"must."

Qin Luo nodded seriously.

"So sleepy!"

Song Xiao suddenly rubbed his forehead, looking at the wine flask. "Old Wu, this wine of yours is really strong."

"Young Master Escort, that's because you can't hold your liquor. The liquor that Lao Wu bought for you was all diluted with water."

"One penny for one piece of goods, don't blame me."

The burly men were laughing heartily.

Song Xiao swayed, and finally collapsed onto the hay and fell fast asleep, his body steaming.

Qin Luo sat cross-legged in the Taoist temple, closing his eyes to rest. At night, the镖局 (bodyguard agency) guards took turns keeping watch.

The bodyguard on night watch saw Qin Luo sitting cross-legged, motionless, and couldn't help but think how impressive he was. "Is he just an ordinary Taoist priest from a temple, or a celestial master from the mountains?"

"Can the immortal master on the mountain stay with us?"

"I have a feeling that he's not simple."

"There might be some, but probably not much."

I think so too.

The bodyguards were all talking about it.

Suddenly a cold wind swept in.

The waking bodyguards all looked outside the mountain god temple.

When they spent the night in the mountains, they often encountered attacks from wild animals, and sometimes even unclean things. They were very wary of these sudden, eerie winds.

Qin Luo opened his eyes, stood up, and Jin Jiao followed him out of the mountain god temple.

The awake bodyguards looked at each other, sensing something unclean outside, and dared not go out.

"Young Master Escort, wake up."

They tried to wake Song Xiao up so he could make a decision, but he was sleeping like a log and couldn't be woken up at all.

The bodyguards could only wait inside the mountain god temple.

Beside the bridge, Qin Luo saw a ghostly figure dressed in armor, exactly like the mountain god enshrined in the mountain god temple.

"Are you the mountain god of Gushan?"

"I am not some mountain god, I am General Xu Liang of the Great Yan Dynasty." The ghost bowed to Qin Luo.

Qin Luo had heard Song Xiao tell the story of the Mountain God Temple, and he was curious, "Why are you here?"

Xu Liang answered truthfully, "Immortal Master, after I died in battle, my soul was unable to pass through the Gate of Hell and could only wander in the mortal world. Tonight, I was suddenly summoned as if by some strange force and came here. I guess I have a connection with this place."

Qin Luo nodded, "Senior, you were kind to the people here back then, so they built a mountain god temple for you. If you are willing, you can stay here and become the mountain god. If you want to go to the underworld, I can send you through the gates of hell."

Xu Liang thought for a moment, then looked at the desolate village. "This place used to be very lively. Immortal Master, I want to stay here and see it become lively again."

Qin Luo chuckled and said, "The mountain god temple was built for you by the people; this is your home."

Xu Liang said solemnly, "Thank you, Immortal Master. Without your guidance, I might never have been able to return in this lifetime."

"It was just a small favor."

Qin Luo and Xu Liang walked back to the mountain god temple.

The temple's bodyguards, unable to see any ghosts, looked tense. "Taoist priest, are there evil spirits outside?"

"No."

Qin Luo returned to his original spot and sat down cross-legged.

When everyone looked at the mountain god statue, they found that the statue, which was originally covered in dust, was now shining with golden light.

"The mountain god has appeared to us!"

The bodyguards knelt and kowtowed in excitement.

They felt that evil spirits had just approached, but it was the mountain god's protection that allowed them to remain safe.

...

The next day, early morning.

Song Xiao woke up from his sleep.

"Old Wu, where is that young Taoist priest?"

"He just left."

Song Xiao stood up. He felt he had slept very comfortably and was now refreshed and full of energy.

A bodyguard told Song Xiao what had happened the night before. Song Xiao immediately bowed three times to the mountain god, burned a lot of incense and paper money, and said respectfully, "Thank you for your protection, mountain god. We will come to see you whenever we pass by this place in the future."

After paying respects to the mountain god, the escort agency set off again. Song Xiao rode his horse in the lead to catch up with Qin Luo. Before long, he saw Qin Luo and Jin Jiao walking by the roadside.

"Brother Qin, why did you leave without saying goodbye?"

“I see Brother Song is sleeping soundly.”

"Hahaha."

Qin Luo and Song Xiao exchanged a smile.

Just then, Lao Wu suddenly rushed over and said, "Young Master Escort, there seems to be a checkpoint set up by the government ahead."

Song Xiao looked into the distance and saw the flag of the Great Xia Dynasty. The smile on his face vanished.