**Chapter 20: Young Tiger**
"One tiger isn't enough pressure."
Xu Mingwei smiled to himself.
The truth was, he had just been matching the tiger's raw strength. If he used his inner strength and martial arts, he could finish it off easily.
The male tiger turned its head and roared at the tigress.
The tigress responded.
Then, male and female attacked from both directions.
This wasn't the first time they had hunted other beasts.
The male tiger struck first. The tigress closed in.
While Xu Mingwei wrestled with the male, he always kept one-third of his attention on the tigress.
She struck. Sometimes she pounced.
But she never succeeded once.
Xu Mingwei began using the *Minor Dragon Elephant Skill* forms, channeling his inner strength. Each strike carried nearly six thousand pounds of force.
The two tigers were very strong. They took several punches in a row and still survived.
"Good—this is how I'm happy!"
Xu Mingwei held nothing back. His footwork, his martial arts—he unleashed everything.
*Bam! Bam! Bam!*
The wind howled. The tigers roared.
The sound of his punches breaking through the air shook the wilderness.
After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the tiger couple lay dead by Xu Mingwei's hand.
He had shown no mercy.
This was the most primal struggle. Only one side could survive.
If he hadn't been strong enough, he might have been the one to die there today.
"This fur is good. A pelt this large should sell for four or five hundred taels."
Usually, more than three hundred.
He took out his dagger and began skinning them.
If he brought the whole carcasses back, the value would naturally be higher. But they would be hard to carry, and it would be easy to expose his strength.
After he finished, Xu Mingwei collected the furs. His backpack bulged.
He was about to leave when he glanced back at the cave.
Curious, he looked inside.
The cave wasn't large. The ground was five or six meters from the ceiling in some places, and in the lower spots, barely two meters.
*Drip—drip—drip—*
He saw a small pool of water.
Water dripped constantly from above into the pool.
His Eagle Eyes allowed him to see things in the dark as if it were day—quite magical.
He looked around.
He saw a pile of turf on a stone platform. It must have been where the tigers rested.
*Rustle—rustle—*
A sound came from the haystack.
Xu Mingwei walked over and saw a cat-sized little thing, its eyes not yet open, pawing at the dead grass.
"Is this a tiger cub?"
"The fur is white. Is it some kind of mutant?"
Xu Mingwei was a little surprised, then sighed softly. If he had known the tigress had just given birth, he might have spared her.
Without the tigress, the cub would have little chance of surviving on its own.
"Well, Snow wanted a small animal anyway. I'll just bring it back. Otherwise, I don't know if it would survive in the wild."
"Ah, forget it. We'll figure it out later."
"If it goes crazy when it grows up, I'll kill it then."
Before the year-end sacrifice, Xu Mingwei could break through to the first-rate warrior realm. By then, handling the tiger would be easy.
He picked up the little white tiger cub. At first, he thought about putting it in his backpack, but then he remembered the backpack contained its parents' furs. That didn't feel right. So he simply tucked it into his jacket.
"I've got a good haul this time. Time to head back."
He carried his longbow and quiver and started the return journey.
---
**Back home,** it was nearly lunchtime.
Xu Chuan had taught Xu Mingyi and Xu Mingxian weapons training in the morning, then gone out for a while, and returned to supervise their calligraphy practice.
"You're back early today."
"Dad."
Xu Mingwei smiled and said, "This time, I ran into two tigers—very big ones, much larger than ordinary. I got two tiger pelts. Dad, do you think we should keep them for ourselves or sell them in Qingjiang County?"
"I think one could sell for over five hundred taels."
"Then you clean them up, take them to sell, and give the money to Aiyuan. He needs more funds on his end. Keep it as reserve."
"No problem."
"Big Brother!" Xu Mingyi ran over, tugged at his clothes, and looked up expectantly. "Where's the little animal I wanted?"
He grinned and pulled the little white tiger cub out from his jacket.
"What a cute little white cat! I love it!"
Xu Chuan narrowed his eyes slightly, then said, "Is this a white tiger?"
"Father has sharp eyes."
Hearing "white tiger," even Xu Mingxian, who hadn't been very interested, came over and looked at it carefully.
He had never seen a white tiger before.
"It's so small," Xu Mingxian said.
"It was only born recently. Its eyes aren't even open yet. I didn't know the tigress had just given birth, otherwise I would have spared her."
"Without its parents, it couldn't survive. So I brought it back."
Xu Mingwei explained briefly.
Xu Chuan said, "Then let Snow raise it."
Xu Mingyi took the little white tiger cub, gently stroked it with her hand, and said softly, "Little white tiger, you are my pet now."
Then she laughed.
"Sister, when he grows up, he'll be taller and fiercer than you. Be careful he doesn't bite your head off." Xu Mingxian grinned, teasing her.
"Oh, you stinky brother! Little White wouldn't do that. Would you, Little White?"
Xu Chuan looked at the cub carefully, then stepped forward and said, "Since you've named it, you'll be responsible for taking good care of it from now on."
"It looks like it's been born for nearly two weeks. Even without the tigress's milk, it should be fine."
"I'll write down some care instructions for you. Follow them."
"Thank you, Dad! Dad is the best!" Xu Mingyi cried out sweetly.
Xu Chuan rubbed her head, then wrote a page of notes and handed them to her. Xu Mingyi immediately bounced away with joy.
Xu Mingxian looked at Xu Chuan and said, "Dad, tigers are fierce beasts. Won't raising one be dangerous?"
"What, worried about your sister?"
"I'm not worried about her." Xu Mingxian turned his head away, feigning arrogance.
"Don't worry. It won't be a problem." Xu Chuan smiled reassuringly. "Go practice your calligraphy. Finish writing those characters before you can have lunch."
"Yes, Father."
Xu Mingxian was surprised—he didn't know why his father was so certain.
But he chose to believe.
"Oh, Father, I also found these two strange fruits. They're hard as stone—I don't know what they are. You have broad knowledge. Take a look."
Xu Chuan nodded and took them. But he didn't study them right away. He simply set them aside for now.
Xu Mingwei returned to his room, hung up his bow and arrows, and then went to clean the blood off the tiger pelts and remove the odor.
---
**Time passed.** By noon the next day, the tiger pelts had dried.
Xu Mingwei rode to the county.
In less than half an hour, he arrived at the city gate of Qingjiang County.
The city wall was over twenty meters high, built from whole blocks of basalt, stretching more than ten miles in both directions—like a dragon's ridge lying across the plain.
The gray walls were covered with mottled traces of time. The base of the wall was thick with green moss.
In the center stood two elmwood doors wrapped in iron. Bronze beast heads inlaid on the door plates held large copper rings. Each door was three or four meters wide, over ten meters tall, more than thirty centimeters thick. The surface was painted with red lacquer.
People came and went here. Carts and horses passed through. Gatekeeper soldiers conducted special inspections, checking the identities of travelers.
Xu Mingwei dismounted and led his horse forward.
People not registered within Qingjiang County's jurisdiction had to pay an entry fee to enter the city and apply for a temporary identity card.
If they were doing business, they also had to register and pay taxes.
Xu Mingwei naturally didn't need to do any of that. After showing his proof of identity, he led his horse into the city.
---