"Disaster!"
Not half a quarter of an hour ago, Liu Huzi had been standing on the slope of Huashan, looking across a small stream at that tiger, which had taken fright and was bolting in a dead straight line toward an awning of picnic canopies right in front of them. Stunned out of his wits, his immediate instinct was to turn toward Liu Cheng.
Puffing and panting as he climbed the hill cradling his crossbow, Liu Cheng's vision also went dark. How could he have anticipated this turn of events?
Driven by their pursuit, the tiger was clearly about to burst into the picnic canopies of a top-tier noble clan of the first rank. If even one or two nobles were killed or maimed, Old Master Liu Ren Gong would probably pack his bags and run for his life all the way to Guangzhou! And as the accomplices on the scene, they would have no choice but to follow him to Guangzhou to scrape together a living from scratch!
If they ran too slowly, they wouldn't even keep their lives.
As for how they could be certain it was a top-tier first-class great family rather than ordinary gentry, it was naturally because the Double Ninth Festival was drawing near. Many people were camping and climbing the heights on Huashan near Jiankang, yet only this single family occupied the mountain's largest summit terrace, attended by so many bondservants and maidservants, with canopies stretched out across such a vast expanse.
But this was no time to brood over that; they had to devise a solution.
Even Liu Jili ran over right then, his eyes staring blankly at Liu Cheng, his voice trembling the moment he opened his mouth. "A-Cheng, there are so many people, and there seem to be young children too. For a family to flourish like that and go climbing here on Huashan, the only ones I can think of are the Wangs and the Xies."
"Never mind which family it is, and never mind what comes after. Looking only at the present, there are just two ways." Liu Cheng turned around, forcibly suppressing the names 'Wang' and 'Xie' in his mind as he gave instructions. "The first is to turn right around and leave... Pretend this never happened, go back, and keep a tight lid on the men who came with us today to see if we can bluff our way through. The second is to leave behind our fishing nets, tridents, long spears, military crossbows, and stiff bows, and go up carrying only wooden staves, ropes, axes, soft bows, and chopping knives, claiming to be woodcutters from the nearby refugee camp who came to assist upon hearing there was a tiger."
"Between the two, which one gives our household a better chance of avoiding this disaster?" Liu Huzi's face remained pale.
"They are the same... Either way, we have to keep an eye on our men when we get back, the truth could leak out either way, and we must be ready to flee at a moment's notice. The only thing doing it right will do is pull the wool over their eyes for the immediate present," Liu Cheng answered without hesitation. "The advantage of the first is that they won't be able to trace us in the short term. The advantage of the second is that we can deal with the wound marks on the tiger and check for casualties among them!"
"Then the second one!" Liu Huzi decided briskly. "Since it's all the same, we might as well recover the tiger!"
"Remember: we are woodcutters from nearby. When we go up, ask them straight away: Where is the tiger?" Liu Cheng nodded.
"We are woodcutters from nearby—where is the tiger?" Liu Huzi repeated.
"Drop the first part. Just one line: 'Where is the tiger? Where's the tiger? Point it out to me!'" Liu Cheng corrected helplessly. "Explain after we deal with the beast."
"Where is the tiger? Where's the tiger?" Liu Huzi repeated once more. "'Point it out to me!' Got it—we need to look as though we've rushed over in a frantic hurry!"
Just as Liu Cheng was about to nod, the distant tiger lunged into the canopies. Next came an earth-shattering roar, followed by the scattering rush, shouts, and weeping of countless people. Gritting his teeth, Liu Cheng could only order immediately, "Quickly, assign the men! Move out now!"
Joined by Liu Jili, who had stayed quiet until now, the three turned back to give their respective instructions. Unexpectedly, it was Liu Jili whose expression was the most ferocious: "When we go up, say nothing at all! Just follow us to knock the tiger down and carry it away... These great clans are the most vicious and unreasonable of all; for no reason at all, they'll order their blade-and-axe retainers to hack people down. If this tiger running over terrifies them and you dare blab, they will surely turn their hatred on us, implicating the whole camp, and your wives and children won't be spared... Just remember, we came to cut firewood, passed by here, and helped them drive off the tiger!"
