Toying with Them

"Again!"

Ning Buhui stepped into empty air and sank halfway into a mud pit covered with dead leaves.

Expressionless, he pulled his leg out. Sticky black mud coated his trouser leg, giving off an indescribable sour, rotten smell. Bibi Dong stood three steps away, watching him calmly with no intention of lending a hand.

"That's the third time." Ning Buhui furiously scraped his foot against a rock. "Rolling rocks yesterday, a mud pit today. Teacher, is that beast playing with us?"

Bibi Dong did not answer. Her gaze fell on a trail of extremely faint paw prints beside the pit. They went around it and headed northeast. After studying them for a moment, she said coolly, "It is indeed playing with us."

Ning Buhui took a deep breath and swallowed his anger. This was their second day in Thunderstorm Canyon. They had yet to catch a glimpse of the Wind Thunder Winged Tiger, but they had run into traps several times.

The first time, they had followed its tracks to a slope covered in loose stones. No sooner had they stepped onto it than the stones at the top came rumbling down, as though someone had pulled the ground out from under them. Ning Buhui had scrambled and rolled his way out of the torrent of rocks, bruised black and blue all over. The tiger's paw prints had appeared again on the other side of the slope, as if telling them: this way, hurry up.

The second time had been even more ridiculous. They had followed its tracks into a grove of low trees, only for the trees to suddenly fall together, blocking every path in a tangled jumble. If Bibi Dong had not acted quickly, a trunk would have struck Ning Buhui on the forehead. Once the trees had finished falling, the faint outline of that blue-and-purple tail tip had flashed past on the opposite slope, as though beckoning them onward.

None of the traps were deadly. With Bibi Dong's strength, she could clear them away with a casual strike of her palm. But by the time she did, the tiger would be long gone, and when they found its tracks again, another trap would be waiting.

For the first time, Ning Buhui realized that a Soul Beast could be so professional at leading people around by the nose.

"It's wearing down our patience," Bibi Dong said.

Ning Buhui frowned. "Then what do we do?"

"We'll have to keep looking. We can't rush it," Bibi Dong said helplessly.

That afternoon, they followed another trail of paw prints deeper into the canyon. The tracks were very fresh this time; the loose stones on either side still bore white scratches from its claws. Ning Buhui had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but he could not say what. The prints led them into an extremely narrow hollow, where a dozen or so crooked trees as thick as bowls grew. Their crowns were so dense that no light could pass through, and a thick layer of dead leaves carpeted the ground.

"Teacher, this place..." Ning Buhui slowed his steps.

Bibi Dong stopped as well. The moment she looked up, the sky suddenly went dark.

It was not the kind of darkness that came from clouds covering the sun. The entire sky had abruptly been covered by a layer of lead-gray thunderclouds, so low they almost pressed against the treetops. Lightning churned violently within them, like countless purple snakes writhing together. Ning Buhui's scalp prickled, but before he could cry out, a thunderclap exploded overhead.

The thunder shook the earth and mountains. Immediately afterward, more than a dozen bolts of purple lightning struck from the clouds at once, landing precisely around the hollow and blasting the ring of crooked trees into fragments that filled the sky. The air was instantly filled with the smell of burning and shattered stones.

"Go!"

Bibi Dong seized Ning Buhui by the back of his collar and shot backward. Soul Power surged beneath her feet as she raced out over the broken stones, each step kicking up a ring of air. Dangling in midair, Ning Buhui heard the wind howling past his ears and the continuous crash of lightning behind him, as though the entire mountain were collapsing. A tree trunk broken by lightning flew past his ear, its wave of heat scorching half his face until it hurt.

By the time Bibi Dong carried him out of the hollow, the thunderstorm was still raging behind them. Dozens of lightning bolts struck in succession, blasting the entire grove into charred ruins.

Ning Buhui landed on the ground, his legs still a little weak. He looked up at Bibi Dong and saw that her expression was unchanged, though a small patch of her cuff had been scorched. Even she had nearly been caught in the thunderstorm.

"It wanted to lure us into a trap and kill us." Understanding suddenly dawned on Ning Buhui. "The first few traps were harmless. It wore down our patience first, making us think they were all minor nuisances and affecting our judgment. As usual, we saw this grove and went in without our guard up. Who knew it was where the thunderstorm was most concentrated? Luckily, you reacted quickly, Teacher, or I'm afraid we would have met our end here today."

Bibi Dong did not deny it. She merely looked down at the ruins, a rare hint of coldness in her voice. "This tiger really is harder to deal with than an ordinary Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast."

Ning Buhui crouched down, picked up a branch broken by lightning, and absentmindedly poked at the stones beneath his feet. His mind was racing. The Wind Thunder Winged Tiger liked wind and thunder, excelled at speed, and possessed intelligence. It had been using the terrain to wear them down, never confronting them directly. Why? Because it knew it could not defeat Bibi Dong head-on. It had lived here for years and knew everything about the place. It was using what it did best against them.

What, then, was there that it could not resist? As long as they could lure it out, the rest would be easy.

Ning Buhui suddenly remembered something. While leafing through Soul Beast Living Habits in the Spirit Hall library, he had once seen a line of tiny writing in a marginal note on one of the pages. He had paid it no mind at the time, thinking it merely an amusing fact some senior had jotted down. The line read: Wind Thunder Winged Tigers are fond of mint; wherever mint grows, traces of them are sure to be found.

Mint.

