"He's here!" The girl's voice came from behind. The girl was supporting her brother as they caught up.
"I told you not to run off alone!" The girl pointed at Zakari, "Let my brother find the tiger's trail, he knows the tracks of tigers, so let him find where the tiger has escaped!"
Zakari had not yet fully recovered from his injuries, but it was clear that he was very anxious and was trying his best to help Garland.
He carefully searched among the vines for traces, looked for a long time, and pointed to a place on the extending path, saying, "Here, the tiger ran this way."
Garland was skeptical and looked at them in confusion.
"Please believe me, after all, I still need that tiger skin!" Zakari explained.
"Alright." Garland had no other choice but to believe them. So Zakari led the way, and Garland chopped along the direction he pointed. Slowly, the three of them walked out of this thicket again and came to an open space.
Looking down at their feet now, this was a cliff edge. The sound of the wind whistled past their ears, and there were bare rocks all around.
Zakari was suddenly very happy: "Now we've found the tiger's den!"
He carefully examined the traces on the rocks again, "Yes, this is where the tiger's claws scratched." He also saw some animal urine stains in the corner, crouched down and sniffed, "Yes, this should be the urine left by the tiger."
After searching for a while, Zakari pointed out a direction. The road here became extremely dangerous, and everyone crouched down and climbed over carefully. The girl was a little scared, and Garland even helped Zakari pull her along.
While rock climbing, a black and yellow, round bug suddenly crawled onto the girl's clothes, scaring the girl into screaming. Garland looked back and saw a palm-sized beetle, with a semicircular shell and dense rows of legs underneath. It was disgusting as it writhed.
"Oh, miss. You weren't scared of such a big tiger, how could a little bug frighten you so?" Garland said as he used his knife to pick up the bug, grinning as he waved it in front of the girl.
The girl was so angry that she kept screaming and hitting him, "Take it away! Take it away!"
Garland threw the little bug down the cliff, watching it tumble down until it disappeared into the distance.
Zakari also laughed and said, "Although the bug looks gross, it's not poisonous or bite people, it can even be kept as a pet!"
"Brother, are you crazy? Who wants to keep that thing! Just looking at it makes my feet go soft."
"While that cute little bug was harmless, there are plenty of poisonous things around here," Zakari added, "Like those vines, they are all toxic, look at your hands, they are all red and swollen."
Garland looked down and found that his hands were indeed covered in crimson and somewhat swollen.
"Is this life-threatening?" he asked.
"It's not that serious, but it will be very itchy in a few days. After we rescue your brother, I'll take you back to our Gerdant. We have potions that can relieve the swelling with a wash."
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"As long as there is no threat to life, I'm relieved. Saving my brother is the most important thing now, no time to say any more."
"Yes, that's right. But be careful when you walk in front, try to avoid any bugs you haven't seen before, don't kill them casually, and don't dispose of them even if they bite you, call me to take a look. Some venomous bugs have toxins in their bodies that can hurt you if crushed."
After listening, Garland nodded and said, "Okay, I'll remember."
After climbing up a bit more, there was a huge black cave entrance at the top of the mountain, wider than a person spreading their arms.
Peering into the cave, nothing could be seen, but occasional gusts of cold wind blew out, mixed with the smell of animal feces.
"Wow, we must have found the tiger's den!" Zakari was very certain, "Go down along this entrance and you can find your brother!"
"Saji!" Garland shouted into the cave, but there was no response from inside.
"Could he have been eaten by the tiger..."
"Let's go in and find him!"
Zakari still had a torch and lit it up. The few of them crawled in together.
Garland had thought the cave would not be too deep, just a nest. Unexpectedly, one step into it, the cave twisted and turned, and they couldn't seem to reach the end. The surrounding rocks were densely arranged like tunnels, with occasional fragments of animal bones under their feet.
"These should be leftovers from the tiger's meals." Zakari shook the torch and examined it carefully.
After walking a few more steps, the cave suddenly opened up, like a great hall.
"How is this cave like an intestine, long and narrow in the front, then turns spherical inside!" The girl's words were full of curiosity.
"Caves also have spirituality, like gods. This cave is probably the inner organ of the great mountain." Zakari was also very curious, looking around.
"Saji---Saji---" Garland had no time for these things and kept searching for his brother.
"Brother! Brother!" Saji's shouts came faintly from the dark distance.
As soon as Garland heard it, he rushed over. Zakari hurriedly stopped him and let him move forward together with his torch. After traversing some bumpy roads, Garland finally found Saji. He was sitting on a higher ledge on the cave wall. Under his butt was a nest made of hay and branches by the tiger.
"Hey, brother, I'm here!" Saji waved happily, not looking like someone who had just experienced danger to his life.
"Saji!" Garland's spirit had not yet recovered from the earlier panic. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine~"
Garland hurriedly climbed onto the tiger's nest and hugged his brother. He also checked his body to make sure the brother before him was indeed unharmed without any part eaten by the tiger.
"I'm fine, heh heh."
The brothers embraced each other.
"I won't bring you to places like this anymore!" Garland still spoke with lingering fear.
"Where's the tiger?" Zakari asked.
"It went inside." Saji replied. "There are baby tigers here!" Having said that, he picked up a furry little thing. It was still mewling, clearly a baby tiger still feeding on milk.
"Oh, there are baby tigers!" Zakari said with a smile to his sister, "Catching a baby tiger isn't bad. This little guy's fur is so fine and soft, let's make a small vest for my sister."
Zakari thought his sister would be happy, but instead her face fell and she got angry.
"What?! You can bear to kill such a cute baby tiger?!" The girl scolded her brother mercilessly.
"Hey, weren't you clamoring for a tiger skin dress!" Zakari thought he had misheard and defended himself, "The skins of these baby tigers are even better!"
"No way! Absolutely not! Brother, if you kill the baby tiger, I'll never speak to you again!" The girl hugged the baby tiger and refused to let go no matter what.
"Yes, yes, I won't kill the baby tiger." Zakari immediately gave up. As long as his sister was happy, it was fine.
"Oh, so those two are siblings." Saji said.
"Yes, and I was severely beaten by that fiery sister, still hurting now," Garland whispered, "I wonder who that girl's husband is, he must have a bitter life~"
Seeing herself looked down upon, the girl was a little embarrassed. Zakari nudged her to pay her respects, and she shyly said, "I'm really sorry for suddenly attacking you from behind, I feel terrible about it!"
She explained, "My brother and I were hunting tigers in the mountains, and got separated accidentally earlier. When I finally saw my brother again, he had already been bitten and knocked unconscious by the fierce tiger. Seeing you holding my brother's weapon, I thought you were a bad person."
The girl acted coyly again: "I didn't expect you were the benefactor who came to his rescue. I'm really very sorry!"
Seeing the girl apologize so solemnly, Garland's face turned red and he was very embarrassed. He also conceded a little and said, "I don't mind all that anymore, as long as everyone is safe and sound."
"Yes, yes!" The girl smiled with eyes narrowed.