Chapter 21: First Hunt

One week passed, and in that time, Deng Sai was nowhere to be seen, confusing the villagers. Rumors circulated that she had run off with a city man or had been killed while hunting, but there was no definite answer to her disappearance, so people moved on.

In that week, Wong Su had been teaching his daughter the basics of hunting, setting traps, following tracks, camouflaging, and today was another hunting day, and Wong Su finally decided to take Wong Yazhu hunting. They were supposed to go after a creature known as the Moose Horned Elk, a massive elk that stood eight feet at the shoulder, always seen with moose growing on their large palmate antlers. However, things didn't go as planned, as instead, they found themselves being hunted by a "FUCKING MANED TIGER!?" Chao Cheng roared as he rolled through the forest.

His martial spirit's Initial Skill gave him orange armor plating on his back, shoulders, and the backs of his arms, allowing him to roll into a ball like an armadillo, with the armor defense capable of withstanding even Wong Su's strongest attack consecutively.

He ricocheted off a tree and continued rolling at a speed of 33 mph, with Wong Su, slightly faster than the rolling Chao Cheng, shouting, "It might have expanded its territory, and we mistakenly entered! As long as we leave it, we should be safe." The older man was wearing a leather chest piece, shoulder guards, a forearm guard, and shin guards, dressed in a green long-sleeve tunic and matching pants and boots underneath. "At least it's still a subadult, so it shouldn't be able to catch us," he added, looking behind him, where he couldn't see the tiger but knew it was still chasing them. 

"Why can't we fight it, Daddy?" a voice came from ahead. Wong Yazhu, her small frame easily zipping through the trees, was faster than Wong Su, and, like her father, she was wearing a leather chest piece, shoulder guards, forearm guards, and shin guards, with an additional neck guard, thigh guards, gloves, and boots, while wearing a simple gray long-sleeve tunic and long pants below the leather armor, with a sheath on her waist holding a dagger. "We can win!"

"We can't---" Wong Su began to shout, but at that moment, there was a loud growl, and a white blur came out from the trees in front of Wong Su, pouncing on his daughter. "Yazhu!" Wong Su roared as the girl looked to the right to see the massive maw of the tiger inches from her head. 

In that instant, Sharingan activated, time slowed significantly, and she immediately dove down, rolling forward, allowing the tiger to fly over her, disappearing into the forest. 

'Holy SHIT!' Wong Yazhu roared internally, getting on her knees. 'I COULD HAVE ACTUALLY DIED!'

 Wong Su caught up to his daughter, rushing to grab her shoulder, "Are you alright---" 

'Fuck off.' Wong Yazhu shrugged the man off, her eyes locked in the direction of the tiger with the Byakugan activated. 'I will show you the difference between the sky and the earth!' And with that, she blasted off at maximum speed, chasing the tiger with the telescopic Byakugan as it tried to circle around to catch the people it was chasing off guard. 

Although the tiger was young, it was intelligent enough to know that fighting its opponents posed a risk of injury to it, so it wanted to ambush for a sure kill. However, seeing the smallest prey chasing it, the tiger stopped and turned to its 'opponent.' 

The tiger was the size of a Siberian tiger back on Earth, standing around 100 cm tall at the shoulder, with a length of 3 meters, with its tail adding another 120 centimeters to its overall length. Its body was robust and muscular, its coat dense and luxurious, with a beautiful golden-orange hue with black stripes. 

Its head was broad and rounded, with powerful jaws lined with sharp teeth and formidable canines, small, rounded ears, deep-set eyes that were red, and a mane that flowed around its neck and shoulders. Unlike a lion's mane, which is often a single color, this mane displayed the same golden-orange base as the tiger's body, with striking black stripes that mirrored those on its body, thick legs, and massive paws. 

The tiger's growl rumbled in its throat as it stared at its opponent, who glared at it with glowing red eyes. They slowly circled each other, and it watched as Wong Yazhu pulled out her dagger from its sheath, holding it in front of herself as the tiger extended its claw. Wong Yashu slowly stepped to the side, and just then, the ray of sunlight beaming through the canopies caught on the dagger's blade, causing it to glint. 

