My sister broke off her engagement to marry someone richer? My older sister married me and became in

Li Aiguo's finger tapped heavily on the area circled in red on the map.

"Tiger King Ridge".

He looked at Lu Qingshan with an expression that didn't seem like he was giving a task, but rather like he was entrusting him with a matter of life and death.

"In previous years, summer fire prevention was done by Lao Zhang and a few others taking turns leading the team, going around the area a few times, burning a few piles of firebreaks, and that was it."

"Not this year."

Li Aiguo stood up, paced around the office a couple of times, and lowered his voice.

"The provincial department has issued a strict order to ensure the absolute safety of the core forest area this year. The most precious thing in our forest is those hundreds of century-old red pines in Tiger King Ridge; not a single one can be harmed."

He stopped and turned to look at Lu Qingshan.

"Therefore, you must lead the team this time. You can choose the personnel yourself, and you can name any equipment you want. There is only one requirement: within half a month, I need you to thoroughly inspect the entire Tiger King Ridge from the inside out, and leave no fire hazard whatsoever."

"team leader?"

Lu Qingshan looked up at the old farm manager who treated him like a son or nephew.

"Yes, Captain."

Li Aiguo was resolute.

"You are the commander-in-chief for this operation and have the authority to make decisions. Even if it's my order, once we're in the mountains, you can refuse to carry it out if you feel it's wrong."

That's a very strong statement.

It was as if the lifeline of the entire forest farm had been handed over to Lu Qingshan.

Lu Qingshan didn't ask any more questions. He simply stood up and nodded solemnly to Li Aiguo.

"Don't worry, Manager."

……

The next morning, Li Aiguo summoned Lu Qingshan to the shooting range on the back mountain of the forest farm.

The shooting range was very rudimentary; it consisted of a few wooden planks hung on a hillside to serve as targets.

"Come on, give it a try."

Li Aiguo handed over a semi-automatic rifle that was well-maintained and gleaming.

"You did a great job last time, but those were hunting rifles, not this thing. You'll inevitably have to deal with it in the future, so get familiar with it first."

Lu Qingshan took the gun, and the weight in his hand made him feel at ease.

He skillfully pulled back the bolt and checked the magazine, his movements fluid and effortless.

But when he raised his gun and assumed the aiming posture, the hideous scar on his left arm, like a lurking centipede, suddenly tightened.

A sharp, aching pain and stiffness shot up my shoulder blades along the muscle fibers.

He subconsciously adjusted his posture, trying to find a more comfortable point of leverage.

But that scar, like an indelible brand, held him back, making his movements somewhat sluggish.

"Bang!"

Gunshots rang out.

The bullet hit the edge of the target, missing by a full half ring.

Lu Qingshan frowned.

Since his rebirth, this was the first time he had felt that his body was no longer so free to do as he pleased.

He tried firing a few more shots.

Although he quickly adjusted and hit the bullseye every time, he knew that he had used extra force in his right arm and waist to maintain stability.

It might work in the short term, but if the standoff continues for a long time, it will definitely be a fatal flaw.

"How is it?"

Li Aiguo stood beside him at some point.

Lu Qingshan put down his gun, rubbed his sore left shoulder, and said nothing.

Li Aiguo glanced at the target, then at his arm slinged across his chest, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it.

He didn't point it out, but simply patted Lu Qingshan's right shoulder forcefully.

"Good marksmanship."

He paused, then changed the subject, gazing at the distant mountains, and said something inexplicable.

"However, the mountains are not like the shooting range."

"Sometimes, brains are more important than marksmanship."

……

Back in his assigned single dormitory room, Lu Qingshan was not discouraged by his daytime setback.

He closed the door, took a blank piece of kraft paper from the cabinet, and spread it on the table.

Then, he closed his eyes.

Everything about "Tiger King Ridge" from his past life—those fragmented rumors, bloody lessons, and secrets known only to the most elite mountain runners—converged and reassembled in his mind like a tide.

After a long while, he opened his eyes and picked up a pencil.

A "Route Map Inside Tiger King Ridge" that is ten times more detailed than the official map of the forest farm began to take shape little by little under his pen.

Where is there a stable water source?

Which sections appear gentle but are actually deadly steep slopes with hidden cracks?

In that shady valley, there grows patches of rare medicinal herbs.

Based on the terrain and the direction of water sources, he even roughly marked several areas where large predators were most likely to nest.

He drew slowly and carefully; each mark represented the price of one or more lives in a previous life.

