Chapter Twelve: The Tiger's Trouble

  Everyone at the table turned their eyes to Xu Xian, and even Governor Pan couldn't help but praise Xu Xian's literary talent. Xu Xian put down his wine jug, stood up, thought for a moment, and then smiled: "I don't have a complete poem, but I do have one or two lines of fragmented poetry, for the teacher to critique."

  Wang Wen smiled and said: "Go ahead and tell me, I might be able to fill in the gaps for you."

  Xu Xian raised his cup of wine, bowed his head and toasted: "Don't worry that the road ahead has no one who understands you, for who in the world does not know you!" The previous line of this poem seems to have answered Governor Pan's concerns. The next line is both a praise of the teacher's reputation and a prospect of the future landscape. In short, it's a huge flattery. Of course, only Xu Xian, a time-traveler, can come up with such flattery.

  Wang Wenhui shook his head and muttered to himself, then burst out laughing. He took the wine from Xu Xianjing and drank it all in one gulp, feeling even more satisfied with his students.

  The night rain was vast and indistinct, and Xu Xian walked home with an umbrella. Before leaving, the teacher's words of warning still echoed in his ears. The newly appointed academic administrator was a member of the Liang Wang faction, although he was a small figure who couldn't show his face, but sometimes small figures would stop at nothing to climb up. Moreover, he was in charge of this area of learning, and advised Xu Xian to weigh the pros and cons, and endure everything with patience.

  Xu Xian simply replied: "If I can endure, then I am not Xu Xian. If it really doesn't work out, I will become a doctor and open a pharmacy to make a living."

  Wang Wenhui just patted his shoulder, as if he saw himself back then. How could he have endured it at that time? His disciple still needs to be tempered! With the Pan family around, they probably won't suffer too much loss. And with him around, his fame and fortune will not be lacking either.

  Xu Xian also knew that Liang Wang's power was great, and his influence dominated the court. This time, Pan's family sympathized with Liu He's force, and they managed to take back one city, so it's likely that the other side would also change their attitude. The opponent is indeed a small figure, but he himself isn't a big shot either. Although he hasn't entered the imperial court as an official yet, he has already been drawn into the fray. This is both a fortunate and unfortunate event at the same time!

  The whole way was muddy, near the gate of home. The house still had candlelight, until they were waiting for themselves. This worldly floating weak woman, this bird in the golden cage, still needs to take care of herself. Thinking so, Xu Xian couldn't help but smile.

  I plan to go to the mountain to pick herbs tomorrow, but I have to get up early.

  Deep in the quiet mountains, the birds chirped softly, and the rain mist swirled between the peaks. Xu Xian sat at a tea stall at the foot of the mountain, sipped a few cups of tea, picked up the bamboo basket beside him, and was about to set off into the mountains.

  The shop assistant hastily wrapped it up: "Young man, are you going into the mountains?"

  Xu Xian smiled and said, "That's right, I'm going to the mountains to pick some herbs, and at the same time take a look at the scenery." In fact, the second one was his main purpose. These days, he had been busy with welcoming and sending off guests, and he felt suffocated, so he wanted to go out of the city for a walk. Coincidentally, Qingyutang had an apprentice who was going to pick herbs, so he took him along. He thought that the mountain scenery in the rain should be quite good.

  "Brother, you don't know, recently the mountain has been plagued by a big worm, which has already killed nearly a hundred people. The authorities have ordered hunters to capture and deal with it. There are posters at every intersection warning of this. Even travelers on the road need to travel in groups before they dare to proceed, let alone venture into the mountains to gather herbs."

  Xu Xian was taken aback, but tiger attacks on humans weren't uncommon in this era. However, nearly a hundred lives lost was quite an exaggeration! Nevertheless, he was a bold and skilled artist who didn't mind, simply waving his hand and saying: "I've just honed my skills, and now I've encountered this, I can rid the people of this harm, let's sit down and talk about the heroic tiger slayer."

  The fellow saw Xu Xian's thin appearance, but he didn't believe it and wanted to persuade him again. Xu Xian took a big step into the vast smoke and rain, his calm demeanor seeming to ignore the danger altogether. The fellow thought: Maybe he really has some skills, who knows? But I've heard that tiger is a transformed spirit, if we really encounter it, it's likely to be more bad than good.

