The white tiger was once again locked in an iron cage, the cage tightly secured with chains, leaving no chance of escape, before being carried by several guards and temporarily placed in an empty room at the front of the Governor’s residence.

Only then did the servants and maids emerge from the buildings, talking amongst themselves. The bold ones even made a point of running to the front to gawk at the caged white tiger.

Luoshen asked Li Mu about what had happened, and only then learned the full story behind today’s unexpected incident.

It turned out that Hou Li had been determined to capture this white tiger. He had remained in that wilderness earlier, bringing hunting dogs to track it day and night through the wild forests, until he finally traced the tiger’s trail.

Initially, because it was still young and didn’t seem as formidable as a full-grown tiger, he directly brought people to surround and capture it. But unexpectedly, though young, the white tiger was extraordinarily fierce. Not only did they fail to achieve their goal, but people were injured instead. After several failed attempts, he racked his brains to devise various traps.

Yet unexpectedly, this white tiger proved remarkably clever, avoiding every trap he had previously used for hunting, dodging them all successfully.

After several rounds like this, the white tiger became increasingly alert and seemed to hold a grudge, actually seeking revenge by frequently attacking Hou Li’s camp actively, day and night. Sometimes it would deliberately frighten them, and when Hou Li and his followers prepared for battle, it would vanish without a trace. Repeating this throughout the night, it left everyone unable to sleep. After several days, all were exhausted and at their wits’ end, until the white tiger seemed to finally vent its anger and stopped appearing actively.

Hou Li was helpless and could only plan to give up. But this was the first time in his life he had encountered such an intelligent divine beast, and the thought of abandoning it felt truly unwilling.

After much consideration, he finally devised a strategy, deciding to take personal risks.

He first secretly set up traps, had his followers spread out at a distance without worrying about him, then wandered alone near where the white tiger appeared, making various tracking and provocative gestures. After two days of this, he finally drew out the enraged white tiger again to attack him. Unable to match it, Hou Li was clawed and injured, then desperately fled to the predetermined location, activated the mechanism, and a large net fell from above, finally capturing the white tiger.

After capturing it, Hou Li was overjoyed and transported it back in an iron cage. Today he arrived in Yicheng and naturally had to stop to see Li Mu. He originally planned to leave the white tiger outside the city, but it was like possessing a rare treasure – if he couldn’t show it to others, it would be like wearing fine clothes at night or hiding pearls in a box, truly unsatisfying. Moreover, he was one who loved to show off. So he brought the precious white tiger into the city, drawing countless onlookers and exclamations of amazement all along the way. Feeling very pleased with himself, he finally arrived at the open space outside the Governor’s residence and stopped the white tiger there.

On the journey back, the little white tiger had been quite frantic for the first two days, clawing and biting at the iron cage as if trying to escape, but later it became docile, eating when given food and lying down when not eating. Seeing the many onlookers but the white tiger lying lazily in the cage with eyes closed and motionless, Hou Li wanted people to see its tiger’s majesty, so he provoked it, but it still didn’t move. Feeling he had lost face publicly, Hou Li was somewhat annoyed. Seeing that its neck was still tightly bound with iron chains and not fearing it would break free, he had people open the cage door and personally reached in to provoke it. Unexpectedly, just as the cage door opened, the sleeping tiger suddenly opened its eyes and leaped out of the cage, dragging the heavy iron cage several yards along the ground, immediately breaking the iron chain, and its sharp claws also wounded Hou Li’s chest and abdomen.

The scene immediately fell into chaos. Hou Li was clawed and fell to the ground, the watching citizens scattered and fled, while Fan Cheng, who was present, called for someone to quickly notify Li Mu while leading people to pursue it. Under heavy encirclement with arrows flying, the little white tiger frantically chose no particular path, broke through the encirclement, jumped over walls and rushed into the Governor’s residence, which led to that heart-stopping scene from earlier.

After hearing this, Luoshen was startled and hurriedly asked about Hou Li’s injury first.

