"Since you've made the choice for me, prepare to die. Looks like the silver I came into the mountains for has found its source!"
As Yun Manman spoke, two blades abruptly appeared in her hands. She watched the young tiger charge at her, its savage, bloodthirsty eyes fixed on her, intent on biting her to death.
Yun Manman did not dodge. She braced one blade against the ground and slashed the other viciously across the belly of the tiger pouncing before her, then swiftly rolled away to avoid being drenched in its blood.
Two tigers roared in fury. Watching them hurtle toward her, Yun Manman tightened her grip on her blades.
Yun Manman hurled both blades with all her strength, sending them slashing toward the two tigers' bellies.
The two tigers raised their paws and knocked aside the blades imbued with internal energy. The backs of the blades struck the rocks with a ringing clang, yet Yun Manman's two blades had already stabbed into the tigers' hearts.
Before she could pull the blades out, the two tigers leaped up and snapped at her arms.
Yun Manman abandoned the blades she could not retrieve and hurriedly slipped into her space.
Yun Manman had pierced both tigers' hearts. Their attack just now had been a hate-fueled, dying counterattack, and that single lunge had exhausted what remained of their lives.
Thud, thud. The two tiger corpses crashed heavily to the ground and fell silent.
The two wolves exchanged a glance, hope appearing in their eyes. They were saved!
The male wolf licked the wound on the female wolf's neck with some tenderness. Without making a sound, she nestled against him.
The remaining three tigers lunged straight toward the tiger corpses and circled them incessantly, their roars laced with rage and intense killing intent.
Yun Manman knew these three tigers were looking for her. With their current fury, they could probably slap her straight into a pulp.
With her current martial arts, facing three tigers at once would not endanger her life, but she would suffer some injuries, and she did not want to get hurt.
But the tigers did not follow the usual script either. They opened their jaws and seized the tiger corpses, looking ready to leave.
Yun Manman thought, Am I supposed to watch silver already in my hands run away?
She slipped out of her space with two blades in her hands. Her space might lack other things, but it certainly had plenty of blades!
"You think a cooked tiger can still run away? Dream on!"
Seeing the woman suddenly appear, all three tigers pounced at Yun Manman, roaring at the same time in an attempt to hurt her.
A wolf's howl rang out.
Dragging his injured body along, the male wolf swiftly charged into the battle and knocked a tiger flying, then staggered as he steadied himself.
"Thanks, Brother Wolf. Keep yourself safe. Just hold it off for a little while!"
Yun Manman gripped her blades tightly and swung at the tigers before her. Both swiftly dodged aside.
Taking a moment between breaths, Yun Manman glanced behind her. The male wolf had been injured again, but he was still holding the tiger off.
Yun Manman frowned. It seemed she had to finish things here quickly, or that wolf would not hold out.
Gripping her blades tightly, she charged swiftly at the tigers and slashed at their necks.
The two tigers suddenly turned their heads and ran away. Yun Manman narrowed her eyes slightly. Her speed certainly could not match theirs.
"Whether you're really running away or going to call for help, I'm swallowing these tigers that are already at my lips today!"
The aura around Yun Manman changed instantly. Her toes slowly lifted off the ground, and the blades in her hands vanished.
She raised both hands as though gathering internal energy, but beads of sweat immediately seeped from her forehead.
Then two lotus-shaped masses of vapor slowly appeared at Yun Manman's fingertips.
Yun Manman's pale purple eyes turned deep purple as well, and the lotuses at her fingertips shot toward the two fleeing tigers.
Yun Manman landed and staggered, then wiped the sweat from her forehead and murmured with a bitter smile,
"It really was still too much of a stretch."
Yun Manman did not look at those two tigers again.
Once she unleashed the Heart-Devouring Lotus, the second level of her Lotus Heart Art, those two tigers' hearts had already ruptured. There was absolutely no chance of survival.
She had not yet mastered the second level. Forcing herself to use it really was strenuous.
