Eliminating the Tiger

Li Qinglin climbed to the mountaintop alone. The summit was where the clouds and mist gathered most thickly. Jagged stones rose everywhere, blurred within the fog, and it truly looked somewhat like an immortal realm.

He reached out and touched one. The rock's edges were rough, showing that they had not often been handled by people. There was nothing unusual about it. Yet faint, dried bloodstains covered the stones all around, as though someone had suffered grave injuries here and spilled blood across the mountaintop.

After pondering for a moment, he deliberately scraped his hand against a stone edge until it broke skin, then smeared some blood onto it. He waited seriously for a while, but nothing happened.

It seemed the bloodstains truly had nothing to do with anything; there was no secret here.

There were, however, crisscrossing patterns carved into the ground. They were intricate and irregular, their purpose unknown, more like the random scribbles of a bored child.

After some thought, Li Qinglin untied a Jade Pendant from his waist and set it beside him.

The clouds and mist, which had seemed to avoid him, no longer did so. Instead, they avoided the Jade Pendant. Li Qinglin shook his head. A faint glow spread around him, and the true qi released from his body kept the mist at bay.

These were indeed "resentful energies," but they were not the baleful battlefield aura avoiding him. They were avoiding his treasure. Still, martial artists' true qi could likewise restrain these resentful energies, so there was no issue.

Li Qinglin put away the Jade Pendant and was about to inspect the strange tiger amid the rocks when a bloody stench suddenly drifted from the center of the Chaotic Stone Formation. He gripped his spear and stared intently. In the night, a pair of blood-red eyes the size of bronze bells slowly emerged.

A tiger half a man tall slowly appeared. Li Qinglin narrowed his eyes at the fleshy wings on its back. Spread open, they were already several feet long. There was even a hint of displeasure at being disturbed in those crimson pupils. Compared to the mutated wild boar they had seen before, this tiger clearly possessed a trace of intelligence... it had already become a demon.

With a tiger's roar, the fierce beast sprang through the air.

Li Qinglin deliberately tested the claim that it would not pursue people, swiftly withdrawing beyond the Chaotic Stone Formation.

Sure enough, it was as though something blocked the tiger. It simply could not come out.

Li Qinglin's gaze fell upon the patterns on the ground again, and he smiled faintly. This had to be an array that bound the tiger. There truly was an expert here.

"Since that is the case, I shall rid you of it."

Li Qinglin shook his long spear, whipping out the shape of a silver dragon. As the spear whistled, it sounded like a dragon's roar.

Li Qingjun had not gone to sleep. Qin Yi had angered her too much for sleep, so she sat cross-legged in meditation, gathering her thoughts and calming her qi. She had not meditated for long when the faint sounds of tiger roars and dragon cries drifted through the wind. Li Qingjun abruptly opened her eyes. "Heavenly Dragon's Roar? Brother!"

She could no longer sit still. She grabbed the silver spear beside her bed and rushed out.

Watching Li Qingjun vanish into the night, Qin Yi slowly followed after her.

He had deliberately spread the long-forgotten news of immortal traces in order to lure new seekers of immortality here to eliminate the tiger.

The tiger had already undergone demonization, and he could not defeat it. He had no choice but to learn a Demon Binding Array from Liusu and confine it amid the pile of rocks, preventing it from harming others. But this was not a long-term solution. What if one day the binding could no longer hold it? This hidden danger had to be eliminated in the end.

Once the demon tiger was gone, he could dig out that Demon Transformation Poisonous Mist. From then on, the sky would be high and the sea broad. Whether he stayed here or wandered the world, he would have no more ties holding him back.

He hoped the Li Family Siblings would prove reliable.

Before he even reached the summit, he could already see silver light flashing like lightning, dazzling like stars. The terrifying residual energy in the air sent grass, trees, sand, and stones flying in every direction. As he drew closer, he seemed able to feel sharp, fierce glints filling the entire space, enough to pierce anyone who approached into a hundred holes.

"A very formidable martial artist. He has likely passed the Yi Jing Stage and entered the Peak of the Acquired Realm," Liusu said. "I never expected this desolate little kingdom to possess someone who had trained mortal martial arts to such an extraordinary height."

Qin Yi clicked his tongue in amazement. He practiced martial arts too, so he understood what this meant. Li Qinglin's martial prowess was already first-rate in the mortal world. Those stronger than him could be counted as peerless masters of the mortal realm. To take another step further meant following the path of a Sword Cultivator, or something like Body Refinement to Sainthood. That no longer counted as mortal martial arts, and throughout the world, those with such opportunities were few and far between.