Ning Buhui sprang to his feet. "Teacher, I know how to lure it out."

Bibi Dong looked at him.

"Wind Thunder Winged Tigers like mint," Ning Buhui said. "I read it in a book. On our way here, when we passed through the wetland on the outskirts of the canyon, I saw a few clumps of mint by the stream. The smell was strong, so that should be it. If we pick some and leave it where the tiger often goes, it probably won't be able to resist."

Bibi Dong looked at him, then nodded after a moment. "Let's go back and pick some. For now, we can only try this method."

The two immediately turned back. The way out of the canyon was easier than the way in, but Ning Buhui was in such a hurry that he nearly fell into the loose stones several times. After a little over an hour, they returned to the wetland. Ning Buhui searched along the stream and, sure enough, found several clumps of mint. The plants grew luxuriantly, with thick leaves. When he pinched one between his fingertips, a cool, pungent fragrance spread out, especially refreshing in the gloomy woods.

Ning Buhui picked a large bunch, wrapped it in cloth, and returned to the canyon.

Bibi Dong chose a fork in the path where the Wind Thunder Winged Tiger had passed several times, tied the mint into small bundles, and tucked them into cracks between the rocks. The two retreated a hundred paces and hid behind a boulder. Wind swept in from the mouth of the canyon, carrying the mint's pungent fragrance in all directions. Ning Buhui held his breath and waited, his heart beating a little faster than usual.

During the time it took one incense stick to burn, nothing happened.

During the second incense stick, Ning Buhui began to wonder whether what the book said was false. He stole a glance at Bibi Dong. Her eyes were closed, as though she were dozing.

Just as he was about to give up, a faint shadow suddenly stirred on the cliff opposite them.

Ning Buhui's breath caught.

A giant tiger emerged halfway from the shadows atop the cliff. It was larger than Ning Buhui had imagined, standing a full ten feet at the shoulder. Its fur was a very pale gray-white, covered in fine black markings. Most striking of all was the pair of folded wings on its back. Blue wind patterns shimmered across its left wing, while strands of purple electricity coiled around its right. Tiny arcs crackled softly in the air along the edges of its wings. It lowered its head slightly, twitched its nose twice, and looked at the bundle of mint in the crack between the rocks.

Ning Buhui saw its eyes. Its amber, slit pupils were as bright as two fine jade gems. It did not immediately pounce on the mint, but first looked all around. Its head turned in a swift circle, sweeping over both canyon walls, the cliff top overhead, and every stone on the ground. Huddled behind the boulder, Ning Buhui stopped breathing altogether.

The Wind Thunder Winged Tiger did not notice them. But it did not approach, either. It was very cautious and kept hesitating. In the end, however, it could not resist its nature. It finally leaped down from the cliff, landed silently, and walked toward the mint. It took every step with extreme care, its four paws making almost no sound as they touched the ground. When it reached the mint, it lowered its head and sniffed twice. Suddenly, its whole body seemed to relax, and its tail swayed gently.

Now.

Bibi Dong moved, appearing at the Wind Thunder Winged Tiger's side in an instant. The Death Spider Emperor Martial Soul materialized behind her, and her third Soul Ring lit up. Spider Web Restraint. A dark light flew from her palm and abruptly spread open in midair, becoming a giant net ten feet square that fell over the tiger. Sensing danger, the Wind Thunder Winged Tiger beat its wings fiercely, trying to take flight. But the net fell too quickly. It had only leaped five feet into the air when the web enveloped it. Purple lightning exploded across the net, burning every strand until it glowed, but it could not burn through them. Bibi Dong drew back her wrist, and the web abruptly tightened. The Wind Thunder Winged Tiger's massive body was bound fast and slammed back to the ground. It struggled desperately, beating its wings wildly and sending lightning flying, shattering several nearby boulders to powder. But the more it struggled, the tighter the web became. Purple lightning flashed back and forth through the mesh, casting the entire canyon floor alternately into light and darkness.

The Wind Thunder Winged Tiger let out a short roar and made one last struggle, blue and purple light surging at once. But the web had already tightened. It struggled twice, and electricity crackled and burst across its wings, yet it could not break free of Bibi Dong's restraint. Bibi Dong pressed her hand down gently, and the web wound itself tighter like a living thing. The tiger's limbs were bound together, and its wings were pressed against its sides. It rolled over twice on the ground, then finally stopped struggling, fixing them with its amber eyes.

Ning Buhui stood up and watched the bound tiger from a distance. It lay on the ground with its head turned sideways, a pair of purple slit pupils looking in his direction. There was no anger and no fear, only an indescribable calm. He suddenly felt that the tiger had known all along what they intended to do. The traps, the mint, and even the outcome of its being unable to resist coming out-it had known it all.

Bibi Dong walked over to his side and looked down at the bound tiger.

"Don't just stand there," she said. "Finish it off."

Ning Buhui walked to within a few steps of the Wind Thunder Winged Tiger. The tiger raised its head to look at him, a low whimper rumbling in its throat. Though Ning Buhui could not bear it, he still unleashed Void Rending Slash against it.

"I'm sorry." The low murmur dissolved into the wind.

The tiger's body shuddered violently. The lightning on its wings flared one last time, then slowly faded. A Soul Ring, black as ink, slowly rose above the Wind Thunder Winged Tiger's corpse. Dark and gleaming in the canyon's dim light, it hung silently in midair like a mass of solidified night. Ning Buhui watched it, his chest rising and falling unevenly.