27: Chapter 27 The Fight Between Tiger and Ox

After entering Baitou Mountain, the group walked much slower than usual.

The heavy crossbow was too heavy, and the mountain paths were difficult to traverse, so the people in front had to be replaced after carrying it for a stretch.

In some places, the trees grew too densely, forcing them to tilt the heavy crossbow sideways and inch it through the middle of two trees.

Mo Xiaoshan had carried it for less than half an hour when his shoulders began to ache fiercely from the friction of the wooden frame.

"At this pace, we'll be exhausted and collapsed before we even see a large beast."

Mo Mancang followed behind and said,

"Now you know this thing isn't easy to carry?"

"I haven't carried it into the mountain before."

The two of them argued verbally, but their feet did not stop.

By the evening of the fourth day, the group finally approached the edge of the back mountain.

When passing through a patch of woods, Mo Chenghai spotted a mountain deer ahead.

He told the group to stop first, circled around to the flank, and seizing the right moment, pierced the mountain deer's neck with a single arrow.

That mountain deer ran forward not far before collapsing in the woods.

Having eaten dry rations brought with them all these days, the group perked up upon seeing fresh venison.

Mo Chenghai cleaned the mountain deer, rolled up the deer hide to carry it, and distributed the venison among several people to carry on their backs, preparing to roast it for dinner.

Mo Changlin drank some water while saying,

"Ahead is the back mountain; don't go any further inside tonight."

Upon hearing this, the group put down the heavy crossbow, picked up dry firewood nearby, and lit a campfire.

Mo Chenghai cut off a few pieces of venison, strung them on tree branches, and placed them by the fire to roast.

He hung the remaining venison on a distant tree with a rope to prevent it from being dragged away by things in the mountains at night.

After eating the venison, the group took turns keeping watch.

They had been quite exhausted these past few days, and before long, someone began to snore.

However, in the middle of the night, a low beast roar suddenly came from afar.

The people who were sleeping woke up one after another.

Mo Xiaohu grabbed the spear beside him.

"Tiger?"

The group did not speak, instead making a hush gesture.

After a moment, another ox roar came from afar, sounding hurried and loud, followed immediately by the sound of snapping branches.

Mo Changlin stood up at this moment and said with certainty,

"It should be two large beasts fighting."

He picked up his hunting knife and looked at Mo Qingshi and Mo Chunhe.

"The two of you come with me to take a look."

Mo Shoutian said,

"Don't get too close."

"Understood."

Without lighting torches, the three of them used the moonlight in the sky to grope their way toward the direction where the sound came from.

Mo Changlin walked at the very front, with Mo Qingshi following behind.

Mo Chunhe, who was quick on his feet, fell to the very back, ready to return and pass messages at any time; this had been communicated beforehand.

The three walked for about two miles, and the trees ahead gradually became sparser.

Mo Changlin raised his hand to signal the two to stop, led them around to the downwind side, and walked forward for a bit more.

There was a not-so-large clearing in the woods.

A tiger was crouching at the edge of the clearing, staring at two wild oxen not far away.

That tiger was a circle larger than ordinary mountain tigers, and when lying on the ground, its spine was higher than the surrounding bushes.

Blocking in front was a Mother Wild Ox.

The body of the Mother Wild Ox was even larger than the Giant Tiger, and the two horns on its head were thick and long.

Its belly and hind legs already had several wounds, and the dead leaves beneath it were covered in blood.

Behind it, a calf was also lying.

One of the calf's hind legs had been bitten to pieces, and it tried to stand up several times, but failed to do so.

The Giant Tiger did not pounce directly, instead slowly circling around the Mother Wild Ox.

The Mother Wild Ox consistently shielded the calf behind it.

When the Giant Tiger went left, it followed and turned left; when the Giant Tiger approached, it lowered its head, aiming its horns forward.

After a standoff for a moment, the Giant Tiger suddenly pounced from the flank.

The Mother Wild Ox abruptly rushed forward a few steps, its horns brushing past the underside of the Giant Tiger's belly.

The Giant Tiger jumped aside, and the Mother Wild Ox did not continue chasing, immediately retreating back to the calf's side.

Mo Changlin watched for a while and said in a low voice,

"That tiger wants to eat the calf, and the mother ox has been protecting the calf all along."

