Chapter 188: Chapter One Hundred and Eighty-Eight

Looking at the tiger, which was as broad and brawny as three of him stacked together, Talug's face went a shade paler, and a bead of cold sweat slid down his temple.

He was scared too.

What he'd said earlier had been to comfort himself.

It was only a few dozen tigers, after all — and besides, with so many people here, it wouldn't be his turn to step in no matter what.

Thinking this way, his mood settled a little.

Just then, the trembling voices of soldiers rang in his ears.

"There's some over there too!"

"And over there!"

One tiger head after another popped up on the hillside.

With a single majestic, resonant roar from within Mi Lin, the tigers charged at them in unison.

"Help!"

"No panic!"

"Warriors of Nanjiang! Take up the weapons in your hands and hack them down!"

The moment the shout ended, Talug caught a tiger lunging at him from the side in his peripheral vision.

He tumbled hastily off his Horse, rolled a few times on the ground, and barely dodged the sharp tiger claws.

But the instant he escaped the claws, before he could even catch his breath, an inexplicable chill ran through his heart. His body stiffened on instinct, and he felt a sudden prickle down his back.

A breath reeking of blood hit his back, and gooseflesh broke out all over Talug at once. He didn't doubt for a second that, if his hair weren't tied up, every strand would be standing on end right now.

Going by feel, he gripped his saber tight and slashed hard behind him.

At the same time, he twisted his body to face the tiger squarely, retreating step by step to put distance between them.

He turned his head — sure enough, a Tiger was right there.

Several hundred meters away, Cheng Sitao had originally been about to lead his men off, but at the sound of the tiger's roar he stopped again.

"Prince's Son, it looks like something's happening over there."

Cheng Sitao deliberated for a moment, then said to the men.

"Go take a look!"

When they arrived, a Tiger's feast unfolded before their eyes.

"Prince's Son, this… that's a lot of tigers!"

Meanwhile, in Mi Lin, Cheng Qiuluo, who had been watching all this, smacked the Tiger's head of Big Yellow in a fit of temper.

"Oops, wrong!"

"Didn't I tell you — no hurting the war horses? You didn't make that clear to your little gang?"

"Roar?"

Taking the blow for no reason, Big Yellow let out an indignant rumble from his throat and hung his head, looking aggrieved.

A lot of the little ones had only been picked up along the way — they really did still need some training.

That's right.

The Tiger Squad had now grown into a force of over two hundred tigers.

"Hey, hey, hey! Hurry up and tell them — don't accidentally hurt Big Brother and his men!"

Cheng Qiuluo nervously tweaked Big Yellow's ear.

Big Yellow rolled his eyes in an extremely human way.

Do I even need you to remind me?

How could we possibly hurt our little master's own father?

But thinking of those who'd joined the ranks halfway, Big Yellow stamped both front paws heavily on the ground and let out a long, imposing roar to the heavens.

"Aaoo—"

Hearing this sound, most of the tigers below stopped their attack.

A few still kept lunging at people, but after getting swatted a couple of times by the tigers around them, they settled down too.

The Cheng Family Army soldiers watching this scene exchanged uncertain glances.

"Good grief, have these tigers become spirits?"

Cheng Qiuluo, riding on Big Yellow's back, darted out of Mi Lin just like that.

Wherever the girl and her tiger passed, the tiger herd parted to either side, dipping their heads slightly in a show of submission.

Looking at the little girl on the tiger's back, the corner of Cheng Sitao's mouth curved up slightly. Though he was smiling, his nose prickled with a faint sting.

If only he could, he truly wished his sisters would stay carefree and happy forever.

But his two sisters had grown up after all.

The siblings — one sitting on a tiger's back, the other on a horse — gazed at each other from afar and shared a smile.

Yet someone just had to break this warm scene of the brother and sister reuniting.

The battered and bleeding Talug's eyes flicked, sweeping over the tiger herd, before fixing at last on the girl on the tiger's back with a sinister gaze.

So these tigers were under her control.

What if she died?

If the tiger herd lost its master's control, would they go mad?

In any case, he was badly wounded, and there was no escaping. If the Cheng Family Army caught him, he was dead for sure anyway!

Then he might as well drag them all down with him!

With so many people for his Imperial Mausoleum, it was worth it!

Talug's expression grew increasingly wild, a hint of desperate resolve in his eyes.

Now!

