Over the past decade or so, the white tiger had become addicted to eating humans. Not only did it devour travelers passing through, but it also commanded its chang ghosts to hunt for prey on its behalf.
Furthermore, it had even developed a set of "dining experiences."
The absolute finest delicacy was undoubtedly a newborn human infant.
Small and tender as silken tofu, they could be swallowed in a single gulp.
Born from the womb, an infant possessed a breath of innate qi that had not yet been tainted by worldly desires.
By consuming this breath of innate qi, the white tiger could add a year to its lifespan.
However, infants were hard to come by in the mountains. It had only eaten one seven years ago, and it had been obsessed with that "delicacy" ever since.
The second-best were the hunters and woodcutters who entered the mountains.
These people spent their years running through the wilderness, so their flesh was firm and chewy, much like wild beef.
Moreover, hunters had abundant blood energy and strong yang energy. Eating ten hunters was equivalent to eating one infant.
Therefore, the white tiger often commanded its female ghost, Mei Niang, to go to the villages at the foot of the mountain to lure young men back for it to enjoy.
As for the third-best, those were the most ordinary people.
Men, women, children, the elderly, scholars, fisherwomen, tailors, traveling doctors...
“Old people... bad taste... wood... ptooey, ptooey, ptooey.”
The white tiger swayed its head, gleefully sharing its “expertise” with Nan Zhi.
“Women... delicate... tasty. Scholars... refined... fair and tender... sweet...”
“Eat more... more... cultivate... cultivate fast.”
As Nan Zhi listened, she felt her stomach churn with disgust.
“Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! There are no shortcuts on the path of cultivation!”
“You, tiger, only crave the ease of the moment, but you don't realize that even if you hadn't run into me tonight, you would have met a miserable end eventually.”
She suppressed her loathing and spoke to the white tiger with grave solemnity.
“All things have spirits; they are favored by heaven and earth.”
“In the past, there was a son of an official in Jingzhou who enjoyed breaking the hind legs of cats and dogs for sport, torturing and killing countless animals.”
“Later, when his wife gave birth, all the children were born with their feet turned backward—the reincarnation of those deformed and mistreated cats and dogs. Buddhists say this was the official's son's retribution.”
“There was also a wealthy merchant in Huizhou who loved eating snakes. He favored the oldest ones and often killed pregnant mother snakes to carve out and cook their eggs.”
“Later, this merchant contracted a strange disease. His entire body became covered in snake scales. In the end, he could only crawl on the ground like a snake and met a wretched end.”
“If a human eats an animal to fill their stomach, there is no reason to blame them.”
“Similarly, if a tiger eats a human simply to satisfy its hunger, there is no wrong in that.”
“But if one intentionally abuses, tortures, or even uses it for the pleasure of cultivation, then disaster will soon strike. Retribution is swift and certain.”
Her words were somewhat obscure and difficult to understand. The white tiger truly couldn't follow, so it signaled to several chang ghosts, gathering them together.
The chang ghosts whispered and chattered, translating Nan Zhi's words for the tiger in a flurry of voices.
“Humans... eat... tigers. Tigers can... eat humans. What... is... wrong?”
The white tiger let out a massive yawn, its bright red tongue licking a tiger paw with an air of total indifference.
“Humans... cheat and deceive... burn and pillage. Cultivators... skin us for clothes... take demon cores... cultivate. Don't see... retribution.”
It was still a tiger that only knew how to think for itself.
Nan Zhi wasn't flustered at all, forcefully steering the conversation back on track.
“If one walks the righteous path, does righteous deeds, and follows the righteous way, the great Dao will naturally be smooth, and cultivation will be unimpeded.”
“There are millions upon millions of humans in the world. Although I do not know when retribution will fall upon the wicked, I am certain that those who ascend to immortality are all those with a clear conscience who hold the righteous path in their hearts.”
“This is how each person has their own destiny, and each has their own karma.”
“Awooo—”
The white tiger couldn't listen anymore, its expression growing increasingly impatient. It stood up, looming over her with ill intent, and scraped its claws against the tree bark.
“Your senior sister... why... not come?”
The sharp claws carved several deep gashes into the wood. A strange, almost human-like smirk appeared on the white tiger's massive head.
