Chapter 38: Mountain Lord

“Who is the one you’re talking about?”

Mo Lin could not help but grow curious.

The Bear had said that with Mo Lin’s identity as a Black Python, he was already qualified to be called a monster among monsters.

After his two years of slumber in the Dragon Cave, Mo Lin also believed that his strength was already quite remarkable in the wild.

As long as he did not face the Bureau of Heaven Monitoring head-on, within Yongzhou, he could go anywhere he pleased.

But now the Bear was saying there was a Demonic Beast that steadily surpassed the Profound rank?

If it surpassed the Profound rank, didn’t that mean it was at least an Earth-level demon?

That was already a great demon among great demons, wasn’t it?

And the Bureau of Heaven Monitoring just allowed it to run free?

The Bear glanced at Mo Lin, his lips moving as he spat out two syllables:

“Mountain Lord.”

Mountain Lord? A tiger?

Mo Lin pondered.

Mountain Lord, the King of Beasts, was another name for the tiger.

Tigers were extraordinary creatures, hailed as the strongest beings on land, perfect warriors with balanced abilities.

With a single roar, all beasts trembled in fear.

The only flaw was that they could not fly.

In ancient mythology, Emperor Shun exiled four ferocious deities of the west: Taotie, Qiongqi, Taowu, and Hundun.

Among them, Taotie, Taowu, and Hundun were all hybrid monsters pieced together from different animal traits.

Only Qiongqi was simply a tiger with a pair of wings attached.

This showed just how terrifying the tiger was.

And even though tigers were hailed as perfect warriors, not every tiger could be called Mountain Lord.

A tiger’s lifespan usually ranged between ten to twenty years.

Tigers between 1–6 years were called Big Cats, those between 6–12 years were Fierce Tigers, between 12–18 years they were called Great Beasts, and those between 18–24 years were known as White-Browed, Suspended-Eyed Tigers.

Only when a tiger broke past its natural lifespan and lived beyond 24 years could it be respectfully called Mountain Lord.

Without a doubt, the “Mountain Lord” the Bear spoke of was a tiger demon that dominated the mountains, and at the very least, an Earth-level tiger demon.

“There’s an Earth demon in the mountains, and the Bureau of Heaven Monitoring doesn’t care?”

The Bear cast Mo Lin a glance and smirked disdainfully:

“The Bureau of Heaven Monitoring? Hah!”

“When the Mountain Lord was still young and not strong enough to dominate the mountains, the Bureau couldn’t do anything about it.”

“And in the past two years, with their lack of manpower, the Bureau of Heaven Monitoring is even less worth mentioning.”

Mo Lin’s mind stirred.

Lack of manpower?

What had happened to the Bureau of Heaven Monitoring in the past two years?

Mo Lin glanced at the Bear, expressionless, merely feigning to stand on the Bureau’s side:

“Hehe, the Bureau of Heaven Monitoring, as the demon-hunting authority of the Great Qian Dynasty, possesses strength far beyond what a little Bear hiding in a Mountain God Temple could possibly imagine.”

“I think it’s best you don’t belittle the Bureau so much.”

At these words, the Bear gave a “heh,” sat upright, and said:

“The Great Qian Dynasty, the Bureau of Heaven Monitoring, heh heh.”

“If this were still the Bureau of old, I’d certainly behave myself, quietly hiding in the Mountain God Temple, stealing a few offerings without daring to act recklessly.”

“But as for today’s Bureau of Heaven Monitoring, they really don’t have the time to bother with us.”

With a few more casual words, Mo Lin finally pried out the truth of the past two years from the Bear’s mouth.

During the two years Mo Lin slumbered in the Dragon Cave, the Great Qian Dynasty increasingly showed signs of decline—natural disasters, human calamities, people’s livelihoods collapsing, and hordes of demons running rampant.

