The huge figure could move silently through the forest, its emerald eyes flashing with evil and hostility. It was at the top of the food chain here, and also the monster I wanted to avoid.
The ghost tiger was silently approaching us.
"Luoyang, come here quickly!"
The fat guy shouted, Luoyang had already sensed the danger behind him, and at that moment, he pounced forward. In the nick of time, the ghost tiger also pounced from behind, narrowly avoiding its attack.
After falling to the ground, Luoyang suddenly turned around, shouting in panic, "Such a...huge tiger!"
The fat guy pulled him behind us, and Qin Qianqiu quickly stepped forward, although he was not a match for the mysterious giant, he was more than capable of dealing with a ghost tiger. Only a few meters separated the two sides, and they stared at each other, with the ghost tiger prowling in the grass, looking for an opportunity to attack, yet afraid of Qin Qianqiu, its anger restrained by reason, keeping it from impulsively attacking.
"Trouble comes to meet you. You nearly killed me, and now you are the one in trouble. Watch me tear off your tiger skin."
秦千秋 was also full of unresolved anger, and the Ghost Tiger hit a nerve. His face turned red, and white smoke began to rise from his head, a sign that Qin Qianqiu was about to take action.
The Ghost Tiger's tail stood up high like a whip, showing its sharp teeth as it growled menacingly, both threatening and ready to pounce at Qin Qianqiu.
A battle between man and beast seemed imminent, but at that moment, a distant roar echoed from the forest behind the Ghost Tiger. The roar carried a powerful command, causing the tiger to hesitate. It seemed torn between attacking us and obeying the voice. Restless, the tiger appeared agitated and continually flicked its tail on the ground. When a second roar came from the forest, the Ghost Tiger finally retreated. Reluctantly roaring at us, it then leaped up and darted into the forest.
Only after it left did I realize I was drenched in cold sweat. It wasn't the Ghost Tiger that scared me, but the mysterious giant. I suspected that the strange roar also came from the giant. Qin Qianqiu spat on the ground and angrily shouted, "Don't run if you have the guts!"
The journey back was peaceful. Although Lou Qiong was young, he was a hunter, and he excitedly expressed his hopes of personally hunting a tiger in the future. Fatty teased him, saying he was overestimating himself, and soon everyone became acquainted.
As we approached the village, before entering, Qin Qianqiu suddenly raised his hand and signaled us to stop, then whispered, "Why is there a car at the village entrance?"
Startled, Fatty and I looked and recognized it as Ling Qian's Beijing 212. They had found us, and they had come quickly. The license plate on the Beijing 212 parked at the entrance was the same as the previous one. There was no doubt that we had been exposed.
"We can't go back. Let's escape now."
Fatty's suggestion was quickly accepted by me and Qin Qianqiu. He carried Hui Zhi, and the three of us turned around to leave. Unexpectedly, two people suddenly sprang out from the woods behind us, blocking our path on both sides. They held long guns typically used for hunting deer or birds. Although not very powerful, being shot by one would definitely leave a hole in us.
"What do you want?"
Qin Qianqiu and I moved to confront them, while Fatty shielded Hui Zhi under him. The situation quickly took a turn for the worse. The exposure of the village indicated that our movements had been completely discovered, and the ambush behind us indicated that our opponents had set a trap for us.
And foolishly, we had fallen right into it!
"I am Qin Qianqiu, the Earth Dragon from Xiangyang. Try touching me, one of you."
Qin Qianqiu announced his identity, his face full of hostility, clearly ready to take action.
"Don't act recklessly."
I cautioned from behind, knowing that perhaps only Hui Zhi and Lou Qiong were still unaware of the situation amongst the five of us.
"Boss!"
"Head!"
The two in front with guns simultaneously shouted, and I hesitated, turning around. Under the sun's glare, a man slowly walked towards us with the sun at his back. He was dressed in a black tunic, had neatly combed hair, wore a gleaming ring on his hand, and slightly hunched as he walked. The strong sunlight cast a long shadow of him, making him appear out of place in this mountain village, forest, and wilderness.
I believe everyone has their own aura. Some are assertive, some are cowardly, some are selfish, and some are generous. But people like me often tend to be similar to those strangers, perhaps because we share the same disposition. However, there are very few individuals who are exceptional, seemingly destined to be different from others from the moment they were born.
Ling Qian was one of them!
As the renowned Lord of Sanshan on the road, he approached the village from where we stood, wearing a friendly smile. His eyes curved into a crescent shape, and his mouth curved upward, a smile that seemingly had no faults. Yet, it always gave me the feeling that it was a mask.
A man wearing a mask, a man who from the moment he appeared, would tell you, "You can never understand me," a man who even without speaking a word or making a movement, would leave you feeling that he was inscrutable and profound.
Qin Qianqiu became nervous. He had seen more of the world and spent more time in the circle than others. But at this moment, all his experience, even every sensation of his body, was telling him that the man in front of him was very tricky!
"Nice to meet you all, I am Ling Qian's brother."
He walked to a place two meters in front of us, stopped, and the strong sunlight was finally covered by the clouds. This man in his early thirties spoke without any airs, then reached out his hand to me.
I hesitated for a moment, but still reached out my hand. At the moment our hands touched, I could clearly feel how rough his palms were.
"You are the young man called Ba Xiaoshan, Yu's junior." He suddenly came closer, and with his long and narrow eyes looking at me, I subconsciously stepped back, but my hand was held by him. He stared at me and said, "You're the one who snatched someone from my sister, aren't you?"
Even though there was no hint of anger in his words, even the most foolish person could hear the reproach in his words. I hurriedly said, "It was a last resort at the time, I didn't want to..."
"Oh?"
He still held my hand, even though I wanted to pull it away, his rough large hand felt like a pair of pliers holding me.
"You must be Qin Qianqiu, the earth dragon of Xiangyang. Nice to meet you."
He turned to look at Qin Qianqiu, who reluctantly nodded, maintaining the demeanor of a "master".
"And the fat guy should be Cui Zhen, learning the art of god fighting from Han, the senior of the Hezheng faction."
He glanced at Cui Zhen again, and his words showed that he knew us inside out.
"Ling, we had no malice, it's just that at that time..."
The fat guy wanted to explain, but Ling interrupted him with a shake of his head. Before the fat guy could finish, a man with a gun came up quickly from behind, and pressed the gun against the back of the fat guy's head, frightening the fat guy into a freeze.
"Don't interrupt when our boss is talking."
Ling pulled me back a few steps, laughing heartily, "It's really a happy day today, as they say, the calf is not afraid of the tiger, it's you guys. It's been years since anyone dared to lay a hand on my sister and the Three Mountain Master. Let's go, into the village..."
He just dragged me along. When I tried to pull my hand back, he suddenly turned his head, his seemingly smiling eyes staring at me, and for a moment I felt like I was being targeted by a terrifying monster.
"If I tell you not to speak, then don't speak. If I tell you not to move, then you can't move. If I tell you not to leave, then you cannot leave!"
I pursed my lips and gave up pulling my hand back, and the Three Mountain Master pulled me into the village. At a glance, Ling Qian and two men were standing in the center of the village, and all the villagers were looking at us nervously.