"Just don't speak out of turn—listen to A-Cheng in all things! If anyone babbles, I'll bury him the moment we get back!" Liu Huzi also turned ruthless.
With both of them like this, it spared Liu Cheng the need to play the villain.
With that settled, the three hesitated no longer. Leaving all their military crossbows, stiff bows, long spears, and fishing nets behind, their followers—brandishing wooden clubs, chopping knives, soft bows, and hemp ropes, some even bare-handed—splashed across the stream and charged forward.
By this time, total chaos had broken out on the summit of Huashan.
Clutching a billhook, Liu Huzi realized midway and stripped off his leather armor vest as well. Charging ahead of everyone, he raised his billhook from afar and bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Don't panic! Where's the tiger? Where is the tiger? Point it out to me!"
The young masters and bondservants of the Xie clan were overjoyed, pointing toward the canopies from a distance.
Seeing this, Liu Huzi did not hesitate in the slightest, plunging straight into the canopies, with dozens of men swarming behind him. Holding a hemp rope, Liu Cheng blended into the crowd, glancing left and right in search of any injured noble youths so he could offer aid first. Liu Jili trailed at the rear, holding a heavy wooden stave, glaring fiercely at everyone's backs as if ready to enforce military discipline at any second.
Once inside the canopy, to everyone's pleasant surprise, the tiger sat motionless where it was, merely panting heavily. The pool of blood beneath it had already soaked completely through the canopy fabric under its paws; it was clearly hanging on by half a breath.
"Rope! Ropes!" Liu Huzi quickly turned and shouted. "A-Cheng, A-Cheng, come quick!"
Liu Cheng had deliberately picked the rope to steer clear of danger, but now he had no choice but to brace himself and step forward.
Fortunately, Liu Huzi was bold and reckless enough. Taking one end of the rope from Liu Cheng, he personally circled the great beast to bind it. After one full loop, the tiger still did not move. Seeing this, the surrounding men surged forward, hauling tight on both ends of the cord.
Not stopping there, Liu Cheng saw the situation clearly and immediately commanded, "Tear down the side canopies, cut them up, and bundle it with the canvas!"
By now, pinched tightly by the binding ropes, the tiger finally mustered a desperate struggle and let out a roar. Seizing the moment, Liu Cheng thrust the rope into the hands of the man beside him and sprinted out of the canopy, shouting loudly, "Stand back, everyone! We're only woodcutters and have no proper gear! If the tiger breaks loose and injures our noble lords, it will be a terrible disaster!"
He hardly needed to tell them; the Xie clan's bondservants had long since shielded their young masters and mistresses, fleeing far away.
In fact, Xie Quan had already begun counting his younger brothers and sisters. Yet because there were so many of them, coupled with people constantly interrupting, weeping over scrapes, or nursing falls, he would always reach the midpoint only to have someone missing or be cut off, forcing him to start over from the beginning.
"Third Brother!" Having finally finished counting the boys, Xie Quan was just about to count the womenfolk when his youngest brother, Xie Xuan, chimed in with an idea. "Meeting a tiger in the mountains is an ordinary hazard; count it as our bad luck. But those woodcutters have come forward to help subdue the beast—shouldn't we send our bondservants to assist them? Only by slaying the tiger swiftly can we be at peace."
"What 'subdue the tiger'? How could a tiger be easy to kill?" Xie Quan was exasperated beyond words, snapping sharply, "Those woodcutters are merely helping to chase it away. Why send people up for no reason to meddle? If anyone gets killed, our household will have a hard time settling the matter."
Xie Xuan was only seven years old. Though he did not understand why his third brother sounded so self-righteous, he could not very well press the matter.
