Ji Yuan did not know whether they had already eaten before arriving, but he had not seen any of them eat anything. They only drank a little water.
By the time it was completely dark outside, their outer garments had more or less dried from the fire, so they put them back on and prepared to set out.
It seemed their rest had not only been for recovering their strength. Completely dry clothes could probably greatly improve their combat ability. It was the same principle as leaning closer to the screen for better accuracy and swaying side to side for higher evasion when Ji Yuan played games.
The two strong men once again hoisted the sacks containing pigs and sheep onto their shoulders. One of them was Lu Chengfeng, the one who had said he wanted to see a demon for himself.
"Alright, we're setting off!"
Yan Fei was still brimming with energy as he walked at the front.
Even while carrying a sack, Lu Chengfeng turned back and called to Ji Yuan.
"Beggar, wait for our good news. When we return, we'll take you down the mountain with us!"
Hey, hey, hey, Eldest Brother, don't raise a flag!
Ji Yuan panicked at those words. After hesitating briefly, he shouted after Lu Chengfeng just as he became the last one to step out of the temple gates.
"Young Master Lu, if you reach a moment of utmost peril, you may shout that you know Mister Ji! Remember that, remember it well!"
By then, Lu Chengfeng had already stepped through the temple gates. Hearing the voice, he turned back for a look, but even with the faint firelight, the inside remained pitch-black, and he could not see the beggar's face clearly.
Unable to understand the exact meaning of those words, Lu Chengfeng did not think much of them and hurried after his companions ahead.
Niu Kui Mountain had several dozen peaks of varying sizes. The Mountain God Temple stood on nothing more than a small hill along the outer perimeter.
Although the nine young martial heroes lacked experience in the martial world and were somewhat naive, their foundations in martial arts were genuinely solid. They traversed the rugged mountain paths as though walking on level ground.
In the local manner of speaking, they crossed three peaks in about one shichen and reached an old forest deep within Niu Kui Mountain.
By then, the nine of them had begun to sweat lightly.
Yan Fei, at the very front, looked at the shadowy figures in the darkness around them and took a deep breath.
"This is the place. The Man-Eating Great Beast definitely won't hide too deep in the mountains. Put down the pigs and sheep and make preparations here!"
"Alright!"
"It should be around the hour of the Dog now. The Great Beast will come out to hunt before long!"
Lu Chengfeng and the man carrying the staff set down their respective sacks, untied the openings, and led out a small ewe and a modestly sized domestic pig.
Having been carried over such a long distance, the two livestock animals were clearly dizzy and barely made a sound.
"Tie their ropes to those two trees. Right, cut their legs too!"
"I'll do it!"
A young man carrying a saber walked over to the pig and sheep. He drew his blade, turned his wrist, and made a light slash. Two wounds immediately appeared on the pig's and sheep's hind legs.
"Squeal~~ Squeal~~~"
"Baa..."
In pain, the two livestock animals immediately began struggling, trying to flee, but the ropes held them fast and made escape impossible.
Lu Chengfeng and the staff-wielding man each tied one animal's rope around a nearby tree trunk. During this process, the others watched the surrounding area.
"Alright, let's hide in the trees and wait!"
Everyone nodded soundlessly. They were already growing slightly excited. Some leaped up with lightness skills, while others climbed quickly, concealing themselves in four or five large trees nearby.
For a time, the mountain forest fell silent. Apart from the injured pig and sheep crying out as they charged about wildly, only the calls of night birds occasionally rang out.
They waited for an entire shichen.
"Coo... coo coo... coo~~"
The calls of night birds made the darkness seem all the more secluded.
Lu Chengfeng, Bladesman Du Heng, and Luo Ningshuang hid in the tree to which the goat was tied, watching below through the canopy and leaves.
The goat and pig were already exhausted. They had gone from restlessly charging about in panic to lying on the ground to rest.
"It's been so long already. Is this fierce tiger even coming?"
Luo Ningshuang lowered her voice as she asked the two men.
"Don't know. By all principles, prey this easy to catch should have drawn a wild beast here."
"Shh!"
Lu Chengfeng signaled for them to be quiet.
"Whoosh... whoosh..."
The wind in the forest suddenly intensified, making the branches of the surrounding big trees sway.
"Baa..."
With a bleat, the goat and domestic pig got to their feet and looked around restlessly.
"Baa... baa..."
"Squeal... squeal squeal..."
The two injured livestock animals frantically struggled outward, only to be yanked back by the ropes around their necks. This change roused the spirits of the nine ambushers.
"Whoosh... whoosh..."
The chilly wind not only sent the people in the trees' hair flying, but also made them feel cold.
For some reason, this strange gust of wind made many of them uneasy. None of them noticed that, aside from the crazed pig and sheep, every birdcall in the forest had vanished.
In the distance, a fierce tiger more than twice the size of an ordinary tiger stood atop a mountain rock deep in the woods. Through the greenery in the darkness, it gazed toward the pig and goat, and a trace of contempt showed in its remarkably human eyes.
The fierce tiger neither hid nor avoided them. It simply walked toward the trapped pig and sheep, slowly approaching until it stood beside them.