“This little beast has very sharp claws. Prince Hou was clawed until his skin split and flesh tore, with deep wounds that bled considerably. Fortunately, his life should not be in danger, and it was already being treated earlier.”

Luoshen breathed a sigh of relief.

Although after hearing the whole story, she quite disliked what Hou Li had done, he was still Li Mu’s guest after all, and had previously exerted considerable effort searching for her. If something happened to him in Yicheng, Li Mu would find it difficult to explain to Hou Ding. Hearing that Hou Li’s injuries were not serious, after her relief, she actually began to worry about that little white tiger instead. Thinking how it had been captured by Hou Li for no reason, shot with an arrow in the rear, fled in panic, was then swept away by Li Mu’s staff which seemed to break its leg, and finally when being dragged away was looking at her and whimpering non-stop, its claws scratching the ground until mud flew up, she couldn’t help but become lost in thought.

Seeing her silence, Li Mu thought she had not yet recovered from the earlier fright, gently patted her back, and comforted: “Don’t be afraid. It can’t get out anymore. Since you pity it, I won’t kill it. I’ll ask Hou Li whether he wants to release it or what his intentions are.”

Luoshen grasped his sleeve: “Langjun, I’m not afraid of it. I’m just seeing that its leg seems to be broken by you, feeling somewhat pitiful, have Hou Li first appease it and treat its injury.”

Li Mu looked at her, those beautiful eyes wide and gazing at him, and could only say: “Alright, I understand.”

Hearing his agreement, Luoshen knew he wouldn’t deceive her, and only then felt at ease, showing a smile.

Li Mu was worried about Hou Li’s injury in his heart, and it wasn’t appropriate to leave the white tiger at the Governor’s residence for long. He hugged his wife and left first.

The Governor’s residence returned to its original tranquility. Luoshen continued doing needlework with everyone, but her heart kept thinking about it. That evening, when Li Mu returned, she immediately asked about the follow-up. Learning that the white tiger had been moved to near the military camp outside the city, that Hou Li could also stand up, and had sent people to treat its injuries, only then did she feel relieved.

But she hadn’t expected that after three or four days, when she remembered the little white tiger again and caught Li Mu to ask about progress, she learned it wasn’t going smoothly.

After the little white tiger was caged again, far from allowing Hou Li to bring people close to treat its injuries, it would roar loudly, bare its fangs and claws, and become extremely angry whenever it saw him. It also kept hitting its head against the iron cage, continuing even when its head was bloody, and moreover wouldn’t eat or drink, extremely agitated.

Luoshen again remembered that scene of it being dragged away by guards with iron chains, turning back to look at her and whimpering non-stop, and actually became quite concerned. She begged Li Mu to take her to see it.

Li Mu naturally refused at first. That white tiger was just a beast in his eyes, and it had even injured people – dying would be no great matter. Thinking of the dangerous situation when it chased Luoshen that day, he was still frightened. How could he let her go there now? He shook his head in refusal.

Luoshen tugged at his sleeve, not letting him leave. She pleaded and threatened, and finally even hugged him, stood on tiptoe and offered kisses voluntarily.

Unable to resist, Li Mu finally reluctantly agreed, saying he would personally take her there: “But it’s agreed. You must not get close, just stand behind me.”

Luoshen hurriedly nodded and urged him to set out immediately. Li Mu had no choice but to call for a carriage. Luoshen got in, and he took her out of the city to near the military camp where the little white tiger was kept.

The cage was placed in a flat building. As soon as Luoshen got off the carriage, even from a distance, she could hear long tiger roars coming from inside.

This sound, to her ears, seemed filled with sadness. It was completely different from that first encounter in the grass marsh when it heard Li Mu calling for her – that roar had been full of kingly dominance as if asking “who dares challenge me.”

But others remained unmoved.

She quickened her pace, leaving Li Mu behind.

Li Mu looked at her retreating figure, helplessly shook his head, and caught up in a few steps.

Hou Li was also there with animal trainers. Learning that Li Mu and his wife had come, he hurriedly came out to greet them. His chest to abdomen was wrapped in a long bandage, but his spirits still looked quite good. After greetings, hearing Luoshen say she wanted to look, he quickly led the way personally.

