In the blink of an eye, another seven days passed.
During the day, Li Yuan was very excited.
Because after his relentless efforts, Xiaohuang finally allowed him to ride.
But come nightfall, he furrowed his brow.
In the dead of night, as usual, he headed toward the outside of Xiao Mo Mountain, but he hadn't yet gone far when he heard a chaotic noise in the distance—there were cries, screams, shouts, curses, sounds of heavy objects smashing, and the clashing of weapons...
These sounds, carried by the cold winter wind, wafted over, making the night seem to boil with both fervor and panic.
"What suddenly happened?"
Li Yuan stared blankly for a while, a sense of foreboding flashing through his heart, and he quickened his pace toward home.
But upon reaching Little Ink Workshop, he discovered a crowd of people gathered outside, watching and waiting for something, creating a buzzing commotion.
This continued until the early hours before calming down.
Li Yuan waited quietly.
The candlelight inside his house was still on, and through the oil paper window, he could see several heads moving about inside.
Earlier, Li Yuan clearly saw Aunt Wang and Feng'Er.
The two women, for some reason, were huddled in his house at this hour, apparently chatting with Yan Yu.
About an hour later, they finally left separately.
After a while.
The candlelight inside the house went out...
Li Yuan carefully observed the surroundings. After ensuring safety, he swiftly and stealthily made his way through the woods to his back door, knocking in a specific rhythm.
The back door quickly opened, and Yan Yu hastily pulled him inside, locking the door behind him.
"Defeated... the County Soldiers were defeated.
The news just came during the day, and by evening, the Red Lotus Bandits suddenly appeared outside the city, beginning their assault.
A lot of people died in the county, and we still don't know the situation outside."
Yan Yu's eyes were filled with panic, her voice trembling as if she was frozen in place.
Li Yuan touched her hands, only to find them ice-cold.
He asked, "Weren't they still pursuing victory just a few days ago?
How did they suddenly lose today?"
Yan Yu, unable to suppress her panic, said, "I don't know, I don't know... But if the County Soldiers are defeated, would those who went out from Little Ink Workshop also be dead?
Aunt Wang just came to me crying, saying Uncle Wang might be gone;
Feng'Er also came, apologizing again for what happened before, crying and saying Brother Xiong might also be gone.
Feng'Er even asked me if you had returned from the mountain. I... I also started crying, saying you hadn't been heard from until now, fearing you might have died in the mountains."
Li Yuan said, "Why did Feng'Er ask about me?"
Yan Yu said, "Feng'Er said, at least you are a grown man, and if you were home, it would be good.
I saw her like that, feeling quite sorry for her, just a young girl, having just relied on Brother Xiong, only for him to be gone in the blink of an eye."
Li Yuan said, "Does she want to rely on me?"
"Perhaps." Yan Yu paused, her almond-shaped eyes rolling slightly, moving closer as she said, "Brother Yuan, what do you think, do you want to be with her? With your strong skills, you could surely satisfy two young women. Do you want that? If you just say the word, Feng'Er might even be waiting for you in your bed tomorrow night."
"For what good?" Li Yuan held Lady Yan.
Yan Yu blinked, staring at Li Yuan's face in the dark as she said, "Many men in the workshop eye the pot while eating from the bowl, even when they have wives at home, always glancing at other women's backsides. I'm thinking of bringing the pot to you... do you want it?"
"I only have one woman, Sister Yan." Li Yuan pulled Lady Yan tighter into his arms.
Yan Yu fell silent, a smile sneaking out on her buried face, full of joy.
Li Yuan said, "Do you want to go into the mountains with me?"
Yan Yu shook her head, saying, "Let's wait and see."
Li Yuan said, "Well then..."
He didn't want to take Yan Yu into the mountains unless it was absolutely necessary.
First, life in the mountains was hard. Although Yan Yu was an ordinary person and he could take care of her, it was uncertain how long her body could endure, plus he couldn't be there to watch over her every hour of the day;
Second, once in the mountains, they would be completely cut off from the outside. Acquiring a cultivation skill would be a long shot.
...
...
In the following days, Li Yuan didn't dare venture deep into the mountains to explore. During the day, he had a simple meal and kept watch near Little Ink Workshop, observing the happenings within.
At night, he would run back home to listen to Yan Yu's recounting of news from outside.
The situation was getting worse...
The Red Lotus Bandits retreated, but not because they were driven back; they shifted their attack to other places instead.
However, many people in Shanbao County died, including a lot of government officials.
When things looked promising before, the County Magistrate led troops out of the city, but they didn't return.
