Chapter 121: Tiger, Mouse

Chapter 121: Chapter 121: Tiger, Mouse

I couldn’t even find the right person to settle the score with.

’And the Old Ancestor was a total wuss. He was the one who arranged the marriage, but when I went to confront him, he shamelessly supported me in calling it off.’

’Good thing the Old Ancestor didn’t show his face. If he had, Su Han figured he absolutely... wouldn’t dare to slap him.’

Walking back to the Imperial City, Su Han stroked his chin in thought. He had a nagging feeling... that he’d forgotten something recently.

"Su Xiao’Er, help me think. Have I forgotten something important recently?"

Su Xiao’Er stopped and gave Su Han a surprised look.

"Crown Prince, you haven’t forgotten why we came to the Imperial City, have you?"

Su Han: "..."

’Holy crap! No wonder I felt like I’d forgotten something important—the letter!’

"Ahem! Of course not. I remember."

Su Xiao’Er looked at him, his eyes filled with suspicion.

"But, Your Highness, you said we’d wander around the Imperial City for a couple of days to hide our true purpose.

Then, after distracting everyone, we would go check out the suburbs.

It’s already been four days."

SMACK!

Su Han slapped the back of Su Xiao’Er’s head.

"Wasn’t I just about to go?

If that business with the Old Ancestor’s marriage arrangement hadn’t suddenly popped up and made a mess of things, would I have forgot... would I have delayed this long?

Now get in front and lead the way!"

Su Xiao’Er rubbed his head, lowered it with a wronged expression, and silently led the way.

The Imperial City’s West Suburb was a mountain range stretching for thousands of miles.

Within the mountains... there were no Demon Beasts, nor were there any hidden heavenly materials, earthly treasures, spiritual fruits, or ancient ruins.

In the thousand-plus years since the founding of the Jing Country, whatever Demon Beasts had originally lived in the mountains had long since been wiped out, root and stem.

After all... how could one allow Demon Beasts to live right on one’s doorstep?

It was precisely because this mountain range stretched for thousands of miles, had few signs of Demon Beasts, and held no opportunities for fortuitous encounters...

...that despite being less than thirty miles from the Imperial City, very few of the city’s Cultivators ever entered them.

Aside from the occasional mountain folk who lived by the mountains entering to hunt small animals for food or chop firewood to sell for money, the entire range was empty and rarely visited.

Guided by Su Xiao’Er, the three of them—Su Han included—were walking along a deserted path in this mountain range.

After crossing two peaks, rounding six bends, and following the path for a good three miles, a small cave appeared before them.

"COO~ COO-COO~"

Standing more than ten meters from the cave, Su Xiao’Er cupped his mouth and made a strange bird call.

"COO-COO~ COO~"

Soon, an identical bird call echoed from within the cave.

"COO-COO-COO~ COO-COO~"

Su Xiao’Er chirped another sequence in reply.

No more sounds came from inside. A moment later, the sound of scraping footsteps reached their ears.

"This old servant greets the Crown Prince! Your Highness, you’ve finally come. Our research has had a major breakthrough..."

The footsteps stopped, and an old man appeared at the mouth of the cave. His age was hard to tell, his hair was graying, and his face was etched with the marks of time.

The old man bowed to Su Han, then straightened up... his face filled with an excitement he couldn’t suppress.

"Wu, no need for formalities. Let’s talk as we walk."

The old man called Wu nodded, glanced at Su Xiao’Er, and gestured forward. "Crown Prince, please follow this old servant."

Su Han nodded and followed Wu into the unremarkable cave.

Walking behind, Su Han watched Wu’s back, a deeper look of contemplation in his eyes.

’Another Celestial Being.’

’If Su Xiaoqi in the Imperial Mausoleum was suppressed by the Old Ancestor, and the Eighth Duke guarding it was part of the imperial family’s hidden reserves, that would be understandable.’

’But... for an old man I randomly found injured at my feet during a spring outing outside the Imperial City when I was a child to also be a Celestial Being—that seems a little too unusual.’

’As he thought this, Su Han decided to see through it but not expose it. Since Wu hadn’t revealed himself, he would pretend not to know for now.’

"Your Highness, regarding that Enhancement Liquid you spoke of, this old servant and my team have been researching it for another ten years and have finally had a breakthrough."

"Oh?"

Although he had already received the news by letter, hearing Wu’s words now still made Su Han feel a surge of excitement.

’After all... even if the stuff is useless to me now, it’s still a success that took ten years of his hard work to achieve!’

Even though, over the past ten years, he hadn’t really done much besides providing a general direction and a few half-baked suggestions.

"Your Highness, please follow me."

Wu led Su Han on a winding path through the cave until they reached its end.

Wu fumbled around on the stone wall at the end of the cave and pressed some unknown switch.

With a great RUMBLE, the end of the cave suddenly opened up, revealing a scene like a hidden paradise beyond.

Stepping out of the cave, they entered an idyllic wonderland surrounded by mountains on all sides.

There was no way in or out of the valley besides the cave. The mountains were green, the waters clear, and the vegetation lush.

Rows of wooden cabins were built in the valley, giving one the immediate feeling of being isolated from the world, a place to forget all outside troubles.

Staying in such a paradise was enough to soothe the mind and make one forget all worldly cares.

"Your Highness, look..."

After leading Su Han for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the group stopped in front of an enclosure fenced off with metal wire mesh.

Wu pointed to a few white mice in the empty space inside the wire mesh.

Su Han followed Wu’s gaze and saw several white mice running around on the flat ground.

Their speed was incredible—more than ten times faster than ordinary mice.

As Su Han looked into the enclosure, someone inside, notified by Wu, released a tiger that had been captured in the mountains.

A vicious roar erupted as the fierce tiger was let out of its cage.

Perhaps it had been caged for too long and was no longer picky about its food.

Upon seeing the white mice running in the pen, the tiger pounced like a ravenous dog, seemingly unfazed that these little things wouldn’t even be enough to get stuck in its teeth.

However, faced with the pouncing tiger, not a single one of the white mice turned to flee.

The largest of them watched the rapidly approaching tiger, a human-like flash of contempt in its eyes.

Then, with a push of its paws, it leaped high into the air.

A single mouse paw slammed onto the tiger’s face.

BANG!

It was a jarring sight; the white mouse’s paw wasn’t even as big as one of the tiger’s teeth.

But with a single press of that tiny paw, the tiger’s forward momentum came to an abrupt halt, and it was brutally smashed to the ground.

The fallen tiger let out a few whimpers. The white mouse, pressing its advantage, landed on the tiger’s body and began to frantically claw at it.

After a few more strikes, the tiger’s whimpers faded, and soon it fell silent.

"This white mouse... its strength and speed have already surpassed that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment Perfection, haven’t they?"

Su Han saw it clearly. The feedback from his Eye of Truth showed the white mouse’s strength had reached the terrifying level of nearly 10,000 catties.

’No wonder the tiger, hundreds of times its size, couldn’t even withstand a single swipe before being slapped to the ground.’

"Yes, it’s comparable to an ordinary Foundation Establishment Perfection."

Wu nodded. "The success of this experiment is all thanks to the theory of mouse-based experimentation that you proposed, Your Highness!

Otherwise, trying to complete an experiment like this by relying on death row inmates and prisoners of war... forget ten years, it would have been impossible even in a hundred or a thousand years!"

PS: Five Chapters today. And... shall we end it here?