Then you can take a look. There’s no rule in our village that outsiders can’t watch the worship of the mountain god.” The young man pointed to the middle. “If you want to watch, then go ahead.”

The twenty-four attendants of the mountain king in the middle were still singing and dancing.

They've been jumping for quite a while now.

The old village head of the Zi family in the middle was already drenched in sweat from dancing, but he still didn't stop his sweeping dance steps, just gritting his teeth and persevering.

This Tiger King's wine offering has been performed day after day for a hundred years, and his descendants cannot possibly make a mistake.

Xiang Yu and Xiang An watched the Tiger King's Dance, a ritual performed during the Tiger King's Wine Offering, and both fell silent.

"...This feeling...it's familiar." Xiang An frowned, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword, his brow furrowed as he looked at Xiang Yu. "Brother? Do you feel anything?"

Xiang Yu pursed his lips, his expression mirroring that of his younger brother.

Xiang Yu glanced at Xiang An and slowly nodded.

"Although I don't know why I have this feeling, but..."

His intuition was telling him—

Danger.

“Mr. Zishu is not wrong.”

------------

Chapter 800 Wu Bi enters the mountain, two items startle.

The Tiger King Dance continued, when suddenly all twenty-four Tiger King Attendants stopped abruptly, lay down on the ground, and raised their heads.

"Awooo——————"

The Tiger King's attendant imitated the roar of a tiger, creating a powerful and imposing sound.

Xiang An and Xiang Yu remained in place, their eyes flickering as if they were sensing something. Xiang Liang did the same, while Zi Shu continued chatting with the young man.

Unbeknownst to everyone, a mischievous-looking seven or eight-year-old child slipped up to Xiang An's side.

He spotted the bronze sword at Xiang An's waist, his eyes lit up, and he reached out to pull it out.

"Um!?"

Noticing someone's hand on his sword hilt, Xiang An gripped the hilt of his bronze sword in less than a second and pulled back.

"Ah!" Before the little boy could react, Xiang Anshun grabbed his hand and flung him up with tremendous force.

"Huh? A child?" Xiang An was stunned when he saw who was trying to draw his sword, and subconsciously let go.

The little boy plopped down on the ground, looking completely bewildered.

"What's wrong?" Xiang Yu and Xiang Liang looked at Xiang An.

"Hmm... this kid seems to want to pull out my sword, so I..." Xiang An scratched the back of his head.

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When the little boy saw Xiang Yu and Xiang Liang looking at him, he felt a chill run down his spine and hid behind Xiang An's legs without thinking.

"Huh?" Xiang An was at a loss.

Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu, uncle and nephew, exchanged a glance and both saw the awkwardness in each other's eyes.

The two of them do look somewhat...

As for Xiang An, although he can't be called handsome, at least he looks quite safe.

"Hey kid, what are you doing?" Xiang An grabbed the little boy by the back of his collar and pulled him out, looking at the child helplessly.

"No, it's nothing—" The little boy seemed to realize that something was wrong, stuck out his tongue, and then disappeared back into the crowd.

Xiang An glanced at Xiang Liang, shrugged, and looked helpless.

......

The tiger dance had ended, and it was already noon.

Zibo, the village head of Zijia Village, dressed as the Tiger King's attendant, stood at the front, followed by the village heads of the other two villages.

The three people each held three incense sticks, but none of them were lit.

Behind the three men, five carried wine, four carried pigs, four carried sheep, and three carried chickens, ducks, and geese. The rest followed behind, carrying all sorts of tools and utensils. The twenty-four men formed a long line.

"The mountain king dances in all directions, his roar echoing at the foot of Pangshan Mountain—" Zili said loudly.

"The dance ends—"

"Heading into the mountains—"

"I bow to the mountain, my lord!!!"

"Roar—" The other twenty-three people behind him did not speak human language, but instead responded with tiger roars.

Led by Azusa-no-Masaru, the group of twenty-four set off towards Pangshan.

The people carrying pigs and sheep and holding tools did not move, while the three village chiefs in front, holding unlit incense sticks, bowed every three steps and kowtowed every nine steps, and walked into the Pangshan Mountain Road in a grand procession.

The three uncles and nephews watched in silence as the wine-offering procession carried various offerings toward Pang Mountain, the gloom on Xiang Yu and Xiang An's faces growing ever thicker.

"Has anything strange happened in your village lately?" Zishu asked as they continued their conversation.

"If there's anything strange... it's probably that our village's crops aren't growing." The young man looked languid, but he sighed when he mentioned this. "It's not just our village's crops; the Yang family next door and the Wu family north of the mountain are also experiencing crop failures. The three village heads are almost frantic with worry."

“The crops aren’t growing…” Zishu frowned. “How could they not grow?”

"I don't know either. Maybe the village head thinks the mountain lord is unhappy, so he simply moved this year's sake festival forward?" The young man regained his casual expression and scratched his head. "When the village head and the others come down, you can talk to them."

"Um... okay, thank you." Zishu nodded in thanks, a gentle smile on his face.

After walking back, Zishu sighed.

"So, did you find out anything?" Xiang Liang asked, arms crossed, as he saw Zi Shu approaching.

"Yes, sir, it seems that the crops in the nearby villages have stopped growing. This is probably the strangest information I got during our conversation just now," Zishu replied, bowing slightly.

"The crops aren't growing?... Let's go take a look." A hint of surprise flashed in Xiang Liang's eyes. After a moment of contemplation, he looked at Xiang Yu and Xiang An, whose faces were grim.

"Hmm? Ah, okay." Xiang An's attention had been focused on Pang Mountain, and when he heard Xiang Liang call him, he quickly responded.

Xiang Liang frowned slightly as he looked at the two brothers' expressions, but ultimately said nothing.

......

The middle-aged man carrying a long sword arrived late, just in time to see the four members of the Xiang family walk past him. There seemed to be some lively activity in the center of the village, so he went over to join them.

The four members of the Xiang family left the village and came to the edge of the field.

“It really isn’t growing anymore. I was in such a hurry before that I didn’t even notice this abnormality…” Squatting on the ridge of the field, Xiang Liang felt that things were getting tricky.

"Uncle, what should we do now?" Xiang Yu approached Xiang Liang and asked.

Xiang An was still turning his head to look at Pang Shan.

“This matter is no longer just between the two of you.” Xiang Liang stood up and looked at Xiang Yu. “If the crops don’t grow, it means there will be no harvest in autumn.”

"The village no longer produces food... You can imagine what that situation is like."

“This…” Zishu frowned upon hearing this.

After a moment's hesitation, Xiang Liang said, "When we get back, we'll have to have a chat with Liu Jin'an."

Turning his head to look at Zijia Village, Xiang Liang's eyes revealed a hint of anxiety: "No matter what, this place used to be part of Chu, and that person was a citizen of Chu. As the last remaining force of Chu, I can't just watch the people of Chu starve to death."

"...Your Excellency is truly righteous." Zishu had nothing more to say, and bowed with deep emotion.

......

The sake festival team climbed up the treacherous mountain path.

Even on the mountain path in this rugged area, the three village chiefs at the head of the group bowed every three steps and kowtowed every nine steps, slowly making their way towards the mountain temple at the top of the mountain.

Their influence was immense.

After all, it's an annual grand event, so it should be quite impressive.

However, such a grand undertaking did not awaken the mountain spirit worshipped by the people of Pangxia Village.

Instead, it's... something else.

Inside the cave of the mountain king, the striped tiger still lay there.