Chapter 026 - Crimson Question Marks

Feng’er had never been a particularly courageous woman, nor a loyal one. After Bear was conscripted, she waited at first. But once news came that he was likely dead, she didn’t want to keep waiting anymore. Before long, she got involved with Zhang Shisi, one of the stronger men in the village.

One day, after they’d been together, Zhang Shisi asked about Li Yuan. Feng’er told him that Li Yuan had been missing in the mountains for a month. Then he asked about Li Yuan’s wife. Feng’er revealed a bit too much, how Yan Yu used to be so beautiful and then suddenly changed, which led Zhang Shisi to suspect she might be disguising herself somehow. He pressed Feng’er to help him.

At first, Feng’er refused, but Zhang Shisi kept wheedling and coaxing, so she finally agreed to slip Yan Yu some knockout powder. Zhang Shisi would then sneak in at night.

Around dusk, Feng’er drugged Yan Yu and moved her onto the bed, acting like nothing unusual was going on.

When night fell, she still couldn’t sleep. Then, around midnight, she heard agonized screams outside. Hurrying to the window, she saw, under the moonlight, a striped tiger dragging someone along the dirt path. Those shrieks were coming from Zhang Shisi.

Her mind went blank, buzzing with terror. She dove under her blankets and didn’t dare come out until the next day, only to have Yan Yu burst in, knife in hand.

Under pressure from everyone gathered there, Feng’er confessed everything. Then, between sobs and sniffles, she pleaded, “Yan Yu, I’m sorry... I never meant to hurt you. I just wanted a man to rely on... That’s all. I only wanted someone to lean on...”

Yan Yu watched her coldly. “We’re reporting this to the authorities.”

“Yan Yu... Yan Yu... I never meant for you to get hurt...truly,” Feng’er blubbered.

Unmoved, Yan Yu asked, “Did you ever stop to think what would happen to me if Zhang Shisi had succeeded in assaulting me?”

“...” Feng’er fell silent.

The uproar in Little Ink Village continued most of the day.

Fearing the tiger might return after dark, everyone barricaded themselves indoors as soon as dusk fell—windows shut tight, doors blocked with heavy furniture. Those who owned cows, chickens, ducks, geese, or sheep dragged their livestock into the house and tied them up.

Some villagers wondered why, with all the livestock around, the tiger had chosen to attack a person. Most concluded that Zhang Shisi had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time, roaming the village at night just as the tiger came down from the mountain. Who else would the beast take?

At midnight, Li Yuan slipped back into his house through the rear entrance. In the darkness, Yan Yu rushed into his arms.

He chuckled softly, “I really am filthy today.”

She clung to his waist, pressing her cheek against his chest. “I don’t mind,” she murmured, already tugging at the waistband of his trousers.

After a hushed moment of passion, Yan Yu lay in his arms and asked gently, “Li Yuan, so it’s true. You’ve really tamed a tiger?”

Li Yuan replied, “I told you so.”

Yan Yu sighed. “I never would’ve imagined my man was so capable, taming a man-eating tiger. It’s like a dream.”

She suddenly leaned forward. “It won’t bite you, will it?”

Li Yuan shook his head. “No.”

Still uneasy, she pressed on. “You’d better be careful. A beast like that, used to eating people, how can you be sure it’s safe?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Li Yuan replied, steering the conversation elsewhere. “What about the blood in our courtyard after that tiger dragged that thug away? Did it raise suspicion?”

At that, Yan Yu filled him in on everything that had happened. Li Yuan was amazed at how neatly she’d handled it all. Who would’ve guessed his wife had such a cunning side?

“What about Feng’er?” he asked.

“I had people from the village report it all to the authorities—the tiger attack, what Feng’er did—but nobody from the government has shown up. I suspect we barely have any officials left in the county... Times are a mess.” She sighed heavily.

Li Yuan thought for a moment. “Tomorrow night and the night after, I won’t be coming home. I’m going deeper into the mountains to see if there’s a route leading somewhere better. If I find one, I’ll take you out of here. If there’s nothing, or if it’s just more wilderness, then I’ll come back and figure out some other plan, maybe pretend to be injured. Starting now, I’ll stick to just water and skip meals...”

