The scene on the set was utter chaos.
Everyone scrambled frantically to rescue their people, running around like headless chickens, so busy they couldn’t even keep track of what they were doing.
But deep in the forest, it was eerily quiet.
Rustle, rustle, rustle—
Thick, padded paws pressed through the underbrush, stirring barely audible sounds.
Birds perched on the branches were startled into flight by the aura of bloodlust.
Animals gathered by the river sensed something amiss and scattered in all directions.
At this moment, the mountain forest welcomed its true master.
With calm, graceful strides, the tiger dragged the half-dead Chen Qiao’en along and leisurely stopped by the riverbank.
It set Chen Qiao’en down to the side.
Then it lowered its head, extended its barbed tongue, and lapped up the cool river water, replenishing the moisture its body had lost.
Freed from its grip for the moment, Chen Qiao’en instinctively tried to escape.
But the moment she propped herself up on her hands—
“Grrrr…”
A low growl rumbled from behind.
The tiger had sensed her movement. It turned its head, its amber eyes filled with warning.
Chen Qiao’en’s body went rigid. Defeated, she slumped back down to the ground, silent.
After the initial wave of panic had passed, she had numbly accepted her situation—captured by a tiger.
She didn’t know why it hadn’t eaten her yet.
But she knew that as long as she stayed by its side, it was only a matter of time.
“Why did this have to happen to me?”
Sitting helplessly on the ground, tears welling in her eyes, Chen Qiao’en felt as though fate was playing a cruel joke on her.
Just as she was wallowing in sorrow and despair—
The tiger had finished drinking. It padded over slowly.
It lifted its head and sniffed at Chen Qiao’en, catching that faint scent of a “male tiger” on her. Its tail swished with satisfaction, and its face showed something almost like human pleasure.
A few days ago, while patrolling the deep mountains, this tigress had heard a tiger’s roar coming from this direction—and she had been drawn to it immediately.
That roar was powerful and fierce, unlike anything she had ever heard before. Even without seeing the one who made it, she could imagine just how mighty and commanding he must be.
So she had traveled across mountains and rivers, endured countless hardships, and slipped past human defenses to make her way here—all for a chance to meet him, bear his offspring, and pass on those superior genes.
But… for some reason…
Even though the male’s roars had clearly come from around this area, and she had spent days leaving her scent all over the territory, she still hadn’t managed to attract him.
Fortunately, she had memorized his lingering scent and tracked it all the way here.
Otherwise, after coming such a long distance, she might have ended up with nothing.
But then—why did this human have the male tiger’s scent on her?
The tigress stared at Chen Qiao’en, a flicker of confusion in her eyes.
Had the male been captured and kept by humans?
She found that hard to believe.
Because she had seen those so-called “tigers” kept in captivity by humans.
No—they weren’t real tigers. At best, they were just cats wearing the same skin as her!
They had long since lost the pride of being a tiger.
There was no way one of them could produce such a thunderous roar!
Had the male tiger taken an interest in this human and decided to keep her as a food reserve?
The tigress studied Chen Qiao’en, feeling that this was entirely possible.
After all, the outer edges of the forest weren’t like the deep mountains, where food was plentiful. Out here, resources were scarce, and the risks were high.
If a tiger was caught by humans, at best, it would be turned into a breeding machine—a stud tiger drained of its essence.
At worst, it would be thrown into a zoo, stripped of all dignity as a tiger.
Thinking of this, the tigress’s gaze toward Chen Qiao’en turned hostile.
Suddenly, she pounced, pinning Chen Qiao’en down and baring her fangs, ready to deliver a killing blow.
Chen Qiao’en had already had several ribs broken by the tigress earlier. Now, slammed to the ground again, she had no strength left to resist.
She watched those razor-sharp teeth draw closer and closer—
Then—
Whoosh—
A gentle breeze swept through the forest, rustling the leaves.
The tigress caught something. She snapped her head around, staring warily in the direction of the wind. Her fur bristled, and her back arched.
“Haaa—”
She bared her teeth and growled, as if facing a life-and-death enemy.
Meanwhile, Chen Qiao’en realized the expected agony hadn’t come.
She opened her eyes instinctively—and saw the once-dominant tiger now looking like a startled cat, fur standing completely on end.
“What’s happening?”
