"I can't let you go. I need to eat meat."
Growl, gurgle gurgle...
"No, it's not enough to eat."
Gurgle gurgle, howl howl...
"I don't eat humans."
Gurgle gurgle...
"No worries, I have strong teeth. I don't mind if your meat is tough."
Then she smugly flaunted in front of the tiger's face.
"An'an is very good at cooking. He can cook any kind of meat. He'll definitely make you taste delicious."
...
The tiger, who was supposedly going to be very tasty, stiffened for a moment, then frantically roared and thrashed its limbs.
Howl howl howl woo woo!!!
Even Shen Mufeng, who couldn't understand its meaning, could see the sense of desperation. It was probably struggling for its life.
It's just a pity that it couldn't actually open its mouth to speak, otherwise it would definitely be able to curse very profanely.
Chu Chi raised her fist again, aiming to smash it down on the tiger's head, but was stopped by a series of very urgent howls.
She blinked her eyes.
"There are many prey here?
Really?
Why haven't I found a single one?"
Howl howl howl!
The tiger responded frantically.
Perhaps because its actions were so certain, it finally made this terrifying human temporarily abandon her killing intent.
"You'll lead me there?"
Howl!
A tiger's roar, sorrowful and frustrated.
This...
After thinking for ten seconds, she decisively released the tiger. Chu Chi felt that if it could really lead her to hunt in the future, then it wouldn't be impossible to spare it now.
She could distinguish between one full meal and being full for every meal.
"Let's go hunting."
Howl.
The tiger, dragging its battered body, got up from the ground and looked at the bear that was already lying dead on the ground. It let out a howl as a reminder.
You don't want the black bear?
Reminded, Chu Chi glanced at the bear, then looked at the person lying askew to the side. After an internal struggle for quite a while, she finally gritted her teeth and turned to leave.
She was a principled person and wouldn't steal someone else's prey.
"That belongs to someone else. Let's go hunt on our own."
The human and the tiger quickly left.
Shen Mufeng, who had luckily escaped death, only hazily realized that it wasn't a dream after the tiger was really taken away! It was that his life wasn't meant to end today, and a skilled person had saved him.
"Heh, heh heh heh..."
A low, rolling laughter came from his throat.
"Elder brother.
Shen Congfeng.
You just wait."
Each word was spat out from between his lips as if it had been ground to pieces, carrying a cold hatred that had soaked through.
At this moment of narrowly escaping death from the tiger's mouth, his intentions had changed. He no longer wanted to ask anyone why they couldn't tolerate him. Now he only wanted to send everyone who wanted him dead to the underworld!
In the future.
Heh, just wait for the future.
Feeling some strength return to his limbs, he slowly got up supporting himself on a tree trunk, walked to the black bear, and swung his sword to cut off two front paws for food. Only then did he stagger away with unsteady steps.
Chu Chi was truly very happy now.
Meat, so much meat!
With the tiger, this beast traitor, leading this ruthless killer familiar with the area through the deep mountains and old forests, the animals in the mountains met with a bloody misfortune.
When the sky gradually darkened, Chu Chi finally waved goodbye to her new friend with a happy face. She watched as the tiger ran back into the forest as if its tail was on fire.
Then with her right hand dragging a wild boar, her left hand carrying a string of wild rabbits, and two pheasants hanging at her waist, she swayed back on her return journey.
Passing by the scene of the earlier incident, she saw that the person's prey was actually left behind, with the big bear still lying there.
"Are you still here?
Don't you want this prey anymore?"
She called out several times, but no one responded.
Chu Chi lifted her head to look at the sky. The sun was already gone, and now the moon was hanging in the sky. She felt that her stomach was really hungry and needed to replenish energy quickly. She couldn't stay here any longer.
"I'll ask one more time, don't you want this prey? Wasting food is not acceptable. If you don't want it, I'm taking it! I'm taking it! I'm taking it!"
After shouting the important thing three times and making sure no one answered her, Chu Chi happily hung the string of wild rabbits around her neck, then freed her left hand to drag the black bear.
Her sharp eyes of course noticed that the bear was missing two paws, but it didn't matter. Missing just a little bit of meat didn't at all dampen her happiness at picking up a free piece of meat.
An'an, Wan Wan, I'm back from hunting!
She happily returned along the path she came.
The self-absorbed Chu Chi couldn't possibly imagine how devastated her adopted son was right now!
"Mother! Mother, where are you?"
Lin You'an held up a torch, his voice hoarse from shouting.
"Mother! Can you hear An'an calling you? Mother! Come back! Wuu wuu wuu..."
The small child cried miserably and helplessly.
Lin Yuanshan reached out to pat his nephew's trembling body, his voice full of guilt.
"You'an, let's go back."
The sky had completely darkened, and the Lin clan members certainly wouldn't easily venture into the mountain forests for the sake of a stranger they had never met. Being able to accompany the search until now was already very considerate.
The child might not understand this reasoning, but as an elder, he had to understand. Some favors could only be extended this far.
"We haven't found my mother yet! Wuu wuu wuu, it's already dark, what will she do alone in the mountain forest? She'll die!"
Lin You'an understood everything, which was why he was so anxious and scared.
Although they had only known each other for a short time, he had truly taken this mother to heart. The reason he was so upset now was not just because of grief, but also guilt.
His mother was just a silly girl, and still so young. If she hadn't been tricked into coming home with him, she would surely still be living well now.
He had sworn that he would take good care of her. Why didn't he tell her not to go out hunting before leaving?
Why couldn't he think to remind her?
Lin You'an slapped himself hard twice!
"You'an! I'm sorry, it's Uncle's fault for not instructing your aunt properly. I'm really sorry..."
Lin Yuanshan grabbed his nephew's hand with undisguised guilt, struggling to apologize. He also knew that an apology wouldn't solve anything. The new sister-in-law who had just taken up her position was most likely already in the belly of a wild beast in the back mountains.
But now, apart from expressing apologies, he didn't know what else he could do.
The Lin clan members holding torches nearby were already preparing to turn back home. Lin Yousong looked at the increasingly dark night, could only sigh, and spoke to comfort him.
"You'an, let's go back first. It's really late now. If it's really necessary, I can accompany you to look for your mother again tomorrow, okay?"
Although he didn't know where he had gotten this stepmother from, or how they had persuaded his father and several clan elders.
But since it had already been openly acknowledged in front of the elders, and the clan was willing to recognize it, then it was what it was.
