Chapter 6: Stubborn! The Cowardly Pack Turns into Hungry Wolves, Terrifying Ma Liu!

Ma Liu's greasy face was almost touching the tip of Lu Qingshan's nose.

The hot breath exhaled from his nostrils carried an unpleasant sour smell.

The foul odor from his mouth, mixed with cheap tobacco and unbrushed, sour rot, made Lu Qingshan's stomach churn.

The hand he extended had its nail beds packed with black mud, its palm dirty and rough, laid bare in front of Lu Qingshan.

It was as if that fat rabbit was already his prize, waiting for Lu Qingshan to hand it over obediently.

"Give it to me."

The tone was commanding, bearing an air of unquestionable arrogance.

Lu Qingshan tightened his grip on the rabbit's hind leg.

The rabbit's cold body was squeezed even tighter.

His knuckles turned slightly white from the force.

Beneath the frozen skin, blue veins throbed faintly.

A familiar ferocity surged, like a long‑slumbering beast suddenly awakened, flashing up from the depths of his heart!

It rushed toward his forehead, tinged with the scent of blood!

The hot‑tempered, impulsive brute Lu Qingshan from his previous life seemed ready to break free from the hard‑won Rationality of his rebirth and seize control of his body again.

Kill him!

Kill this road‑blocking scum!

The thought hissed in his mind like a poisonous snake, tempting him.

But almost at the same time, his daughter Xiao Xue's eyes, sparkling from a sip of meat broth, flashed before him by the stove.

His wife Lin Yue'e's hand, trembling with Fear as it handed over a cloth strip, was also clearly imprinted in his mind.

It was like two buckets of snow water laced with ice shards, dousing the raging evil fire he was about to unleash.

No.

He could not be impulsive any longer.

He was no longer alone.

Behind him were his wife and daughter, whose lives he had to protect with his own.

He might feel a fleeting thrill from injuring Ma Liu, but what about after? Who will feed them? Who will shield them from Ma Liu's even crazier retaliation?

Lu Qingshan slowly lifted his eyelids.

He met Ma Liu's pair of greedy, provocative triangular eyes.

His gaze was cold.

Like the deepest pool of cold water in a mountain stream, it showed no ripple yet carried a chilling stillness that made hearts race.

Even beneath that stillness, a faint trace of the ruthless, consequence‑ignoring ferocity forged in his past life's desperate straits emerged.

Mountain Wild Heart clearly conveyed the intense malice on Ma Liu's body, stabbing his senses like a needle.

"This rabbit," he said, his voice low yet unusually clear in the howling cold wind, carrying an undeniable resolve, "is my daughter's food."

He paused briefly, each word squeezing out of his teeth, imbued with a cold, ruthless determination.

"Whoever dares to move, I'll fight them to the death."

When he said that, not only Ma Liu was stunned.

Even the two cheeky minions behind him, who had been grinning and waiting for a spectacle, had their smiles freeze for a moment.

They clearly sensed that the Lu Qingshan before them was different from the weak, cowering fool who used to shrink his neck and hold his breath when surrounded by many.

That gaze was truly damn terrifying!

It made people's hearts bristle!

Who in Shanwan Village doesn't know what kind of person Lu Qingshan is?

A typical bully inside the nest, cowardly outside.

To strike his own wife and children dead, he wouldn't even blink.

But when faced with a notorious village thug like Ma Liu, the rule is to dodge if you can, otherwise bow your head and submit.

What's going on today?

Took the wrong medicine?

Or frozen dumb by the mountain's cold, hardening his brain?

Ma Liu's surprise lasted only a moment before being replaced by sharper sarcasm and offended anger.

He spat a harsh "pfft," spitting a thick yellow‑brown sputum onto the pristine snow, as if he'd heard the world's funniest joke.

"Fuck! Who are you trying to scare? Lu Qingshan, who the hell do you think you are? Fighting to the death? Do you deserve it?"

"With that cowardly look, you piss yourself at the sight of blood! One hand of mine can crush you to death, believe it or not!"

He cursed viciously, the flesh on his face trembling with anger.

"I guess you haven't been beaten for days, your skin's itching again, huh?"

