The White Tiger's eyes widened.
Blood qi surged back through its dried-up meridians like a river bursting its banks. The gashes on its four paws healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and fresh, silky white fur grew wherever the mottled scabs fell away.
The medicinal power of that half-leaf was still spreading wildly. Surging vitality washed deep into its marrow, and its peak blood qi actually rose a notch above what it had been at full strength.
The humiliation and fear bottled up for two and a half hours, along with the wild joy of surviving disaster, erupted from its throat in an earthshaking roar.
"ROAR-!"
Waves of sound rolled outward, shaking leaves loose from the ancient trees around it.
The majesty of a Pureblood Archaic Species returned to its peak at that moment.
Geng Metal flames rekindled on its four paws, fiercer and brighter than when it had been fleeing for its life.
The White Tiger's gaze sharpened once more. Its paws gouged four deep furrows into the ground, and it turned its head.
Time to settle accounts.
But the instant it turned-
Smack.
A foot landed squarely on its broad back.
Shi Hou swung himself astride it, gripping its mane with his left hand while casually hefting the Purple Thunder Stone Knife in his right.
The roar cut off abruptly.
Every white hair on the White Tiger stiffened. A muffled whimper escaped its throat as it forcibly swallowed the remaining half of its roar.
Faced with the cold touch against its neck, its lofty ambition as the "King of the Tiger Tribe" melted away soundlessly, like a snowflake falling into a hot pot.
"Let's go find my brother." Shi Hou patted its head, his tone steady. "By the way, do you have any sworn enemies?"