Chen Ji’s habit of looking around caught the white tiger’s attention. It turned its head to peer over. Chen Ji pulled out a wet wipe, grabbed the beast by its furry collar, and tugged it close to clean the crab roe from around its mouth. Only then did he ask, “Where’s Second Grandpa? And Little Red? I haven’t seen them anywhere.”
The white tiger obediently held still, letting Chen Ji wipe him clean. Once finished, he finally said: 【Gone hunting.】
“Oh, got it.” Chen Ji couldn’t help feeling a shameless sense of relief: Good thing they weren’t sticking around, or he wouldn’t have known how to keep them fed. He’d probably have had to send a drone up from the temple with food.
Thinking of all the delicious treats back home made Chen Ji’s heart ache even more for the obedient, gentle creature sitting so docilely before him. He stroked its fur and cooed softly, “Do you like fish, baby? How about I buy some more of that sweet, orange-fleshed fish you had last time?”
The white tiger immediately recalled the rich, tender flavor and nodded eagerly. Chen Ji scooped it up for a big smooch on the head, then started planning their next adventure with bubbly excitement.
“Later, I wanna go fishing! Baby, do you know where I can find some crucian carp or something? The fish in your pond are way too clever and feisty—I just want to hook some regular ones!”
The white tiger let out a compliant “Ao.”
“Come on, help me dig up some earthworms!”
“Ao.”
“Xiao Ba, don’t be lazy—come help too!”
“Meow!”
…
Three peaceful days slipped by like that. On the third day, as Chen Ji headed down the mountain toward town, he passed a few cars just after leaving Shangyang Village. The narrow mountain road already forced everyone to crawl along slowly, and meeting oncoming traffic made it even worse. The windows of those cars rolled down, and heads poked out, craning back to look. Chen Ji knew right away they were tourists.
Quick on the uptake, those folks.
After all, it took real guts to vacation in a remote backwater like this—no inns, no farmstays, and rumors of tigers to boot.
Chen Ji kept driving while having Xiao Ba dial Grandpa Liu, the village head. The old man picked up almost instantly and bellowed, “Hello! Xiao Chen, what’s up?!”
Chen Ji raised his voice to match. “Grandpa, looks like some tourists just rolled in on the road. Can you take charge and host ’em proper…?”
“Tourists what?” Grandpa Liu hadn’t caught it.
“People here to have fun!” Chen Ji clarified. “I’ll call the village committee too—they should be pulling up any minute~!”
As soon as Grandpa Liu heard “here to have fun,” he got it. “Leave it to me!”
Chen Ji hung up and rang the village cadres next. The one who answered was Zhao Ling, a recent college grad freshly posted to their neck of the woods. She lit up even more than he had. “Really?! Awesome, I’ll set everything up perfect! Thanks, Brother Chen! I’ll line up a guide for the trip up the mountain!”
Then she added, “Brother Chen, I watched that live stream… There’s really a tiger up on the mountain? You keeping it?”
Chen Ji laughed. “Nah, not mine. But don’t worry—it stays out of sight most days. Scares off easy around people, no chance it’d hurt anyone…”
Chang Xu was a tiger spirit, maybe not even a tiger at all. He could vanish from human sight completely. And even if someone spotted him and unloaded a hunting rifle? He’d walk it off without a scratch.
Chen Ji reminded her, “Springtime means lots of snakes, bugs, rats—pack the bug spray.”
Zhao Ling thanked him profusely, practically groveling like she was before an emperor. Tourists were coming! Their little nowhere village finally had visitors! The hardest part—getting the first ones here—was thanks to Chen Ji. Nail this welcome, build the buzz, and more would follow. Economic revival was within reach!
Her grin stretched ear to ear at the thought.
Chen Ji pocketed his phone and ran through his mental checklist. Xiangxiang was looped in, Mountain Lord at the temple too. Second Grandpa and Little Red were patrolling the roads. Even if Mountain Lord went berserk, He couldn’t leave the temple grounds. Xiangxiang could handle a couple tourists from afar no sweat. The stretch from Shangyang Village to Little Azure Mountain wasn’t that treacherous anyway. No demons stirring trouble? It was just a regular old hill.
Satisfied, Chen Ji put it out of mind and drove on to town.
Second Brother hopped out of the car, zipping up his jacket and plopping on a straw hat to hide most of his face. The other middle-aged guys piled out too, dressed just like him.
They popped the trunk and hauled out several fishing rod bags, the straps stretched drum-tight from the heavy load inside. One of the men asked Second Brother, “We heading up from here?”
“Yep.” Second Brother grunted. Another chuckled, “Old Four, you weren’t thinking of going through Shangyang Village, were ya? Wanna swing by your relatives for a bite before we climb?”