That was why people sought immortality.

Stepping onto the mountaintop, the first thing he saw was a flash of silver from Li Qinglin's spear. The strange tiger actually beat its wings and flew away, astonishingly agile. Li Qinglin's thrust missed, but he immediately swept the spear around, striking the tiger's flank. The tiger swept a wing out, and wing and spear collided. With an explosive bang, the thousand-pound tiger was actually sent flying sideways, crashing into a mountain wall.

Li Qinglin himself only took half a step back, clearly holding an absolute advantage.

With a sharp cry, Li Qingjun leveled her spear and joined the battle. The fierce tiger, still somewhat stiff after slamming into the mountain wall, immediately met another silver spear head-on. It carried the exact same cold gleam and the same unstoppable momentum.

At the same time, Li Qinglin thrust directly from the tiger's other side in perfect coordination, sealing off its room to evade.

"Roar!" The strange tiger suddenly leaped, its tail snapping like scissors and striking Li Qingjun's spear shaft. Li Qingjun let out a muffled groan, yet she did not withdraw her spear. Instead, she charged forward against the momentum, swift as a startled dragon.

The strange tiger lost its chance to break through from that side and could no longer evade Li Qinglin's spear. At last, the spear stabbed into its flank, blood spurting forth.

The wounded tiger gave a mad roar and charged heavily toward Li Qingjun. Li Qingjun held her spear crosswise to block, but enormous force surged at her, sending her flying far away. Her boots dragged long marks across the ground. Li Qinglin dragged and pulled the spear lodged in the tiger's flank, actually flinging the entire massive beast onto the mountain rock. With a bang, the earth shook and the mountains trembled.

Li Qingjun crashed into a cluster of rocks on the other side. A streak of blood ran from the corner of her lips, but she did not even wipe it away before throwing herself back into the fight.

She's quite formidable too, this girl. Qin Yi felt a measure of admiration. The tiger was already much stronger than when he had set up the Demon Binding Array. It seemed to have absorbed a great deal of Demon Qi from the Demon Transformation Poisonous Mist here and evolved further. If it had been this powerful from the start, he likely would not even have been able to set up the Demon Binding Array.

Yet Li Qingjun looked like such a delicate little girl, and she was actually this tough!

These siblings truly possessed the aura of iron-blooded warriors. Li Qingjun might be somewhat spoiled and willful, but she was by no means a flower raised in a greenhouse. What sort of household could raise siblings like these? They looked as though they came from a general's household.

Li Qinglin alone had been enough to deal with the demon tiger. With Li Qingjun joining forces with him, there was even less suspense. The wounded tiger could no longer withstand the siblings' combined assault and finally struggled briefly before being stabbed to death on the ground.

A wisp of Demon Qi drifted leisurely away into the air.

Qin Yi let out a breath. As expected, these siblings were reliable...

Liusu gave a cold snort. Qin Yi's plan succeeding meant her more vicious proposal had gone down the sewer.

"Brother Qin, come out." Li Qinglin smiled without any change in expression. "You watched for so long without lending a hand. That is rather unfriendly, considering this is a wild beast from your mountains."

Qin Yi walked out of the shadows without so much as a blush or a quickened heartbeat, smiling. "Each has his own duty. I had other matters to attend to."

Li Qingjun planted her spear and caught her breath, watching curiously as Qin Yi walked into the pile of rocks. The siblings exchanged a glance and followed.

Before long, they saw Qin Yi crouch down, pull out a small shovel, and begin digging into the ground. Shortly afterward, he said quietly, "Just as expected."

Qin Yi pulled a mud-caked object out from underground. Brushing away the mud revealed something like a small incense burner. Demonic figures were carved around its sides, and faint dark-red smoke drifted from it.

Li Qingjun suddenly realized something. "So you deliberately spread the news that there were immortal traces here, just to trick people into coming up the mountain to kill the tiger, so you could take the thing here!"

Qin Yi turned to look at her and smiled. "It was not for me to take, but rather..."

As he spoke, he raised the Wolf Tooth Club and smashed the incense burner into pieces with a single blow.

Li Qingjun froze for a moment, still somewhat indignant. "Then you still used us!"

Qin Yi fumbled about and pulled out a silver ingot. "How about... I pay you?"

