"Perfect. One fierce tiger wasn't enough pressure."
Xu Mingwei laughed wildly.
He had been wrestling the male tiger with physical strength alone. Had he used inner force and martial techniques, he could easily have toyed with it.
The male tiger turned and roared at the female tiger.
The female tiger answered.
Then the male and female circled toward Xu Mingwei from opposite directions.
Their movements were practiced; this clearly was not their first time surrounding and killing another wild beast.
The male tiger lunged first, while the female tiger slowly closed in.
As Xu Mingwei fought the male tiger, he kept thirty percent of his attention on the female.
She alternated between pouncing and lashing her tail.
But not one of her attacks succeeded.
Xu Mingwei began using moves from the Little Dragon Elephant Art, combining them with inner force. Every strike carried nearly six thousand jin of force.
Both tigers were powerfully built and endured several punches in succession.
"Good! Now this is satisfying!"
Xu Mingwei held nothing back, unleashing his movement techniques, martial skills, and everything else.
Bang, bang, bang!
His fists whipped up sharp, whistling gusts.
The sound of his punches tore through the air and shook the wilderness.
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Xu Mingwei had beaten the tiger pair to death with his bare fists.
He had not held back in the slightest.
This was the most primal kind of struggle, where only one side could live.
Had he been outmatched, he might have been the one to die here today.
"These pelts are good. Ones this large should fetch four or five hundred taels each."
Ordinary ones would only fetch a little over three hundred taels.
Xu Mingwei took out a dagger and deftly began skinning them.
Bringing back the complete carcasses would naturally earn him more, but they would be difficult to carry and could easily expose his strength.
Once finished, Xu Mingwei packed away the pelts, making his bundle bulge.
He was about to leave when he glanced back at the cave.
Curiosity drew him inside to investigate.
The cave was not particularly large. The ceiling stood only five or six meters above the floor, and in the lower areas, it was barely over two meters high.
"Drip—drip—"
Xu Mingwei looked toward the sound and saw a small pool.
Water dripped steadily into it from above.
His [Eagle Eye] allowed him to see at night as clearly as in daylight. It was quite marvelous.
He looked around.
He spotted a pile of grass on a stone ledge and thought it must be where the tigers rested.
"Rustle, rustle, rustle..."
A sound came from the pile of dry grass.
Xu Mingwei walked over to look and found a tiny creature the size of a kitten, its eyes still closed, pawing at the dry grass and twigs.
"Is this a tiger cub?"
"Its fur is actually white. Could it be a mutant?"
Xu Mingwei was surprised and uncertain, but then sighed softly. Had he known the female tiger had just given birth, he might have spared her.
Without the female tiger, this cub would have little chance of surviving.
"Right, didn't Little Xueji want a little animal? I can take this one back. I just don't know whether its wild nature will become impossible to tame later."
"Forget it. I'll deal with the future when it comes."
"If it goes berserk, I can always kill it."
He would break through to the first-class warrior realm before the Year Sacrifice. By then, handling it would be as easy as reaching out and taking it.
Xu Mingwei picked up the little white tiger. He initially intended to put it in his bundle, but thinking of its parents' pelts inside, he felt that would be rather inappropriate. Instead, he tucked it into his robes against his chest.
"I've gained something from this trip. Time to head back."
Xu Mingwei slung his longbow and quiver over his back and returned along the way he had come.
He reached the Xu Household just before lunch.
After teaching Xu Mingshu and Xu Mingxian martial arts that morning, Xu Chuan had gone out for a stroll, then returned to supervise their handwriting practice.
"You're back early today."
"Father."
Xu Mingwei smiled. "I encountered two fierce tigers this time. They were quite formidable, much larger than ordinary ones. I got two tiger pelts. Father, do you think we should keep them for ourselves or take them to Qingjiang County to sell?"
"I reckon each one could fetch over five hundred taels."
