Plan to Deal with the White Tiger

Her face contorted as irritation surged within her. Before she could think further, Bai Xiao grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

The Tiger Demon Chang made no move even when it saw her leave.

She took out two Pathfinding Talismans, pasted one on Bai Xiao's forehead and one on herself, saying, "These are Pathfinding Talismans. They ward off wandering souls and guide the way, preventing us from being blinded by ghosts."

They went down the slope very smoothly—unusually smoothly. She said suspiciously, "This is too abnormal."

She took out another talisman and pasted it onto her sword.

From the darkness, a pair of blood-red eyes watched the two of them.

The Tiger Demon Chang lunged out of the grass to pounce on her. Just as she was about to dodge, she tripped over a rock.

Seeing the dire situation, Bai Xiao pushed Wan Ru away, using his own body as a shield.

Bai Xiao pushed her so hard that she rolled a long distance on the ground.

But unexpectedly, the tiger missed Bai Xiao. Heaven had truly spared his small life.

She quickly ran toward the tiger. The Peach Wood Sword in her hand unleashed a terrifying surge of lightning energy. Raising her sword high, she shouted:

"Heavenly Thunder Art!"

The moment she swung her sword down, a bolt of lightning struck the white tiger directly.

Bai Xiao stood frozen in daze, watching the tiger right in front of him get struck by lightning.

She ran to Bai Xiao, grabbed his arm to pull him up, and said, "Let's go quickly!"

She and he escaped from that hill, running all the way to Zhuang Yun's house.

Standing in the courtyard of the young woman's house, they didn't dare step inside. Wan Ru said:

"My cultivation base is only five years old. I fear it is difficult to match the Tiger Demon Chang."

"Princess, perhaps you should try to recruit more Daoist Masters to assist you. As for me... as for me..."

Bai Xiao suddenly fell silent. She laughed it off and said, "No need. I just need to prepare a few more things."

She took out a stack of talismans to draw, then said, "Go inside and rest. I will prepare some things out here."

Bai Xiao wanted to say something, but she opened the door, pushed him inside, and shut it.

The next morning.

When Bai Xiao came out of the house, she was nowhere to be seen. Last night, he had watched the door to see if she would come inside to sleep.

But unexpectedly, he waited for a long time, and even near cockcrow, she still hadn't entered.

Seeing that she wasn't coming in, he finally closed his eyes.

By the time Zhuang Yun woke up, Bai Xiao was also awake. Zhuang Yun asked him curiously:

"Where is your wife? Did she not sleep inside?"

Bai Xiao shook his head. "Yesterday, I wanted to ask Xia Lan to sleep inside, but she insisted on staying outside to make talismans."

Zhuang Yun sighed, opened the door, and looked out at the courtyard. Seeing no sign of Wan Ru, she said, "She is nowhere to be found."

Panic-stricken, Bai Xiao rushed into the courtyard. Seeing she wasn't there, he said:

"Could she have been captured by the White Tiger Demon Chang last night?"

A crisp voice rang out, "Captured, my foot!"

It was Wan Ru walking through the gate, holding fruits, meat, glutinous rice, and a few incense sticks.

"I only went to buy some things. Miss Zhuang, please don't worry."

She placed the items on the wooden table in the courtyard. Bai Xiao said:

"Did my wife not sleep last night?"

She was gazing at a tree near Zhuang Yun's house and said:

"If I didn't stay up, I wouldn't have finished in time."

Wan Ru climbed the tree and leaped onto the roof.

Zhuang Yun ran to the eaves and asked:

"Miss, what are you doing?"

She picked up a talisman from the roof and said, "I'm just retrieving a talisman. Don't worry, I won't collapse your house."

She gathered all the talismans and landed back on the ground.

"It's still early. Luo Han, let's go up that hill to gather mushrooms for lunch, and check the terrain while we're at it."

"But has my wife eaten breakfast yet?"

"I have. Oh, I forgot."

She went to the food table, picked up a few bananas, and handed them to Bai Xiao.

"Eat, then we'll head up the hill."

Bai Xiao took the basket and had to carry the items Wan Ru had just bought. She carried a cloth bag, which was larger and contained more things than before. They headed up the hill again, the territory of the Tiger Demon Chang.

Bai Xiao, who had once struggled with the slope, now climbed more skillfully, though he still couldn't avoid falling once.

Wan Ru laughed and said:

"Still falling? Haha."

After climbing the slope, the two rested under the Bodhi tree.

Wan Ru took back the items she bought and handed Bai Xiao two talismans, saying:

"Go gather mushrooms."

Her eyes were sharp, her words carrying a hidden meaning.

Bai Xiao took the talismans, picked up the basket, and left toward the east.

Once she saw that Bai Xiao was far away, she laid out the food. She lit three incense sticks. As the incense smoke billowed up, she muttered:

"I have come to apologize. I have come to apologize."

Having said that, she took her gear and headed west.

To the east, Bai Xiao's side. He wandered around, examining every nook and cranny.

After walking for a while, Bai Xiao found a shrine.

The shrine was built in the middle of the forest, covered in thick moss, surrounded by dense trees.

"Hardly anyone comes here to worship."

Bai Xiao turned back toward the Bodhi tree.

On Wan Ru's side, exploring the western forest yielded nothing suspicious, so she returned to the Bodhi tree.

When she returned, she saw Bai Xiao already waiting for her at the Bodhi tree.

She ran over quickly and asked:

"Did you find anything?"

Bai Xiao nodded and led her to the shrine. She ran inside and said jokingly:

"Goodness, I told you to look for mushrooms, not to find a shrine!"

Despite her words, she still went inside to investigate. She saw two small tiger statues placed on either side of the table.

She turned and asked Bai Xiao, "Are they still there?"

Bai Xiao took out two talismans kept in his robes. Eerily, one talisman had turned pitch black, while the other remained intact. "Here."

She took back the two talismans and put them away. She pulled out three other talismans, two of which were purple and the other white.

"Here, take this white talisman."

Bai Xiao took the white one, and she leaned close to whisper in his ear. Bai Xiao nodded in understanding. As for the other two talismans, she walked over to the two tiger statues, pressed them underneath, and said:

"Let's head back."

"Wait a moment. I left the mushroom basket at the Bodhi tree. Princess, you should go back first."

She was about to say she would go with him, but Bai Xiao had already dashed off.

She had no choice but to return alone.

Bai Xiao went to the Bodhi tree to retrieve the mushroom basket. With a *whoosh*, a figure leaped down from the tree. He asked in a low voice:

"Have you found a way to eliminate that tiger?"

A tall, muscular man clad entirely in black said, "That Tiger Demon Chang is indeed formidable. This subordinate has sought out several Daoist Masters, but anyone who hears of the White Tiger Demon Chang refuses out of fear."

Bai Xiao, who was playing with a mushroom, snapped the poor thing in half upon hearing the bad news. He said coldly:

"And inside the palace?"

"The initial phase of the plan has made progress."

"Good. You may dismiss now."