Chapter 2 - Chaotic Place (2)

"Please, please forgive me. If I make any mistakes please forgive me." The man keeps kowtowing while slamming his forehead to the ground.

When the white tiger saw the man's behavior, she was surprised and confused. 'what happened to this man? Why is he suddenly prostrating in front of me?' she thought.

"Stop, are you sure you're going to request that?" the white tiger asks again while feeling confused, there's no way the human just wants something that simple.

Wait, or maybe he looks down on me. ME, the heavenly tiger, got belittled by humans?! How dare he!

When the white tiger thinks like this, he becomes enraged. The sound of thunder grows louder and louder, and the black stripe on the white tiger's body grows larger and begins to cover its white fur.

A suffocating pressure began to envelop the husband and wife, making it difficult for them to breathe, stand, or even speak. The pressure is increasing by the second, and the husband and wife feel as if they are being pressed to the ground.

"Are you looking down on me by requesting something like that?!" The white tiger's muscles tightened as it approached the husband and wife, indicating that it was about to pounce on its prey.

The man begins to squirm on the ground while struggling to speak. "Wait, wait a minute! wh- what do you mean senior? I just want to get out of this place, I just want to go to my father's hometown."

The white tiger suddenly stopped after hearing what the man said, the pressure she emitted slowly being withdrawn, while her fur started to become white again.

"Do you really just want to go to the east side?" the white tiger walking around the husband and wife, while asked in a confused tone.

"Yes, we just want to go to the Ningjing tribe," the man said after a brief pause.

"It makes sense. Your father is also from there." The white tiger immediately understood and nodded her head. Then she stood in front of the duo, while thinking that if the request they ask is just that simple, then that was the same as not paying her debt.

"I can accept it." The white tiger spoke while maintaining eye contact with the two people. Although it's true that I can accept it, what you're asking for is not worth the debt I owe. So how about this, when I escort you to the east side, one-third of my debt will be paid off."

When the man heard it, he felt relieved, that finally, they will left that hell, they can go to a more peaceful place, far from war, far from blood, and far from the chaos. Finally, his wife can be free to do anything she wants.

He begins to picture his wife and child playing in the fields, laughing and running around carefree. He thinks about how happy it makes him to picture his wife no longer having to be so thin and being able to eat whatever she wants, whenever she wants, and however much she wants.

"Yes, senior. I agree to any arrangement you have," the man said to the white tiger as he struggled to stand up.

When he gets to his feet, he assists his wife while asking the white tiger what they should do next.

"Hop on, I'll take you there."

The husband and wife approach the white tiger and notice how beautiful the fur is, like snow, pure white, unblemished by anything, it feels sacred.

When they touch the fur, it calms their racing hearts, gives them peace, and makes them believe that even a raging sea can be calmed and a blazing fire can be extinguished.

Not even silk, which is known for its luxury and softness, can compete with the softness of this white tiger fur.

"Hold on tight, I'm going to move." The white tiger began to move when she noticed the two had already climbed above it, at first moving slowly before picking up speed. When the pair opens their eyes a few seconds later, they are already at the summit of Mount Kunan, and what they see there will leave them in awe for a lifetime.

A strong wind blew around the summit of Mount Kunan, but it didn't feel cold, but rather warm.

Their hair flutters in the breeze, and the scenery is breathtaking, with a mountain that pierces the clouds, a lush forest stretching as far as the eye can see, and a truly magnificent and large lake.

"Your father's hometown is on that side, after you walk past that lake, you will enter the eastern part of the Fenghou forest. All you have to do is walk in the direction of the rising sun. If you are quick, you will find that village in one month."

The white tiger explained while pointing to the lake and the forest, and the white tiger began to move again.

When they arrived at the foot of the mountain on the eastern side, the white tiger stopped moving and told them to come down.

"This is as far as I can take you, your next journey can only depend on yourself. And I just wanted to remind you that I still have a debt that hasn't been paid, so whenever you need something, come here and I'll pay it, with the condition that I don't endanger myself."

The white tiger vanishes in front of them with the blink of an eye. The husband and wife take a deep breath while staring at each other. They search for each other's hands, their fingers intertwined, as they gaze out at the lake and forest where they will spend the next few days.

