Gao Huan reined in his horse and raised a hand, signaling the troops behind him to halt.
"Look," he said to Qifu Zhen.
Qifu Zhen followed the direction of his finger.
Between the trees, a fierce tiger crouched behind a jumble of rocks. Its striped coat flickered in and out of sight amid the dappled light, and two round, blue-black eyes stared fixedly at them.
"Heh, quite a vicious beast. I'll go kill it."
Qifu Zhen was about to dismount when Gao Huan stopped him. "This beast has opened its apertures. You'll have trouble dealing with it. Leave it to me."
Qifu Zhen asked in puzzlement, "How can you tell? It looks perfectly ordinary to me, just a little bigger than a normal tiger."
Gao Huan explained, "These beasts have lost their minds. Usually, they pounce on any living thing they see. But those that have opened their apertures are different. When they see a large group of people, they won't readily attack. They've gained a little cunning."
"What cunning could a beast like that possibly use?" Qifu Zhen asked.
Gao Huan smiled. "Let me show you."
With that, he took a heavy iron bow from beside his saddle.
He drew an arrow and nocked it. The bowstring hummed, and the arrowhead struck the tiger squarely in the side of its neck.
"Haha, fine shot!"
Qifu Zhen praised him.
Gao Huan's mouth twitched. He was already beginning to regret bringing him along.
Still, he chose not to trade barbs with Qifu Zhen at a time like this. He shifted the bow to his left hand, dismounted, and walked forward.
When he was only three or five paces from the tiger's corpse, it suddenly rolled over and sprang up. The arrow shaft was still plainly lodged in its neck, yet it