The Ox Head Woodcutter was overjoyed, quickly hoisting his bundle of firewood: "Great! Please follow me, brother!" He led Xiao Jie out of the dilapidated temple, along a narrow trail trodden out, walking for roughly as long as it takes to burn a stick of incense, and soon a rather large village appeared before them.
Most of the village houses were constructed from logs and large stones, rugged and solid. At the entrance of the village, a clearing gathered quite a number of "people," all of different forms: some had deer antlers atop their heads, some were men with leopard tails, and some hadn't even fully assumed human form, appearing part human and part beast, casually draped in a linen garment or bundled in a worn coat, deeming them "people."
Seeing such a gathering of evil spirits was indeed somewhat unsettling.
