After a bout of hurried breathing, Mu Xueshi opened his eyes and discovered that he was up in a tree, with the Mountain King behind him—the very same Mountain King he had drugged.
“You…” Mu Xueshi suddenly found himself at a loss for words, a guilty expression appearing on his face.
The Mountain King’s eyes remained fixed on the tiger below. Even when he heard Mu Xueshi speak, he did not look back, only lowering his voice as he said, “I woke up and found you gone. I was worried, so I came looking for you.”
At that moment, Mu Xueshi felt grateful that the drug’s effect had been so short-lived, allowing the Mountain King to arrive in time. Yet the guilt in his heart deepened. He remembered that the Mountain King had no horse. To cover such a distance, he must have run the entire way.
The tiger below showed no sign of giving up. It suddenly lunged at the tree, leaving deep claw marks in the trunk that were horrifying to behold. The impact made the already slender tree sway violently. Had the Mountain King not been holding Mu Xueshi so tightly, he might have been shaken right out of it.
When the Mountain King’s hand touched Mu Xueshi’s back, he found it damp. Pulling his hand away, he saw it stained bright red with blood. His mind exploded at once. The sluggishness that had lingered in his body disappeared instantly.
“Don’t come down!”
With a loud roar, Mu Xueshi watched in shock as the Mountain King jumped from the tree and confronted the tiger below. Though the Mountain King was tall and powerfully built, he suddenly seemed much smaller in comparison to the beast.
Mu Xueshi’s heart tightened. He shouted down at him, “Get back up here! We can just move to another tree. The tiger will get tired eventually. It’s too dangerous for you down there. It’ll eat you!”
The Mountain King curved his lips into a smile and looked up at Mu Xueshi with sharp eyes full of confidence. “This is nothing to me. I’ve killed more tigers in my life than the number of bugs you’ve stepped on. Just stay up there and don’t move. I’m going to avenge you.”
With that, he began slowly moving his legs around the tiger, never taking his eyes off the massive beast before him. There was not the slightest trace of fear in his gaze.
An indescribable feeling welled up in Mu Xueshi’s chest. He had been so despicable, drugging the Mountain King’s food in order to escape, yet the man was now risking his life to fight a tiger for his sake. In less than three days, he had somehow incurred a debt of gratitude so large that he did not know how to repay it.
The Mountain King said those things only to keep Mu Xueshi obediently perched in the tree. In truth, he was not nearly as confident as he appeared. Under normal circumstances, after a few bowls of liquor and with courage running high, killing or wounding a tiger would not have been difficult.
But from the moment he woke up until now, he had been forcing himself onward in search of Mu Xueshi. Had he not heard Mu Xueshi’s cry of pain outside the cave earlier, he would probably still be lying unconscious inside it.
The tiger suddenly opened its bloodstained jaws and let out several thunderous roars before pouncing at the Mountain King. His reflexes were still sharp enough. He swiftly dodged behind the tiger, drew the bow in his hands, and fired an arrow straight at its throat.
Struck by the arrow, the tiger cried out in pain and rampaged about with furious roars before turning and fleeing, kicking up clouds of dust.
The Mountain King finally took the opportunity to catch his breath. He had used up every arrow during the hunt earlier. If that shot had missed, he likely would have had no way to defend himself.
Mu Xueshi also breathed a sigh of relief and was just about to climb down when the Mountain King suddenly bellowed, “Don’t come down yet!”
The words had barely left his mouth when the familiar roar sounded again.
To Mu Xueshi’s horror, there were now two tigers. One was the wounded tiger from before, blood still streaming from its neck as it glared viciously at the Mountain King. The other was slightly smaller but looked every bit as fierce.
Even the Mountain King secretly broke into a sweat. Though he understood the habits of wild beasts and knew a tiger’s weak points, whether he could strike them—or drive the animals back—was another matter entirely.
This time, the Mountain King attacked first. Swinging his heavy bow, he smashed it directly against the forehead of the newly arrived tiger. A loud crack rang out. The blow was powerful and brutal, leaving the tiger momentarily disoriented. It tumbled head over heels before charging at him once more.
The Mountain King retreated several steps, circled behind a tree, and moved to the tiger’s flank, using the bow to strike hard at its side.
The tiger howled in pain. Its roar was like thunder as it snapped its enormous jaws at him. The Mountain King leaped away to evade it, but the tiger still caught hold of his outer garment, making him stumble.
At that moment, the other tiger also rushed forward. With his path blocked in front and his movement delayed by the tug from behind, the Mountain King was just a fraction too slow. The tiger’s fangs tore into his arm and ripped away a chunk of flesh.
Mu Xueshi was startled and immediately shouted anxiously to the Mountain King, “Get up here! I have a bow and arrows. You can shoot from above.”
The Mountain King lost focus for a moment and was immediately raked across the chest by the tiger’s claws, leaving another bloody wound. He tore off the damaged clothing in one motion, kicked hard against a short tree beside him, and swung himself onto a patch of flatter ground, narrowly escaping disaster.
