The Tiger Feeder

"Are you saying that medicinal herb... couldn't it be the Mountain Lord?"

Long Er's body abruptly stiffened, and his face instantly turned horribly grim.

But he still tried to bluff his way through it:

"Young hero... you're taking this joke way too far! Didn't I already tell you? Those were just wild rumors spread by outsiders. How could there be a Mountain Lord that had gained sentience in these mountains...?"

Seeing that the man still refused to admit anything even with death at his doorstep, Lu Chuan could not be bothered to waste more words on him.

He lunged forward, his five fingers forming claws as he casually reached for Long Er's shoulder.

Unexpectedly, Long Er, who had still been limping moments ago, now moved like an oiled loach, slipping away from Lu Chuan's grasp.

Then, without even turning his head, he fled deeper into the cave!

"Lu Chuan! If you've got the guts, come after me!" Long Er called provocatively from the darkness.

"Trying to escape right in front of me?" Lu Chuan sneered.

He immediately took the heavy bow from his back. In one smooth motion, he nocked an arrow and drew the bowstring, completing the sequence in a single breath!

Whoosh—!

The arrow left the bowstring, its sound slicing sharply through the air.

Long Er had only dashed a few steps when a stabbing pain bored into the back of his right leg!

He let out a shriek, lost his balance, and crashed heavily to the ground.

Lu Chuan strode forward in several quick steps and planted his foot firmly on Long Er's wounded thigh, applying a little pressure.

"Ah—! It hurts! It hurts like hell! Spare me! Young hero, spare me!" Long Er immediately began howling like a slaughtered pig.

"Run. Why have you stopped?" Lu Chuan's foot did not ease up, and his voice was cold.

"Tell me the truth! Is that Mountain Lord hiding inside this cave?"

"Yes... yes..." Long Er's face went deathly pale from the pain, and he could no longer put on a tough front.

"You lured me in here because you wanted me to feed the tiger?"

"I... I had no choice..." Long Er pleaded miserably.

Lu Chuan raised his head and glanced toward the pitch-black depths of the cave.

"There's something I find strange. You came in here with me, so why wouldn't the Mountain Lord eat you?"

Long Er trembled all over from the pain, mumbling incoherently.

Seeing this, Lu Chuan suddenly ground his foot down!

"Ah—! Don't step on me! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!" Long Er no longer dared to hide anything and began explaining in broken fragments.

As it turned out, the rumors about the Mountain Lord of Mount Erlong were half true and half false.

The Mountain Lord was real, and it had been occupying the depths of this cave.

But it did not possess any supernatural ability to seek fortune and avoid disaster.

The reason the villagers at the foot of the mountain had organized so many Tiger Hunting Teams, only for them to come up empty-handed time and again—even suffering casualties—was entirely because of the Long Er before him!

"I... I've known this Mountain Lord for a long time..." Long Er revealed a horrifying truth.

By some unknown method, he had actually formed a bizarre symbiotic relationship with the vicious tiger.

Using his status as a villager, he specifically lured hunters, herb gatherers, and even Martial Artists who had come to try their luck into the mountains alone, leading them into this dead end.

The Mountain Lord was responsible for pouncing on and devouring them, while Long Er took the money and supplies from the corpses.

Not only that, but as a villager from the foot of the mountain, Long Er knew everything happening in the village.

Whenever the villagers pooled their money or Martial Artists organized a hunt for the tiger, he would reveal the news to the Mountain Lord in advance, allowing it to hide ahead of time or set up an ambush.

That was why the Tiger Hunting Teams always returned empty-handed, and sometimes even met with disaster.

"Over all these years, that tiger... has eaten quite a few people, hasn't it?" Lu Chuan's voice revealed no emotion.

"N-not many. Just a few..." Long Er's eyes darted about.

Lu Chuan's gaze turned cold.

Scared witless, Long Er hurriedly changed his answer:

"Se-several hundred... Actually, actually, these days we mainly trick the Martial Artist lords who come up the mountain to hunt tigers. They... they carry more silver, and the Mountain Lord... the Mountain Lord also prefers eating people with abundant qi and blood..."

Lu Chuan understood.

In this narrow cave, an ordinary Martial Artist of the First Qi and Blood realm might not necessarily be the Mountain Lord's match even in a frontal fight, let alone against a sudden ambush.

With limited vision and restricted movement, while the tiger possessed an advantage in darkvision, the outcome was obvious.

"So that was your plan this time as well," Lu Chuan said.

Sensing killing intent, Long Er hurriedly kowtowed.

