Draw a Tiger by Looking at a Cat
The Red Fox was overjoyed, clapped his hands and cheered, canceling the armor that had been Tiger Ghost, and letting Lu Li get into the sedan chair with him.
With a wave of his hand, Lu Li sent all the remaining Claw Ghost and Shadow Assassin into black smoke, which drifted into the masks. The three masks circled around Lu Li, emitting a faint, eerie light.
A glint of Greed flashed in the Red Fox's eyes, but then it smiled and said, "Young master, please get into the sedan chair and come with me to see my king. I'm not saying this lightly, but the palace of my Tiger Kingdom of South Mountain is no less impressive than your human royal palace."
"Then I'd like to see it for myself." Lu Li nodded and said. To be honest, he was quite interested in this Tiger Kingdom of South Mountain. Could the South Mountain Tiger really have become a demon? It was actually able to establish a country in the small South Mountain. Although it was small, it looked quite impressive.
The few Tiger Ghost attendants outside carried the sedan chair quickly, and the accompanying Tiger Ghost started banging gongs and drums again. The banging and drumming were quite professional, but those who heard these sounds only felt that they were tasteless and uninteresting. The noisy sounds made people drowsy.
The sedan chair sped through the mountains and soon arrived deep in the South Mountain. There was a large flat area where all the surrounding trees had been cleared away and a large village had been built. The village was inhabited by Tiger Ghost).
A main road runs through the village and leads directly to the mountains behind the village. There is a huge, well-maintained cave in the mountains, and above the cave are three large characters: Tiger King City.
As the sedan chair traveled along the main road, the Tiger Ghost on both sides of the road knelt down and kowtowed upon seeing it. These Tiger Ghost were already dead; although they didn't need to eat, they had all died from tiger bites. In reality, they were able to continue existing only because of the power of the South Mountain Tiger. This was the fundamental reason why these Tiger Ghost, despite dying from tiger bites, still protected the tiger.
In a prominent spot in the village, a huge tiger statue stood. The tiger statue was seven or eight meters tall and looked incredibly majestic at first glance, but looking at the statue, Lu Li felt something was off.
Not only this statue, but also the previous paper tiger and the two disabled tigers, all look like tigers and have the majesty of tigers. Anyone who sees them would say that they are tigers, but there is always a bit of awkwardness, which makes Lu Li feel that the style of the South Mountain Tiger is somewhat subtle.
The sedan chair stopped in front of Tiger King Cave. Red Fox got out of the sedan chair and said to Lu Li, "Young Master's arrival means I must first inform my king and prepare the proper etiquette to welcome our distinguished guest. Please wait for me in the village outside the cave."
After speaking, the Red Fox, surrounded by the Tiger Ghost), entered the Tiger King Cave, leaving Lu Li inside the sedan chair. Thinking about this strange village, Lu Li the sedan chair, wanting to wander around, when he saw several Tiger Ghost had been playing drums and gongs, now dressed in armor again, blocking the sedan chair. They stared blankly at Lu Li: "The Prime Minister said that the King may summon you at any time. It's best if you wait in the sedan chair, esteemed guest."
"Prime Minister? That Red Fox?" Lu Li found it amusing. Such a small village, with a few hundred Tiger Ghost), and it's not even really divided into kingdoms, yet it has a prime minister or something.
"How dare you insult the Prime Minister!" The Tiger Ghost roared in anger upon hearing Lu Li's words, but his numb face made even his Wrath seem utterly fake.
"You're the one who dares to do this! Your Prime Minister himself said I'm a distinguished guest of your Tiger Kingdom of South Mountain. Since I'm a distinguished guest, can't I even wander around here?" Lu Li looked at the ridiculous Wrath on Tiger Ghost and retorted sharply.
The Tiger Ghost was instantly confused. Although it felt that something was wrong, it understood the logic of what he said. These Tiger Ghost were all dead people. Although they had a certain level of intelligence, you couldn't expect them to retain much after death. Being able to communicate normally was already a good thing.
"In that case, you can walk around the village, but we'll be following you, so don't even think about running away." The Tiger Ghost scratched its head and let Lu Li pass, but it felt like something was off. However, it was just a walk, so it shouldn't be a problem, especially since they were following him.
Lu Li walked through the village made up of Tiger Ghost. These Tiger Ghost lost a lot of their intelligence after they died, and they didn't need any living supplies. They no longer had basic physiological needs such as eating, drinking, and defecating, so their daily lives consisted of constantly wandering around the village or praying under the tiger statue.
These Tiger Ghost were all killed by the tiger, but the reason they still exist is precisely because of that tiger. Before their deaths, their will to survive was Excitation to its limit, and this will to survive was completely preserved during the process of transforming into Tiger Ghost. The feeling of being with the tiger reminds them that as long as the tiger is there, they will be there, and once the tiger dies, they will all vanish into nothingness.
Therefore, these Tiger Ghost (a type of Tiger Ghost, making them regard the tiger as their faith. The longer Tiger Ghost has lived, the more so this is the case.
As Lu Li walked through the village, he saw all sorts of tiger-related items everywhere: tiger masks, tiger paper-cuts, tiger Puppet. No matter how he looked at them, something about these tigers seemed off, and the overall style felt somewhat strange.
The Tiger Ghost avoided Lu Li, as if he carried something bad about him. Their gazes towards him were incredibly complex, yet all were hidden beneath a numb exterior. Looking at those numb faces, regardless of height or weight, Lu Li felt they were all Lu Li same person.
Arriving in front of the huge tiger statue, Lu Li looked up at the statue, which was indeed a tiger, but with a subtle style. The body, fur, whiskers, tail, and head were all very lifelike, and even the imposing manner was subtly imitated, just like the tiger skin on the Red Fox.
Thinking about the imposing presence, Lu Li suddenly realized that the slightly off-putting style was because the statue and the tiger's might seemed mismatched. If the statue didn't have the tiger's might, and was shrunk down a bit, with the "king" character on its head removed, it would definitely look like a mutated cat.
The more Lu Li looked at the statue, the more it resembled a cat. It was as if a cat had been given tiger features and tiger-like power, making it look unmistakably a tiger. But there was something off about it; its essence was that of a cat. This made Lu Li realize that the statue was made in the image of a cat.
"The Tiger Kingdom of South Mountain can't even truly describe a tiger?" Lu Li asked doubtfully. "Or is that tiger really so imposing that the craftsmen made a statue of it, yet couldn't even see its face?"
Just then, the statue emitted a light, and something floated out of it, revealing a human figure.