Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The Immortal Family Shrine was built very quickly.

By the second day, it already looked the part.

At high noon, with the sun shining warm overhead, my father had me place the spirit tablets inside myself.

“An’an, from now on, you can’t let anyone else light the incense or make the offerings for you. Money is only a stepping stone. People can’t do without it, but they can’t rely on it alone either. Your sincerity-they’ll be able to feel it.”

I said, “Father, I understand.”

My father nodded in relief. “Go on. Place them in yesterday’s seating order.”

I walked over and placed “Third Master Feng” in the center, “Seventh Great-Grandmother Huang” to the left of “Third Master Feng,” and “Fifth Master Hei” to the right of “Third Master Feng.”

Then I placed the rest in order.

I lit the incense and candles, then presented the offerings one by one.

I remembered that Seventh Great-Grandmother Huang liked chicken, but I still hadn’t had the chance to ask what the others liked.

My father looked at the Immortal Family Shrine, smiling so broadly his face seemed to glow.

Then he turned back and said, “Bring out the good wine today. Reward our brothers in the army.”

Everyone shouted, “The Marshal is mighty! May the young miss live to be a hundred!”

The adjutant scolded them, “A hundred isn’t enough. The Marshal already said the young miss is going to live ten thousand years.”

Everyone shouted again, “Long live the young miss, for ten thousand upon ten thousand years!”

My father burst into delighted laughter.

I was still thinking about what had happened in my dream yesterday.

Just then, my father’s personal guard, Li Zheng, came rushing in in a panic. “Marshal, bad news! A hunter carried a dead tiger down from the mountain!”

My father’s brows drew together, and a murderous aura spilled out of him. “Which blind son of a bitch did it?”

He glanced at Third Master Feng’s tablet and said urgently, “Lead the way!”

I knew he had misunderstood, so I said, “Father, don’t worry. It shouldn’t be Third Master.”

My father thought for a moment, then said, “I’ll know once I take a look.”

I followed him outside.

A short while later, several soldiers came over escorting the hunter.

The hunter shouted, “Even if the Marshal is powerful, does that mean he can stop us from killing tigers? That tiger has eaten who knows how many people. It deserved to die!”

The onlookers chimed in one after another. “Li Wu from Lijiatun was eaten by it! I saw it with my own eyes.”

“My husband too! He went out to play cards, and all that was left of him was a skeleton.”

They grew louder and louder, their voices swelling into an uproar.

“Let the hunter go! He’s innocent!”

Bang!

A gunshot rang out.

The adjutant lowered his gun and swept his gaze over the crowd. Everyone fell dead silent. He had fired a warning shot into the air.

My father walked over and took a look. “The fur color isn’t right. This isn’t Third Master Feng. Let him go!”

The hunter immediately looked smug.

I said, “You didn’t kill this tiger.”

The hunter’s expression stiffened. He pointed at me. “Where did you come from, you little wild brat, spouting nonsense?”

My father, who had already been about to leave, turned back. “Seize him! Take him out and shoot him immediately!”

And so the hunter was pinned down again.

Li Zheng sighed softly. “Provoking Miss Lu… isn’t that just asking for trouble?”

The hunter’s legs went weak. If the soldiers hadn’t been holding him up, he would have dropped to his knees. “Please spare me, Marshal! I really didn’t kill this tiger. I found it on the mountain.”

My father shook his head. “This isn’t about the tiger anymore.”

I said, “Forget it, Father. His crime doesn’t deserve death.”

My father thought it over. “My girl is kindhearted. Fine. The pigs, cattle, and sheep kept at the big estate to the east haven’t been cleaned up after these past two days. Your punishment is to go clean it all. If it isn’t spotless in three days, you’ll be dragged out and shot all the same.”

And so the hunter was hauled away.

Only the white tiger’s corpse remained lying in the street.

My father clearly had no interest in it.

When we left, the people surged forward in a chaotic rush, dividing up its hide, meat, and bones.

Its existence also proved that yesterday’s dream had been real.

I tilted my head up to look at my father, and he noticed.

“Can’t walk anymore? Want Father to carry you?”

I nodded.

He scooped me up in one motion. “My girl has gotten heavier again. Heavy is good. The heavier you are, the stronger you are.”