The tiger seemed to be tiring as well. Especially the one that had already been wounded—it was now lying on the ground, unable to get back up. The Mountain King was covered in blood from head to toe. Taking advantage of the moment, he looked up at Mu Xueshi in the tree. Seeing him clutching the bow and looking at him with pleading eyes, warmth immediately filled his heart.
“There’s no need. Keep the bow and arrows. If I die, carrying them might help you escape. Besides, I made them for you. If you keep them, maybe you’ll remember me in the future…”
After saying that, the Mountain King chuckled a few times as though he were joking, but there was unmistakable unwillingness in his eyes.
Mu Xueshi felt miserable. He shouted at the Mountain King, “Didn’t you say you’ve killed more tigers than the number of bugs I’ve stepped on? Didn’t you say everything would be fine?”
Only after saying it did Mu Xueshi notice that the bone in the Mountain King’s knee was exposed and that his complexion had grown even worse. During the fight with the tiger, his head would occasionally sway as though he were struggling to stay conscious.
The moment Mu Xueshi saw this, he could no longer hold back. Sooner or later he would have to repay the debt he owed this man. Even if he could repay only a small part of it, that was still something. He jumped straight out of the tree. After rolling twice across the ground, he headed toward the Mountain King.
The moment the Mountain King saw Mu Xueshi come down, he nearly went mad. How could someone with Mu Xueshi’s fragile body possibly fight a tiger? It was no different from walking willingly to his death. He immediately rushed toward him, but the tiger was faster. With a powerful leap, it knocked Mu Xueshi to the ground, completely burying him beneath its massive body.
The Mountain King felt his mind explode. He lunged forward, seized the tiger’s tail, and let out a furious roar. With a burst of strength, he actually hurled the front half of the tiger’s body into the air. The tiger twisted sideways and lashed out with its claws at him while falling back down.
The Mountain King tried to reach the scattered bow and arrows beside Mu Xueshi, but he could not get to them. Instead, he struck out with several palm attacks, slamming them into the tiger’s abdomen. The tiger roared repeatedly and clamped its jaws onto the Mountain King’s hair. The Mountain King struck it again and again. The tiger’s jaws opened and closed weakly—it was clearly nearing its end.
The Mountain King’s strength, however, had also reached its limit. Gasping for breath, he desperately held the tiger’s neck at bay to keep it from biting his face. The distance between them grew smaller and smaller. If he could endure for only a few more seconds, the tiger would collapse first. But the Mountain King could feel his body giving out.
His vision flickered between black and white. Instinctively, he cast one last glance toward Mu Xueshi, only to find that he was nowhere to be seen. All that remained on the ground was a pool of blood.
The Mountain King immediately let out a thunderous roar and kicked the tiger in the belly. At the same time, a jet of blood suddenly erupted from behind the tiger.
The tiger crashed to the ground with a heavy thud. Its internal organs had been ruptured, and it died instantly. As for the other tiger, it had already disappeared without a trace.
Mu Xueshi stood behind the dead tiger, gripping an arrow in his hand. Blood covered him from head to toe, making him almost unrecognizable.
A sharp pain pierced the Mountain King’s heart. Staggering unsteadily, he made his way toward Mu Xueshi. Moments ago, he had thought Mu Xueshi had been devoured by the other tiger, which was why he had gone mad and exhausted the last of his strength. Now that he saw Mu Xueshi was still alive, he found it even harder to keep moving and nearly collapsed halfway there.
Mu Xueshi, however, acted as though nothing had happened. He walked straight over and supported the Mountain King, then proudly waved the bloodstained arrow in front of him with a grin.
“I was the one who did the last strike. I killed the tiger…”
The Mountain King hurriedly nodded. His heart ached at the sight of Mu Xueshi covered in injuries, yet seeing him still able to laugh and joke brought him a small measure of comfort.
Mu Xueshi had barely laughed twice before he suddenly toppled backward. The Mountain King’s expression changed drastically. He rushed forward and caught him. The moment his hand touched Mu Xueshi’s back, he felt warm blood pouring steadily through his fingers.
“Xiao Youzai… my wife… wake up… you can’t fall asleep! We’re almost home! Endure it a little longer. We’re really almost there…”
The Mountain King carried Mu Xueshi all the way back while calling to him without pause. His eyes were filled with nothing but anxiety and worry. He had witnessed countless people injured before, yet he had never known fear like this. Could this really be some celestial being who had descended from the heavens to play for a while, only to be discovered by the Jade Emperor and summoned back?
“Mu… Mu Xueshi…” The Mountain King could not help trying to call him by that name.
At last, Mu Xueshi reacted. His expression was full of pain, as though someone were squeezing his throat. With great difficulty, he forced out a few broken words.
“I… want… Xi… Xi…”
Throughout the journey, Mu Xueshi repeated only those few words. The Mountain King was frantic with worry and no longer cared what he was saying. As long as Mu Xueshi could hold on, he did not mind calling him Mu Xueshi over and over again.
Even though he had never wanted to admit that this person was Mu Xueshi—the Mu Xueshi from the rumors, the one treasured above all else by the Third Prince.
Futile Devices Scans 
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