Chen Qiao’en tried to look too, but pinned beneath the tigress, she couldn’t see a thing.
All she could hear was the sound of unhurried footsteps approaching.
“This is…”
“Someone came to save me?!”
Hope blazed in Chen Qiao’en’s eyes like never before.
As if to confirm her guess—
The next second, a furious shout rang out: “Beast! How dare you harm humans! Watch how I, this eunuch, teach you a lesson!”
The moment the words landed—
“Boom!”
A loud impact.
Before Chen Qiao’en could even process what was happening, the weight on her vanished. Light flooded her vision.
And the tigress that had been pinning her down—was gone.
Chen Qiao’en: “???”
“Everyone ready?”
Outside the forest, the security guards of Jinyun Xiandu Scenic Area stood fully equipped, gathered in formation. Some held air rifles, others carried riot shields, their expressions grim and focused.
“Ready!” they answered in unison.
The security captain nodded.
“Good. Before we move out, let me repeat this one more time: what we’re about to face is a fully grown adult tiger!”
“And there’s a good chance it’s already claimed two human lives.”
“So the moment you spot it, you must fire a tranquilizer dart immediately and subdue it.”
“Otherwise—I don’t think I need to tell you what the consequences will be.”
“But rest assured: if you die, the scenic area will cover all your medical expenses. And if tragedy strikes, the insurance we bought for you will go straight to your families.”
“Of course, you can choose to back out now. But if you do, you’re on your own—the scenic area will have nothing more to do with you.”
“Do I make myself clear?”
The captain was making his final rallying call.
He couldn’t afford to be careless—this tiger was no ordinary beast.
You see, humans categorize animals in many ways, but when it really comes down to it, there are only two categories:
Animals that don’t eat people—and animals that do.
The former, no matter how massive or ferocious they appear, don’t inspire genuine terror. People know they won’t be harmed.
But the latter? That’s a completely different story.
That’s a murderer. And not just any murderer—one you can’t reason with, one whose physical abilities far surpass human limits.
You couldn’t be too cautious in a situation like this.
Hearing these words, a few of the security guards wavered, uncertainty flickering in their eyes.
But when they noticed the ever-watchful gaze of the Smiling, Proud Wanderer investor’s representative standing nearby, they tightened their grips on their air rifles and suppressed their unease.
It wasn’t that they weren’t afraid of dying.
It was that they were more afraid of living in misery.
If they died in a tiger’s jaws, at least the scenic area would cover their families. But if they ended up in court against that investor’s rep? Not a single one of them could afford that kind of lawsuit.
Seeing that no one in the team wavered, the captain nodded in satisfaction.
He turned toward the deep, dark forest, took a deep breath, and declared:
“Move out!”
“Yes, sir!”
The security guards nodded, gripped their rifles and shields, and marched into the woods.
——-
Deep within the forest—
“Damn, that’s a thick hide!”
Standing in a patch of sunlight, Jiang Nian stared at the tiger he had just kicked. It had only been sent flying two or three meters before steadying itself.
He couldn’t help but click his tongue in admiration.
This was the first time, since reaching the level of a first-class martial artist, that he had encountered a creature capable of withstanding a blow using fifty percent of his strength.
It really lived up to its title—King of Beasts.
“Old Shi Nai’an was definitely talking out of his ass when he wrote Water Margin.”
“Wu Song taking down a tiger with three punches? Yeah, right.”
“Wu Song would’ve had to be a first-class martial artist just like me.”
Dusting off his clothes, Jiang Nian grumbled under his breath.
Then he looked at Chen Qiao’en, who was lying on the ground completely dumbfounded, and teased her: “What’s the matter? Fallen asleep? Or do I have to kiss you like in the fairy tales to wake you up?”
At that, Chen Qiao’en finally snapped back to reality. She stared at Jiang Nian in utter disbelief, her mind a chaotic mess. Without thinking, she blurted out:
“Ji-Jiang Nian? How did you get here?”
Almost at the same instant—
“ROAR!”
The tigress had recovered from the attack. She adjusted her stance and unleashed a thunderous roar at Jiang Nian, this uninvited guest.
She lowered her body, pacing in a slow circle around him, studying him carefully.
Then, seizing what she thought was the right moment, her drooping tail suddenly shot straight up.
