Lord Lu, the Tiger Spirit, did not leap again. He simply walked step by step toward the remaining five. The beastly snarl at the corner of his mouth was like a boulder pressing down on their hearts, making it hard for Lu Chengfeng and the others to breathe.
This was simply not an existence they could match. Thinking of the fierce tiger's bizarre movements just now, then comparing them to their own footwork and lightness skills, they knew that even fleeing would probably be a long shot.
Lord Lu's beastly growls grew heavier and heavier. His gaping tiger's mouth revealed long fangs, while the demonic aura he emitted wound around Lu Chengfeng and the others, leaving them with one immediate sensation: overwhelming pressure.
The pressure of facing a tiger that had become a spirit far surpassed that of facing any senior of the martial world or famed pugilist. The remaining few actually lacked the courage to rise up and attack again, much less spare any thought for their four companions.
"Knock knock knock knock knock..."
Lu Chengfeng's heart pounded wildly, his breath came in short gasps, and fine sweat covered his face. At this moment, his mind was utterly blank.
He was the closest to the fierce tiger. He could even smell the dense wild-beast stench coming from its body.
"Creak..."
Watching the tiger spirit draw nearer and nearer, Lu Chengfeng clenched both fists tight and assumed the stance of the Lu Family Fist. He could not simply wait for death. Even knowing he was no match, he would still fight. He believed his other companions would do the same, and in his peripheral vision, he saw the other four already taking their stances.
"Heh... This is the first time I've seen such young people who are martial artists. If not for Mister's teachings beforehand, I really ought to have tasted whether your flesh was more delicious."
As the fierce tiger approached, it actually licked its lips, wearing an expression of drooling with desire.
"What a pity. The wolves in the mountains will get the bargain."
Lord Lu had long seen that the five were merely putting on a brave front. In truth, they were scared half to death and could not withstand a single blow.
Yet upon hearing Lord Lu's words, the Beggar's words flashed through Lu Chengfeng's mind like lightning.
"Roarrr..."
When the tiger roar rang out again, Lu Chengfeng shouted those words at the fastest speed and with the loudest voice he could muster.
"We know Mister Ji!"
After Lu Chengfeng finished shouting and came back to his senses, he discovered that the tiger's head had already drawn close to him, less than two fists away from his face. He could even feel the breath exhaled by the fierce tiger.
"Mister Ji? Have you been to the Mountain God Temple?"
"Y-yes!"
Lu Chengfeng did not dare move, but he hurriedly added his answer.
"Inside the temple, there was a beggar. He tried to persuade us not to come deal with the man-eating fierce tiger, and he even said that the tiger in these mountains had long become a spirit. We didn't listen... But when we left, he told me that if we reached a moment of utmost danger, I should shout that we knew Mister Ji!"
Though trembling somewhat, Lu Chengfeng still rattled off the rough course of events at great speed.
If Ji Yuan had been there, he would have cursed Lu Chengfeng bloody in his heart. I warned you, but could you fucking not put it so damn bluntly?
The remaining five now felt as though their lives and deaths rested on a single thought from the fierce tiger. They did not dare even breathe loudly as they waited for the silent tiger spirit's response.
"Huff... huff..."
The mountain wind rose and fell unpredictably, as though it reflected the Tiger Spirit's thoughts. When those green-glowing eyes met Lu Chengfeng's again, he inexplicably felt that the killing intent within them had diminished greatly.
"Since those were Mister's words, I shall, of course, consider them carefully. However, I do not know whether you are deceiving me. Take me to the Mountain God Temple, and I shall ask Mister Ji face-to-face what he means!"
Lu Chengfeng relaxed slightly. As long as the person at the Mountain God Temple was still there, there should not be a problem.
After obtaining the Tiger Spirit's assent, the five hastily found their four severely injured companions. Then, carrying the wounded, they carefully headed back toward the Mountain God Temple. Only this time, a Striped Great Tiger followed behind them. Though they could not see it when they turned around, everyone knew the Tiger Spirit had to be trailing them somewhere nearby.