Old Four chuckled sheepishly. He did have kin there, but this was dirty work—real dirty. No way were they strolling through the village proper, even if the path was easier. Their quarry might not show on the easy road anyway.
Better to park here. Safer.
These guys were old hands at mountains, tough as nails. A little detour was nothing.
“Brains working now?” Third Bro fished a list from his pocket. “Double-check the order. Boss wants that big white tiger—dead gets a mil, live’s three. Don’t damage the pelt. That viral fox too, thirty grand alive. Skip the weasel; too small, slippery little bastard, pops up everywhere and nowhere.”
Liu Datie had rushed home and edited that video overnight. It blew up online, naturally. Hottest was the white tiger, then the red fox, then Second Master Huang, Fifth Grandpa fourth. Chen Ji barely cracked top five. Normies saw it, sure—but so did folks with agendas.
They’d hustled here fast because word was animal protection experts were inbound—official types. Had to wrap this before the badges showed.
“Three anesthetic bullets each, fifty regular rounds. Count ’em.” Third Bro eyed Second Brother. “The local’s someone you know—Chen Ji, twenty-five, sickly build, crashing at the Mountain Lord Temple. If we strike out, might need to hit him up… But my vote? Steer clear unless desperate.”
Just ’cause Second Brother knew him made contact risky. Willing or not to point out the animals, they’d make him. But cleanup? Messy.
They just wanted beasts for cash, not blood. Murder was leagues beyond poaching. Locals too—might be kin. Kill him, village throws a funeral, and there they’d be, chowing down at the feast. Awkward.
Spare him, though? How to shut his trap? He knew Second Brother, shopped at Boss Li’s. Reports? Line leads straight back, everyone sunk. Bribe him then? But from the herbs and monkey-buying stunt, dude wasn’t hurting for cash.
Best dodge him altogether.
Second Brother’s voice chilled. “My count’s good.”
Old Four and Old Five nodded too—no issues. The four zipped up their bait bags and slipped into the woods, weaving up a winding trail.
About two hours in, they paused to rest. Old Four chugged water. “Dang, what’s with this mountain? Just rabbits and birds—nothing big.”
“Hiding,” Third Bro said. “Broad daylight—they’re on alert.”
“Closing on the main road.” Second Brother warned, then went quiet. He cocked his head, listening. “Sounds.”
They snapped to attention, chambering rounds in their hunting rifles. Back-to-back, they scanned the brush, guns ready. What was coming?
Off in the distance, a string of goose honks erupted. Old Five froze. “Geese?”
Muzzles dipped. Old Five griped, “Who the heck raises geese up here?! False alarm!”
Old Four smacked the back of his head, rolling his eyes. “That’s people laughing, dummy!”
The voices sharpened right after.
“For real? Eating those mushrooms makes you see Smurfs?”
“Not always.” A girl’s voice chimed in. “Last time I was off and brought some home by mistake. I saw subtitles over Mom’s head while she talked. She swore she saw me strolling the ceiling, Dad said a money god was dancing around me chanting ‘wealth incoming’ and slapping my face with bills…”
“Honk honk honk—!!!”
The group exchanged glances and stashed their gear fast. Sure enough, as they finished, a young woman in her twenties crested the path with a gaggle of other youngsters. Spotting them, her eyes sparkled. She bounded over, all bubbly welcome. “You guys tourists too?”
Third Bro shook his head, switching to dialect. “Nah, miss—we’re just out hunting game.”
She eyed their gear and brightened more, matching his dialect. “Even better! Uncles, you know the trails? This the right way to the Mountain Lord Temple?”
Village staff didn’t hike much. Before Chen Ji moved back, nobody lived up top. What business in this godforsaken wild?
“To the Mountain Lord Temple?” Third Bro nodded, pointing. “Keep straight up this road—you can’t miss it! Only one path.”
“Awesome, thanks!” Zhao Ling beamed, turning to her group. “See? No worries now! Told ya not to tag me—I ain’t familiar with the route. You could’ve gone with Granny Wang and them…”
One young guy tugged her arm. “But we know you! Zhao Ling, who knew you’d end up serving the people in a spot this remote after college? Aren’t we people too? No favoritism!”
Zhao Ling laughed. “Fine, fine—today I throw caution to the wind and hang with you lot!”
Third Bro called out to the others, ready to head off, when Zhao Ling suddenly turned back and shouted after them. She hurried forward a few steps and handed over a business card. “Uncle, here’s my card. If you run into any trouble up in the mountains, just give me a call! Stay safe!”
Third Bro took the card, and only then did Zhao Ling leave.
He watched the group of young people’s retreating backs, then glanced down at Zhao Ling’s business card. Good grief—was this an inauspicious start? They’d run into a village official from Shangyang Village on their very first day heading into the mountains!