  The mountain road was already rugged, not to mention in the rain. Xu Xian walked alone with a bamboo basket on his back, walking extremely steadily between the mountains. At this moment, if there were others around, they might have seen that every step he took had white aura rising from under his feet. This steady pace was truly like walking on flat ground, and it really lived up to the four characters "flat steps to the blue clouds".

  Xu Xian raised his head, and all he saw was the green mountains and white clouds, so beautiful that it was hard to take in. Occasionally, mountain winds brought rain mist from the mountain stream, making people feel like their worries were reduced. He couldn't help but raise his head and let out a long whistle, the sound echoing non-stop between the mountains, startling several birds, and amidst the whistling, there were also several bird calls.

  The mountain, however, appears even more desolate.

  Xu Xian relied on the memories in his mind to search for this Chinese herbal medicine. The work that seemed arduous and difficult for others was indeed easy and effortless for him. Because he was born with a high IQ, he could also tread on clouds. Before long, there were many lush green herbs in the bamboo basket.

  The empty mountain had no one, and it was more convenient for him to do so. Later on, he simply drove the cloud in the mountains and wandered around, even if someone was there, they wouldn't be seen. He usually only dared to do this at night when he was in Hangzhou, and flying during the day was a first. Moreover, being in such a vast mountain range, he felt his mind expanding as he soared through the air.

  Xu Xian couldn't help but think, I'm considered a celestial being now! In fact, cultivators who can enter the Refining Spirit and Void stage are also called "Human Celestials". The Star Sect's method is to directly enter this stage, and slowly cultivate from there, which made Xu Xian lose that feeling.

  Suddenly heard that life passed on, Xu Xian looked down and saw two big men with guns and sticks hiding behind a tree to avoid the rain, and at a glance they were not good people.

  Xu Xian was suspicious. Could this be the hunter who had captured a tiger in the mountains? But why didn't the hunter go into the mountains, and instead guarded the road entrance?

  He lowered his head slightly and concentrated on listening to the conversation between the two men. One of them said, "On a rainy day like this, who would pass by? And yet Big Brother still has us standing guard here, he's really sick!"

  "What if a big bug really comes?"

  "Are the guns in our brothers' hands fake? A beast is still a beast even if it's strong, but that young lady is quite pitiful, her whole family was eaten by the giant insect."

  "Thanks to our brother for comforting her!"

  The two of them burst out laughing together.

  Xu Xian's anger flared up upon hearing this, clearly these were the bandits who had been ambushing travelers. He initially wanted to go and capture the two of them, but after some thought, he decided to confirm once more, lest he mistakenly harm innocent people. So he flew further away, descended onto a cloud, and stepped foot on solid ground, following the petrified mountain path upwards, which was exactly the pass guarded by those two individuals.

  Xu Xian was walking straight up, and just as he was about to pass by the intersection, his feet suddenly shook violently. He heard a loud "Ka Cha" sound, and a huge animal trap clamped down on Xu Xian's leg with tremendous force, enough to snap a person's leg bone in an instant.

  Xu Xian was enraged.

  A flash of golden light on his body, and the beast's bite couldn't penetrate. He simply stood there calmly, watching to see how these two would react.

  The two of them lazily walked out from behind the tree, one tall and thin, the other short and stout. The tall and thin one smiled first: "I didn't think that in such weather we could still catch prey." Looking at Xu Xian, there was an indescribable mockery in his eyes.

  The short and stout one laughed and said, "Now that beast has something to eat, let's search around for anything valuable. These clothes are not bad, take them off first, don't let that beast ruin them."

  The two men looked at Xu Xian like a sheep waiting to be slaughtered, without any pity in their hearts. They just laughed and walked forward, wanting to search Xu Xian's body. The tall and thin hunter suddenly discovered that there was no familiar scream or begging voice, and couldn't help but laugh: "I didn't expect him to be such a tough guy." He also noticed that there was not even half a drop of blood on Xu Xian's legs, which made him feel uneasy, and he stopped in his tracks.

  Xu Xian suddenly stomped his foot, and the iron beast clip shattered open, pouncing towards the two thieves. His golden body was not only defensively astonishing, but when using his golden body, he also possessed a divine power.

  The two thieves finally reacted, drew out their wooden knives and slashed at Xu Xian's body fiercely. Xu Xian did not dodge or evade, but stretched out his hands to grab the two thieves, he wanted to capture them alive and ask about the location of their lair.