The tiger released a growl that transformed into a powerful roar that reverberated through the air with a deep, guttural quality that carries for miles; the roar earth-shaking and causing vibrations in the ground beneath Wong Yazhu's feet. The girl, in turn, screamed, her voice much lower but filled with primal rage, and they charged at each other. 

When they were a good distance from one another, they both leaped at each other, the tiger outstretching its massive paw, its extended claws and glinting in the ray of sunlight, with Wong Yazhu raising her dagger above her head. 

Due to the tiger's larger size and better physique, it struck first with its massive paw, the size of Wong Yazhu's torso, striking her on her left ribs with a sickening crunch. Time seemed to slow down as the force sent Wong Yazhu flying to the side like a bullet, slamming into a tree, the sound of the impact reverberating through the forest—a harsh, wooden thud that echoed ominously among the trees. 

Her body hit the bark with such force that it shook the branches above, causing a few leaves to flutter down around her like morbid confetti. The violence of the strike expelled the air from her lungs in a ragged gasp, and a sharp, sickening crack signaled the breaking of ribs.

She crumpled to the ground in a distorted heap, her limbs splayed at unnatural angles. The tiger's strike had not only torn through her leather chestplate but also shattered the underlying bones, embedding fragments into her soft tissues and organs. Blood began to pool beneath her, dark and thick, seeping into the earth and staining the green underbrush, with the metallic scent of blood mingled with the earthy smell of the forest floor.

Wong Yazhu's breaths were shallow and labored, each inhalation of a pain that wracked her broken body. Her vision blurred, edges tinged with red, as shock began to set in. She could taste iron on her tongue as blood seeped into her mouth, and her ears rang with the sound of her own heartbeat, thumping loud and desperate in her chest.

As Wong Yazhu lay crumpled and broken on the forest floor, the tiger landed with a grace, its throat rumbling, eyes fixed on Wong Yazhu who struggled to reach toward it with shaky hands. Suddenly, Wong Yazhu pointed behind the tiger with her index and middle finger, causing it to glance back. 

Standing there was another of its opponents.

"???" the tiger thought, and, just then, the illusion broke. It felt a searing pain tear through its mind, causing it to crumble to the ground, moaning and whining as its organs spilled from its underbelly. 

It could only wonder how this could have happened as it took its last breath.

It was simple, really. When Wong Yazhu and the tiger's eyes first met after it had stopped to face her, she had slowly begun weaving the tiger into an illusion. As she circled the tiger, she used her slowed perception granted by the sharingan to plan out the illusion meticulously, and when the dagger glinted in the sunlight, she activated it. 

Wong Yazhu had dashed forward like the illusion, but instead of leaping up, she merely lifted her dagger straight above her head with both hands as she continued running forward. She had passed under the tiger while it leaped forward, her dagger slicing deep into the tiger's underbelly from top to bottom, the clean cut causing blood to drench her as the tiger struck the illusionary Wong Yazhu.

The tiger hadn't been snapped out of the illusion by the massive pain because Wong Yazhu had paid a significant amount of her soul power as a price just for that cinematic scene of the illusion pointing at the real Wong Yazhu. In total, she had spent more than 90% of her total soul power for that illusion, which made sense seeing how detailed the illusion was,

'Especially the sound effect, the smell, and even the tiger's lack of pain.' Wong Yazhu thought, looking at the tiger. 'And I owe its realism to the movies and live-leaks I watched back on earth—'

"Yazhu!" Wong Su's voice came as he finally caught up, coming through the trees. 

Right there, he froze, staring at his daughter. Her entire body was drenched in thick, crimson blood, causing her tied-up hair to fall over her shoulders and over her face, her red eyes glinting menacingly behind her hair.

