Chapter 34: The Divine Beast, White Tiger (2)
Immediately reining in her horse, Shen Jingbin drew to a stop. She then opened her map and took a look at her current position.
For the sake of increasing the game’s playability, the map provided by the system wasn’t very descriptive. Players had to explore the regions in order to obtain the specific details of the area, while those who were lazy could also buy a detailed map from other players. Other than a few main cities, places like Nameless Mountain were all generalised in the system provided map. An area like Nameless Mountain was depicted on the map by a triangle with the words “Nameless Mountain” scrawled in large letters over it.
Even after scrutinizing the map for a very long time, other than ascertaining that she still hadn’t wandered off the Nameless Mountain, Shen Jingbin wasn’t able to make anything else out.
This wasn’t good.
Should I retrace my steps and head back? She didn’t even know which road she took to get here!
Should I continue onwards? She didn’t even know what made that cry just now! She was still a newbie that didn’t even have the strength to truss a chicken. For all she knew, the situation might take a turn for the worse before she even noticed!
In the end, Shen Jingbin opted to send a letter to Shen Jingchen after pondering over her choices.
“Are there any divine beasts, monsters, or any other creatures that are out of the ordinary in the Nameless Mountain?”
She received a reply not long after that said, “I don’t think so. What’s up?”
“That’s good to hear. I’m at the Nameless Mountain now and happened to hear a roar. I’m feeling a little apprehensive.”
“… Are you kidding me!? You’re telling me you panicked when you heard a roar? Do you think you’re a weak little flower?! My gosh, your big bro actually took precious time out of his fighting in an instance dungeon to reply to your email!”
“… Our friendship is over! Leave! -_-”
She unhappily sent an unamused expression to Shen Jingchen. After that, she closed her mailbox and checked the contents of her backpack.
There, she found that she had sufficient health recovery items and the like, so that in the face of danger, she’d be able to escape even if she wasn’t able to defeat her opponent. Shen Jingchen was right, she wasn’t some weak little girl. She couldn’t let herself be terrified by just the sound of a roar!
Shen Jingbin recalled her mount and took out her horsetail whisk, before carefully advancing.
The deeper she ventured, the quieter her surroundings became. After several more steps, she found herself enveloped by a deathly silence. It seemed as though there were no other living beings here apart from herself and an unknown creature.
Based on the general knowledge that she’d accumulated over the years, there was only two possibilities for the lack of living creatures in an area. The first being that the area was naturally as such, while the other was that there was some kind of formidable character here that deterred any living creatures from approaching. Based on the roar she’d heard earlier, she was more inclined to believe that this was due to the latter.
Shen Jingbin trudged further down the path, every step she took harder than the last. The wild shrubs growing by the sides of the path were starting to creep upwards in a threatening manner, gradually preventing her from proceeding any further. Seeing this, she was forced to use one hand to open up the way ahead, allowing her to finally reach the end of the path after much difficulty. Shen Jingbin then lowered her body, doing her best to hide behind trees that were taller than a person.
A sheer cliff stood at the end of the winding mountain path, while the expansive sky continued on as far as the eye could see, making it seem unusually grand. There was a cave beneath the cliff that was as high as two people were tall, a small portion of the entrance covered by the wild grass that was frantically growing atop the cliff. The portion that peeked out from the grass was completely black, making it impossible to see the situation within with any clarity.
Before straightening up, she looked around and confirmed that there was nothing out of the ordinary. Next, she slowly approached the cave with extreme caution. As soon as she got close though, a blast of hot, thick, and foul smelling air assaulted her senses. The tip of Shen Jingbin’s nose twitched and her heart immediately tightened. Having learned martial arts for so many years, she then reflexively rolled to the side!
A white shadow suddenly leaped out from the cave, landing squarely on the spot where she was standing just a moment ago.
That white shadow landed heavily on the ground. If she hadn’t dodged just now, she would’ve already turned into a white light and died.
On closer inspection, the shadow actually turned out to be a huge White Tiger!
The White Tiger was extremely robust and elegant. Perfect curves lined its furry body that was as white as pure snow, causing it to emit a unique charm under the sunlight. A mere glance at the White Tiger was enough to mesmerize any onlookers. The White Tiger closely examined the prey in front of it with its golden beastly eyes, its gaze holding a peculiar attractive force.
Shen Jingbin quietly swallowed her saliva, tightening her grip on the horsetail whisk in her hands.
Having failed its first attack, the White Tiger bared it’s fangs and lowered the bottom half of its body. It then proceeded to repeatedly swipe at her with its sharp claws, a low rumble ringing out when its paw landed on the ground. This method of attacking was a trait of feline monsters.
Shen Jingbin felt the hairs on her neck stand on end.
This tiger was way too different from tigers in the zoo! Compared to this fellow before her eyes, tigers in the zoo were like small wild cats!
“Roar!” A long whistle came from the White Tiger. Suddenly, it projected itself off from its hind legs, initiating the first attack.
Shen Jingbin knew that it was definitely impossible for her to tough it out and go against the White Tiger. Her mind in a frenzy as she tried to come up with a plan on the spot. Shen Jingbin relied on her superior agility to dodge the White Tigers attacks, before using her horsetail whisk to whip its buttocks.
The White Tiger that was successfully whipped let out a roar. The force of it rattled Shen Jingbin’s eardrums till they hurt, causing her to rub them as she cursed: What’s the point of making these things so realistic in a game!? She really felt like this White Tiger was going to kill her soon!
The White Tiger was clearly feeling a little irritated because it still couldn’t land a hit on Shen Jingbin, and issued a deep roar at her. Shen Jingbin reciprocated without giving it a second thought, mimicking its roar.
The White Tiger was stunned.
It was no longer in a hurry to attack her after realising that the prey standing before its eyes wasn’t that easy to deal with. Rather, the White Tiger stood up and circled Shen Jingbin while baring its sharp fangs at her.
Shen Jingbin broke down internally: What the f*ck! Is it planning to wage a mental battle with me!?
With her eyes fixed on the White Tiger, Shen Jingbin followed the tiger with her body and slowly turned in a circle along with it.
For a wild beast such as this, one had to overpower its imposing aura if they were to have any hope of being rescued. Otherwise, only death awaited them!
Both human and tiger were suddenly locked in a stalemate. At the moment, the White Tiger had abruptly ripped its mouth wide open, making it appear to be very ferocious.
Shen Jingbin immediately raised the horsetail whisk in her hand and aimed it at the White Tiger.
Just as she thought that it was going to unleash its attack again, the White Tiger unexpectedly retracted the fiendish look on its face and dropped down in front of her. It then wagged its tail and softly cried out to her, “Meow~”
Shen Jingbin was flabbergasted and momentarily lost her footing!
“Congratulations, the “Divine Beast: White Tiger” has acknowledged you and recognises you as its master. As such, it will follow you to the ends of the earth and stand alongside you in battle! Notification: the Divine Beast, White Tiger is one of the four Grand Divine Beasts, it’s whereabouts are unknown. It can be tamed, but the means of doing so are unknown. Activating the White Tiger’s attack skill allows the user to go Berserk.”
The system notification that Shen Jingbin hadn’t heard in a long time rang in her head. She looked at the White Tiger sitting down in front of her, who was currently wagging its tail and meowing in an attempt to act cute. In that moment, she wordlessly looked towards the heavens.
System, tell me honestly. What kind of tiger meows?! Don’t think you can lie to me just because I’m not very knowledgeable!
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