A voice suddenly broke the silence we had been holding so carefully.
"Ah—! Lizard!"
It was Lan Yue.
Her voice rang through the forest, sharp and careless, and in that instant, I felt something shift.
My eyes darkened slightly.
"Bitch," I muttered under my breath.
The bushes ahead went completely still, and the faint movement that had been there before disappeared as if whatever was hiding had taken notice of us.
Then, without warning, something burst out from the bushes.
It was a tiger.
Its body pushed through the branches with force as it charged toward us, fast and direct, its eyes fixed on the group in front of it.
"Ahhhh… T-t-tiger!"
The scream spread through the crowd immediately, and panic followed just as quickly as people stumbled backward, grabbing their children and trying to move away without thinking.
"Stop!" I said sharply. "No one runs!"
My voice cut through the panic, and some people froze in place.
