Chapter 121 - 120: Exterminating the Tiger
Xiaojin took flight again, circling ahead to lead the way and occasionally letting out a cry to signal its position. Liu Haisheng watched, green with envy.
"Captain Zhao, that roc of yours is incredibly smart, practically human. How about letting our farm have it?"
"Sure, Farm Director Liu. I come here to help you, and in return, you try to poach my talent? So much for that righteous face of yours! I’m going to report you to the county authorities!"
Liu Haisheng froze for a second before bursting into laughter. He was really starting to like Zhao Wendong’s personality. The man treated everyone equally, his jokes landed perfectly, and despite his roguish attitude, he had real skills.
The group followed the Golden Roc in starts and stops for over an hour. Finally, the roc began circling over a mountain peak, ceasing its forward progress. Zhao Wendong quickly raised a hand.
"We’re here. That thing should be somewhere around here."
He looked down, scanning the snow-covered ground. Soon, he found several sets of rounded, plum-blossom-shaped paw prints, their claw marks clearly visible.
Excitement flashed in Liu Haisheng’s eyes.
"So these are the beast’s tracks?"
"Mhm!"
Zhao Wendong started following the freshest set of tracks, and the others fell in line behind him, eyes scanning their surroundings warily.
After more than ten minutes of tracking, Zhao Wendong led them to a cliff. He observed it carefully for a moment before pointing to a natural stone cave at its base.
"That should be the man-eater’s den. Get ready. We’ll surround it slowly."
"Right!"
Spirits high, everyone answered in unison. They raised their submachine guns to their chests and followed Zhao Wendong, creeping slowly toward the cave.
ROOOOAR—!
Just as they neared the entrance, an earth-shattering roar erupted from within the cave. Worried the tiger might try to escape, Zhao Wendong bellowed an order.
"Spread out and take aim! Don’t let it get away!"
The men fanned out, each person aiming their weapon at the mouth of the cave.
"ROAR!"
With another thunderous roar, a massive tiger leaped out. Its jaws were parted, revealing razor-sharp teeth, and a piece of its left ear was missing. ’This must be the same tiger that broke into Zhao Yinhua’s yard yesterday,’ Zhao Wendong realized. ’I must have nicked its ear when I fired!’
The tiger’s eyes were locked on the men. When it spotted Zhao Wendong, its gaze sharpened. It dug its claws into the ground and launched itself at them.
"Fire!"
The word was barely out of Zhao Wendong’s mouth when a volley of gunfire erupted.
RAT-TAT-TAT—!
RAT-TAT-TAT—!
No matter how fast the tiger was, it couldn’t outrun bullets. Zhao Wendong had only fired three shots himself when half a magazine from Liu Haisheng’s and the others’ submachine guns ripped through the air. The tiger’s massive, pouncing body convulsed in mid-flight, the force of its leap completely absorbed by the impact of the bullets. It let out two agonized howls and then went silent.
THUD!
The tiger’s bullet-riddled corpse hit the ground, its blood rapidly staining and melting the white snow around it.
"Hold on! We need to check the cave in case there’s another one!"
Zhao Wendong yelled when he saw Liu Haisheng and his men lowering their guns to approach. It was a well-known saying: one mountain can’t hide two tigers... unless they’re a male and a female.
The tiger should have tried to flee from such a large group of people; its decision to attack instead was unusual. Everyone present was deeply impressed with Zhao Wendong, and his orders were carried out immediately.
The group crept cautiously into the tiger’s den. Just inside the entrance, they saw a mangled corpse and the tattered remains of a cotton-padded jacket. Liu Haisheng and the others’ faces fell. It was their farmhand—the one whose head had been left behind.
"There are no other tigers!"
The cave wasn’t large; you could see everything at a glance. Chen Baoguo called out. Zhao Wendong nodded, but he still felt a nagging doubt.
"Hold on, let me look around some more."
’Mama.’
Suddenly, a thought echoed from a crevice in the cave wall. Zhao Wendong’s eyes narrowed. He approached cautiously, rifle raised. When he saw a tiny tiger cub huddled in the crack, a look of disbelief crossed his face.
It was a well-hidden crevice. The little cub had its head buried in its paws, lying there without making a sound. Unfortunately, its thoughts had given it away.
Zhao Wendong wasn’t shocked that the cub was hiding; after all, tigers are highly intelligent. What surprised him was that this cub looked to be less than a month old, barely able to crawl. ’That’s not right,’ he thought. ’Cubs at this time of year should be old enough to start hunting on their own.’
Zhao Wendong scanned the area, but found no trace of any other cubs. ’There’s usually more than one!’
The others saw what Zhao Wendong was doing and came over to look.
"Holy shit, there’s a cub in here!"
"It’s a tiger cub!"
Everyone gasped in unison. Looking at the impossibly cute and chubby little creature, no one could connect it with the man-eater they had just killed.
Zhao Wendong reached out and picked the cub up by the scruff of its neck. The tiny tiger let out a series of babyish mews, as if trying to tell Zhao Wendong how fierce it was and that he shouldn’t touch it.
’Mama, save me.’
Hearing the cub’s thoughts, Zhao Wendong felt a strange pang in his heart. He tucked the little tiger inside his coat, deciding to raise it himself. If he left it here, it would either freeze, starve, or be eaten by another animal.
"Farm Director Liu, any problem with me taking this cub?"
"No problem at all! You’re the whole reason we found this man-eater, so by rights, the kill should be yours anyway. And we won’t go back on our promise of a reward. It’s just... we have to turn the carcass in to officially close this incident, so we can’t give you the tiger itself. But rest assured, Captain Zhao. Our farm—and I, Liu Haisheng—will make sure you don’t come away empty-handed!"
"Haha, sounds good! I’ll leave it in your hands, Farm Director Liu!"
Zhao Wendong chuckled and started walking out. Zhou Mancang, at his side, looked at the tiger cub in his arms with a puzzled expression.
"Wendong, something’s not right," he said. "Shouldn’t tiger cubs this time of year be five or six months old? Even the youngest ones should be three or four months. Why is this one so tiny?"
Zhao Wendong glanced at the dead tiger outside, sighed, and offered his theory.
"She probably conceived late, and that, combined with a late birth or some other factors, meant this cub was only born just before winter set in."
Zhou Mancang fell silent. They all knew that animals typically reproduce in the summer when the weather is warm and food is abundant. Could it be that this tiger only resorted to killing people and livestock because it was desperate to feed its young?
The two men exchanged a knowing glance and didn’t bring it up again. A tiger was just an animal; humans were superior. Regardless of why the tiger had preyed on people and livestock, its fate was sealed. It may have been the king of the forest, but humanity was the king of the Earth.
On the return journey, Liu Haisheng and his men were in high spirits, talking and laughing loudly as they carried the tiger’s corpse and the farmhand’s remains. Only Zhao Wendong was unhappy. The restless cub in his arms kept trying to squirm free, and it had also soaked his coat with pee. Whenever the cold wind blew, a shiver ran through his entire body.
When they reached the foot of the mountain, the sled driver and the soldiers who had stayed behind were thrilled to see they had successfully dealt with the man-eater and recovered the farmhand’s remains. The whole group quickly hurried back to the farm.
When the horse-drawn sled pulled into the farm’s courtyard, staff and off-duty soldiers from the guard platoon rushed out to see the spectacle. They gathered around the massive tiger, which weighed over two hundred pounds, pointing and chattering.