Tiger Enters the Village

Tiger Enters the Village

In the blink of an eye, another seven days had passed.

During the day, Li Yuan had still been incredibly excited.

Because after his unrelenting efforts, Little Yellow had finally allowed him to ride it.

But by nightfall, he frowned.

Late at night, he headed out of the mountains as usual, but before he had even left Little Ink Mountain, he heard a clamor in the distance—crying, screams, curses, the crashing of heavy objects, and the clatter of weapons.

Carried by the cold wind of deep winter, those sounds drifted over hazily. The night seemed to be boiling, filled with both frantic commotion and terror.

"What happened all of a sudden?"

Li Yuan stood there in a daze for a moment. A sense of foreboding flashed through his heart, and he quickened his pace toward home.

But when he reached Little Ink Village, he found a crowd gathered outside tonight. No one knew what they were watching or waiting for, and their voices buzzed in chaotic uproar.

It did not settle down until dawn.

Li Yuan waited quietly.

The candle in his house was still lit, and through the oiled-paper window, he could see several heads moving inside.

Li Yuan had seen clearly earlier that they were Aunt Wang and Feng Er.

For some reason, those two women were still huddled in his home at such a late hour, apparently talking to Yan Yu about something.

It was only about another hour later that they finally left separately.

After a while longer.

The candlelight inside went out.

Li Yuan carefully observed his surroundings. Only after confirming that it was safe did he dart through the trees like a ghost, arriving at his back door and knocking in a set rhythm.

The back door opened quickly. Yan Yu hurriedly pulled him inside, then locked the door again.

"We lost. The County Soldiers lost.

News only came during the day. By nightfall, the Red Lotus Bandits suddenly appeared outside the city and began attacking it.

So many people in the County Son have died. No one knows what the situation outside is like now."

Yan Yu's eyes were filled with panic, and her voice trembled. Her delicate body seemed frozen stiff.

Li Yuan touched her hands and found them ice-cold.

He asked, "Weren't they pursuing the victory just a few days ago?

How did they suddenly lose today?"

Unable to suppress her fear, Yan Yu said, "I don't know, I don't know... But if the County Soldiers lost, does that mean everyone from Little Ink Village who went out might have died too?

Aunt Wang came to me crying just now, saying Uncle Wang might be gone.

Feng Er came too. She apologized again for what happened before, then cried and said Brother Xiong might be gone too.

Feng Er even asked whether you had returned from the mountains. I... I started crying too, saying there had still been no word from you, and that you might have died in the mountains."

Li Yuan said, "Why did Feng Er ask about me?"

Yan Yu said, "Feng Er said that you were at least a grown man. If you were home at a time like this, things would be better.

Seeing her like that, I thought she was rather pitiful too. She's just a young girl. She had only just found Brother Xiong to rely on, and in the blink of an eye, Brother Xiong was gone."

Li Yuan said, "Does she want to rely on me?"

"Could be." Yan Yu paused. Her almond eyes suddenly shifted as she leaned closer and said, "Yuan Ge'er, what do you think? Do you want to be with her? Your martial skills are so formidable. Two young wives should satisfy you better. Want her? As long as you say the word, Feng Er might be waiting on the bed for you tomorrow night."

"What's the point?" Li Yuan wrapped his arms around Yan Niangzi.

Yan Yu blinked, staring at Li Yuan's face in the darkness. "Quite a few men in the village eat from the bowl while eyeing the pot. They have wives at home, yet their eyes are always drifting toward other women's backsides. I'm offering to bring the pot right to you. Do you want it or not?"

"You're the only woman I want, Sister Yan." Li Yuan held Yan Niangzi closer.

Yan Yu fell silent. A secret smile appeared on her lowered face, and she beamed with delight.

Li Yuan said, "Do you want to go into the mountains with me?"

Yan Yu shook her head. "Let's wait and see a little longer."

Li Yuan said, "All right."

Unless there was truly no other choice, he did not want to bring Yan Yu into the mountains.

For one thing, life in the mountains was harsh. Yan Yu was an ordinary person; even with him looking after her, there was no telling how long her body could hold up. Besides, he could not care for her around the clock.

For another, once they entered the mountains, they would be completely cut off from the outside world. Getting a martial arts manual would likely become a distant dream.

Over the next few days, Li Yuan no longer dared explore the deep mountains. After eating a simple meal during the day, he stayed near Little Ink Village and watched what was happening there.

At night, he returned home and listened as Yan Yu told him the information she had heard outside.

The situation was getting worse and worse.

The Red Lotus Bandits had retreated, but not because they had been driven back. They had simply stopped attacking Shanbao County and gone to attack somewhere else.

But many people in Shanbao County had died, including a large number of constables.

When the situation had been favorable, the County Magistrate had led troops out of the city. Once he left, he never returned.

During the defense of the city, Shanbao County's County Commandant and many skilled fighters had also died.