"Young hero! Young hero! I was blinded by greed! Please spare my life! I'll tell you everything I know!"

"I... I still have quite a bit of silver saved over the years. It's hidden in a secret place, and I'll give all of it to you! I only ask that you spare this worthless life of mine!"

"Where is the silver?" Lu Chuan asked.

"Well... you have to let me go first. I'll take you to get it..." Long Er's eyes shifted as he tried to bargain.

Lu Chuan's gaze turned cold.

Even now, he was still scheming, trying to lure Lu Chuan to some unknown place where he had hidden the money?

Who knew whether there were other traps there?

Without another word, a cold flash swept across Lu Chuan's long saber.

Pffft!

Long Er's pleas came to an abrupt halt, and the light in his eyes completely faded.

When dealing with a vicious, treacherous criminal like this, any unnecessary mercy could send him straight to eternal ruin.

To be safe, it was better to kill him and be done with it.

Lu Chuan quickly searched Long Er's body. He found only some scattered silver coins, which he collected without changing expression.

Rising to his feet, Lu Chuan once again turned his gaze toward the depths of the cave.

"I need to find a way... to draw it out."

Fighting a Mountain Lord that had most likely already become an Exotic Beast in this narrow cave was by no means a wise choice.

Lu Chuan glanced at Long Er's corpse beneath his feet, then at the deep, gloomy cave, and an idea came to him.

His saber rose and fell, cleanly severing one of Long Er's arms.

After breaking through the Blood Pass, Lu Chuan's arm strength had become astonishing. With a little buildup of force, he hurled the severed arm deep into the cave.

The severed arm carried a thick smell of blood as it vanished into the darkness.

Almost at the same time—

Roar!

A low, savage tiger roar suddenly exploded from the depths of the cave, and a foul wind rushed into his face.

Immediately afterward, a terrifyingly murderous presence rapidly drew near.

Lu Chuan's gaze sharpened. Without the slightest hesitation, he retreated swiftly, slipped out of the cave entrance, and quickly concealed himself behind a massive boulder.

With the heavy bow in hand, he had already nocked a Darksteel Arrow.

Heavy, muffled thuds came from inside the cave, drawing closer and closer.

At last, a huge shadow emerged.

The Mountain Lord.

It was even larger than Lu Chuan had expected.

Its shoulder stood nearly as high as an adult's chest, and its body, tail included, was probably over three meters long. Bulging muscles rippled beneath its yellow-and-black fur.

It likely weighed no less than seven hundred pounds!

The largest wild boar Lu Chuan had ever hunted had weighed only five hundred pounds. Compared with the Mountain Lord before him, it was like a lesser wizard beside a master.

The Mountain Lord growled as its enormous amber eyes swept across the cave. It soon locked onto Long Er's mutilated corpse and slowly advanced.

What surprised Lu Chuan was that this Mountain Lord, which had worked with Long Er for more than a decade, showed not the slightest hesitation toward his remains.

It merely lowered its head and nudged the corpse with one enormous paw before opening its cavernous maw and biting down without mercy.

The sound of bones shattering was especially harsh in the cave.

"It's still just a beast in the end. Some Mountain Lord..."

Lu Chuan watched silently from the darkness. The bowstring in his hands slowly drew taut as he aimed at the side of the Mountain Lord's head.

But after thinking it over, he loosened his fingers and switched to an ordinary Armor-Piercing Arrow.

The Darksteel Arrow had been coated with Heart-Corroding Bone-Decaying Powder. The Mountain Lord was certainly fierce, but it did not seem to have reached the level of an Exotic Beast yet. There was no need to use something so potent.

Besides, he was worried that the poison would contaminate the precious Tiger Bone, making the gain not worth the loss.

Twanging!

The instant the bowstring thrummed, the Mountain Lord, which had been tearing into the corpse, seemed to sense something. Its enormous head abruptly turned toward the direction where Lu Chuan was concealed!

But the arrow had already left the string, far too fast!

The Mountain Lord reacted extremely quickly. Its massive tiger head nimbly dodged to the side.

Pfft!

The arrow failed to strike its head and sank deep into the thick muscles of its shoulder, leaving behind a bloody hole.

Roar—!

The excruciating pain completely enraged the Mountain Lord.

It fixed its eyes on the boulder, abandoned the half-eaten corpse at its feet, dug its four paws into the ground, and lunged forward with a thunderous crash!

There was no time to fire a second arrow.

Lu Chuan decisively abandoned his bow and instantly drew the long saber from his waist.

The snow-bright blade met the hill-like black shadow hurtling toward him!