  The two thieves saw Xu Xian did not dodge and were overjoyed in their hearts, this will be your end.

  But the knife chopped on Xu Xian's head suddenly bounced, and the tiger's mouth also cracked. Xu Xian's hand was like a golden hoop that grasped the two men's wrists, where could the two thieves struggle free? Wanting to counterattack but being pulled by Xu Xian with a swing, again hearing "ka-ching" "ka-ching" two sounds, the two thieves covered their legs and cried out in pain.

  Originally among the fallen leaves, there was more than one beast hiding. With a big swing of Xu Xian's arm, he suddenly lost control of his footsteps and stepped on them.

  Hearing the two men's miserable howls, Xu Xian had not a shred of sympathy in his heart. If he were just an ordinary passerby, wouldn't he have fallen into their trap? Only now did they get what was coming to them - "you reap what you sow". Xu Xian asked coldly: "Who are you people? Why set up an ambush here?"

  The short and stout one shouted abuse, while the tall and thin one said: "We are just ordinary hunters, we set up the beast trap to catch the fierce tiger, little brother misunderstood us!"

  Xu Xian's eyes narrowed, and he suddenly stepped on the tall and thin bandit's hand. Then, a "click" sound was heard, triggering another beast clip, which immediately clamped onto his arm, accompanied by the sound of metal and bone scraping against each other.

  Xu Xian's voice turned cold: "Still you don't confess the truth!" The two thieves only interjected unclear curses and groans, but did not answer Xu Xian's question.

  Xu Xian was also not good at interrogation, and for the time being, he had no choice but to sit on a large stone beside him, coldly staring at the two of them. If he hadn't guessed wrong, the "person" who would be interrogated would come over soon.

  A loud roar echoed through the mountain wind, as if attracted by the bloody smell here.

  Xu Xian's expression remained unchanged, but the two thieves on the ground had a drastic change in complexion and finally begged for mercy. Xu Xian simply sat silently to one side, calmly saying "Speak!" without specifying what they should say. He himself was not aware that his heart was burning with anger, while the golden light in his eyes was exceptionally dense, yet filled with a sense of indifference.

  Just as the fierce tiger was about to arrive, the two thieves finally couldn't hold on, and while begging Xu Xian to save them, they also told the truth in a jumbled manner. Xu Xian listened with a deeply furrowed brow, it turned out that these two people were really hunters, who were colleagues as well as mountain bandits.

  They specifically caught people to feed the tigers, and then went to collect the deceased's belongings, rummaging through valuable things without arousing suspicion. The profit brought by a merchant's lock was far higher than their hunting income, and there was no risk. In the end, the government still had to ask them to catch tigers and pay some extra fees, it was truly a lucrative business with zero investment.

  Xu Xian finally understood why so many people were killed, it turned out that it was not the tiger that killed people, but people who killed people. He couldn't help but frown, if the tiger ate people for survival, even if it went against human nature, at least it conformed to the laws of nature. But what right did these people have to slaughter their own kind?

  The rustling sound was getting closer and closer, the clouds and fog in the sky were also rolling over, and even the trees in the forest were swaying wildly. The two bandits' faces turned pale, and they didn't dare to make a sound.

  The trees rustled and responded, and the originally quiet mountain forest suddenly seemed to be boiling.

  A loud roar, a yellow shadow leaped down from the mountain slope and landed on the mountain path. Xu Xian opened his eyes to take a look, this tiger was twice as big as an ordinary tiger. This tiger had obviously become a spirit beast, not an ordinary wild animal.

  A fierce tiger paced back and forth, its pair of crimson eyes had only a black dot in them, making it look even more ferocious. It sized up the two people on the ground, but then turned its head to stare at Xu Xian, as if sensing that Xu Xian was not easy to deal with, and let out a low growl, seemingly wanting to drive Xu Xian away.

  Xu Xian was calm and fearless, sitting still, today he came to pick herbs, so he didn't bring the Star-chasing Sword. However, he had a few Lei symbols, and with his Golden Body Protection, he wasn't afraid of the Tiger Spirit. He originally had the idea of killing the tiger to eliminate harm for the people, but today when he encountered this situation, he suddenly lost the desire to take action, and suddenly understood Yan Chixia's idea. Now it was just a matter of letting them reap what they sowed.