During the city defense, the County Captain of Shanbao County and many skilled fighters also perished.
Now, the one in charge was a Chief Clerk handling documents, accompanied by just a few others.
Inside the city, maintaining order had begun to unravel.
There was a sense that the order was about to collapse.
...
Five days later, as soon as Li Yuan returned home, Lady Yan held him and cried.
"What's going on?"
Lady Yan cried for a long time before speaking in terror, "Someone knocked on the door at the second watch, knocking on the front door.
I wondered... at this late hour, maybe Aunt Wang couldn't sleep and came to see me, so I wanted to open the door.
But halfway there, I had a thought, so I grabbed a kitchen knife first.
When I got to the door, I asked who it was.
No one responded.
I looked out the window, and... and just cried..."
Li Yuan recollected for a moment. When he arrived, he didn't see any numbers floating around, indicating the person had already left, so he gently patted her back, comforting her, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Lady Yan cried for a while longer before gradually calming down, and said, "I... I looked out the window, it was a man, I couldn't see his face clearly.
But that man was staring at me with a terrifying look.
The window at my house is small, he couldn't get in, I guess he wanted to see what was inside. Later, maybe because he saw the knife in my hand, he... he left.
She was extremely frightened, clinging to her husband, and it took a long time until her body was exhausted before she fell asleep peacefully.
In the early morning, Li Yuan got up. Lady Yan, startled awake, held onto him, hesitant to let go, softly sobbing.
"Brother Yuan, maybe... maybe you should come back?"
Li Yuan said coldly, "Even if I come back, I must first find this person, otherwise if he hides in the dark, it will be endless trouble."
"How do we catch him?"
"This man might come again tonight, but I won't go into the mountains today. I'll be watching from a distance."
"Once you catch him... Brother Yuan, you won't kill him, will you?"
"This matter, leave it to me."
"If you get caught for killing, they will behead you at the market entrance."
"Don't worry." Li Yuan's expression was somewhat indifferent and calm, "Your man doesn't kill."
...
The next day, Li Yuan didn't go to the mountains. Instead, he brought some cold porridge from home, quietly hiding in the woods a few hundred meters behind his house.
Doing so was risky, but with his current ability, if he was always cautious, no one in Little Ink Workshop could find him.
The sky slowly darkened.
Every household in Little Ink Workshop shut their doors.
At the mountain pass between Erchong Mountain and Xiao Mo Mountain, a vicious wind suddenly blew, quickly moving through, and soon reached the mountain pass.
The dark shadow sniffed around, then swiftly shot towards Little Ink Workshop.
Once inside, the shadow darted into the woods, stopping and starting until it reached the woods a few hundred meters behind Li Yuan's house.
Under the chilling moonlight, the shadow's form appeared, revealing a sleek and fierce striped tiger, its eyes gloomily scanning the surroundings. It padded silently in the shadows until it reached the side of a man.
Li Yuan patted its head.
After so many days of working together, he understood the tiger's temperament.
This tiger would come find him every day, always wanting to eat meat with him.
No matter where he was, the tiger would follow his scent to find him.
The tiger said, "Roar? (Why aren't you going back?)"
Li Yuan said nothing.
The tiger said, "Roar (I haven't eaten anything)."
Li Yuan whispered, "Roar! (Kill!)"
The tiger said, "Roar? (Kill?)"
Li Yuan said, "Roar roar! (Whoever I point at, you kill.)"
The tiger said, "Roar! (Can I eat it?)"
Li Yuan said, "Roar! (Eat in the mountains.) Roar! (Don't make a sound.)"
So the man and the tiger waited quietly, one was a master of tracking, the other a natural hunter.
Li Yuan glanced at his side, suddenly noticing the numbers turning to "29~33".
This was the fusion of him and the tiger into one.
A slight sensing confirmed there was indeed a mysterious sense of rapport, connection, and enhancement.
However, as soon as he and the tiger separated by a certain distance, the numbers would split again into "24~25" and "5~8".
Time ticked by second by second,
By the third watch,
A shadow suddenly appeared outside Li Yuan's house, stealthily creeping up to the fence, climbing over from the side, then heading towards the main door.
A ruthless intent formed in Li Yuan's heart. He patted the tiger and said, "Roar! (Bite to death.) Roar! (Drag it outside.)"
In these chaotic times, people had come to his door, all eyeing his wife.
He couldn't keep hesitating, afraid of hitting too hard, or killing the wrong person, could he?
"Roar! (Go!)"
With these words, the striped tiger beside him charged out like a whirlwind, striking straight at the shadow climbing the fence.