Chapter 1302: The Law of the Jungle!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“I’m sure!” Chen Dazhong said without hesitation. “I raised this wolf since it was a cub, so I understand its personality the most. It’s not like other wolves, and I’ve already tamed away its wild nature. It’s not much of a danger at all, at least to my Chen Family, just like this dog.”
“Is that so?” Su s.h.i.+xuan coldly said. “Starting from now, we will stop feeding it. In seven days, if your wolf doesn’t eat the dog next to it, you will obtain one million taels of gold from His Highness.”
Buzz!
This number caused the crowd to immediately break into an astonished hubbub. Even Chen Dazhong couldn’t help but hold his breath, his heart madly thumping against his chest.
Su s.h.i.+xuan said all this with extreme calm, not even a ripple of emotion on his face.
“My lord carries out his promises. Everyone has already seen this. If you can prove your point, one million taels will be yours, but I will tell you in advance, if you fail, your dog will probably be eaten by the wolf. Are you willing to continue this test?”
All was quiet as everyone stared speechlessly at the stage.
A wager with one million taels on the line had never before happened in the capital, and such a sum would be a terrible blow even to some of the great clans. With this enormous fortune, hunter Chen Dazhong could become a rich landlord in a single day, perhaps even create a new great clan that could persist in his local area for centuries.
This money was enough to change his destiny.
“Incredible! One million taels! Is the King of Foreign Lands serious?”
“Didn’t you see? He spent three days doing basically nothing and obtained ten thousand. The King of Foreign Lands is a King of the Great Tang, and he is certain to keep to his word. Although it seems inconceivable, I am confident that he will pay out the money.”
The crowd chattered amongst themselves. After three consecutive days of watching the show on the stage, it was finally time to enter the main topic. At this moment, everyone was finally beginning to understand w.a.n.g Chong’s goal.
Whoos.h.!.+
The only sound to be heard was that of the pouring rain.
The rain was only getting more and more intense, one drop after another splas.h.i.+ng on Chen Dazhong’s face. His chest heaved up and down as he finally lost his composure.
One million taels! As a hunter of the mountains, he found it impossible to resist this temptation.
“Can I think about it?” Chen Dazhong said, his face red.
“Heh, you have enough time.”
A rare smile appeared on Su s.h.i.+xuan’s face.
“But let me warn you that you will only get one day. Of course, you can also refuse and immediately take away your ten thousand taels of gold. I guarantee that no one will try to stop you!”
Chen Dazhong clenched his teeth and finally decided, “Let’s do what you say!
“No matter what the rest of you think, I have absolute confidence in the wolf and dog that I raised!”
Boom! Chen Dazhong’s words caused the crowd to crazily cheer and yell.
“That’s right! Let’s see it for ourselves!”
“Even a wolf can know humanity, much less humans themselves. King of Foreign Lands, you’ve completely lost!”
Cheers resounded through the capital.
Flapflap!
As the crowds cheered, various messenger birds spread their wings and took off into the skies. This enormous wager had attracted the attention of countless people in the capital.
“One million taels! The King of Foreign Lands is truly quite daring!”
“Is the King of Foreign Lands truly that confident? If the wolf doesn’t eat that dog in seven days, the King of Foreign Lands won’t just be losing one million taels!”
“He’s putting it all on the line!”
“With so many people watching, the King of Foreign Lands can’t play any tricks. Just because of that wager he made, many people will be keeping watch at night. He’s leaving it all up to the heavens! So risky!”
In various parts of the capital, the elders and clan heads of various great clans muttered to themselves.
At this stage, w.a.n.g Chong’s aim was finally growing clear, but even so, there were far too many variables in all this.
“Dispatch men to keep a rotating watch on that place, twenty-four hours a day. This conflict between the militarists and Confucians might be reaching the critical point soon!”
A clan head in the southern part of the city issued this order, and similar orders were issued by many other clan heads.
……
“Young Master, what do we do?”
The moment the news of the wager got out, the Secretariat Advisor Residence was informed.
A Confucian Sect disciple kneeled on the ground, awaiting Li Junxian’s order.
“An arrow loosed cannot be taken back. Since he’s already set up the stage, nothing we can do can stop him now. Pa.s.s on my order. Dispatch men to keep a twenty-four-hour watch on that stage. We can’t have the men of the King of Foreign Lands trying some sort of trick on the dog or wolf,” Li Junxian said.
“Your subordinate understands!”
The Confucian Sect disciple swiftly left to relay the order.