"If I don't loosen your bones, you still wouldn't know how many eyes Prince Ma has!"

"Today I'll make it clear who's in charge in Shanwan Village!"

Speaking so, his filthy hand lunged recklessly toward the rabbit in Lu Qingshan's grip.

His two henchmen behind him also stepped forward, flexing their fists, chuckling maliciously.

A vague encirclement formed, completely blocking Lu Qingshan's retreat.

The cold wind intensified, whipping up the broken snow on the ground, striking his face with a knife‑like sting.

The atmosphere thickened to the extreme, as if the air itself had frozen, ready to burst in the next second.

Lu Qingshan's body tensed instantly, like a taut hard bow.

He could even feel the icy hairs on the back of his neck standing up one by one.

Under Mountain Wild Heart's perception, the malice and imminent violence from Ma Liu pressed upon him like a tangible force, making his breathing somewhat difficult.

He had already made his preparations.

His gaze swept quickly across the ground, and a stone half-buried in the snow came into view.

Even if he had to risk a bloody head today, he absolutely could not let this rabbit be taken away!

This is his promise to his daughter!

It is his hope to prop up this family again!

But just as the tension was at its peak and his fist was about to swing—

"Woof! Woof woof woof!"

In the distance, toward the village, a few urgent barks could be faintly heard.

It wasn't the bark of a wild dog; it sounded like someone's pet watchdog.

Soon after, faint voices could be heard, accompanied by the "creak creak" of footsteps in the snow, quickly approaching from that direction.

From the sound, there was more than just one dog, and the voices grew clearer, as if several people were coming.

Ma Liu's motion to grab the rabbit jerked to a halt.

Like a mad dog suddenly called off, he cocked his ear and listened carefully.

His formerly arrogant expression shifted slightly, a flicker of hesitation and uncertainty flashing in his triangular eyes.

Although he was a village ruffian who bullied the weak and feared the strong, he wasn't completely witless.

In private, he liked to bully soft targets like Lu Qingshan, who had no background, to gain some advantages, and no one really cared.

But if he were to openly rob in broad daylight, especially now that the sound sounded like villagers drawn by the barking, if he were truly seen by others—or even reported to the village officials—it would be no small trouble.

Now it's winter, every family is holed up at home; who would be out wandering aimlessly for no reason?

Ma Liu felt uncertain in his heart, unable to decide for a moment.

He was bold, but his nature of bullying the weak and fearing the strong made him instinctively weigh the pros and cons.

If he really summoned the villagers over a single rabbit, making a big fuss, it would seem hardly worth it.

After all, his main purpose today was to use the opportunity to give Lu Qingshan, who had suddenly become "tough," a little warning; the rabbit was just a side gain, a way to scoop up some extra benefit.

To stir up trouble over such a trifle would not be worth it.

He hesitated a moment, then gave Lu Qingshan a fierce glare.

It seemed as if all his resentment had been poured into that glance.

His outstretched dirty hand ultimately withdrew unwillingly, and he rubbed it on his greasy trousers.

"Hmph! Consider yourself lucky today, kid!"

"What's with the dog barking? Bad luck!" Ma Liu spat a mouthful of thick phlegm onto the snow beside Lu Qingshan's feet, then muttered a curse, as if giving himself an excuse to back down.

"Next time, don't let me catch you in the mountains!"

"Otherwise, you'll regret it!"

"Then there won't be any dog barking to rescue you!"

Having said that, he gave his two lackeys a glance.

The two immediately understood and, following his bluster, threatened Lu Qingshan with a few harsh words.

They were nothing more than lines like "Kid, you wait" or "Don't think today's incident is over."

Then Ma Liu turned away, swearing, leading his two lackeys who were putting on a show of authority, and walked off resentfully toward the village.

As he walked, he kept looking back, glaring fiercely at Lu Qingshan, as if to say the matter wasn't over.

The bitter cold wind still swept over the hill, rolling up loose snow and making a wailing sound.

It seemed to be mocking Ma Liu and his companions' bluster.

Lu Qingshan still clung tightly to the rabbit, standing motionless in place.

Like a pine tree rooted in the ice and snow.

His icy gaze fixed on Ma Liu's retreating back until they disappeared around the bend of the mountain path.