Yan Fei and the others had not died. The solid physical foundations forged through practicing martial arts since childhood were still formidable; an ordinary person would have long gone cold. Although they were carried on the others' backs and occasionally spat up blood, looking to be in grave danger, their internal energy had sealed off their vital points. As long as they received treatment in time, they still had a great chance of surviving.
Ji Yuan was still guessing whether the nine were dead or alive, whether they might have succeeded by some stroke of luck. Then he heard the returning footsteps of the Tiger Slaying Heroes, along with the soft tiger steps trailing behind them.
In an instant, it felt as though a hundred thousand alpacas were stampeding through Ji Yuan's heart. In that split second, he warmly greeted the ancestors of several Young Heroes, generation after generation.
You damned bastards, you brought Lord Lu here!
Was Ji Yuan panicking? He was. Panicking badly!
Yet Ji Yuan did not dare show it. After considering several possibilities, he still believed that what he most needed to do was maintain the bearing of a Master.
When Lu Chengfeng and the others saw the Mountain God Temple, as well as the still-burning firelight swaying inside the temple, intense hope grew in their hearts. They could not help quickening their pace, but a black shadow beat them to it.
The Tiger Spirit leaped from behind, vaulting over the several bedraggled young martial artists and landing outside the eaves of the Mountain God Temple. The people behind him immediately froze, not daring to move carelessly.
Ji Yuan inside the temple was no better off. This time, he saw more clearly than before. Within his blurred vision, he could vaguely make out wisps of something as fine as Smoke Wisps emanating from the enormous tiger's body.
At this moment, beneath Lu Chengfeng and the others' disbelieving gazes, the Tiger Spirit actually raised his body and brought his forelimbs together in a cupped-fist salute.
"Lord Lu pays his respects to Mister!"
Their eyes widened so much that they forgot their fear for a moment. The Tiger Spirit was actually performing the Disciple's Rite toward the Beggar in the temple. Though it looked exceedingly awkward because of his tiger body, the sense of reverence in it was as powerful as if the Academy Master himself had taught it.
Ji Yuan inside the temple let out a huge sigh of relief. It seemed words could settle this!
"Lord Lu, there is no need for such ceremony. This person Ji is unwell, so I hope you will forgive me for being unable to come greet you!"
"I would not dare disturb Mister."
The fierce tiger glanced at Lu Chengfeng and the others, then lowered his forelimbs. His tiger eyes turned toward the pair of profound pale eyes, half-open and half-closed inside the temple.
"On this visit, Lord Lu has a doubt in his heart. I hope Mister can resolve it for me!"
The Tiger Spirit did not mention verifying whether they had lied at all. Naturally, Lu Chengfeng and the others did not dare interrupt. They could only watch the situation with both curiosity and unease while sitting cross-legged where they were, helping their injured companions circulate their energy and regulate their breathing.
"Speak."
What else could Ji Yuan do? Refuse to let him speak? He did not dare!
"Mister's earlier teachings gave me some insight. Cultivation Is Like Being Human: when one's body is upright, one does no evil; when one's path is upright, one does not slacken; when one's heart is upright, one's thoughts must be unobstructed. Tonight, these nine people laid an ambush and wished to surround and kill me. Had I been an ordinary tiger, I would surely have fallen for their scheme. Since others harbored the intent to kill me, I could kill them in return without harming the way of an upright body and upright heart. Why, then, did Mister leave words asking me to save them?"
Damn it, for a Tiger Spirit, did he have to be this good at comprehending things...
Ji Yuan felt that yesterday's string of bluffing had indeed carried that meaning, but he had expressed it unclearly, so his words had been vague. He absolutely had not grasped it as thoroughly as Lord Lu himself had.
Now that Lord Lu was asking why he had saved them, he could not exactly say that he feared no one would lead him down the mountain. Yet he had to give an appropriate answer, or the consequences would be hard to predict.
Though Ji Yuan appeared to ponder slightly, he actually wanted to claw his own head apart. Only after racking his brains did he finally find the thread of an answer.
I do not ask for rewards, but please bury me beneath your favorites and Recommendation Tickets!!!
Before you continue