On the same night, the wolf and dog were cut off from food and water, and countless people, in the open and in the shadows, were standing around the stage.
Whoos.h.!.+ In the middle of the night, a piece of meat flew out of the darkness toward the cage. But while the meat was still in the air, an arrow shot forward and cut it down. At the same time, a groan came from a dark corner, then silence.
“What an idiot! Trying to play tricks while so many people are watching! That’s nothing but suicidal!”
In the distance, the light of the stars and moon vaguely illuminated the figure of a masked man on the roof of a restaurant. However, this man’s presence caused no alarm, and he swiftly vanished.
……
The moon set and the sun rose in the east. The torrential rains from yesterday had long ago ceased. The countless spies and scouts keeping watch in the darkness silently vanished into the shadows. On the stage, the hunter called Chen Dazhong woke up from his sleep and stretched, completely unaware of what had been going on.
“Little Hui! Come here!” Chen Dazhong called out, and the wolf stood up and came over to the bars of the cage, where it constantly licked Chen Dazhong’s palm, an obedient expression on its face. With its food being suddenly cut off, this wolf was clearly much less energetic, but it was little changed overall.
The small dog grunted, shook its body, and then came over and softly nuzzled the wolf.
The sight of the wolf and dog getting along as usual immediately filled Chen Dazhong with confidence. He had raised this wolf from a cub, and no one could understand it more than he did.
This wolf had learned humanity. No matter how hungry it was, it would never eat the small dog that it had grown up together with.
The King of Foreign Lands would lose for sure.
From daybreak until noon, the wolf and dog were clearly hungry. The small dog snorted and grunted while the wolf was much quieter. It walked over to a corner of the cage, sat down, and became motionless so that it could silently wait. In this entire process, it did not even glance at the dog.
“Great!”
Countless people in the surrounding crowd rejoiced, and Chen Dazhong also appeared much more relaxed.
It was soon the second day. The wolf did not have as much tolerance of hunger as the dog, and its body had clearly gotten thinner, its stomach shriveled. Its eyes were listless, and it was clearly in a state of extreme hunger. But it still did not make any attempt to eat the dog.
It was now the third day.
Countless people had gathered around to encourage the dog and wolf.
“Keep going! Even a vicious tiger won’t eat its cub. The King of Foreign Lands will lose for sure!”
The crowd was excited.
All levels of the Confucian Sect breathed in relief at these developments. It was apparent that the matter was clearly developing in a direction favorable to him.
“Little cub, good work!”
The hunter stroked the wolfskin on his waist, his eyes growing moist with affection.
The fourth day!
The wolf in the cage was skin and bones, could not even stand straight, and could only make soft noises. The dog was in little better condition. Arf! Arf! The small dog came over to the wolf’s side, but it only licked the wolf’s fur twice before breaking away and making no further movements.
“Good!”
The crowd thunderously cheered in excitement.
Roooar!
But as everyone was cheering, there was suddenly a fierce roar. The gray wolf that had been hanging onto its life walked up to the side of the cage, turned around, opened its maw of sharp teeth, and bit through the dog’s neck. Arf! Arf! The small dog struggled as blood began to flow into the wolf’s mouth.
Hunger had forced out the gray wolf’s wild nature, and the stimulation of this blood caused the docile wolf to erupt completely in ferocity. Raaa! It began to viciously tear at the small dog, creating a gruesome scene.
“Ah!”
Gasps and screams filled the air, the crowd struck dumb by this gory sight. Their eyes were wide open, their jaws agape.
Even more people couldn’t help but look away, fear in their eyes. Over the last few days, they had gotten so used to the wolf and dog coexisting and playing around with each other that they had come to firmly believe that the wolf would never eat the dog.
Thus, this tragedy had caught them completely by surprise.
“No!” Chen Dazhong called out in alarm. He rushed up to the cage, his face covered in despair and disbelief.
“Release it, you beast! What are you doing!”
In the cage, the wolf seemed to be deaf to his cries. As it continued to eat the dog, its mouth made terrifying growls.
Its dark green eyes shone with dangerous light and all its hairs were standing on end. It had revealed its sharp claws.
The gray wolf had lost all of its former docility. Its entire body oozed ferocity and aggression, making it seem no different from a wild wolf.
Boom! As Chen Dazhong rushed to the bars of the cage and yelled, the wolf raised its b.l.o.o.d.y mouth, turned its head, and attacked Chen Dazhong, its two rows of sharp teeth savagely biting down on the hand Chen Dazhong had placed on the cage bar.