  The tiger saw that Xu Xian was not moving, but it did not attack him either. Instead, it walked to the side of the two bandits, opened its bloody mouth and bit one of them, holding him down with its claws. With a light tear, it ended the life of the bandit. Then, in three to five swift motions, it tore apart and devoured the two bandits, its appetite being shockingly large.

  Xu Xian only furrowed his brow, still feeling that his anger was hard to dissipate. But then he was shocked in his heart, and saw the souls of those two people slowly drifting away from their bodies, but not leaving, instead surrounding the fierce tiger, with a humble expression, like servants. One of them even attached himself to the tiger's ear, seemingly saying something, that tiger spirit pricked up its ears, looking thoughtful.

  Onryo?!

  This old tiger has actually cultivated to the point where it can command vengeful spirits, people killed by tigers become vengeful spirits, but only a tiger that has formed a yin spirit can command vengeful spirits! This is also the innate ability of the tiger demon, just like dragons are naturally able to ride clouds, and tigers only need a little cultivation, without any skills, to command ghosts.

  Xu Xian involuntarily stood up, already grasping a talisman in his hand. Tigers can tame ghosts, but at the same time, they will also be charmed by ghosts, just like the relationship between sycophant officials and kings in the mortal world. Apparently, those two ghosts were going to persuade that old tiger to kill Xu Xian.

  Golden spiritual energy flowed from his fingertips into the talisman, and the crimson characters on it slowly shone with a brilliant light. Just as Xu Xian was gathering momentum to make his move, he saw the tiger spirit let out a loud roar, swiped its paw and tore the two ghostly apparitions to shreds. Then, it opened its mouth and sucked in, causing a strong gust of wind to blow, and the two ghosts were swallowed into its belly, amazingly unaffected by their enchantment.

  The tiger demon nodded at Xu Xian and then lightly jumped into the forest, his body moving with a loud whooshing sound. This was another innate ability of the tiger class - riding the wind. As the saying goes, "clouds follow dragons, winds follow tigers", this is the principle.

  Xu Xian's thunder symbol finally didn't swing out, because he noticed that this old tiger had a big belly and seemed to have become pregnant. And now he wanted to kill even more was another group of "people".

  Xu Xian crushed all the beasts on the road, and then a cloud of fog rose from under his feet. He flew in the direction that the two thieves had told him, but in this mountainous area, the trees were dense and there were countless caves. It was not easy to find the hiding place of those thieves among so many caves.

  Those thieves seem to be from the hunting profession, and they must have hidden the entrance. Xu Xian is an outsider in this regard. He wandered around the mountain head mentioned by the two thieves, but he couldn't find it, so he suspected that he had been deceived by the thieves.

  Unfortunately, he didn't know the way of divination; otherwise, with just a pinch of his fingers, he could have gotten an answer. This search went on until nightfall, but fortunately, they had mentioned at home that it was possible to stay out for two days. So they found a stone cave formed by several large rocks and gathered some firewood, but the dampness was too heavy, making it difficult to ignite the firewood; even when it did catch fire, it only produced black smoke.

  However, Xu Xian first used the sunlight to dry the firewood, and then a golden flame ignited, and a bonfire rose. He checked the medicinal materials he had collected today, but there were not many. Thinking about today's experience, he couldn't help but sigh. Then he thought resolutely: Tomorrow, I must find that group of people and kill them quickly, regardless of any consequences. Xu Xian was thinking while gnawing on his hard dry rations, and couldn't help but smile bitterly. He had originally thought that with his own abilities, hunting would not be a problem, and he could have roasted meat to eat at night. But he had been too simple-minded. First, he didn't have a bow and arrow; second, he didn't know how to set traps; third, he didn't understand how to hide. Let alone hunt, he hadn't even seen a few animals. Even if he saw them, it would be impossible to chase them in the deep mountains and dense forests.

  Xu Xian was thinking like this, but he heard a rustling in the dark woods. Two green lights flickered in the forest, and then a huge black shadow jumped out, which was that demonic tiger again. Xu Xian gripped his thunder talisman tightly, thinking: Could it be that this guy isn't satisfied with just daytime, well, this time I'll get rid of you.

