"What are you talking about? What kind of nonsense is that? We've only met three or four times, but don't you know what kind of person I am?"

"Do I need a weapon to hunt tigers? I can take down this little thing with just two punches! Easy peasy, a sure thing."

"Alright, alright. I get that you didn't know, so I don't blame you, Brother Sun. But you can't slander me like this anymore. If word gets out that I, Zhang Beixing, need a weapon to hunt a tiger, I'll die of embarrassment."

"Call me sometime, and I'll take you up the mountain to hunt tigers together!"

With that, Zhang Beixing patted Brother Sun's shoulder.

Then, under Brother Sun's dumbfounded gaze, he lifted his head, puffed out his chest, and strode away, carrying the tiger on his shoulder.

It was a while before Brother Sun reacted, vaguely realizing something.

??? Was that really a goddamn tiger just now? Holy shit!

***

Over the next two hours or so, Zhang Beixing transformed into a 'town-stroller.'

He began wandering around Xiyin Town, which was, at best, a large village.

Whenever he met acquaintances he'd only seen a few times, he made sure to greet them; otherwise, it would make him, Zhang, look like he had no manners.

"Yo! Out for a meal, eh? Haha, yes, it's a tiger. I just had bad luck today and ran into a small one. Only one point nine meters and two hundred kilograms—hardly a good fight. I didn't even use my full strength before it went down."

"Hey, Uncle Wang! Oh, right, right. How did you know I just knocked down a tiger? It looks intimidating, but it isn't even fully grown. Not much fun to fight."

"Lao Li, that won't do. This little tiger hasn't fully grown yet. Besides, it's a female and has no cubs. I can't give it to you. What do you mean 'tiger's delight' would also do? I've already told you it's not mature yet!"

"Auntie Liu, don't you go stirring up trouble here either. Saying it's one point nine meters and weighs over two hundred kilograms, so it counts as mature? What are you talking about? Mature is mature; not mature is not mature. If you really fancy some 'tiger's delight,' I'll go into the mountains and hunt a mature one for you someday. I can't lay my hands on a minor!"

"Are you asking if I got injured after fighting the tiger? Pshaw! Get injured fighting that thing? It didn't even touch me before I knocked it down. Alright, thanks for your concern. Let's have drinks sometime!"

"..."

Just like that, he wandered around Xiyin Town for two and a half full circuits.

Seeing there were no more acquaintances to greet and that the sky was also darkening, Zhang Beixing regretfully smacked his lips.

He slapped the tiger's rump, which, from his constant slapping over the past two-plus hours, had turned red and even started to shed fur.

He lowered it from his shoulder.

After all, it had fulfilled its mission.

Carrying it any further would be rather impolite.

Dragging the tiger by its thick tail, Zhang Beixing reluctantly arrived at the front door of Zheng Jituo's maternal grandmother's house and knocked.

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK—

"Who is it?"

Zheng Jituo's uncle's voice came from inside.

"It's me, Zhang'er—the one who took down the one-point-nine-meter, two-hundred-kilogram tiger... Bah, force of habit. It's Jituo's classmate, Zhang'er, who stayed over at your place ten days ago. Uncle, Jituo called me a while back and asked me to come over. Could you please open the door?" Zhang Beixing shouted towards the yard.

Because he'd been greeting people so loudly earlier, his voice was still unusually booming.

Hearing this commotion, a hush first fell over the yard of Zheng Jituo's maternal grandmother's house.

Then, a flurry of chaotic footsteps approached the door.

The main door opened.

Zheng Jituo, Jin Linyu, Dong Guoning, and Lin Siqi appeared at the doorway.

Behind the four of them, many other classmates followed.

But before Zhang Beixing could greet everyone, a petite figure suddenly lunged at him.

It was Lin Siqi, who threw herself into Zhang Beixing's arms and held him tight without saying a word.

Feeling the soft pressure of her twin peaks against his chest, feeling her warmth, Zhang Beixing, who was a full head taller than her, patted Lin Siqi's head.

Meanwhile, Zheng Jituo, looking at Zhang Beixing, started cursing, "Lao Zhang, you little whelp, you finally decided to show your face!"

"After that call, you vanished for over three hours! It was like you'd just evaporated. We were about to head up the mountain to search for you!"

"It's such a short walk! What the hell took you so long?"

Zheng Jituo was extremely agitated.

People are like that. It's not the lack of news that's scary; it's getting some news and then suddenly—silence!

If Zhang Beixing hadn't answered his phone at all, Zheng Jituo wouldn't have been this upset.

He would've just waited until four-thirty and then sent people up the mountain to find Zhang Beixing.

But the key issue was that the call had connected. They knew Zhang Beixing was alright and heading down the mountain. So they waited. They waited and waited, but there was no sign of him. They tried calling again, and damn it, his phone was off—unreachable!

"You damn bastard! I'll... You..."

"Do you even realize how worried we were?"

The more Zheng Jituo thought about what had happened, the angrier he got. The angrier he got, the more fiercely he cursed.

Seeing him like this, and considering that his friend was genuinely worried and this was, after all, his home, Zhang Beixing magnanimously chose not to argue.

He just waved his hand dismissively.

"Alright, alright, that's enough. I apologize. My phone was off, and then I got lost. That's why it took me so long to get here, alright?"

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