Yan Yu wanted to say more, but recalling how her husband had tamed a man-eating tiger, she couldn’t help feeling that he was capable of anything. In the end, she simply rested her head against his shoulder. “Just...be careful.”

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Early the next morning, Li Yuan returned to the mountain. He sharpened five arrowheads and slipped them into his quiver, then chose some good throwing stones and tucked them into a pouch.

With his crude bow slung across his back and the hatchet at his waist, he climbed onto the tiger.

“Calico!

Roar...!

Let’s go!

”

“

Where to?”

“

Food!

”

A few growls exchanged between man and beast, and then the tiger began to run. It was full of energy after so many days of feasting.

Together, they crossed the pass between the second and third ridges. Sometimes Li Yuan rode on the tiger’s back; other times, they traveled on foot, pausing now and then to rest.

With Calico leading the way, Li Yuan didn’t worry about getting lost. No matter how many twists and turns they took through the forest, the tiger could always retrace its path to the second ridge.

As a result, their progress was swift. Within half a day, they’d already passed the farthest point Li Yuan had ever reached before, and he still had a full day ahead.

Another half-day passed, yet there was still no clear way out of the mountains.

“

Have you been here before?

”

“

Yes.

”

Glancing at the tiger, Li Yuan sensed its mood had dipped a bit. Maybe it was starting to tire. He took a moment to study his surroundings. The deeper they went, the denser and wilder the forest became, filled with strange plants. Coiling vines and aerial roots hung everywhere, like giant serpents draped from tree to tree.

Towering trees loomed overhead, merging with the surrounding mountains to create a giant’s realm that made Li Yuan feel all the more insignificant.

“

Is there a human village here?

”

“

No idea.

”

“

No idea?

”

“

Let’s go back.

”

“

Why?

”

“

Let’s go back...

”

Man and tiger exchanged growls, and Li Yuan couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Maybe Calico was uneasy in this strange place?

Night fell, and they made camp. From time to time, small creatures wandered by—threat levels ranging from 0~8, nothing to worry about.

Li Yuan lit a campfire and briefly used the tiger’s flank as a pillow. His mood was sour.

By first light tomorrow, he would resume his search for a way out; if by midday he still found nothing, he’d have to turn back.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

The next day...

Just as the sky grew gray, Li Yuan woke and used a bit of roasted meat to rouse Calico.

A light mist clung to the forest at dawn. When the tiger finished eating, it shook itself off and set out once more with Li Yuan on its back.

Around midmorning, the fog burned away. The winter sun shone brightly overhead. Then, after a while, the air grew strangely cold, carrying an unsettling chill.

Suddenly, Calico came to an abrupt halt. Li Yuan urged the tiger forward several times, but it refused to budge; fear gleamed in its eyes.

Seeing Li Yuan persist, Calico abruptly veered off the main path and darted up a solitary cliff through the trees.

“

You want to show me something?

”

“

Yes

.”

Li Yuan jumped down from the tiger and stepped to the cliff’s edge to look out.

“I don’t see any—”

His words caught in his throat. It was as if the world had stopped. Down in the distant ravine, a hidden mountain estate sprawled, radiating a sense of decay and mold, like a colossal corpse.

That alone would have been unsettling enough, but scattered among the ruined grounds were small bridges over flowing water, completely out of place in these desolate mountains.

The water rushed on from nowhere to nowhere...speckled with dark shapes drifting along its surface. Though Li Yuan couldn’t see them clearly, just the sight made him deeply uneasy.

More disturbing still, an enormous indicator hovered over the entire estate, but that indicator were hideous, crimson—

???????

“What in the world...?”

Suddenly, a sharp, eerie squeak, like a door creaking open, carried across the distance. It was faint but piercing and horribly distinct.

“What was that?” Li Yuan glanced at Calico, wondering if his ears were playing tricks on him.

However, the tiger had clearly heard it too. It panicked, whirled around, and bolted at full speed.

Startled and clueless about the source of that sound, Li Yuan threw caution to the wind and tore off after the tiger with all his might.