Tiger Cub

"Perfect. One fierce tiger wasn't enough pressure."

Xu Mingwei laughed wildly.

After all, he had fought the male tiger using nothing but raw strength. If he used inner force and martial techniques, he could easily toy with it.

The male tiger turned and roared at the female.

The female answered.

Then the male and female moved to surround Xu Mingwei from two directions.

Their movements were practiced; clearly, this was not their first time encircling and killing another wild beast together.

The male pounced first, while the female advanced slowly.

As Xu Mingwei fought the male tiger, he kept thirty percent of his attention on the female.

Sometimes she lunged at him; sometimes she lashed out with her tail.

But not once did she succeed.

Xu Mingwei began using the moves of the Little Dragon Elephant Art, combining them with inner force so that every strike carried nearly six thousand jin of force.

The two fierce tigers were powerfully built and endured several punches in succession.

"Good! Now this is satisfying!"

Xu Mingwei held nothing back, unleashing his footwork, martial techniques, and everything else.

Bang, bang, bang!

His fists stirred a fierce wind that whistled through the air.

The crack of his punches pierced the air and shook the surrounding wilderness.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Xu Mingwei had beaten the tiger couple to death with his bare fists.

He had shown no mercy.

This was the most primal of struggles, where only one side could live.

If he had been outmatched, he might have been the one to die here today.

"These pelts are nice. Ones this big should sell for four or five hundred taels."

Ordinary ones fetched only a little over three hundred taels.

Xu Mingwei took out his dagger and began skinning them with practiced hands.

Bringing back the intact carcasses would naturally fetch more, but they would be difficult to carry and might expose his strength.

Once he 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. Its ceiling was only five or six meters above the ground, and barely over two meters in the lower spots.

"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, a rather wondrous ability.

He surveyed his surroundings.

He spotted a pile of grass on a stone platform and figured it must be where the tigers rested.

"Rustle, rustle, rustle..."

A sound came from the pile of dry grass.

Xu Mingwei walked over and saw a little 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 somewhat bewildered, but then he sighed softly. Had he known the female tiger had just given birth, he might have spared her.

Without its mother, this cub would struggle to survive.

"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 make it impossible to tame later."

"Forget it. I'll deal with that when the time comes."

"If worse comes to worst and it goes berserk, I'll just kill it."

He would break through to the first-class warrior realm before the Year Sacrifice, and handling it would be as easy as reaching out and grabbing it then.

Xu Mingwei picked up the little white tiger. He initially planned to put it in his bundle, but remembering that its parents' pelts were inside, he felt that would be inappropriate and simply tucked it into his robe instead.

"This trip has yielded something, so I might as well head back."

Xu Mingwei slung his longbow and quiver over his back and returned along the way he had come.

When he reached the Xu Household, it was almost lunchtime.

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 and much bigger than ordinary ones. I got two tiger hides. Father, do you think we should keep them for our own use or take them to Qingjiang County to sell?"

"I reckon each one could fetch over five hundred taels."

"Then clean them up and sell them. Save the money for A Yuan. He needs to keep more silver on hand over there. Better prepared than caught wanting."

"No problem."

"Big Brother!" Xu Mingshu came running over, tugged at his clothes, and looked up expectantly. "Where's the little animal I asked for?"

Xu Mingwei smiled and pulled a sizable little creature from his bulging robe.

"What an adorable little white kitten! I love it."

Xu Chuan narrowed his eyes slightly and, after a moment's thought, said, "Is this a white tiger?"

"Nothing escapes your blazing eyes, Father."

At the mention of a white tiger, even Xu Mingxian, who had not been particularly interested, came over to examine it closely.

After all, she 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 couldn't possibly survive, 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."

Xu Mingwei smiled.

"Fourth Sister, once it grows up, it'll be bigger than you and very fierce. Be careful it doesn't bite your head off in one go," Xu Mingxian joked with a grin.

"Hmph, you little brat. Little White would never do that. Right, Little White?"

Xu Chuan examined it closely, then came forward to stroke it as well. "Since you've named it, Xueji, you'll have to take good care of it from now on."

"I reckon it's almost two weeks old. Even without its mother's milk, it should be fine."

"I'll write down some 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 ruffled her hair, then wrote a page of instructions and handed it to her. Xu Mingshu immediately skipped away.

Xu Mingxian looked at Xu Chuan. "Father, tigers are fierce wild beasts. Won't raising one be dangerous?"

"What, are you worried about your fourth sister?"

"I'm not worried about her!" Xu Mingxian turned her head away haughtily.

"Don't worry. Xueji will have no trouble raising it," Xu Chuan assured her with a smile. "Go practice your handwriting. You can have lunch once you've finished."

"Yes, Father."

Xu Mingwei was a little surprised to hear this, unsure why his father was so certain.

Still, he chose to trust him.

"Oh, Father, I also found these two strange fruits. They're hard as rocks, and I have no idea 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 any sense 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 hides and remove their rank odor.

In the blink of an eye, it was noon the next day.

Seeing that the tiger hides had dried, Xu Mingwei rode to the county seat.

In less than an hour, he reached the gates of Qingjiang County Seat.

The walls stood over twenty meters tall, built from whole blocks of basalt, and stretched more than a dozen li in either direction, spanning the plain like a dragon's spine.

The gray walls were covered in the weathered marks of passing years, while green moss carpeted their base.

At the center stood two great elmwood gates clad in iron plates. Bronze beast heads mounted on the doors held copper rings as wide as a bowl's mouth. 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 streamed back and forth, with carts and horses passing through as soldiers stationed at the gates patrolled and checked travelers' identities.

Xu Mingwei dismounted and led his horse forward.

Anyone not registered as a resident of Qingjiang County had to pay an entry fee and obtain a temporary identity token.

Those coming to trade also had to register and pay a commercial tax.

Xu Mingwei naturally had no need to do so. After briefly showing his identification, he led his horse into the city.