  The tiger spirit, however, did not pounce over, but instead slowly approached with a limp, making a low humming noise in its throat, and seeming to have a pleading expression in its eyes. Xu Xian only then noticed that its hind leg was injured, and blood was flowing down from it. He asked, "Do you want me to help you?" And then laughed at himself for speaking human language to this wild beast. Unexpectedly, the tiger spirit nodded its head, and actually understood human speech. Xu Xian was taken aback, and only then realized that this tiger's spiritual intelligence had been awakened, and it could also understand the language of ghosts, so naturally it could understand human speech as well. It was just that its physical form had not yet transformed, otherwise perhaps it would still be able to speak.

  Xu Xian's heart skipped a beat, and he said: "I can save you, but you have to take me to find the accomplices of those two people!" This Mountain Great King should know where that den is located.

  Hu Jing shook his head, seemingly hesitant. The group of people caught prey for him to eat, which was the most comfortable thing to do.

  Xu Xian angrily said: "If not, then you can leave!"

  The tiger spirit nodded, and Xu Xian said, "Come here!" The tiger spirit walked to the bonfire and revealed its hind paws, which was a position it couldn't reach itself. Xu Xian took a closer look and found that there seemed to be something nailed to the tiger demon's ankle, and he wondered how this tiger demon could be harmed by ordinary hunters. Even the giant beast clipper would find it difficult to penetrate its fur. Xu Xian reached out to grab the thing, and the tiger spirit let out a pained growl, stirring up its ferocity. It turned its face towards Xu Xian and let out a fierce roar, with a bloody aura rushing towards him. A pair of crimson eyes flashed with reflected firelight, which would have scared an ordinary person to death at this moment. However, Xu Xian simply turned his face to meet the tiger spirit's gaze, with golden light flashing in his eyes.

  After a while, the tiger's spirit collapsed and retreated in defeat. Xu Xian grasped its giant paw with one hand and the object stuck in its claw with the other, pulling it out with force, causing blood to splatter everywhere. Xu Xian then found some herbal medicine from the cage and applied it to the wound.

  The tiger spirit gradually calmed down, only panting restlessly, but did not leave, as if it still remembered the promise it had made. This kind of demon with just opened spiritual wisdom was simple and straightforward, unlike humans who were cunning.

  Xu Xian held the object in his hand, but fell into deep thought. This thing was not what he had imagined - a cone, an iron nail, or even an iron tool, but just a black wooden hairpin. The shape of the hairpin felt somewhat familiar to him, but it was covered with bloodstains and he couldn't see the pattern on it clearly.

  Xu Xian looked at the fierce tiger beside him and couldn't help but sigh: Could it be that the one who injured it was actually a woman? And judging from where it was hurt, it should have tried to escape first before being kicked in the ankle. What kind of person could make the king of the mountain flee in panic?

  The bonfire shook, and the tiger spirit suddenly got up and returned to the dense forest in an instant. Not long after, it was seen bringing back a wild boar, dropping it on the ground, and then crouching down beside it. It seemed to be giving Xu Xian a thank-you gift.

  Xu Xian couldn't help but smile wryly. Hunting, it seemed, was still a job best left to "professionals". Without further ado, he set about handling the wild boar, taking only one hind leg and placing it on the fire to roast. Before long, a savory aroma wafted through the air. The golden-brown roasted meat dripped with oil, making Xu Xian's mouth water in spite of his usual diet of dry rations. Even the tiger spirit beside him perked up, sniffing at the air.

  In the dimly lit forest, the night rain was vast. A young man and a fierce tiger sat around a bonfire, waiting for the roasted meat to be cooked. The tiger, unafraid of the fire, stretched out its huge claws to grab the roasted meat, but was struck by the young man with a branch, immediately retreating, letting out a dissatisfied growl, yet having no way to deal with the fearless young man.

  The tiger suddenly stood up straight, growling lowly, as if it had sensed something. Xu Xian, although only hearing the rain falling on the leaves, also felt that something was approaching and couldn't help but raise his vigilance.

  In the dense forest, a group of dark shadows were gathering towards another. A long-haired girl flew over from between the trees and landed lightly on the treetops, her slender figure seemingly merging with the rainy night. As she looked through the leaves and rain at the bonfire, her face suddenly lit up with joy, opening her mouth to speak but remaining silent, her lips moving as if to say "husband". Her expression suddenly turned stern, then sorrowful, before she lightly waved her hand.

  It seemed that a silent command came from the treetops, and another rustling sound echoed through the forest. The black shadows retreated slowly. The woman gazed deeply into the bonfire once more, then turned and drifted away. In the soft rain, there seemed to be a faint sigh.