Whoosh!
“Aaaah!”
“Mountain Lord, save me!”
“Aaaah!! It’s so hot!”
“Aaaah!”
Flames soared into the sky within the forest as countless chang ghosts hidden inside wailed, screaming as they transformed into clumps of black mud.
For a time, the sounds of the wind, cursing, shouting, and ghostly wailing intertwined. The forest was filled with sobbing and a soaring ghostly aura.
Lighting the bones on fire had actually worked!
Nan Zhi felt a surge of joy.
Fearing that the fierce tiger might notice something earlier, she had simply used the Five Thunder Curse to ignite that entire forest of corpses.
The thunder curse had a restrictive effect on these sinister things. Once the fire started, the skeletal remains hanging from the trees turned into rolling balls of fire as if they had been doused in oil.
In her last save, Mei Niang had still possessed the strength to call the white tiger for help after taking a hit, eventually being whisked away by the tiger’s secret technique.
This time, she didn't even have the chance to beg for mercy before her chest was pierced and she died, turning into black mud!
The mist around Nan Zhi dissipated, revealing her figure hidden within and allowing everyone to see her clearly.
“It’s the eldest Nan girl!”
“Sister Zhi from the Nan family! We’re saved!”
“Quickly use your divine powers to kill these ghosts!”
The group of bailiffs was overjoyed, hurriedly supporting the unlucky fellow who hadn't believed in the supernatural as they retreated.
“What have you done?! What have you done?!”
Seeing Nan Zhi reveal herself, Chunsheng was filled with hatred. He lunged at her, bringing with him a gust of yin wind.
“You killed Mei Niang! The Mountain Lord won't let you get away with this! You deserve to die! Give me your life!”
As he spoke, he rolled on the ground. A cluster of whiskers sprouted near his mouth, his teeth grew sharp, and his eyebrows shot up high. He actually transformed into a yellow fierce tiger and pounced straight at Nan Zhi!
“Come at me!”
Nan Zhi leaped back ten feet, vanishing into the mist again. In the next second, she appeared behind the tiger Chunsheng like a phantom. She raised her slaughtering knife high and, taking advantage of his lack of preparation, hacked down with all her might!
Crack!
The sound of iron clashing against bone created a tooth grinding friction.
Puchi—
The slaughtering knife, nearly as long as a forearm, sank into the back of the tiger Chunsheng’s head up to the hilt. Blood splattered, and specks of an unknown liquid landed on Nan Zhi’s face.
She didn't even blink.
“Mountain Lord! Mountain Lord! Mountain Lord!!”
Having suffered a heavy blow, the tiger Chunsheng collapsed entirely to the ground.
He slowly reverted to human form, but his face still possessed tiger whiskers and a tiger’s mouth, making him a monster with a human body and a tiger’s face.
Before he died, Chunsheng’s entire body continued to crawl desperately on the ground. His eyes held a trace of strange fanaticism as he reached out toward the distance, constantly murmuring:
“Mountain Lord, Mountain Lord, Mountain Lord...”
“I don't want to die... Mountain Lord...”
“Save me... save me...”
“I can still help you, don't... don't... I don't want to die...”
He murmured and sobbed, his pupils slowly dilating and becoming clouded with a grey haze.
In the end, he also turned into a pool of black water, leaving only a set of dusty coarse cloth clothes on the spot.
Nan Zhi stood beside the black water, remaining silent as she picked up her slaughtering knife.
In truth, Chunsheng had died over ten years ago.
The current tiger Chunsheng had no memory of ever being human.
Not only was he fiercely loyal to the white tiger that had devoured his own kin, but he had also forgotten his humanity.
The Chunsheng before her, in both spirit and body, had completely become a slave to the fierce tiger.
Only then did the nearby bailiffs dare to step forward to look at the three pools of black water, expressing their gratitude in a chorus of voices.
“Good!! This beast is dead!”
“Nan Zhi killed the fierce tiger!!”
“I was scared to death. I’ve truly regained my life...”
“Who knew this tiger had attained such power that it could turn into a person to deceive us.”
“The one Nan Zhi killed is the very tiger that carried Chunsheng away yesterday! It turns out Chunsheng was the tiger! It was all a glamour!”
