A Willing Mistake, My Lady – Chapter 13
by Little PandaHunting the Tiger on the Mountain
A chaotic hunt
Just as her attention wandered, tiger roars echoed from the nearby forest — deep, thunderous sounds that seemed to shake the earth itself. Even from the sound alone, she knew this tiger would be massive.
Shen Hetang was afraid of the big tiger too, but she kept her voice steady. “Head Li, kill the chickens and ducks we brought. Apply the medicine.”
“Yes, yes! Monkey, hurry up, kill the chickens!” Li Baokui shouted across to the other man.
“I can’t do it, Head Li! My hands are shaking, I have no strength — someone else do it!” Monkey saw the massive tiger head emerge from between two great trees and threw the chickens and ducks straight at the beast in terror. The hearts of everyone watching leaped into their throats.
Shen Hetang was also stunned by the enormous creature before her. It was nearly two meters long, probably three to four hundred jin1 in weight, its black and white stripes vivid and striking. Beyond the initial shock, she was struck by how beautiful this white tiger was — magnificent. But the tiger’s terrifying gaze and the predatory aura of a wild beast brought her back to reality. A tiger this size would need to eat two people just to feel satisfied.
Monkey’s cowardice made Li Baokui’s vision go black with rage. Shen Hetang couldn’t hold back either: “If you have no strength, why throw it so far? Are you afraid it won’t have the energy to chase you later? Pig teammate, absolute pig teammate2!”
“You just standing there — get in there!” Li Baokui’s gaze found her as she spoke.
“What’s the point of me going alone? Am I just adding to the tiger’s meal? Don’t we still have the lamb? Hurry, apply the medicine!”
“Right, right, where’s the lamb?”
“Here, here, the medicine’s already been rubbed on.”
Their exchange lasted only a few breaths. They were about ten or so meters from the tiger, and everyone had found trees to hide behind. The tiger’s cold amber eyes swept over the humans across from it, not taking these ten or so people seriously at all. It batted at the chickens and ducks with its claws, as if knowing the dead food was already its by right — but it seemed more interested in the living humans.
The massive tiger form leaped, lunging toward the nearest target — Monkey. Less than half the men’s legs went weak on the spot. Monkey couldn’t understand why it was coming for him first when he had just fed it.
“Mother! Help!” At this moment, Monkey’s entire body had stopped working — only his mouth could still move.
“Everyone attack together, now!” Shen Hetang threw the small lamb with all her strength, striking the tiger squarely on the head. The tiger, just landed, turned — those cold, terrifying eyes fixed on Shen Hetang’s direction, then looked down at the bleeding lamb at its feet. It couldn’t help but lick at it with its tongue.
Seeing the tiger touch the drugged lamb, Shen Hetang’s heart steadied somewhat. The dose was strong — even if it didn’t eat the lamb, just licking it would slow its movements.
Sure enough, the tiger only licked a few times and didn’t tear into the lamb. Perhaps the taste was wrong, because it didn’t want to continue eating. The raw meat had been mixed with poison and sedatives — who knew how long it would take to take effect.
While the tiger’s attention was on the lamb, Shen Hetang quickly grabbed a rope, looped it around Monkey’s upper body like a lasso, and yanked hard — dragging him out of the tiger’s reach.
By then the tiger had lost interest in the lamb. It looked at the troublemaking humans and pounced. The fight with the squad was now in full chaos — like it or not, there was no escaping.
Five or six large men surrounded the tiger, attacking. But the tiger’s strength was overwhelming — it knocked down one, threw off two, bit three. The scene descended into chaos. Shen Hetang didn’t dare join the first wave; she wanted to wait for the drugs to take effect, helping from behind, rescuing whoever was about to be killed.
The first wave was nearly defeated. The tiger now had two holes in its belly, and its stance was clearly unsteady. Those who had earlier gone weak-legged now joined the fight. Just as the tiger went berserk, about to bite through a bailiff’s neck, Shen Hetang flew forward and kicked the tiger’s head with full force — she wanted to test the original body’s martial arts too. The already-injured tiger was knocked to the ground, sliding two or three meters, its head slamming hard against a rock. Probably concussed.
She had just pulled the fallen Li Baokui to his feet when the tiger she had kicked let out another earth-shaking roar, shaking leaves from the trees. It charged at Shen Hetang in a frenzy, bloody maw gaping as if determined to fight her to the death.
With nowhere to dodge, she was pinned beneath the tiger, using both hands to desperately hold back its bloody jaws. Veins bulged on her hands and neck. Finally, the others reacted — taking the opportunity to stab the tiger’s neck several times, giving Shen Hetang a chance to twist free. She grabbed the tiger’s fur, mounted it agilely, drew the short knife from her body, and delivered a fatal strike to its head.
But just as the tiger crashed to the ground, Li Baokui’s large blade missed the tiger and slashed across Shen Hetang’s arm instead. In an instant, her sleeve turned crimson — impossible to tell whether it was tiger blood or her own.
The author has something to say:
Do not hunt wild animals. Do not hunt wild animals. Do not hunt wild animals. Important things must be said three times!
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