-----
-----
Turns out opportunity always comes with risk.
Even though the God of Wealth's power could tell him where treasures were, it didn't guarantee those places were safe. Fortunately, he was alert this time.
Otherwise, who knows how badly he would have fared.
Carefully, he began backing away. Once he was out of the tiger's movement range, he turned and bolted. But maybe the commotion was too loud—all of a sudden, he heard a roar.
The tiger in the cave had woken up with a start!
Wei Yuan didn't have time to think. He ran for his life like a madman.
He was still just a kid, and even though he had a big machete, it was useless against a tiger that huge.
He wasn't Wu Song after all.
Besides, that tiger wasn't even normal-sized.
Even if Wu Song himself came back to life, he would probably just end up as tiger food.
As Wei Yuan ran blindly through the woods, he tripped.
His foot slipped on something, and he faceplanted hard. He rolled several times before finally coming to a stop. His bamboo basket flew open, scattering all his treasures everywhere.
His whole body ached, and he was completely dazed. But there was no time to dwell on the pain—he scrambled to his feet and took off running again.
Soon he saw a small stream ahead. Without hesitating, he waded right through it.
By the time he crawled up the other side, he was completely exhausted. He looked back—and saw the tiger standing on the opposite bank, staring at him with piercing eyes. It didn't cross the stream.
Wei Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Only then did he notice the stinging pain all over his body—and that several spots were bleeding. His old injuries weren't even healed yet, and now he had new ones too. Still, he felt lucky.
At least he was still alive.
After a while, the tiger let out a couple of roars and turned back into the forest.
Wei Yuan waited a long time to be sure it was really gone.
Once he was sure, he carefully made his way back, picked up all the scattered treasures, and hurried back to the Earth God Temple.
Collapsing onto the prayer mat inside the temple, Wei Yuan sat down, completely drained.
His whole body hurt terribly. Then he suddenly remembered—he'd picked some berries earlier that were supposed to have healing properties.
He quickly dug through his bamboo basket, washed them off with well water, and stuffed them all in his mouth.
Then, pushing through the pain, he tossed a bunch of food into the pot to boil. He even added ginseng, lingzhi, and other herbs that helped with blood recovery—just threw everything in together like a big stew.
After scarfing it all down, he finally felt warmth spreading through his limbs.
His whole body went heavy and sleepy, so he didn't overthink it—he lay down and knocked out.
The next day, when Wei Yuan woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.
He stretched a bit—and realized he didn't hurt anymore. Surprised, he checked his injuries and found that the wounds from yesterday had already scabbed over.
Some of the smaller cuts were totally healed, and even the internal injuries felt way better.
Those berries were amazing! He was overjoyed. Who would have thought that just a little spiritual energy in a berry could have such powerful healing effects?
But then he remembered the tiger—and how close it still was. A chill ran down his spine.
There was a beast like that on the mountain. What if it got hungry and came down looking for food? What would he do then? Nope.
He had to strike first and figure out a way to take that white tiger down.
And there was still that huge chunk of gold in the tiger's cave!
With his mind made up, Wei Yuan went back to scouring the ruins.
He was hoping to find some hunting tools—like a bow and arrow or maybe a bear trap.
Or maybe he could just dig a big pit and lure the tiger into it. That might work… but it was risky.
If the tiger didn't fall for it, he would be totally vulnerable.
Looks like he would have to plan this tiger hunt really carefully.
But hey, it's fine. He still had his golden cheat skill.
Alright—time for the daily dice roll.
Wei Yuan casually tossed the die onto the ground. He figured it'd be a new divine power.
To his surprise, it was a familiar one.
[Freeze Spell – Duration: 5 seconds]
Seeing the description made Wei Yuan excited.
Maybe he could kill the white tiger using this freeze spell.
Still, better test it first and figure out how it works.
Just then, he heard a voice from outside.
"Anyone here?"
"Is someone living in this temple?"
A voice called from beyond the door.
"....."