Just then, however, a young girl's voice rang out abruptly beside the two of them: "What sort of talk is that, Brother? If this tiger is not eliminated, it will surely harm those who come after! If we had met it and simply scattered in all directions, so be it; but now that people have stepped up to help, we naturally should assist in wiping it out to prevent lingering harm!"
The moment Xie Quan heard this voice, his mouth fell open, rendered utterly speechless. After choking on his words for a moment, he finally stammered, "Eldest Sister, it's really not that I'm unwilling. Look at our state—we have neither weapons nor courage, and our brothers and sisters are scattered about, their safety unknown..."
"Where does the danger come from?" the girl's voice pressed on.
"From... from the tiger..." Xie Quan felt increasingly disheartened. He had known from the start that he could never out-argue his eldest sister.
"Then what else is there to say?" The girl—none other than twelve-year-old Xie Daoyun—was furious. "Once the tiger is gone, won't everyone be safe? You wouldn't need to stand here counting heads, either. As for what you said about weapons, those woodcutters clearly have nothing more than chopping knives, ropes, and wooden staves, yet aren't they helping us subdue the beast all the same? It's not as if our household's retainers have no blades or axes in hand!"
"Those woodcutters are all refugees from Jingkou, Northern Chu folk from the Huai region! They're used to life and death, and their lives are cheap, so naturally they can subdue a tiger! Our retainers hold blades and axes just to scare people; they don't have that kind of courage!" Xie Quan seized on this final point, struggling to defend himself.
"If that is so, why don't you go yourself, Third Brother? Do you lack the courage as well?" Xie Daoyun found his reasoning increasingly absurd. "If you take the lead, the rest will find their courage... Besides, since you speak of Northern Chu, you should remember that we, too, are Northern Chu folk who came south!"
Hearing this, Xie Quan felt as if struck by lightning, finding her words utterly preposterous.
As for being 'Northern Chu folk who came south', Chen Commandery was geographically situated in the northern Chu lands along the Huai, but how could the exalted Xie clan of Chen Commandery be mentioned in the same breath as those refugees?
More crucially, how could he go and subdue a tiger? He... he was already seventeen, had declined court summonses four or five times, and was on the verge of entering officialdom through the most untainted, illustrious posts! How could he personally go hack at a tiger?
Yet he dared not say this aloud, for he knew that the moment he did, his eldest sister would bring up their uncle, who held military authority, lecturing him about how someone who didn't even dare hack at a tiger could never wield military power for the Northern Expedition in the future, cornering him in an unwinnable debate... But he simply didn't dare!
Why should someone of his untainted, noble standing in the Xie clan have to go hack at a tiger?!
Seeing his reaction, Xie Daoyun grew even more incensed. Shoving the young sister in her arms into his, she spun around, snatched a small knife from the hands of Steward Qian, and barked at the blade-and-axe retainers standing nearby, "Move! Follow me to subdue the tiger!"
With that, she truly took the lead and marched toward the canopy.
At this, Xie Quan was scared out of his wits. Hastily thrusting his wailing baby sister back to Steward Qian beside him, he threw caution to the wind and lunged forward, throwing his arms around his eldest sister's shoulders to hold her fast... If this half-grown tigress of a sister really ended up in the belly of a real tiger, he would never be able to hold his head high in the household for the rest of his life.
While a chaotic ruckus unfolded far outside, inside the canopy, that genuine great tiger with upturned eyes and a white forehead had already reached the end of its road.
The men had bound it with ease. To preserve the valuable pelt, they didn't even dare use their chopping knives, resorting solely to wooden clubs to batter this monarch of Huashan—which stood as tall as a man even while sitting—until it bled from all seven orifices... Then, as the dead beast slumped over, everyone finally realized why it had been so easy.
As it turned out, the tiger was bleeding not from seven orifices, but eight!
