The big tiger bit down on the sweeping monk’s head.

Shen Ningning had just seen the spurt of blood and heard the monk’s horrific screams when, before she could get a closer look, Xie Mingxu covered her eyes.

The screams were endless, but Xie Mingxu said in a low voice, "Don’t be afraid."

In that instant, Shen Ningning felt an unprecedented sense of peace.

It was as if her family was holding her, protecting her.

She stopped struggling and held still, leaning obediently in the arms of her Big Brother.

A moment later, the screaming stopped.

Xie Mingxu said grimly, "Two more tigers have arrived. Don’t open your eyes. I’ll get you out of here first."

Wild beasts in the mountains could be extremely dangerous if they’d been hungry for a long time.

Shen Ningning quickly grabbed onto him with her small hand. "Big Brother, let’s not be in such a hurry to leave. I think this big tiger knows me. Let me ask them."

Xie Mingxu frowned. "Don’t be ridiculous. How can you communicate with tigers?"

However, Shen Ningning had already wriggled out of his embrace.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw that of the burly men, some were dead and others were injured. Two more powerfully built tigers had somehow jumped over the low wall. They were now feasting heartily, gnawing on the corpses.

The CRUNCHING sound of them chewing on bones made even Xie Mingxu’s scalp tingle.

But out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Shen Ningning’s expression was calm.

Of course, the little one wasn’t afraid.

Back home, the sound of hundreds of Langlangs CRUNCHING on bones was even louder than this.

She took two steps forward, and the enormous tiger from before looked up, a severed limb dangling from its mouth.

All three tigers stopped eating at once and looked at her in unison.

Xie Mingxu’s hand was pressed tightly on the hilt of his sword, his gaze vigilant as he followed Shen Ningning.

The little one walked up to the large tiger. "You recognize me, don’t you?"

THUD. The severed arm in the big tiger’s mouth fell to the ground.

It sat up straight, its gaze strangely majestic, and let out two roars.

After listening, Shen Ningning’s eyes lit up. "Really? What a coincidence!"

Xie Mingxu was suspicious. "What did they say?"

Shen Ningning smiled and explained, "The tigers said they heard about me from the other small animals around here. I live on the neighboring Wolf Mountain!"

In truth, the little one hadn’t told him everything.

What the big tiger had actually said was that they had eaten the meat Shen Ningning left behind and drunk from the clear spring she had summoned.

They had heard from the nearby monkeys that a little girl named Shen Ningning had brought the entire mountain range back to life.

That group of little monkeys had even taken one of Shen Ningning’s small shoes for all the animals in the forest to smell.

From tigers to elk, snakes to bears, and even all sorts of birds—every one of them had memorized her scent.

Shen Ningning didn’t know yet that in the hearts of all these animals, big and small, she was like a Heavenly God.

The animals had reached a consensus: wherever the little one passed or stayed, there would surely be food or water.

That was why the tigers had followed her scent when she came up the mountain just now.

When they saw a group of edible humans, the big tiger thought that those monkeys really hadn’t been lying.

A look of astonishment crossed Xie Mingxu’s face. "The animals... know you too? Who on earth are you?"

Shen Ningning tilted her little head. "Big Brother, do you know of Wolf Mountain? My home is there. People outside call me the Little Wolf Girl. I live with the Langlangs, you know!"

’To think such a strange thing is possible!’

Xie Mingxu was utterly amazed.

He said tactfully, "I’ve been away from the Capital City for over three years and only just returned yesterday. I wasn’t aware a legendary figure like you had appeared."

While they were talking, the three big tigers went back to CRUNCHING on the people.

Xie Mingxu glanced over, cleared his throat, and asked, "Could you tell them not to eat the ones who are still alive? I need to take them to the government office in the Capital City."

"Okay!" Shen Ningning turned to the tigers. "Don’t eat the live ones. You can have the dead ones, I guess~"

Xie Mingxu was once again astonished, admiring the little one’s courage.

’She truly is a girl who lives with a wolf pack, to face such ferocious beasts without batting an eye.’

