My Years as a Mountain Ranger Among the People

(Warning: This chapter includes ancient shamanic medicine theories and folk occult practices. Do not attempt or imitate anything described here in real life without systematic study and professional guidance. Any occult methods that ordinary people can safely practice will be specifically noted at the beginning of the relevant chapter.)

I am the successor to a folk mountain patrol family.

What is a mountain patrolman?

A mountain patrolman is someone who has made a pact with the Blade God and sworn to protect the mountains.

Ever since the Netherworld Pact was signed in the Ming dynasty, followed by a new century-long pact during the Republic of China era, we have carried the same mission: guard the mountains and keep the spirits and monsters lurking within them in check.

Most people know about the century-long pact, but few know that an even older pact came before it: the Netherworld Pact.

It was an alliance forged with the power of the netherworld during the Ming dynasty, when the court had no choice but to do so in order to unify the realm and stabilize its borderlands.

The duty of a mountain patrolman: Under the Netherworld Pact and the century-long agreement, we mountain patrolmen share a blood pact with the Blade God and stand together to guard the mountains and keep their spirits at peace.

Whenever spirits or monsters stir in the deep mountains and secluded valleys, or ghosts cross the boundary between the living and the dead, we patrol the area and deal with them, maintaining order between the two worlds and protecting the peace of the human realm.