Five days later.
Li Yuan gradually adapted to this "coming home at midnight, leaving at dawn" harsh lifestyle.
But perhaps due to spending less time with Sister Yan, their relationship became even more inseparable.
Lady Yan clung to him tirelessly, whispering pillow talk.
"I heard that the government in the province has sent troops to eliminate the Red Lotus bandits, but our county magistrate in Shanbao County is still observing the situation.
This way, Uncle Wang and others are still safe.
Except for not being able to go home and having to practice in the barracks, everything else is normal.
Aunt Wang was so happy when she heard the news today that she pulled me aside to talk for quite a while.
If we had known things would turn out this way, you wouldn't need to hide in the mountains."
Li Yuan shook his head and said, "Who can foresee the future?
Whether the government can suppress the Red Lotus bandits is still uncertain, whether the county's soldiers will go to the battlefield, and what the county magistrate is thinking are all uncertain...
Once on the battlefield, your life is no longer your own.
I wasn't wrong to hide in the mountains in advance."
Lady Yan sighed and said, "That's true... but... sneaking back and forth every day, it's both tiring and dangerous..."
Li Yuan gently held her and said, "For Sister Yan, I don't mind the hardship."
Lady Yan paused, clenched her fist, and lightly hit his chest, coquettishly saying, "You're annoying."
While saying "annoying," her eyes were filled with joy.
After the joy came the worry.
Lady Yan said again, "Why don't you get yourself hurt and then escape back from the mountains, claiming to have been chased by a wild animal, got lost, and survived against all odds... then stay home to recuperate. This way, you won't have to go to the barracks."
"The situation is still unclear."
Li Yuan shook his head and suddenly said, "If I find a great place in the mountains, would you be willing to go live in seclusion with me?"
Lady Yan was stunned for a moment, then quietly traced circles on his body with her finger, sighing softly, "I'm your wife. Wherever you go, I go."
...
As they chatted, Li Yuan realized it was about time and hurriedly put on his clothes and pants, rushing back into the mountains.
Once in the mountains, he lit a campfire and leaned against the cave wall to catch up on sleep.
The mountains here were deep, and unless someone climbed near Erchong Mountain, it was hard to spot the faint blue smoke of the campfire.
The exploration was temporarily halted because his journey was limited and he couldn't go too far into Triple Mountain, so he temporarily stopped.
"Perhaps, in a couple of days, I'll tell Sister Yan.
I won't come back for a night or two.
This way, I can explore deeper."
...
In the afternoon, Li Yuan decided to try a different flavor.
He didn't eat fish but hunted a wild rabbit and a wild chicken.
Skillfully, he used a knife to cut them open, gutted, skinned the rabbit and plucked the chicken, then washed them clean in the nearby creek before roasting them whole over the fire.
The fat rendered from the meat sizzled, dripping into the fire, causing the flames to occasionally flare up.
Just then, a sound of rapid approach came from afar.
The trees rustled, quickly pushed aside by whatever was approaching.
Li Yuan didn't look up; he knew it was that tiger again.
These past few days, it came every day.
Initially, they were at a standoff.
But gradually, boundaries were established.
One human and one tiger, each guarding their territory, surprisingly coexisted peacefully.
Animals have a keen intuition, especially a tiger roaming the mountains and forests.
Perhaps it sensed a strong aura from Li Yuan, so it didn't attack.
And every time it came, Li Yuan would toss some food its way, tastier than what it caught itself, so it kept returning.
Sure enough, before long, the stealthy, white-striped fierce tiger crept over.
Between the tall grass and shadows of the trees, a menacing silhouette emerged.
The tiger appeared, but this time, instead of lying down, it attempted to move closer to Li Yuan.
But it had barely taken two steps when Li Yuan suddenly sprang up, like exploding oil, stomping heavily on the ground with a "boom!"
Grabbing his longbow, his face twisted with menace, an intimidating ferocity emanated, his eyes like lightning fixed on the tiger.
This ferocity isn't mysterious; firstly, it comes from strength, and secondly, from killing.
Killing a lot creates a natural indifference to life in the eyes, seeing life and death as just a matter of a blade, seeing bodies merely as meat for consumption.
Li Yuan didn't kill much after coming here, but before that, he was a butcher and slaughtered many pigs every day.
