In the following days, Zhao Ya roamed the mountains and forests, searching for traces of the mutated tiger and wild boar, but found nothing.
Zhao Ya had anticipated this.
After all, even among ordinary beasts, tigers and wild boars are considered absolute predators, let alone mutated ones.
Powerful Exotic Beasts like these often have their own territory, possibly encompassing several miles of forest within their range of influence.
Other Exotic Beasts can’t enter casually.
This invisibly increased the difficulty of the search.
Yet Zhao Ya remained undaunted, venturing deeper and deeper inside.
Finally, on this day, Zhao Ya made a discovery.
It was a dense forest, with a stream running across it, providing precious water for the animals.
Zhao Ya found the clues by the stream.
It was a full-grown elk, robust in size, with sharp antlers that ordinary beasts couldn’t contend with.
Yet its neck was brutally bitten through, and its antlers broken by great force, with most of its flesh gone, leaving only a scarred skeleton.
Based on these bite marks, Zhao Ya concluded that this must have been the work of an adult tiger.
And it wasn’t long ago.
For in this primordial forest, a corpse might not last more than three days before being devoured by countless predators.
Since there was still some flesh left on this elk’s carcass, it couldn’t be over two days old at most.
Zhao Ya felt excited; finding traces would make things easier.
Walking back and forth along the banks of the stream a few times, Zhao Ya quickly found some more clues and eventually located the path the tiger frequently used.
To deal with a tiger, especially a mutated one, ordinary traps wouldn’t suffice.
After researching during this period, Zhao Ya had developed his own expertise in setting traps.
He combined rockfall traps with platform traps to set up a highly lethal, large-sized trap.
In addition, Zhao Ya placed specially made bait in the trap.
A deep-fried wild chicken.
For wild animals, the temptation of cooked food is unimaginable.
Especially when it is deep-fried.
After setting up everything, Zhao Ya concealed himself, quietly waiting.
He didn’t have to wait long this time.
In less than half an hour, a strong wind swept through the forest.
The wind carried a pungent odor, making one nauseous.
Zhao Ya felt overjoyed.
For he knew this was a sign of the tiger’s arrival.
As the saying goes, ’clouds follow the dragon, and tigers follow the wind.’ Before a mighty tiger’s appearance, a strong wind often blows.
This also declared its majesty as the king of beasts to the forest.
Sure enough.
After the wind, a gigantic, striped tiger emerged slowly from the forest.
This was a prime adult tiger, its fur sleek and shiny, with muscular lines faintly visible beneath its coat, exuding a sense of explosive beauty.
Even Zhao Ya couldn’t help but be awe-struck.
Truly a beautiful... big cat!
At the same time, the tiger noticed the deep-fried wild chicken, a hint of puzzlement in its eyes.
Clearly, this tiger had also undergone mutation, and its intelligence was quite high.
But no matter how intelligent, it was still a beast clad in fur and antlers, finding it hard to resist the bait’s allure.
It first circled the bait from afar, seemingly checking for ambushes around, and upon finding nothing suspicious, it leaped forward to grab the chicken.
But as soon as its front paw landed, the trap was activated, and several large rocks fell from the sky, crashing towards the tiger.
The tiger reacted swiftly, wanting to turn around and flee. Yet this trap was specially designed for it, making escape difficult.
Pre-set wire snares sprang up, conveniently binding its hind legs, preventing its escape momentarily.
Meanwhile, Zhao Ya bent his bow and released arrows, aiming straight for the tiger’s eyes.
With a swoosh, the arrows struck the tiger’s eyes squarely.
The tiger let out a thunderous roar of pain, smashing down its front paw, breaking a nearby tree with a trunk as thick as a bowl.
But Zhao Ya was fearless, charging forward with his precious saber.
No matter how fierce this tiger was, it couldn’t possibly be a match for Zhao Ya armed with his precious sword.
Thus, after a few exchanges, it finally succumbed and fell, becoming Zhao Ya’s prey.
"Ah!"
Zhao Ya exhaled a long breath, first wiping the blood clean off the Meteorite Iron Saber, then taking out a Skinning Knife and a specially made pouch, heading for the tiger’s carcass to start skinning.
He wanted the Tiger Bone Marrow, but the tiger’s skin and blood were valuable as well, which, though useless to Zhao Ya, were highly sought after by the city’s pharmacies, buying at high prices.
So Zhao Ya had Zui’Er specially sew this pouch, skinning while using it to collect the flowing blood.
Soon, a complete tiger skin was peeled off, and the pouch was filled with tiger blood.
Zhao Ya was ready to carve flesh and extract the marrow.
At this moment, he suddenly turned around, holding the Meteorite Iron Saber, looking alertly into a certain part of the forest.
"Friend, since you’re here, why not show yourself?"
Upon hearing this, rustling noises emerged from the bushes, and then a man in a hunter’s outfit came out from within.
This man seemed about fifty years old, the years of trudging through the mountains marked on his weathered face, yet his eyes shone brightly.
He greeted Zhao Ya with a broad smile and a cupped fist.
"Young man, what skill! To hunt a tiger alone, truly admirable."
Zhao Ya did not relax his guard due to the man’s smile and compliment.
For once, Niu Yuan had told him that the deep mountain forest was a truly lawless zone where one should not trust anyone lightly.
Especially since Zhao Ya had just bagged a tiger, a lucrative prize indeed.
"Whether I’m skilled or not has nothing to do with you. If you don’t want to die here, leave immediately. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being impolite."
Zhao Ya said coldly, his words blunt.
The man didn’t show any sign of retreat, instead approaching with a smile.
"No need for such caution, young man. I mean no harm, just...".
With a whoosh, an arrow shot straight at the man’s face, causing him to dodge to the side, avoiding the arrow.
"Get lost!" Zhao Ya said coldly.
The man’s expression grew grim as he spat harshly, then said coldly, "You little brat, so cautious, fine, since you don’t appreciate it, don’t blame me!"
As he spoke, three more people appeared from the forest, all dressed as hunters, glaring at Zhao Ya with hostile expressions.
The first man grinned maliciously at Zhao Ya.
"Kid, we’ve been eyeing this tiger for a while, planning our move, but you’ve seized the opportunity. No more nonsense; leave the tiger now, and you can go."