landbeastnovel Chapter 4 The Stone Toad Appears!
Chapter 4 The Stone Toad Appears!
West end of Shixi Village.
Li Tie's family was in an uproar.
Seven-year-old Li Hutou has disappeared!
Li Hutou was a mischievous boy, always running around the village, climbing high and low, never returning home before dark. At first, no one paid attention, but as the night grew thicker and darker, and he disappeared without a trace, something was wrong.
Tiger Head Mother Song Ying slumped on her doorstep, her face deathly pale. Her cries, as if squeezed from a choked throat, were so hoarse they sent chills down the spine and echoed throughout the entire village.
Torches were lit throughout the village, moving through the alleys toward the threshing ground in the center of the village, and soon a crowd had gathered.
The men gripped their machetes and pitchforks tightly, while the women held their innocent children close, whispering amongst themselves.
"We've searched every ditch and stream! Nothing there!"
"Could it be something evil done by the mountains?"
Someone spoke, and the entire threshing ground fell silent. Fear gripped everyone's faces. Shixi Village was surrounded by mountains, and within those endless mountains lay wild animals revered by the villagers for generations—jackals, wild boars, and even more ominous legends—enough to send a chill down everyone's spine.
Panic, like ice water, silently enveloped the entire threshing ground, making even the sweltering summer night air seem icy cold.
Lin Shi stood at the edge of the crowd, the flickering firelight casting an unpredictable shadow on his face. He listened to the desperate cries and watched the chaotic frenzy of the crowd, a crazy idea forming in his mind. He had initially come just to see what was happening, hoping for a spectacle, but just now, a sudden inspiration struck him—he realized this was a golden opportunity that had come knocking on his door.
Don't you want credibility?
Now, if done properly, it is possible!
Moreover, it is an endless and inexhaustible source of faith!
Lin Shi acted decisively, no longer hesitating. The opportunity had arrived, and he had to seize it. With a thought, his consciousness connected with the dragon, and his senses, like those of a keen predator, rapidly spread along the intricate underground water veins towards the western mountains. Passing through a tributary of an underground river hidden beneath the rock strata, he covered a thousand miles in an instant, locking onto a shady mountain hollow. Like an invisible tentacle, he detected a faint, trembling, flickering, yet clearly discernible aura. At the same time, several other auras, restless and ferocious, were scattered not too far away.
found it!
The aura emanating from it was undoubtedly the missing tiger head!
The other groups, whose exact nature is unknown, are very likely man-eating beasts!
Lin Shi's expression changed.
The Western Hills are teeming with jackals!
We can't delay any longer!
Lin Shi took a deep breath, put on his acting skills, and quickly put together an expression that mixed hesitation, surprise and doubt and a flash of inspiration. He squeezed from the edge of the crowd to the center of the threshing ground and stood next to the clan chief Sun Ming.
"Wait a minute! Everyone, please don't panic!"
As soon as Lin Shi spoke, his voice, though not loud, carried a peculiar penetrating power, drawing everyone's attention. Without further hesitation, he raised his hand to scratch his head, suddenly remembering something, and pointed towards the direction of the village entrance.
"On my way back from work, I passed by the stone niche at the entrance of the village."
"The Stone Toad King seems a little different!"
"It was right around the stone toad's mouth, it looked like it had just been wet, all glistening and reflecting light! I suddenly remembered an old saying I'd heard from an old man: 'A stone toad with wet lips is a sign of trouble.'"
"The Stone Toad King is the guardian deity of our village!"
"Could it be that it knew something was going to happen, and is guiding us towards places with higher humidity? The western mountains have the most streams and caves!"
Lin Shi deliberately slowed down his speech so that everyone could hear him. At the same time, he changed his tone, emphasizing each word and giving it an air of unquestionable mystery.
The threshing ground fell silent instantly, with only the crackling of the burning torches remaining.
Doubt, astonishment, bewilderment, and a glimmer of hope for a better future—everyone's gaze would sometimes be fixed on Lin Shi, and sometimes involuntarily drift toward the village entrance, wondering if the Stone Toad King was truly guiding them.
Lin Shi was very anxious.
Just now, through the clone of the dragon, I captured two auras: one was Li Hutou, and the other was fierce and agitated, most likely a man-eating beast.
We must save them immediately!
Every second of the night, you never know what might happen!
Furthermore, this is related to one's continuous acquisition of confidence; if this opportunity is missed, it's uncertain when the next one will come.
Lin Shi wished the villagers would hurry to West Mountain, but he couldn't say anything more at this moment, lest he reveal any unnecessary clues, and could only worry anxiously.
"Thirty people!"
"Light all the torches!"
"Let's go to Xishan."
"Keep walking along the Stone Creek River!"
Sun Ming's cloudy old eyes narrowed into slits in the firelight as he strained to look in the direction of the stone toad statue. His lips moved as he mumbled something, before finally stopping.
Lin Shi's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, suddenly relaxed, and he couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
Since they had no status or position in their own village, no one would listen to them. They could only borrow the name of the Stone Toad King. Even so, the villagers were only half-believing and half-doubting, and no one went to West Mountain. Sun Ming was the clan chief, and he spoke up, so the matter was settled.
The night was as dark as ink.
