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

Lu Qingshan's heart sank to the bottom in that instant.

He realized that from the moment he stepped into this valley, every action he took, the divination he painstakingly deciphered, and his proud ability to identify medicinal herbs...

In the eyes of this mysterious master, it was probably no different from children's tricks.

Any attempt to conceal it will appear utterly ridiculous.

But he still couldn't tell the whole story.

This old man has an eccentric temper and acts unpredictably. Who knows if he covets that tiger king or has other schemes?

What if it's a trap he set? If I open my mouth, wouldn't that be like pushing that mother tiger and her cub into a fire pit?

No, we must find out what he's capable of first.

"Sir, what...what do you mean by that? I don't quite understand."

Lu Qingshan's face showed just the right amount of confusion. He tilted his head slightly, as if trying to understand what the other person was saying.

At the same time, his peripheral vision was fixed on every muscle movement on the old man's face.

"The 'mountain tiger' you mentioned... what kind of wild animal in these mountains are you referring to?"

"I've encountered quite a few things in the past few days in the mountains: bears, wild boars, roe deer... Which one are you referring to?"

He deliberately omitted the word "tiger" and threw out a bunch of miscellaneous wild animals in an attempt to muddy the waters.

However, the old man merely snorted, a sound that seemed to be squeezed out from the cracked bark of a tree, full of disdain and mockery.

"Kid, don't try to play your little tricks on me."

The old man slowly turned around and looked Lu Qingshan up and down, as if he wanted to see through him completely.

"Bears? Wild boars? Hmph, they dare call themselves 'mountain kings'? They're just food for the mountains, snacks for the mountain kings!"

He took a step forward, and a sense of oppression, mixed with the scent of herbs and the passage of time, rushed towards him.

"I ask you, in this Tiger King Ridge, besides it, who else deserves to be called 'Mountain Lord'?"

The old man spoke almost into Lu Qingshan's ear, asking questions word by word, his tone carrying an unquestionable domineering and self-righteous air.

Upon hearing "Tiger King Ridge" and the word "it," Lu Qingshan's heart skipped a beat.

He keenly observed that when the old man uttered those two words, his face did not show the greed of a hunter or the murderous intent of an enemy.

It was an extremely complex emotion, like mentioning an "old neighbor" you've known for many years, someone you both respect and are familiar with, and even carrying a sense of confrontation as equals.

There's a chance!

Lu Qingshan felt a little more at ease, but his face still maintained that "innocent" and "probing" expression.

"Sir, you mean... a tiger?"

He finally asked the question, his voice not loud, but like a pebble thrown into a still lake.

"Oh."

The old man uttered a single, unintelligible syllable, but did not answer. Instead, he turned his back to Lu Qingshan.

His gaze drifted into the distance to his simple thatched hut and the endless primeval forest behind it.

The wind blew through the valley, and the thatched roof of the cottage rustled, as if telling a story of long years.

"Sixty-one years."

The old man's voice drifted over, carrying a sense of vicissitude that seemed to come from the last century.

"I have been guarding this valley for sixty-one years."

"It has been entrenched in Tiger King Ridge for almost sixty years."

The old man slowly turned around, his gaze falling on Lu Qingshan again. The scrutinizing look had faded considerably, replaced by a calm that seemed to know everything.

"Kid, I'm asking you, do you really think your skills are enough to find this place?"

"With your meager skill of not getting lost in the mountains? There are more forks in the road on Tiger King Ridge than hairs on your body. You could walk until you die and still not find your way out!"

"You think you can decipher a few divination symbols I threw out when I was bored? Those things are just for swatting flies; you haven't even scratched the surface of the real secrets!"

The old man shook his head, and for the first time, a hint of mockery appeared on his thin face. He pointed to the five neatly sorted medicine baskets.

"As for your meager ability to identify herbs... humph, it's at best a stepping stone, and a chipped one at that!"

"I was barely allowed to peek at you through the crack in the door. I was a little tempted to see which wild kid had such a keen eye."

His tone suddenly shifted, and his gaze became sharper than ever before, like two awls piercing into the depths of Lu Qingshan's soul.

"But let me tell you, what truly allowed you to step into this fenced yard and stand before me wasn't any of that rubbish skill!"

"It's that scent on you... the scent it approves of!"

"If I hadn't been hundreds of meters away, I could have smelled the unique scent of that old buddy, and the smell of its cubs, from the blood on your wounds..."

The old man stretched out a withered finger, almost poking Lu Qingshan's nose.

"Even if you stand outside the valley until you turn into a stone waiting for your husband, you'll never see me or hear my voice!"

These last words, like a thunderclap from the heavens, exploded in Lu Qingshan's mind!

That's it!

It turns out that all the previous trials—finding the way, interpreting the divination, identifying the medicine—were just superficial!

These were all just "appetizers" prepared by this eccentric master out of sheer boredom!

The real reason I was able to stand here, the only proof that gave me the right to speak with him, was actually that tiger king!

It was the "aura" that he had acquired after saving the tiger cub, an aura that had been recognized by this master!

Having figured this out, Lu Qingshan's last trace of wariness and pretense finally receded like the tide.

He realized that the expert before him was a friend, not an enemy.

He has guarded this valley for sixty years, and the Tiger King has been entrenched on Tiger King Ridge for nearly sixty years. A tacit understanding and balance has long been formed between them that outsiders cannot comprehend.

"Let's keep to ourselves."

"It never sets foot within a hundred paces of my thatched hut, and I never provoke its offspring."