His heart skipped a beat as he stared at his daughter's terrifying appearance, then snapped out of it, rushing to the girl and kneeling in front of her. "Are you alright?" he asked urgently, trying to keep his voice steady as he grabbed his daughter's sticky, bloody shoulder.

"See," Wong Yazhu smiled, a beautiful yet terrifying smile. "I told you we could kill it." Her voice was sweet yet chilling.

At that moment, Chao Cheng caught up, rolling forward and seamlessly shifting out of his ball form, standing tall, clad only in heavy pants due to the armor plate on his back, shoulders, and arms tearing up shirts if he wore them. He looked at the dead tiger, its fresh, steaming guts steaming out of its underbelly, and then at Wong Su and his daughter. All he could see was Wong Su's back, with his daughter hidden from Chao Cheng's view.

"Damn, brother," he whistled, walking towards the dead tiger. "Your parental instinct really made you a warrior," he said as he looked down at the tiger, with Wong Su chuckling and standing up.

"Yeah," Wong Su said as Wong Yazhu ran into the forest per her father's orders. "I don't even know what happened." He secretly summoned his martial soul, a wide, broad double-edged Great Sword with a total length of 180 centimeters, the blade measuring around 10 cm at its widest point closer to the hilt, tapering to the tip.

He stood beside Chao Cheng, stabbing his sword down the tiger's side to coat his sword in blood. "Fucking bastard," he mumbled as Chao Cheng looked around. 

"Where is your daughter?" he asked, looking down at Wong Su staring solemnly at the dead tiger.

"I told her to return to the village." The man replied, his eyes still on the tiger. 

Chao Cheng nodded. "We are close to the red tree and if this is the maned tiger's territory, no other wild animal should be here." He then said, "We should put its guts back into its body and take it to the village. It would be worth a lot of money in the city, especially its fur that's barely damaged." He removed his Initial skill granted by his martial soul. 

"Of course, you get all the rewards; I didn't do shit so I don't deserve anything," he added while squatting down and using his bare hands to fit the tiger's slowly spilling guts back into its body.

"Don't worry, I will give 10% for baiting the tiger," Wong Su chuckled dryly as he pulled out his sword, sending it away, with the blood that was sticking to the martial soul sword dropping down onto the tiger's body. Chao Cheng also chuckled as Wong Su squatted to assist. 

Proly River, known as the Lifeline of the village, flowed downstream from the far east, meandering through the large expanse of farmland that bordered the northern edge of the village, cutting through the vast forest to the west, and then flowing onward to destinations unknown. The clear waters were a vital resource, cherished by the villagers for its bountiful supply and role in their daily lives.

When Chao Cheng had arrived at the scene, Wong Su had quickly whispered to Wong Yazhu, instructing her to bathe in the river to wash away as much visible blood from her body as possible. He had pointed her towards the river earlier to make sure she could always find her way back to the village by following the river upstream if she ever got lost in the forest, and although Tang San had previously shown her the river for a similar reason, Wong Su wanted to ensure his daughter remembered.

Wong Yazhu approached the river's edge and without hesitation, plunged into the cool, flowing waters. She submerged herself completely, allowing the river to envelop her. As she resurfaced, water cascaded down her face as she expelled a deep breath. The blood from her body, still fresh and not yet dried, quickly mingled with the water, tinting it momentarily before dispersing downstream. 

'Deeper than I thought,' Wong Yazhu mused silently. 'I should really ask to be taught how to swim.'

Prime Wong Yazhu had never learned how to swim, and she also didn't learn this skill in her past life. 'Just a few more rinses and I should be good to go,' She thought, dipping himself again. The water's chill was invigorating, washing away the grime and the visceral. 'And most of the soul coins that come from selling that tiger better go towards savings for my schooling because if I go to school poor, someone is going to pay the price.' 

After ensuring that no trace of blood remained visible, Wong Yazhu slowly made her way out of the river, the water dripping from her clothes, leather armor, and hair. After inspecting herself, she immediately bursted into a full sprint, following the river upstream and back to the village.