Chapter 2040 — The Tiger Went Mad — Zhang Duopan Had a Clever Scheme: He Deliberately Let He Meiyue Throw the Meat, Then, on the Pretext That a Girl's Arm Was Too Weak, Let the Tiger Pounce — in Truth the Tamer Had Been Told to Do Exactly That — so That Zhang Duopan Could Step in Front of He Meiyue and Play the Hero Saving the Beauty, or, Even Better, He Meiyue Would Be So Frightened That She Threw Herself into His Arms.

But just as Zhang Duopan was lost in his fantasy, a figure suddenly came stumbling forward and planted itself in front of He Meiyue, blocking her way!

That figure was Bai Weituo — not that Bai Weituo had charged over of his own accord; Wei Zhao had shoved him out with one hand!

Bai Weituo cursed inwardly: Brother Lin had screwed him over but good. Wasn't this pushing him straight into the tiger's mouth?

But Wei Zhao had gauged the force with perfect precision, so that Bai Weituo's legs seemed to move beyond his own control; he could not stop even if he wanted to, and came to a halt directly in front of He Meiyue.

Since he was there, Bai Weituo could not back down. He could only brace himself and say, "Meiyue, don't be afraid. I'm here!"

"Huh?" Zhang Duopan had been about to make his move, but Bai Weituo had beaten him to it. His face turned unspeakably ugly.

As for the two tigers, though they seemed to charge with terrifying ferocity, they had no intention of attacking He Meiyue at all; the tamer had only meant to give her a fright. Such things happened when brave guests came up on stage to take part in circus acts, so the tamer was thoroughly practiced at it.

Even with Bai Weituo standing not far from them, they showed no intent to attack; they fixed their eyes only on the meat before them. After one of them snatched the meat, both tigers withdrew.

"It seems Bai Weituo is still the one most worth relying on. Some people talk a fine game, but when the moment comes they go dumb and can't move a step!" Wei Zhao said with a cold laugh.

Damn it, I was the one you all beat to the punch!

Zhang Duopan was speechless. Who knew Bai Weituo would be so quick? He had meant to judge first whether He Meiyue would throw herself into his arms or dodge aside — if she dodged, then he would step in front of her; if she threw herself into his arms, he would simply reap the rewards. How was he to know that plans never keep pace with change?

In truth, no matter how fast Zhang Duopan's reflexes were, he was not as fast as Wei Zhao. Before Zhang Duopan could even move, Wei Zhao had already shoved Bai Weituo out.

"Of course. I may not care for dangerous business, but if a lady companion is in danger, I'm the first to charge out!" Bai Weituo was endlessly grateful to Wei Zhao; it seemed Wei Zhao had long since seen through Zhang Duopan's scheme.

"Meiyue, do you see now? Who is the one more worth relying on?" Wei Zhao was at a loss over He Meiyue's endless delay in making up her mind.

"Hmph. You knew perfectly well these two tigers don't hurt people — what are you showing off for?" Zhang Duopan snorted. He hated Bai Weituo to the bone and meant to take the chance to cut him down a peg, so with a smile that was not a smile he said, "Bai Weituo, if you were in a hurry to feed the tigers, just say so. And you even planted yourself in front of He Meiyue! I didn't move from where I stood because I knew these two tigers certainly wouldn't hurt anyone. That's called composure!"

"Composure?" Bai Weituo did not argue. Instead he picked up a piece of beef from the ground and said, "In that case, what's so hard about feeding a trained tiger like this?"

"Hard or not, it's still a test of courage. Cut the nonsense!" As he spoke, Zhang Duopan shot Uncle Yan a look.

Uncle Yan gave an imperceptible nod.

So it was that just as Bai Weituo picked up a piece of meat, the tiger over there did not even wait for him to toss the beef from his hand — it lunged straight up with a "roar" and snatched the beef right out of his grip!

Though it did not hurt Bai Weituo, it frightened him badly enough that he sat down hard on the ground.

Wei Zhao frowned. He knew this was likely a dirty trick of Zhang Duopan's, but he had no proof, so naturally he could not say anything.

"Hahaha, Bai Weituo? Come on, really? Scared so badly you sat down on the ground? You're a bit too useless, aren't you?" Zhang Duopan burst out laughing. "Didn't you say there's nothing hard about feeding a trained tiger like this? What's this? Scared witless?"

A cold smile flickered at the corner of Wei Zhao's mouth. He made as if to help Bai Weituo up, but from his hand a thread of true qi suddenly snapped out, aimed at one of the two tigers, and from his mouth came a strange sound wave...

Wei Zhao disguised it well, though; it sounded like the grunt of exertion from hauling Bai Weituo to his feet, so no one found anything amiss.

But Wei Zhao had his reasons for doing this: he was enraging the tiger before him!

In the past, Wei Zhao had spent years moving through all kinds of primeval forests, and he had a whole set of methods for dealing with such fierce beasts. Sometimes using a beast to deal with an enemy was a tactic in itself.

Wei Zhao first wounded the tiger with true qi, then used that strange sound wave to drive it into a frenzy of bloodlust. That way, even a tiger that had been tamed would turn into a mad tiger and attack whoever was nearest to it!

In the past, when Wei Zhao could not yet use true qi bombs, he had naturally used other hidden weapons to wound tigers, but that was rather conspicuous and could betray the trick. Against enemies in a primeval forest it did not matter, but here it would not do.

Wei Zhao wanted to do Zhang Duopan harm in secret, so naturally he could not let anyone see through him; therefore he used a true qi bomb directly.

That done, Wei Zhao quickly pulled Bai Weituo to his feet, drew him back, and stood some distance from Zhang Duopan. "Weituo, forget it. These tigers are no joke. Beasts like this, even tamed, may still bite. There's no shame in it. A real man can bend and stretch; staying alive is what matters. People who throw their lives away for nothing — those are the brain-dead ones!"

"Ha? Brain-dead? If you're a coward, don't dress it up in fine words. To be afraid even of a trained tiger like this — you're as timid as a mouse... Huh?" No sooner had the words left Zhang Duopan's mouth than he saw one of the two tigers pounce toward him, looking so ferocious it seemed about to swallow him whole!

Zhang Duopan was scared witless. He spun around and ran, but the tiger pursued him relentlessly! It thought Zhang Duopan had wounded it; Wei Zhao's sound wave had already left the tiger somewhat neurotic, and it took the nearest person, Zhang Duopan, as its enemy!

"Roar..." The tiger's speed was tremendous, but one of its legs had been wounded by Wei Zhao's true qi, so its mobility was severely compromised, and it could not quite catch up with Zhang Duopan...