Li Qingjun was so furious she nearly spat blood. She almost raised her spear, but Li Qinglin gestured for her to stop. "Brother Qin warned us long ago about the strange tiger on the mountain. I was the one who wished to see it, the one willing to serve as a spear in Brother Qin's hand once. Whom could I blame? But if that is so, then Brother Qin was the one who bound this fierce tiger here?"

Qin Yi nodded. "I could not let it harm people."

Li Qinglin said, "There was also resentful energy in the mountains, which Brother Qin resolved with a single pill. Coupled with your familiarity with such unusual things and your knowledge of arrays that bind demons, Brother Qin is indeed a Fangshi skilled in all manner of strange arts, with genuine ability. May I ask from which school you inherited your teachings?"

"I merely fumbled around and played with it on my own. I can hardly be called a Fangshi..." Qin Yi could only say, "What advice does Brother Li have?"

"Oh, it is like this." Li Qinglin sighed softly. "In recent years, my father has been deceived by some Fangshi who swagger about and cheat others. He has abused medicinal pills, and as a result his health has steadily worsened. As his children, we see it and are worried sick. Brother Qin possesses true arts. Would you be willing, for the sake of our filial devotion, to leave the mountains and help my father set chaos right, cast away the false, and preserve the true? As for the reward, we will certainly satisfy Brother Qin."

After pausing, he added, "Because of this, Qing Jun has always disliked fraudulent Fangshi. She acted somewhat excessively and offended you. Please do not take it to heart."

It seemed he assumed that when his sister had caused trouble for Qin Yi earlier, Qin Yi must have suffered a loss, hence his request not to take offense. Li Qingjun lowered her head without speaking. Qin Yi did not know what to say either, so he could only reply, "I am an idle man of the wilderness, accustomed to freedom and disorder. I fear I must disappoint Brother Li."

Li Qinglin said, "Then let it be repayment for my eliminating the tiger for Brother Qin. How about it?"

Qin Yi choked for a moment, then laughed. "So Brother Li had also planned this well when he eliminated the tiger."

Li Qingjun glanced at her brother. No wonder he had not cared at all about being used as a spear. He had clearly intended to be that spear, using this favor to exchange for Qin Yi leaving the mountains.

Only she had known nothing from beginning to end, like a fool.

Qin Yi still wanted to refuse. He was rather homebound by nature and already felt that living in the village was quite good. Why would he want to go with them and get dragged into disputes among Fangshi? After pondering for a moment, he took out the antidote pill he had just refined. "Consider this medicine my repayment to Brother Li for eliminating the tiger on my behalf."

Li Qinglin sighed, still intending to persuade him, but Li Qingjun could no longer hold back. She snapped, "If you will not go, then do not go. What is so great about you? We can find someone else. I refuse to believe Southern Li has only one Fangshi!"

Li Qinglin soothed her gently. "Qing Jun, you know that if we go seek someone else, it will drag on for a long time again."

Li Qingjun angrily said, "Look at how he is full of bad intentions. Who knows whether he is not a second Dong Huazi!"

Qin Yi had already turned to leave, but the words "Dong Huazi" entered his ears. He abruptly stopped and spun around. "Who did you say you were going to deal with?"

The original owner's soul had already been devoured by Liusu, but the body still retained its most powerful obsession and hatred. Within those lingering thoughts was a bone-deep hatred for the so-called National Teacher, a desire to ask, "Why?" That heavy obsession had affected countless nightmares of Qin Yi's. Naturally, Qin Yi had made inquiries these past days. Southern Li's National Teacher, whose Daoist name was Dong Huazi!

Seeing Qin Yi's face change, Li Qinglin felt some regret. Qin Yi had already looked wholly unwilling. If he now revealed that they intended to deal with the National Teacher, Qin Yi would be even less likely to go. He had originally planned to coax Qin Yi there first, but his sister could not keep her words hidden and had still let it slip.

He looked helplessly at Qin Yi and said slowly, "Southern Li's National Teacher, Dong Huazi. If Brother Qin is afraid, then I can only seek another worthy expert."

"No." Qin Yi enunciated every word. "I will go with you."

Li Qinglin was stunned. "Brother Qin, this is...?"

Qin Yi pointed coldly at the fragments of the incense burner on the ground. "I wish to ask him one question on someone's behalf: why!"

Even Li Qingjun stared at Qin Yi in astonishment. She had never imagined that this seemingly unserious man could wear such a cold, sharp expression, as though he might choose someone and devour them.