Chapter 559: Chapter 253: Walking the Tiger

Zhang Dahua stared intently at Yang Qi’s back and the approaching tiger. He was scared too, but he knew that pulling someone back now would cause a commotion. For a tiger, that would be a provocation, easily leading to a dangerous situation.

Besides, he trusted Yang Qi. He immediately growled, "Don’t move! Don’t scream! Watch the Director, and don’t cause any trouble!"

In that brief moment of hesitation, Yang Qi had already walked seven or eight meters away, while Lian Po was now only thirty or forty meters from the crowd.

At this distance, the tiger’s immense size, its gaunt yet powerful musculature, its cold amber eyes, and the suffocatingly intense wildness emanating from it were all terrifyingly clear.

Everyone held their breath, their hearts threatening to leap out of their throats.

Song Dacheng’s hand rested on his holster, fingers trembling as large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

’Shoot?’

’What if I provoke it and it lunges at the crowd?’

’But if I don’t shoot... am I supposed to just watch Yang Qi get...?’

In that critical, breathless moment, something happened that made everyone stare, dumbfounded, wondering if their eyes were playing tricks on them.

Yang Qi stopped and raised his hands. Facing the slowly advancing tiger, he made a few simple gestures, as if offering a greeting. At the same time, his lips moved slightly, as though he were saying something.

His voice was so soft that no one in the distance could hear him.

And the South China Tiger—the one that had been advancing with such steady, ferocious purpose—after Yang Qi gestured and spoke... it actually...

It actually stopped!

It stood about seven or eight meters from Yang Qi, its massive head tilting slightly, as if listening and trying to understand.

Then, before their very eyes, the crowd watched as the tense, aggressive posture—poised to erupt at any moment—visibly slackened.

The low, threatening rumble from its throat faded away.

Then, under the incredulous stares of the entire crowd, the Wild South China Tiger slowly, deliberately, lay down.

It lay right there on the grass, not far in front of Yang Qi.

Though its head was still raised, watching Yang Qi, its expression had clearly lost its ferocity. Like a big house cat, it lay still, looking at him with docility.

But that wasn’t all!

Yang Qi calmly began to walk, step by step, toward the recumbent tiger.

His stride was steady, showing not a trace of hesitation or fear.

"No—"

Someone tried to cry out, but the sound caught in their throat.

Seven meters, five meters, three meters...

Closer. Closer still.

Yang Qi stopped right in front of the tiger, within arm’s reach.

He even reached out and gently stroked the tiger’s enormous, scarred head.

The tiger merely turned its head slightly, as if unaccustomed to the touch, but it didn’t shy away, much less attack.

Instead, a low, short whimper rumbled in its throat, as if in response.

After stroking the tiger’s head a few more times, Yang Qi withdrew his hand. He said something else to the tiger, then pointed in the direction of Tiger Mountain.

The tiger looked where Yang Qi pointed, then let out a low growl in response.

Then, it slowly rose to its feet, turned, and began walking in the general direction of Tiger Mountain.

After a few steps, it stopped, looked back at Yang Qi who remained standing there, and growled again.

That look, that gesture...

No matter how you looked at it, the tiger seemed to be hurrying him along, as if to say,

"Well, let’s go! What are you standing there for? I thought we were going that way."

Yang Qi smiled and nodded at the tiger. Then he turned, gave the crowd a wave, and immediately turned back around. He fell into an unhurried pace, following a few steps behind and to the side of the tiger.

Man and tiger, one following the other, moved with a strange harmony and unspoken understanding. Watched by countless dazed, shocked, and disbelieving eyes, they walked into the morning mist, growing more distant as they headed toward Tiger Mountain.

They left behind a crowd of people who were dumbstruck, petrified on the spot, their minds completely short-circuited.

Song Dacheng’s hand was still on his holster, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit an egg. His eyes were wide and round, his face a mixture of shock, confusion, and absurdity, along with the dazed look of someone thinking, ’Am I still asleep? Is this a dream?’

Feng Jianye and An Yumin had their hands clamped over their mouths, their bodies trembling slightly, though whether from fear or excitement was impossible to say.

Zhang Dahua pinched his own thigh hard, grimacing in pain to confirm he wasn’t dreaming.

All the security guards, police officers, and staff stood as if frozen to the spot, staring blankly at the receding figures of the man and the tiger. A single thought pulsed through their minds.

’This... What the hell is going on?’

’Did Yang Qi just... take a wild tiger for a walk like a dog?!’

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