Chapter Eighteen: The Road Encounters a Ferocious Tiger

  After taking off the sandbag, Zhao Fei's speed of progress obviously increased a lot. However, heaven seemed to not want Zhao Fei's journey to be relatively smooth.

  The sun sets in the west, and the last rays of sunlight are exhausted, unable to penetrate the dense foliage. The forest is slowly sinking into darkness. Zhao Fei looks at the increasingly dark forest, his heart growing more anxious by the minute. Although he chats and laughs with Zhao Yun, his inner self is already terrified. The darkness seems like a monster that can swallow everything, and Zhao Fei feels like he's inside the monster's belly, feeling such fear and unease. Unconsciously, Zhao Fei has drawn closer and closer to Zhao Yun.

  Feeling something was off, Zhao Yun turned his head to look at Zhao Fei. Through the faint light, he could vaguely see that Zhao Fei's face had already become somewhat pale. "It's okay, Little Fei, we'll be there soon. Just hold on a bit longer." Upon hearing Zhao Yun's words of comfort, Zhao Fei's complexion improved significantly, and some color returned to his cheeks. Although his physical strength was almost depleted, he still quickened his pace. And Zhao Yun also appropriately increased his speed slightly.

  Just as the two of them quickened their pace, Zhao Yun suddenly stopped and raised his right hand, signaling Zhao Fei to stop. Zhao Fei was about to ask what was wrong with Zhao Yun when he saw that Zhao Yun's expression had turned grave, as if he was straining to listen to something. This was the first time since seeing Zhao Yun that Zhao Fei had seen him look so serious. Pulling on Zhao Yun's sleeve, Zhao Fei asked in a low voice, "Brother Yun, what's wrong? Has something happened?"

  Zhao Yun didn't respond to Zhao Fei, still looking around with a serious expression. "We seem to have run into trouble," Zhao Yun suddenly said, startling Zhao Fei. Subconsciously, he leaned in closer to Zhao Yun. In his heart, he couldn't help but think, "Why do I always encounter so many things when I go out? If only I had stayed home." Next time, I won't venture into these deep mountains and old forests again, it's too dangerous. But looking at Cloud Brother's serious eyes, looking around at the dark forest... who knows if there will be a next time, hopefully nothing will happen.

  Just as Zhao Fei was daydreaming, he saw Zhao Yun turn around and focus intently on the forest in front of him, pulling Zhao Fei behind him. Zhao Fei, who was lost in thought, almost got pulled away. Looking at the dark forest ahead, Zhao Fei didn't know what kind of ferocious beasts were hiding inside. "Cloud... Cloud brother... what's going on?" Unconsciously, Zhao Fei started to stutter. But Zhao Yun still didn't respond to Zhao Fei, only staring intently at the forest in front of him.

  Time slipped away second by second, and the sky grew darker. "Brother Cloud... you're not scaring me, are you?" Standing behind Zhao Yun, Zhao Fei felt his whole body trembling. Just then, a dark shadow in front of them slowly began to walk towards Zhao Fei and Zhao Yun. The forest was very dark, making it hard to see what kind of fierce beast was ahead, but it was clear that the beast's body was enormous. Looking at the beast in front of him, Zhao Fei's face turned even paler, his legs shaking even more violently.

  "ROAR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~" The fierce beast let out a thunderous roar that shook the clouds, and the birds on the trees flew away quickly. Zhao Fei only felt a wave of murderous aura coming from in front of him. The earth was shaking along with the roar, and the trees seemed to be trembling with fear. What is a tiger's roar in the mountains, what is the king of the forest. At this moment, Zhao Fei deeply understood this point. Before, at the zoo, Zhao Fei had also seen tigers, but he had never felt such an overwhelming aura.

  "Little Fei, it's all Young Master Yun's fault." Looking at the fierce tiger in front of him, Zhao Yun suddenly said a sentence. "If I hadn't agreed to bring you to see Teacher, how would you have suffered such great hardship? You go ahead and walk along this small path first, I'll stay here and hold it off for a while."