The closer they got, the clearer the high and low tiger roars became, mixed with clanging sounds of iron cage collisions.

An iron cage was fixed on the ground in the corner. Luoshen saw the little white tiger locked inside, constantly hitting its head against the cage. Its forehead was marked with bloody streaks, the fur already dyed red. Hearing movement, it suddenly turned its head. Those eyes that had turned blood red immediately shot out hateful fierce light when they saw Hou Li, pouncing toward him inside the cage. The paw broken by Li Mu drooped to the ground, while the other one had five claws extended, forcefully grasping the cage body, shaking the iron cage violently left and right.

Li Mu immediately pulled Luoshen behind him.

Seeing this, Hou Li looked embarrassed and turned to smile reluctantly at Luoshen: “This thing seems to have gone mad. Madam should stay farther away to avoid being frightened.”

Luoshen poked her head out from behind Li Mu and looked toward the little white tiger in the cage.

The little white tiger suddenly saw her and stared at her for a moment, then stopped roaring. The fierce light in its eyes faded, and it slowly lay down, tilting its bloody head weakly to rest on the ground, pressing against its own curled-up front paw, both eyes looking at her motionlessly. Only the other injured paw kept trembling slightly.

Everyone in the room, including the animal trainer, was stunned by this sudden change.

Hou Li desperately wanted to tame this white tiger. For the past two days, despite his own injuries, he had stayed here constantly, trying every method, but was unable to make the white tiger calm down, let alone allow him to treat its injuries.

He really hadn’t expected that as soon as the Governor’s wife arrived, this beast seemed to gain spiritual awareness and immediately became docile.

“Madam! It’s willing to be close to you! It hasn’t eaten for two days. Try feeding it something!”

Hou Li was overjoyed and momentarily forgot everything else, the words just spilling out.

Luoshen hurriedly came out from behind Li Mu, but her hand was held by him, pulling her behind him again, as he smiled at Hou Li: “That might not be appropriate. She’s just here to take a look…”

Only then did Hou Li realize, hurriedly nodding: “Yes, yes, I momentarily forgot…”

“Let me try.”

Luoshen looked up at Li Mu pleadingly: “If you’re worried, just stay beside me.”

“Langjun—”

That soft call of “Langjun” made Hou Li’s heart race and ears burn, not daring to look up.

Li Mu frowned, looked at the white tiger in the cage, then at Luoshen pleading with him, and finally reluctantly agreed, taking her slowly closer to the iron cage. Still a person’s distance away, he commanded her to stop.

Luoshen knew he was looking out for her, and besides, animal nature was unpredictable, so she obediently stopped, crouched down, used an iron fork to pick up a piece of wild rabbit meat nearby, reached it toward the tiger, and said softly: “Little darling, eat up.”

The little white tiger looked at her, slowly raised its head, smelled the meat, and finally opened its mouth to take it, swallowing it in one bite.

“It ate!”

Hou Li was overjoyed.

Luoshen was also happy at heart and forked another piece to continue feeding it.

The little white tiger kept eating, wolfing it down, clearly looking extremely hungry. It quickly finished all the meat in the basin, stuck out its tongue to lick its injured leg, opened wide a pair of moist eyes to look at Luoshen, and made soft whimpering sounds in its throat.

Luoshen’s confidence immediately increased greatly. She asked Hou Li how to treat its injured leg. After hearing Hou Li’s explanation, she looked at Li Mu pleadingly: “Let me try once more, alright?”

Li Mu looked once more at the white tiger in the cage and finally nodded.

Luoshen then took a special long fork that Hou Li handed her, with an adjustable iron ring at the fork head.

She extended the long fork into the cage, carefully reaching toward the little white tiger’s injured leg, probing a few times.

As if understanding her intention, the little white tiger struggled to raise that paw, allowing Luoshen to slip the iron ring around it.

Luoshen stared intently at it, tightening the iron ring while softly saying: “Little darling, be good, come closer…”

The little white tiger followed her guidance, slowly sliding along the ground to the cage edge, allowing her to bring its paw out of the iron cage.

