"You don't believe me?"
Zhou Yang curled his lip, his eyes sweeping over Zhang Laoliu and his mother with a look of disdain as he asked coolly.
"Kid, if you’re going to brag, at least put some effort into your tall tales! Look at your build—you want to go kill a tiger with a knife? Who are you trying to kid?"
Zhang Laoliu’s wart-covered face twisted into a knot. He sniffled and continued with a sneer.
"If you want to see whether I really killed a tiger or not, just follow me up there and find out."
By now, Zhou Yang and Zhou Daniu had already pulled their cart out.
Zhang Laoliu narrowed his eyes, studying Zhou Yang, trying to find a clue on his face. But Zhou Yang remained expressionless; no matter how long Zhang Laoliu looked, he couldn't tell if the boy was lying or not. Then, a thought suddenly crossed his mind. He glared at Zhou Yang, pointed a finger at him, and said, "Zhou Yang, who exactly are you trying to fool? A delicate girl like Xue Bingbing was up on the mountain with you, and you expect me to believe you hunted a tiger? If you’d actually run into a tiger, you wouldn’t have even been able to run away! Are you trying to trick me just because you think I don't go up the mountain much?"
Zhang Laoliu flashed a row of jagged, yellow teeth and arched his brows at Zhou Yang with a cold huff.
"Exactly! Zhou Daniu, just listen to the nonsense your boy is spouting here. My God, talking about hunting tigers with Xue Bingbing—Zhou Daniu, your boy is young and ignorant, but you’ve lived long enough to know better, haven’t you? Can you actually believe a word he says?"
Zhang Laoliu’s mother stood with her arms crossed, her mocking gaze flicking back and forth between Zhou Daniu and Zhou Yang.
"This..."
Caught in the middle and feeling the heat, Zhou Daniu couldn't squeeze out an answer. He could only keep looking at Zhou Yang. Zhou Yang, however, gave him a look of absolute certainty. Zhou Daniu didn't have much choice—after all, Zhou Yang was his own son. Since the words were already out, he couldn't afford to lose his nerve now.
Zhou Daniu slammed his large hand onto the handle of the wooden cart with a loud *thwack*. With his nose held high, he declared loudly, "I believe what my son says."
Seeing Zhou Daniu take such a stance, Zhang Laoliu and his mother burst into loud laughter.
Zhou Yang couldn't be bothered to argue with them anymore. He waved his hand, beckoning to Zhou Daniu. "Dad, let’s not lower ourselves to their level. Let's head up and haul that tiger back."
Truth be told, Zhou Daniu wasn't entirely confident himself. He looked at Zhou Yang with a helpless expression; he didn't truly believe there was a tiger up there. Sensing his father’s hesitation, Zhou Yang moved behind him, placed his hands on his shoulders, and began pushing him forward.
"We’ll know if it's there once we see it, won't we?"
As Zhou Yang spoke, Zhou Daniu started moving. In his heart, he had already decided: he couldn't let his son’s reputation be tarnished. If it came to it, he’d just say some other beasts had dragged the carcass away, or claim it was all just a boast and he’d help his son save face.
As they pushed the cart, Zhou Daniu’s mind was in a whirl. Seeing that they were actually heading up the mountain, Zhang Laoliu sneered and followed behind them. Before he left, he suddenly remembered something and turned to his mother. "Mom, go over to Xue Bingbing’s house later and make sure you talk some sense into her family. She was giving me attitude again today."
Zhang Laoliu’s parched lips rubbed together as he gnashed his teeth.
"Fine. You just follow those two hoodlums from the Zhou family and make sure you expose them properly," his mother said, casting a look of intense loathing at the backs of Zhou Daniu and Zhou Yang as they pushed the cart.
"No problem."
With that, Zhang Laoliu trotted off to catch up with Zhou Yang and Zhou Daniu. As he walked, he shouted, "Why are you two walking so fast? Aren't you supposed to be showing me the tiger you killed? Why not wait for me? Are you afraid that if I get there too quickly, you won't have time to stage the scene?"
Zhang Laoliu bellowed at the top of his lungs, and the passersby nearby heard him. They all gathered around, frowning and whispering amongst themselves as they looked at Zhou Yang and Zhou Daniu. Though the villagers didn't really like Zhang Laoliu—thinking him a mere rascal—the fact that he dared to say this right to the Zhou family's faces made them suspect that someone from the Zhou family must have actually made the claim.
Soon, they were all walking together, though Zhou Yang ignored Zhang Laoliu, casually chatting with his father about the day's haul. Zhang Laoliu didn't make a fool of himself by pressing further; he simply kept his shifty eyes fixed on Zhou Yang, racking his brain for how he would further ridicule the boy once he failed to produce a tiger corpse.
As for Zhou Daniu, he felt quite anxious with Zhang Laoliu trailing them. He trusted his son’s abilities and knew he was exceptional, but based on his own lifelong experience, the chances of Zhou Yang successfully hunting a tiger while accompanied by Xue Bingbing were incredibly low; it would be a miracle if the two of them had even made it down the mountain alive. Furthermore, he noticed that his son hadn't sustained any obvious injuries—even with a large, well-equipped group, a fight with a tiger would surely leave more than just a few minor scratches.
Zhou Yang knew his father didn't fully believe him, but he didn't mind. By the standards of his past life’s mindset, this was indeed a rarity among rarities. If someone had told him the same story, he would have been skeptical too.
Zhou Yang walked with ease, soon arriving at the cluster of trees he had marked. He found a wider path and pushed the cart through with his father. Seven or eight minutes later, the view ahead suddenly opened up. Zhou Yang craned his neck, lifted his head slightly, and a smile blossomed across his face.
The tiger’s carcass was still there!
"Here we are, Dad. It’s right here."
Zhou Yang pushed the cart over and pointed toward a spot hidden by branches. Because the tiger’s body was so massive, it was easily visible to both Zhou Daniu and Zhang Laoliu despite the cover. Underneath the tangled brush was, in truth, a tiger!
"It... is it dead?"
Zhang Laoliu’s pupils shrank, and his voice trembled with intense fear.
"I killed it," Zhou Yang said, casting a cold glance at Zhang Laoliu.
Hearing Zhou Yang’s words and looking at the motionless tiger carcass, Zhang Laoliu felt as if he had been plunged into an ice cellar. His teeth chattered uncontrollably. Without saying another word, he turned and bolted down the mountain path without once looking back!
This Zhou Yang was terrifying—he hadn't been bragging at all; he had actually killed a tiger! As he ran, the image of the brown-furred beast lying dead on the ground played over and over in Zhang Laoliu’s mind.