Just Playing Around-You Took It Seriously?

Although Huang Qian's backpack wasn't big, she had packed quite a lot, even bringing a sleeping bag.

"You go to sleep first. I'll keep watch!" Lin Chen said, looking at Huang Qian.

Huang Qian gave a slight nod. She'd spent nearly the whole afternoon climbing the mountain, and unlike Lin Chen, she was exhausted. Just as she was about to lie down, several dark figures suddenly appeared among the trees.

"What's that..."

Lin Chen looked into the woods. A glint flashed deep in his eyes. Those dark figures were shaped like people—they weren't strange beasts at all.

Huang Qian, who had been getting ready to sleep, saw the approaching figures and stood up as well, looking toward Lin Chen.

"Don't worry. I'm here!" Lin Chen said with a calm smile.

"Thank goodness! We finally found people!" Just then, a voice came from not far away. A moment later, several young men and women appeared in Lin Chen and Huang Qian's sight.

They looked like hiking enthusiasts, just like Huang Qian.

"You two look like a handsome couple. We're hikers too, but we got lost. Could we rest here for the night and leave with you tomorrow?" The young man in the lead looked at Lin Chen.

"Of course!" Lin Chen replied with a calm smile.

The young man hurriedly called his three companions over to set down their backpacks nearby, then looked at Lin Chen and Huang Qian. "Where are you two from? Why are there only two of you hiking together?"

"We're from Qingzhou. We had a few companions, but they've already left," Lin Chen said, his expression composed.

The young man and his three companions chatted with Lin Chen, though their conversation was rather disjointed. Lin Chen didn't hide anything, and they seemed to be getting along quite well.

"Lin Chen, are they really hiking enthusiasts?"

Huang Qian looked at Lin Chen beside her, frowning slightly as she spoke in a low voice. "I feel like something's off about them."

"Hm?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Lin Chen's face. He hadn't expected Huang Qian to notice that something was wrong with the four of them. He couldn't help asking, "What seems off about them?"

Huang Qian glanced at the four young men and thought for a moment before answering. "They seem a little too clean!"

In weather like this, anyone climbing a mountain was bound to sweat, and might even get some dirt on themselves. But the four young men weren't dirty at all. They looked as though they'd just finished washing up.

Lin Chen nodded to himself. That was indeed a major red flag. Huang Qian wasn't a cultivator, but she was perceptive, and having been attacked by strange beasts had made her even more observant.

"I'd been hoping to chat with you a little longer. It's hard to find anyone to talk to out here in the wilderness," Lin Chen said, looking at the four young men with a faint sigh. "But my companion has already noticed something's off about you. If I keep pretending not to notice, it'll look a bit too deliberate."

"Handsome, what are you talking about? I don't quite understand," the young man said, looking at Lin Chen in confusion.

"Keep pretending. Go on!"

Lin Chen looked at the young man and chuckled. "I could tell at a glance that you weren't human. I was just playing along, and you took it seriously?"

At his words, the four young men's expressions changed at once. The one in the lead said coldly, "You dare make a fool of us? Get him! We'll take him to my master as an offering!"

Master?

Lin Chen was slightly taken aback. He'd thought these four ghostly creatures were just wandering spirits, and had planned to kill them on the spot and claim a little essence. He hadn't expected them to have a master behind them.

A master was great. That meant more essence!

"Don't resist. I'm here, so nothing will happen to you!" Lin Chen hurriedly whispered in Huang Qian's ear.

Huang Qian was taken aback, but still nodded. At the same time, the four ghostly creatures attacked, instantly subduing Lin Chen and Huang Qian, who appeared to be ordinary people.

Looking at Lin Chen after he'd been subdued, the young man in the lead couldn't help but sneer. "You said you could tell at a glance I wasn't human. I thought you were some kind of expert, but you're just an ordinary person?"

"Take them away. We'll offer them to my master!" The young man gave a cold laugh, then had two of the ghostly creatures carry Lin Chen and Huang Qian toward the depths of Fire Forest Mountain.

The four ghostly creatures weren't very strong, but they moved through the mountain as if it were flat ground. Before long, they brought Lin Chen and Huang Qian to the base of a cliff. There, a mottled tiger over three meters long was crouched on the ground.

By the light of the moon, they could make out some torn clothes and scattered bones near the tiger's den.

Huang Qian looked at the bloodstained backpack on the ground, and her face turned deathly pale. She whispered, "That's Xiao Lian's backpack!"

"Are there backpacks belonging to the other two?" Lin Chen asked.

"Yes!"

After looking over the remains on the ground, Huang Qian quickly confirmed that the backpacks of Brother Hui and his companion were there too. It was obvious that all three had become food for the tiger.

At that moment, Huang Qian was deeply relieved she'd chosen to go with Lin Chen. If she'd stayed with Brother Hui and the others, she'd probably have ended up as tiger food by now.

The young man looked at the tiger crouched in its den and spoke cautiously. "Master, we've found two fresh offerings!"

Just then, the tiger suddenly opened its eyes. A terrifying aura burst from it, and its gaze fixed on Lin Chen and Huang Qian.

"Not bad!" The tiger gave a slight nod, seemingly very pleased with what the four young men had brought back.

"You can talk?" Huang Qian stared in disbelief.

She knew the tiger before her was a strange beast, but she'd never imagined it could speak. Wasn't that like the spirits and monsters in myths?

"Foolish human!" The tiger glanced at Huang Qian, its eyes full of disdain.

Strange beasts of the Third Order and above could speak human language. That was no secret in the Cultivation World. But to ordinary people, an animal that could speak was no different from the spirits and monsters of myth.

"Master, shall we eat now?" The young man looked at the tiger.

"Wait..."

Just then, Lin Chen suddenly spoke. Looking at the tiger before him, he asked with open curiosity, "I heard more than one strange beast came to Fire Forest Mountain this time. I'd like to ask where you're gathering."

"Who are you? How do you know about us?" The tiger's expression shifted, and a wary glint flashed deep in its eyes.

This young man knew about strange beasts and even knew they were gathering at Fire Forest Mountain. He might not be an ordinary person, yet the tiger couldn't sense any cultivator's aura from Lin Chen.

If that was the case, Lin Chen's strength and abilities might be greater than its own!

"I think you'd be better off answering my question."

Lin Chen smiled faintly and moved. The four ghostly creatures beside him turned into balls of fire, and in the same instant, he was already standing before the tiger.

The four ghostly creatures instantly turned to ash. Lin Chen looked at the tiger before him and asked again, "Now, can you answer my question?"

"Die!"

The tiger roared in fury and swung its massive paw straight at Lin Chen. Yet faced with the attack, Lin Chen made no move to defend himself.

Seeing Lin Chen seemingly frozen in place, Huang Qian's face changed dramatically. She cried out, "Lin Chen!"

"Crack!"

The massive tiger paw came down. With a sharp crack, it broke clean off. Stark white bone pierced through the tiger's hide, and bright red blood poured out.