The search team of thirty people, carrying torches, walked to the foot of West Mountain. They did not stop, but only took a few breaths before continuing on their way, their steps uneven.
Lin Shi walked in the middle of the group, holding a torch in one hand and a wooden stick in the other. He was both worried about Li Hutou's fate and excited about carrying out his plan. His palms were slightly sweaty from nervousness.
The mountain wind howled.
The roar of a wild beast could be heard from afar.
"I didn't see anything!"
……
"How did Tiger Head end up here? It's so far from the village!"
……
"impossible!"
"Tiger Head could never have come here!"
……
"It's so late at night!"
"We can't go any further!"
"This place is teeming with wild beasts!"
……
Lin Shi grew increasingly anxious. Some members of the search team began to show impatience and fear. If they couldn't find anyone, their morale would crumble and they would be unwilling to continue.
What should I do?
Lin Shi's mind raced as he racked his brains for a solution. He wasn't paying attention and slipped, almost falling. Luckily, he reacted quickly, bracing himself with his hands on the ground to get up.
Have we reached the water's edge?
Lin Shi shook his hand, which was covered in wet mud. Using the torchlight, he looked closely and realized it was a place he had "seen" not long ago with the help of the dragon at the bottom of the pool.
"The guidance given by the Stone Toad King must be correct. Everyone, pay close attention to the marks along the water's edge!"
Lin Shi was overjoyed. They were not far away. He immediately shouted a warning to be careful, as they might encounter clues at any time. Not long after he finished speaking, Ma Ping, who had been walking silently ahead of the village, suddenly stopped.
"There are children's shoe prints here!"
"And the paw prints of jackals!"
Ma Ping squatted down, held the fire in his hand, and shone it on the ground. After examining it carefully for a while, he straightened up with a solemn expression.
The search party was in an uproar; they all stopped and no one moved forward.
"quick!"
"Walk!"
"Li Hutou is ahead!"
Lin Shi reacted quickly. He couldn't stop now, or all his previous efforts would be in vain. People follow the crowd. As long as someone takes the lead, they will surge forward, shouting and pushing past those blocking their way, and stride forward.
"quick!"
"Keep up!"
Seeing that Lin Shi almost walked out of the torchlight's range, Ma Ping gritted his teeth, drew his hunting knife from his waist, roared, and chased after him.
The remaining men, their blood boiling, charged forward while shouting loudly.
Following the clear marks on the ground, and especially the memories in his mind, Lin Shi quickly found the hidden cave entrance. On the scattered soil, the wild animal's claw marks were messy but clear, with a few strands of brown bristles lying on the ground.
"Tiger Head!"
"Tiger Head!"
Lin Shi shouted, waving the torch in his hand from side to side.
"My child!"
Where are you?!
……
"My child!"
Where are you?!
……
Li Tie stumbled to the cave entrance, his voice trembling, and he burst into tears.
"Father! Father!"
A faint response came from inside the cave, tinged with a heavy nasal tone and fear.
"Inside!"
……
"Found it!"
……
"ha!"
"Tiger Head!"
"It really is a tiger's head!"
……
Lin Shi watched as everyone rushed into the cave. A moment later, Li Tie came out carrying a seven or eight-year-old boy named Li Hutou. Upon closer inspection, the boy's face was pale, his body was covered in mud, and he had several scratches, but he was otherwise unharmed.
"This is not a place to linger!"
"Walk!"
"Let's get going!"
Lin Shi remained very calm.
This is a mountain!
It's evening again.
While using the dragon's senses to investigate, they detected several restless and ferocious auras nearby, along with paw prints of jackals on the ground. Having found the people, the best course of action was to leave quickly and return to the village.
The longer it drags on, the more likely an accident will occur.
Lin Shi shouted a reminder as he turned around. Ma Ping and the others then realized what was happening and immediately surrounded Li Tie and Li Hutou, quickly leaving to return to the village.
A grain drying ground.
The place was bustling with people.
"My son!"
"We've finally found it!"
"I can't live without you!"
Song Ying rushed to Li Tie's side, took Li Hutou off his back with both hands, hugged him tightly in her arms, and cried loudly, filled with the joy of having regained what she had lost.
"We really owe it all to Lin Shi!"
"It must be the Stone Toad King manifesting his power! It must be!"
"The stone toad with wet lips signals the search for a way out! This saying is truly accurate!"
The villagers looked at Lin Shi standing in the crowd, the flickering firelight illuminating their faces, which were filled with excitement and lingering fear. Their gazes completely changed; their former disdain vanished, replaced by heartfelt gratitude, indescribable astonishment, and a quietly growing reverence for the power of the unseen.
The extraordinary nature of the Stone Toad King, and the subtle connection between Lin Shi and this extraordinary nature, were silently branded into the hearts of the villagers of Shixi Village after this thrilling night.
Lin Shi's face showed just the right amount of shyness and relief. Out of the corner of his eye, he looked through the crowd and aimed precisely at the distant and dark village entrance. After a while, he turned his head to look in the direction of Bibo Pool. At the bottom of the cold pool, the dragon's indifferent vertical pupils slowly closed.
Lin Shi smiled, left the crowd and the threshing ground, and walked towards the north end of the village, marking the perfect end to his first meticulously planned event.
The seeds of trust have quietly fallen into the soil.
Next, we wait for it to take root and sprout.