He turned his head to look at Mo Chunhe.

"You go back and tell Shoutian."

"There is a large tiger and a Mother Wild Ox here, and the calf is already injured. There is a clearing ahead, and the gentle slope on the right can mount the heavy crossbow."

Mo Chunhe nodded and retreated backward while hunching his waist.

Mo Changlin and Mo Qingshi stayed in place, continuing to stare at the tiger and the ox in the clearing.

When Mo Chunhe rushed back to the resting place, a layer of sweat had already broken out on his forehead.

Everyone gathered around.

Mo Shoutian asked first,

"Where are Uncle Changlin and the others?"

"They are still staring over there."

Mo Chunhe took a few breaths and recounted what he had seen.

Mo Shoutian did not delay, having the group extinguish the campfire with soil and hide the venison and unnecessary items behind a large rock.

Afterwards, several people lifted the heavy crossbow and walked forward following Mo Chunhe.

Unable to see the mountain path clearly at night, they did not dare to walk too fast.

Along the way, they still stopped several times before carrying the heavy crossbow to the gentle slope chosen by Mo Changlin.

In front of the gentle slope grew a patch of waist-high bushes, which could just block the figures of the group.

Mo Chenghai squatted down to touch the ground and found a few stones to prop up beneath the wooden frame.

Mo Dashan and a few others used ropes to tie the heavy crossbow to the tree roots nearby to prevent the wooden frame from moving when shooting arrows.

The two large beasts in the clearing were still in a standoff.

Every once in a while, the Giant Tiger would pounce forward, and after the Mother Wild Ox forced it back, it would return to the calf's side.

The wounds on both sides grew increasingly numerous, yet neither left.

The sky was too dark, and Mo Shouyi was completely unable to clearly see the vital spots on the Giant Tiger's body.

The heavy crossbow could not keep its string taut for long, and the sky was too dark, so Mo Shoutian did not let the group rush to string the bow.

As dawn approached, the calf seemed to have lost too much blood and could no longer even lift its head.

The Giant Tiger crouched at the edge of the clearing for a long time before suddenly pouncing toward the calf again.

The Mother Wild Ox was a step slow in turning around.

The Giant Tiger bit into the calf's neck and dragged it to the side.

The Mother Wild Ox let out a screech and charged over with its head lowered.

A horn grazed past the underside of the Giant Tiger's shoulder, directly tossing it over onto the ground.

The Giant Tiger rolled twice and pounced back onto the Mother Wild Ox, its front claws tearing open several long gashes on its back.

The two large beasts quickly separated again.

The calf lay in the middle and no longer moved at all.

The Mother Wild Ox stood guard beside the calf, panting heavily. One of its hind legs dared not touch the ground, and blood from its body dripped down along the ox hair.

The Giant Tiger's condition was no better either.

Its left shoulder had been sliced open with a deep gash by a horn, and when walking, one of its front legs was already somewhat lacking in strength.

The sky gradually brightened.

Only then did Mo Shoutian have the people start stringing the bow.

Mo Shoucheng and Mo Xiaoshan slowly turned the winch, while Mo Dashan and Mo Mancang held down the wooden frame.

Mo Shouyi placed a heavy arrow into the crossbow groove and lay at the back staring at the clearing.

The surrounding people did not move at all.

After a long time, the sun had already risen above the treetops.

The Giant Tiger finally could not help it and walked toward the calf's carcass once more.

The Mother Wild Ox wanted to stop it, but just as it walked forward two steps, its hind legs went soft and it almost knelt to the ground.

The Giant Tiger ignored it and slowly approached the calf.

The position where it stood happened to be sideways to the heavy crossbow.

Mo Shouyi had kept one eye closed all along, his finger already resting on the heavy crossbow's trigger.

Mo Shoutian stared at the Giant Tiger, and only after it took another step forward did he say in a low voice,

"Release."

"Twang!"

The heavy arrow flew out from the middle of the bushes, piercing straight into the Giant Tiger's chest.

The Giant Tiger was knocked over onto the ground, letting out a roar from its mouth.

It struggled to get up, but just as its front paws braced the ground, its body collapsed back down again.

Fresh blood quickly flowed out from beneath its body.

Mo Xiaohu wanted to stand up holding his spear, but was pulled back by a yank from Mo Changlin.

"Don't go over."