  When Zhao Yun said this, the originally fearful Zhao Fei suddenly became angry and said: "What is Brother Yun saying? If it weren't for my burden, Brother Yun wouldn't have encountered this big insect. It's I who am burdening Brother Yun, how can I abandon him?" After finishing speaking, Zhao Fei turned around to block in front of Zhao Yun. "Brother Yun, you should go first and leave this place to me. Brother Yun is the great general who will stabilize the country in the future, how can he die in the mouth of this big insect? As for me, I don't have any great ambitions, it doesn't matter if I die. As long as Brother Yun can take care of my parents and Diao'er, that's enough." As he spoke, tears flashed in Zhao Fei's eyes. Father, mother, your child is unfilial, cannot serve you until the end of your days. Diao'er, brother cannot accompany you to play anymore, take care of yourself. Suddenly, many figures appeared before Zhao Fei's eyes, including Village Chief, Feng Ge, and his parents from that lifetime.

  In the midst of difficulty, one can show their true feelings. Looking at the frail Zhao Fei standing in front of him, Zhao Yun felt a surge of emotion. Who would have thought that the former Zhao Fei, who only knew how to follow behind him, would now have the courage to stand in front of him? At this moment, Zhao Yun made up his mind: no matter what the cost, he would protect the frail person in front of him. This person was his own brother.

  "Little Fei, come behind me. Don't worry, I've got Cloud Brother here, and I won't let this beast hurt a single hair on you." Zhao Yun pulled Zhao Fei to his back again, shielding him. Unbeknownst to Zhao Fei, he had already touched Zhao Yun's heart without realizing it. Fortunately, during the tug-of-war between the two, the tiger did not launch an attack; otherwise, both of them would have probably fallen prey to its jaws.

  Zhao Yun slowly backed away with Zhao Fei, while the tiger followed them at a steady pace. Perhaps it thought they couldn't escape, or perhaps it felt that the time for attack hadn't arrived yet. So the tiger didn't launch an attack. And Zhao Yun didn't dare to make any sudden moves either, firstly because he had rushed out in haste and secondly because he hoped to reach his teacher's hut before nightfall. Therefore, Zhao Yun hadn't brought any handy weapons with him, and fighting a tiger bare-handed wasn't something to be taken lightly, especially with Zhao Fei by his side, which made Zhao Yun even more cautious.

  The two retreated a few steps, while the tiger also slowly fell behind. Keeping a certain distance. Finding it impossible to shake off the tiger, Zhao Yun was also observing the surrounding environment, hoping to find a good place to hide Zhao Fei first, and then fight the tiger with all his might. Suddenly he raised his head and saw a crooked neck tree, and Zhao Yun's eyes suddenly lit up.

  Zhao Yun protected Zhao Fei and slowly approached the tree, while Zhao Fei also seemed to have understood Zhao Yun's intention and slowly followed him in retreat.

  Having chosen a location, Zhao Yun turned his head and said to Zhao Fei: "Come on, I'll take you up."

  "But what about you, Cloud?" Zhao Fei hesitated. He looked up at the branches above his head and found that they were too thin to support the weight of two people.

  "I am your elder brother, listen to me." Zhao Yun glared at Zhao Fei.

  Zhaoyun bent his legs and crossed his hands. "Come on, step here, I'll send you up." Zhao Fei couldn't outdo Zhaoyun, so he had to follow Zhaoyun's words and stepped up. Just as Zhaoyun let out a loud shout "Rise", Zhao Fei hugged the crooked neck tree tightly. Before they knew it, something unexpected happened. The tiger that was following them suddenly launched an attack. As the saying goes, "the cloud follows the dragon, the wind follows the tiger". It seemed like a gust of wind blew by, and the tiger pressed its paws on the ground slightly before making a dash forward. Zhaoyun barely dodged to one side, avoiding the tiger's fatal blow. Although he dodged this attack, Zhaoyun was still frightened and his cold sweat flowed freely. Zhao Fei in the tree also got a fright and couldn't help but break out in cold sweats.