Liu Cheng's earlier bolt had struck right outside the beast's anus, penetrating alongside the large intestine—no wonder it had run with its tail held high before... Not only that, but having injured its paw in the pit trap at the outset, the beast had stumbled upon reaching this spot, tripped over the canopy, and fallen flat onto its haunches, driving the bolt all the way into its body. It had likely pierced several layers of its intestines, so deep that it couldn't even be found and pulled out right away.
In other words, just as Liu Huzi had judged earlier, their prey was already in hand. After bursting into this canopy and letting out two frantic roars, it had been entirely spent.
"What do we do next?" Seeing the tiger thoroughly dead, Liu Huzi was both exhilarated and at a loss.
"Carry the tiger out—carry it out with great fanfare! Shout and cheer! We cannot hide now!" Though his heart was still pounding wildly, Liu Cheng was much calmer. "Regardless of which family is outside, find out who they are. Brother Jili, you go ask, and be sure to state our identities clearly and introduce us properly. Then, Huzi, you come forward with the tiger and tell them we happen to be visiting the Grand Commander tomorrow, asking if they would bestow the tiger upon us to use as a gift. I'll hang back and ask them to bestow the bloodstained canopies on us for the winter... In short, cement the story that we are local woodcutters, tell the truth about everything else, flatter where flattery is due, and beg for rewards where appropriate... Be utterly sincere! If they accept this, not only is the trouble behind us, but we'll still have hunted the tiger in leisure and even established a connection with this family!"
Before his words finished, Liu Jili had already hurried out brandishing his club.
"Right!" Panting heavily, Liu Huzi immediately rallied the men to hoist the tiger with wooden poles and ropes. "Good! Good!"
Liu Cheng clapped his hands repeatedly, instructing the others: "Brothers, it's done! Not only do we have the gift for the Grand Commander, but we can also ask this family for rewards shortly. Shout with me! If you don't know how to cheer, just follow A-Hu and shout 'Good! Good! Good!'"
The men were somewhat dazed at first, but after Liu Cheng took the lead in shouting "Good!" several times, their spirits lifted, and their resounding cheers echoed across the hills.
By the time they emerged escorting the tiger, their cries had naturally turned into genuine jubilation. In stark contrast, astonished gazes peered out across the hillside from afar... Was the tiger really beaten to death? And so quickly?!
On the other side, Liu Jili's eyesight had never been keen—not only was he no match for Liu Huzi, he could not even compare to Liu Cheng. But having knocked about in Jingkou for several years, once he ran over, he quickly discerned the brother and sister still tugging at each other from the way the crowd was positioned and dressed. Forcing a smile onto his face, he dashed up to bow and cried out in a loud voice, "Liu Lang, Liu Cheng, and Liu Jian of Pengcheng are here! May I ask which exalted family is climbing the heights to view the scenery here?"
Recovering his wits, Xie Quan hesitated, words failing him... He had never imagined that among the woodcutters helping subdue the tiger were three noble scions. Instinct prompted him to respond, yet he felt that not only was their pedigree lowly, but they had fallen so far as to cut firewood with their own hands; moreover, the man was hunchbacked, filthy, and obviously destitute to the extreme. Directly engaging with him seemed beneath the dignity and reputation of the Xie clan. And yet, this man had just slain a tiger on their household's behalf, so perhaps he ought to set aside status differences and answer on his own initiative.
While he hesitated, Steward Qian of the Xie household beside him reacted swiftly. Though not specifically tasked with receiving guests, he stepped forward immediately to bar the way. "The young masters and young mistresses of the Xie clan of Chen Commandery are here. Do not intrude!"
Liu Jili froze, staring at the steward. Then he looked at Xie Quan and the others standing behind him, unwilling to speak. When the reality dawned on him, fury surged within his chest, and blood rushed to his head. Unable to control himself, he hurled the bloody wooden stave to the ground and turned right back around.
Chapter 16