At first, the Bureau of Heaven Monitoring could still suppress the demonic beasts, but as time dragged on, more of their members were injured, while reinforcements could not keep up, and the Bureau gradually became powerless.

Thus, in order to balance manpower with demon-hunting efforts, even the Bureau that swore to eradicate all demons had to hunt selectively—choosing to catch the great and release the small.

They prioritized those with grievous sins, those who caused major massacres, and those with solid evidence against them.

As for the Mountain Lord, although its strength was terrifying, enough to devastate entire lands if it chose, it preferred to dwell deep in the mountains, avoiding humans.

So, in these two years of manpower shortages, the Bureau chose to turn a blind eye to the Mountain Lord.

As long as it did not cause major disturbances, the Bureau pretended not to know of its existence.

After all, there were other great demons in Yongzhou that delighted in eating humans and hating humanity.

Because of this, smaller demons also enjoyed a rare springtime—

If the Bureau did not have the energy to deal with the Mountain Lord, how could they spare attention to suppress lesser beasts?

According to the Bear’s account, he himself, who liked to lurk in the Mountain God Temple and occasionally eat a boy or girl, was among these.

Of course, Mo Lin scoffed at this.

According to the Bear’s division of ranks—Heaven, Profound, Yellow—the snake’s tail strike Mo Lin had used earlier would not leave a lesser demon unscathed unless it was at least a Profound-level demon.

So this Bear, hiding in the Mountain God Temple, was undoubtedly a great demon—

only that he preferred staying in one corner, for reasons unknown.

Still, thanks to the Bear, Mo Lin finally had a rough grasp of the current situation.

He had originally worried that roaming the mountains in search of Earth Vein Yin Marrow or similar treasures might once again attract the Bureau’s attention.

But now, it seemed he could relax a little for the time being.

As Mo Lin pondered, the Bear rolled onto his side, propping one foot on the lotus pedestal as he looked at Mo Lin:

“Speaking of which, what are you planning to do next?”

Mo Lin glanced at the Bear, not sure what he meant.

The Bear waved his hand toward the wary Mo Lin:

“Eh, don’t look at me like that. After all, we can be considered acquaintances through battle.”

“I was just thinking, I’ve been cooped up here in the Mountain God Temple for quite a while. It’s about time I stretched my legs.”

“Now that I’ve run into you, I get the feeling you might be interesting to follow around. I’d like to tag along for some fun.”

Mo Lin politely but firmly declined the Bear’s good intentions:

“That won’t be necessary. I don’t see why I must bring you with me.”

The Bear wagged his finger:

“That’s where you’re wrong. If this Buddha hasn’t guessed wrong, you haven’t had contact with anyone in quite some time, have you?”

“Let me guess. Hmm, half a year, a year? No, more—two years, perhaps?”

Mo Lin’s snake eyes flickered, but he did not reply.

The Bear clicked his tongue:

“Heh, don’t be surprised. After all, your attempt at prying information earlier was a bit obvious. This Buddha may be lazy, but not stupid—I still have some wits.”

“From the focus of your questions, I knew right away you hadn’t interacted with anyone for about two years.”

“Was it hibernation? Or year-long slumber?”

“Hahaha, you really do sleep too much. Even this Buddha, who sometimes needs hibernation, only does it for a few days at most…”

“Cough cough, went off topic, apologies. Though I occupy this Mountain God Temple, few people ever pass by, so there’s no one to chat with this Buddha. Now that I’ve finally gotten a guest, I may be running my mouth a bit. Bear with me.”

Seeing Mo Lin impatiently flick his tail, the Bear realized he had strayed again and returned to the point:

“But look, even knowing you were prying, I still told you everything. That shows I’ve been sincere, right?”

“And not only that—let’s be honest, in this Yongzhou land, there’s nothing this Buddha doesn’t know.”

“If you run into some trouble, I could even back you up.”

“As long as it’s not that Mountain Lord fellow, this Buddha is still very righteous.”

“So, what do you say? Think about it?”

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