The Innocent Heart - Chapter 42

“Qubing!” Guan Yueyao struggled to control Chizhou as she returned to the clearing. At the sound of her cry, Huo Qubing, who was locked in a struggle with the fierce tiger, turned his head. Their eyes met for a fleeting second before they both hurriedly looked away.

“Qubing, how can I help you!” Guan Yueyao asked urgently. She had zero experience confronting wild beasts, let alone a tiger of such massive proportions. She and Huo Qubing were but two youths; no matter how refined their martial arts, the odds of survival seemed slim.

“A-Yao, quick! Distract it!” In sharp contrast to Guan Yueyao’s panic, Huo Qubing remained remarkably composed. Even in this dire situation, he stayed focused, searching for any opportunity to turn the tide.

Hearing his command, Guan Yueyao treated his words like a divine decree. Her chaotic mind didn’t have time for second-guessing; she began to execute his orders mechanically.

However, while Chizhou was gentle by nature, the horse was also far more timid than Benxiao. As they neared the clearing, the horse reared its hooves, refusing to take another step forward. Seeing her friend struggling while waiting for her support, Guan Yueyao gritted her teeth, flipped off the horse, and charged into the clearing on foot.

Her movements were agile. Taking advantage of the tiger’s attention being entirely fixed on Huo Qubing, she swiftly scaled a rock that was nearly as tall as a man. Standing atop the boulder, she wasted no time, nocking an arrow and drawing her bow to aim at the beast.

“At this distance, I should be able to hit it,” she thought, staring at her target. She released the string.

“Hey! Guan Yueyao, were you sent by the tiger to take my life?!”

Suddenly, Huo Qubing’s exasperated shout erupted from the other side of the clearing. Guan Yueyao looked closer; the arrow she had just fired was lodged precariously by Huo Qubing’s feet. It was no wonder he had lost his temper.

Flushed with embarrassment, her hands trembled as she pulled another arrow from her quiver and aimed at the tiger again.

“Aim properly! Don’t shoot at me again!” Huo Qubing’s voice reached her, still laced with lingering fear.

“I… I know! I’m trying!” Her nerves were taut. After a moment, she finally let go, sending the arrow flying once more.

“ROAR!!!” The tiger’s cry of pain shook the mountain forest.

“I hit it! Qubing! I hit the tiger!” Guan Yueyao shouted excitedly. The arrow had struck the tiger’s rump, sinking two inches into the flesh.

“Watch out!”

In the next second, as Huo Qubing cried out in warning, the smile vanished from Guan Yueyao’s face. The tiger temporarily abandoned Huo Qubing. Having lost its sight, it stood still for a moment, using its ears to track the sound, before locking onto Guan Yueyao’s direction and lunging at her.

Caught off guard, Guan Yueyao’s legs went weak. She instinctively dropped her bow and reached for her waist. In moments of extreme crisis, humans tend to reach for the tool they trust most for self-defense. Guan Yueyao was no exception; she drew the Lietian blade from her belt and fell into a defensive stance.

But the tiger’s attack did not come as swiftly as she expected. The beast lunged with all its might, but because it was blind, it could not judge the terrain. Driven by hatred, the massive tiger slammed directly into the large rock Guan Yueyao was standing on.

Newton’s third law took effect—the force of the impact sent the tiger recoiling onto the ground. Stunned by the sudden, violent collision, the tiger lay there dazed, unable to stand up for the moment.

“Now! Quickly! A-Yao, kill it!” Huo Qubing urged. Guan Yueyao reacted instantly. Holding her blade, she leaped down beside the tiger and straddled its back.

Sensing her intent, the tiger struggled violently despite its severe injuries, trying to throw the youth off its back. In this life-or-death moment, Guan Yueyao refused to let go. She bit her lip, her legs gripping the tiger’s belly in a vice-like hold. Raising her blade high above her head with both hands, she put every ounce of her strength into a downward strike.

Finally, the sharp blade sliced down at an angle, burying itself deep into the tiger’s neck. In an instant, warm blood erupted, drenching Guan Yueyao completely. Her vision turned a bloody red, her mind went blank, and a ringing sound filled her ears. She lost all capacity for judgment.

“A-Yao, A-Yao, what’s wrong!” After an unknown amount of time, a violent shaking at her shoulders brought her back. Huo Qubing’s concerned voice echoed in her ears.

“Qubing, Qubing! The tiger, run!” Guan Yueyao instinctively grabbed her friend’s clothes, trying to pull him away in flight.

“A-Yao, calm down! The tiger is dead! We killed it!” Fearing his friend might run back into the forest out of sheer shock, Huo Qubing pulled her into a tight embrace, stroking her back to help her regain her senses.

