Chapter 17: Six Ghosts Become Two Tigers
The eerie nursery rhyme sent shivers down Lu Li's spine as the three masks floating around him emitted a faint glow. The flames on the torch he held flickered, casting shadows on the forest floor. Out of the forest came six crippled squirrels.
Each of the six squirrels was missing a body part: one had no head, another no front legs, another no hind legs, one had no stomach, one was missing its tail, and the last one was perfectly intact. The uninjured squirrel stepped forward and spoke in a human voice: "Young man, though you seem capable, this mountain is no place for you. Leave now before it's too late!"
"We five brothers came here to rid the world of a menace. We sought the tiger, but it wasn't in the mountain. Instead, it went down and devoured our families. We now remain here to warn those with unrealistic ambitions to turn back and cherish their families before ending up like us," the intact squirrel explained.
Despite their warnings, Lu Li's curiosity piqued. "Aren't you six squirrels? Why do you say you're five people?" he asked.
The intact squirrel sighed. "We five men lost our families to the tiger and sought revenge. But the tiger had become a demon, tearing off our limbs and turning them into squirrels. We, too, became squirrels, though grotesquely transformed. So, young man, heed our warning and leave."
Listening to their tragic tale, Lu Li understood that the nursery rhyme and the stories about the tiger had coalesced into this strange, dreamlike reality. The six squirrels were part of the myth surrounding the Nanshan tiger, and his mission was to dispel these legends.
"I've heard a tale that those bitten by a tiger become ghosts, forced to serve the tiger and lure others to it. So why are you warning me instead of luring me?" Lu Li asked, smiling.
The squirrels' faces twisted into anger. "We were trying to help you, but if you're determined to meddle, don't blame us for what happens next," they snarled.
The six squirrels split into two groups of three, each merging to form a humanoid figure. In distorted voices, they chanted, "We are tigers. We are all tigers. We are man-eating tigers!"
As they chanted, their forms twisted into two tigers, albeit crippled ones—one missing ears, the other a tail. The tigers moved with incredible speed, lunging at Lu Li with claws glowing ominously.
One of the shadow masks floating around Lu Li blazed with light, summoning a clawed ghost. The ghost immediately called forth more of its kind, their dark claws intercepting the tigers. Despite their efforts, the tigers' sheer strength pushed the ghosts back. The earless tiger leaped and prowled nearby, eyes fixed on Lu Li.
"We are tigers with unbeatable strength and unmatched speed. You will become our food," the tigers growled, their power and speed increasing with each word. They tore through one of the clawed ghosts, and the mask ghost barely held its ground against the earless tiger.
"You think this is our full power? We are invincible tigers with countless servants coming to aid us. Despair, young man, for you will be torn apart by a horde of tigers," the tailless tiger sneered after killing another clawed ghost.
Echoing its words, roars resounded from the forest, hinting at a massive, approaching tiger horde. The situation seemed increasingly dire, with no escape in sight.
But Lu Li remained expressionless. The mask beside him lit up again, and the shadow assassin appeared, summoning ten more assassins. Some disappeared into the forest, while others launched suicide attacks on the tigers with drawn daggers.
The tigers laughed, swatting the assassins aside and smashing them with their tails, forcing the clawed ghosts to retreat. "It's useless. These weaklings can't harm us. Stop resisting and accept your fate as our meal," they taunted, advancing on Lu Li.
"You're just an ordinary human. Give up this foolish notion of hunting tigers," they growled, each step intensifying the pressure on Lu Li. The distant roars grew louder, as if an army of tigers was closing in.
"Words hold power, don't they?" Lu Li noted. Each time the tigers spoke, their strength increased, and a wave of despair and fear built up in a corner of his mind, fueled by their words.
Shadows surged behind Lu Li, and he used the torchlight to cast his shadow onto the ground beneath the tigers. Two massive shadowy tentacles emerged, piercing through the tigers' bodies.
The tigers howled in pain, desperately trying to speak. "These are mere scratches. They cannot harm us. You are just a human. Give up your quest," they stammered, their wounds beginning to heal.
But Lu Li interrupted them, tossing a paper tiger into the scene, brought forth by the masked shadow assassin. "You are nothing but paper tigers, not as formidable as you believe," he declared.
With his words, the shadowy tentacles writhed and crushed the two crippled tigers into fragments.