“You... putting on an act. Hand over... manual. Spare... your life.”
The white tiger wasn't stupid.
It had spoken patiently with the person in the tree for so long precisely to stall for time.
Now that no reinforcements had appeared, the white tiger was completely at ease.
“Eat... you. No one... knows. No... cultivators... come... looking for... trouble.”
With that, the white tiger half-reared up, opening its bloody maw toward the person in the tree as if toying with its prey.
“Want to live... hand over manual. Or... eat... you.”
Its golden tiger eyes watched Nan Zhi with great interest, seemingly enjoying the pleasure of teasing its prey.
It was like a little mouse that had run straight into its palm—no matter how much it struggled, it would eventually find it could never escape the hunter's control.
“Who says! My senior sister will be here any moment!”
A hint of panic appeared on Nan Zhi's face, as if she were feeling guilty after being exposed in public. She shouted back, her voice loud but lacking conviction.
“Don't you come up here!”
This display clearly pleased the white tiger. It supported itself on its hind paws, leaning its upper body against the tree trunk as it prepared to bite.
Its mouth opened wide, revealing a long, bright red tongue covered in barbs. Its razor-sharp fangs glinted coldly, and a foul stench wafted from its throat—
Nan Zhi had been waiting for this exact moment!
The pitch-black slaughtering knife suddenly slashed downward, hacking fiercely into the most vulnerable part of a feline's mouth. At the same time, her left hand balled into a fist, striking the white tiger's eyeball with all her might!
“Roar! Roar-agh!!!”
The white tiger's pained roar echoed through the mountain forest. The ground shook and the mountains swayed, vibrating the tree trunk beneath Nan Zhi's feet.
Nan Zhi didn't give it a chance to react and flipped down from the tree!
She landed firmly on the tiger's back, her hands tightly gripping its head. She clung to the white tiger's back like a stubborn plaster!
“Run!”
“Mountain Lord!”
“Get out of here!”
The group of chang ghosts scattered in a panic, vanishing into the forest.
Struck while completely off guard, the white tiger took the full force of the blade. Blood poured from its mouth, and a hideous gash was sliced into the right side of its lip.
“Roar!! Human!! Liar!!! Eat you!!!”
“Eat! You! Roar!!”
“Get off! Get off!!!”
A tiger in a state of madness was terrifying. It was like an unbroken wild horse, leaping frantically in an attempt to shake Nan Zhi off its back.
“You want to eat me?! Try this!”
Nan Zhi's left hand clawed at the tiger's eyes while her right hand yanked at the slaughtering knife stuck in its mouth!
The slaughtering knife was incredibly sharp, but as it hacked into the tiger's mouth, it could barely penetrate further, as if it were wedged into a crack in solid concrete. She couldn't even pull it out!
“Hateful! Human! Get off!! Get off!”
In agony and with its right eye poked, the white tiger whipped its body around like a madman, trying to throw Nan Zhi off.
“Roar roar roar!!! Roar—”
“Wind moves first, thunder follows after. Five thunders descend by the thousands, a million soldiers of thunder and fire. Flames burn the world, and demons—turn to dust!”
When her first move failed, Nan Zhi recited the thunder incantation. Her index finger sparked with electricity as she thrust it violently into the white tiger's right eye!
“Bang!!”
A small explosion rang in Nan Zhi's ears, and the white tiger's scream almost reached the heavens.
Driven to desperation, it risked its life to bite down and shatter the long knife in its mouth. It suddenly rolled on the ground, and using its right claw, it forcefully “tore” Nan Zhi off its back!
Nan Zhi's vision went black. She was about to crawl back up to face her opponent again when she saw the white tiger—now with only one eye remaining—bite down savagely on her right arm.
Crunch!
That was the sound of tiger teeth sinking deep into flesh.
Rip...
That was the sound of Nan Zhi's right arm being torn away.
The image began to blur. Nan Zhi knew she was about to bite the dust again.
A level seventeen taking on a level forty-nine elite mob... it really was a bit too much of a stretch.
But she didn't lose heart. Straining with her last breath, she squeezed out a smile for the blood-covered white tiger.
“Wait... before I die, I have one last wish.”
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