This picture is his biggest source of confidence for this trip into the mountains.

……

The action team was officially established the following day.

Li Aiguo assigned him two team members.

One of them, Zhang Chen, was in his fifties and was one of the most senior rangers in the forest farm. He had been walking in the mountains for over thirty years and was very experienced, but he was also exceptionally conservative and cautious.

The other one was named Liu Dong, a young man in his early twenties who had just been discharged from the army and assigned to the forest farm last year. He was in excellent physical condition, and his eyes were filled with undisguised fanatical admiration when he looked at Lu Qingshan.

The meeting place was at the forest farm warehouse.

Lu Qingshan didn't waste any pleasantries and went straight to checking the equipment the two had brought.

"I brought less dry food, so I switched to a larger water bottle."

"Bring two extra bundles of rope, the thickest kind."

"Throw away all the hemostatic powder you brought and replace it with this."

He took out several medicine packets wrapped in oil paper from his backpack and tossed them to the two men.

The medicine packet contained crushed herbs, emitting a peculiar, refreshing fragrance.

Although Zhang Chen and Liu Dong didn't know each other, seeing Lu Qingshan's unquestionable expression, they obediently changed into their new clothes.

After checking, both of their backpacks were found to be nearly a third heavier.

Liu Dong was young and didn't care; on the contrary, he felt safer the more equipment he had.

Old Zhang Chen frowned as he looked at his bulging backpack.

Before setting off, he finally couldn't resist and pulled Lu Qingshan aside.

"Captain Lu," he lowered his voice, "I know you're young and capable, but Tiger King Ridge is a very dangerous place."

"When I was young, I went in with my master once and saw with my own eyes that such a big pine tree on the mountainside broke off by itself with a 'crack'."

"Some people also say that they saw a weasel as big as a calf inside, which could mimic human speech."

He swallowed hard, his face turning pale.

"Our mission this time is fire prevention. We just need to patrol the outer perimeter and set up the firebreaks. There's no need to push into the innermost part."

Lu Qingshan listened quietly to him without refuting him.

He simply looked into Zhang Chen's eyes and spoke calmly.

"Uncle Zhang, your experience is invaluable. I'll listen to you on how to find my way in the mountains and how to read the weather."

"but……"

He changed the subject, his voice not loud, but it carried an irresistible power.

"When we get to the place, you have to listen to me about where to go and what to do."

Zhang Chen opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but when he met Lu Qingshan's unfathomable eyes, he couldn't say anything more.

He had lived for over fifty years and had never seen a young person with such eyes.

There was no youthful impetuosity or recklessness there, only the stillness of an ancient well, and beneath that stillness, a chilling sharpness.

"Okay... alright."

He finally nodded and stepped aside.

Beside him, Liu Dong watched this scene, his eyes shining with even greater admiration.

In his view, this is what a hero should be like.

……

The team set off.

Once he entered the forest area, Lu Qingshan seemed like a completely different person.

Instead of taking the usual mountain path used by the patrol team, he led the two men into a dense forest that seemed to have no path at all.

Zhang Chen wanted to speak up several times to remind him that this was the wrong road, but seeing Lu Qingshan's calm and composed back in front of him, he swallowed his words.

Strangely, although the path was difficult to walk, one could always find a foothold or a vine to lean on at the most crucial points.

They walked for most of the day, and around noon, Lu Qingshan stopped in front of a shady hillside that was rarely visited by people.

"take a break."

Liu Dong plopped down on the ground, panting heavily.

"Captain, where are we? I have this feeling that no one has ever been here before?"

Lu Qingshan didn't answer him, but walked to a clump of bushes about half a person's height and reached out to push them aside.

Behind the shrubs, clusters of Astragalus and Codonopsis, with their thick leaves and robust roots, densely covered the entire hillside.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, illuminating the medicinal herbs and giving them a golden sheen.

"My goodness!"

Liu Dong's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

Even Zhang Chen, who was well-informed, gasped in surprise.

This is such a large area of ​​wild medicinal herbs, and they're all quite old. If they were dug up, they would be worth a fortune!

Both of them were so shocked that they didn't notice that Lu Qingshan hadn't even looked at the medicinal herbs.

He squatted down, picked up a pinch of damp soil from the root of an astragalus plant, and smelled it.

Then, his expression gradually became serious.

He looked up at Zhang Chen.

"Uncle Zhang, come here and smell it."

"In this soil..."

"Does it smell bloody?"