Chapter 2041 — The Lion King

"Uncle Yan, help! What is wrong with this tiger? Is it not domesticated? Why is it suddenly biting people?" Only now did Zhang Duopan know fear. Cold sweat sprang out all over his back. He could not for the life of him imagine why this tiger, which had never hurt anyone before, should suddenly wish him harm.

Could it be that when the tamer had made it frighten Bai Weituo earlier, it had stirred up the beast's savage nature? At present, that seemed the only explanation—otherwise, why would the tiger's temper have turned so abruptly?

Uncle Yan and the tamer were just as baffled. By rights, this tiger should not attack people. Why had it suddenly lunged at Zhang Duopan as though it had caught sight of an enemy? And thank heavens Zhang Duopan had run fast... no, wait—why did the tiger's leg look injured?

How had it been hurt? When had it been hurt? Could the injury be what had made the tiger so savage?

"Woo—woo—aow—aow—" The tamer kept up a stream of beast-cries that the tiger could understand, trying to stop the maddened animal, but the tiger seemed deaf to it all, charging at Zhang Duopan like one possessed...

The young mistress cast Wei Zhao a thoughtful glance, while Xiaoshu clapped her hands and laughed, eager for any chaos: "Haha, my stand-in bro is practically turning into Prophet Shu! Truly amazing. The tiger really did go mad—and sure enough, some people really are brain-dead!"

Bai Weituo, too, was secretly gratified and called out in mockery: "Zhang Duopan, Brother Lin was quite right. Even a domesticated tiger may bite. A man like you is not brave—he is arrogant. Downright brain-dead!"

He Meiyue, at that moment, frowned and shook her head, sighing inwardly that Zhang Duopan really was no good. How could he do something so dangerous and so conceited? Thank heavens the tiger had not gone mad earlier; otherwise it might well have hurt her!

Even Bai Weituo had nearly been hurt by the tiger!

"Help..." Zhang Duopan wailed piteously.

Fan Ganhe was anxious but did not dare step forward to help—it was a tiger they were facing, after all. He did not fancy himself a Wu Song, with the prowess to do anything about a tiger, so he could only fret helplessly...

"Bang..." A gunshot—the tamer had fired. He had produced a tranquilizer gun from somewhere and shot at the maddened tiger; after the shot the beast staggered twice, then toppled where it stood, clearly unconscious...

"Whew..." The tamer let out a breath of relief. If anything had happened to Zhang Duopan, he would have borne a great share of the blame. Uncle Yan breathed easier as well, cursing his luck inwardly—for a domesticated tiger to go mad was about as likely as winning the lottery...

Seeing the tiger fall, Zhang Duopan finally could hold out no longer. He dropped to the ground, gasping for breath, his head drenched in sweat...

"Scared me to death... scared me to death..." Zhang Duopan no longer cared about face. When your life was nearly gone, what use was face?

Fan Ganhe hurried over and helped Zhang Duopan up, while Uncle Yan was deeply embarrassed: "Young Master Zhang, this... no one could have known the tiger would suddenly go mad..."

"I know. It is not your fault..." Zhang Duopan waved a hand, his expression ugly. He had lost face thoroughly this time. He had meant to give Bai Weituo a fright, and in the end he was the one left badly frightened.

"Let us go. Let us look at something else. This tiger is nothing interesting." Wei Zhao said mildly: "I told you—tigers are prone to going mad. You did not believe me."

"Hmph! That was merely an accident!" Zhang Duopan said. "Let us go see the lions. So much for the tiger—all that ferocity, and one shot finished it!"

Bai Weituo and the others did not answer, but their contempt for Zhang Duopan only grew; and in He Meiyue's eyes, her impression of him dwindled by the moment. The man was nothing but a somewhat arrogant fop of a young master—hardly a suitable match.

Everyone got into the car; only then did Uncle Yan relax. He quickly started the engine and drove out of the taming zone, heading for the lion-tiger mixed enclosure. This was a purely wild area; the lions and tigers here kept their wild nature, and even ordinary staff did not dare leave the vehicle at will—only professionals in special gear, tranquilizer guns in hand, dared to step out. As for tourists, even feeding through the car window was forbidden, which showed well enough how dangerous this stretch was.

"This is the lion-tiger mixed enclosure. Here dwells a lion king. In the past, the most formidable one here was a tiger, but recently the park bought another lion, and that lion has become the king of this place!" Uncle Yan explained as he drove. "This lion is highly intelligent. As soon as it arrived it took on a great many underlings, and the former tiger king became the lion's subordinate!"

"This lion sounds quite formidable—could it be the legendary Lion King?" Zhang Duopan said, deliberately, to shift everyone's attention.

"You could put it that way!" Uncle Yan nodded. "If we are lucky in a little while, we may get to see the lion king!"

Here every vehicle was fitted with GPS, a tranquilizer gun, and an emergency satellite phone, so that if the car broke down, help could reach them in time. This was a primeval-forest mixed enclosure, vast in extent, unlike the earlier sightseeing zones where any number of tour vehicles could be seen.

Most tourists here chose to ride the cable car to view the scenery of the lion-tiger enclosure. Almost no tour vehicles drove in, and this too was for the tourists' safety.

Of course, a small number of adventurous tourists did choose to come here by car, but before entering, such visitors had to buy insurance and sign an agreement—this was no place for joking around. If the car overturned or broke down, real trouble could well follow.

"Lions and tigers actually living together—how fascinating!" He Meiyue and Chai Xiaoling exclaimed in admiration.

Wang Xinyan and the young mistress said nothing; both gazed silently out the window. Wang Xinyan was heavy with her own thoughts, while the young mistress was studying Wang Xinyan, trying to judge whether she might possibly become Wei Zhao's girlfriend.

Shen Yushu, carefree as ever, shrieked again and again along the way, showing a particular fondness for the tigers and lions...

"Wow, we are in luck. That lion up ahead—that is the lion king. But he is dangerous; to avoid any trouble, let us keep our distance and watch." Uncle Yan said: "Not far ahead, on the rock at the highest point—that is the lion king, and all around him are his underlings... See that biggest tiger? That is the former tiger king, though he is the lion king's subordinate now!"

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