Tiger Lord

Xia Qi'an strolled down Jinling City's main street, with the enormous Bata close behind him. Like a moving hill, he drew plenty of attention.

Pedestrians along the street stopped one after another, leaning together and whispering among themselves.

Xia Qi'an came to a tavern and shouted as soon as he entered, "Innkeeper!"

"Coming!... What would you like, sir? Oh, it's Lord Xia of Wei Dao Si... Please, take a seat!" The tavern attendant was a young man in his early twenties with a slight limp. Recognizing Xia Qi'an, he enthusiastically set down a chair, then pulled the white cloth from his shoulder and carefully wiped it clean.

"Twenty pounds of soy-braised beef! Two jars of Green Ant wine! Pack it up for me to take away!" Sitting down, Xia Qi'an spoke to the attendant.

"My lord... Please wait!..." After saying that, the attendant went into the back kitchen.

The tavern's soy-braised beef had originally been nothing special, but after they began cooking it with refined salt, the beef's flavor instantly rose several levels, leaving diners savoring the aftertaste endlessly.

Xia Qi'an had once come to try it after hearing its reputation, and he had never stopped thinking about it since.

It could be said that the booming business at Jinling City's restaurants and taverns was all thanks to the appearance of refined salt.

Although refined salt cost far more than coarse salt, diners came more frequently in return, and the taverns naturally earned more.

In the future, Jinling would become the birthplace of refined salt, leaving a bold and resplendent mark in the long river of history—not only in Da Li, but throughout You Province as well.

Before long, the attendant emerged from the back kitchen carrying a pinewood food box and two wine jars. He placed them before Xia Qi'an. "My lord... Your soy-braised beef and wine are here!"

"Thank you!..."

Xia Qi'an left some silver behind, picked up the food box and wine jars, and rose to leave.

"My lord!..." The attendant suddenly called out, stopping Xia Qi'an.

Xia Qi'an halted at the sound of his voice. Seeing the attendant's shrinking, hesitant expression, he took the initiative to ask, "Is there something else?"

"My... my lord! I have a favor to ask!" The attendant's eyes darted away as he stammered.

As an ordinary commoner, he was instinctively filled with fear toward the authorities.

"There's no need to be afraid... Just say what you have to say! I'm a warrior of Wei Dao Si, not a constable from the authorities."

Xia Qi'an comforted the attendant first, then handed the food box and wine to Bata, telling him that he had bought them especially for him.

"Abba... Abba!" Bata danced with delight, sweeping the food box into his arms.

Seeing Xia Qi'an's calm expression, the attendant breathed a sigh of relief and boldly said, "I heard that Wei Dao Si is an organization dedicated to subduing demons and exorcising evil. So I wish to ask you, my lord, to kill the tiger demon that has plagued my hometown for many years!"

"A tiger demon?... Has no one from Wei Dao Si gone to deal with it before?" Xia Qi'an asked, his face full of suspicion.

"My lord... My hometown is in a remote region, and news travels very poorly there. We had no way to seek out a lord from Wei Dao Si to eliminate the tiger demon..." The attendant looked aggrieved, his words almost a sobbing lament.

"A year ago, I followed a merchant caravan to Jinling. After that, the villagers entrusted someone to bring me a letter, asking me to seek help from a lord of Wei Dao Si!"

"But my status is humble, and I never dared report it to Wei Dao Si."

"Fortunately, I encountered Lord Xia today, so I ventured to ask you for help!"

From the attendant's account, Xia Qi'an learned that he lived in Yujia Village, Luyi County. A year ago, he had followed a merchant caravan to Jinling, and later became an attendant at this tavern.

Later still, when the villagers of Yujia Village heard that he was thriving in Jinling, they entrusted someone to send him a letter, asking him to find a warrior in Jinling to eliminate the tiger menace in their hometown.

The attendant's crippled leg was also the result of being bitten by a tiger when he was younger.

Who could have known that the attendant was timid as a mouse and terrified of the authorities, so he had never dared report the matter to Wei Dao Si, allowing it to drag on until now.

But this had also left him with a deeply troubled conscience. He was restless all day, tossing and turning at night, hating himself for being powerless.

Yujia Village, on the borderlands of Jinling Prefecture, was like a forgotten place.

It lay hidden deep in the mountains along the border between Jinling Prefecture and Xiaoxiang Prefecture. Remote and isolated from the world, it was difficult for news to reach it.

This also made it impossible for Wei Dao Si to learn about the local situation in time.

Nowadays, the people living around Jinling City enjoyed peaceful lives, all thanks to the warriors of Wei Dao Si operating in the shadows.

Most of the demons, ghosts, mountain spirits, and wild monsters causing trouble had already been driven away or slain.

Although incidents of demons causing trouble still occurred from time to time, that was unavoidable.

After all, no matter how powerful Wei Dao Si was, it was not made up of immortals. It was impossible to wipe out every demon in the world.

After gaining a general understanding of the situation, Xia Qi'an said, "I understand what you've told me. I'll have my fellow warriors investigate Yujia Village. If the situation proves true, I'll make the trip myself!"

After receiving Xia Qi'an's personal promise, the attendant was overjoyed.

He rummaged through his pockets for a while, then took out one liang of broken silver and more than a dozen copper coins. Holding them out to Xia Qi'an, he said, "My lord, I have nothing to repay you with... This is all the money I have... I hope you won't disdain it..."

Seeing how difficult his life was, Xia Qi'an also saw that although the man was timid and weak, he had still kept the wishes of his fellow villagers close to heart.

So he waved his hand and said, "There's no need... This is precisely Wei Dao Si's duty. If I accepted your money, what kind of conduct would that be?"

With that, he called out to Bata and rose to leave the tavern.

After returning to his residence, Xia Qi'an dispatched the Snake Guards to investigate Yujia Village.

However, Yujia Village was a great distance from Jinling City, and it was difficult for the Snake Guards to grasp the local situation in a short time.

It was not until the following morning that the news reached Xia Qi'an's hands.

After reading the intelligence delivered by the Snake Guards, Xia Qi'an found that Yujia Village's actual circumstances were even more dire than the attendant had described.

According to the Snake Guards' report, the tiger demon around Yujia Village had already grown powerful.

It had even imitated humans by claiming a mountain as its own, transforming itself into a Mountain Lord. The group of bandits in its mountain stronghold were all Chou Ghosts formed from villagers the tiger demon had devoured.

Xia Qi'an realized at once that this could not be allowed to continue, and immediately went to the Snake Guards to accept the mission.

He also had the Snake Guards procure a spacious, sturdy carriage, then immediately left the city for Yujia Village.

Along the way, Bata drove the carriage.

Although Bata could not speak, he was extremely obedient to Xia Qi'an.

Xia Qi'an only needed to give an order and patiently explain it to him, and Bata would carry it out to the letter.

With a loyal servant like Bata, Xia Qi'an found it much easier to travel out and carry out missions.

The carriage the Snake Guards found was exceptionally spacious. Its interior seating was more than sufficient for Xia Qi'an to sit in meditation and practice his cultivation.

Although the carriage was not as fast as a fine horse, it was steady and comfortable, making it the first choice for long-distance travel.

For this mission, the Snake Guard assigned to assist him in secret was a young man.

In the past, Liu Qing had accompanied Xia Qi'an on his missions, serving as the old hand guiding the newcomer.

But Liu Qing was now the Snake Guard Commander, so naturally she could no longer accompany Xia Qi'an on missions as she had before.

Xia Qi'an also knew this young Snake Guard. He was none other than his first opponent in the martial competition at the training camp—Su Changqing.