Chapter 2042 — The Gloomy Lion

But how had this lion gotten all the way out here?

"What's the matter?" Wei Zhao had paid no attention to the scene outside the window. A so-called Lion King was nothing that interested him; he had seen plenty of such beasts back on the savannahs and in the forests of Africa, and there was nothing remarkable about them at all.

"That lion... doesn't it look like the one we used to have?" Shen Yushu pointed at the Lion King not far away.

Wei Zhao looked up in some surprise and followed the direction of her finger—and there, sure enough, was a familiar figure: the lion that had once belonged to Gou Huli!

Wei Zhao had never had any fondness for this lion, a bully that groveled before the strong and tyrannized the weak, so he had never bothered to raise its strength. When Shen Yushu sold it off, he had let it go without a second thought.

The only thing was that, trailing after General Weiwu and the Thunder Pig in their daily training, the creature had picked up a bit of the air of a spirit beast. Its strength was not great, but it did possess the power of a half-step Yellow Rank external cultivator.

And that strength was nothing at all before General Weiwu and the Thunder Pig—let alone before Wei Zhao!

But in a place like this, the lion had relied on its formidable power and the intelligence cultivated in it by General Weiwu and the Thunder Pig to become the local overlord!

"It really is," Wei Zhao said with a nod.

"Drive over, drive over—hurry, drive the car over! I want to see that Lion King!" Shen Yushu said to the driver.

"Ah? Drive over? Isn't that a bit dangerous?" After the business with the maddened tiger earlier, Uncle Yan had grown cautious. He turned to Zhang Duopan. "Young Master Zhang, shall we drive over?"

"This..." To be honest, Zhang Duopan was still badly shaken. Even though he was inside the car, he was afraid, and so he hesitated.

"Zhang Duopan, don't tell me you're still scared stiff from just now? Now you don't even dare get close to a tiger while you're inside the car?" Bai Weituo never missed a chance to needle Zhang Duopan—after all, the man had mocked him often enough before!

"I... who says I'm scared stiff? That tiger went mad earlier. It's not tigers I'm afraid of—only mad tigers!" Zhang Duopan waved a hand. "Uncle Yan, drive on. Even the girls in the car aren't afraid, so what have we got to fear?"

"Right!" Uncle Yan nodded, started the car, and drew closer to the Lion King.

The Lion King was not the least bit afraid of the approaching vehicle, and that tiger, King Wang's underling, even let out a fierce roar at the Hummer, not deigning to take it seriously at all—rather, it carried the imperious air of one demanding a tasty offering!

Tourists were forbidden to feed the tigers here, but drivers were permitted to feed the tigers and lions on their behalf—for a fee, of course, paid by the tourists.

"Stop the car, open the door. I'm getting out!" Shen Yushu suddenly said to Uncle Yan.

"Ah?" Uncle Yan's eyes went wide at her words. He could not imagine what she meant to do—get out here? Was she courting death?

Even he, a professional tamer, did not dare step out of the car here. When feeding the tigers and lions, he tossed the meat out through the gaps in the window bars, and even then he never dared be careless. And now Shen Yushu, a young girl, actually wanted to get out?

"Arrow Brand Bro, will you come out with me?" Shen Yushu suddenly realized that this was not quite right either. The lion had already been sold, and it was now the king of this place. However reckless she might be, she could not risk her life—so she turned to look at Wei Zhao.

"All right," Wei Zhao said mildly, without a trace of fear or objection. Even if he had never known these lions and tigers, these savage beasts would not dare harm him or anyone under his protection. There was no other reason: years of jungle warfare had given Wei Zhao an aura of deadly severity, and so long as these tigers and lions were not fools, once they sensed that aura they would not dare make trouble!

It was just like General Weiwu back then, who had chosen to back down the first time he saw Wei Zhao—and so had that lion of Gou Huli's, frightened half to death by Wei Zhao.

Wei Zhao's reply was not loud, but everyone in the car heard it clearly—especially Zhang Duopan, who stared at Wei Zhao as though at a fool! Even if Wei Zhao fancied this Shen Yushu and wanted to curry favor with her, there was no need to go courting death alongside her, was there?

Even in the taming enclosure those tigers might go mad, let alone out here in the free-roaming zone. If they got out of the car, wouldn't they be devoured by these lions and tigers in an instant?

Still, at the thought of his earlier humiliation, Zhang Duopan did not mind seeing Wei Zhao humiliated as well. If the two of them got out and were eaten by tigers, they had only themselves to blame; the tiger park would merely pay out a sum of money. Everyone in the car could testify that they had chosen to get out of their own accord, and no one else would bear any responsibility!

At this thought, a cold smile flickered at the corner of Zhang Duopan's mouth. He did not know why Wei Zhao and Shen Yushu were in such a hurry to die, but since they wished to die, he would oblige them: "Uncle Yan, our great hero here wants to get out and observe the Lion King up close, so let's stop the car and open the door!"

"Yes, Young Master Zhang!" Uncle Yan's orders were to follow Zhang Duopan's instructions entirely while they were here. Since Zhang Duopan insisted on stopping, then they would stop. Anyway, if someone really did get eaten, it would be Zhang Duopan footing the bill for the tiger park's compensation.

Uncle Yan brought the car to a halt and opened the door.

Shen Yushu got out first, and Wei Zhao naturally followed behind her.

The moment Shen Yushu stepped out, the pack of lions and tigers began to stir, eager to surge forward and finish off this tasty morsel. But the lion behind them visibly started at the sight of Shen Yushu—and when its gaze fell upon Wei Zhao behind her, it gave a clear shudder!

Good heavens above—these two couldn't be here to drag it back home, could they?

Having spent so long with General Weiwu and the Thunder Pig, the Lion King had grown somewhat attuned to the spiritual. Its strength had not increased much, but its intelligence had risen considerably, and it naturally knew how to scheme—a clear sign that it was evolving into a spirit beast.

And just now the Lion King was living the sweet life in the tiger-and-lion park: good food and good drink every day, a whole pack of lions and tigers as its underlings to order about—it was a life of pure bliss. If it were dragged back now, wouldn't it end up the lowest creature in the household all over again?

Lower even than a dog and a pig—literally lower than a pig or a dog. And to think it was a great lion! A creature of the highest caliber, yet utterly stifled in Wei Zhao's home!

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