Chapter 560: You Are Wise and Brave

Under the fearful gazes of Lv Yong and others, the green ox turned and slowly walked back.

It walked to Li Er's front and stopped.

Those black, shiny eyes stared at him quietly.

That gaze was gentle and calm, yet seemed to hide something indescribable.

Not like livestock, but like a person who has lived a very long time.

Li Er also looked at it.

A person and an ox, just staring at each other.

Then the green ox bent its forelegs and lay down slowly.

Lying before him.

That posture seemed like an invitation.

Li Er froze for a moment.

He raised his hand and gently touched the ox's head.

The fur was coarse and hard, yet carried a warmth that spread up from his palm.

"Will you follow me?" he asked softly.

"Moo."

The green ox lowed softly, its voice gentle, as if responding.

Li Er fell silent for an instant.

Then he nodded.

"All right then."

He stepped forward, swung up onto the ox's back.

The green ox rose, steadily bearing him, turned, and walked toward the dilapidated wooden house ahead.

The night wind blew, bringing the fresh scent of earth after rain.

Li Er's voice came from ahead, reaching the ears of Lv Yong and the others:

"Everyone, go rest a while."

"Tomorrow I'll find some herbs to treat you."

Lv Yong stood in place, watching the figure riding the ox grow farther away.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't utter a word.

Lao Zheng and Lao Xu supported each other, limping over to his side.

"Old Lv," Lao Zheng lowered his voice, swallowed, "this... what is this?"

Lv Yong shook his head.

"I don't know," he said, "but this time we may have encountered a master."

Lao Xu covered his still-bleeding wound and gave a grin: "A master? He's as skinny as a bamboo pole..."

Before he finished speaking, he shut himself up.

Skinny?

What's wrong with being skinny?

That green ox, capable of flinging a ferocious tiger, lay meekly before him.

Could this person be ordinary?

The two women also stepped out from behind the trees.

Xiaochun supported her young mistress; though her face was still pallid and her shock not gone, her eyes couldn't help but glance at Li Er's back, curiosity growing in them.

The young lady was the same.

She looked at the figure riding the green ox, a strange glint flashing in her gaze.

Just then, a rustling came from the nearby grass.

Zhao Wen and his two companions crawled out, looking disheveled.

They were covered in mud, their robes stained with leaves and grass, their faces still deathly pale from fright.

The three were in a sorry state, bearing no trace of noble bearing.

Zhao Wen shook the mud from his sleeves, took several deep breaths, and tried to calm himself.

He walked toward the two women, clasped his hands, and forced a smile:

"Miss, you were frightened; that beast came upon us suddenly, we..."

He paused, seeming to feel his earlier actions hard to speak of, but quickly continued:

"Had we known, we ought to have brought more people."

"My Zhao Clan has countless talents; a mere ferocious tiger is nothing to fear!"

The man in the dark blue brocade robe nearby quickly echoed:

"Exactly! My household also keeps several masters, each able to fight tigers barehanded! If they were here, how could that beast act arrogantly!"

Another also said: "That beast was just lucky, catching us off guard. On open ground, we wouldn't fear it."

The three spoke back and forth, as if they truly could have beaten the tiger.

The young lady listened to their words, her face showing no expression.

After they finished, she gave a faint smile.

That smile was very faint.

"You gentlemen truly have extraordinary courage and insight." she said, her voice clear and cold, "In that dire moment, to make such a wise choice and escape the tiger's jaws... truly... wise and brave."

Zhao Wen froze for a moment, not catching the meaning, instead thinking she was praising him, and a hint of pride appeared on his face.

"Miss, you overpraise me," he said, clasping his hands.

"We too had no choice; if we hadn't done that, everyone would probably have died in that beast's jaws."

"Yes, yes," the person beside him quickly chimed in, "Sacrificing one to save many is righteous!"

The young lady said nothing.

She merely glanced at them, her gaze light, as if looking at three unrelated people.

Then she turned, taking Xiaochun, and walked forward.

Zhao Wen still wanted to say something, but her cold attitude left him speechless.

He opened his mouth, but in the end said nothing, and could only follow along resentfully.

……

In front of the wooden house.

The two carriages that had been parked earlier, one had been overturned by the Ferocious Tiger, the horses pulling it lay in a pool of blood, already dead. The other carriage was tipped sideways at the roadside, its horse had run off who knows where, leaving only an empty carriage.

Inside the wooden house, the firelight still flickered.

Li Er was standing before that corpse.

He was the noble whom Zhao Wen and the other had pushed out to feed the tiger.

Li Er bent down, grabbed the corpse's shoulders, and dragged it to the corner of the house.

Then he found a scrap of cloth, hastily covered it over, concealing that pale, twisted face.

He straightened up, looked at the cloth, and fell silent for a moment.

Footsteps sounded at the doorway.

The two women entered.

Xiaochun supported the young lady as she carefully stepped over the threshold, her gaze falling on Li Er.

Li Er turned his head, glanced at them, nodded slightly, as a greeting.

The young lady also gave a slight nod, then her gaze fell on the scrap of cloth in the corner, lingering for an instant.

She said nothing.

She merely withdrew her gaze and, together with Xiaochun, sat down beside the pile of wood still burning.

Afterwards came three hunters, three nobles..........

Silence returned, however.

This time, no one dared to sleep until dawn.