Great Fog Mountain was shrouded in mist throughout the year. After night fell, shadows loomed among the trees, like a hundred ghosts on the prowl.
Atop North Mountain stood an abandoned temple. In its ruined shrine sat a white-eyed tiger with a hanging brow. Legends of the Mountain Lord had been passed down in the Qingyun region since ancient times, but times had changed. The temple had become a forgotten place of worship, its incense long extinguished and dust clouding the tiger's eyes.
The scent of wine and meat wafted through the abandoned temple. The burly man at the head of the group, a long saber at his waist and a fierce look on his face, sat with his back to the white tiger statue, tearing into a chunk of meat. Wine trickled down his beard.
To his left and right, a fat bandit and a skinny one wolfed down their food, constantly wiping their greasy hands on their clothes as they gulped wine and devoured meat.
As the skinny bandit ate, his shifty eyes kept darting toward a pillar on the left. Bound to it beneath a dense web of cobwebs was a young woman in a blue dress, barely sixteen years old. She was unconscious, her face deathly pale and her dark hair disheveled. She must have suffered a terrible fright before losing consciousness.
"Boss, will the Yan family really bring the ransom without making trouble?"
"Hmph. The Yan family treasures that girl." The burly man raised an eyebrow, a murderous aura seeping from him as he glared. "The Yan family sent people after me. Once we get the money, you can have your fun with her. In any case, I'll make sure the Yan family knows no peace."
"Heh heh."
The fat and skinny bandits exchanged a