Looking at the tiger still there, Yun Manman said, "Have I stirred up a whole tigers' den?"
She straightened and recovered from her weakness, another blade appearing in her hand.
She looked at the visibly exhausted male wolf. His injuries and blood loss had left him short of stamina.
Otherwise, given the ferocity of a northwestern wolf, this tiger could never have injured him.
Gripping her blade, Yun Manman rushed over. Aiming straight at the neck of the tiger pouncing at the male wolf, she viciously stabbed through it.
The tiger's blood-red eyes widened, and it died on the spot without making a sound.
Yun Manman returned the blade to her space and collapsed into a sitting position on a rock again.
She was not particularly tired; it was just that she had used the Lotus Heart Art earlier. She had not yet mastered its second level, and forcibly raising her power to that level had drained her internal energy and mental energy.
The male wolf rolled over and climbed to his feet, and the female wolf ran over too. Her coffee-colored eyes looked at Yun Manman with some concern.
Only when she smelled no human blood on her did she relax. She had not been injured after all.
The female wolf bent her forelegs and lowered her head, as though kneeling to Yun Manman, gratitude in her upturned coffee-colored eyes.
The male wolf lowered his head toward Yun Manman too, but did not kneel or bend his forelegs. He merely raised his head and let out a series of howls toward the valley.
Yun Manman's eyes had returned to pale purple. Somewhat surprised by how well these wolves understood people, she stroked the female wolf's head several times.
"Saving you was a kind of fate between us. No need to thank me. Go back!"
Whether the female wolf understood Yun Manman or not, she got up and sat right beside Yun Manman's legs, nuzzling her obediently.
Yun Manman saw that the male wolf was merely watching the female wolf, paying no attention whatsoever to his own injuries.
"Guagua, exchange some points for veterinary medicine to treat external wounds."
"Ah! Are you sure you want to waste them like that? We have pitifully few points. We need to use them on the knife's edge, where they count!"
Thinking of how she earned points, Yun Manman could barely bear to face it herself. Once again, she inwardly grumbled resentfully about the space. It never did anything decent!
"Then give me Returning Lotus Fruit. That works even better!"
As her words fell, Yun Manman looked at the three fruits that appeared in her hand, the corners of her lips curving slightly.
Her gaze shifted to the male wolf lying there, her purple eyes clear as mirrors, without a trace of fear.
The moment the fruits appeared in Yun Manman's hand, both wolves raised their heads.
Their coffee-colored eyes were filled with curiosity and desire. The things in their benefactor's hand looked delicious, but they could not snatch them. They had to hold back!
"You're injured. Eating this fruit will help your wounds heal quickly. Go back early once you've eaten. Why are you running around while pregnant?"
The two wolves stepped forward and curled their tongues around the fruits in Yun Manman's hand, taking them away.
They narrowed their eyes blissfully. These were simply too delicious, the tastiest things they had ever eaten.
Their wolf lives truly had no regrets left!
After finishing his fruit, the male wolf's eyes involuntarily widened. This thing actually had such miraculous effects. The pain in his body was slowly fading.
He looked at Yun Manman with appreciation and scrutiny.
Yes, scrutiny!
(Did that look carry killing intent? Haha!)
The corners of Yun Manman's mouth twitched. These northwestern wolves really were extraordinary!
Extraordinarily clever!
Seeing that both wolves had finished their fruits, Yun Manman ate the remaining one herself, then stood and put four tigers into her space.
She looked at the remaining two tigers. There was not a trace of blood on their bodies, only thin trickles seeping from their mouths.
Looking at their intact pelts, Yun Manman took out a blade and began skinning the tigers.
These two pelts were intact and also the largest among the tigers'. She would keep them to make vests and insoles for her family in winter.
These two large tiger pelts should be enough for the whole family. They would surely be very warm then.
Selling the remaining tigers along with the wild boars would bring in enough silver for the family to live on for a long time, and she would soon start other money-making ventures herself.