The old man's words echoed in his ears again, and Lu Qingshan instantly understood more.

By saving the tiger prince's grandson, he was, in a sense, doing the old man a favor and maintaining the fragile balance between him and the tiger king.

He took a deep breath, no longer hiding anything, and bowed deeply to the old man.

"Sir, I have been testing you before, please forgive me."

Then, he raised his head, his eyes clear and open, and recounted how he discovered the animal trap marked with an "eagle head".

How did he see the cub with its front paws bitten tightly, its flesh mangled and bloody? How did he approach it step by step under the overwhelming threat of the mother tiger's murderous intent? And how did he come up with a quick and clever plan?

The story recounts in detail how the tiger cub was anesthetized with "Drunken Immortal Grass," and how the trap was broken with a stone and a hunting knife before the wound was cleaned and bandaged.

Of course, he still kept the matter of the Tiger King gifting him an eighty-year-old ginseng king, and his various entanglements with this old man in his previous life, buried deep in his heart like a rock.

A long silence fell once again before the thatched cottage.

Only the wind in the valley, rustling through the treetops, makes a "shush" sound, like an ancient and long song.

The old man listened without saying a word.

He just stood there, looking at the young man in front of him, for a very long time.

In his cloudy eyes, scrutiny, indifference, and suspicion—all the sharp emotions were gradually melting away.

Instead, there is a heartfelt appreciation.

There was even a hint of... relief.

"Being able to kill a bear with your bare hands proves you're ruthless; you're a born hunter..."

The old man seemed to be talking to himself, or perhaps to the valley, as he murmured to himself.

"You're willing to stoop down and risk being torn to pieces to save a complete stranger's tiger cub... that shows you're kind-hearted and have principles..."

"Oh."

He let out a soft, ambiguous laugh and shook his head.

"Ruthless yet kind, and possessing a brilliant mind... In this world, there aren't many young people like you. Every one who dies is one less."

As soon as he finished speaking, he said no more. His perpetually stern face seemed to soften slightly as he turned and walked back into the dark room.

A moment later, he came out, carrying a small, inconspicuous earthenware pot.

"Bang."

He casually tossed the earthenware pot over, sending a gust of wind through it.

Lu Qingshan instinctively reached out and caught it; it was icy cold to the touch.

"Take care of your minor injury. The smell of blood mixed with herbs is awful and an eyesore!"

The old man's voice returned to its dry, emotionless tone, as if he hadn't been the one who had just shown appreciation.

He went back into the house, took out a dark, cornbread-like bun that looked like it was made from mixed grain flour, and a bowl of still steaming water, and placed them heavily on the stone steps at the door with a thud.

"After you finish eating, when it's fully light, come with me into the mountains."

The old man glanced at him, his eyes once again holding that scrutinizing look.

"I want to see for myself whether your skill in making a living in the mountains is real or not, or as amazing as you say."

Lu Qingshan's heart suddenly stirred.

He knew that identifying medicinal herbs was just a "stepping stone," and rescuing the tiger was just an "entry ticket." Now, the real test had just begun!

He didn't stand on ceremony and unscrewed the lid of the earthenware pot. A refreshing scent, mixed with a strange fragrance of herbs and trees, wafted out, instantly invigorating him.

He dipped his finger in the dark green ointment and applied it to the deep, bone-revealing wound on his shoulder, torn open by tiger claws.

A chilling sensation that penetrates to the core instantly spread throughout the body!

The burning, searing pain, as if countless ants were gnawing at me, subsided by more than half in just a few breaths, leaving only a tingling, numb sensation.

The efficacy of this ointment is simply miraculous!

Lu Qingshan gained a completely new and higher level of understanding of the old man's strength. This was no longer simply a matter of herbs; it was almost the Dao itself!

He picked up the cornbread and swallowed it down in a few mouthfuls with the bowl of warm water.

After eating, a warm current instantly flowed through my limbs and bones, and my body finally regained some strength.

"Old sir..."

After Lu Qingshan finished treating and bandaging his wound, he couldn't help but speak up when he saw the old man squatting under the eaves picking his teeth with an unknown grass root.

"The 'Li' hexagram you carved on the tree earlier is from the long-lost 'Deer Bone Divination Method'..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was met with a cold glare from the old man.

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask!"

The old man spat the grass root in his mouth onto the ground with a "pui" sound, and his eyes regained their initial sharpness.

"When you're old enough to know, I'll tell you without you even asking! Right now? You're still a long way off!"

He neither admitted nor denied it.

This attitude made Lu Qingshan's heart feel as if it had been gently tickled by a soft feather, leaving him feeling itchy and filled with anticipation and longing for the future.

He wisely refrained from further words, sat cross-legged on the bluestone outside the house, and began to slowly regulate his breathing according to the mental techniques he remembered from his previous life, restoring his almost exhausted strength.

The valley was completely silent except for the gentle breeze and the chirping of insects.

Just as he was about to enter a state of complete meditation, his mind sinking into a state of emptiness, the old man's voice came again from the thatched hut, like a murmur in the night wind, yet it entered his ears clearly.

"Kid, remember what I said."

"Seven days, starting tomorrow."

"Every day, I will give you a question, a real test from the people of the mountains."

The old man paused, his tone carrying an unprecedented solemnity, as if he were proclaiming an ancient ritual that had been passed down for countless years.

"Seven days from now, if you're still breathing and standing here..."

"Then I'll tell you who I've been waiting for all my life."