The Debt Collector Has Arrived

Rumble—

Plan set.

After Tiger Immortal tossed the leopard's carcass out of the cave, he began to sit in meditation.

He fell into a rhythm of breathing.

He exhaled fifteen Chang Ghost of varying sizes, their bodies mostly translucent.

They were all people Tiger Immortal had consumed in the past.

These fifteen Chang Ghost, in particular, had been specially refined by Tiger Immortal.

As long as he imbued them with some Sha Qi, they could venture far from his side, traveling a hundred miles by night to track down people or objects.

"Great King!"

At this moment.

Once they appeared, they did not stray, instead standing guard beside Tiger Immortal.

Hiss...

Amidst the rustling sounds, they began to inhale the Sha Qi exhaled by Tiger Immortal.

By the evening of the fourth day.

When these dozen-plus Chang Ghost had stabilized their forms and were no longer translucent.

"Go!"

Tiger Immortal dispatched them to track down Chen Guan.

At the same time, Tiger Immortal emerged from the cave and headed toward the location where his concubine had died.

The fifteen Chang Ghost, along with Tiger Immortal.

Like a dragnet, they swept through the area, sifting through the terrain like sand.

The next day.

Night.

Five hundred miles away, at a dilapidated temple.

A dull thud of footsteps came from the backyard.

Chen Guan was struggling to twist his massive body, treading in a strange gait.

This was the light-body technique recorded in the manual.

Aside from hunting, Chen Guan had spent this entire time practicing his martial arts.

Practicing also increased the proficiency of his talents.

Furthermore, during his hunts.

Chen Guan had been slowly integrating the techniques and skills he learned into his innate bear hunting instincts.

He ensured these moves were not just for show, but were applied practically to deepen his muscle memory.

Lately.

Chen Guan had been quite happy with his progress.

Currently, his proficiency had reached [Primary Bear Strength: 492/1000].

He was almost halfway there.

Now.

After finishing his martial arts practice for the day, Chen Guan looked at his thick bear paws.

"Although the improvements are getting harder, with the help of these body-tempering martial arts, it's not too slow. I can grind out seven or eight points a day."

Chen Guan was satisfied with this speed and turned his gaze toward the dilapidated temple.

Swish, swish—

Xiao Qing, acting like an "automatic loot collector," was manipulating a sharp blade to cut through animal hides.

Whenever Chen Guan brought back prey and tossed it to his sister, she would always extract certain items to keep.

Thump, thump...

Chen Guan shifted his massive body, walking over step by step.

Now, he had to lower his head slightly to enter the dilapidated temple.

"Roar."

Chen Guan walked into the dilapidated temple, greeted his younger sister, and then grabbed a large chunk of meat from the ground, devouring it ravenously.

"Brother, you're done with your training!"

Seeing her brother come to keep her company, Xiao Qing happily began sharing all sorts of things.

"Brother, this animal hide is so hard to take apart..."

"Brother, it seems like Xiao Qing's strength has improved a bit again?"

"Brother, I think I've grown a little taller, have you noticed, Brother?"

"Brother..."

"Brother? Brother? Are you listening?"

"Roar." Chen Guan signaled that he was listening, gesturing for her to continue.

He couldn't speak right now, but he made for a very qualified listener.

"Brother is the best!"

Xiao Qing happily circled Chen Guan twice before looking toward the small stone platform behind the idol.

There lay a few thick needles, threaded with strands unraveled from cloth strips.

Currently, Xiao Qing was making a wide animal hide garment for Chen Guan.

"Brother, winter will be here in a few months. Once you put this on, you won't be cold anymore."

She chattered away, her small mouth never stopping as she began to sew the garment for Chen Guan.

But in Chen Guan's eyes, his sister's craftsmanship was hard to describe.

Still, Chen Guan now understood why his sister had been tirelessly collecting animal hides.

It turned out she was making a garment for him.

"Roar, roar."

Chen Guan thanked his sister and gently patted her head with his bear paw.

Although there was no tactile sensation of skin, there was instead a slightly eerie, icy chill.

However, Chen Guan could not speak, and his sister was illiterate, so he didn't know how to express his gratitude and affection for her.

"Brother!" Feeling her brother's touch, the sister felt a scorching sensation of Yang energy.

Chen Guan's constitution was incredibly strong, his life force extremely vigorous.

His physical body alone was enough to make wandering ghosts without cultivation retreat and stay away.

Yet, his sister didn't mention the stinging, scorching sensation; instead, acting as if she were spoiled, she nudged her small head into Chen Guan's palm.

This clingy little thing. Chen Guan felt quite speechless, yet also quite happy.

One bear and one ghost, in this man-made temple of deities, were relying on each other for survival.

Rumble—

Late at night, it rained again.

"Catch the water, catch the water."

Chen Guan, who had been sleeping, heard the rain and scurried out of the side room, braving the heavy downpour to reach the base of the locust tree.

"Brother!"

At the back door of the dilapidated temple, Xiao Qing was already manipulating a ladle, filling a bucket with the liquid for the Yin-Yang Eyes.

Even though she was a ghost and naturally feared the sound of thunder and the flash of lightning.

She feared even more that her brother would run out of the medicinal liquid and, losing the ability of his Yin-Yang Eyes, would no longer be able to see her.

"Roar! Roar!"

Chen Guan snatched the ladle from mid-air and waved his palm, signaling for his sister to return to the temple.

Although Xiao Qing was reluctant and didn't want to leave her brother to work alone, she was afraid of making him angry, so she returned to the temple, looking back every few steps.

Her small face remained turned toward this direction the entire time.

After watching for a while, she remembered something important and returned to sewing her Hundred Beast Garment.

"Whew, it really is starting to get cold."

Back in the courtyard.

Chen Guan scooped water while watching the torrential rain accompanied by thunder and lightning.

Perhaps summer was coming to an end.

After standing in the rain for a while, he could indeed feel the slight chill of approaching autumn.

The next day, morning.

Between the crevices of the mountain rocks.

Thump...

The Tiger Immortal's massive, five-meter-long body arrived beside two large boulders.

"My little concubine is indeed dead."

He sniffed, clearly detecting the scent of brains amidst a patch of dried blood.

"Her head was smashed open by that bear; hard to survive, hard to survive."

The Tiger Immortal's tiger face wore an indescribable expression.

At this moment, he seemed to be deep in thought, or perhaps mourning his deceased concubine.

Yet, drool flowed from the corners of his mouth, as if he were also overcome by gluttony.

"This bear, being able to kill my little concubine, its heart must be incredibly chewy..."

He sucked back his drool and looked toward the fifteen Chang Ghost followers trailing behind him.

"You lot, search within a radius of thirty miles."

"Yes! Great King!"

"Rest assured, Grandpa Tiger!"

"We shall surely drag out the enemy who killed the Little Mistress!"

"Great King, this lowly one begs leave to begin the search..."

As the words fell, the fifteen Chang Ghost scattered, beginning their search in different directions.

The Tiger Immortal looked left and right, and out of sheer boredom, he swung a paw, generating gusts of Sha Qi that pulverized the two boulders into rubble.

At the same time, he struggled to manipulate the Sha Qi, slowly piecing the fragments together into a stone platform that vaguely resembled a throne.

Whoosh—

With a tiger's leap, he landed atop the stone platform, waiting for news from his Chang Ghost subordinates.