Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 187 - 185: Fight for the Tiger

Chapter 187: Chapter 185: Fight for the Tiger

Ming Zhijie didn’t go, but Xiao’er and Lai Zhewei did.

What Xiao’er saw could hardly be described as them fighting the tiger; it was more like they were avoiding it.

Anyway, whenever the tiger lunged at someone, that person would flee, and others would wave their hoes, drawing the animal’s attention.

However, the tiger did have a small amount of blood on its body.

When Wang Dafu saw the village chief and the others, he shouted, "Village Chief, you’re finally here!"

His scream startled the tiger, which thought he was challenging it. It roared loudly and darted towards him.

Frightened, he threw his hoe at the tiger and ran towards the village chief.

The tiger was hit on the head with the hoe, and it howled even louder as it charged towards Wang Dafu.

Lai Zhewei quickly drew his sword, and the others also raised their hoes, facing the oncoming tiger.

Li Youfu was famously strong, and he wasn’t afraid with so many people around.

Taking advantage of the moment the tiger landed and everyone evaded, he shouted loudly and swung his high-raised hoe, cutting a deep gash into the tiger’s body.

The pain made the tiger shake violently, which sent Li Youfu flying along with his hoe.

Watching this scene from a tree, Xiao’er couldn’t help but admire his courage and strength.

The injured tiger became even more furious. But after Youfu’s heroic act, everyone grew less afraid and found opportunities to strike the tiger with their hoes or knives.

From her perch in the tree, Xiao’er pulled back her bowstring and waited for the opportune moment.

The opportunity came quickly. With a "whoosh," the arrow shot from her bow seemed to tear through time and space. It was so fast that not a single person caught sight of its shadow before it "thud" into the tiger’s throat.

Lai Zhewei felt the sound of the air breaking in his ears and then saw an arrow stuck in the tiger’s throat. He seized the opportunity and swiftly decapitated the tiger with his sword.

The massive body of the tiger fell to the ground immediately.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief, not caring how dirty the ground was as they collapsed onto it.

Once everyone had caught their breath, the village chief started speaking.

"Since a tiger has appeared here, most likely no other animals will dare to show up for a couple of days. When we get to the gathering point, let’s inform the other groups to descend the mountain early. After all, we’ve already hunted down a tiger, and it’s worth a pretty penny!"

Wang Dafu noticed that the village chief and his group had no game and assumed the chief was contemplating taking a share of the tiger, hence his comment.

"Chief, our team found this tiger first. You’re not thinking of claiming it for yourselves, are you?"

The village chief’s face darkened at this.

"What do you mean? This tiger was discovered by you, but it was killed by Xiao’er and Young Master Lai. I want to ask you something; are you trying to monopolize this?"

"This is our tiger by rights. We appreciate your help, but you can’t just take our tiger!" Wang Dafu’s younger brother, Wang Dacai, also stood up for his elder brother.

The village chief’s face got even darker. Although it had been decades since a tiger was last hunted in the village, it was well-known that anyone who participated in the hunt could share in the rewards.

After all, this was a life-risking endeavor!

These two brothers were selfish. They put in little effort during the hunt but tried their best to claim the benefits.

"Regardless of who found the tiger, everyone who participated in the hunt will get a share! Whoever risked their lives to kill the tiger will receive a bigger share! This is the village rule!"

"Chief, just because you’re the village chief, doesn’t mean you can take advantage of us!"

"Am I taking advantage of you? It’s you who want to take advantage of others. I’m asking you, do you all feel the same?" The village chief turned and asked Wang Dafu’s team.

Several people avoided the chief’s gaze. Fortunately, two had a shred of conscience, but out of twelve, only two.

"I think we should follow the village’s rules."

"Everyone should have a share in the spoils."

Shen Chengyao and Shen Chengzu had regrouped and arrived at this point.

Seeing that the tiger had already been killed, they breathed a sigh of relief, but something was clearly wrong. Why did the village chief look so angry?

"What’s wrong?" Shen Chengyao asked Xiao’er when he approached her.

"Wang Dafu and his team don’t want to share the tiger with us." Xiao’er felt she didn’t really need this tiger, but since it should partly belong to her, she wouldn’t let others greedily take it away without a fight.

Upon hearing Xiao’er’s words, Shen Chengyao frowned. When a tiger was caught in the village, it was customary for all hunters to get a share!

Wang Dafu and his team were becoming increasingly keen on taking advantage of others.

"Youfu, you were the first to land a heavy blow on the tiger, Xiao’er, you were the one to strike its fatal spot with an arrow, and Young Master Lai, you chopped off its head! You have the most say in this matter. Do you want a share of this tiger?"

"Yes, of course!" Youfu had been fed up with the Wang brothers for some time.

Even if their chicken would hop into his yard, their old lady would still claim it as their own!

There were only a few households in the village like theirs.

"Yes!" Xiao’er nodded.

"I’ll follow Uncle’s lead." Lai Zhewei, of course, would not undermine his own people.

"The tiger is ours because we found it. We’d already fought it halfway by the time you came to scavenge. And now you want the larger share? There’s no such good deal in the world!" Lai Yuchang also spoke up.

Earlier, Xiao’er noticed that the tiger was wounded when they arrived, seeing it as his attempt to claim credit.

"We barely scratched it when we arrived, and you claim to have fought it halfway!" Dashi scoffed.

"Anyway, we found it first, so it’s ours. Thank you for your help."

"Fine, since it’s yours because you found it first, let’s find another tiger, just scratch it a bit, then give it to you to fight!"

"Humph! Do you think the tiger is some pet you can give away whenever you want?"

Xiao’er ignored his comment and turned to their team, saying, "Let’s go, the tiger’s mate is coming."

Wang Dafu and his group thought Xiao’er was just trying to scare them, so they put on a show of being frightened.

"Let’s go fast!" Shen Chengyao believed Xiao’er and quickly gathered the children to leave. The others followed.

"Xiao’er, why aren’t you coming?" Shen Chengyao realized Xiao’er wasn’t with them and asked anxiously.

"I’ll make a few scratches on that tiger and catch up. You guys go ahead." Xiao’er said as she started climbing a tree.

Upon hearing this, Wang Dafu disbelieved even more and burst into laughter, "This is hilarious! You’re going to ’scratch the tiger’ and catch up? Such a audacious boast coming from a little kid! Hahaha..."

Xiao’er didn’t care about his laughter. She focused on the front, pulling back her bowstring, and waiting.

When the tiger’s body appeared in her sight, she let loose an arrow that merely grazed the tiger’s skin.

"ROAR!"

The tiger’s roar shook the mountains!

Xiao’er waited for a while then seized another opportunity to shoot an arrow, again only scratching the tiger’s skin.

Then she fetched a clawed rope from her space, threw it to another tree, swung over, and started running!