3: Encountering a Tiger

Black Wind Mountain is a mountain range adjacent to Yuan City.

It is teeming with fierce beasts and mountain birds, stretching for thousands of miles deep.

According to old hunters, a striped tiger is hidden in Black Wind Mountain.

That tiger is more than one person tall, and its claws are larger than a human head.

But after so many years, many hunters have gone up the mountain, and no one has ever seen that big tiger.

There have been missing hunters, though.

However, entering the mountains is inherently a life-risaking profession.

Disappearing is also a common occurrence.

So everyone just assumed the fierce tiger was a rumor.

Hunters still went up the mountain to hunt for their livelihood.

"Xu Qing, do you think we'll encounter that tiger?"

Yang Long asked, holding his bow and looking at Xu Qing.

"Of course not, that's just a rumor."

Xu Qing raised his bow, drew the string, and aimed at a distant elk.

A moment later, he locked onto the target.

Xu Qing relaxed his breathing and suddenly released his hand.

The arrow, made of fine steel, spun rapidly and shot powerfully towards the elk at an extremely fast speed.

Thud!

The elk fell to the ground in response, raising a cloud of dust.

"Xu Qing, you're amazing!"

Yang Long shouted excitedly, riding his horse to the side of the elk.

The elk weighed several hundred pounds, its antlers resembled a deer's, its tail was like a donkey's, and its hooves were like an ox's.

The elk was lying on the ground.

The arrow accurately hit the elk's head, but it wasn't in the elk's head.

Instead, it was deeply embedded in a distant rock, and very deeply.

There were fine cracks distributed around where the arrow entered the rock.

Xu Qing walked forward to look, secretly delighted.

It wasn't in vain that I practiced archery for so long!

If shooting a deer is like this, what about shooting a person?

Xu Qing pondered in his mind.

I wonder which is more powerful, the arrow I shoot or a bullet from my previous life.

Xu Qing, in this world, could already be considered a great master.

He possessed the strength of eight men, and a single punch could deliver nearly a thousand pounds of force.

He could send people flying like a painting, pinning them to a wall with one punch.

Don't ask how Xu Qing knew.

Yang Long's personal experience told Xu Qing.

He had his attendants and guards process the elk and carry it onto the carriage.

In just one morning, Xu Qing and Yang Long had hunted dozens of prey.

Of course, most of them were small animals like roe deer and wild rabbits; the only large animal was the elk Xu Qing had just shot.

In fact, with Xu Qing's eyesight, he saw many small animals moving through the forest.

If he wanted to, he could have hunted many more.

But he came here for recreation, not to wipe out the wildlife.

If he caught too much, the hunters who made a living from hunting would inevitably have less to harvest.

The life of a hunter is not easy.

They spend all day rushing through these mountains, but their income is uncertain.

If they're lucky, they might catch a few more wild rabbits or find some rare herbs.

Selling them in Yuan City, they could even buy a dress for their wife, some tasty treats for their children, and even have some meat at home.

If their luck was bad, they might not catch any prey for several days.

They could only gnaw on the food they had stored previously.

They would enter the mountains half-hungry, hoping for some harvest.

It sounds funny.

Hunters who make a living from hunting don't often eat meat; they mostly sell it to restaurants in the city.

They themselves use the silver they exchanged to buy some rice and grain, just barely getting by.

Xu Qing put aside his thoughts.

He thought that it was already good that he could now dress warmly and eat his fill, and he shouldn't disrupt others' livelihoods any further.

Hunting large prey like elk and wild boars, however, was harmless.

Yang Long dismounted, half-raising his bow, and advanced slowly with a stoop.

Yang Long saw a small deer in the distance, lowering its head to graze.

Yang Long envied Xu Qing for hunting a large elk, and he also wanted to take down a big one.

One step, two steps…

Yang Long slowly approached the small deer.

His arm strength wasn't enough, so he had to get closer for the arrow's power to be sufficient.

As he slowly approached, Yang Long's heart beat faster and faster.

Suddenly, Yang Long accidentally stepped on a fallen leaf, making a sound.

The small deer was startled and turned its head to see Yang Long staring intently at it.

Its legs almost kicked out afterimages.

With a whoosh, it disappeared into the jungle.

Xu Qing watched silently from the side.

Seeing Yang Long's comical movements, Xu Qing smiled faintly.

Yang Long was already tall, yet he insisted on walking with a slumped waist.

How could he not bump into things?

Yang Long saw the small deer disappear and then saw his boss mocking him from behind.

Yang Long suddenly became annoyed and shouted.

"I'm going to take it down today!"

Then Yang Long also turned and plunged into the jungle, chasing after the small deer.

Xu Qing watched Yang Long disappear and, after a while, he still didn't come out.

Xu Qing was a little worried; could Yang Long have gotten lost?

Xu Qing, holding his bow, followed Yang Long's direction and also entered the forest.

Yang Long, filled with anger, ran extremely fast.

But two legs, after all, couldn't keep up with four legs.

By the time Yang Long came to his senses.

He found himself surrounded by tall trees, with no one in sight.

Yang Long panicked; he thought of the rumor of the striped tiger.

Although everyone said it was a rumor.

But what if it was true? Wouldn't he, Yang Long, lose his life here today?

Yang Long decided to retreat the way he came, following his gut.

As for the small deer, he'd consider it lucky today, gaining a few more days of life.

But in this dense forest of tall trees, finding the way back was not so simple.

Yang Long walked for a long time and found that he still hadn't seen any signs of human habitation.

Yang Long was a little scared.

The sky gradually darkened, and the surroundings were deathly silent.

Suddenly, dozens of meters ahead, there seemed to be a chewing sound.

But it was blocked by bushes, making it impossible to see clearly.

Yang Long secretly thought, "Not good, I've run into something dirty."

Who knew what kind of ghostly thing was ahead.

Yang Long carefully turned around, preparing to walk in the opposite direction, not wanting to provoke whatever was ahead.

But today, Yang Long was also extremely unlucky.

The bushes were suddenly pulled open, and behind them was a small deer, its blood flowing freely.

Yang Long heard the sound and wanted to turn around but didn't dare.

Finally, he slowly turned around and, seeing the small deer, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Wait, the small deer is dead?

What killed it?

What about the chewing sound just now?

While Yang Long was thinking, he didn't notice that behind him.

A striped tiger was watching him, blood constantly dripping from its mouth.

That was the small deer's blood!

The tiger looked at Yang Long, its eyes filled with ferocity.

That was the hunger for food.

The tiger saw Yang Long with his back to it and ran directly towards Yang Long, ready to pounce on him.

Only then did Yang Long realize that the legendary tiger was actually behind him.

He screamed in terror.

"Help!"

Yang Long watched the tiger pounce on him; he had, after all, practiced martial arts for many years.

Yang Long rolled, narrowly dodging the tiger's pounce.

The tiger crouched, staring at Yang Long.

Yang Long knew that at this moment, he could only rely on himself.

He threw down his bow, drew his small personal knife, and assumed a fighting stance.

At such a close distance, drawing a bow and shooting an arrow would be suicidal.

Xu Qing heard Yang Long's voice and quickly rushed in that direction.

By the time Xu Qing arrived at the scene.

He saw that Yang Long had scratches on his chest and back, and blood was constantly flowing from his body.

And the fierce tiger also had several knife marks on its body, deep enough to see bone, and its eyes were filled with enraged ferocity.

A low growl continuously escaped its mouth.