As for Ma Shaokang, in the eyes of both Meng Zhao and Mountain Lord, he was really nothing worth mentioning. At the very least, neither of them took him to heart.
Of course, Meng Zhao still had some thoughts on the matter. At the very least, he felt he had already shown sufficient sincerity. Should Mountain Lord not offer some gesture in return?
In other words, Ma Shaokang, whom they could crush to death at any moment, could now serve as a tool to test Mountain Lord.
Mountain Lord felt no pressure whatsoever about this. It was not as though he was being asked to kill someone else. Killing Ma Shaokang would be effortless for him.
Mountain Lord could even direct and perform a masterpiece himself, one that would leave that girl Shanhua with no grounds to blame him. They only had to wait and see how he performed.
As it happened, Meng Zhao also needed to send word to Lü Yue, summoning him to Hengqu Mountain. In addition, Ao Bing had to be brought over as well.
So Ma Shaokang was allowed to live a while longer, while Mountain Lord was given a suitable stage to set the scene.
Thus, over the next period of time, Ma Shaokang lived in the valley like a fish in water. Shanhua treated him with the sincerity of a friend she had known for years. Though she did not truly teach him the methods of the Beast Taming Arts, she occasionally revealed some techniques for poison-making and array-setting, benefiting him greatly.
Ma Shaokang was now like a sponge, constantly absorbing knowledge from the outside world to strengthen himself, all for the sake of one day taking revenge.
At the same time, he had continually sought to curry favor with Shanhua's grandfather, Mountain Lord.