"Clean them up, then take them to sell. Set aside the proceeds for A Yuan. He needs more silver on hand over there. Better to be prepared than caught wanting."
"No problem."
"Big Brother!" Xu Mingshu scampered over, tugged at the hem of his clothes, and looked up expectantly. "Where's the little animal I wanted?"
Xu Mingwei smiled and pulled a sizable little creature from his bulging robes.
"What a cute little white kitten! I love it."
Xu Chuan narrowed his eyes slightly and, after a moment's thought, said, "Is this a white tiger?"
"Your eyes are as sharp as a torch, Father."
At the mention of a white tiger, even Xu Mingxian, who had not been particularly interested, came over to examine it closely.
He had never seen a white tiger before.
"It's so tiny," Xu Mingxian said.
"It was only born recently. Its eyes haven't even opened yet. I didn't know the female tiger had just given birth, or I would have spared her."
"Without its parents, it had no chance of surviving, so I brought it back."
Xu Mingwei explained what had happened.
Xu Chuan nodded. "Then let Xueji raise it."
Xu Mingshu took the little white tiger and stroked it gently. "Little white tiger, you're my pet from now on," she said softly.
Xu Mingwei smiled.
"Fourth Sister, when it grows up, it'll be bigger than you, and vicious too. Careful it doesn't bite your head off in one gulp," Xu Mingxian teased with a grin.
"Hmph, you rotten little brother. Little White would never do that. Would you, Little White?"
Xu Chuan examined the cub closely and stepped forward to stroke it too. "Since you've given it a name, Xueji, you'll be responsible for taking good care of it from now on."
"It looks to be nearly two weeks old. Even without its mother's milk, it should be fine."
"I'll write down a few things to watch out for. Follow those instructions when caring for it."
"Thank you, Father! You're the best!" Xu Mingshu said sweetly.
Xu Chuan rubbed her head, then filled a sheet of paper with instructions and handed it to her. Xu Mingshu immediately skipped away.
Xu Mingxian looked at Xu Chuan. "Father, tigers are vicious wild beasts. Won't keeping one be dangerous?"
"What, worried about your fourth sister?"
"I'm not worried about her!" Xu Mingxian turned his head away haughtily.
"Don't worry. Xueji won't have any trouble raising it," Xu Chuan assured him with a smile. "Go practice your handwriting. You can have lunch once you've finished."
"Yes, Father."
Xu Mingwei was somewhat surprised to hear this. He did not know why his father was so certain.
But he chose to trust him all the same.
"Oh, right, Father. There are also these two strange fruits. They're hard as rocks, and I don't know what they are. You've seen and learned a great deal. Could you take a look?"
Xu Chuan nodded and took them, but he could not make anything of them either, so he simply set them aside for now.
Xu Mingwei returned to his room and hung up his bow and arrows, then went to wash the blood from the tiger pelts and remove their rank odor.
Time slipped by, and noon the next day arrived.
Seeing that the tiger pelts had dried, Xu Mingwei rode to the county seat.
In less than half an hour, he reached the gates of Qingjiang County Seat.
The city walls stood over twenty meters high, built from solid blocks of basalt. They stretched more than a dozen li to either side, spanning the plain like a dragon's spine.
The gray walls were mottled with the marks of passing years, and green moss covered their base.
At the center stood two great elmwood gates clad in iron sheets. Bronze beast heads set into the doors held bronze rings as wide as the mouth of a bowl. Each gate was three or four meters wide, over ten meters tall, and more than thirty centimeters thick, its surface coated in red paint.
People came and went, with carts and horses passing through as gate guards patrolled and checked the identities of travelers.
Xu Mingwei dismounted and led his horse forward.
Anyone whose household registration lay outside Qingjiang County had to pay an entrance fee and obtain a temporary identity token to enter.
Those coming to do business also had to register and pay a trade tax.
Xu Mingwei, of course, did not need to do so. After briefly showing his proof of identity, he led his horse into the city.