That was the signal for an attack.
Sure enough, the next moment, her fur puffed up and her hind legs slammed into the ground.
“Boom!”
Dust exploded upward.
The tigress launched herself across the gap, covering several meters in a single leap, straight at Jiang Nian.
Jiang Nian, however, remained utterly relaxed.
He simply circulated his inner energy, flexed his muscles, and reached out his hand—
“Boom!”
With a dull impact, Jiang Nian caught the tigress by her wide-open jaws. “Beast, can’t you see I’m trying to have a conversation here?”
The tigress didn’t understand. She swung a massive paw downward.
Whoosh—
The giant claw sliced through the air, silver talons gleaming, aimed straight at Jiang Nian’s face.
If that hit connected—
Never mind whether his face would be scarred—his entire head would be crushed like a watermelon.
Anyone else would have panicked, lost their composure.
But Jiang Nian was not “anyone else.”
Without even raising his eyes, he waved his hand again.
“Smack!”
He caught the tigress’s massive paw. Then he gave a subtle flick, and instantly, the tremendous force traveled through his body and was channeled straight into the ground.
He raised his leg and kicked.
The blow landed squarely on the tigress’s belly, sending her flying three or four meters away.
After doing all that, Jiang Nian turned back to Chen Qiao’en and said with a teasing grin: “That was a great question you asked just now. Want me to leave right now and not disturb the two of you?”
Chen Qiao’en: “…”
She stared blankly at the tigress, who had been kicked flying and still hadn’t gotten up from the ground.
Then she looked back at Jiang Nian’s utterly casual expression.
Her brain short-circuited.
Wait—what the hell was going on here?!
That was a tiger! A three-meter-long tiger, tail included!
And you just kicked it away like it was a stray dog?!
Chen Qiao’en was stunned. Words failed her.
“If you don’t say anything, I’ll take that as a ‘yes’ and be on my way, alright?”
“No, no, no—Jiang Nian! Save me! Please save me!”
At that, Chen Qiao’en snapped out of it immediately and pleaded with him.
But Jiang Nian frowned. “Still calling me ‘Jiang Nian’?”
“Then… Brother Jiang?” she quickly corrected herself.
To be honest, that still wasn’t Jiang Nian’s ideal answer.
But he let it slide—after all, not everyone had Zhang Yuxin’s natural talent and exceptional perception.
“I’ll let that pass. Now hurry up and get out of here. I’ll cover your retreat.”
Jiang Nian said.
But Chen Qiao’en’s face twisted in pain. “Um… Brother Jiang… I don’t think I can walk on my own.”
She wasn’t being dramatic. The tiger had pounced on her twice. Her arm was dislocated, and she had multiple fractures in her back.
She simply couldn’t stand.
Seeing her pitiful state, Jiang Nian nodded thoughtfully. “Alright then. Wait till I’ve dealt with this beast.”
With that, he stepped past Chen Qiao’en and walked toward the tigress.
Seeing him approach, the tigress immediately tensed up.
It wasn’t just that she sensed an overwhelming, terrifying presence radiating from him.
It was also that those two kicks had made her realize—crystal clear—the gap between them.
“Run! Run!”
Her mind screamed only one word, over and over.
But with Jiang Nian’s eyes locked on her, where could she possibly go?
All she could do was lower her center of gravity, arch her back, and adopt a defensive posture, trying to look threatening.
“Hrrr—”
“Hrrr—”
The tigress bared her fangs, eyes wide with fury. She paced back and forth, snarling at Jiang Nian, hoping to intimidate him.
As for the effect…
Let’s just say it was about as useful as trying to scare someone by waving a kitten’s paw.
In the face of absolute power, her display didn’t feel threatening at all—it was more like watching a cat throw a tantrum.
He stepped forward. She stepped back.
Until Jiang Nian had backed her all the way to the edge of a cliff.
Clatter—
Her paw slipped on empty air, sending a few pebbles tumbling down the mountainside.
Realizing she had nowhere left to retreat, the tigress looked at Jiang Nian, who was closing in—now less than twenty meters away.
Fear turned to rage.
Whether it was a surge of misplaced courage or sheer desperation—
“ROAR!”
The tigress let out a thunderous, earth-shaking roar.
And then, with all her strength, she launched herself at Jiang Nian!