The tigers actually understood. They dragged the dead bandits to one side to continue their meal.

Xie Mingxu used this opportunity to interrogate the ones who were still alive.

The bandits were severely injured; they were either bleeding profusely from tiger bites or had been stabbed by Xie Mingxu’s sword earlier.

Seeing Xie Mingxu approach, they were already so terrified they had wet their pants.

"Sir, have mercy! We’re just trying to make a living on the mountain! Other than taking over the temple, killing a few people, and eating a few monks, we haven’t done anything bad at all!"

Shen Ningning snorted. "You eat people, and you dare say you haven’t done anything bad!"

Hearing her fiercely cute voice, a smaller tiger trotted over happily. It rubbed against Shen Ningning’s little hand like a big cat and let out a few soft growls.

It was asking if this person had made her angry and if it should eat him.

Shen Ningning casually patted the tiger a couple of times. "You can’t eat the live ones. Be good now, go play somewhere else."

The little tiger walked away regretfully, lay down nearby, and started licking a human skull it was holding.

When the surviving bandits saw this, they immediately started wailing in terror.

’If only we had known this little girl could command wild beasts, we would have never laid a hand on her!’

Xie Mingxu kicked one of them. "Stop your screaming! Tell me the truth. Where are the monks who were here before?"

"Some were eaten... most were sold. We were starving, so we ate two of them," a bandit confessed, trembling.

Under Xie Mingxu’s interrogation, the truth came to light.

It turned out they were a group of mountain bandits originally based northwest of Wolf Mountain. But not long ago, their accomplices had gone to Xiangyun Village to plunder and were captured by ambushing soldiers!

So, the remaining bandits didn’t dare to stay and had moved to a new territory.

With the current drought and Fashan Temple’s remote location, few people came to pray.

Seeing that there weren’t many monks, they simply took over the temple and began posing as monks themselves.

If a large group of pilgrims came, they would behave and not make a move.

But if they found a lone pilgrim, they would, at the very least, rob and threaten them. In more serious cases, they would capture the person and sell them into slavery.

Because these bandits were cautious, and most of their victims were common folk without power or influence, they didn’t dare speak up after returning to the capital. This had allowed the bandits to run rampant until now.

When Shen Ningning learned the truth, her watery eyes widened in surprise. "You’re actually part of the same group as those bandits!"

Xie Mingxu asked, "Right, you just said you live in Xiangyun Village, so you know about those bandits too?"

"I do!" Shen Ningning nodded emphatically. "They collaborated with Landlord Du to steal the disaster relief grain sent by the court. The group of bandits that was caught has already been executed."

As soon as she finished speaking, one of the bandits said, "Landlord Du? That’s not right. Wasn’t that man called Third Master Wei...?"

Before he could finish, a burly man with a handlebar mustache next to him bumped him with his shoulder.

Xie Mingxu knitted his brows. Hearing the name of the Wei Family, he felt there was more to these bandits than met the eye.

He thought for a moment and said to Shen Ningning, "I have to hand these men over to the Ministry of Justice in the Capital City. Your bead is a Shariputra, and only monks from the National Temple can bless it for protection. If your family isn’t coming, I can take you to the National Temple first."

Shen Ningning waved her little hand. "You can go, Big Brother. My friend is waiting for me at the foot of the mountain!"

Xie Mingxu pressed his lips together and nodded. "Alright."

He acted decisively. Ignoring the bandits who had been eaten by the tigers, he tied up the surviving ones with a grass rope.

He found a wooden plank in the temple, secured the men to it, then bid farewell to Shen Ningning and began dragging the group of bandits down the mountain.

The little one ran to the entrance, her eyes sparkling. "Wow, Big Brother’s arm strength is amazing... Ah! I forgot to ask for his name. Oh well, I’m sure we’ll meet again."

She turned back to look at the three big tigers. "You helped me, so I’m going to get you a thank-you gift! Wait here~"

With that, the little one vanished into the Immortal Realm.

The tigers watched her disappear into thin air, their round tiger eyes wide with astonishment.