Nan Zhi went to find Nan Yi in the crowd, only to find that he had fainted again, just like last time.
“Brother Yi is a bit timid; he fainted from fright just now.”
Zhang Long carried the unconscious Nan Yi like a slaughtered pig and let out a breath.
“We owe it all to you this time, Nan Zhi. Otherwise, we would have been deceived by this beast’s glamour and might have been eaten alive without even knowing it.
Once we return, I will certainly report your heroic deed of killing the tiger to the Magistrate.
Perhaps the Demon Suppression Division will even credit you for this along with your previous merit of killing the Painted Skin Ghost. When that happens, the Nan family might just produce a demon suppressor!”
“Now is not the time for pleasantries,”
Nan Zhi glanced at the fires in the forest and abruptly interrupted him.
“Chunsheng was only one of the chang ghosts under the white tiger’s command. It was only because I used a secret technique to burn their skeletal remains that we had this chance of victory.
Now that the chang ghosts are dead, the white tiger will surely notice. It will be here within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
Without the chang ghosts to cloud your eyes, lead Brother Yi and the others down the mountain immediately. Do not stop. If you encounter any surviving chang ghosts on the way, just hack them down with your blades!”
“The fierce tiger isn't dead?!”
Zhang Long’s eyes widened. He hadn't expected that the troublesome Chunsheng was merely a low level lackey.
If even a chang ghost was this difficult to deal with, what about the white tiger?
“Killing the tiger will surely be dangerous. Although I don't have your ghost killing abilities, my martial strength is of some use. If I stay, you’ll have a helper.”
Zhang Long intended to help, but Nan Zhi was too impatient to waste time with him.
She gathered the large nets, bows, and arrows from the bailiffs and hurried them away.
“If you stay here, you’ll only prevent me from using my techniques freely. If the white tiger carries you off, it will only tie my hands during the fight.
Hurry and take Brother Yi down the mountain. My parents should be waiting for you in Wen County. Once I’ve slain the fierce tiger, I will light a wolf smoke signal. Only then should you return.
Remember, if you do not see the wolf smoke, you must not let anyone up the mountain.
This beast is cunning. If I should fall to it, it might take my form to devour others...”
Nan Zhi didn't finish her sentence, but it was enough for him to understand.
Zhang Long realized the truth and let out a bitter laugh.
He knew Nan Zhi was right.
They were just a group of bailiffs of mortal flesh and blood. They could handle ordinary wild beasts, but against a demon, staying here would only cause trouble.
“Take care, Nan Zhi.”
Zhang Long hoisted the unconscious Nan Yi onto his shoulder and led the trembling bailiffs away.
They were finally gone.
Nan Zhi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
She looked into the distance, seeing the first light of dawn appearing in the sky. The stars were like scattered beans, and a patch of fish belly white floated on the horizon.
It was almost light. The white tiger should be arriving soon.
Nan Zhi observed her surroundings. After setting a few simple traps with the vine nets, she sat cross legged on the spot, closing her eyes to meditate as she waited for the white tiger’s arrival.
...
A moment later, birds in the distant mountains flew up in panic, forming a dark, dense mass.
Small beasts in the mountains fled in all directions as if a colossal creature were rapidly approaching through the forest.
A massive roar echoed from afar, filled with rage, nearly shattering one’s eardrums.
“Roar—”
The wind followed the tiger’s might. A white browed fierce tiger leaped out from the forest and landed on a high rock.
“Roar! Who is it! Who is it!!! Who killed my chang ghosts!!”
This tiger was white browed and slanting eyed, with a pair of sharp chisel like teeth showing at the sides of its jaw. It had beautiful black stripes on its back, a tail like lightning, a head like a millstone, and a mouth like a blood basin.
It was truly a majestic and overbearing giant tiger!
“Roar!!”
As it tossed its head and swayed its tail, the tiger’s roar shook the mountain forest, enough to scare the soul right out of a person.
The giant tiger before her was not only much larger than the tiger Chunsheng, but it could also speak the human tongue. It had likely already demonized!
Nan Zhi opened her eyes.
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