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

That mark was like a red-hot steel needle piercing into Lu Qingshan's brain.

The Li hexagram.

Long at the top, short in the middle, and long at the bottom.

The three horizontal lines have a peculiar roughness at the edges, as if they were carved with bone.

Can't go wrong.

This is the "Deer Bone Fortune Telling Method".

In his past life, he was being hunted down by his enemies and barely escaped with his life, eventually fleeing into this old forest.

He was saved by an old herb-gathering man who had lived in seclusion there for many years and had an eccentric temperament.

The old man taught him a set of boxing techniques called "White Ape Guarding the Mountain Boxing".

He was also taught a secret method unique to their lineage—the deer bone divination method—for identifying directions and transmitting messages in the mountains and forests.

The scapula of an adult roe deer is used, ground into a stick, and the marks made are unique.

Why would he leave a mark here?

Moreover, it happened at this time.

Lu Qingshan's heart began to pound wildly.

In his previous life, he met that master several years later.

In this life, because I saved this tiger cub, this incredible opportunity was brought forward by so much.

Is this cause and effect?

He walked quickly to the ancient pine tree, reached out his hand, and gently stroked the new engraving with his fingertips.

It was warm to the touch and carried a faint, fresh scent of freshly turned wood.

It was only recently engraved.

After the initial excitement came a chilling calm.

This matter must absolutely not be known to a third person.

Without making a sound, he grabbed a handful of damp moss from the ground and rubbed it repeatedly on the mark.

He rubbed it with a piece of rough bark until the mark blended into the wrinkles of the surrounding old tree, and no trace of it could be seen anymore.

After doing all this, he turned around and walked back the way he came.

"team leader!"

Liu Dong's voice was filled with undisguised excitement and admiration.

Zhang Chen followed behind, his eyes filled with complex emotions—awe, fear, and a hint of bewilderment.

Lu Qingshan's expression had returned to calm, showing no signs of emotion.

"We got a little lost, let's go back."

His voice was flat, as if he were talking about something trivial.

But even he himself didn't believe this excuse.

Liu Dong and Zhang Chen didn't believe it either, but they didn't dare ask a single question.

On the way back, the atmosphere was terribly oppressive.

Just as they were about to leave the forest, Lu Qingshan suddenly stopped.

He turned around, his gaze sweeping over Zhang Chen and Liu Dong's faces one by one.

"Everything you saw in the forest today, every word you heard..."

He paused, his voice becoming unusually hoarse and heavy.

"Keep it all buried inside."

Without a second thought, Liu Dong straightened his chest and declared, "Captain, don't worry! If I, Liu Dong, utter a single word of this, may I die a horrible death!"

Zhang Chen's lips moved, and he nodded in agreement.

Lu Qingshan looked at them and shook his head.

"not enough."

His voice wasn't loud, but it made Zhang Chen and Liu Dong's hearts sink.

"I want you to swear on the lives of your families."

"It's not just about today."

Lu Qingshan took a step forward, and the fierce aura that he had shown even before the Tiger King pressed down on the two of them without reservation.

"And the wound on my shoulder, and the ginseng I'm holding."

Every word he uttered felt like a stone striking their hearts.

"After today, we were just out on a routine fire prevention patrol. The injury on my shoulder was from being accidentally scratched by a wild boar."

"We've never seen that tiger before."

"We've never seen that tiger cub before."

"As for this ginseng..."

He patted his chest.

"I was lucky; I found it myself. It has nothing to do with anything or anyone."

"Do you understand?"

Fine beads of cold sweat had already formed on Zhang Chen's forehead.

He had spent his entire life in these mountains and had never seen Lu Qingshan like this before.

This is no longer an order.

This is a warning.

It's a military order that puts lives at stake.

He had no doubt that if he hesitated even slightly, this young man would really shut them up completely in this unknown forest.

"I...I, Zhang Chen, swear!"

Zhang Chen knelt down on one knee with a "plop" and raised three fingers.

"If I utter a single word about what happened today to my wife and children, may my entire family be struck by lightning and die a gruesome death!"

Liu Dong was also frightened by this momentum. He imitated Zhang Chen, knelt on the ground, and roared with all his might.

"I, Liu Dong, swear! Anyone who dares to ask me about today's events, I'll twist their head off first! If they leak even a single word, may my parents be hit by a car and die!"

Lu Qingshan looked at the two people kneeling in front of him, and the coldness in his eyes slowly faded.

He reached out and helped the two of them up one by one.

"Alright, get up."

"Remember what you said today."

After completing their patrol mission, the three returned to the forest farm.

Lu Qingshan went directly to the farm manager's office.

Li Aiguo frowned as he looked at his disheveled appearance, especially the deep, bone-revealing wound on his shoulder.

"What happened?!"

Lu Qingshan grinned nonchalantly and made up the excuse he had already prepared.

"Bad luck. I ran into a wild boar king who didn't know his own limitations. I got grazed by its tusks, but it's nothing serious."

Li Aiguo stared at him for a long time, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that he didn't seem to be lying.

"You've got some nerve, kid. Next time there's a mission like this, bring a few more people with you."

"Where's the report?"

Lu Qingshan handed over a completed patrol report.

In his report, he drew a detailed map of the new patrol route, marking several new water sources and several deadwood areas that could easily ignite wildfires.

As for the Tiger King, the ginseng, and that mysterious mark, he didn't mention a word about them.

Li Aiguo looked at the detailed map with admiration in his eyes.

"Well done."

"Alright, hurry back and recover from your injury. You don't need to work for the next few days."

"Yes."

Lu Qingshan saluted, turned and left the office.

That night, Lu Qingshan did not go home, but slept in the single dormitory at the forest farm.

He closed the door and drew the curtains.

He carefully took out the wild ginseng wrapped in moss and bark from his bosom.

Then he took out the animal trap coated with a potent poison from his backpack.

Each tree is a gift from the mountains and forests, brimming with the spirit of nature.

One represents human greed, coldness, and malice.

Lu Qingshan placed the two items side by side on the table and stared at them for a long time.

He picked up the iron clamp, his gaze falling on the eagle head mark on the base.

This mark is exactly the same as the mark on the tin box containing US dollars left by the Thunder Gang.

They are the same group of people.

A group of desperate criminals who would stop at nothing for money, even daring to kill a nationally protected animal.

He had previously thought of himself as just a hunter.

We can use the resources in these mountains and forests to generate wealth and give our families a better life.

But now, looking at the two things on the table, an unprecedented thought became incredibly clear in his mind.

He is more than just a hunter.

He should be the guardian of this Changbai Mountain.

Protect it, and prevent it from being defiled by these greedy beasts.

To protect it, even greater power is needed.

This old-fashioned hunting rifle in my hand is far from enough.

Lu Qingshan's gaze sharpened.

He put away the ginseng and iron clamp, lay on the bed, and repeatedly recalled the "Li" trigram symbol in his mind.

And in his previous life, every detail of when that master taught him the "White Ape Guarding the Mountain Fist".

Silent all night.

The next day, before dawn.

Lu Qingshan got up quietly and went into Tiger King Ridge alone once again.

Relying on his memory, he easily found his way to the ancient pine tree from yesterday.

He stopped in his tracks.

It was the spot he had wiped yesterday.

A new marker appeared there.

It was an arrow pointing east, carved using the "deer bone divination method".

And below the arrow.

There is also a line of smaller characters drawn with the same bone skewer.

The handwriting is messy, yet it is powerful and carries an undeniable air of authority.

"The one who saved the tiger, come and see me."