With a resolute gaze, they take their step toward their first journey that will start from here, their fate won't be known until later.

***

"Husband, I believe we need to take a break here first. The sky is darkening, and we still need to find a place for us to rest." The wife says while looking at the sky.

When the husband hears what his wife says, he comes to a halt and looks around for a place to rest.

When he saw a large tree with a large curved hole in the middle, he had the strange feeling that it had been prepared especially for them to take shelter in.

The husband pointed to the hole in the center of the large tree and said, "Let's go there."

They didn't forget to take in the beautiful scenery as they walked toward the big tree. There are many large trees around the lake, each with a different color on its leaves. Brown, green, blue, yellow, purple, red, and white, that is so beautiful that just looking at it from afar makes you feel peaceful. If heaven exists, then this is it, a truly peaceful heaven that makes you reluctant to leave.

"I'm wondering if we can live here forever." While looking around the heaven that they had just discovered, the wife clutched her husband's hand and said. When she considers leaving this natural paradise, her hazy eyes show a hint of reluctance.

"We can't be here, my father said that, before we reach his hometown, there are three places that we need to look out for. The first place is Mount Kunan, the place of tribulation, Inhabited by a heavenly tiger, the emissary of lightning. The second place is this lake, this lake is the boundary, the boundary between 4 emissaries. They won't bother us if we only stay for one night, but if we stay for more than two days, we could die horribly without knowing what killed us. They respect the boundary, so they always make certain that it remains empty and uninhabited." When they are in the wild, they must always make sure to follow the established rules, never, ever break them because you never know what might happen to you. The man explained to his wife what could be done and what couldn't.

The wife feels something missing in her heart and her eyes lose their light when she hears what her husband said. She reluctantly nods toward her husband.

The husband smiles warmly and gently strokes his wife's hair as he notices her dejected expression. "Even though we can't live here, my father claims that his hometown is just as beautiful as this one. So don't be disappointed, we'll live there eventually, all you have to do is be patient."

The wife looks at her husband with twinkle eyes, and when the husband sees the look his wife gives him, he can't help but feel guilty. His wife prefers a clean environment, despite the fact that she can endure anything, even the most difficult trial, but there is one thing that his wife cannot overcome, and that is her weakness for beauty.

Beauty is not about personal beauty, but rather about beauty for a place, a location, and her home. But he can never give it to her because he is weak, and he can never protect his wife from any threat. And that has always bothered his heart, at least until now, when, for the first time in his life, he took the first step toward making his wife happy.

"What is the third place then? From every place you mentioned, it feels like everything is a dangerous place, first is mount Kunan, second is this lake boundary, is the third place something more dangerous?" the wife asks in a slightly curious tone.

When the husband hears the question, he can't help but chuckle a little.

"Wrong! Actually the third is the safest. Do you see that forest there?" the husband said while pointing towards the forest across the lake.

"That is Fenghou forest. Fenghou means rich and fertile. That forest has the most diverse living beings in the world, and it holds the solution to all of your problems. From the most dangerous beast to some cute little animals, from the most useful plant to the most useless, from the most toxic drug to the most potent medicine. Anything that you search, you can find there."

While the explanation was going on, the husband and wife arrived at the tree they would be living in for a while. When they entered and saw the inside, they were amazed at how spacious it was. They then came out and circled the tree, it's big, really big. But given the size of the tree from the outside, it didn't make sense that the inside was so spacious.

The tree is about 10 meters wide and 30 meters high, but the inside is triple the size of the tree.

When they gave it some more thought, they realized that there is something in this world that will never make sense to a mere mortal like them. Does a tiger who can talk and spit lightning make sense?

When they thought like this, the husband and wife began to return to the tree. They begin to see what's inside the tree. The room has a simple bed and a round wooden dining table in the center.

Several leaves on the tree's wall produce fruit that smells very fragrant, the smell alone can make one salivate.

"With this, we don't have to go looking for food. if we get thirsty, we just go to the lake and get some water."

The husband and wife start to prepare for their bed because the light outside has started to darken, indicating that the night will start to descend.

Fortunately for them, the moonlight is very bright that night, so they don't have to sleep in the dark.