A sharp clang rang out as the metal blade fell to the ground.

“Qubing! I was scared to death!!” Huo Qubing hadn’t expected that once his friend came to, the first thing she would do was cling to him and start wailing.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. The tiger is dead, we’re safe.” He patted her back awkwardly, trying to comfort her. It was only then that he realized her body was still shaking uncontrollably.

She must have been terrified… Huo Qubing thought. He stopped his restless movements and simply held her quietly until her emotions finally leveled out.

“Hey, Guan Yueyao, how much longer are you going to cry?” As the sky grew dark, Huo Qubing frowned and finally poked his friend, who was still buried against his neck, motionless.

“I wasn’t crying!” came a muffled, nasal retort that made him want to laugh.

“Let’s go. If we wait any longer, the mountain paths will be hard to navigate.” Huo Qubing let go and stood up. As he spoke, he leaned down to pick up the Lietian blade that Guan Yueyao had tossed aside.

The tiger’s corpse had long since grown cold and stiff, and the blood from its wounds had coagulated, staining the earth beneath it a deep crimson. Guan Yueyao watched curiously as Huo Qubing grabbed the tiger’s tail and prepared to cut.

“This tiger is too heavy; we can’t carry it back. We’ll take the tail first. Once we get back to Chang’an, we’ll bring more men to haul it out,” Huo Qubing said, swinging the blade down with precision. A moment later, he was holding the thick, long tiger tail.

“Now I want to see what that kid Chen Zhi has to say.” Huo Qubing looked at the tail, his face flushed with undeniable pride. He was already impatient to get to their meeting spot to see Chen Zhi’s expression when he realized he and A-Yao had actually slain a ferocious tiger.

Huo Qubing let out a sharp whistle to call Benxiao and Chizhou. He whistled several times, but the forest remained silent; no sound of hooves answered him.

“Oh no, where are the horses?” Guan Yueyao walked over, looking around.

Huo Qubing pursed his lips. Most likely, during their struggle with the tiger, the horses had bolted in terror. At the time, they were both too preoccupied to notice.

“What do we do? Should we walk out?” Guan Yueyao scratched her head.

“No. We’re far from the path, and it’s getting dark. We don’t know this area well enough; it’s too easy to get lost. We’re better off staying here for the night and finding our way out at dawn.” Huo Qubing shook his head, rejecting her suggestion.

Drenched in tiger blood and feeling extremely uncomfortable, Guan Yueyao’s face fell at the prospect of spending a night in the woods, but she gave a reluctant nod.

“We might not have to stay the whole night. Once my uncle realizes we haven’t returned by the curfew, he’ll guess something went wrong. If they find us tonight, we might suffer a little less,” Huo Qubing consoled her.

But how likely was it that his uncle would find them so easily? Huo Qubing wasn’t sure himself. Leave it to fate, he thought, sitting down with his back against a stone. The life-and-death struggle had drained his stamina. Now that the dust had settled, he felt utterly exhausted and in desperate need of rest. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be ready for whatever other dangers might lurk in the forest after dark.

In autumn, the days are short and the nights are long; the sun had long since sunk behind the mountains. A bone-chilling mountain wind blew through, clearing the scent of blood from the clearing but also making the two youths shiver. They huddled close to each other for warmth.

“Huo Qubing, I’m hungry. Did you bring a fire-starter?” Guan Yueyao looked at the tiger carcass and couldn’t help but swallow.

“No. When we left, you said bringing dry rations was enough. Who would have thought the horse carrying the rations would run away?” Huo Qubing rubbed his empty stomach and sighed at the sky.

“Sigh…” Two heavy sighs rang out in unison, followed by silence. Guan Yueyao was so hungry she felt lightheaded; her eyelids grew heavy and began to droop.

Huo Qubing, however, held his blade close, staying alert to the sounds around them. Suddenly, his shoulder felt heavy. He turned to see his friend had leaned her head against him and fallen asleep.

A-Yao, really… falling asleep so defenselessly in the middle of the wilderness, Huo Qubing grumbled inwardly. But looking at her peaceful, blood-stained face, he couldn’t bring himself to wake her. He resigned himself to serving as a human pillow.

After an unknown amount of time, his ears pricked up. In the distance, he could faintly hear the chaotic barking of dogs. He looked toward the sound and saw the flickering of torches. A search party was moving through the woods.

“A-Yao, A-Yao, wake up!! It must be my uncle looking for us!” Huo Qubing shook Guan Yueyao awake, shouting with excitement.