He grabbed the blade at his side and lunged at Cheng Qiuluo.

"Watch out!"

Cheng Sitao's pupils dilated slightly; he cried out involuntarily, tightened the reins in his hands, and charged toward them.

Yet Cheng Qiuluo was unhurried. She even took a moment to pat Da Huang's head soothingly, while drawing an Iron Lump from her waist and firing it at Taruge.

"Ah!"

The iron pellet struck the nerve in his arm; his right hand instantly lost its strength and hung limp, and the blade clattered to the ground.

Taruge, who had fallen heavily to the ground, was deathly pale, clutching his arm.

Before he could even cry out in pain, he heard a "puchi—" as a sword came straight at him and pierced through his chest.

Looking into the eyes beneath that person's mask, Taruge's eyes widened in terror.

How could this be?!

He struggled to raise a finger, pointing at the person before him, and opened his mouth as if to say something, but could only spurt out a large mouthful of blood. Then, staring with unresentful eyes, he fell stiffly to the ground.

Cheng Sitao withdrew his sword, looked up toward the horizon, and closed his eyes; a faint mist gathered at the corners of his eyes.

Father, Second Uncle, and all the Cheng Family sons who died in vain—did you see?

This is only the first one. Not a single person who harmed the Cheng Family will be spared!

Having steadied his emotions, he raised his voice and shouted to the Nanjiang soldiers.

"Taruge is dead! Those who surrender will not be killed!"

After this shout, the Cheng Family Army shouted in unison three more times.

"Surrender and you won't be killed!"

"Surrender and you won't be killed!"

"Surrender and you won't be killed!"

These cries echoed through the Mountain forest, deep and powerful, full of momentum, deafening.

The remaining Nanjiang soldiers were uniformly ashen-faced.

Of the two generals leading the troops, one had been captured and the other killed.

Coupled with the surrounding tigers watching them covetously, the Nanjiang soldiers completely lost their footing and one after another threw down their weapons, giving up resistance.

Xu Zhongquan, who had finished tidying the battlefield, also hurried over. Seeing the Nanjiang people surrender, his face was wild with joy, and he threw his head back in loud laughter.

Especially upon seeing Taruge lying in a pool of blood, he laughed even harder; but as he laughed, his voice grew somewhat choked.

Finally, he raised his head to the sky and let out a fierce roar.

"Marquis, General, brothers! The Prince's Son has avenged you—did you see?"

The Cheng Family Army soldiers present all secretly raised their sleeves to wipe their eyes.

After that shout, perhaps because he was too agitated, or perhaps because his injuries were too severe—he had been holding on by sheer force of will, and now that the tension had drained away, he could hold on no longer.

His body pitched forward, and he fainted.

"General!"

"Uncle Xu!"

Cheng Sitao hurriedly gave orders to those beside him.

"Quickly escort General Xu back to camp!"

"The rest of you, take these Nanjiang people away and clear the battlefield!"

By the time everything was over, the sun had already set into dusk.

Cheng Sitao removed his mask and found his sister, surrounded by the tiger pack.

"Qiuluo, I'm taking you somewhere."

Seeing his solemn expression, Cheng Qiuluo vaguely guessed what it was.

The joy of having just won the battle instantly vanished. She had Da Huang lead the tiger pack into hiding in the Mountain forest, then lowered her head and followed behind.

The brother and sister arrived at a cliff.

Cheng Sitao clenched his fists tightly, took several deep breaths, and finally, with reddened eyes, looked at Cheng Qiuluo and forced out a sentence.

"Qiuluo, this is it—the cliff Father and Second Uncle jumped from."

Hearing these words, Cheng Qiuluo could hold back no longer.

All the strength in her body seemed to be drained in an instant; her body went limp and she suddenly collapsed to her knees on the ground.

With one hand braced on the ground, clutching at the sand, and the other pressed hard against her chest, tears poured down. She clenched her teeth tightly, gazing at the abyss before her, sobbing beyond words.

"Father! Uncle!"

After she had vented enough of her emotions, Cheng Sitao blinked hard to dispel the moisture at the corners of his eyes, walked over, and helped her up.

"Alright, Luoluo, get up first."

At that moment, a soldier rode up on a Horse, his face anxious and his eyes red-rimmed.

"This is bad, Prince's Son! General Xu's injuries are very serious. The Imperial Physician says the situation is not optimistic."

The brother and sister were greatly shocked.

"What?!"