Additional Section

The success of an entire year hinges on a good start in spring, just as a day's work depends on a good morning.

In a small border village, the adults rose early to sow their seeds. The children also rose early, but not to help their families—instead, they banded together to harass cats and dogs, or went off into the hills and streams to steal chickens and catch fish. Not causing trouble for their parents was the greatest help they could offer.

The gang mostly consisted of kids aged seven to eleven—not exactly young, yet too young for talk of marriage or serious chores, so they idled together all day. Most of their parents had even begun cultivating their second, third, or fourth lifetimes.

As usual, a pack of little ruffians was huddled in a small wooden hut, scheming about how to help their boss catch the eye of Xiaomei from the neighboring village.

After a fierce debate, they finally settled on staging a "hero saves the beauty" act. Somehow, their collective wisdom failed them, and they unanimously agreed to carry it out that very day.

So, that evening, on the path Xiaomei had to take home, three or five masked bandits suddenly appeared—though they seemed a bit stunted, shorter and scrawnier than one might expect.

They blocked Xiaomei's path, brandishing shoddy knives from who-knows-where and shouting threats.

Suddenly, a flash of cyan light streaked past. A man, moving too fast to see, subdued and tied up the would-be bandits.

"There should be one more," he said, gazing into the distance and shaking his head with some resignation.

Only then did the boss of these young delinquents arrive, fashionably late. Seeing the man, his heart jumped, thinking his underlings had hired some actor he didn't know. "How could they hire someone with such a fancy face? It doesn't show off my mighty strength at all. What if he charms Xiaomei and she ends up disliking me?"

He stepped forward and launched a flying kick. Using the momentum, he managed to land face-first on the ground, one hand tucked awkwardly behind his back as he pinned the man down with his head in a clumsy hold.

"Ah, I hardly ever come home, and you lot still give me no peace!" The man unclenched his fist and shook his head.

"B-Big brother? Didn't you become an immortal?" the boss asked, shocked.

"Even immortals have families and need to come home sometimes!" the man addressed as 'big brother' replied with a bitter smile. "Seeing you all loafing around with nothing to do, and since the Immortal Sect is recruiting new members lately, why don't you give it a try!"

The eyes of all the little hooligans lit up. They clamored to go, completely forgetting about Xiaomei standing off to the side.

"You have abundant energy, persistence for things you like, and you value loyalty. Those are decent traits for cultivation. But with your sloppy, undisciplined attitude, going there untrained would be pointless!"

Hearing this, the group grew anxious. In unison, they pleaded, "Boss, please train us!"

Seeing he'd inadvertently shouldered a new responsibility, the man sighed and nodded.

The next day, a rare scene unfolded. The boys rose early, tidied up a bit, and ran into the mountains to begin training under the man's guidance.

At first, it was just basic foundational exercises from martial arts; the boys could handle that. But as time went on, the intensity increased. He even started lecturing on theoretical knowledge, which made their heads spin. Eventually, they had to take regular tests...

During this time, many of the less determined dropped out. In the end, only the boss and a boy named Ergou remained.

"Yan Ergou, full of surprises! You never stood out before, but now you've held on. You... you're not trying to compete with me for Xiaomei, are you?"

The boss started off teasing, but once the thought took root, a surge of alarm hit him. No matter how Yan explained, the boss wouldn't listen. He began training and studying with desperate intensity, terrified of being surpassed. Seeing his explanations were useless and watching his rival's fierce efforts, Yan, afraid of failing himself, also began pushing to the limit.

Watching the two of them strive so hard filled the man with satisfaction, though he had no idea what had sparked it.

As for the children who had given up, seeing their boss working so hard and the terrifying immortal big brother still around, they naturally didn't dare cause trouble. They suddenly became much more peaceful and started helping their families. Their parents were baffled, suspecting their kids had either gotten into trouble or gone silly from play.

Unknowingly, half a year passed. The man had to return to the Immortal Sect, leaving the two of them to continue their cultivation in the mountains.

Everything had been peaceful, but one day, the neighboring village organized a sizable group to enter the mountains to drive out the Mountain Lord, seeking timber and game. For several days, there was noisy, busy commotion, and the Mountain Lord fled.

The boss was initially glad the neighboring village was thriving, thinking Xiaomei would have a better life. He even fantasized about becoming an immortal himself, riding a multicolored cloud of good fortune to marry her, to show her the world's wonders and let her taste all its delicacies.

Most of the men from the neighboring village had gone to the capital or a neighboring country, leaving only the women and children at home. Last time they drove out the Mountain Lord, it took ages to call them all back. Even now, gathering in the mountains was done by women and children.

But how long had the Mountain Lord cultivated? How could it possibly let this go?

Recently, while secretly watching Xiaomei, the boss had found a tuft of brownish-yellow fur on a rotten log. But he hadn't paid it any mind. After all, in his understanding, whenever the Mountain Lord returned to the mountains, didn't it always make a grand, noisy spectacle?

