Up ahead, only one final stretch of forest remained in Xiaobai’s path.
This last forest was enormous. Even all the forests before it put together couldn’t compare.
“Whoa, another forest... And it’s so huge! It’s like it was made just for me...”
Xiaobai’s hand, wrapped around the black sword, trembled nonstop.
There was no other reason. Xiaobai was excited.
“That’s enough, young man. Why do you have to destroy this forest so thoroughly?”
Suddenly, a sigh sounded in Xiaobai’s mind. The voice was long and deep, as if it had weathered countless hardships.
“Who’s there?”
“If you’re gonna act tough, do it to my face. Come out already—quit messing around with spooky tricks.”
“The last person who spoke to me like that is now as respectful toward me as anyone could possibly be.”
Xiaobai narrowed his eyes. This was getting interesting.
Then he lowered his sword and shouted in every direction.
“Young man, for the sake of the world, please stop destroying things.”
The voice sounded beside Xiaobai’s ear once more, trying to stop him.
“Heh. You’re really stretching things if you think one forest has anything to do with the fate of the world.”
“Even if it does, what’s the world’s safety got to do with me? I’m destroying it today. What are you gonna do about it?”
As he spoke, Xiaobai picked up his sword again, ready to unleash another Sword Qi Wave.
That was how determined he was. Even tempting Xiaobai with delicious food wouldn’t work now.
“Since you’re so stubborn, young man, I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do. Sorry.”
“Sorry?”
Xiaobai froze. Suddenly, he felt as if something beneath his feet had disappeared. He looked down.
“Huh?”
The ground below him had vanished, replaced by a bottomless black hole that seemed to lead nowhere anyone could identify.
“...”
“Aaaaaah!”
“Mrow~”
There was no sign of the person or the beast on the ground anymore.
Before long, the ground slowly returned to normal. No one knew what had just happened.
◇
Somewhere underground.
There was a loud thud.
It was Xiaobai landing flat on his back, spread-eagled like the character for “big.”
“Mrow~”
Then another white object fell from the sky.
It landed hard right on Xiaobai’s lower back as he lay facedown.
“Crack~”
Huh?
“Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!!!!”
Xiaobai wanted to roll around on the ground, only to realize he couldn’t move under the weight pinning him down.
This was just miserable.
“Kitty, you’re so heavy! Get off me—I threw my back out.”
“Meow?”
The White Tiger still wasn’t fully awake. It managed a dazed little reply.
“Whack~”
Ignoring the pain in his back, Xiaobai rolled over and kicked the white object off him.
“Mrow~”
The White Tiger, which had just fallen from above, went flying again, accompanied by an adorably cute cry.
As for Xiaobai, he got to his feet, rubbed his back, and started doing exercises.
“Three circles to the left, three circles to the right. Roll your neck, shake your hips...”
“Sleep early, wake up early, come on, let’s exercise.”
Honestly, these exercises really worked.
By the time he’d finished the routine, his back felt better and his mind was clear.
Then Xiaobai looked up.
Dark.
He looked around.
Dark.
Nothing but darkness.
Darkness everywhere.
It felt just like being blind.
There was no way to tell where he was.
Helpless. At a loss.
Looking at his surroundings, Xiaobai clenched his fists and swore an oath.
“Heh. Once I get out, I’ll dig a thousand feet into the ground to find you. If I don’t, you can call me Night Xiao Hei.”
“But how am I supposed to get out?”
Xiaobai felt a little bitter.
“Hey, Kitty, get up. Still dizzy? I’ll smack you...”
He suddenly remembered he still had a Kitty with him, so he called out to it. No—not called out. Threatened it.
“Meow!”
His voice reached the White Tiger lying not far away, and its body gave a jolt.
It remembered being sent flying by a sword strike. The force that had smashed it through several mountains had been no joke.
So it quickly answered, shook off its dazed state, and obediently ran over to rub against Xiaobai.
“Master, I’m being good. Please don’t hit me...”
Its eyes glistened with tears. It looked utterly pitiful.
“Good. I won’t hit you. I just want to ask you a few questions.”
“Thank you, Master! Ask away. Your Kitty will do everything it can to help you.”
“Kitty, you’re supposed to be one of the dominant magical beasts in the Demon Beast Mountain Range, right?”
“That’s right, Master.”
The White Tiger answered eagerly, its face glowing with the happiness of someone who’d just been praised.
But inside, it thought, I may be a dominant beast, but you still beat me up. Of course, it couldn’t say that out loud.
“Then you should know the Demon Beast Mountain Range pretty well, right?”
“Not really. The Demon Beast Mountain Range is too big. There are places I don’t know.”
As an honest White Tiger, it had to tell its master the truth.
And then...
“Thump~”
It got hit on the head. It hurt a lot, but it was a strong White Tiger. It held back its tears.
This was its fault. It understood that it should’ve known the way.
“So you don’t know where we are either. Fine, I’ll ask something else.”
Xiaobai continued.
“I heard cats have really good eyesight in the dark.”
“Yes, yes!”
“Then look around. Which way should we go?”
The White Tiger looked around, confused.
Dark! Nothing but darkness...
It couldn’t find a single other color.
So there was no way it could answer that.
“Um... Master... It’s too dark here... I can’t see...”
“So you don’t know which way to go either?”
“That’s right...”
“Then what good are you?”
“Thump~”
Xiaobai grabbed the black sword and smacked the White Tiger on the head again.
“Mrow~”
The White Tiger covered its head, feeling terribly wronged.
I can’t believe I got hit for that...
It’s so dark here. You can’t see anything yourself either.
You just wanna bully me, but you don’t dare say it to my face, don’t you?
“Kitty, does it hurt?”
Suddenly, a gentle voice sounded beside the White Tiger’s ear. It was like a blessing after the last few days.
But if it didn’t want to get hit again, it obviously couldn’t say that it hurt.
So the White Tiger went against its own feelings, gritted its teeth, and answered firmly.
“It doesn’t hurt.”
Silence.
Nothing happened.
So it really had given the right answer! The White Tiger secretly rejoiced.
But then...
“Thump~”
It got hit again.
The White Tiger even felt its body growing lighter, rising farther and farther from the ground.
“Mrow...”
Why... What did I do wrong this time...? Why was that hit even harder...?
It was as if Xiaobai had heard the White Tiger’s silent cry. The reason came floating after it.
“If it doesn’t hurt, then hurry up and find a way out! Kitty, are you asking to get hit...?”
“...”