Following Hou Li’s instructions, Luoshen tried several times and finally managed to secure the paw.

Hou Li was already impressed to the point of complete admiration. Knowing the white tiger disliked his approach, he no longer came forward, just hurriedly called for the veterinarian to come up and apply medicine and fixation to its paw.

The veterinarian was somewhat nervous. During the procedure, Luoshen stayed beside it constantly, speaking to it softly. The little white tiger became extremely docile, no longer extending claws or baring fangs.

Finally the treatment was completed, the fork was released, and it retracted its paw by itself.

Hou Li let out a long breath, came forward with a face full of smiles, and thanked Luoshen.

Luoshen smiled: “Prince, I’d like to ask you for something, I wonder if it would be presumptuous?”

“Madam, please speak freely! As long as I, Hou Li, can do it, even if you asked me to pluck stars from the sky, I would find a way!”

Hou Li was beaming, speaking without thinking. He didn’t care that Li Mu beside him frowned slightly upon hearing this.

Luoshen smiled: “How could I trouble the Prince to pluck stars? I was thinking that this little white tiger’s nature should be to love freedom, which is why it refuses food in the cage and harms itself. Could the Prince bear to part with it and release it back to the mountain forests?”

Hou Li was startled, looked at the white tiger in the cage, then at the smiling face of the Governor’s wife before him. His chest warmed, and he immediately nodded: “Since Madam has spoken to plead for it, what could I refuse? When its injury heals, I’ll immediately release it, and I won’t go back on my word!”

Hearing him agree so readily, Luoshen was delighted and thanked him repeatedly: “The Prince is truly a straightforward person. Thank you so much!”

Hou Li was elated, looking at Luoshen and laughing foolishly non-stop.

Li Mu stepped forward, casually shielding Luoshen behind him, then smiled: “Since there’s nothing more, I’ll escort my wife back.”

He glanced at the bandages on Hou Li: “The Prince is injured and should rest more.”

Hou Li felt a bit reluctant to part with the Governor’s wife. He just felt that being with her put him in an excellent mood, as if even the dusty corner of the room had bloomed with flowers.

Though he thought this in his heart, he couldn’t very well say no, so he nodded agreement and attentively saw them off.

In the following period, Luoshen had Li Mu accompany her when he was free, visiting the little white tiger every few days.

According to Hou Li, after that day, the little white tiger became quiet and no longer as frantic as before. However, if it didn’t see Luoshen for three or four days, it would become restless again, pacing back and forth in the cage.

Luoshen became even more concerned. Because Li Mu strictly ordered that she couldn’t go there without his accompaniment, she pestered him to accompany her frequently.

Every time the little white tiger saw her coming, it would jump and bounce in the cage. When Luoshen called it “little darling” and talked to it, it would lie in the cage, extremely docile. After going several times and becoming familiar, Luoshen grew bolder. Once, taking advantage of a moment when Li Mu had turned around and wasn’t paying attention to her, she boldly reached out and touched its paw that extended from the iron cage.

A furry little paw – the feeling was indescribably wonderful.

Speaking of which, it was quite amusing. At that time, the little white tiger leaned over and stuck its tongue out through the gaps in the cage to lick Luoshen’s hand.

Warm, wet, soft, and a bit ticklish, her hand felt like it had been brushed by a soft-bristled meat brush.

At that time, Li Mu was talking with Hou Li and noticed that Hou Li seemed absent-minded, his eyes constantly looking behind him as if watching something. When Li Mu turned around and saw this, he let out an angry shout. The little white tiger shuddered, quickly retracted its tongue, and rolled to the corner of the cage, shrinking its neck and staying completely still.

It seemed to fear Li Mu.

This incident passed, and Luoshen complained about it to Li Mu for many days afterward. Li Mu endured it secretly until more than half a month later, when the veterinarian said the white tiger’s injured leg should be mostly healed. After removing the bandages, he immediately took action, having people load the tiger and cage onto a cart and personally escorting it far away to release it.

