Seeing that its sharp claws had failed to tear apart its prey, the tiger let out a roar, opened its blood-filled maw, and lunged for Luo Yi's neck.
Twisting aside to evade the tiger's gaping jaws, Luo Yi swung his Dao and hacked at the tiger's back.
Seeing the incoming blade, the tiger drove off with both hind legs and sprang forward, narrowly avoiding the Dao.
After dodging the attack, the tiger whipped its tail, which was like a steel whip, toward Luo Yi's abdomen.
Seeing the tiger's tail flying through the air, Luo Yi hurriedly raised his Dao to block in front of him.
The lashing tail struck the blade of the Dao. The tiger cried out in pain with a roar.
Taking advantage of the tiger's injured tail, Luo Yi stepped forward in a flash and swung his Dao at the tiger's abdomen.
The tiger reacted incredibly quickly. It twisted sideways, and its sharp claws raked toward Luo Yi's arm.
Seeing several bloody scratches carved across his arm, Luo Yi grunted.
Taking advantage of the moment when the tiger landed and turned.
Luo Yi suddenly hurled his Dao. The weapon flew from his hand like a streak of "silver lightning," shooting straight toward the tiger's back.
Sensing danger, the tiger was just about to twist aside and evade the attack.
The Dao came flying at blinding speed and plunged straight into the tiger's abdomen.
A vast amount of blood instantly poured from the tiger's belly.
With a Dao buried in its waist, the tiger let out a thunderous roar of fury. Realizing it was no match for the man before it, the tiger turned and fled deeper into the Mountain forest.
Watching the tiger run away, Luo Yi thought, The duck's already in my hands. How could I possibly let it fly away?
He took the Three-Stone Hunting Bow from his back and nocked an arrow.
Looking at the trail the fleeing tiger had left as it charged into the forest—flattened grass and trees along the way, with steaming blood splashed everywhere—
Luo Yi followed the trail and pursued the tiger deeper into the Mountain forest.
While staying alert for ambushes by large beasts that might appear, he continued following the bloodstains on the ground.
About a quarter of an hour later, Luo Yi followed the tiger to the mouth of an extremely hidden cave in the Mountain.
He watched as the bloodstains on the ground disappeared at the cave entrance in the Mountain.
He carefully examined the cave before him. It was roughly three meters in diameter, wide enough for several people to pass through at once.
The cave was pitch-black inside, and he could not see a thing.
Unclear about the situation within and worried that danger might be lurking inside, Luo Yi did not dare enter rashly.
After observing the area around the cave, he found a dead, withered tree.
He broke the dead tree into several sections and made a few crude torches.
Using dry grass to light a branch, Luo Yi packed the extra branches into his bag.
He entered the cave. By the faint light from the burning branch, Luo Yi began observing his surroundings.
Large amounts of fresh blood were scattered throughout the cave. They should have been left behind by the wounded tiger.
Thinking of Animal World, which he had watched in his previous life, Luo Yi recalled that tigers were usually solitary animals. Only under certain special circumstances did they display group behavior.
Still, since special circumstances did exist, it was better to be cautious.
Holding a torch in one hand and gripping the Hunting Bow tightly in the other, Luo Yi made all his preparations and slowly walked deeper into the cave.
After walking for several minutes, a nauseating stench of various rotting corpses wafted out from deeper within the cave. The smell was so overpowering that Luo Yi nearly vomited up his breakfast.
After standing there and recovering for a long while, he used his clothes to make a crude mask and continued inward.
The farther he went, the fouler the stench became. He steeled himself and reached the source of the rotting odor.
The ground was dyed red with blood. Fragmented human and animal bones lay scattered everywhere, while countless white fly larvae squirmed over the rotting remains left behind by the tiger.
The severely wounded tiger lay on a massive boulder in the corner of the cave.
Large amounts of unknown slime dribbled from its mouth. The wound in its abdomen, pierced by the Dao, kept spilling steaming blood from its violent flight, staining the entire boulder beneath it bright red.
Looking at the tiger lying on the boulder, barely clinging to life, Luo Yi worried that the beast might make a dying counterattack. What if this backfires? I'd be screwed.
Luo Yi wedged the torches into cracks between the rocks on both sides of the cave, drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed at the tiger's eye.
"Whoosh!"
The arrow shot through the tiger's eye and into its skull. The tiger, which had been holding on to its final breath, died completely.
He cautiously walked over to the corpse and confirmed that the tiger had truly breathed its last.
He pulled out the Dao, wiped it clean, and hung it back at his waist. Having hunted a tiger, Luo Yi felt an inexplicable surge of pride. Does this count as being the modern-day Wu Song?
Smelling the foul odor drifting through the cave from time to time, he did not want to stay there for another moment.
Looking at the tiger carcass, which weighed at least six hundred pounds, Luo Yi realized that transporting it back would be another difficult task.
He tried carrying the corpse on his back, but he was already panting and gasping for breath by the time he left the cave.
He felt that this plan would not work. It consumed too much strength, and if he encountered another large beast, he would be in grave danger.
He threw the corpse onto the ground and looked at the great trees around him. Using his Dao, Luo Yi cut down branches and vines of roughly equal size, then methodically wove them together. In the end, he made a flat sled that one person could pull.
After loading the tiger carcass onto the sled, Luo Yi pulled it from the front and headed out of Yunling the Mountain.
After leaving Yunling the Mountain, Luo Yi dragged the tiger carcass toward Dongsheng Town.
Since it was still fairly early, people were constantly entering and leaving the town gate.
The sight of Luo Yi dragging the tiger carcass immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Passersby stared at the tiger carcass on the sled, gradually gathering around Luo Yi and beginning to discuss it in low voices.
"Who is this guy? He's incredible! He actually managed to kill such a huge tiger. Does anyone know him?"
"Hearing someone ask about his identity, everyone pricked up their ears."
Someone who knew Luo Yi said in a low voice, "Isn't that Luo the Elder's son, Luo Yi?"
"Isn't that the guy everyone in town was gossiping about some time ago—the one whose father disappeared and who ran into the Mountain and encountered an Evil Spirit?"
"That's him! That's definitely him!"
"He still looked sickly a few days ago. How did he suddenly become so fierce?"
"Judging by its size, this tiger must weigh at least two or three hundred pounds, right?"
"What do you mean, three hundred pounds? A tiger this big must weigh at least five or six hundred pounds!"
"Does anyone know if this young man is married? Where does he live?"
"My relative's daughter is about his age and very beautiful. I think the two of them would be a perfect match. When the time comes, we'll just have this young man show his sincerity with 'half a tiger' worth of betrothal gifts."
"Half a tiger? Why not just have him deliver the whole tiger to your house?"
"You actually dare set your sights on a man fierce enough to kill a tiger? Who knows how many punches from this young fellow you could withstand?"
Hearing that person's words, those in the crowd whose eyes had been filled with "greed" instantly came to their senses.
They became awed and envious instead.
As more and more middle-aged women gathered, the conversation drifted farther and farther off course.
Many of them had the idea of playing matchmaker for Luo Yi and began asking around for specific information about him.
Before you continue