The whole village sealed off the mountain and roads and laid out tranquilizer guns, all to catch the giant lion that had torn down a cowshed.
Only Lin Jianxia's home was left unguarded, because the wall the lion had climbed over was hers.
It didn't eat people or smash houses. It curled up beneath the osmanthus tree in her yard and kept watch for three nights. Her grandmother fed it, and it guarded their chicken coop. Even the village's toughest people took a detour when they passed by.
On the third night, a dull thud came from the woodshed. Lin Jianxia pushed open the door and found an injured man lying inside.
She gripped her phone and asked, "Who are you?"
The man's first words were just three: "I can understand."
He wasn't human. He was the king of this mountain.