By then, the pig and goat had long lost their earlier frenzy. Shivering, they collapsed on the ground, too terrified to move.
What an enormous fierce tiger!
The tiger that had come was even larger than they had imagined, far larger than those who had seen fierce tigers had described.
Everyone in the trees had their hairs stand on end, their scalps tingling. Though they wanted to slay the tiger and rid the land of evil, seeing such an enormous fierce tiger still frightened them badly, and their hearts pounded at a shocking speed.
The fierce tiger stopped beside the two livestock animals, its fur dancing in the wind.
Why isn't this fierce tiger eating them?
That was the question that arose in everyone's minds amid their tension. They had agreed beforehand that, barring accidents, they would leap out and surround the fierce tiger while it ate the livestock.
Fine beads of sweat covered Yan Fei's face. His right hand had already gripped his sword hilt. If the fierce tiger showed any sign of fleeing, he would immediately signal everyone to reveal themselves.
But at that moment, he suddenly discovered that the fierce tiger had raised its head toward the big tree where he hid. A hoarse, rough voice came from its mouth.
"Interesting! Mortal martial artists? Since you have come seeking death, that should not count as going against Mister's teachings!!"
In an instant, everyone, including Yan Fei, had their hairs stand on end and their scalps tingle, goosebumps erupting all over their bodies.
There was only one thought in their minds: It has become a spirit!
"Let me play with you first, then. Roar!"
At the same time as the tiger roar sounded, the fierce tiger had already pounced toward the tree canopy before it. The few facing it directly were so frightened that their limbs stiffened and they lost all ability to react.
Yan Fei bit his tongue hard, forcing himself free of the paralysis brought by fear, and roared.
"Attack!"
"Shing~"
His tasseled longsword left its sheath. Gritting his teeth, he slashed toward the fierce tiger, trying to force it away.
To his surprise, the fierce tiger neither dodged nor avoided him. One claw reached directly for the sword. In Yan Fei's eyes, that tiger leg was thicker than his own thigh, and its clawed paw was larger than his head.
"Clang..."
"Pfft..."
It happened in no more than an instant. Yan Fei's longsword curled and twisted, and he was swatted from the tree by a single tiger paw, blood spraying from his chest as he fell into the brush, his life and death unknown.
"Bastard!"
Zhao Long, the staff-wielding man, gripped his long staff and struck at the Tiger Spirit. But before his staff could fully extend, a blurred yellow-and-black whip-shadow had already reached his face.
"Bang~ Crack..."
"Bang..."
A tiger tail as hard as steel lashed over. The staff, capable of withstanding axe blows and saber strikes, snapped cleanly, while Zhao Long was struck by the tail and fell from the big tree coughing blood, following in Yan Fei's footsteps.
"Save them!"
"Get it!"
The remaining people leaped out from their hiding places one after another and attacked the fierce tiger together.
Lord Lu's momentum did not lessen. He landed lightly on the trunk of the big tree where Yan Fei had originally hidden, gripping the bark with all four claws like a cat. He bent slightly, then, just before the blades and swords reached him, darted several zhang away in a flash.
"Wooo~~"
The wind raised by the fierce tiger swept over them. Before their moves could land, they watched it leap over their encirclement and land toward the outside.
Du Heng, who had drawn his saber, and Luo Ningshuang, who had drawn her sword, reacted the fastest. Both kicked off with their feet, spinning through the air as they darted out almost right after the fierce tiger. One thrust and one chop targeted the tiger before it had landed.
Yet the fierce tiger actually pressed all four limbs downward in midair, as if stepping onto a point of support in the wind. Its enormous body abruptly shifted to one side, then landed in a crouch at an eerie speed. Its green-glowing tiger eyes fixed on Du Heng and Luo Ningshuang.
"Roar~~~"
The roar made the remaining people's bodies go numb, and their movements strangely stiffened.
In a flash, the fierce tiger's body seemed to blur, and it pounced again.
"Watch out!"
The shouts of the others seemed to come from the horizon. In the fearfully widened eyes of Luo Ningshuang and Du Heng, the fierce tiger was still face-to-face with them, the cold gleam on its tiger claws rivaling metal.
"Bang!"
"Pfft... Bang!"
With one swipe, it first struck Du Heng, then hit Luo Ningshuang.
Before their companions' horrified cries had faded, Du Heng and Luo Ningshuang were already flying left and right, spraying blood. Du Heng's saber-wielding hand had twisted outward at an unnatural angle.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
"Rustle..."
The first two sounds were Luo Ningshuang and Du Heng crashing onto the ground in the distance. The final sound, the fierce tiger landing, was so faint it was nearly inaudible.
In that brief exchange, the lives and deaths of four skilled fighters were unknown...
Not far from the remaining five, the Tiger Spirit stretched its limbs like a great cat stretching awake, its terrifying tiger eyes watching them with mockery.
"Whoosh whoosh... clatter clatter clatter..."
A Ghost Head Saber bent at a ninety-degree angle spun through the air and landed in an arc at their feet. Not only was the blade bent, but the edge at the point of contact had already curled.
Lu Chengfeng and the others' limbs were icy, and they could barely breathe. The joints of the hands clenched into fists or gripping weapons had already turned white.
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