That day, Li Mu said it was dangerous and wouldn’t allow Luoshen to accompany them. Gao Huan was someone who loved excitement and had long heard about the white tiger incident, so he enthusiastically followed along.

Fearing that releasing it too close by would disturb residents, Li Mu set out early in the morning and traveled urgently for a full day, going several hundred li outside to arrive at a dense forest before stopping, opening the cage door, releasing the white tiger, and retreating with his followers dozens of steps away.

The little white tiger came out of the cage but didn’t run immediately. It kept pacing around the cage, looking toward Li Mu’s direction, seemingly reluctant to leave.

“Brother-in-law, little darling seems to have spiritual nature. Is it perhaps wanting to return and find my sister?”

Gao Huan watched and made this comment.

Li Mu was very unhappy.

The white tiger had divided his wife’s attention – when talking with him, every third sentence was about it. That was one thing, it being just a beast after all.

What made him even more displeased was Hou Li.

His little injury could have healed long ago and he could have returned. But he used managing this beast as an excuse to stay and not leave.

Every time Luoshen went to see the tiger, he would definitely be there following along, extremely attentive.

It was truly unbearable.

Li Mu stared at the tiger that was still lingering nearby, said nothing, walked to a tree nearby, broke off a branch as thick as an arm, held it in his hand, stepped forward a few paces, raised the branch, and shouted loudly at the white tiger.

The little white tiger immediately retreated, ran forward a few steps, but stopped again, looked back at the path they had come from, let out a long roar, and finally spread its four legs. Its figure like a white lightning bolt disappeared into the dense forest.

Gao Huan returned the next day and vividly described the scene to his sister.

After hearing this, Luoshen felt melancholy and couldn’t help but blame Li Mu for being heartless in not letting her accompany them. That evening when he returned, she didn’t give him a pleasant expression.

But Li Mu finally felt happy.

First driving away the tiger, then sending away Hou Li who could no longer find an excuse to linger – in one day, two things that he found extremely irritating had disappeared, making him feel very comfortable. Knowing his wife was angry, that night in bed he held her close and served her attentively in every way. The next morning, she was calling “Langjun, Langjun” again non-stop, and the whole house was filled with her charming voice.

After half a month, one clear morning, Luoshen was again thinking of the little white tiger, wondering how it was doing now. Just as she was worrying, Gao Huan came running in breathlessly, saying that early in the morning when the city guards opened the city gates, they discovered a dead male deer on the ground at the gate entrance. No one knew what had happened, but it attracted many people to look. He also went to join the excitement and saw two lines of animal paw prints on the ground that looked like tiger tracks, so he suspected it was the little white tiger they had released before that had returned.

After that, every few days, early in the morning, there would always be traces of prey near the city gates. Sometimes deer, sometimes foxes, and once even a wild boar. Some curious night guards began watching the city gates closely and indeed saw what appeared to be a white shadow moving around the city gates at midnight. When they tried to see more clearly, it vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.

With multiple occurrences, Li Mu naturally heard about it too. Worried that it really was the white tiger lingering near Yicheng and afraid it might cause panic or even injure residents, he specially organized people to search the surrounding areas thoroughly, but to no avail.

Unable to find tiger tracks, he could only give up.

The season had entered deep autumn, and the weather was gradually getting cold. In the newly cultivated fields, right after this year’s autumn harvest, winter wheat was planted. From Chouci, hemp was also continuously sent, and Luoshen organized the women in the city to constantly produce cloth and stockpile winter clothes and shoes. During her busy time, she used stripped deer hide to make Li Mu a pair of boots. With the extra material, she also made a pair for A’Yu, who had been melancholy due to self-reproach and guilt, both to comfort her and to ensure her feet could safely get through winter.

And Li Mu, at this time, no longer had the mind to be jealous of a tiger or men who admired his wife.

The northern wars were proceeding in full swing.

To the north of Yicheng, Xijin and Beixia were fighting endlessly over Chang’an.

Not only that, but war had also ignited to the south of Beixia.