One evening, Xiaomei suddenly remembered she'd left some valuable medicinal herbs on the mountain. Defying the villagers' objections, she insisted on going back up, afraid someone else might pick them.

Worried for her safety, the boss informed Yan and then secretly followed her up the mountain.

The fading light of sunset filtered through the mountain forest, casting a hazy glow. With the boss's clumsy attempts at stealth, Xiaomei spotted him almost instantly. Yet she didn't send him away. Instead, she even asked him to help carry her things.

It was the first time in his life he had been this close to Xiaomei.

Bathed in the misty, dying light, Xiaomei looked as ethereal as a celestial fairy. The boss stared, entranced, to the point of ignoring several unusual sounds.

Xiaomei suddenly gasped. She seized the boss's hand and, before he could react, yanked him toward her with surprising force. Seeing it was too late, she kissed him and then shoved him backward, away from her.

The boss was still lost in that dizzy joy when a thick, crimson liquid splashed across his face, leaving him stunned.

The Mountain Lord had been tailing the pair from the start, biding its time until the boss's guard was completely down before preparing to strike. But Xiaomei, with her keen perception, noticed it and saved him...

"You will become an immortal... you'll meet someone better..." The Mountain Lord bit through Xiaomei's neck in one snap, then vanished back into the mountain forest. Against the deepening dusk, it was hard to spot, leaving Xiaomei dying in the boss's arms. She wanted to touch his face but no longer had the strength to lift her hand.

"Aaaaaah!!!" The boss's heart shattered. A raw, rasping roar tore from his throat.

Then the Mountain Lord suddenly reappeared. It didn't attack the boss. Instead, it watched him with a look of cruel amusement, radiating the satisfaction of long-awaited vengeance finally achieved.

"I'll kill you!" The boss yanked the sickle from his robe and charged at the Mountain Lord with a roar. But his breathing was completely disordered, and all the techniques he'd learned were forgotten, leaving only instinct to drive his wild swings.

Hearing that anguished cry, Yan immediately knew something was wrong. He quickly rallied the villagers, and they hurried up the mountain.

But they were too late. When they arrived, only two cold corpses remained... The area reeked of the pungent odor of tiger urine—a deliberate show of force from the Mountain Lord.

Though filled with grief and rage, none dared act recklessly. After discussion, they decided to first carry the boss and Xiaomei's bodies down. They would deal with the Mountain Lord the next day.

The boss and Yan had grown up together; they were close friends. Remembering their shared past, Yan felt as if a knife were twisting in his heart. He chose not to descend with the others. Instead, he asked for a torch, a bow, a few arrows, and a jug of wine, then headed up the mountain alone. Yan's mother tried to stop him, but his father held her back. He believed his son wouldn't be so reckless.

Following the traces left by the Mountain Lord, Yan went straight to the mountaintop. Inside a cave, the Mountain Lord sat alone. It showed no joy of victory, only gazing emptily at the moon as if deep in thought.

Hearing movement, the Mountain Lord turned its head calmly. There stood Yan, bow on his back, glaring at it with furious eyes.

The Mountain Lord shrugged. It seemed another one had come seeking revenge. Mimicking a human gesture, it waved a paw, indicating it had no wish to start a slaughter.

"I'm not here to kill you. The bow is for dealing with jackals." Yan suppressed his rage, took out the jug of wine and two small bowls he had secretly brought from home, placed them on the ground, and filled them.

"I once heard my father tell your story." Picking up a bowl of wine, he downed it in one gulp. "For the sake of clearing land and profit, they killed your mother and slaughtered your brothers. As for you! You were spared only because one human insisted."

Yan took another fierce swig of wine. "And the one who saved you... was the father of the boy you killed today!"

The Mountain Lord's face had been expressionless, but at this, it was startled.

"There are many Immortal Sect families in the neighboring villages. They didn't intervene. You live because one Immortal strongly insisted there must be a king in these mountains! And that man! He was the elder brother of the woman you killed!!!" Yan screamed hysterically. The Mountain Lord could no longer remain composed.

"They all say you've cultivated for decades, that you understand human nature, possess humanity. Then I ask you, where is your humanity?!" Yan's face was flushed, but his words grew ever sharper.

"You are the Mountain Lord! King of this mountain! King of beasts! And this is how you act, without distinguishing right from wrong!" Overwhelmed by the wine, Yan's speech grew increasingly slurred. "They never bore you any ill will, would even leave food for you from time to time. You!..."

Yan spat out a mouthful of wine. "If you were just a novice, fresh from your lair, fine! But a mighty Mountain Lord! Would also commit the indiscriminate slaughter of innocents? Would also be ungrateful, a wolf that bites the hand that feeds it? Then what has all your cultivation amounted to!"

The Mountain Lord remained silent.

Finally, unable to withstand the alcohol's numbness any longer, Yan passed out.