"Who are you, and how did you come here?!" Suddenly, a surprised voice of a young man came from behind the three.
The three quickly turned around and saw a young man in his twenties to thirties, dressed in white, slowly walking towards them about twenty meters away.
"Who are you? And what are you doing here?!" Qin Yan said cautiously, examining the young man. He noticed the young man had a medium build, a handsome face, and a pair of lively eyes that made people feel a sense of closeness upon first sight.
"This mountain is where I live. Why did you come to my place?" The young man spoke sternly, but despite questioning Qin Yan and the others, his face still showed innocence.
Upon hearing this, Qin Yan was somewhat surprised. "This is where you live?"
"Yes, where else did you think this was?"
Qin Yan suddenly understood. The houses on the mountainside belonged to this young man. He quickly explained, "Sorry, we were just passing by and didn't know you lived here."
The young man seemed to accept Qin Yan's apology, nodded, and said in a softer tone, "I see. Since you didn't know I lived here, I can't blame you. Where are you from?"
Seeing the friendly demeanor of the young man, Qin Yan felt he meant no harm and replied honestly, "Actually, we're not from around here. We came from the human realm to this place. Does that make sense to you?"
"From the human realm?" The young man was puzzled. Suddenly, he seemed to realize something, his gaze shifted to Qin Yan's three-pointed spear, furrowing his brow. "Wait, if you're from the human realm, where did you get that weapon from?"
"This weapon was given to me by someone named Zhenjun," Qin Yan explained. Seeing the young man staring at the spear, he thought the man might know Zhenjun and asked, "Do you happen to know him?"
The young man hesitated, shook his head, and mumbled, "No, I don't know..."
"Awooo—", suddenly, the roar of a wild beast came from nearby. Qin Yan's heart tightened, and he quickly turned to look in the direction of the sound. He saw a two-headed giant dog, larger than a tiger, rushing out from the mountain path, reaching the peak and charging straight towards Qin Yan and the young man.
"Oh no, these monsters have caught up!" Qin Yan tightened his grip on the three-pointed spear, ready to fight the two-headed giant dog. The young man, upon seeing the creature, was initially surprised but then smiled. He took a step forward towards the giant dog.
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"What are you doing? Come back, it's dangerous!" Qin Yan shouted anxiously at the young man. The two-headed giant dog was larger than a tiger, with sharp teeth like saw blades. If it managed to bite the young man, he would surely be severely injured or killed.
Ignoring Qin Yan's warning, the young man continued walking towards the giant dog with his arms outstretched. The creature rushed towards him, seemingly about to pounce and tear him apart. But then, something strange happened.
The two-headed giant dog ran up to the young man, but instead of attacking him, it placed its front paws on his shoulders. It wagged its tail frantically, and both heads eagerly licked the young man's face. The young man wore a pure and romantic smile, gently patting the dog's head and body, saying words like "good boy" and "well-behaved child." It appeared as if he and the two-headed giant dog were very familiar and intimate, leaving Qin Yan and the others dumbfounded.
"Alright, everything is fine here. You can all go back now." The young man patted the dog's body and called out with a clear voice. The giant dog seemed to understand his words and immediately turned around, running down the mountain. The other monsters that were heading towards the peak also seemed to have received some signal, as they all turned around and retreated down the mountain like a receding tide.
"What... what just happened?" Qin Yan was puzzled and couldn't understand what had occurred.
The young man turned to look at Qin Yan, his face showing a warm smile. "They are all my friends. I hope they didn't scare you."
"What? These fierce monsters are your friends?!" Lin Shiqi was astonished, unable to close her mouth.
"Yes," the young man chuckled. "They usually live around this mountain. When you trespassed into this area, they thought I was in danger, so they rushed over to protect me. Although they may seem fierce and intimidating, they are actually very smart and lovable."
"Uh, okay." Qin Yan felt a bit awkward. Although he couldn't fully agree with the young man's words, he politely smiled and said, "They are kind of cute, hehe..."
The young man seemed eager and said with enthusiasm, "You mentioned you came from the human realm. I haven't seen humans from there in a long time. How about you come to my place, and we can have a good chat? If you don't mind, you can stay here for a few days. I have many things I want to ask you."
Feeling a bit overwhelmed by the young man's overzealous hospitality, Qin Yan replied, "We were just passing through. We have important matters to attend to and cannot stay here."
"Oh, I see..." The young man looked disappointed. "I wanted to ask you about the human realm. Are they doing well down there? Can't you stay a bit longer?"
"We really can't. Maybe another time. Oh, I'm Qin Yan, and these two are Lin Shiqi and Dream Butterfly. May I know your name?"
The young man seemed hesitant to share his name and said, "You can call me Ajun."
"Alright, thank you, Ajun. We have to go now..." Qin Yan was about to bid farewell, but then he thought that since Ajun lived there, he might know the location of the ancient tomb. So he added, "Ajun, I have something to ask you."
"What is it? Go ahead," Ajun said amiably.
"We heard there's an ancient tomb in the nearby mountains, and we want to go there. However, with so many mountains around, we can't find the tomb's location. Do you happen to know where it is?"
"An ancient tomb?" Ajun frowned, his previously cheerful face now turning serious for some reason.