The tiger sensed the sudden threat, its fur bristling as it halted and let out a low growl forward.
Li Yuan refused to be outdone, and aggressively stepped forward.
The tiger prepared to charge, but Li Yuan immediately drew his bow.
The bowstring tightened, emitting a "sish-sish-sish" sound, and a dangerous aura spread out.
The tiger stopped in its tracks, after confronting for a few more seconds, it suddenly crouched down, then slowly retreated a few steps, returning to the original boundary between the human and the tiger.
Only then did Li Yuan slowly lower his bow, dissipating the aura, and returned to the campfire to continue roasting meat.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the "5~8" next to the tiger, then at the "9~10" beside himself.
He picked up the Firewood Blade, and the values changed to "10~11"; when he picked up the Earth Bow, the values changed to "24~25."
Either way, they were stronger than the tiger, which is why he could remain so calm and fierce.
Otherwise, he would have run away a long time ago.
The feeling was quite amazing.
It's like getting lost in a wildlife park, encountering a tiger, and he, who should have been trembling with fear, was stronger than the tiger, which was too scared to approach him.
At this moment, he was attempting to "tame the tiger."
Before crossing over, this would certainly be unreliable, but in this world, it's not necessarily so.
Li Yuan still remembered that when Qian San, Brother Xiong, Zhang Nuli, and Zhang Mazi brought dogs, their overall strength would increase, which indicated that in this world... fierce beasts could also become part of one's strength.
Anyway, with nothing to do, since the tiger couldn't harm him, he had time to play with the tiger slowly.
Although the original owner's memory didn't have a method to tame tigers, it did contain ways to tame dogs.
Simply put, firstly, make the dog sensitive to certain scents, such as wild rabbits, wild chickens, and roe deer. Once sensitive, the dog would track these prey once it entered the forest;
Secondly, let the dog know which actions would bring benefits and which would bring harm. This way, the dog would obey you, and you could even give commands through specific gestures.
Making a dog sensitive to certain scents is actually quite simple; just let it eat meat—wild rabbit meat, wild chicken meat, and roe deer meat.
After the dog has tasted this meat and found it delicious, the next time it goes into the mountains, it would automatically track these scents, even biting them.
But this certainly wouldn't apply to the tiger.
What hasn't the mountain tiger eaten?
Even humans, perhaps.
It would just chase directly whatever had meat, neglecting what it was.
Therefore, Li Yuan's idea was to use the second method to tame the tiger.
He didn't hold out much hope for success, mainly trying to find something to do so that daytime life wouldn't be long and tedious.
Sish-sish-sish...
At this time, a wild chicken and a wild rabbit were already roasted.
Li Yuan took a small paper packet from his pocket, pinched a bit of salt, and sprinkled it on the two roasted foods, taking a sniff,
a little fishy but irresistibly fragrant!!
Not far away, the crouching tiger occasionally glanced this way.
When Li Yuan grabbed the roasted rabbit, the tiger suddenly got up, attempting to cross the boundary to snatch the food.
As soon as it moved, Li Yuan swiftly stood up, grabbed his bow with his left hand, aiming at the tiger, emanating a fierce aura.
The tiger let out a low growl.
Li Yuan remained unmoved.
After a standoff, the tiger crouched down again.
After a few such instances, even when Li Yuan started eating the roasted rabbit, the tiger only licked its tongue, not crossing the boundary.
And at this time, Li Yuan threw out the roasted rabbit he had taken two bites of.
The tiger darted to grab the rabbit and ate it.
After finishing, the tiger stared at the roasted wild chicken in Li Yuan's hand.
But Li Yuan ate the roasted wild chicken right in front of it.
During this, the tiger again attempted to cross the boundary.
But every time it moved, Li Yuan bent his bow and notched an arrow.
Every time the "ka-ka" sound of the Great Bow being drawn sounded, the tiger immediately stopped.
After several times, the tiger seemed to decide to try again, starting to take a detour to attack from another angle.
And at that moment, the Earth Bow in Li Yuan's hand exploded with a loud bang.
Bang!
In the sharp whine of the air, a flash of cold light was seen!
Where the arrow was pointed, the tree trunk was as fragile as clay, breaking apart with a poke.
Bang!
The arrow pierced into the tree.
The tiger abruptly stopped, glanced at the sharp arrow in the tree, and then turned and fled.