Chapter 22: Ordinary
Everything before him started to distort. The red fox was pierced by the shadow and died, the white monkey showed a look of joy, and the screaming Zombie Spirits all vanished in the distortion.
During this process, over five hundred Zombie Spirits appeared before Lu Li's eyes. Their numb expressions, along with the fruits on the vines in the cave, emitted a strong light for a moment, then all shattered, turning into nothingness. Several modules dropped to the ground from the shattering.
As Lu Li's vision cleared, he saw Zhou Chu standing atop a massive white tiger's corpse, breathing slightly heavily. He had some scratches on him, but nothing seemed too serious. In contrast, the others supporting him were in poor condition, with one or two having lost limbs and another with a deep wound in his chest, already dead.
Lu Li glanced at the ground, noticing two translucent crystals, the very modules dropped when the wraiths and the fruits burst upon his exit from the illusory dreamscape. Extending a shadow tendril, he picked up the modules and put them in his pocket without inspecting them closely. He then walked towards Zhou Chu.
"What's the situation?" Lu Li asked vaguely. Based on the last scene he saw before entering the illusory dreamscape, he was with Zhou Chu, maintaining a low profile. He was unaware of what transpired during his absence.
"Fortunately, you helped a lot. Otherwise, it would have taken me much longer to kill this beast," Zhou Chu sighed.
Lu Li squinted slightly, and after conversing with Zhou Chu, he roughly understood what had happened.
The group had climbed the mountain, heading deeper into the forest. Along the way, there were some minor troubles like venomous snakes and insects, but with a few seasoned hunters, these were manageable without much loss.
Soon, they found traces of the tiger, and Zhou Chu engaged the white tiger. In terms of physical strength, the tiger was no match for Zhou Chu. Neither the tiger's might nor its fierce aura affected him.
However, the tiger was incredibly difficult to kill, or rather, it was hard to ensure its death. Zhou Chu suspected something was sustaining its life. Though he could destroy those sustaining elements with his innate strength, it would take time to wear them down.
The tiger's speed also posed a challenge. Despite Zhou Chu's superior physique, he needed his martial skills to suppress the tiger but couldn't completely overpower it. The tiger often used its speed to escape, forcing the supporting guards to intercept and buy Zhou Chu time, resulting in heavy injuries among the guards, including one fatality.
Zhou Chu attributed their success to Lu Li because he had used some secret method to sever the connection between the tiger and whatever was sustaining it, allowing Zhou Chu to finally kill it. In other words, Zhou Chu had been battling a tiger with multiple lives, and Lu Li severed its extra lives, leaving it with only one, which Zhou Chu then killed. To the others, it appeared as though Lu Li had used some arcane technique.
Regarding the illusory dreamscape, Lu Li deduced its nature. The Southern Mountain Tiger was merely an unintelligent beast, but the dreamscape had somehow centered on it, manifesting tiger-related myths within the illusion.
For instance, those killed by the tiger became Zombie Spirits within the dreamscape, and myths like "the fox exploits the tiger's might" and "when the tiger is absent, the monkey becomes king" were reflected in the forms of the red fox and the white monkey.
The five squirrels initially warned Lu Li to leave because his presence threatened the dreamscape's integrity, so they instinctively tried to expel him. After Lu Li killed the squirrels, the red fox immediately appeared. The fox understood the essence of the dreamscape and, realizing Lu Li's strength, tried to recruit him rather than fight him directly.
The fox first pretended to question Lu Li, then, upon receiving an excuse, quickly changed its stance, treating him as a guest and taking him to the Tiger King's cave. The fox intended to use the Tiger King's authority to intimidate Lu Li into submission, thereby neutralizing his threat and balancing the growing suspicion of the white monkey to maintain control.
However, Lu Li, having deduced the truth from minor clues in the village, directly exposed the fox's facade, throwing it into confusion. Had the fox initially mobilized all the Zombie Spirits and the white monkey against Lu Li, he might not have won.
Despite the loss of a guard and the injuries sustained by others, Zhou Chu had succeeded in killing the Southern Mountain Tiger, fulfilling their mission.
After resting for a while, Zhou Chu, carrying the tiger's body on his shoulder, led the group back down the mountain. When Zhou Chu, bearing the massive tiger corpse, appeared in the village, the villagers erupted in celebration.
This tiger had frequently descended the mountain to hunt, claiming many lives over the years. Now that it was slain, the villagers were overjoyed. Initially, they hadn't believed Zhou Chu and his team would succeed, given previous failed attempts by others who never returned. But upon seeing the enormous Tiger corpse, the villagers were both fearful and respectful of Zhou Chu.
The village chief warmly welcomed Zhou Chu, Lu Li, and the others, even slaughtering an old hen for a feast. The villagers pitched in to help, and Zhou Chu happily took the seat of honor, drinking the chief's treasured wine. The massive tiger corpse, despite being dead, still exuded a commanding presence, making children point and murmur from a distance.
After eating, Lu Li watched Zhou Chu enjoy his drinks and the villagers' congratulations. Shaking his head, Lu Li realized Zhou Chu was content now, meaning the hunt for the flood dragon was likely next.
As night fell, Lu Li walked to the edge of the Southern Mountain, sensing that the illusory dreamscape, though significantly diminished with the tiger's death, had not entirely vanished and was transforming into another form.
Lu Li took out the modules he had collected from the dreamscape, and with a flash, he disappeared...