Now, the one in charge was a registrar who handled documents, with only a handful of men under him.

Public order in the city began to fall apart.

It felt as though the entire order was on the verge of collapse.

Five days later, Li Yuan had only just returned to the house when Yan Niangzi threw her arms around him and burst into tears.

"What happened?"

Yan Niangzi cried for a long while before saying in terror, "Someone knocked on the door during the Two Watches of the Night. They knocked on the front door.

At first, I wondered if Aunt Wang couldn't sleep and had come to see me, so I was going to open it.

But halfway there, I kept my Mind's Eye and grabbed the kitchen knife first.

When I got to the door, I asked who it was.

But... but no one answered.

I looked through the window, and... boohoohoohoohoo..."

Li Yuan thought back. When he had arrived, he had not seen any numbers floating around, so that person had clearly already left. He gently stroked her back and comforted her, "Don't be afraid. I'm here."

Yan Niangzi cried for a while before gradually calming down. "I... I looked through the window. It was a man, but I couldn't see what he looked like.

Yet that man was staring at me with such a terrifying look in his eyes.

My window is small, so he couldn't climb through it. I guessed he wanted to see what was inside the house. Later, perhaps when he saw the knife in my hand, he... he left.

Boohoohoo..."

She was terrified. Clinging to her man, she did not finally fall asleep peacefully until her body was exhausted.

Before dawn, Li Yuan got up. Yan Niangzi woke with a start and hugged him again. She wanted to let go but could not. She merely sobbed softly.

"Yuan Ge'er, how about... how about you come back?"

Li Yuan said coldly, "Even if I come back, I have to drag that man out first. Otherwise, with him hiding in the shadows, there'll be endless trouble later."

"How can you drag him out?"

"He may come again tonight. But I won't enter the mountains today. I'll keep watch from a distance."

"If you catch him... Yuan Ge'er, you're not going to kill someone, are you?"

"Don't worry about this."

"If you get caught killing someone, they'll chop your head off at the market entrance."

"Don't worry." Li Yuan's expression was calm and indifferent. "Your man doesn't kill people."

The next day, Li Yuan did not go up the mountain. Instead, he brought some frozen porridge from home and quietly hid in a patch of woods several hundred meters behind the house.

It was risky, but with his current abilities, as long as he remained vigilant, no one in Little Ink Village could find him.

The sky gradually darkened.

Every household in Little Ink Village shut its doors.

Then, at the mountain pass between Second Layer Mountain and the outskirts of Little Ink Mountain, a foul gust suddenly swept out. It raced swiftly onward and soon reached the pass.

The black shadow sniffed and scented the air, then shot forward with a swoosh, racing toward Little Ink Village.

The moment it entered the village, the black shadow plunged into the woods. It ran and stopped intermittently, reaching the forest several hundred meters behind Li Yuan's home before long.

Under the grim moonlight, the black shadow's form became clear. It was a nimble, vicious striped tiger. Its eyes glowed faintly as it scanned the surroundings. Raising its paws, it moved soundlessly through the forest's shadows until it reached a man.

Li Yuan patted its head.

After so many days of getting used to each other, he had come to understand the tiger's temperament.

The tiger came to find him every day and always wanted to eat meat with him.

No matter where he was, the tiger could follow his scent and find him.

The tiger said, "Awoo? (Why aren't you coming back?)"

Li Yuan said nothing.

The tiger said, "Awoo. (I haven't eaten.)"

Li Yuan said in a low voice, "Roar! (Kill!)"

The tiger said, "Roar? (Kill?)"

Li Yuan said, "Roar roar! (Whoever I point at, you kill.)"

The tiger said, "Roar! (Can I eat them?)"

Li Yuan said, "Roar! (Eat in the mountains.) Roar! (Don't make a sound.)"

Man and tiger waited quietly like this. One was a master tracker, the other a born hunter.

Li Yuan glanced at his side and suddenly noticed that the value had changed to "29~33."

He and the tiger had merged into one whole.

When he sensed it more closely, he indeed felt an inexplicable tacit understanding, connection, and enhancement.

But as long as he and the tiger separated by a certain distance, the value would split apart again into "24~25" and "5~8."

Time passed second by second.

At the Third Watch of the Night,

A black shadow suddenly appeared outside Li Yuan's house. The shadow crept quietly to the fence, climbed over from the side, and then made its way toward the front door.

A fierce intent rose in Li Yuan's heart. He patted the tiger and said, "Roar! (Bite him to death.) Roar! (Drag him outside.)"

In times like these, someone had come right to his door to bully him and had set his sights on his wife.

How could he still hesitate, worrying that he might strike too hard or kill the wrong person?

"Roar! (Go.)"

As soon as the words fell, the striped tiger at his side charged out like a whirlwind, rushing straight at the black shadow that had climbed over the fence.