A Dayu army jointly formed by the Xu and Lu hegemon houses, taking advantage of this opportunity, crossed the Yangtze River and set out from Jingxiang, which the Xu family had managed for many years, with the direct target of Nanyang.

The Xu family army was commanded by General Yang Xuan. The Lu family had Lu Jianzhi as supervisor.

With Beixia under attack on both fronts, they devoted all national strength and struggled to support for two months. By the twelfth month of that year, they still couldn’t match the Dayu coalition forces and lost Nanyang.

Seeing the Dayu army about to penetrate deep into Yuzhou’s heartland and threaten Luoyang, while on the other front, the Xijin army was even more fierce, winning consecutive victories, the Beixia Emperor, after weighing the situation, finally decided to abandon Chang’an, concentrate forces, and return troops to Yuzhou to fully deal with the Dayu army threatening Luoyang, in order to protect the capital.

Li Mu closely followed the dual-front warfare. Daily, scouts delivering the latest news galloped in and out of the city gates continuously.

Large-scale warfare created countless homeless people. Han refugees from all directions rushed toward the legendary city of paradise.

Now, the city residents numbered nearly twenty thousand. And Li Mu’s army had also assembled to forty or fifty thousand.

This winter, the Yicheng army was not idle besides training.

Fame brings trouble, as they say. A city with tens of thousands of people was now like a piece of fat meat in the north that everyone wanted to bite.

In the cold of late winter, Li Mu fought several battles with nearby barbarian small regimes who came to take advantage, using war to support war and war to train troops. Amid the busy military campaigns, the days entered the new year.

In early spring of the first year of Taikang, just as the tender shoots of spring grass under the snow cover in the wilderness outside Yicheng were beginning to show their tips, a piece of news reached Li Mu.

Emperor Gu Huilong of Xijin occupied Chang’an, reorganized his forces, stockpiled grain and provisions, and soon after would deploy one hundred thousand troops among them, marching proudly south to attack Yicheng and destroy Chouci, avenging the great humiliation of having his envoys killed and advance troops annihilated.

The Xijin army was immensely powerful.

This southern attack was completely different in momentum from that previous thirty thousand advance force.

Moreover, they had just defeated Beixia and seized Chang’an, which Beixia had managed for many years, completely occupying Longxi. Their power was at its zenith.

When the news spread, the entire city became tense once again.

Jiang Tao, Guo Zhan, Dai Yuan, Sun Fangzhi, and other veteran generals who had followed him since Jingkou, as well as the dozen or so deputy generals who had been promoted due to outstanding performance in battles over the past year, all automatically came early to the Governor’s residence, waiting outside for Li Mu’s summons to discuss strategy together.

Li Mu did not summon them.

Nor did he stay by Luoshen’s side.

When it grew dark, Luoshen kept waiting for him to return for dinner, thinking he was in the front hall discussing matters with everyone.

Knowing this was a matter of great importance, she dared not go disturb him.

After waiting anxiously for a long time and still not seeing him return, she finally couldn’t contain herself and went to the front hall to see what was happening.

To her surprise, when she arrived, she found the front hall doors and windows dark with no light.

Only the bright moonlight illuminated the gray-black dragon tile ends on the eaves in front of the steps and pillars.

She hesitated briefly, then slowly climbed the steps, came to the door, placed her hand on the door ring, and gently pushed open the partially closed door before her.

No lamps were lit in the hall.

On the square sitting platform facing the door where he normally discussed matters with people, a figure sat solemnly upright. On the long table before him lay a three-chi long sword.

She crossed the threshold and slowly walked toward that person, stopping when she reached him.

The man raised his head.

The moonlight from the west window slanted in from the side, illuminating this male face with heroic features and dark, deep eyes.

He slowly stood up from behind the table.

“Last year at this time, I made a one-year pact with Chancellor Gao by the riverside. Chang’an as betrothal gift, you as my wife.”

“Now the appointed time approaches.”

“A’Mi, it’s time for me to take Chang’an for you.”

He gazed at her intently, speaking each word deliberately.